Hey, everyone! I'm going to be going to 2 weekly updates-things are getting busy in real life and I don't want to promise more than I can deliver. Now, on with the show!

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Optimus followed Alias and Ratchet back to Wheeljack's lab but stopped dead in the doorway, stunned at all the changes that had happened in such a short amount of time. The link table holding Anna's human body was jam-packed with equipment he didn't even recognize–things that beeped or buzzed, bags of fluids on poles, machines whose purposes he couldn't guess. Wheeljack joined Ratchet and Perceptor at the head of the bed where they conferred over the various readouts there.

Even the machinery Optimus did recognize had changed. One end of the table itself had been raised so the head was about thirty degrees higher than the foot. The back of the link machine was completely open now, too. Exposed wires and circuitry surrounded the dark circular opening that held Anna. Only the top of her head was visible. Part of her hair had been shaved away and a clear tube disappeared beneath a thick bandage, draining dark red fluid into a collection container. Even the large emergency-stop button had a rough metal plate riveted over it.

And the human physicians hovered over her like bees around their queen while Lennox, Epps, and Andronov stood right at Anna's bedside. The three NEST members were actually armed, conspicuously so, even after Optimus had decreed that their weapons would not be returned–and the way they held them was clearly a statement. Crosshairs and Ironhide stood on either side of the link table, and like the NEST team, their weapons were also prominently on display, and Skyfire seemed to be doing nothing but scrutinizing their every move. It was clear that no one on the medical team was pleased by these developments.

Optimus recalled that Ratchet had said that the humans had become so insistent about taking her out of the link that he'd taken measures to prevent it, but even with that warning, he was startled to realize just how drastically things had escalated.

Alias turned and looked back at him. For just an instant, he saw that this scene disturbed her as much as it did him, but then her expression smoothed and she gave him the smallest of reassuring smiles. "Come on, Optimus. It's all right," she said softly.

"Nothing about any of this is all right," Optimus replied, but he finally entered the room.

One of the medics looked up when he came in. "Optimus," she echoed Alias, rising to her feet. "You are Optimus Prime? You are in charge here?"

"Yes," Optimus replied, even though he had never felt less in-charge of any situation in his very long life.

"I'm Major Hartfield. This is my trauma team," she said, indicating the other humans. "And I demand to know what you're doing to this woman immediately. Your refusal to stop this human experiment you're running is hurting our chances of saving her, and may even be what's killing her! Your people have prevented us from–"

"Stop right there," Optimus interrupted. Of all the things he was not in the mood for right now, being lectured by this woman about something she had no hope of understanding was certainly high up on the list. "This woman is a volunteer in a classified scientific project who had an unforeseen medical emergency. She is not a human experiment. Your implication is completely inappropriate."

"And I already told them that," Alias said in exasperation. She waved at the link table. "That so-called human experiment is me, you idiot. I volunteered for this, and the Autobots aren't the ones telling you to continue it–I am!"

"So you say," the major replied in the tones of one who has indeed had this conversation before but intends to keep having it until she received the answers she wanted. "We don't have any idea what this machine does, so how are we to know if you're telling the truth or not? There's no way to prove that you're really this woman. You could be anyone."

Alias threw up her hands and Skyfire spoke up before Optimus could. "We've been over this repeatedly and it's not important right now," he said firmly.

"It is the most important thing right now!" Hartfield argued. She gestured angrily at Anna's still body. "If she's unable to make her own decisions, it falls to her medical team to make them in her stead. That's us, the people who are trying to save her, not you, the ones who've got her hooked up to some machine that does God knows what and probably caused this to happen in the first place! You're preventing us from doing everything we can to–"

Alias strode over to the table and bent down, getting right in her face. "I am making my own medical decisions! You just don't like what you're hearing because you want to haul me off and I won't let you disconnect me!"

"Heart rate rising," one of the other medics said. "Blood pressure, too."

"See?" Alias snapped. "There's your proof–that's me and you're pissing me off!"

Optimus came over and gently but firmly moved Alias away from the table, getting angry himself now. This situation was already hard enough without them badgering her, and with the stimulant playing havoc with her emotions, he was doubly determined to keep her calm. "If you persist in upsetting her, I will have you removed," he warned Hartfield. "This behavior will not be tolerated. You will not be warned again."

"And your insistence on covering up what you've done to this poor woman won't be tolerated either," she shot back. "She's covered in very suspicious injuries that none of you will explain–"

"Stop it, all of you! We don't fight at the patient's bedside!" Ratchet snapped. He pointed at the major. "Alias is right. We've been over this. She stays exactly where she is and that's by her choice, not ours. The wounds you keep bringing up were not caused by us, and she's told you that repeatedly, too. Now can we please concentrate on her medical issues instead of debating your ridiculous accusations?"

Hartfield scowled. "There's nothing else that we can do unless you let us move her. Since you won't…" she said, disgusted. She pointed a finger at Alias. "Her death is on your head."

"Since it's my death and my head, I'm good with that," Alias shot back. She was shaking under Prime's hands, fine tremors running through her that could've been from the stimulant or could've been from anger. "It's not your call to make. It's mine. And if for some reason I can't make it, it's his." She jerked her chin at Optimus. "Your wishes don't even enter into it."

Hartfield looked at one of her medics, who raised his eyebrows and shook his head. "You see why we're worried. Are you doing what you want, or are you doing what these aliens want? Are you even allowed to say no?"

Alias bristled and Optimus grasped her elbows and steered her away from them, blocking her from their view. "Easy," he murmured to her. Then he glanced over his shoulder and growled, "You were warned."

The Autobots immediately took charge. "All right, we appreciate all you've done, but it's time for you to leave. We'll take over from here," Ratchet said briskly as Crosshairs and Ironhide moved in and Skyfire put his hands on each side of Anna's stretcher. His hands were so huge that they covered her entirely. Before the medics could do more than blink, the Autobots had completely blocked them from reaching her.

Ironhide activated his cannons, and even though he didn't aim them at the humans, it was still intimidating as hell. "We will escort you out now," he said, the words voluntarily or not just as clear as if he'd spoken them.

All four of the military physicians gaped up at Optimus as they were politely but firmly ushered away by NEST and the Autobots. Hartfield found her voice first. "You can't do that! I demand that–"

"Demand all you want, it won't change anything," Ironhide said. "You're done."

"This is intolerable!" she protested, then jerked her arm away from Lennox. "Get your hands off me, Major–you don't outrank me."

"But I do," Optimus said, his voice very quiet but hard as steel. He didn't bother turning around–Alias still looked furious and desperately worried, and he was more concerned about that than anything else. "This base is sovereign Autobot territory. Your military has no jurisdiction here and your approval of our activities is not required."

Hartfield kept trying to resist. "Autobot jurisdiction or not, this base sits on United States land," she persisted. "We came here to help save a life, not to prolong what is clearly a dangerous experiment on a human being, especially one who's obviously been brainwashed and tortured. If she's an American citizen, that makes it our business–treating one of our citizens like this will not be tolerated. There will be repercussions!"

Optimus finally released Alias and focused all his attention of the human doctor. "She is not one of yours. She is one of ours, and you would be wise not to make threats you can't take back, human." If they wanted a fight, he was more than happy to give them one. Anna was an Autobot, no matter what body she wore, and more than that, she was his. No one was going to take her away from him. "You can leave with our gratitude, or you can leave with our animosity, but you will leave. Now."

"You really want to stop now," Crosshairs interrupted when Hartfield opened her mouth to argue again. "You're close to provoking him into something that I promise your superiors don't want. Take our thanks and go. It's the best way, believe me."

"And remember that everything you've seen and done here today is classified above top secret under the NEST treaty. Discuss any of this with anyone and Gitmo will be the most pleasant of the possible outcomes for you. And it won't change a damn thing anyway," Lennox added, and Hartfield scowled again. "Do you really want to throw your career away picking a fight you can't win?" Lennox held her gaze until she finally looked away in surrender.

"What about our gear?" she asked, but it was clear now that she was grasping at straws.

"I'll take responsibility for it," Lennox replied. "Or report it stolen if that makes you happier. Now let's go, move out. We'll return you to your base for debriefing and Andronov will accompany you just to ensure that no one accidentally makes any unfortunate comments that might stir up more trouble."

When the medics finally left with Andronov, Ironhide, and Crosshairs, Alias growled and pounded a fist into her palm. "Argh, that woman! Do you know how much it sucks to be discussed like you're not even present? And then to be called an experiment!"

Ratchet glanced up. "Take it easy. You need to calm down as much as you can. You don't have to deal with them anymore and we all know you're not an experiment, okay?" he urged.

Optimus squeezed her shoulders. "They're gone now," he reassured to her. "And if they come back, I will gladly deal with them. They are nothing you need worry about."

She nodded, but she couldn't stop wringing her hands. "I'm trying, I promise. It's just really hard right now. I feel like I pounded back sixteen espressos and chased them down with half a pound of sugar dissolved in Red Bull–and it's only getting worse. What the hell did you even give me, Ratchet, and how long until it wears off?"

Ratchet shrugged apologetically. "Probably a few more hours," he said. "But the effect should peak soon. I'm sorry you're uncomfortable, but at least it'll help you stay awake, right?"

"Falling asleep is the furthest thing from my mind right now, trust me. I couldn't even if I wanted to," Alias replied with feeling. She held out her hands to show them how hard they were trembling. "You should probably keep me away from the machinery right now but I need to do something or I'm going to shake to pieces. Either give me a job or let me go outside and run about twenty marathons."

Optimus took one of her hands and ran his other palm up and down her back soothingly. She was all but vibrating beside him, her fingers restless around his, bouncing on her toes. Lennox glanced at them, obviously surprised at this open display of affection, and Optimus ignored the curiosity in the man's gaze. He was done hiding this.

"We've got the mechanical side of things handled," Ratchet reassured Alias as he started connecting the humans' machinery into Teletraan's systems. "And you've got a much more important job anyway. You're our energy specialist. If you think you're able to concentrate, we really need you to help us make a plan to lock you into Alias permanently."

Optimus closed his eyes briefly. The amount of relief that one sentence brought him was completely disproportionate, but it was the first time anyone had said anything that even remotely indicated that he wasn't the only one clinging to that hope. "Yes, think about that. Think really, really hard," he agreed, and Alias actually smiled.

"Oh, believe me, I am," she assured him. "This is literally the fight of my life. I'm going to give it everything I have."

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My lovely readers aren't talking to me for these last few chapters. Am I chasing you off? But I have had some notifications of new story followers–hello! Drop me a review and let me know your thoughts. Thanks, everyone!