Shadescribe - Yup; Ratchet is never gonna lose that wrench. Rue be the day that occurs. XD

Chapter 9

"Are you telling me that the Quinessans are back after what happened on Aquatron?!" Ratchet swerved on the road.

Maria rapped a fist against the steering wheel of his ambulance mode gently. "Eyes on the road, doc. And yeah, they're definitely back – Joshua found their signature all over the Cerebro Shells that Sunstreaker and Jazz had stuck to the backs of their necks, and I bet we would have found one in the one on you too, if we hadn't needed to destroy it."

She thought back to the melted pile of smoking metal they'd left behind on an old back road before starting to drive back to the base. She wished they were on the other side of the mountains so that they could have left it in the desert instead.

"They should have learned their lesson from what happened when they tried a second time," Ratchet muttered. "Cybertronians are not beings that should be controlled! And we won't be controlled – certainly not after that mess of an attempt they threw on us back during our exile!"

Maria blinked. She hadn't expected Ratchet to get this angry over it – panicked and concerned, yes, but the way he was acting now was definitely something else entirely. She frowned. "Ratchet. They most likely saw the weakness Cybertron has in recovering from the war and decided to take advantage of it; that's all that there is to be said. We have to prove that there are no weaknesses here."

Ratchet snorted. "Easier said than done! They know our inner workings, what makes us tick. I swear they could take a Spark and put in something that wasn't supposed to be alive in order to give it life! I don't want to seem them attempting that, but…." He trailed off and shuddered, Maria bouncing a little in her buckled seat has his frame rattled. "I hate the Quintessans as much as they next Cybertronian, but I don't want to know what they might think of us in terms of experiments!"

"Yeah, that's Shockwave's forte," Maria muttered. "Or it was." She paused. "We're going to need to rescue the others. So far, it's only been you, Jazz, and Sunstreaker. We still need to find the others and do something about what the Quintessans are planning."

"Are you aware of what it is they are planning?"

Maria said nothing.

"Well, considering that you do not, you should be more careful about barreling after the rest of—"

"Wildfire's one of the Cybertronians who's been taken. So is Soundwave."

Ratchet fell silent at that.

"I am concerned about what it is they are planning on doing with the Cybertronians they have captured and when they will attempt to take over Cybertron. Not if." Maria paused. "I don't know what's coming, and I don't like it. So for now, we aim to rescue those who have been taken, then do something about turning the tables completely on the Quintessans. That's my plan."

Ratchet said nothing for a few minutes, following after Wheeljack and Bulkhead as they came closer to the base in the mountains. "You sound far, far different from what I remember of you. Where have you been, Maria?"

Maria leaned back in the car seat, frowning a little. "Where I've been and what I've been doing doesn't pertain to what's going on now."

"Actually, it does. I haven't seen you this focused or figure out the source of an issue this quickly – Collin never said you could see the source of a problem this quickly."

"I have sources I am capable of using and I can infer from data that we've found what the problem is, that's all it is." Maria shrugged. "I have the Covenant. I have information on what they did to Cybertronians in the past, and I connected the dots from there."

Ratchet said nothing for about half a mile. Maria didn't say anything to break the silence, either, and seemed about ready to settle into a light recharge when Ratchet finally spoke up.

"You do realize you are going against a race of mechanical beings who not only know how we work inside and out, but that they are also great manipulators."

"I know. I read the Covenant thoroughly; I am aware of what they have been described as and what it is that they're capable of."

"Then I should hope that you realize they have planned for nearly every contingency that there possibly can be from us in order to ensure they win in almost every scenario we might put up against them."

"Do they really expect that their computers will be able to tell them if they are successful in the long run?" Maria scoffed.

"Yes. But they did not count on one thing happening."

Maria blinked at that, then raised an eyebrow. "And what is that?"

"You."

Maria tilted her head to one side at that as Ratchet kept going.

"As far as I can remember of what happened, the monsters seem to think that World Jumpers aren't real live beings and therefore shouldn't be considered in any sort of capacity as possible roadblocks. They thought you were a human with a suit of armor until I was forced to tell them otherwise. Now they think you're some Mini-Con Pretender – the first of them, long before the rest of us began adding that alt mode to our systems – and that you're not something to consider a serious threat without Cybertronians of our size to back you up."

Maria snorted. "I took down Sunstreaker just fine without any other assistance; I suppose that throws a wrench into their plans."

"That's the hope," Ratchet admitted. "It should slow them down by a small portion, at least, and I doubt that a human's natural unpredictability will help them find a way around your reappearance." He sounded vaguely amused at the idea, but he was gruffly serious too. "But fighting against the Quintessans will not be easy."

"I don't expect it to be," Maria replied. "Especially considering that they are capable of bringing down Cybertronians with various abilities. Fighting Wildfire is a battle that will most likely be my hardest, as she knows all my moves and could very well catch me off-guard if I'm not careful."

Ratchet gave a short hum at that. "I doubt you will have as hard a time as you think. Considering that you and Wildfire both have the same ability, then you have a more level playing field than the rest of us. But enough of Wildfire – what do you intend to do about Soundwave?"

"We would need to know where it is that he is located, first," Maria replied. "Then we could hunt him down and release him in person, rather than letting the Quintessans come to us by continuing to broadcast a signal of any kind. I assume that's how they know that I am now on Earth."

"Unfortunately, yes. Cybertron was alerted of the fact that you were back and that alerted the Quintessans, as far as I'm aware."

"So then Ultra Magnus might be aware of the fact that I'm back." Maria tapped her chin in thought. "We'll deal with that as it comes; you wouldn't happen to know where it is they have him."

"Under lock and key, so far as I'm aware." Ratchet grumbled something under his breath that sounded like a stream of curses directed at the Quintessans.

"Then we're going to have to bide our time and wait for an opening in order to find him," Maria said with a frown. "We can rescue any ground soldiers that get sent out in the meantime – do you know why it is that you were driving around in those suburbs?"

"…I believe I was looking for someone," Ratchet replied carefully. "Someone with a connection to Cybertronians."

"If it was Collin, he's going to be terrified for the sake of his kids, I think."

Ratchet stiffened. "Collin has spawned more of your family?!"

"Yes he has, but I haven't had the chance to meet them yet and as far as I know he could go all protective Dad mode and sic Coil on the Quintessans without a second thought for trying to go after him or his kids." Maria paused in thought. "We could use that defensive offense to our advantage, if the Quintessans aren't aware of how protective we are of our young."

Ratchet snorted, but it was a shaky sound. "Yes, well. While they were very thorough in investigating the culture of the world, they certainly didn't take into account the way that certain individuals may react to having their family placed in danger. Or react to coming home and finding that their allies have been placed in a less than ideal situation – where have you been, Maria? When you and your parents disappeared, a good number of us were very much concerned when you didn't come back as quickly as you had in the past."

Maria said nothing, her expression hardening at the questions. "I was fighting a war against monsters that killed my parents. If the Quintessans decide they want to take it to that point, I am going to make sure they do not cause as much trouble as the Dark Arms did for multiple dimensions at once."

Ratchet fell silent at that.

Time Break

When they arrived back at the base, Bumblebee ran out of the human sized room and shifted to his Cybertronian one so quickly that he nearly threw Ratchet off-balance when he tackle-hugged him. "Ratchet! You're back!"

Ratchet spluttered. "Of course I'm back! Do you really expect that I would be gone forever just because of some overbearing, far too-proud fools who don't know a Spark from an empty processor?" He looked over Bumblebee as the yellow and black mech pulled back from the medic. "You seem to be doing well, despite the events that led you here."

"And you're taking what's going on pretty well," Bumblebee responded.

"Well, I had a very well-informed passenger," Ratchet replied. His expression darkened. "The Quintessans are aware of Maria's presence here, but they think she is nothing more than a Mini-Con disguised as a human in some small way. They don't seem to think that she is a World Jumper, or related to Collin in any way. They sent me out to find his family and take them; we're lucky that you saw me and intervened before then."

Bumblebee frowned at that. "They wanted to…why do they want Collin? That doesn't make any sense – he's just a human as far as they know, right?"

"A human with connections to us, yes." Ratchet looked over at Bulkhead and Wheeljack, who exchanged nervous expressions. "It's likely that they think they can get information from him, rather than what they can get through Soundwave, and even that is going to start to slow to a stop because of what has just happened."

"What, you mean us rescuing you?" Bulkhead asked.

Ratchet shook his head. "Cybertron's severed all connection to Earth's communication systems – rather abruptly may I add."

Bulkhead, Wheeljack, and Bumblebee exchanged looks at that.

"How do you know?" Bumblebee responded. "Did they tell you or—"

"They said they were looking for information, and taking into account what I see here now and what Maria did for me – and probably has done for others already – then it's likely that Cybertron has become aware of the fact that Maria is back as well as others of us and has reacted accordingly." Ratchet's expression darkened. "At least, that is my hope, if Ultra Magnus has his head settled on his shoulders properly. Otherwise I may have to whack it back into place myself."

Ratchet's wrench was suddenly in his hands, causing the others to step back from him a little.

"Ratchet, put the wrench down, no one needs your bedside manner just yet." First Aid stepped out from the other half of the base and shifted up to her Cybertronian form, not even breaking stride as she stopped in front of him.

Ratchet blinked in surprise at her, but he obliged and the wrench disappeared from his hands. "First Aid, I—"

"I'm just glad you're still okay." First Aid looked Ratchet over, then smacked him upside the head with a servo. "Just make sure that nothing like that happens again, all right? I don't want to see you get taken again!"

Ratchet winced at the hit, but he didn't protest. If anything, he gave a small, almost sheepish smile instead and nodded a little. "Seems you've grown a bit in my absence."

"Well, I had to fill in a hole that needed filling, considering you disappeared before anyone realized you were gone," First Aid replied. Her tone was snappish. "Ratchet, what were you doing when those things took off with you?"

"The last that I can remember clearly before being taken was that I was closing up my clinic when I was attacked from behind," Ratchet replied honestly. "My guess is that they required a medic who had data they needed in order to repair more recently-born Cybertronians properly, and as I have patients regularly…." He trailed off, not needing to say anymore than that.

First Aid's eyes narrowed at that. "If that's the case, then have they installed the Pretender programming in anyone yet? Sunstreaker had it, but only because he had it before he was taken."

Ratchet considered the question. "From what I remember, they deemed that ability to hide among other races one that wasn't needed. They didn't seem to be aware of the fact that Sunstreaker had it, but I wouldn't put it past them if they became aware when I wasn't in the room with them. Why?"

"Jazz didn't have it, and I'm hoping that you don't, either, because then there might be a chance that we could just be looking for Cybertronians and not humans disguised as Cybertronians. If Shape-Change got that ability—"

"Then she could become anyone in either our size or the human's size, and then it would be hard to tell whether or not she was under their control or if one of us had been taken again," Ratchet finished, nodding grimly. "I can see how that would be a problem."

"So?" Bumblebee asked. "Do you think they might have slipped it into her programming without her noticing or something?"

"Highly unlikely; a shifter's programming is almost impossible to pin down, considering how often they can slide from one form to another and change themselves to mimic those they appear to be. If they intend to pin Shape-Change's programming down in order to give her a human form, they are up for an impossible task. Even if she had wanted one, she would be unable to take advantage of that technology."

Maria considered that from where she stood on the floor, then nodded. It made sense, from a medical standpoint; Ratchet did know what he was talking about as well, so that certainly helped.

"So, I assume you are planning on ensuring that I am still in one piece despite the fact that Bulkhead and Wheeljack hardly did any damage to me?" Ratchet asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes." First Aid grabbed his arm and dragged him over to the medical berth on the other side of the room. "Wheeljack, Bulkhead, don't think you can sneak off!"

The two mechs winced at that, then dragged their feet over to the medical bay as Bumblebee shifted down to his Pretender form.

"Come on, Maria." Bumblebee motioned for her to follow him back to the other room in the base. "There's something that I think you're going to want to see."

Maria followed after him into the other room, frowning. "Do we have a fix on the locations of the other Cybertronians yet?"

"We're working on it, but that's not what I was talking about." Bumblebee looked at Maria with a grin. "Cybertron knows you're back – we got a quick message from Ultra Magnus right before the connection was severed completely. They know what's going on, and I think they're planning on seeing if they can help."

"Good news, but we still have to worry about Soundwave possibly interfering with any connection we might have with anyone outside the base," Maria pointed out in reply. "If they know that there are some people on Cybertron who are aware of what is going on, then they may redouble their efforts and make it even more difficult to rescue those who have been taken."

"I know." Bumblebee nodded. "We'll have to keep an eye out for him, but in the meantime, we have to split everyone up in order to get at all the Cybertronians that just showed up on our systems."

Maria and Bumblebee stopped in front of the computer monitor, Maria looking up at the map and frowning.

"It's interesting that they all seem to be focused on America and not anywhere else," Maria commented. She frowned. "Is it because the last moments of the Autobot-Decepticon War took place here?"

"Maybe?" Bumblebee shrugged. "But we were kind of all over the place; the only reason we were stationed here was because we crashed here and the United States government found us. Otherwise, things could have ended up differently."

"I don't doubt it." Maria paused in thought, frowning. "What about the Maximals and the Predacons? Have they lost anyone to the disappearances?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Bumblebee replied. "They've insisted on keeping out of affairs on Cybertron for the most part; I don't think they're aware of the Quintessans and the issues they could cause, but Joshua and Jolt might be changing that."

"Considering that they're aware of what's going on, I'm not surprised," Maria replied. "Does this mean we will be receiving assistance from them, or that they will merely be protecting their own?"

"We'll have to see what they think," Bumblebee replied. "What they do is up to them, especially Galvatron, since he's pretty much the only leader they have right now."

"Galvatron? I thought that Predaking would technically be leading them." Maria frowned.

"He used to, but then Joshua found Galvatron and Galvatron kicked him off his throne." Bumblebee pointed to New Mexico. "He has a base out there and has officers spread across the states to keep an eye on any disputes the other Maximals and Predacons might have."

"Uh-huh." Maria frowned, storing that information for later. "So we may get assistance but it's not something that we should expect." She eyed the blinking dots on the map, all sequestered in the United States: Oregon, one circling slowly somewhere over the east coast near Virginia, up in Minnesota, down south in New Mexico. "But we will need to be able to get all of them at once."

"Easy enough." Bumblebee grinned. "We're all ready to jump into action at a moment's notice. Just say the word, Maria."

Maria tilted her head at that slightly, considering. Then she nodded a little. "All right. Let's reach those we can before the Quintessans pull them back." She turned and looked at the rest of the room. "All right. I have a plan, but I will need all of you to cooperate. Are you ready to catch the Quintessans by surprise?"

She was met with determined expressions and glinting teeth as one figure in particular grinned widely.

Maria nodded. "Let's roll."