Hello Everyone! And Happy new year!

I Know that I usually put my author's note at the bottom of the chapter, and that I usually give my shout outs up here, but I wanted you to know why I haven't posted in a while. I have graduated college with honors, finishing my teaching degree, I moved to a new state, and I became a teacher! Unfortunately that leaves me little time to write, seeing that now, I am grading papers instead of writing them :). That said, I have not given up writing, and I am happy to say that I am in the process of finishing up different chapters for all of my stories, including another one for this one! So please bear with me as I try to find that balance, and thank you all so much for being there for me!

-Storygirl747

Lilac ran. She ran out of the crisis room and back down the hall until she was back in the Med bay. When she got there, she hid under one of the medical berths and cried. She didn't want to be there. Didn't want to be on base, but as usual she didn't have a choice. Lilac stayed under that berth until she wept herself to sleep. All of the stress from the day had finally taken its toll on her. Sideswipe and Jolt came in shortly after she had fallen asleep and began calling out to her. It was Jolt who found her and told Sideswipe to leave her where she was. After seeing her reaction earlier that day to being moved without warning he thought it was best to leave her be for the time being.

{"We found her."}

Jolt said over the open communications link.

{"What is her status?"} Ratchet asked.

{"She is physically unharmed and is recharging under one of the medical berths. Scans show that she has dehydrated a little…"}

{"She cried herself into recharge."} Sideswipe said lowly as he lowered himself to the floor so that he could see her better. The words that she said to him rang in his audios over and over.

"Congratulations. You helped the government catch a kid who's been escaping and avoiding them for the better part of three years."

This was his fault. Suddenly everything she said began to make sense. Why she said that she didn't want to go to the base, how she said that she would never be able to have a family…

By bringing her here he doomed her to a fate worse than death. While Sideswipe was confident that Prime would not allow the humans to send her back to her current abusive caretakers, he realized that the Prime's power was indeed limited due to their current standing as allies from another planet. He wouldn't be able to make decisions regarding Lilac. She would have to go back into the system, and she would watch as she was passed over again and again for younglings who were smaller and cuter than her.

It wasn't fair. What would happen to her when she was no longer a youngling? Would the humans kick her out?

{"Sideswipe, report back to the crisis room."} Came Prime's command. Sideswipe stared at Lilac's sleeping form. He couldn't leave her. Not after what he did…

"Go. I'll watch her. I promise." Jolt said. Sideswipe looked at him seriously before seeing the mech nod. "I'll alert you if she wakes up." Jolt said as Sideswipe slowly walked back to the door. He took one last look at Lilac before he made his way to the crisis room.

XXXXX

The Autobots were speechless as the child ran off. It was a few minutes before anyone spoke, and it was Captain Lennox who spoke first. "Oh, dear God." He groaned as he laid his face in his hands before he began rubbing his face quickly. Everyone was shocked at what Lilac had told them. "I agree." Epps groaned as his actions mimicked those of his good friend. "That….that….those were easily some of the most disturbing stories I have ever heard." Will said exhaustedly. "And that is saying a lot." Epps grunted.

"But the question is, is anything she told us true?"

The Autobots were disturbed by what the Captain said. "Why would the youngling lie about such atrocities?" Optimus asked, with concern.

"It's not that I don't believe her…it's just that if what she did say was true, and she has been living on the streets…well…"

"She could be missing a few things upstairs?" Epps supplied.

"My sensors indicated that the youngling was being truthful about her past." Ratchet stated firmly in defense of the child.

"Of course, she was telling the truth. She's a good person!" Sideswipe defended as he skated back into the room.

Everyone looked at him as he slid to a stop. Sideswipe stared down the people in the room with determination.

"That femme is one of the kindest and most honest people I have met. And yeah, I haven't been on the planet long, that much is true, and yes, she did try to deceive you, but that was only to protect herself!"

He was not going to let his friend get hurt! He would protect her no matter what, even if he had to break her out of a facility and run away with her, or even keep her hidden under his berth! He would never let her suffer again. He owed her that much. She mattered that much.

"Okay… well there is one way to see if what she said is true." Epps said as he got up from his chair and walked over to where a laptop computer sat on a counter. He picked up the computer and sat back down at the table. Once he booted up the computer, he began to do a specialized search through government records. After what seemed like forever, he found what he was looking for.

"Here's a file on her." Epps said as he opened the file on the computer and projected what was in her file on the wall for everyone to see.

If Lilac's file would have been printed it would have been a foot thick. "Oh, my God." Will said under his breath as he read.

"Shit." Epps muttered in shock and agreeance as he looked back to the file on his computer and began scrolling through page after page of incident reports until he finally reached the section that contained the reports of where Lilac had been placed. As the room read what was in the report, they grew sadder and sadder.

"I…its true…" Will said breathlessly in shock.

"It's all true." Epps confirmed solemnly. Everything that Lilac had told them was in the reports in her file. Well, most of it anyway. There were a few things missing that Lilac had told them. But as far as anyone in the room was concerned, the items that were conveniently missing were most likely missing due to the fact that they incriminated someone, including the Dixons.

"How, in the pit, can someone lie about a youngling's well-being?" Ratchet asked, his voice betraying his disgust.

"And to such an extent as this?" Optimus added. They were all currently staring at the last page of the report; the final write up of the home visit to the Dixon household.

"They didn't just lie." Sideswipe spat. "They made it look like Lilac was well cared for. They threatened her to make her play along. They staged their home to make it seem like she was integrating well into her new family, her new life."

Everyone turned to stare at the silver frontliner in shock. "How do you know that?" Epps asked.

"I might be young, and I might be new to your planet, but I'm not ignorant." He said darkly.

"Lilac said herself that those slaggers staged the home visits. You all heard her say it." He added before pointing back at the projection on the wall. "That social worker didn't care about Lilac. That social worker cared more about that family. The rich, high in political status family." Sideswipe said with disgust. "We all heard her say that the family was wealthy. Of course, the social worker would give a good report!" Sideswipe sneered. "With money, they could create any illusion they wanted. All they had to do was ensure Lilac would play along. And with Lilac playing along the social worker assumed she was fine, like many would given the quality of the deception. Why would they check on her when she became a part of a wealthy, seemingly perfect upstanding family that has a large presence in their community?" Sideswipe asked. "You tell me how a report like that," Sideswipe said pointing to the report on the wall before continuing. "Could be written if the person writing it knew that what they were seeing was fake." Sideswipe said firmly as he crossed his arms across his chest with a scowl.

"They couldn't have…" Will started to say, only to be interrupted. "Unless the person writing the report knows what is truly going on." Ironhide stated before continuing "And is okay with it.". The room was silent as everyone turned to the black burly mech in the back of the room. Ironhide looked at them with a dark expression. "It would not be the first time that a politician has bought off others to make themselves look more favorable or to hide something from the public. We know that." Ironhide grumbled darkly before continuing. "I'd wager that that social worker had something to gain if they wrote a good report about that family and their home."

"Even if they did not, that does not change the fact that Lilac is in danger." Ratchet said.

"We clearly can't send her home." Will said.

"Won't send her back foster care. That would be worse…assuming that she doesn't get tagged by the system and sent back to the Dixons." Epps stated firmly.

"And the Decepticons are after her." Sideswipe confirmed with a sigh. The room looked at him in surprise.

"Sideswipe, are you certain about that?" Optimus asked gravely. Sideswipe winced a little as he thought back to his previous encounters with the Decepticons.

"At first I didn't think so. Skywarp being the glitch he is, is one thing. But Starscream…" Sideswipe said trailing off.

"What about that glitch?" Ironhide asked as he pushed himself off the wall. "He said she had nowhere to run this time…Like he knew about what happened in our fight with Skywarp…"

"So what? They're trine mates." Sunstreaker sneered. "He probably told him what happened." He said.

"Yeah, and I'd think that too if he didn't chase her. And then there was the fact that he had Thundercracker kidnap her."

"So?" Sunstreaker asked again moodily. "So…" Sideswipe began, while shooting his twin a dark look. "Why kidnap her? Decepticon M.O. is to kill anyone affiliated with us. Typically, in front of us. Why take her?" He said. That made the look on Sunstreaker's face change.

"You think, that they think she knows something?" Epps asked.

"What would she know?" Sunstreaker said in a slightly snide tone.

"Our location." Ironhide said. Sideswipe hesitated before he shook his helm. "No…I knew that the coordinates of the message were sent in Nevada. But neither of us knew where in Nevada. Let alone the location of the base." He said.

"But they don't know that. " Will said as he crossed his arms. Sideswipe narrowed his optics in skepticism as he spoke again.

"Even if that were the case, why not just get that information from me? Starscream and Thundercracker could have taken me down…raided my processor…" Sideswipe began only to stop at the scathing look that Sunstreaker was giving him.

"Look, I'm not saying that I am not one of the best swordsmechs on the planet. I know for a fact that I am. But I am saying, that from a strategical standpoint, going after me for information is smarter than targeting Lilac, and killing me."

Sideswipe said. "As much as I hate to admit it, the pit spawn is right." Ironhide said darkly, making the room turn towards him to give him their attention. "Why go after a human who may have some information, when you could go after a mech who you hate, hold a longstanding grudge against and who you know has more information regarding the location, or locations of enemy bases, and the locations or arrival dates of his comrades?" The room was silent as everyone processed the information. Both Sideswipe and Ironhide were right. Why would Starscream chase after a child who had little to no knowledge of the Autobots? Was it simply to get information, or was there another reason? Everyone in the room jumped when Optimus spoke. "While Starscream is many things,"

"Like a pit slagging glitch," Ironhide supplied only to receive a reprimanding glare from Optimus before the leader continued.

"He is not thoughtless. There is a reason for his pursuit of Lilac." Everyone in the room stared at him. He was right. All of the Autobots were right.

"Regardless of the reason, she can not leave this base." Ratchet said before continuing.

"Not only because of our uncertainty of what the Decepticons want with her, but also because of her current health status. She will not survive long if I do not begin treating her for malnourishment." Ratchet said.

Will and Epps looked at each other worried. Both men noticed that the child looked very thin, but they didn't know that she was malnourished.

"Ratchet?"

"Yes Captain?"

"You scanned her right? Gave her a full checkup?"

"I did a preliminary scan of her upon our first meeting yes. Upon her arrival to base, Jolt completed her medical exam."

"And what were your findings?" Optimus asked.

"As I noted before, she is deficient in several vitamins and minerals, and is greatly underweight. Upon DNA analysis, I found that she is underweight by at least 30 pounds, and that is only in the fifth percentile of female younglings! She is easily forty to fifty pounds underweight given her genetic structure." He said angrily. This wasn't his usual anger, however. Ratchet was not angry at the child. He was angry at those who hurt her and forced her to live in such poor conditions.

"From Jolt's scan, I found that she truly has suffered a great deal." Ratchet said solemnly before projecting x-ray scans of Lilac's skeleton on the wall. Epps shut off the projector and looked to the wall, barely hearing the soft hiss of several near silent gasps.

"Holy shit." Epps muttered.

"As you can see, her frame has sustained severe damage during her lifetime." Ratchet said.

"Jesus…" Will exhaled as he looked at the skeleton.

"Look at her ribs." Epps said as he gazed upon several different highlighted healed fractures on the skeleton.

"I have taken the liberty of highlighting the fractures and color coding them based on the age of the fracture. The darker highlighted fractures are old. That is to say that she sustained those approximately five to eight earth vorns ago."

"And the lighter ones?" Will asked unsure if he wanted to know the answer.

"Those fractures have occurred as recently as one earth vorn ago. However, due to the nature of the fractures and where they occur, combined with the youngling's accounts of abuse, I am certain that many of the light highlighted fractures that are seen here occurred approximately three earth vorns ago."

"When she was still under the care of the Dixons." Optimus surmised gravely.

"Are you sure that those times are accurate?" Will asked.

"Do you doubt my medical knowledge and ability?" Ratchet asked tersely.

"No." Both Will and Epps said together in unison.

"BUT, if we're going to build a case to have her removed from their custody, then we need irrefutable proof that those two gave her those fractures, and any other injuries when you said they did." Will added.

"Will's right. If we are going to base a case of child abuse off of your scan's then we need as accurate a timeline as you can give us. That way it will be easier to nail the two bastards who did this to her." Epps said.

"Even if they or the judge request a second opinion, the fractures will still show up…right?"

"The lighter ones will most likely show up, as they are more recent and are more sizable breaks. The dark ones are less likely to be picked up by your earth X-ray scans as your technology is still somewhat primitive. But a good medic should be able to tell the difference between a recently healed break and an old one. Assuming that a competent medic is chosen to do the scans of course."

"Ratchet" Prime began in a slightly admonishing tone.

"Prime, their medical knowledge is greatly limited! Even YOU- "

"Did the youngling sustain any structural damage during the fight with the Decepticons?" Optimus asked. Ratchet's glare softened at the concerned look in his leader's optics.

"No. She was very lucky to have not broken anything." He said, making everyone exhale softly in relief. "BUT she did sustain some injuries during her journey from Sideswipe's landing spot." Ratchet added as he changed the display on the wall to one showing pictures of Lilac's scans and a summary of her injuries.

"Given all that has happened in the last week, she is lucky to only have suffered one major laceration on her neck and a minor sprain in her right wrist. Jolt has treated her for both injuries and upon her waking up, I will begin her treatment for malnourishment."

"Okay. While you do that, we'll see if we can get her removed from the Dixon's custody." Will said as he stood up from his chair.

"Pardon my question Captain Lennox, but will that not take a lot of time?" Optimus asked curiously.

"I assume it would. Their government moves slow as it is." Ironhide grunted.

"Oh, it will." Will said with a smirk as he turned to the command team of Autobots behind him. "But so, will treating her for malnourishment." He said as his smirk turned into a grin. "As far as I'm concerned, she has immunity from all powers that seek to harm her based on medical needs. Add in the fact that she by your own medical diagnosis is not fit to leave and you have a perfectly legitimate reason for why she can't leave this base for at least two months." He said.

"And if anyone asks me, I'm pretty sure I heard her declare your Med bay as sanctuary." Epps said with a grin.

Optimus Prime looked at the two humans in front of him in slight amusement, noticing that his medic and weapons specialist looked confused about what they were saying. He would explain their ally's loopholes later to them if need be.

"It would also be beneficial for her to remain on base, seeing that we do not yet know the true nature or reason for the Decepticons wanting to capture her." Optimus said with the tiniest glint of amusement and mischief in his optics.

Just about everyone in the room nodded their helms or gave some sort of verbal agreement. Lilac would not be going anywhere anytime soon.

XXXXX

Lilac woke up from her dreamless sleep somewhere shady and cool. She opened her eyes and blearily looked around. The room she was in was so bright! And yet, she was in the shade. It was then that she began to remember the events of the night before. Her eyes grew wide in panic as she looked around.

She was back in the Med bay.

Lilac silently stood up and looked around. She didn't see anyone. She didn't hear anyone. It looked like she was alone. Silently she crept across the floor. If the Med bay was vacant, then she could escape. She knew that getting off the base was going to be hard, but she knew that she had to try! There was no way that she would stay there after what she had told the two men last night.

She had just left the shadows and was creeping up the main walkway towards the large doors when someone cleared their throat behind her. Lilac jumped a foot off the ground and covered her mouth so as not to scream when she whirled around only to see the large, intimidating, brightly colored medic behind her.

With a stern glare, Ratchet walked up to her and planted his hands firmly on his hips. "Where do you think you are going youngling?" He said leaning over her so that she was caught in his shadow. Lilac backed up quickly, fear evident in her eyes. She wasn't sure if she could outrun him, seeing that he was fully transformed this time. But she was willing to try.

However, just as she was about to turn and run, the large doors opened up and a large blue bot walked into the room behind her. Jolt looked at Ratchet and then down at Lilac and smiled gently.

"I'm sure she was just looking to explore." He said kindly as he stepped more into the med bay, forcing Lilac to back away from him and further toward Ratchet.

Ratchet grunted before picking her up, causing her to let out a muffled scream as she was still covering her mouth. He sat her on top of a Medical berth and sat on a stool near it and scooted closer to the berth she was on. While he wasn't eye level with her, he was close enough so that she would not have to strain her neck to keep eye contact with him.

"Youngling, for the foreseeable future you are under my medical jurisdiction." Ratchet began in a stern no nonsense tone. "That means that you are to do as I say when I say. Understood?" He said.

Lilac nodded her head as she trembled a little, afraid of the large medic, and the height of the berth. She desperately wished Sideswipe were there to tell her that everything was okay, like he did the afternoon before or at least to be some sort moral support. But the silver corvette was nowhere to be seen.

"Good." Ratchet said gently as he looked her over.

"I have taken the liberty of drawing you a bubble bath in the human wash racks." Ratchet said as he picked Lilac up and carried her to one of the rooms in the back of the med bay. Lilac did not get a chance to look into the other three rooms as their doors were closed. Once they were in the room Ratchet set Lilac down and allowed her to take a good look around. The room was a clean sterile white, much like the rest of the Med bay. However, this room was designed like a communal shower, with shower stalls lining the walls and with a few large bathtubs that could be used for physical therapy, ice baths for sore muscles and in Lilac's case a regular old bubble bath.

"Alright youngling. I am going to give you your privacy to perform your cleaning maintenance. HOWEVER-"Ratchet said loudly in a stern tone making Lilac wince at the echo as it bounced off the walls. "You will need to be thorough about your cleaning maintenance. And I do mean thorough. As a resident of the med bay you will come into contact with others of my race and yours. I will not have you contaminating or infecting anyone. Do you understand?"

Lilac rapidly nodded her head mutely. "Good. Sargent Epps was kind enough to provide you with a spare change of clothing, of which I expect you to change into once you are clean. Do NOT put on any armor that you were wearing prior to your wash. Simply put it in a neat pile, and I will have it properly washed and sanitized for you. And that includes any spare armor sets in your bag." He said pointing to her backpack that was hanging off one shoulder.

"If you do not perform an adequate and thorough cleaning maintenance on your frame, I will."

Ratchet threatened making Lilac gulp. She couldn't begin to picture what Ratchet would do to her if he deemed her not clean enough. And she certainly did not want to know.

"And above all else-"The medic began again as he kneeled, getting closer to Lilac and making her shrink into herself. "Try and relax." He said to her in a gentle tone. Lilac looked up at him in stunned surprise. "The Med bay is a safe place and Jolt and I will ensure that no harm comes to you here." Ratchet said in a gentle and soothing tone as he straightened back up and walked towards the door. "If you need anything, simply call or press that button next to the door." He said in parting.

Lilac watched him leave before turning to look at the room again. There were no windows or doors other than the one that Ratchet used to enter and exit the room. Lilac then looked back to the tub, where a rich lather of foam and bubbles covered the top and climbed down the sides. She hesitantly walked over and looked at it before she quickly tested the water with her hand. It was nice and warm.

She shivered and winced as she pulled her clothes from her body, finally feeling how sore her muscles were and the sting of several small scrapes on her skin. She winced even harder when she felt the warm water hit her scrapes and the stitches on her neck as she climbed into the tub. After a while, she sunk under the frothy water, enjoying its warm embrace as her muscles relaxed. When she raised her head above the water she sighed. Lilac couldn't remember the last time that she had taken an actual bath, let alone a warm bubble bath!

By the time she was done, an hour had passed. She quietly stepped out of the bathroom, carrying her clothing from the day before. Ratchet saw her and scooped her up once more and placed her once again on a large berth. This one however had stairs and railing on the sides, and it looked like it was covered in clean white sheets. A pillow and a few blankets sat on the berth as well. "Alright youngling. Hand them over." Ratchet said pointing to her clothes. Lilac timidly gave them to him and squirmed as he scanned her. With another grunt, he walked to one of the back rooms and closed the door. Lilac stared after him concern written all over her face. She jumped when Jolt chuckled behind her.

"Do not mind him. He is just concerned for your well-being." He said. "Here, I brought you some human fuel." Jolt said as he handed her a tray. With a small smile Lilac took the tray from him and sat down on the berth she was on. He had given her a sandwich, an apple, a glass of milk, a bottle of water, a bag of chips and a single serve string cheese.

"T..Thank you." She said shyly to him. Jolt smiled at her and sat down on a stool and scooted over. While she ate, he gave her a short list of rules for the med bay.

She was not to leave her berth, except for going to the bathroom, or when he or Ratchet instructed her to do so. She was not allowed to go into any of the other three rooms in the med bay, given that one room was Ratchet's office, one was an operating room, and another was simply off limits. She was not to bother Ratchet when he was busy, and by extension Ratchet would not allow her to bother Jolt when he was busy. And of course, she was to do what Ratchet said no matter what.

With a small nod, Lilac confirmed that she understood and that she would obey the rules. Once she had finished eating, Jolt took the tray and her trash so that he could return them to the kitchen. Once he left, Ratchet walked out of his office and gave her a stern look. "Rest youngling." He commanded. Lilac wasn't sure what she should do. After all, she wasn't tired!

But Ratchet's stern glare was too intimidating for her. With a submissive nod, she unfolded the blankets and covered herself with them. "Good youngling." Ratchet praised as he walked back to his office. He did not notice Lilac's tears or her silent sobs as she tried to fall back asleep.

XXXXX

Lilac's first three days were uneventful. She spent her time following the same routine, waking up, showering, eating, taking several naps, re-reading the documents in her backpack, eating some more and eventually falling asleep for the night. She was beyond bored and was quite miserable. She did not have anyone to talk to. Not that she spoke to anyone often back in Kentucky, but here she had at least two people she could talk to all day! After spending a week with Sideswipe, she had grown used to conversations and some sort of companionship. But now she was nearly banned from talking to anyone! She had asked to speak with Jolt once during the evening of her first full night in the Med bay, and Ratchet told her that he and Jolt were busy before going into one of the forbidden rooms in the back of the Med bay. She tried again early the next morning but was once again rebuffed. At that point she gave up any hope of speaking to either bot, as well as seeing Sideswipe again.

So, it came as a great surprise one evening during her dinner that Optimus Prime himself came into the Med bay and asked how she was doing. She had barley said that she was doing fine when Ratchet butted in and began to explain that he thought otherwise. Her heart sunk as the Medic began to prattle on about the various things wrong with her, as she knew that he would most likely not allow her to talk to the Prime. Soon enough her thoughts were confirmed as Ratchet ushered Optimus Prime into the forbidden back room that Ratchet and Jolt had been spending so much time in.

After what seemed like an eternity, Lilac watched the three mechs come out of the room with solemn expressions. She watched as Optimus left the med bay, bidding her a good night and a pleasant recharge. She replied as best she could before he strode out the door. When she turned around, she saw Ratchet looking at the doors to the Med bay, his arms were crossed, and his optics were dim as if he were thinking about something. However, as soon as she noticed this, he noticed her and frowned. "Time for recharge youngling."

"But-"Lilac began to protest, noticing that the clock on the wall hadn't even struck 8p.m. yet.

"No protesting child. Recharge." He admonished as he came over and removed her tray from her berth. Lilac sighed sadly but obeyed. She pulled the blankets over her and laid on her side away from him. She waited until he left to his office before, she began silently crying, as it was now a part of her nightly routine. Lilac laid there and cried silently as she had done every night since coming to base. After about an hour, she finally fell asleep.

When Lilac woke up next, the room was completely dark. She blinked her eyes a few times so that they could adjust to the darkness before she grabbed the bottle of water she kept nearby. Ratchet had realized the first night that she was very dehydrated, and as a result needed to drink more water, more frequently. As a result, the medic ensured that she had a large bottle of water on her berth at all times. Lilac appreciated having the water but found that the increase of liquid consumption meant that she had to use the bathroom far more often than what she was used to.

So, after having a large drink of water, Lilac climbed down the stairs of her berth and walked towards the back of the Med bay to use the bathroom. Jolt usually left a small light on for her so that she could find her way to the bathroom, but tonight she didn't see it. As she blearily rubbed at her eyes, she tried to remember which of the dark rooms to go into. Despite having made the trip numerous times before, she was more tired than usual for some reason and this coupled with the near complete darkness confused her. Thankfully, she saw a guiding light flashing behind a cracked door and followed it into a room. Unbeknownst to her, she had entered the forbidden room that Ratchet and Jolt were spending most of their time in.

The room was large and somewhat crowded with tools and machines. A large berth sat in the center of the room, and a large tarp was placed over something on the berth. However, the large tarp did not cover the source of the blinking light that Lilac had followed.

Now fully awake, Lilac could not help but feel curious. What was that blinking light and why was it blinking? Without thinking Lilac climbed the stairs on the side of the berth. When she got to the top, she found a large metal mass, and the blinking light, (which Lilac had noticed was a lovely shade of blue) was blinking from somewhere within the mass. Lilac was about to climb up on to the top of the mass when she remembered Ratchet's rules. She knew that she wasn't supposed to be in that room, and she knew that she would probably get in trouble. A lot of trouble. But she was tired of always obeying the medic! She hadn't done anything fun or exciting in the last three days! She wanted to explore and learn more about her environment!

With a small grin, she climbed up the side of the dark colored mass. Only to find a large hole in the center of it. Lilac frowned. The hole was not like a pit, but it looked almost…like an opening of some sort.

"Interesting." She whispered to herself as she peered over the edge. She could see the flashing light inside! With a curious grin she sat down on the edge of the hole before scooting closer and hanging into it. With an excited grin she let go of the edge that she was holding and fell, landing on her bottom. She frowned when she stood up and rubbed at her tailbone a little. She had not expected the fall to be so far. She brushed it off though as she climbed over various objects in her way as she tried to get to the flashing blue light. Upon arriving to the source of the blue light she found that it was coming from a panel on the wall.

As she leaned in, she saw that the panel had marks and glyphs like the ones she watched Sideswipe burn into the corn. When she tried to lean in closer to get a better look, she tripped over something and yelped as her hand slammed against the panel. The panel made a positive sounding chime and the display changed. Lilac stood up and looked closer at the screen. She couldn't understand what the glyphs meant. She was about to turn away when a picture popped up next to one of the glyphs. Lilac looked closer and then looked down. There was another flashing blue light! This one seemed to be coming from a port that a cable was supposed to be plugged into. She frowned curiously at the port and then at the screen before she bumped her ankle into what had initially tripped her. She looked down to see a large cable. And the end of the cable matched the shape of the glowing port!

With a grunt of effort, she lifted the cord and carried it across the floor before shoving the matching end into the glowing port. The panel made another cheerful chime noise while turning the picture the glyphs and the area around them a positive shade of green. Then the panel highlighted the next set of glyphs and picture below the first. Lilac looked at the panel and at the picture. This time, a port closer to where she entered was flashing blue. Feeling excited, she eagerly maneuvered her way to the area where the port was flashing. She looked around and found the cord she needed and plugged it in. She rushed back to the panel, only to see it lit up with a strange glyph like icon flashing repeatedly. She looked at the panel closely only to be startled when a new picture popped up! It was a picture of a tool being used to secure the cable she had plugged in.

With a frown, Lilac scratched her head. She hadn't seen any tools lying around. Then again, it was so dark where she was, she couldn't see much of anything other than the panel and the flashing of indicated ports. However, by this point she was having too much fun to stop, so she decided to try and find the tool in the picture. She started by looking for the tool in the cavern she was in. After that, she climbed out of the pit and back down the stairs of the berth. She looked around, and found some tools she could use, including a flashlight and a small red toolbox that she could carry. She started with the tools in the toolbox, and when she found that the tools did not match the picture, she climbed back out, searched around for a bit, and eventually grabbed the correct tool from where it was laying on the end of the berth. Once she was back inside the pit, she correctly connected the cord, using the large wrench she had found to tighten the end of it. When she returned to the panel, she found the familiar shade of green highlighting he previous step and another set of flashing glyphs and pictures. With a wide grin, Lilac leaned in closer to the panel to see what her next step was.

XXXXX

Lilac had lost all sense of time. She was having so much fun! Each task that the panel came up with, she happily completed. She was so distracted that she couldn't even remember why she had gotten up and out of bed in the first place! But she had to be quiet! She didn't want Ratchet to hear her, and get angry with her for not only being out of bed, but for also being in a room she should not be in.

With a happy, satisfied smile she walked back to the panel. She was positively filthy after crawling over, under and in between things and she had smears of grease on her face and up her arms. But it was worth it to her. Sure, she had no knowledge of what exactly it was that she was doing, but just being able to do something made her happy. When she reached the panel, she saw that her last task was once again highlighted green symbolizing it's completion. She scrolled up the list of items seeing all green before scrolling back down, having figured out eight or nine steps prior that the panel's screen was not only touch sensitive, but that the list of tasks was long enough for there to be a need to scroll down the list.

Seeing all tasks lit up green, she grinned as she pressed on the green flashing glyph at the bottom of the list. There was a great humming noise in the air, and the walls around her light up in a dazzling show of blue and white lights. Some of the lights glowed, some pulsated slowly, others twinkled softly or flashed quickly and vibrantly. Lilac's grin grew wider in amazement, happiness and awe before everything suddenly went dark again. She quickly frowned as she looked around. She couldn't see anything! She quickly turned her flashlight back on and looked at the now dimed panel. There was a message in the same glyphs she had grown used to seeing highlighted in green. The rest of the panel was the same calm blue that had lured her to the room in the first place. Lilac watched as the message blinked at her as the panel continued to dim before it abruptly shut off. With a frown she poked at the panel and received no response. With a sad sigh, she picked up her tools, only to yelp softly when she felt a shock! She hastily touched the wrench she was grabbing again and was relieved when it didn't shock her. Lilac brushed it off as static electricity, that is until she touched the wall next to the panel. This time Lilac yelped loudly as she jumped back from the wall shaking her hand and arm furiously as she felt the pins and needles of painful electric tingles going up to her shoulder. She quickly looked at her hand and arm in the light of the flashlight and was happy to see that she was not burned from the shock. As a matter of fact, her hand which had gotten sore from her work felt relaxed. She flexed her fingers and felt no pain. She then flexed her arm and rolled her shoulder and was amazed as well as amused to find that her muscles no longer ached. They felt relaxed!

As she discovered this, she saw a faint reflection of herself and snorted a laugh. Just about every hair on her head and on her arms was standing up! She shook her head in amusement before she wiped at her forehead, leaving a large grease smudge. The pit had suddenly gotten much warmer for some odd reason. And that is when Lilac heard it. The low, soft, constant humming of something vaguely mechanical. She had heard the noise before, but she could not remember how, or where she had heard it. Lilac narrowed her eyes and focused on the sound, only to be startled by her reflection once more. Or rather, she was startled by what she saw in her reflection. The wall with the panel was sliding vertically into the floor! Not only that, but something behind it was rising up too!

Lilac turned around and began walking back towards the wall with the panel before she heard a loud CLU-CLUNK, and some soft high-pitched whining. It was loud enough that it startled her, causing her to flinch, but as she looked up, her eyes went wide with terror as she saw that the opening at the top of the pit where she had come in was quickly CLOSING!

Lilac stood frozen in panic for a few precious seconds before her brain fully registered the gravity of the situation. If she did not move, she would be sealed inside the machine. Panicking, Lilac threw the flashlight in the toolbox and began to run towards her quickly closing exit. As she ran, she grabbed tools she had left out and maneuvered over the obstacles, no longer caring about being quiet. As she got to the ledge, she saw that she was almost too late! The gap was closing so fast that at her current speed she would either get to the top just as the covering sealed her in, or worse, she would get to the top just in time for the covering to sever her from her lower half. But the pit was getting extremely hot now, she could see the lights in the walls flashing on and off, she could hear a much louder, deeper humming coming from the machine. A deafening crack of electricity near the now quickly rising silver pod like shape had her squeak in fright before she put the handle of the toolbox in her mouth and began climbing. She looked back in time to see purple-blue electricity buzzing between electrodes in a closed off area she had not seen prior. She saw cables swing and jump, as if liquid had suddenly been pumped into them forcefully. There was no way that she would be able to survive inside the machine. With renewed vigor and speed, she climbed the wall, setting down the toolbox on a short ledge before pulling herself fully out. She grabbed the toolbox and pulled it out at the very last second. With a much softer hydraulic hiss, the machine sealed shut.

Lilac collapsed. She pressed a hand to her heart as she panted heavily. A small part of her subconscious mind laughed and compared her escape to something out of an Indiana Jones movie, but she wasn't laughing. She was trying to calm down from the prospect of nearly getting killed. Another small part of her mind (most likely the part acknowledging her extremely high adrenaline rush) was giving her the classic feeling of 'WOOO! THAT WAS FUN! LET'S DO THAT AGAIN!'. Thankfully, the more rational part of her mind kicked in and she curled up into a fetal position so that she could calm down, calm her breathing and comfort herself.

As Lilac laid there, she noticed a small crack in where the machine had closed up running down what seemed to be the middle of the machine. Lilac had not noticed it when she was climbing, due to the fact that a separate piece of metal was closing off her exit. 'Perhaps the machine has layers of metal to protect the inside?' she thought. Lilac could now distinctly remember seeing the different pieces of metal moving to seal up the machine. In fact, it was for that reason that Lilac collapsed on the edge of where she came out from. That way she would be on stable metal. But now that she looked, she could see the faint glow of lights from the crack. She blinked and rubbed her eyes trying to confirm what she was seeing. She suddenly felt the metal under her shift a little. She put her arms out as she stood up so that she could be steady. The light was much brighter now.

Maybe a little too bright. So much so that she was nearly startled by her own shadow. Lilac blinked before realizing that the crack could not emit as much light as she was seeing. Her eyebrows furrowed as she glared down the sloping metal and at the wall in front of her. She could see her shadow in the blueish white light. 'Wait…' She thought as she registered the color of the light. Slowly, Lilac turned around only to see a band of the blueish white light. She then began to notice some features.

Lilac paled.

XXXXX

Jazz had died a horribly painful death. Or so he and just about everyone else thought. His final memories were of Megatron ripping him in two before throwing him down. And so, naturally, when he came back online, the first thing to come to his processor were the memory files of the battle and his subsequent 'death'.

Jazz screamed.

He screamed in pain, anger and admittedly fear, a quite common reaction for many bots who come online after having been knocked out in battle. What he was not expecting was for someone else to scream.

Lilac screamed at the sudden noise from the now very alive creature she was standing on. Hearing her scream, Jazz bolted, sending her tumbling down his chest plates and into his lap as he screamed even louder in alarm. Lilac screamed even louder, now because she was scared and because she had fallen and gotten hurt. Her face was flushed, making her look a florescent shade of red.

Suddenly the door to the room slammed open revealing a creature with red optics and a spinning, whirring buzzsaw. Both Jazz and Lilac screamed at the top of their lungs (or intakes in the case of the scuffed-up silver saboteur). As Jazz placed his arms up to shield his helm, neck cables and face, Lilac's eyes rolled back into her head as she fainted. Just as she hit the berth, Ratchet turned on the light to the room and stared in complete and utter shock.

"J..Jazz?" He stammered as Captain Lennox, Epps, Optimus and Ironhide stormed into the room behind him, weapons drawn.

"What the pit is-"Ironhide trailed off as he saw what had made the medic speechless.

"Jazz?" Optimus said in utter disbelief. The mech in question raised his cracked visor and 'blinked' a few times before looking at the group. "H…Hey Prime!" He said sheepishly. The group in front of him was speechless. Jazz vented some steam through his vents softly, and that was enough to break his friends and given the humans, allies out of their stupor.

"What in the pit- "

"How the hell- "

"What happened- "

"HOW THE FRAG ARE YOU ONLINE?!" Ironhide blurted, drowning out the other's questions. Jazz rubbed the back of his now very sore helm and smiled sheepishly.

"About that…well…" He said only to pause when he looked down and saw Lilac.

"Ummm…Who's that?"

He asked pointing to her. The room at large looked to see Lilac laying unconscious in Jazz's lap. Ratchet swore as he walked over to the two and picked her up. Ratchet gave Lilac a deep scan before confirming for the room that she was still alive, albeit with a rapid heartbeat.

"You are lucky that she did not leak on you. Her bladder is quite full." Ratchet said as he adjusted her only to smell the faint scent of urine. She had leaked a little. But he would not tell the others that. He would wake her up and have her discreetly go to the bathroom and change later.

In the meantime, he had to figure out how by some miracle of Primus, his friend was still alive.