Release my flame!

Shockwave led Grimfork to an open area that had once served as a Decepticon training ground. The space was large, making it ideal for testing Grimfork's abilities. Only by fully understanding Grimfork's physical structure and condition, and then testing her abilities to determine their strengths and weaknesses, could the evaluation of Grimfork as an ability user be completed.

"The machine's condition?"

"good."

"Energy level?"

"adequate."

"Start the test."

...

One of the purposes of the test was to confirm the depletion of Steel Fork's special ability, but Steel Fork was simply following the instructions of the shockwave, unaware that they were conducting a test, nor what the energy block placed beside the training ground was for. After her energy was exhausted and the machine issued a low energy level warning, she stopped and said to herself:

"My energy level is so low... I need to replenish my energy." She looked around, then stared intently at the shockwave at the edge of the training field. She rushed over and pounced on the other person, the momentum causing both of them to sway.

Although she already knew that Cybertronians should eat energy blocks, she still preferred to obtain energy in her own way, such as hunting—obtaining energy directly from her prey.

The steel fork bit into the energy cable on Shockwave's neck, and energy immediately flowed like a stream onto the purple protoplasm. The metal tongue licked the wound, swallowing the flowing liquid. But this amount of energy was far from enough for the power user whose fuel tank was empty; she wanted more. She sucked on the wound, the taste of Shockwave's energy spreading in her mouth.

As the steel fork approached, before his central processing unit could process the situation, the spark was being pulled out of the spark chamber as if it were being gripped by a force. Ignoring the pain from the energy infusion tube in his neck being bitten, Shockwave urgently said, "Stop, steel fork, we are the same kind, you shouldn't treat me as food."

Consciousness is about to leave the body, energy transport will lose its power source, the stabilizer can no longer support the body, and the shockwave is about to fall to the ground, only to be caught by the latter.

Fortunately, Steel Fork remained rational. She slapped the flame back onto Shockwave's chest, the wings behind her drooped, and a smile on her visor concealed her guilt.

Another piece of knowledge popped into his head: if you do something wrong, you should apologize. Realizing that he had almost pulled out the spark of the shockwave, Steel Fork apologized: "I'm sorry."

She smacked her lips and said, "Your energy liquid tastes so good, I couldn't resist."

Her two servers folded together in front of her chest armor, embracing Shockwave's servers and hand cannon. Her wings remained drooping, and her antennas bent backward in a submissive and submissive manner. She lowered her head slightly and said, "Forgive me, Shockwave!"

“There are energy cubes over there. You should eat an energy cube,” Shockwave said weakly. When Steel Fork looked up at him after hearing his words, he pointed to the energy cubes piled up to the side, indicating that Steel Fork should take one.

As she released the steel fork, her eyes, still fixed on Shockwave's optical lens, were filled with doubt—she didn't understand if Shockwave had forgiven her. But with the fuel tank empty and the thirst for energy overriding her reason, that doubt quickly dissipated when she saw the energy cubes. She picked one up, and seeing Shockwave barely able to stand while leaning against the wall, she said, "How do you eat this?"

She clutched an energy cube, as big as her head, in her arms. An idea sparked in her processor: she could eat it with her mouth! Thanks to Priest, thanks to Shockwave, all thanks to the data pack he provided!

“Normally, Cybertronians eat energy cubes by mouth.” Shockwave’s head sculpt split open from the middle of the bulb, now revealing a large mouth. He took a bite of the energy cube and swallowed it. “Of course, we can also ingest energy in other ways.” Shockwave extended a small tentacle from his chest armor, placing the head of the tentacle on the energy cube to absorb energy.

Shockwave knew that Steel Fork should know how to take in energy, just like teaching her to transform, so he decided to demonstrate it to Steel Fork anyway.

"Do I have a feeding device like yours?" Steel Fork looked at his arm, shook his hand, and felt nothing.

“Different Cybertronians have different body structures; you may or may not have feeding organs.”

"Alright." Steel Fork took a big bite of the energy block in her arms. The fuel tank was full of energy, giving her a happy sense of satisfaction. However, eating like this would leave a lot of super-energy particles stuck to her visor. Steel Fork used her superpower to separate the super-energy particles from the visor. These super-energy particles floated in the air, then came together again to form a sphere, which Steel Fork threw into her mouth. These couldn't be wasted!

"The Fire is very important to the Cybertronians. A Cybertronian without the Fire loses their life. You cannot touch the Cybertronian Fire carelessly," Shockwave warned as he ate the Energon cube with his fork.

"Can't the Cybertronian fire grow back? The Iron-Eating Worms can."

"No. The spark of the Iron-Eating Insect cannot be regenerated once it is lost. Where did you get this conclusion? It doesn't make sense."

"The iron-devouring worms whose fire I devoured can keep appearing in front of me, so I think I'm right."

"No, it's probably because the individual Iron-Eating Insects are highly similar, which leads you to regard different Iron-Eating Insects as the same individual."

"We are of the same kind," Shockwave repeated once again. "Those of the same kind will not eat each other, nor will they harm each other."

While gnawing on the energy block, Steel Fork managed to memorize the analogy of shockwaves.

She asked curiously, "Why do Cybertronians eat energy cubes instead of hunting and eating prey? I've always done that."

"You say we're the same kind, that we're Cybertronians, so why do we eat so differently?"

Shockwave didn't answer her, but instead asked, "Do you eat them by taking the spark from their bodies and then draining their energy?"

“I’ve always done it this way.”

Shockwave explained, "The energy contained in the energy liquid and the spark is not as much as that in the energy cube. The energy cube is a product of the Cybertronians refining energy ore. It is convenient, quick, and contains a very high purity of energy. Therefore, consuming energy cubes is a logical and efficient approach."

"Is that why?"

"Yes."

"I still prefer eating embers..."

"Is it because my energy bars don't taste good?"

"No..." Steel Fork smacked his lips again, trying hard to recall the taste of the energy block. "I ate it too fast just now, I didn't taste anything. Can I have another one?"

Steel Fork knew energy was precious, and it must be precious to her companions too. She wanted another piece, but didn't expect her companions to give her another. She immediately decided that if her companions refused to give her any more energy blocks… she would snatch them all, and snatch her companions as well. In short, she would take them all; they would all be hers.

To her surprise, Shockwave said, "Of course." He pointed to two or three energy blocks piled up beside him—these were specially prepared for her to test Grimfork's abilities. "These energy blocks are for you. I have some more energy blocks, but you'll need to work as my assistant to earn them."

"It's so troublesome." The assistant, the work, and all that.

Steel Fork said, "Where are all your energy cubes? I'll go and steal them, then we'll both have energy cubes."

As soon as the shockwave optical mirror went dark, I suddenly felt that the road ahead was long and arduous.

...

After the test, the steel fork's energy level became a little low again. There was only one energy cube left, and she cherished it and resisted eating it. She leaned close to Shockwave and said, "Tell me where your energy cube is! I'll go and grab it. It'll be good for both of us."

She immediately sensed the surrounding magnetic field become eerie; the shockwave indicated this meant he was... depressed? Steel Fork cautiously asked, "No, is it not allowed?"

Shockwave spoke earnestly, and found it absurd what the Decepticon was about to say: "First of all, stealing is wrong, especially stealing from your own kind. Secondly, friendly and kind companions are happy to share. If you ask me for something within reasonable limits, I will give you more energy cubes."

"Friendly and kind?" Steel Fork didn't understand these unfamiliar words. The knowledge in the database didn't help her either. Having just gained companions, she had no friends, no kindness, and even though Shockwave didn't smile, she couldn't sense kindness. So she asked, "Friendly, are we friends? What does kindness mean? Is 'friendly and kind' the same as 'friendly and kind'?"

Shockwave replied… He was a researcher, not a writer or a psychologist, so he couldn't give a specific answer to Steel Fork's question. Besides, he couldn't explain matters of the heart with logic. He could only say, "We're friends. Giving you energy blocks to give you the energy you desperately need is helping you, and that's one of the ways to show friendship and kindness."

I have a friend, Steel Fork, who grasped the key point and asked, "Can you give me another energy block?"

"I'll give you another energy bar only after you finish this last one."

Quietly munching on the energy cube, Steel Fork watched Shockwave silently watching her. She realized once again that the surroundings were empty, devoid of any other life. A chill began to seep into the gaps in her armor again, but this time the embers were warmer than before, making Steel Fork feel no cold. Her powers transmitted the sensation of two embers pulsating with vibrant life. Feeling completely satisfied, a question surfaced in her processor: Steel Fork asked...

Does "friend" mean "like-minded"?

"no."

"What's the difference? We're the same kind of people, we're friends, aren't we all the same?"

“No,” Shockwave said earnestly, “Friendship is based on mutual trust, respect, and understanding, and can provide help and support in critical moments. Friends are not limited to those of the same kind.”

"So am I friends with the Whirlpool Fox and the Iron-Eating Bug? They all helped me when I was hungry."

"You are in a predator-prey relationship. Like other creatures of the same kind, friends don't eat each other."

"I still don't understand..."

Shockwave sighed and said, "You'll understand later."

"How will I understand later?" Steel Fork never thought about the future. With the fuel tank always empty, how could he possibly think about the future? "Will the future be different from now?"

"The Decepticons will win, and then Cybertron will be rebuilt. There will be many Cybertronians on Cybertron."

"The Decepticons are a faction... What is a faction? So are there really other Cybertronians or creatures?"

"Of course."

Steel Fork could only imagine that many shockwaves would arrive on Cybertron in the future. She continued, "So there will be many versions of you on Cybertron? Can I taste their spark?"

"No. Almost every Cybertronian looks different, so there won't be many of me. I've said it before, we don't eat each other."

Steel Fork frowned and retorted, "So it's just to taste the embers, not to eat them."

Shockwave thought of his superior Megatron, his colleagues Soundwave and Starscream, and he had a premonition that he would eventually rejoin the Decepticons. At that time, if Grimspike attacked other Decepticons, especially Laserbeak, it would be all over! Therefore, "No."

Why not?

"You cannot treat fire as food!"

"Just to taste it!"

The fan whirred loudly, and the shockwaves deeply displaced the gas to cool the rapidly heating processor. He patiently explained, "The Spark is very important to the Cybertronians. Without the Spark, the Cybertronians will lose their lives. So we will all do our best to protect the Spark."

He covered the mouth of the steel fork that was about to ask a question, and said, "Your desire to taste the fire will offend your fellow human beings. Interrupting someone's speech will also offend your fellow human beings."

Steel Fork ripped open the server's lip and said, "Let them feel offended if they want to."

The enormous red optical mirror stared at her resentfully. Steel Fork didn't understand the resentment, but she could feel the pressure. She belatedly realized, "Are you unhappy?"

Shockwave spoke bluntly: "Yes. Your interruption made me unhappy, and your attempt to devour my embers offended me."

"So offending means being unhappy?" Steel Fork said dismissively. "It's just being unhappy. I'm still going to try it. It didn't cause any harm."

“If the spark leaves the body, the Cybertronian will die very quickly.” Shockwave stated the facts: “In fact, what you just did almost cost me my life.”

Under the steel fork's blank stare, Shockwave continued to state the facts: "My body will become dull, I will no longer have any physiological activity..."

Finally realizing what he had done, Steel Fork was incredulous: "I almost lost you? Because I hurt my friend, that's why you were so weak just now!"

The massive red optical mirror flashed, and the head sculpt quickly turned to avoid her gaze, then returned to stare intently at Steel Fork, observing her reaction. Shockwave admitted: although Steel Fork's reaction was reasonable, he was still moved by her direct approach. He tentatively said, "I will return to the AllSpark, and the body will quietly decay here..."

The steel fork interrupted him, and the wings behind her drooped in sorrow. She hugged Shockwave's stabilizer and cried out, "I can't live without you! Shockwave! I can't lose my only companion, my only friend! I can't lose you, sob sob sob."

"Perhaps I will miss a friend I met named Steel Fork while I'm in the embers of this fire..."

"Stop talking, stop talking! I won't let you die!"

Shockwave reached out from the server and touched the head sculpt of the steel fork, accidentally bumping into the antenna of the audio receiver. The head sculpt on its leg spun, and the server touched the visor, getting a lot of cleaning fluid on it. He raised his hand, looking at the traces of cleaning fluid on the server, and said, "Don't even think about consuming anyone's embers, including mine, or you'll lose me. Makes sense."

With tears streaming down her face, Steel Fork felt an itch on the head sculpture. She looked up in confusion, and the cleaning fluid on her visor made intimate contact with the server.

She rubbed her faceplate against Shockwave's leg armor with the same force she used to bury it, and found that both her faceplate and Shockwave's leg armor had become sticky. She looked up, but her view was blocked by Shockwave's thick chest armor.

The superpower stripped the sticky cleaning fluid off her and Shockwave's bodies into the air, leaving both machines clean. Steel Fork was finally satisfied.

Upon discovering that the cleaning fluid on her hand had flown away, and with Steel Fork remaining silent for a long time, Shockwave held Steel Fork's chin with his palm and pinched her faceplate with his fingers, tearing her off his legs and pushing her outward to make her stand up on her own.

What were you doing just now?

"Uh..." the steel fork interrupted, "Clean?"

The shockwave once again deeply displaced the gas. (It's like a sigh.)

Let's keep a portion of the original version for a short skit:

After the test, Shockwave asked, "Steel Fork, how much energy do you have left?"

"11%, just 1% away from the warning line."

"What?!" Shockwave hurriedly shoved the energy block into the steel fork. "Your energy level is very low. Why didn't you tell me?" The large red eyes of the camera emitted a disapproving red light, and the antennas stood up excitedly.

"You didn't ask... I'll find something to eat myself when I reach 10%."

"You can't wait until your energy level is almost at the warning line to replenish it, Steel Fork. Your power consumption is very high. You should look for energy when your energy level drops below 30%, understand?" Shockwave Spark was still wary, not wanting Steel Fork to have designs on his spark again.

"I don't want to constantly monitor whether my energy level has dropped to 50%, it's too much trouble."

"I will load a program for you to continuously monitor your body's condition, and your body data can be transmitted to me in real time, which makes sense."

"Okay, whatever you say."