Edit 3/17: So I'm still very behind and still working on the chapter. Sorry guys! Like I said, it will get here eventually, I promise! I just have a lot of irl stuff going on right now that takes full priority unfortunately. I'll get back in the groove eventually!

Edit 2/28: I'm a bit behind on the chapter, sorry guys! It will be here eventually. Work makes me so tired!

Sorry this is late everyone! Work has been hectic, and I wish I had more time in the day to do all the things I want to do!

Today I actually had a snow day from work, so it was the perfect time to work on this!

Now heads up, this chapter is a bit more violent than any previous, so if you are not alright with a lot of violence, I suggest skipping to Bumblebee's POV later on. It's not super graphic in detail, but I know there are people out there who don't like those sorts of things. But this is why the story is rated M ;)

I am going to try really hard not to be late on this next chapter!

I appreciate all the follows and favorites! They mean so much! And thank you so much for all your comments. I love hearing from you guys! Tell me your favorite moments and what you want to see more of in the coming chapters! I aim to please!

Enjoy!

Chapter 14

R~~~

Rachel woke finally, only to be blinded by a bright light shining above her. She hadn't even realized she'd been knocked out. She was held in bindings on a large table that reminded her of the ones from Ratchet's med lab.

Her whole body tensed when the sound of voices grew more audible. Her eyes darted around the room. She slowly began to recall being captured by that much larger bot.

The area around her was bleak. There wasn't much in terms of lighting. Though the architecture wasn't too different from what she was used to from the Autobot's base. Only a little less homey.

"Ah, it's about time you woke up." It wasn't the voice she had heard from before, but this was was still familiar.

She stared at the shorter, red bot who was busy maintaining a few instruments on the side. She remembered this guy from the time Bee and her had tried to hide in that abandoned power plant. She didn't remember the name, or if they'd even told her.

When he turned to look at her, he seemed to give a small smirk from the look she was giving him. "Remember me at all?" he asked her.

"Kind of… You were there with that other guy in that power plant...?"

Simply having recognized him seemed to have boosted his ego a bit. "You can call me Knockout. My comrade's name is Breakdown."

She remained quiet, staring at him blankly, not really wanting introductions from this guy. When she didn't say anything, he lost the smirk on his face, and turned to go back to his business. But he continued to speak to her.

"That was a pretty big mistake you made back there on Earth. What gave you the idea to open a comm frequency to reach across the entire planet?"

She lifted her head from the table, looking over towards him. "What-?"

"You'd think they'd train you a little more on the use of your comms before letting you use those things so freely, kid. You sent out the message to every Cybertronian on the planet."

She squeezed her eyes shut, her whole body felt bizarrely numb. She did this to herself, and she did this to Bee… All of this was her idea.

God, if they hurt him…It would be her fault. Again.

"Seems we also came right on time. Or, at least Shockwave did. Lucky us. Autobots had just arrived when you two departed."

She was a bit relieved to know that Bee was probably okay now. At least the others had shown up. Dammit, if she'd have stayed in that junkyard and hid, would she have been safe? She had no choice but to call for help. Bee was occupied with the military. The situation could have gone worse if she had stayed silent, right? She really didn't know, but she felt ashamed and stupid. Worthless.

Knockout seemed to have picked up on her somber expressions from her thoughts. "Oh, no reason to be too upset. You're in… decent hands." he said with a small laugh to end his threat, a big unpleasant smirk on his face.

"Why am I-?" she paused as someone entered the large door to the room she was held in. She recalled Knockout's words had been 'On Earth' previously. On Earth in a past tense.

"Knockout, your fraternization with the prisoner will cease at once." A one eyed Decepticon stepped into the room they were in. She just stared, stiffer than a board. "I am already wasting my time on this planet. Do not waste more of it." The Decepticon stepped towards Knockout, snatching a tool from his hands. "And do not tinker with my equipment."

"Why, I am simply… cleaning your instruments, Shockwave. I am one of Megatron's top medical officers. I am trustworthy." A small flicker in Knockout's eye gave her the impression he really could never be trusted with anything.

"I am no fool, Knockout. You were ordered here as my errand-bot. You are no assistant of mine."

Knockout raised both his hands out to the side. "Things go a lot smoother with help, Shockwave… especially in delicate matters such as a central neural abscission?" She contemplated those words. Central neural abscission?

Knockout continued, trying to hold his ground. She didn't quite understand his intentions or why he was so keen on being around this Shockwave.

"I'm sure the… all-knowing Shockwave could teach a few things to a lowly soldier such as myself."

"I do not require a pupil. You test my patience, doctor. Leave." Shockwave told Knockout in a deep, booming voice.

Knockout edged towards the door, though still couldn't seem to keep his mouth shut. "Er… Lord Megatron was the one who sent you here to Earth, right?" Knockout asked. He was a lot less egotistical when being towered over. Or outranked.

"To my disappointment, yes. It seems I am the only one Lord Megatron can rely on me." Shockwave said as he made his way over to the table she laid strapped to. Knockout left the lab, leaving her alone with Shockwave.

He pulled at her chin and began looking her over. "Lucky you."

"What do you want?" she tried to wiggle her head out from his grasp, but as she'd tried before, any attempt to release herself was just met with a tighter grasp.

"Something I gave you a long time ago. Now I want it back." He stepped behind her, raising the medical table closer to his height for easier access. She felt something hard at the back of her head. His hands maybe? He was tinkering with something.

"H-how-?" the word came out as if she were shivering.

"I'm simply going to extract your core systems. If memory serves correct, I embedded it somewhere within the center of your central cerebellum cortex."

Something clicked in her from the word."You emb-... What do you mean?" she asked, unable to control the violent shuddering from her body.

The Decepticon let out a short chuckle, making his way over to the other side of the table where she could see him. "The Autobots never disclosed this information?" Shockwave's expressionless head tilted in surprise. Why was he so different from the others, so impossible to read? This simple, almost featureless visage before her was frightening.

"Disclosed what…?"

He let out a cruel little chuckle. "What an amusing surprise. I never would have anticipated myself being the one to tell you." She could see his single red eye glow with delight.

"Wh-at are you t-talking ab-bout?" She said, forcing out barely coherent words.

"I must ask you first, my dear. What did the Autobots tell you, hm?" He waited expectantly from her.

Her mouth parted a few times to speak, only to close again as she couldn't get the words to come out. "They t-old me it… I just had inf-formation… I thought this was some sort of-"

"You thought it was a tool? To be clear, their lie was one of omission. You do have information about it, but the truth in its entirety is that you are the device itself."

Her shaking had stopped, and she was frozen. "What do you mean? H-how?"

There was another cold laugh. "How very intriguing that they withhold these important details. Pulling you from your human life and inserting you back into this war was a very crude decision."

"Stop it!" she burst out, her words wavering in attempt to keep herself from crying.

" Lies and inaccuracies only impede one's progress. You should disregard that questionable time spent on Earth as a human. Even before, you knew you memories would be wiped clean. And you did so anyway, knowing your guilt would vanish as well."

Her whole body felt rigid, as if she were frozen solid. She attempted to take a deep, calming breath but the panic of being unable to even take in air hit her again and made her start to feel very disoriented.

"What are you talking about?"

When he didn't even hesitate to answer, it was like she could feel her spark fading away for a moment.

"Did you really believe that the technology to create organic life from scratch was readily available? Did you not question how you were able to obtain a human body? It was neither a construction nor was it a clone. You assumed control of the body of a human child to ease your suffering."

She was unable to get any part of her body to move. "What?"

"There is a simple hypothesis that explains it all very well. The ship crashed over a thousand stellar-cycles ago. Ten years ago was when you awoke. That was how I found your signal. Thanks to the Autobots, they made the transition a little easier."

Rachel physically felt like she was choking, her insides twisting and writhing within her. "Shut up!" She cried out. Her next words came out as a sob. "You're lying!"

"Choose to believe what you want. I've given you the truth that the Autobots would not. It's a small gesture I offer in exchange for what I am about to do."

She was near complete hysteria by his words. Her mind was racing. There were so many things she wanted to contemplate all at once. She couldn't get words to escape past her metal lips.

He walked back behind her, and she felt his hands positioning her head as he began to tinker. After a few moments she figured out he was trying to get inside of her head.

"Open up, or I will force it open." Shockwave told her. He began tapping a finger at the back of her head. "I will not ask twice."

She didn't know how to do that. But even if she did, her mind was breaking. She couldn't focus, nor even string together a coherent sentence or thought.

He didn't wait very long. She cried out, screaming, when she felt something being drilled into the back of her head. Whatever it reached, sent excruciating pain through her. Her eyes rolled up into the back of her head, and her back arched upwards as she tried to break from her binding. She didn't know what to do, nor did she know if the Autobots would be able to get her. It was hopeless. Though she had no pity anymore for herself. All the emotions she felt were anger. She deserved all of this.

B~~~

"Bee! Bumblebee!"

He thought she had run. Why didn't she stay hidden? He had been able to transform and speed away from the fight with the Decepticon, only to watch Shockwave carry Rachel through a ground bridge.

He remembered feeling complete dread as he'd watched her disappear.

"We need to be out there looking for her." Bee told Ratchet.

"We have a plan in motion. Bumblebee, I need you to remain focused." Optimus told him. "You said you saw Shockwave take her through the ground bridge?"

Bee flinched as Ratchet began amending a spot on his back. The human military hadn't done too much damage, but it did leave a good amount of damage to his shoulder and forearm. It wasn't horrible, but it still was painful.

"Yes. He's really the only one optic'd Decepticon I know of."

"By the Allspark, who knows what he's doing to her…" Ratchet grumbled, but was still concentrated on his work. Bee noticed he was being a lot less careful than he usually was.

"Bumblebee, I will need you again, despite your failure to follow my orders. I expect to see you, Arcee, Bulkhead, and Ironhide in the shuttle in two kliks. " Optimus said. "We will discuss our next course of action after we return with Rachel."

Before Bee could get out another word, Optimus had left the two of them. He'd screwed up big time, and he honestly wondered what sort of punishment Optimus had in store for him.

Bumblebee quickly joined the others in the shuttle. Optimus went over his plan as the craft was exiting Earth's atmosphere. The Decepticon ship was going to travel lightspeed soon. The building energy preparing for FTL travel in their carrier would be enough to find them

Bee's attention returned to Optimus once he heard his own name.

"Bumblebee, you and Arcee will infiltrate the ship from the outside. Ironhide, Bulkhead, and I will be their main distraction."

"How will we know which area to enter?" Bee asked. Optimus brought up a hologram of the design of the Decepticon ship from his forearm. "Ratchet installed a beacon in her to help us in a situation like this. Fortunately, the Decepticons will not be able to detect it, so them removing it should not be a concern." There was a very faint red blip on the very upper deck of the ship. "Ironhide and I will be entering an emergency escape route. You can thank Bulkhead for his knowledge of these kinds of ships."

"And when we find Rachel?" Arcee asked moving towards the port leading to an maintenance exit for the ship.

"Establish a private comm link with Ratchet back on Earth and he will set space bridge coordinates for you location. We will handle what comes our way until we can get our own safe escape." Optimus told them. What bugged him most was how unsure Optimus was in his plan. They had a good way of getting to her, but how long would the three of them last against the Decepticons? Optimus was strong, he had no doubts. But they didn't know exactly what kind of reinforcements Shockwave had brought with him. Anything could happen.

Their ship had quickly activated a cloaking mechanism so they would be rendered undetectable as they closed in on the closest point to Rachel. Optimus and Ironhide were the first to go. They entered guns blazing through one of the empty escape ship ports. Once Prime and Ironhide were set, it was time to find Rachel.

Bulkhead assisted in finding an entryway for the two of them. Bulkhead knew ships better than any bot out there. This Decepticon cruiser was no different from anything else that had been created before the war. He directed them to a maintenance shaft made for minicons and smaller personnel. The both of them were small enough to make this work. Bumblebee struggled a little, but it seemed Arcee got through it with ease.

The both of them were watching the small red bleeping dot on their radars as they scrambled through the vents. They were both still for a moment as they heard a loud shriek in the distance. The sound rang through the hollow ventilation system. They were close, but they had to make their way upward.

They were able to get a good view of the ship through some of the ventilation holes. This definitely had to be Shockwave's personal ship. Rooms were either storage or some sort of lab containing an experiment Shockwave was working on. He tried his best to not look too closely, but Shockwave was a gruesome Decepticon. Test subjects were prominent throughout the ship, some already dead, others caged for Primus knew how long. There were even some creatures he'd never seen before. All of these sights before him were sadly not surprising to him. He expected nothing less of the mad scientist Shockwave.

Once they reached the signal on their radars, Arcee carefully peeked into the room where Rachel was confined. Shockwave was busy with his work. Rachel laid offline on a medical examiner's table. He saw that the back half of her head had been dismantled. Parts were strewn across the table. It didn't look like Shockwave planned to put it all back afterwards.

The two of them burst into the room, weapons aimed to the mad scientist.

They didn't really have a solid plan made, but they had to get Rachel away from him. This could very easily turn into a very bad situation though.

"Step away from her, now." she hollered.

Shockwave did not still in his work, nor did he even turn to look at them. Bumblebee made sure the room was sealed shut so no reinforcements could be called by him. At least for a little while.

"I will shoot out your optic if you don't get your cervos away from her right now!" Arcee exclaimed.

She released a warning shot directed at his shoulder. This finally made him paused and he did as she said, though he did not step away from his work.

Arcee didn't shift her sight or her aim from Shockwave for even a second as she barked out an order.

"Bee, get Rachel."

He kept his own gun aimed at the con as he made his way over to collect Rachel's body from the table. He was no medic like Ratchet, so he grabbed whatever parts looked important and just hoped Ratchet could fix this with whatever he'd brought. He really didn't like the sight of this. Parts of the inside of her head were cluttered across the lab table.

Bee stepped away, Rachel's body slung over his shoulder.

Arcee commed the medic back on Earth. "Ratchet, open the bridge. Once Bee is through, close it."

Bumblebee shot a hard stare in her direction. She knew already he would be against this.

"Arcee-"

"Don't question me, Bee! Just do it!"

He'd already screwed this all up, and he really wasn't up for it happening once more.

The space bridge appeared behind him. He was hesitant in making his escape. He didn't question Arcee's ability, but this was Shockwave and she would be on her own.

He commed the others as ran through the gate. "I have Rachel safe. Arcee needs back-up at her location."

"We're en route." Optimus had responded.

The gate was closed behind him. He was back on Earth. Back at the base. Ratchet quickly came to his aid and took Rachel's limp body from him. This whole time he hadn't really taken in fully the state she was in. His mind had been so focused on getting her back to base and making up for his critical mistake.

The back of her helm had been forced open with what looked like a drill. The back portion of her head was missing. It sunk in finally that he had done this. It was his fault that she had to suffer what Shockwave had done to her. He should have listened to Optimus. He should have done many things differently, but this definitely was one of the times he wished he could go back and stop himself.

Ratchet placed her down on one of his med tables. He very quickly began his work in looking her over.

"Ratchet, is she going to be alright?" Bee asked. He had so many different directions of worry in his mind right now, it made it hard to think clearly. He had left his team on a Decepticon vessel. He never wanted to run away from a fight, especially not after what he'd done to disappoint Optimus.

Ratchet was being unusually quiet. When he did finally speak, it was before a long, drawn out sigh.

"This can be fixed, but… The chip is gone. Shockwave got what he wanted."

Bumblebee's optics widened. "Then we need to warn Optimus!" he burst frantically.

Ratchet shook his head. "Optimus already knew we wouldn't make it in time for the chip. The main goal was getting her back. The good news is we have Rachel back with us. The bad news is this means we need to leave this planet and get back to Cybertron as soon as possible. We have to stop Shockwave at all costs..."

Thanks for reading! You can only guess where this story is planning to go very soon~ You guys are going to love this!

Big changes are going to happen for Rachel, and we can only hope she will be able to handle them~