Author's Note (Mini-Story): Allora comes tearing out of the safe house. "Freeeeedddodoooommmmmm!" She then goes running around Deep Thought.

Deep Thought just gives her a funny look and turns to Lancer. "What's wrong with her?"

Lancer shrugs her shoulders. "She's just happy to be able to work on the story again. She had a little cabin fever this past week."

D-"Fever? Do we need to get her to a doctor or something?"

Allora pauses in her running around to pat Thought on the knee plate. "It's ok, Thought, it's not that kind of fever. It just means that I got tired of sitting in my house all day doing nothing but studying. I'm soooooo ready to get back to this story."

D-"Alright, let's get going, then."

They get all set up and start heading down the tracks.

Ch.9 Double Check

After I had finished my rust stick, Ratchet chased Optimus and me out of the medbay, reminding me that my office chair was being sent to Huffer for the time being and that both of us were to visit the Earthside medbay after we had logged out.

There was no one waiting for us outside the medbay doors, which I was thankful for since I didn't want to deal with the questions the others would be asking. I was able to walk on my own two pedes, but Optimus stayed close, just in case. There was no way of knowing if I'd keel over for no reason. With my newfound balance, the trip to my room didn't take that long.

P-"Thank you for sharing your past with me."

O-"It was my pleasure. It was nice being able to talk to someone about it."

P-"Still, thank you. I'm not sure if I would normally share something like that with someone I barely know."

He chuckled. "We'll be spending who-knows-how-long together. We'll be sick of everybody by the time this test is over."

P-"You're probably right about that. I get tired of my brothers after one weekend with them during the academic year. See you Earthside."

O-"See you Earthside."

I watched Optimus turn back towards the offices for a second before I entered my dorm room. It was just as I had left it that morning. Wow, that seemed like a long time ago. So much had happened today. I went over to my desk and onlined one of the many datapads lying there.

The Cyber-Ninja Arts By Master Yoketron: For my students when I'm gone.

Wow! I would have never, ever thought that Yoketron would write down his teachings. In Transformers Animated, it seemed as though he would only teach by example and word of mouth. I turned to the first entry.

If you are reading this work, then that means that I have joined my brothers and sisters within the Well. For those of you who were my students during my time in this realm, it is my hope that this work helps you finish your training and reacquaints you with my teachings. For those who wished to become my students, welcome. It is my regret that I did not have the honor of meeting you before I left, but I implore you to read this work from start to finish and not to skip steps. You may not understand why at first, but it will make sense in time. May you be blessed and walk the path that Primus has laid down for you alone. 'Til All Are One.

Wow! I lowered the pad for a sec and looked off into space. He wrote this for future students? Wouldn't he have had an heir apparent before his passing? I shook my head out of the clouds. Naw, the game designers just liked making really cool Easter eggs for players to find, that was all.

Although, if I was going to be spending half my time Earthside, this and the crystal-growing pad I found would be great to read during my downtime. Ratchet did mention that he was going to do the same thing with his medical pads.

It took me a few minutes of fiddling with the datapad's menu to find the download to Earthside computer option. I had just pulled out the crystal-growing pad from my subspace when a comlink from Ratchet appeared over my vision screen.

I didn't feel like using the thought-speech method, so I put my hand to my audio receptor. "Prowl, here."

"Why aren't you logged out yet?" His voice sounded like it was wavering on the edge of all-out shouting.

"I decided to wait a little bit before I logged out. I also wanted to download some pads to my computer Earthside…How do you know that I'm still logged in?"

"You answered your comlink, and my shiny little grey chevron is connected to everyone's spark signals."

"Really?" My chevron did nothing like that. I wasn't getting anything from it. "Why's yours…?"

"'Cause you don't need it. Frames that have those audio finials have their signal antennae installed there. The fancier the audio finial or horn, the stronger the signal antenna. For bots like me, we have our signal antennae within our chevrons. It's the strongest type, and since it's on our forehelm, it uses our face as a natural satellite dish. You have your door wings acting like a giant, stronger version of your chevron and face. You only have it for emergency and looks."

"Oh…does that mean that if I turn on my chevron while my door wings are on, I'll be more aware of my surroundings?"

"Don't you dare try. I don't need you sending yourself into another crash. Now, report to Earthside or, so help me, I'm going to come over and wrench you so hard that you won't be waking up 'til Christmas."

With that, he cut off the comlink. I didn't want to have him come over and force me to log off, so I went over to my berth.

It took forever for me to find a comfortable way to lie down. If I wanted to switch sides, I had to sit back up and walk over to the other side of the berth, then lay down all over again.

If I put too much weight on the wing that was closest to the berth, I would start to develop a cramp in that wing's joint. I ended up laying on my right with my pillow supporting the lower wing. My right hand replaced my pillow for my head.

As the logout sequence started, all I could think about was the fact that my left wing was hanging way too much.

After my visor lifted from my eyes, I was able to put away the oxygen mask and retrieve my glasses. I sat up and found that I wasn't the only one to log out. There were at least ten other people logged out and two others that were waking up from the game sleep. Hannah was still in the game, 'cause her pod was across from mine and it was still closed.

I jumped out and started to make my way over to the medbay. Voices were carrying over from the dining hall, so that must mean that supper was ready and everybody who'd logged out had already finished their medical exams—either that, or they wanted to test Doc Raf's patience and see if he would really use a wrench in real life.

The medbay door opened on my approach, and Logan and Wes came tumbling out. Kaylie was shouting after them.

Kay-"Don't you two dare come back unless you're hurt!"

Logan and Wes were childhood friends. They apparently grew up in the same foster home. Logan was a Russian of Vietnamese descent, and Wes was also Russian but of African descent. Their foster home specialized in kids from Russia for some odd reason. I think Wes said that it was because their foster Dad lived in Russia before moving to the States. These two were inseparable and were quickly becoming known as the class clowns.

Kar- "What did you boys do? I've never heard Kaylie so mad before."

W-"Oh, nothing much, just looking for Prowl."

Logan booped Wes on the head. "She doesn't need to know that."

Ok, "Why would you look for Prowl in there? Isn't he only in the game?"

L-"None of your business. Come on, Wes, before you blab to someone else, Stupid."

W-"I ain't stupid."

I watched Logan drag Wes away before I entered the medbay. Kaylie was reading something off of the computer.

Pointing back over my shoulder, "Should I be concerned about those Terror Twin wannabes? They were just looking for Prowl."

Kaylie whipped around in the office chair and smiled when her eyes landed on me. "No, they were just being too smart for their own good."

Kaylie got up from her chair and led me over to one of the private examination rooms.

"How were they being too smart for their own good?"

"Oh, it's nothing, really. Just that when they found me setting up this room, they thought that I was 'Aid and that I was setting this room up for Prowl's player."

Jumping up into the bed, "But you are First Aid, right? Only First Aid was in the medbay when Ratchet and Optimus brought Prowl."

"Yes, I am 'Aid, but I didn't want to have to deal with those two blabbing it to the world." Kaylie started with a physical exam. "So…you're Prowl. I would never have pegged you as him."

"You won't tell the others?"

"Nope, your secret is safe with me. Besides, everyone will know soon enough. They all know who Doctor Raphael is and, soon, me."

"That's only because Doc Raf didn't even try to hide his personality. Plus, you two are the only two doctors we have on base."

Kaylie giggled. "I'm not a doctor, yet. I was only planning on being a nurse. But with your little adventure today, I think I may have to rethink my plan."

"Speaking of which, do I have to stay here tonight? I don't want to cause a fuss."

"Too late for that."

*groan* "I know. Now I completely understand why he didn't want to mess with Smokescreen's processor during repairs. *shiver* That sure was scary."

"I'll bet. I nearly had a spark-attack when they brought you. Your paint looked bleached."

"You didn't see any oil on my frame?"

"No, why?"

"Well, I was kind of covered in the stuff when they found me. Ratchet must have cleaned me off while the serum was working to bring me out of my shocked state. I didn't even notice." I paused to think back for a second. "Blast, I didn't even hit the wash-racks before logging out. I've probably got splatter all over the non-noticeable places, and it's going to be dried up by tomorrow morning."

Giggling, "It's fine. It probably isn't that big of a deal, if I didn't see anything. Did you find a comfortable position to logout from? I know that you were worried about your wings when Optimus went to put you on the berth. You were soooo cute curled up on your office chair."

"I hope so. It took me at least five minutes to find a comfortable spot, and I still think that I'm going to wake up with a wing cramp."

"Hey, it could be worse. You could be crashed permanently in the game."

Kaylie had finished her exam, so I jumped off the bed. "Yeah, it could be worse. Will you talk to Raf about me not staying over tonight? I'd really like to sleep in my own bed."

Walking out to the main part of the medbay, "I'll see what I can do. I personally think it's okay since we have the suits."

"Thanks. You're the best."

"No problem."

Brandon was waiting for his turn when Kaylie and I walked out. I waved goodbye to both as they made their way back to the private rooms. I guess that Kaylie and Raf wanted everyone to go through the same physical exam today to see how their bodies were doing, since all of us had been basically lying down all day. We were bound to have some sore spots develop no matter how cushioned our pods were.

I had started to make my way to the mess hall when my communicator beeped at me. I pulled it off my belt and turned its screen on. It had a confirmation of my downloads from the game into its version of a Google Drive app. There was also a text from Raf as Ratchet in the game:

Karen, you can sleep in your quarters tonight, so long as you are wearing your suit. Kaylie talked me into it. Don't do anything stupid, as we have no idea how your episode will affect you in real life. Make sure you hit the wash-racks first thing when you log in tomorrow. I tried to get everything while waiting for the serum to work. Also, grab a cube of energon—that IV I gave you only made you think that you had a full tank.

DON'T DO ANYTHING STUPID TONIGHT, GOT IT?! I'LL WRENCH YOU IF YOU DO!

I had to laugh at the last line. Oh, Raf, he really couldn't say anything without threatening people with a wrench. Although, he was probably only doing it 'cause he cared—that, and I had probably spooked him really bad in the game today. Heck, I spooked myself really bad.

I put my communicator back on my belt and had started off again when Hannah and David rounded the corner ahead of me.

K- "Hey, guys."

Hannah and David in chorus, "Hi."

H- "Did you finish your checkup already?"

K- "Sure did. Brandon is with Kaylie at the moment. Want me to find us all spots?"

D- "That'll be cool, Karen. We'll let Brandon and Kaylie know that you're saving us seats."

K- "Cool beans. See you guys at dinner."

H- "See ya."

Brandon took a long swig from his pop before slamming it down on the table. He gave us all a super serious stare, which stopped being so when his mouth betrayed him with a grin.

"OK, guys, this is the most important question of the day." He paused for effect, but David was having none of that.

"Hurry up and tell us, man."

B- "Ok. *sucks in a big breath of air* What did you guys think of the energon?"

I nearly snorted the pop I was currently sipping through my nose and burst out laughing.

Shortly after I had gotten our table, Brandon, David, Kaylie, and Hannah joined me. Josh had decided to sit with another group of buddies tonight, so we had an extra seat for whoever wanted to join us. All we could talk about was our personal highlights of the day, and debating the game. Of all the things Brandon could have brought up, he picked the energon.

B- "What's so funny?"

Kar- "Sorry, it's just that I wasn't expecting it, is all. Of all the things that happened today, you think the energon was the most important?"

B- "Yeah, so? I was dying to find out what it tasted like and was disappointed that it tasted like super watered-down grape juice."

H-"You thought it tasted like grape juice? I thought it was vitamin water."

D- "That stuff is nasty—way worse than Gatorade."

Kay- "Well, I liked it, but that's just me. What about you, Karen?"

Shaking my head, "Are we really debating the pros and cons of energon?"

Everyone- "Yes."

Just then, one of the speakers crackled on.

"Attention, everybody. We would like to celebrate with you, as we have had an amazing first day of testing."

One of the dumbwaiters' lights turned on. Josh got up from his table and opened it.

"It's champagne."

Author's Note (Mini-Story): Deep Thought pulls up to a mail station. The girls jump off and help him unhitch the cars. Thought transforms and stretches.

D- "So glad to be moving again."

A- "Me, too."

Just then, a mailman runs up to the girls. "Which one of you ladies is Allora?"

Lancer points over to Allora. "Her."

Mailman-"This is for you."

A-"Thanks."

Allora opens the letter and starts jumping up and down with excitement.

D-"What happened now?"

A- "I beat the curve and passed Chemistry. I don't have to take the class again. I'm saved!"

"Congrats." Lancer turns back to the Mailman. He had decided to wait to see Allora's reaction, since the letter was labeled, "Drop everything and read right away."

"When will we get posts from the readers again?"

"It'll be here before the next chapter. Also, I was told that the story traffic graph has been fixed, so you'll know again how many passengers you have on board."

A-"Cool, thanks." *Turns to the readers* "I'm back and will be free to work on this story for awhile, so I'm going to be posting more frequently now—hopefully every two days, at least. Not being able to work on this for over a week was pure torture, so believe me when I say that you guys rock for being awesome readers, and I love writing this story 'cause of you guys' support. Sorry if I call you a mech when you are actually a femme. I default to the "he" pronoun in the Cybertronian sense of the word, genderless. Since the story is currently in the summer months, I mostly likely will not have the gang celebrating Christmas this year. But, that doesn't mean that it won't be creeping its way into the story. Merry Christmas to all. Hugs."