Uh, yeah! I'm alive, I'm not dead! I managed to type this up on my relative's computer and I got it done pretty quickly. I have decided to do a rewrite of LIAL because I thought I could do better at this romance story. There where will be a few major changes like new OCs and events but I will still keep a lot of themes too. Hopefully, this story will be better than LIAL like I've been aiming it to be so. Also, after I'm finished with this story, I WILL NOT be writing a sequel so please don't beg for one (and please stop me from doing so if I have a compulsive desire to write one). There will be a few new couples but I'm not spoiling anymore things :3

So please, enjoy the rewrite's first chapter. And PLEASE tell me if I need to fix anything (especially if it deals with any possible Mary Sue-ness with my OCs. I'm trying to make them non-cliched as possible). I value your reviews and your time for reading this :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, the music, products and movies featured in this fic. The OCs belong to me.

Transcendental Mysteries

Chapter 1 Spirit of the Season

(The Preston residence – December 18th: 1:00pm)

"Aww, cripes! Really?"

Amanda Anne Preston threw the garland unceremoniously to the ground. She folded her arms across her chest and refused to carry on with the rest of the decorating. Besides, she already pricked her fingers a few times from the tricky Christmas bulb hooks. Annoyed, she brushed her blonde bangs out of her pale green eyes and stewed in the middle of the living room.

"You're such a princess!" her sister declared without looking up from her book. "How hard is it to wrap a garland around the tree?"

"I don't see you busting your butt, Cynthia," Mandy growled. "Your nose has been in that book since you got up. How long are you going to be reading that stupid thing?"

"I've been reading it for the past three hours. You act like books are the Devil."

"Okay, you've been reading it since ten. It's one now. Do you mind helping me out a little bit before Mom and Dad come over? You even said you wanted everything set up for their arrival." The blonde cocked her head to the side. "And just what are you reading?"

"I'm breezing through my earth science textbook so I can prepare myself for the next semester of joyous, joyous college."

"You don't go back for another month and you're doing…this?" Amanda was perplexed by her elder sibling's reasoning.

"I plan on finishing and ending the semester strong. I'm getting my degree in the spring and nothing's stopping me."

"Yeah, that's great, Jimmy Neutron. Now will you at least help me a bit? Darien's probably not going to be back until midnight or later like that bum always is…"

"Little brothers are little brothers. You were out late when you were sixteen too. Heck, even at eighteen, you're still acting irresponsible."

"And for a twenty two year old going on twenty three, you're pretty mature… I mean that in a bad way too. You're like a mom."

"I had to become one when you and Darien wanted to move in with me when I decided to come to college here in Detroit. I can't believe Mom and Dad actually let you guys live with me too. Then again, Dad's always telling me to step up and face life." She set her textbook down at last. "Okay, little Mandy, let's see how we can fix this."

Cynthia got up from her comfy seat on the couch. She gently pushed past her sister and picked up the garland. Stepping up onto her tip toes, she began to wrap it around the Christmas tree.

"See, it's not that tough," Cyndi said. "You just have to put in something called 'effort'."

"Oh, please." Amanda laughed softly. "You're quite pathetic in your own ways, dear sister."

"That's not gonna work. The only pathetic thing about my persona is my week long romance with that buttwipe, Wes Larkson." She shuddered. "Ugh, never again… What was I thinking? That wasn't even real love. That was such a shallow school yard crush it wasn't even funny."

"Eh, you were thirteen when that happened. You were stupid when you were younger."

"Just like you are now, Mandy."

"How rude!"

The sisters laughed at each other. Amanda stood next to Cynthia and placed a hand on her sister's shoulder.

"You do realize I'm joking with all the mean comments right?" Mandy just wanted to remind her best friend and sister.

"Of course," Cynthia assured. "I'm messing around too, kiddo."

Conveniently, the garland began to give Cynthia some trouble as well. She couldn't wrap her arms around the tree and it gave her a little trouble with fastening the decoration around it. Without a smart word, Amanda went on the other side of the pine and helped her sister. Cyndi felt a little sheepish for not assisting her earlier while she was reading her book.

"Now you make me feel like a villain," the brunette sister moaned. "I feel like I have to apologize for not helping. Why didn't you tell me earlier rather than get frustrated?"

"I'm stubborn," the girl said.

"Well, thanks anyway."

The two sisters took a few steps back to look at the fully decorated Christmas tree. The pinecone garland they were dealing with was wrapped charmingly around the tree. Fragile yet colorful bulbs hung prettily on the branches. On the top of the tree, there was a golden star.

"Good job, Mandy," Cyndi commented. "You were always so good with decorating things."

"Thank you," Amanda beamed. "I love doing it every year. I just hate that garland!" She flopped onto the couch where Cyndi was a few moments earlier. "Now I'm gonna crash and watch 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'."

"Not only are you good at decorating, you're also the laziest girl I ever did meet. It's one! We better finish shopping before everything gets picked over."

"We can't do anything remember? Darien has the car!"

"Dammit, I cannot wait until you have enough money to get your own car! There's three of us and only one vehicle. What a nightmare…"

"Where did that stupid boy go to again anyway?"

"He told me he was going to his friend Teddy's house so they could go meet up and walk down to the mall until three or four."

Mandy's face contorted to an expression of concern and slight terror.

"Teddy?" she repeated. "The big, scary, black dude?"

"He's got a heart of gold," Cynthia defended her only brother's close friend. "Besides, Darien is a good kid and he knows to stay away from bad folks."

"Oh, is he and Teddy going down to the mall so Darien can do some of his tricks?" Mandy guffawed. "I still can't believe he wants to be an expert street magician! He's never going to be the next Criss Angel!"

"He's practicing what he loves and it's harmless… I support him. As long as he's not into crime, I don't care."

"Dad would fly over from New York and beat the living snot out of him if he got into any trouble."

"I'm more understanding and merciful than Dad…" Cyndi glanced over at the picture of her parents that sat on top of the TV. In the photo, they wore content and serene smiles. "Darien's living up life here in Detroit while he can. He hated Greenvale."

Cynthia and Amanda halted their conversation when they heard a lock click. Unanimously, they glanced over to the door that separated their apartment from the outside world. A few seconds later, a young man wearing baggy clothes walked in. He smiled at them when he entered the apartment and closed the door behind him. He wiped his feet on a mat and took off his snow encrusted boots.

"Sis One and Sis Two," Darien greeted his big sisters. He took off a black checkered skullcap, showing off his brown hair. "I'm back already."

"How was your magic act, David Blaine?" Amanda teased.

"Great actually, Paris Hilton." He shook his head in disappointment. "People were so into getting their shopping all wrapped up, they barely had anytime to watch me!"

"There's always next time, Darien," Cynthia patted his back. "Now you know to don't put on magic acts during the holiday rush."

"Big Sis, I only made ten bucks!" Darien sighed. "I'm a bigger bum than Mandy!"

"I make two hundred some odd dollars a week as a cashier," Mandy informed idly. "Do you know why I make a lot of money? I have an actual job."

"Don't be hating, Amanda!" The teenaged boy grinned. "This is Christmas. You ought to get more into the spirit of the season. It's all about peace, love and goodwill towards all mankind… Hey you think we ought to try to introduce Christmas to those big robots from space?"

"It won't work," Cyndi shook her head. "Personally, I don't even want to think about them right now. I get all paranoid and tense when I think about them. As soon as I get my degree, I'm getting the Hell out of this crazy city. And you kooky kids better follow with me."

"I'm staying here," Darien was steadfast. "I'm not going back home. I love living here with my sisters. Dad will start hating again too…"

"If you got a real job, Dad wouldn't give you grief about wasting your life!" Amanda reminded.

"Hey, peace! I don't want any trouble!" He paused and smiled. "I just remembered I wanted to tell you ladies something. I saw this advertisement while I was at the mall. There's a Christmas light display at the park from December 18th to December 30th."

"What park?" Cyndi inquired. "There're a lot of little parks here and there in this city."

"You know, the one that's about ten minutes away from the apartment. I can't remember the name of it. It's on the outskirts of the city. Why don't we go check it out tonight before Mom and Dad show up? It'll be some sibling bonding."

"That's the first good idea I heard from his mouth in over a year," Amanda taunted. "I say we do it."

"Be nice to each other, alright?" Cynthia placed her hands on her hips. "I'm Mom here."

"You sure look old like her!"

Amanda and Darien laughed at her comment. The two high fived each other, savoring the moment. Cyndi rolled her bluish gray eyes and tapped her toes on the floor.

"Yeah, ha ha, that's cute," Cynthia said sullenly. "But back to the point, I agree. Let's go to the park. It'll give us something interesting to do other than eat, work, and watch movies until three in the morning. Darien, did you catch when exactly the opening times are?"

"It was from six until eleven," he answered.

"Alright, then we'll do it." She threw her arms across the width of their shoulders. "You guys are the only reason why I give this city a second chance."

(Decepticon base – 7:45pm)

"Snow…" The angry seeker glared hatefully at the white frozen water crystals. "What use does it have?"

Starscream stood at the mouth of the mine, gazing through the dark and foreboding pine forest that surrounded the Decepticon lair. His arms were folded across his chassis and he clearly looked annoyed and less than pleased. As he waited at the entrance, his patience ebbed dangerously and he became increasingly irritable. The reality that he was on Earth spoilt his attitude even more. However the penultimate annoyance in this current moment in his existence was the fact that he was perpetually the second-in-command of the Decepticons.

"Where are you, you miserable piece of slag…" he grumbled. "Do I have to drag you out of your quarters to..?"

"Starscream, I'm here."

Starscream's ruby optics widened and he turned around, facing the owner of the voice.

"It took you long enough, Blitzwing," he spat. "I thought you were never going to show up. I thought drastic measures would have to be taken in order to retrieve you…"

"Apologies for ze slight delay," Icy nodded. "Vhat have jou summoned me for?"

"It's nothing really." Starscream paced around the triple changer. "It's just a simple errand."

"Don't build up ze suspense!" Random blurted. "Tell me!"

"You're going to go look for Allspark fragments for me. Megatron ordered me to do it but I'm not feeling too inclined to do it at the moment. So you can do it for me."

Blitzwing stared at Starscream for a few seconds with an indeterminable expression on the jack-o-lantern face. The air commander raised his brow, piqued by the crazy three-faced bot's mannerisms. There was an awkward silence that was so stifling, even Starscream felt a bit uncomfortable with it.

"Slag zat!" Hothead promptly replaced the giddy persona. "I'm not doing jour vork for jou!"

"Excuse me?" Starscream narrowed his optics cruelly. "If I must remember correctly, I helped you and Lugnut reassemble yourselves after I salvaged your parts from that wretched lake! You swore fealty to me!"

"Ja, and Megatron is back online! Jou have no more power, Starscream!"

"That's where you forget your place, Blitzwing! True, I am no longer the supreme overlord of the Decepticons…" He growled inwardly at this acknowledgment. "But with Megatron's glorious and imminent revival, I have been given my possession of being the second-in-command. That means, I still lord over you."

"Megatron gave jou zat assignment so jou better do it! I'm not doing it!"

"What other better thing do you have to do? Tell me, I earnestly want to know…"

"Likevise," Icy. He grinned menacingly at Starscream. "Jou don't intimidate me. Only Megatron makes me obey unquestioningly. Frankly, I don't trust jou. Vhy Megatron didn't offline jou as soon as he became strong again, I can't fathom. I know jou have no real allegiance to him. Jou can't be trusted and jou never vill be."

"Aren't we Decepticons all slimy, dishonorable and uncouth liars and deceivers?" Starscream snickered lowly. "It's in our sparks. It's in our names for Primus' sake."

"Perhaps… But vhen it comes down to our leader, exceptions must be made, Starscream. Jou abuse jour position and potential to ze point vhere not even jour fellow Decepticons can trust or admire jou."

"This is getting rather drawn out and boring, wouldn't you agree? Why don't you go off and look for some fragments? You'll do us both a favor by leaving for awhile."

"Jou better vatch out, Starscream!" Random giggled like an evil child. "Jou're not ze only vily Decepticon here!"

"I can't take that very seriously at all…" He rolled his optics. "Now get!"

"But jou'll take me seriously!" Hothead fumed, raising a fist at him.

Starscream raised his wrists at Blitzwing, preparing to fire his null rays at him. Blitzwing's cannon barrels came down over his shoulders, pointing directly at the air commander. They stood before each other, just waiting for the other to incite the fight and unloose chaos.

"I dare you!" Starscream gritted his teeth. "Come on, be a bot about it and take a shot!" He laughed haughtily. "Or are you going to wait for Megatron to tell you to do it?"

"I am so tempted but I vill not fire," Icy said, overriding Hothead. "Amongst my fellow Decepticons, I choose not be ze aggressor."

"Heh, how do you even manage to function even though you barely do so?" He lowered his arms, seeing he wouldn't have to fire a shot. "To me, it seems like you'd be a lot better off before you even became a triple changer when you got rebuilt after the Great War. Yet even then, you always were weak."

Blitzwing could only glare at his superior and allow him to berate him. The triple changer wore a sour expression and said nothing. Starscream wallowed in his victory and his bad mood became a little lighter and less oppressive.

"Well, I'm happy to see that you two maturely both decided to cease the fight before it could acclimate," said a new voice.

Starscream and Blitzwing spun around, facing the entrance of the mine. A pair of evil-looking ruby optics looked back at them from the shadows.

"He started it all!" Starscream pointed at the triple changer. "Megatron, will you send him out? He's driving all of us crazy!"

"I thought I sent you out to find Allspark fragments, Starscream." Megatron stepped out into the soft moonlight. "Are you press ganging Blitzwing into doing your work?"

"He is, my lord," the blue faced persona told the truth. "I speak ze truth."

"Hmm, typical." Megatron gazed at his minions. "But I'm afraid I will have to agree with Starscream with something, Blitzwing."

"Vhat?"

"You ought to go out and distance yourselves from us for awhile. You can be… quite annoying at times." He shuddered. "Your crazier side has been singing those blasted Christmas carols for hours on end."

"Yes, you even got Lugnut to hum that one obnoxious tune," Starscream added. "What was it called..? 'Jingle Bells'?"

"Oh, I don't sing zat bad!" Random pouted. "I can't help it!"

"Well, go sing elsewhere," Megatron rolled his optics. "So, that's why I'm giving you Starscream's original assignment."

The seeker grinned sassily at Blitzwing, pleased that he had won.

"Vipe zat smirk off jour ugly faceplate!" Hothead barked.

"And go out quietly," the Decepticon lord reminded. "You don't need to draw attention to yourself, Blitzwing. I would prefer this to be a covert operation."

"I understand, Lord Megatron," Icy sighed. "I vill do as jou vish, sir."

"Have fun, Blitzwing!" Starscream jeered.

Holding back a fury-fueled punch, the three-faced Decepticon turned into his aerial vehicle. He levitated off the ground and ascended into the brisk and chilly air to begin his search for any wayward shards.

"Another reason why I let him go in your place is because I still don't trust you entirely, Starscream," Megatron resumed when Blitzwing flew farther away. "I was ready to kill you after my body had been restored with that key yet I changed my mind. I will find good use for you besides you being a corpse."

"Megatron, I am but your humble and loyal servant," Starscream bowed lowly. "Earlier, I know I had… compulsive tendencies to try to usurp you but I have learned. I'm not stupid."

"Good, I'm glad you learned your lesson like you claim you had. If you manage to conveniently forget it for one measly moment, it's all over for you, my sneaky little friend…"