Sorry for the wait…and the fact that it is 3 am in the morning that I am writing this – for you guys. …

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Chapter Nine –

"Bud?" Lori asked, already feeling upset by seeing him standing a few feet from her, leaning against the wall. He wasn't smiling, and it wasn't that he looked s, he looked…defeated, or tired, or something. Judging by his face, she couldn't tell what he was thinking.

She continued to look at him. His eyes, which were normally shining with any emotion, happy, sad, or angry, now looked a simply blue. Not an ocean blue, or a sky blue or a rain blue. Just plain blue. It made her feel like her heart was being ripped apart; she had never seen him like this.

Bud sighed, jolting her from her thoughts. He made a tsk noise. "They don't trust me, do they?" Lori knew this was a rhetorical question, and only stared at him sadly.

"Some of us still trust you. Like me, and Jolt, and Hot Shot for sure. There are others –" Her voice had been a whisper, but it grew to a higher level when Bud shook his head and interrupted her with a quiet and hurt voice.

"Yeah, but I lost Coby's and Optimus's." He put simply, then took the bag off of his shoulder and handed it to Lori. With a questioning gaze, she took it. She looked up to Bud with an eyebrow raised after opening and inspecting it. Bud smiled a little, and even that little change relaxed Lori.

"Ask Optimus what it is. Also, what Coby needs is in the side pockets." Bud explained and turned around. Lori looked towards the door.

"Where are you going?" She asked, and then bit her lip. "I trust you, but I'm curious. And worried." Bud laughed lightly and smiled again, but it didn't completely reach his eyes.

"Don't worry. I'm going on a walk around the ship. You can reach me on the transmitter." He said, and she remembered the small transmitters that they had and kept. However, they could only work on the ship, and only when all of them were turned on. Coby normally kept his on silent, but still on.

Bud walked down the hallway and turned the corner, placing his hands in his pockets. He stopped and looked at Lori, and nodded and continued to walk.

Lori sighed, and walked through the door with a frown on her face. She noticed that everyone had stopped talking and had focused on her. She placed her hands up in defense, and looked at Optimus. She walked over to him and put the bag down, then started towards the door.

As she reached it, she turned around. "Bud wanted me to give you that, since he obviously heard you talking about him, and he didn't want to interrupt. He brought more than the needed supplies for Coby though, but I don't know what it is. Some sort of red ball or something. Oh, and congratulations." She said the last part with sarcasm and left the room.

She leaned on the door outside, sighed heavily, and then started to walk towards the rooms, deciding along the way that Coby needed someone to talk to.

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The whole control room was completely silent. No one knew how to react to Lori's intrusion. Silently, Hot Shot was kneeling and yelling in happiness of the intrusion and for Lori saving his hide. Optimus's thoughts were more scattered.

Optimus looked around the room. "Should we check it now or later?" He asked, and everyone seemed to hesitate. Hot Shot seemed to think quicker though.

"Now." He said, and Red Alert chuckled slightly at Hot Shot's eagerness. Optimus sighed, and leaned over to open the bag. He looked at the figure inside of it, placed a thoughtful expression on his face, which caused the others to lean in. Only Vector Prime recognized the item.

"By Cybertron." He murmured, and lifted the orb out of its bag, turning it blue to the touch. "How did he manage this without turning its colors?" Optimus shook his head.

"Maybe he didn't touch it. It was red, after all." (1)

The Autobot shook his head in disbelief while many of the others stared at them confusedly, still not grasping it.

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Bud sighed, relaxing as much as one could in the small seat in his special area/compartment. He then grimaced and massaged his chest with the palm with a hand. He groaned and leaned his head against the wall.

He had taken his beanie off, and was now staring at the ceiling. He sighed again and sat up abruptly. He was too restless; he couldn't simply relax…

He didn't know why, and leaned back again, this time with his arms behind his head. He started to think of what had happened in the past day, then realized how little sleep he had gotten. The adrenaline inside of him seemed to suddenly vanish, and he felt himself drifting off.

So now relaxing works…He thought sarcastically before falling asleep.

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Lori knocked on Coby's door, and then came in anyways. Coby was lying on his bed above the covers, staring at the ceiling. His hands were on his lap. He looked from the ceiling to Lori. He shook his head and sat up slowly, making room, for Lori to sit on his bed.

She did so, and they stayed like that for a while: Lori on the edge and looking down with his hands between her legs, and Coby sitting fully on his bed with his arms behind him, holding him up, his legs stretched out behind Lori, and him staring at the ceiling again. This continued on for many minutes, until Lori sighed. Again.

"Coby…" She started, but couldn't seem to continue.

"I went too hard, didn't I?" He asked, and Lori shook her head, and the two maintained their positions.

"I don't know. I think that part of it was what Optimus was saying…And the whole trust issue." Coby looked at Lori.

"Optimus? What was he saying?" Coby asked, and Lori sighed hesitantly, turned to look at Coby, and started to tell him what she had heard.

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There are certain colors for this orb, and I might have posted it, but I forgot. So, here's a recap:

Blue: Autobot, Green: Human working w/ Autobot, Yellow: Human; Neutral.

Red: Decepticon, Orange: Human working w/ Decepticons, White: Pure people or the 'special' person, Autobot, Decepticon or human with the once in a millennia gene.

Hope that you are happy. I got up at two am to write these two chapters, and am now going to bed at 3: 45 am...on a SUnday night...Yeah, I guess that your payback to me is very much - sorry for me saying this - a bitch.