Jazz woke from recharge. He sat up and looked around. Sensing that Eclipse still hadn't returned, he sighed and picked up her visor from its place next to his berth.

"Where have you gone 'Clipse?" he thought to himself. He checked his internal clock and noticed that his shift was about to start. He set the visor down and left his quarters. He waked down to the command center, greeting the mechs that were heading for their quarters or the rec room. As he entered the command center, he stopped when he saw Bluestreak where he was supposed to work.

"Uh, hey Blue. Whatcha doin'?" he asked the gunner.

"You're to see Ratchet," Prowl said, coming up behind him. The saboteur turned to look at him.

"What for?" he asked.

"Ratchet has been…down. I need you to make sure that he is all right."

"Isn't that Smokescreen's talent?"

"I think you can sympathize with him better. Bluestreak will take your post this hour. You can take his later." With that, Prowl turned and walked back to his computer.

"You're going to see Ratchet? I hope you can lift his spirits. I mean, he rarely even threatens us anymore. Not that it's a bad thing, but it's kind of strange," Bluestreak said.

"Yeah Blue. Don't worry." Jazz turned and walked out of the command center, heading for the medbay. As he entered the medbay, he looked around for Ratchet, only to see First Aid.

"Hey Aid. Where's Ratch?" The junior medic looked up.

"He's in his office," the medic said, looking up from what he was working on, "He hasn't come out for a while. I'm worried."

"I'll get him up. Don't worry." The saboteur strode across the 'bay. He waltzed into Ratchet's office without knocking.

"Hey Ratch," he said. The CMO jumped slightly, dropping the medal. It clattered to the floor, landing near Jazz. He picked it up and studied it before handing it back to Ratchet. His frame relaxed as he leaned against the desk.

"Ya miss her, don't ya?" he asked solemnly. Ratchet's door wings seemed to wilt further.

"I do. I just don't understand why they left," he replied, turning to Jazz. They regarded each other for a moment.

"Probably to keep us safe," Jazz said after a moment.

"Safe?"

"Dey seemed really worried when Centercord showed up at our front door. Dey are Guardians. Might feel like it's d'eir duty to confront him."

"But why not let us help? If Centercord is really that strong, they can't do it by themselves!" Ratchet exclaimed. Jazz stared at the wall.

"Dey were chosen as sparklings ta serve him when dey were older. 'Clipse told me dat many of da ones chosen often retreated to Primus because dey lived very hard lives. Ya remember how Eclipse was when she came. And Firefly. She was skittish. Da Guardians were said not ta be real 'cause dey never went ta where other Transformers were. Dey isolated themselves." He paused for a moment. "We became d'eir friends here. 'Clipse agreed ta be my bond mate and ya and Firefly like each other. Dey want ta protect dat."

"It makes sense. But it doesn't make me feel any better." Jazz chuckled and the CMO looked at him suspiciously.

"Ya have fallen real hard for dat medic," he said. Ratchet gave a small smile as he looked at the crossed blades again.

"I guess I have," he agreed softly. The two were silent for a moment before a deafening roar echoed through the Ark.

"What in Primus?" Ratchet exclaimed. They raced out of the medbay towards the command center. Jazz slid to a stop as he entered and Ratchet nearly collided with him.

"Jazz! What in…" he trailed off, seeing the hulking mech in the middle of the command center. The Autobots there were scattered, only Prowl and Sunstreaker sill being up to a fight. Jazz unsubspaced his gun and aimed it at the mech. The mech turned to them. He gave another roar and went to move forward when something hit him in the side. He snorted in annoyance and grabbed the offending Transformer. He hurled them away, them hitting the wall, away from Jazz and Ratchet.

"Oh no. We're going to get slagged if he gets any one else," Ratchet hissed, taking a step back as the mech took a step forward.

"You Autobots die," the medic bellowed, aiming his cannon at them. A loud howl caught everyone's attention, especially the mech's. The Transformer that he had tossed had stood up and was rushing towards him. He swung out and caught the Transformer in the chassis and they let off a shot before sliding to a stop away from where Jazz and Ratchet were standing. The medal that Ratchet was still holding sparked and he let go of it in surprise. It glowed and shot towards the fighter. They stood up, facing the mech.

"Firefly?!" Ratchet gasped. The femme medic had rips in her amour and was leaking Energon. The crossed blades flew towards her and caught her by surprise as they latched onto the piece on her forehead. Her optics went off line before falling to her knees.

"Firefly," he yelled. Her head snapped up as her optics reactivated, gold in color. The medal let off its glow and her entire frame began to change. There was another howl as a huge gold wolf appeared from out of nowhere. It leapt towards Firefly and merged with her. Her entire frame became lost in white and broke apart with a shattering sound. She looked war-bound. Her optics held an unrecognizable look as she snarled. The hulking mech decided that she was the main threat and went after her as Prime and the others came in behind Jazz and Ratchet.

"Wait, is that Firefly?" Bumblebee asked, astounded. As the mech swung at her, she disappeared and reappeared behind him and charged. She swung out with the claws on her hand and ripped deep gashes into his amour. He bellowed in pain and tried to grab her. But she was too fast.

Her gold frame was a blur and she darted and danced away from and towards the mech. The Autobots were shocked at how ruthless she was. The femme continued to attack, having no mercy towards the mech. He began to fall back, Energon leaking from major wounds. Prowl and Sunstreaker carried a weakened Bluestreak away from the fight to Prime and Ratchet. Ratchet knelt by the gunner to make sure he was all right before returning his attention to the battle.

"If I hadn't seen the reformatting, I wouldn't believe that was Firefly. She's ruthless," Sunstreaker said, standing next to his brother. They watched as the mech fired off a shot that hit Firefly in the stomach. She slid backwards before giving off an incredible howl. Her right arm began spark as energy formed in her hand. She bolted from her position, running full speed at the mech. He swung and as if in slow motion they watched as she ducked under then brought up the energy sphere, slamming it into where his spark was. The mech gave a grunt to pain before staging backwards, then fell back, landing on his back and laid still. His amour faded to death grey. Ratchet took a step towards Firefly.

"Firefly?" he said softly. The femme whipped around to look at him, not recognizing him. He took a step towards her then paused as she tensed.

"Firefly, it's me. Ratchet. Come on now. You remember." The femme seemed to be mentally thinking hard, her optics switching between him and the other 'Bots. She paused as she looked at him.

"Rat…Ratchet?" she said quietly. Then her optics widen as she gripped the sides of her head. She let off a horrible sound and collapsed to her knees. Ratchet rushed forward and caught her as she twisted, falling backwards. He went to his knees, her upper frame resting against him.

"Firefly. Firefly come on. Online for me," he said pleadingly. The femme didn't flinch as crack broke through her chassis.

"Slag it," he muttered, his scans showing her vital signs dropping radically. "Firefly, hang on, please." The femme didn't stir as Ratchet tried desperately to stop the Energon leaking from the crack. Even as First Aid came over and began to seal off other wounds, her vital signs fell.

"No Firefly. Please. Don't deactivate. I need you." But she never responded to his silent favor. Ratchet felt his spark freeze as Firefly's frame began to turn the same shade as the deactivated mech. Washer fluid gathered in his optics as her frame became cold, the warmth leaving.

"Firefly," he whispered hoarsely. He felt Jazz place his hand on his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry Ratchet. I can't believe she's gone." Ratchet didn't need to say anything as he held the femme close to him.

"Why Primus? Why did you take her?" was all he could think before he broke down crying, cradling the one that he had cared for most.