*Groans as he crawls out of hole towards light*

Hey everyone. Life has been... hectic, as usual. Anniversaries of sad dates always are. Besides that, I'm apparently very useful person in real life. Why? I got asked to help with THREE important events in the past month or so. Like working curtains backstage for a school play, one week before the actual play. Amongst other things, too.

Then the internet crashed and burned... twice. My computer spazzed, and deleted my drafts of this then-completed chapter... three times, give or take. So, forgive me for this lateness, please? I'm only one human. It doesn't help that this is an testing term. I had exams this week, too. Still have two left tomorrow.

That said, I've sort of drafted the next chapter, too. Assuming Fate shines down upon me, I'll post it next week sometime (fingers crossed, touch wood, by the power vested in my mortality, etc...)

Please tell me if there's any errors. My proofreading attempts have ended in... well, the chapter deleted itself (I kid not).

On with the show.

Chapter 11: Story Tellers

Autobot Outpost Omega One; Arcee

Arcee couldn't help but cringe. Miko had been yelling loudly ever since she'd entered Ratchet's domain. While she wasn't allowed to go inside personally, it didn't take much to guess what was wrong with the girl: she'd gotten used to being alone. Bumblebee had been smart enough to take Bulkhead out for a drive, removing the already panicked partner out of the silo before he heard Miko's yells.

June walked out of the room, clearly exhausted. It was late, by human standards, and the nurse had already spent a day at work, undoubtedly dealing with similar situations. She still managed to smile up at the femme, however.

"How's our patient?" she asked, crouching down to be closer to June's level.

"It could be worse. Malnutrition, a few infected wounds, and the beginning stages of dehydration. I don't know what she went through, but she definitely didn't get an easy ride." The nurse leaned against the railing, head down. "If Miko's had it this bad..."

Arcee immediately caught onto June's train of thoughts. Without thinking, she redirected her. "...Then she's managed to use up the kids' bad luck." When June didn't respond, she went on. "Jack's fine, I promise. Wherever and whenever he is, we'll find him."

June lifted her head sharply, and Arcee could barely see the drops of water trailing down the smaller face. Rather than talk, the human woman just started sobbing louder, ducking back down again.

Arcee was at a loss for words, watching her partner's mother breaking down in front of her. It wasn't exactly a secret that she wasn't the most... open with her emotions. She definitely didn't know how to comfort a worried mother. So she did the only thing she could think to, and gently pat the woman on the back.

Arcee's saving grace came in the form of Agent Fowler, who stumbled out of a door onto the walkway. He quickly straightened out his suit, trying to pretend that he had not just tripped. "Sorry I'm late, there was some... traffic." The Special Agent finally seemed to notice the sobbing woman, and quickly made his way over. Rather than argue, Arcee just moved her hand.

Within seconds, Fowler worked up all his charm and used it on June. He cupped his hands over one of her ears, and whispered something. Arcee watched in confusion and amazement as the African-American man not only got June to stop crying, but also to hug him tightly. Not only that, she held her head up as she walked into one of the human corridors on the walkway, disappearing silently into the deeper parts of the base.

"Care to give me some pointers, Fowler?" Arcee asked, waiting until June was far enough away. She didn't want to upset the mother again.

Fowler just shrugged. "It's a trade secret. More importantly, she's probably going to murder me when she gets back here." When he saw Arcee's expression, he elaborated. "She might be a little upset when she realises I was lying about there being chocolate in one of the old store rooms."

Fowler soon walked off, entering Ratchet's domain to undoubtedly find either Miko or Optimus. When she was certain he was gone, Arcee made a note of that little pointer: when faced with Jack's mom, bribe her with chocolate.

Cybertron; Jack

Jack resisted the urge to facepalm for the millionth time. The mech in front of him was making no sense at all.

"So repeat that again for me? The Keys did what?"

The bearded mech seemed to mirror his infinite patience, and had not once complained about repeating himself. "They detected that there was new information between the two of them, and exchanged said information to the bearers. Which would be us."

"And that's why you're speaking English?" Jack asked. He'd been trying to wrap his head around the whole situation for awhile now. He did fine up until a point.

The mech had to think about that one for a moment. "Yes, that would be why I am speaking your native language of English. I do not doubt that you have acquired all my knowledge of Cybertron and its languages too, however..."

And this was where Jack started getting lost.

"The Keys must have transferred more than just basic communication skills. While my processor is still adjusting to the rather abrupt download, I do believe I can access your memory files. Your experiences with these 'Autobots' is proving to be most intriguing." The mech continued.

Jack was sure that the bearded mech would have gone on, had another mech not walked into his office at that moment. Jack waited patiently on the desk as the two conversed about some video that had been broadcasted across the planet. Of course, the mech he was with had been right about the Cybertronian language thing. He could feel a headache building up from the entire process. If this crazy mech was right about the memory thing too, then Jack figured he'd just learned a few centuries worth of Cybertronian life.

"Hmm, this is bad news."

Jack was started out of his thoughts by the bearded mech lifting him up. It took him a moment to realise that the other mech had left again. "What happened?"

The bearded mech considered the question for a moment, walking over to the large window in the room. "Your memories speak of a war that will plague Cybertron, and destroy everything around us." He waited for Jack to respond with a nod before going on. "That mech just brought in a report from Kaon. A mech is causing some big trouble down there. Add that to the fact that I have been expecting a war within the next thousand years or so..."

Jack gulped, seeing what the bearded mech was thinking now. "You think that the war is going to start soon."

"I have been preparing for it, yes. It was foreseen that this system would fail eventually. I thought I had more time, though..."

Jack rubbed his head, trying to calm down the throbbing pain. If he let his mind wander a bit, he could almost see the mech's memories, but he didn't have the time to explore them just yet. "Time?"

The bearded mech nodded, and pointed to one of the buildings in the distance. "In the centre of Iacon is the heart of our government system. I had been petitioning, with minimal success, to appoint another Prime onto the council. They were resistant, but I was slowly winning them over. With another ten of your years or so, I might have succeeded. Now, I will have to bypass them entirely."

Jack stared at the mech in surprise. "You can do that? I thought..."

"...That Primes were chosen by Primus. I know, I have your memories, Jackson." The mech finished his sentence. "You are correct. Primus is the only one with the ability to gave someone the rank of Prime. However, it is technically my duty to scout out for potential Prime candidates. So far, I had selected two. Considering the fact that one of them is now threatening to destroy Iacon if his demands are not met, then that number has dropped down to one."

Jack didn't even think about answering. "Orion Pax."

The mech nodded, and made his way back to his desk. "He shows great potential already, although perhaps he could use a little more confidence in his strengths. I have been pulling some strings to prepare him for the task of being a Prime, had I chosen him over the other. He is not as ready as I would like, but I will have to make do." As he finished writing, he began packing away things on his desk. Jack couldn't help but notice what looked like an iPad and a metal quill being among these items.

The mech left the room, still carrying Jack around. "I need to prepare Cybertron for war. Your memories may provide valuable insight for now, but I will need your assistance as well later." The mech didn't even notice the odd looks the other 'bots were shooting at him for speaking the organic language. "Until such a time, I know that there is a mech that is waiting for his friend to return to him. I spoke to him just before you arrived. He mentioned a sentient organic. Had I not met you, I would have brushed such a claim aside!" He laughed, pushing open a door.

Jack perked up when he saw the familiar frame of his mech. The mech turned to face them, and even Jack could recognise the look of relief and surprise on his faceplates.

"How did you manage to find him?" he asked, standing up from his workstation. He walked up to the two of them, keeping a respectful gaze on his boss, while still looking down at Jack.

"He stumbled into my office shortly after you left. You were right; he is quite smart." Jack founded himself being exchanged between hands. "Perhaps a bit too smart for his own good. Keep your optics on him, or he might just get himself in trouble."

Jack's mech nodded. "I understand. Thank you for returning him to me, Alpha Trion. Enjoy the rest of your cycle."

The bearded mech known as Alpha Trion nodded, walking out the door. "And you as well. I will see you tomorrow, Orion."

And with that said, the door sealed shut, and Jack found himself gaping up at the red and blue mech holding him.

Junk Planet; Rafael

It wasn't the headache that woke Raf up. It wasn't the cold metal berth he was sleeping on either. No, it was the sound of metal slapping metal that did it.

Which led to the first thing he saw being a blurry image of what looked like First Aid beating up Wheeljack. Out of habit, Raf reached out to grab his glasses. Not finding them, he began blindly searching for them, desperately patting the entire area for them.

"Can I be of assistance?" First Aid asked, turning away from the inventor to face the blinded human.

"I can't find my glasses, have you seen them?" Raf asked reflexively. He rolled over, trying to feel if he'd maybe put them somewhere else.

"Glasses... are you talking about those lenses on a frame, the ones you kept over your optical array?" Wheeljack asked. The inventor would be lying if he said he was not amused by the sight of the boy blindly grasping for something.

Raf barely registered the fact that someone had actually answered him. It was more important for him to find his glasses right now. "Yes. I can't see without them."

If it was possible, the two mechs in the room would have paled. As it was, they stopped making any sounds, and both stopped in their tracks. "Uh, kid, about them..." Wheeljack started, scratching the back of his helm.

First Aid looked down at Raf, ignoring the inventor. "They were destroyed in the explosion. We did not consider their function when we did your repairs. It was an oversight on my..."

Raf's head shot up, instantly turning towards the large silhouette that he figured was First Aid. "What explosion? I don't remember them breaking."

"You seriously can't remember my fantastic explosion? It was a pretty good one. It knocked me out for a few cycles, never mind how long you were out for!"

"Wait a minute, I was knocked out for days?" Raf yelled, panicking.

First Aid nodded, or at least Raf thought that he was nodding. "You had severe injuries to your extremities, not to mention that the burns that had been covering you. I was forced to put you into a medical stasis until I thought you were in a more stable condition."

"Not easy, either, kid. Do you know how hard it is to repair damaged organic matter? All the replacement parts I needed to forge, and the scale I had to make them on..."

"Wait! Replacement parts? What did you replace?" If it was possible, Raf became even more panicked.

"Now calm down," First Aid said, placing a gentle hand on Raf's back. "It's still a work in progress, but I managed to undo any damage caused by your injuries. I just need to work on the neural networking a little more. And I'll have to devise a replacement for your glasses." He left the word in English, a subtle reminder that, despite whatever Raf thought of them, the two mechs in front of him were, for all intents and purposes, aliens. Psychotic aliens in the case of the inventor.

"Neural... network." Raf knew exactly what a neural network was, having spent a good amount of time with both Ratchet and First Aid. But the only human equivalent he could think of was... "I had nerve damage?" He tried to look down at his body, but he could barely tell his arm apart from his leg without his glasses. Now that he was looking though, his one arm did look different.

"Probably. Organic systems are a slightly more difficult set up than I'm used to. I'll... get to work on something to help you see." With that said, Wheeljack walked out the room. It was probably Wheeljack, anyway. Raf still couldn't quite tell.

"So..." First Aid trailed off, looking around the room. He was still uncomfortable talking to his organic patient. "How are your systems doing? I need to check they're all in sync still."

Raf had to think for a moment. He felt perfectly fine. Maybe a little uncomfortable without his glasses, but he was good in the medical sense. The thought of his missing glasses reminded him of the missing weight on his nose. Out of reflex, he tried to adjust the missing glasses, instead only poking his forehead. Raf thought nothing of the habit, until he felt something cold and metallic on his forehead. He stroked around the area with the hand that was already up there, trying to feel where the metal was. Instead, all he felt was metal trailing across his forehead.

He moved his hand in front of his face. He tried his hardest to focus his eyes on the digits, but, without his glasses, all he saw was a blurry silhouette. He tried moving it back and forward, in an attempt to move it into focus.

First Aid moved around his berth, fiddling with some tool that Raf couldn't identify. "I'll do some adjustments to the calibrations later. You should adapt to the minor changes in strength and mobility later."

Raf ignored the mech this time. He almost had the hand in focus, he just needed to move it a little further back...

Raf jumped back, startling the medic. Raising his arm again, he could finally see the metal device that was once flesh and bone. Metal plating layered over a metal skeleton... he was reminded of a Cybertronian's own arms. He flexed his fingers, surprised and unnerved to see the metal equivalents move instead of what should have been flesh. Unnerved, he turned to face the unworried medic. "What happened to me?"

Autobot Outpost Omega One; Fowler

"Now, Miko, are you sure you can go through with this? I can easily get you some more time..."

The Japanese girl held up a hand, quickly silencing Fowler. "I'll be fine. If doc-bot says I'm good to go, then there's no problem." Miko ignored out the part where Ratchet had explicitly stated she should not be standing, and was enjoying the familiar feeling of rebellion, even if it was just a small one. She needed this more than she needed any bed rest.

Fowler bowed his head, seeming a bit concerned. "That's not what I'm worried about. From what I understand, you've been gone for easily two months. That's a long time to be isolated. Maybe you should just take it slow, relax. We can reintegrate you at your own speed..."

"And my own speed happens to include me going back home next week." Miko rolled her eyes. "I'm doing fine with you guys so far, and that's the main problem, isn't it?"

Fowler paused for a moment, before hesitantly nodding. "Yes, but it's not the only one. You've missed a lot of school, and it could take some time for you to recover any progress..."

Miko raised her hand, and Fowler found himself being stopped again. He resisted the urge to yell at her in frustration. He'd been warned (repeatedly, in fact) that the girl might be a little... sensitive, with recent events taken into account. Ratchet specifically had warned that she was resisting any physical contact. So far, that hadn't been a problem. She'd made it clear that he would not come within two meters of her, fluttering around the floor with no hesitation. The IV bag attached to her hadn't slowed her down, either.

"Listen, Miko, if that's what you want, then that's fine. Just don't feel like you're pressed for time; it'll take one call and you can have another two weeks off of normal life." That happened to be the root of the problem. Since Miko was back on Earth, the Five Stars had quickly started pushing him to return her to normal society. After he managed to glean as much information out of her regarding time travel and her little adventure. That particular form had been thrown into a paper shredder, and he'd made sure no two pieces of it were in the same state.

"Fowler, I'm not stupid," Miko argued, taking his brief pause as her time to speak. "I didn't qualify for the exchange program by being a slow learner. I'll be a good little girl, and pull off my usual straight A's, okay? Maybe I'll even pull a few pranks, just so that everyone in town knows I'm back."

Fowler couldn't help but smile at that. He may have disobeyed an order so she could rest a bit longer, but he was already enjoying her usual spunk. "That sounds like a plan. Send me the pictures when you can." With that said, Fowler could relax. The peace of the past two months might have been over, but he wouldn't have it any other way...

"Fowler! When I get my hands on you, you are going to be a dead agent! Hear me? Dead!"

Fowler paled, although Miko seemed greatly amused by the death threats coming from June. "You promised her chocolates again, didn't you?"

Fowler nodded, making his way towards one of the many doors in the bay. "She needed a distraction; she was upset. Besides, she can't catch a man with a jet." He couldn't help but be relieved by that, either. The last time he'd promised June chocolates, she'd managed to trap him deep in the base, and he had learned why it was never a smart idea to fight with a trained medical professional.

Miko laughed, clearly remembering the same thing. "Unless she pulls out some wires," she practically sang, laughing when she finished.

Fowler panicked. He hadn't thought of that. He sprinted out the room, and Miko was left clutching her sides laughing.

Tada!

Well, that's it for this chapter. Jack is confused, Raf is worried, Miko is getting ready for a normal life. And Fowler may or may not be dead. June may be a little OOC, but I figured I needed to lighten the tone of this chapter a little. That, and this came out a lot better than one of my earlier versions (before it vanished). Trust me on that one. There are some things that Optimus should not do... I blame sleep-deprivation, and a corny school play about being rejected by every university in the country.

Any-who, I'm not doing review responses this chapter (sorry guys). I'm sleepy, and I really do not want to risk ANOTHER completed draft being deleted. I don't think I have it in my soul to type this out again again again again again... Hmm, maybe I should start just sending out PMs... I'll have to sleep on that. (Sleep! *drools*)

Tell me what you thought, if it was good or bad, any comments. Hopefully, when my week long holiday pops up end of the month, I'll be able to come back and edit everything I missed so far. Fingers crossed.

Errant thought: what do you think Jack's mech had been calling him. I have actually got a name (from when my deletion-depression spawned some... unique pieces of writing. May that piece never see the light of day. Or the outside of recycle bin. Either will work). It's not important, but I'm curious.

JayJayinMay, King of the Nation of Procast, signing out.