Frenzy scuttled over Barricade's chest, mending the damage done by Prowl. The little Decepticon seemed oblivious of his own wounds, inflicted by the 'Bot that had pulled him off the human girl.

"Stupid 'Bot," Frenzy said, his usual run together speech slowing to distinct words. "What so special 'bout humans anyway? Fleshbags. Easily damaged."

There were still streaks of red across Frenzy's armor where his razorblades had cut the girl.

"Enough, Frenzy," Barricade said. "See to your own wounds."

Frenzy chittered something unintelligible at his partner, but skittered to his toolbox to start his own repairs. He glared at the two figures in the darkest corner of the base. The indigo blue car, which nearly disappeared in the deep shadow, and the red Autobot.

"Frenzy."

The little 'Con looked up at Starscream.

"When you're finished with your repairs, I want you to look over our guests. Prime will come for them, so I don't want them dying yet. Just repair them enough to keep them alive. Then you can help Thundercracker put Scorponok back together."

Frenzy nodded, then made a rude noise in the direction of the captives. The red one had attempted escape twice already and Starscream had ordered his legs disabled. Then, in the attack in the dessert, the red captive had nearly ripped his own arms off in an attempt to get free.

The blue car was a mystery. It hadn't transformed, even after a beating from Skywarp and Thundercracker. And it didn't carry any identifying mark, Autobot or Decepticon. It seemed somehow, primitive.

"Stupid 'Bots," Frenzy growled, and went back to his work.

--------------------------------------------

Jess woke intermittently over the next few hours. The first time was when they carried her into the hospital room. At least, that's what she assumed it was. It was bright, and almost completely white.

"No hospital," she moaned. "Richard . . ."

"He won't find you," Chris's voice said near her ear. His hand took hers. "You're safe, Jessie. Relax."

She did, and the darkness took her again.

Later she'd woken on her stomach. She couldn't even summon up embarrassment when she found she was naked from the waist up. Something tugged at the skin of her back.

"Chris?" she mumbled.

"He's not here, little lady. You should still be sleeping. Give her another shot."

A moment later, warm languor swarmed through her limbs and sleep took her again.

The next time she woke, she was in a room, propped up on pillows. A camo green shirt covered her almost to her knees where khaki shorts peeked out, when she looked.

"You are officially now the property of the U.S. Army," a voice said.

Jess turned and saw a large black man standing in the doorway of the room. Chris was standing behind him. A frown furrowed Jess's brow.

"What?"

The man and Chris entered the room.

"I spent an hour or so patching you up, little lady, and those are army issue clothes you're wearing. You belong to us now."

Jess's eyes flicked to Chris's face.

"He's joking," Chris reassured her as they crossed to her bed. "Though he did patch you up."

"Name's Hud," the black man said with a grin. "Well, Hudson. Hudson Bridges, combat medic, sergeant first class, at your service." He offered her his hand.

"Jessica Blake," Jess said, taking Hud's hand and shaking it.

She winced.

"Oops, sorry. That's your broken hand."

"Broken?" Jess lifted her hand to where she could look at it. A brace covered her arm from palm to mid arm, holding her hand immobile.

"I'll leave it to your boyfriend to explain," Hud said. "I've got to get back to the Captain. Rescue operation to plan and all that. Just wanted to check in on you."

He nodded to Jess and Chris, then left them alone. The slience between them was uncomfortable, and Jess wouldn't look at Chris.

"I followed you," Chris said at last. "I saw you pull away from the house. I took Quinn inside, then followed."

"Did you know?" Jess asked. "About Indigo?"

"No. I didn't. When his radio went off on its own, I honestly thought it was just a faulty wire."

"You're taking this pretty well," Jess groused.

"Well, I'm in a similar situation to yours. That motorcycle that I rescued, well, it, he turns into a robot too. His name's Blaze."

Jess turned and stared at him incredulously.

"He's a lot smaller than the others," Chris continued. "Only about eight or nine feet tall, but he's cool. I'd hoped you might want to meet him. And the others are here. They're all really nice. Well, Brawn keeps muttering about stepping on bugs, but the others are nice. It's crazy how human they seem at times."

Jess turned her face away, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Jess," Chris brushed his fingers across her cheek, "these aren't the ones that killed your parents. These guys, the Autobots, they're trying to stop the other ones. The ones that took Indigo."

Jess sat up and hissed in pain, her eyes watering. "They took Indigo?"

"You didn't know?"

She sank back into the bed shaking her head, and closed her eyes. Tears leaked out from under the lids.

"I yelled at him, Chris. I told him he was a monster. I was so scared, but he protected me, even after what I said."

Chris sat on the edge of the bed and gathered her into his arms. "It'll be okay, Jessie. The planning a rescue mission. The Decepticons, the bad guys, have one of their friends. Cliffjumper, I think they said his name was. We'll get Indigo back as well. I promise."

"What if he doesn't want to come back," Jess cried, clinging to him despite the pain from her wounds. "He may hate me now."

"He won't hate you Jess. How often did we talk about what happened to your parents while we were working on Indigo? I'm sure he understands."

Jess held onto Chris until her tears were spent. Chris tried to lay her back down on the bed, but she struggled out from under the sheet.

"Hud said something about planning a rescue mission. I want to be in on it. Indigo's my car." She blushed in embarrassment. "At least I hope he still is. I want to be in on this rescue mission."

"Jess, you should stay in bed. You got cut up pretty bad by that Decepticon. Hud had you in surgery for a while stitching you up."

Jess blanched. "What was the damage?"

"It cut your cheek, your arm and your back. Your back was the worst, to the bone. Your arm was next. Hud said the critter nearly got your artery."

"I don't hurt that bad," Jess said, a note of hysteria in her voice. Her mind was giving her scenarios of nerve damage, or paralyzation.

"You're pretty ramped up on drugs. Hud didn't want you hurting when you woke up."

She calmed a little. "Fine. Then he can keep me ramped up on drugs until we get Indigo back. I'm going to be a part of this."

Stubbornly, Jess stood up from the bed. Her arm and cheek throbed with each beat of her heart and sharp pain slid up and down her back in spurts. She decided that Hud didn't have her on enough drugs, but she wasn't going to let that stop her. With slow measured steps, Jess walked to the door. Once there she paused. People in uniforms were hurring back and forth. Towering above everything were several of the huge robots. Autobots, she thought Chris had called them. Jess leaned against the door jam and winced as she bumped her wounded arm.

"Come back to bed, Jessie," Chris said, putting his hands on her shoulders.

Jess shrugged him off and started out into the huge room. She stayed close to the wall, with Chris at her side, and started walking. A few of the milirary men and women spared them a glance, but for the most part they were ignored. Then, as Jess watched, a forest green Jeep Landrunner rolled into the base and transformed into a fifteen-foot robot.

"Optimus, I think I found them," the robot's voice boomed out. He strode off to where an even taller, red and blue, robot was standing, each step shaking the ground.

Jess froze where she was. Her vision started to go grey at the edges as she hyperventilated. Chris's hands were on her shoulders again.

"Breathe, Jessie. You're safe. Just breathe."

Jess turned her face into Chris's chest and took deep, sobbing breaths.

"Good giant robots," he whispered into her ear. "Friendly giant robots."

Jess giggled and smacked Chris weakly. She looked up again, saw the green robot still talking with the red and bule one. She pointed them out to Chris.

"Let's go talk to them. The green one seems to know something."

Chris guided them across the floor and around the service men and women running around.

"The really tall one, the red and blue one, his name is Optimus Prime. He's the leader of the Autobots. The green one, I think his name is Hound. He's been scouting for the Decepticon base. From what I hear, he arrived a couple weeks ago, but the Decpticons forced him down on the other side of the globe. Took him a while to get here."

"There's more coming?" Jess asked weakly.

Chris nodded and held her close as one of the Autobots walked past.

"There was some kind of war on their home planet and they got scattered all over space. Then, about a month ago, they found a kind of talisman here. So Bumblebee, you'll meet him later, came here on a scouting mission and they've been here ever since."

"Oka-a-a-y," Jess said, trying to take it all in.

"Hey watch out!" a voice yelled.

"Brawn!"

Jess looked up and stared in horror at the huge foot, coming down right on top of Chris and her. Then something tackled them both and Jess's world went black as pain exploded down her back. Her ears still worked, even if her vision didn't.

"Use your eyes!"

"I keep telling you, they're too small."

"It's okay, Blaze."

"No it isn't! He could have killed you."

"Be calm, all of you." The autority in that voice was apparent even to Jess, out of it as she was.

Jess blinked rapidly, trying to get her senses unscrambled. Her eyes focused on Chris, who was holding her. Standing over them was a purple and chrome robot. He was smaller than all the other robots she'd seen, save the silver one that had attacked her. She guessed it must be Chris's motorcycle, Blaze. Could they really claim these living beings as theirs, no matter how they'd started?

Jess looked up to see the orange robot, Brawn, staring down at her with what was obviously a frown on his metallic face. She giggled.

"If she can laugh, she's fine," Brawn said.

"I just didn't know robots could frown," Jess replied.

Brawn humphed, which Jess thought impressive since she was sure he didn't have lungs. "I didn't know such little beings could be such big trouble."

"Brawn-" Again the authoritative voice.

The orange and grey Autobot rolled his steel blue optics and muttered something that might have been 'sorry' before he stomped off.

Jess turned her eyes to the one who's voice had prompted such quick obediance. It was the huge red and blue robot. Optimus Prime. Their eyes met and to Jess's amazment, the robot smiled. He has such a mobile face, she thought.

She smiled back. Jess felt Chris sit up behind her, but she stayed reclining against him. Her back still hurt. Optimus went to one knee next to them.

"Please forgive Brawn. He's still getting used to this planet and its inhabitants."

"He saved my life," Jess said. "Me and Indigo. I'm very grateful to him."

Optimus's smiled widened. Jess was surprised how at ease she felt with this giant robot.

"I want to help find my friend," she said. "I may be small, I may be fragile, but I want to help. After all, it's my fault that Indigo is in trouble."

"No it's not, Jess," Chris murmured, hugging her.

"It is," she insisted. "I yelled at him. I called him names."

"Jessica," Optimus said gently, "you may join us as we plan the rescue, but I believe it would be better for you to wait for your friend here. You are injured."

"I'm not so bad," Jess said.

To prove her point, she pushed away from Chris and tried to stand. She heard Chris's shout at the same time that pain blazed through her back. She cried out and fell back to the floor.

"Jessie!" Chris yelled. "Oh no, her back's soaked. I think she ripped the stitches when Brawn nearly stepped on us. Jess."

"Hurts," Jess whimpered.

Someone yelled for Hud and there was the sound of squealing tires close by. Jess kept her eyes closed and fought back waves of nausea.

"Chris." She reached out, felt his warm fingers close around hers.

"You'll be okay, Jessie. Blaze went to get Hud. He'll fix you up again."

She dared to open her eyes, saw Chris's image swimming before her. She blinked and felt tears course down her cheeks. She swore she could feel the gaze of Optimus Prime weighing on her. More tears spilled from her eyes. Maybe I am to fragile to help Indigo, she thought miserably.

Blaze came roaring back in motorcycle form, Hud on the seat. He combat medic leapt off as Blaze stopped and ran to Jess's side. Blaze was transformed and hovering nearby as the medic peeled Jess's blood soaked shirt away from her skin.

"How bad is it, Doc?" she asked, trying to lighten her own dark mood.

"Popped your stitches wide open, little lady," Hud said.

"It's my fault," Chris said in a rush. "Brawn nearly stepped on us and I tackled her to try and get us out of the way."

"I'll slag him," Blaze growled.

"Will . . . not . . . !" Jess gasped as Hud looked over her back. "Don't fight because of- ouch!- of me. I'll live."

"I need to get her back to the med bay," Hud said. "Gotta re-stitch this wound. I need to get a stretcher and a couple of guys." He turned to leave.

"Wait," Optimus said. "I'll carry her."

Jess's heart did a flip flop at the thought of the huge robot carrying her several feet off the ground, but she kept silent. The sooner she got her wound fixed the better. Chris and Hud gently lifted her into Optimus's hand. She bit back a scream as they moved her, resting her on her belly in the Optimus's palm. She was surprised to find his hand was warm.

Not what I expected from a robot's hand, Jess thought.

The warmth seemed to seep into her body, relaxing her. She didn't even notice Optimus move, so smooth was his gait.

"Just a little something to ease the pain," Hud's voice murmured in her ear.

Then something stung her arm and all sense faded.