The hunt for the relics continued and Paige felt frustrated because she didn't know what to do. It wasn't like they would let her help retrieve any more of them and she was a bit too big to simply slip away like the kids could. She wasn't in any type of shape to become physically involved anyway and she didn't know of any coordinates that would help locate them. Sure she knew what the Omega Keys could do, but if she let them know that Smokescreen had one, he might offline when he gets captured and she wasn't going to risk that. After getting to know him, she had quickly realized that he wasn't the complete egotist that the cartoon had portrayed and he had a rather sharp mind, but he was still young and liable to make mistakes hence the reason he got captured in the first place. She did give him plenty of compliments about his usage of the Phase Shifter if only to encourage him to use it.

Paige was leaning against the wall in the control room watching Ratchet examine one of the Omega Keys. She could tell by his behavior that he was stumped. It was obvious he didn't have any clue what it was. "You should take a break," said Paige startling him. "Then look at it with fresh optics."

"There is no time to waste," said Ratchet returning to his work. "We need to figure out what these do before the Decepticons."

"Except you're wasting your time on something that won't matter," said Paige. "It'll simply end up back in storage with the rest of the relics whether you figure it out or not."

"Well if you're so smart, tell me what it does," said Ratchet with his back still turned to her.

"It's a key Ratchet," said Paige. "A key wouldn't be built unless it opens something so there is obviously a lock and this lock requires more than one key. Instead of agonizing over this, you should be doing more important things like looking after the children."

Ratchet snorted.

"I did warn you," said Paige quietly leaving the room.

Ratchet turned to look at her, but she was already gone.

xxxxxx

Smokescreen returned with two of the Omega Keys after escaping the Nemesis. Paige congratulated him on a job well done, but then hightailed it to her room. Smokescreen's efforts would soon be undone and she knew what came next. There was no way she was going to be caught out of her room with Starscream roaming the halls. He'd probably remember her punting him off the plateau so she wouldn't give him the chance to kill her. Unlike the others, she would be easy to kill so she hid in her room and locked the door. She wasn't strong enough to stop him even at normal speed and the Autobots weren't fast enough to take him down as long as the red energon still burned in his systems.

Paige didn't notice anything different, but she suddenly shivered the hairs prickling on the back of her neck. She only knew Starscream had come and gone when the sprinklers in the hallway were set off. She left her room in a hurry wearing only her underwear and went to the emergency water supply quickly shutting it off. The sprinkler system hadn't been flushed in years so all that stagnant water came down from the ceiling. Paige wrinkled her nose in disgust at the smell. As soon as the water stopped falling, she collected her clothes and went to take a shower.

After her shower, she packed her few belongings into her purse and waited near her door until Smokescreen walked by. She promptly pulled Smokescreen into her room and begged him to use the Phase Shifter to get her out of the base unnoticed. She would only tell him that it was important and urgent. She promised to tell him the real reason why when they were out of the base. Shifting was a unique experience. It felt like walking into a marshmallow every time they passed through an object, but there was no resistance. Each surface had a signature texture that would disappear as they passed through. This was how it felt to Paige and she wondered if Smokescreen noticed it at all.

They ended up in a large cave about two miles outside of the base. That was when Smokescreen noticed that she had brought all of her belongings with her. "You're leaving for good, aren't you?" he asked frowning.

"I can't stay at the base anymore," said Paige. "It's only a matter of time before the Cons find it and I'd only be in the way. I'm still too big to blend in so sending me somewhere else would be pointless. I can't fight and the Cons would kill me on sight. It's not like they have a jar big enough for me and I don't relish burning to death in the base."

Smokescreen looked at her in confusion.

"Smokescreen, when they captured you, they used the cortical psychic patch to read your mind. When Starscream stole the Omega Keys, he went right back to the Cons to negotiate or he would be here right now. It's not like he had a choice because he doesn't have the resources to do anything on his own. Did you think that Megatron wouldn't use the patch on him? He needs to know if he's trustworthy or not. Megatron's crazy remember not stupid. The only thing good about this situation is that Dreadwing will finally find out that Starscream was the one who really killed his brother, Skyquake. This will be the only advantage you'll gain."

"Where are you getting your information?" asked Smokescreen confused.

"It's not hard to figure out what they'll do based on their past actions," said Paige. "I might not be able to help, but I do listen to what's going on. Even the unpredictable Cons have behavior patterns. It's called psychology." Paige didn't know if Smokescreen would believe her, but that was all the explanation she was going to give. She wasn't a doctor of psychology or even a student, but he didn't need to know that. Trying to explain how she actually knew would take longer and was even more unbelievable. If they had believed her in the first place, then Optimus would have switched bases much earlier. She released a sigh. When trying to change fate, sometimes fate pushed back. "You need to go back," said Paige looking up at Smokescreen. At this point he was taller than her now. "I'll be fine. They need you and I know you'll do what you think is right." Paige turned and walked away from him trying to encourage him to leave. Smokescreen hesitated for a moment and then shifted through the wall disappearing as he headed back to base.

It wasn't completely dark yet, but Paige headed out of the cave anyway and continued to put distance between her and the base. She had originally wanted Smokescreen to stay behind at the base with her while Optimus escaped, but knew that trying to convince Optimus to do that would be a losing battle. Even if he did agree to leave, convincing him to use the Forge on himself instead of the Omega Lock would be impossible and they desperately needed a flyer on their side. For things to continue as they should, Optimus would have to nearly die. Hopefully, Smokescreen would make the choice to save Optimus again. As for right now, she needed to focus on trying to survive out here once again on her own.