The tours of Cybertron had become the highlight of his days for more than just being able to see his home. With Elita's help, Ratchet was able to recall so many more details of the place he longed for the most as he shared it with her. It was also the time that they got to spend alone together. Yes, Cybertron was whole in his mind, but much like in reality it was void of life. He knew that it wouldn't be that way forever. That the war was eventually going to end, but it would take time to restore the once beautifully gleaming world back to even part of its former glory.

The majority of this particular trip they spent in Iacon itself. Her awe and exuberance at first seeing it reminded him so much of Orion Pax when he first laid optics on the knowledge halls. It also reminded him so much of the children when they were they all were first introduced to each other. Ratchet wouldn't admit it back then, and even now, but seeing the wonder in their little eyes renewed a spark of hope that he had though he lost a long time ago. A spark that could so easily be destroyed if it was forgotten or wasn't kept nurtured.

With their time for the day growing shorter, the pair had taken to watching the sun set. It was the way that they had ended every trip, the setting sun a symbol of that they were about ready to rejoin the harsher world of reality. They were sitting on top of the building that both served as his living quarters and laboratory back before the war started, taking in the fiery colors that were reflecting off of the glowing metallic surfaces before them. Funny how it would now remind him of how the setting sun on Earth would look just as amazing when he was running patrols in search for Energon.

Looking over to his right hand side, Ratchet had to smile as the light danced over her features. Naturally he had first assumed that she would have the form she did in their shared dream that was her inspiration for this whole exercise, that it was a lovely form and he would get to carry her around on his shoulder again. Much to his surprise, she did keep aspects of both forms, her Cybertronian form akin to armor around her human one, just as Optimus had described it to him. She had kept the size comparison that they had in the shared dream as well, only being roughly a head shorter than he. Elita had taken her helmet off, letting the gentle breeze through the strands of vibrant red.

When she realized that he was staring at her, Elita blushed a bit as she giggled, smiling up at him. "Hi."

"Hi."

Human eyes were marvelous. Color variations were something unique to the species of the planet, both human and some animals. Hers, though, were unlike any he had come across. They started out as a blue-grey that faded into a greenish hazel color that ended with a little bit of gold that surrounded the pupil, akin to the ring around a total eclipse. He recalled them not from the dream, but from some of the pictures of her life before she became entangled into their lives. Though those images had shown how her life had been dimmed due to the circumstances that she had endured then, they now were bright and vibrant with joy and hope.

As the sky began to darken further, the sun almost hidden completely behind the horizon, Ratchet smiled as she ran her fingers over the the space between were they sat, writing their initials, in both English and Cybertonian, surrounded by a heart in the metal there. She had marked the place as their own.

The alarm on Elita's phone woke the pair up, as it was programmed to do. With a slight modification to Ratchet, Elita made it where the passenger seat could slide to the middle and recline, the seat back now replaced with a nano-fiber interface like the inside of her larger form, though showing no indicating change, allowing her to partially connect to him without draining from his systems. While she grumbled, feeling around on his dashboard with mostly closed eyes for her phone, Ratchet kept his amusement to himself that she was not a morning person. Outside her little walled off corner of the compound he could hear the men of the unit preparing for their morning routine. With his seat back into place, Elita gently rubbed the dashboard before she opened the door to exit.

"Too freaking early... seriously," she muttered as she walked around to his back doors, that he kindly opened for her. "Thank you, Ratchet."

Her muttering elicited a chuckle from him. "Glad to know I wasn't the only one that thought so."

"Nature of the job," she replied, gently shutting the doors after she was done. "I just remind myself that I get coffee afterwards."

Again that got a chuckle from her medic. "I have monitor duty tonight, but you will stop by sometime today?"

"Hopefully with a battle plan, but yeah."

"See you later, then?"

She winked. "With a lovely flavored coffee to share the taste of with with you."

Ratchet left her to prepare for the day, all but ignoring the looks from her men as he drove past and headed through the Ground Bridge. He did flash his lights a bit in response to Spike's wave, but as to the man's smirk he was a bit puzzled.

There had to be more than this tiresome cycle. Fighting, rage, while it exhilarated for a time, it also drained him quickly, both in the physical sense and emotional. There was also the treatment he had been receiving from his new master. While his old master was cold emotionally, he was gentle and kind physically. He felt comforted and happy in his presence. His new master was cruel and demanding, taking out his anger and frustrations on him physically, or even doing so just to assert his dominance. He didn't know what he did to his new master to deserve how he was being treated, but he did what he could to make him happy so he would stop.

He was like the others on the ship, wasn't he? They spoke around him or to him like he was only an animal. He could smell that they were made up of the same materials, the same gears made him function like they did. Or did they?

Looking over at the group that ran through his chamber as they exited the ship, he once again took in what made them different from him. They had two forms to his one. Or did he only have one?

Turning back to the little screen he rested against, he gently pressed in commands that he had learned to access the systems. It took time, but he learned their language. Maybe, if he put in the same dedication, he could learn to be like the others. Maybe, then, his new master would be happy.

John found her hours later typing away on her laptop while she had three different office copy/printer machines going at once in her room. She apparently was keeping herself busy. In fact, she didn't even look up at him as she waved at him first in greeting, then to go.

"You know that doesn't work on me," he told her, approaching her front tire. "Spike said Ratchet spent the night here."

"Yeah, quieter here. Started digging into that gut feeling, ya know?"

"And?"

Elita rubbed her left ear with her pointer finger. It was a signal established by the four of them, Elita, John, Spike, and Agent Fowler, that the one giving it was worried about being overheard. Nodding, he walked over to the table that held her paperwork, it now somewhat organized again, but the papers had all sort of new markings on them. Or they were new printings with fresh markings.

"When was the last time you took your says off?" A code phrase. He was really asking how high in the chain of command she thought that the help M.E.C.H. was having from their own military. If she gave a certain day of the week, it corresponded with a rank. If she gave a number then it was a General with the their star count.

"I don't remember," was code for she didn't have anything solid yet. "I'm planning on curling up with a good book tonight." She was going to be doing heavy research, most likely all the printing she was doing.

John frowned a bit. He wasn't surprised, really. "Well, when you get done printing out your anthology here, make sure that you get something to eat. I noticed that you didn't this morning."

"Yes, Doctor."

Despite the sweet smile she gave him, she knew it was one of his pet peeves. "Don't make me get back-up on you," the medic muttered as he left.

With her printing wrapped up, the documentation of the activity hidden from all servers and computers but hers involved, Elita packed up the substantial amount of paperwork she had given herself into her storage, and prepared herself for leaving. She would indeed head into town, but only to give a digital paper trail for those who were keeping a watch on her. Once settled, Elita met Spike as she was heading out, letting him know that she was going to be spending a few days on the bot side of things to see if they had any solid leads on M.E.C.H..

Food first, if only to keep her energy up, and, of course, coffee, because she promised Ratchet.

The videos and programs he worked with seemed to be on the childish side, but he understood that it was for the youth of the planet to learn their own language with so he didn't mind too much. It also helped hold his attention a bit more than the other programs he had come across. After two weeks he had not only to manage to learn the American English Alphabet, but a few basic words as well. When he learned more he was planning on seeing if he could work on a Cybertronian Cipher to go along with it. It would cheer Peceptor up.

Speaking of...

Blurr looked over at his friend, who was intently focused on the strange purple crystals that the humans had brought with them on the last supply shipment. Personally, the speedster didn't like them. Being round them made him feel weak and drained. Perceptor didn't seemed to be bothered too much by being around them. Then again, there were times that Blurr would have to pull the scientist away from his work to make sure he recharged.

Turning his attention back to his screens, Blurr refocused himself to his task. The sooner he got his head around the written language, the sooner this Wrecker could have a better idea about what was going on.

Perceptor had never seen anything like this before! It had quite a few properties that closely resembled Energon, but it wasn't Energon. He had heard about how there were Cybertronian Energon stockpiles on other planets. Maybe there was something here on this world that effected the Energon, altering its composition on the atomic level. That was just the first few questions that came to mind when he first started to examine it. One of the pressing ones that came to mind was how viable was it as a fuel source?

Protocol stated that he test it on machines first, so he would have to build something that wasn't vital to himself, Blurr, or the humans that resided with them. That should be relatively simple. As for machine components, the parts usually always went together the same no matter what planet he was on.

The human that was working with him that day taking notes helped the Autobot make a list of components that he would need for the eventual testing stages. He was just glad that he found humans that were as interested in his work as he was. They seemed to be extremely interested and very helpful in all of his endeavors.

The freedom of flight was a magnificent thing! The skies his to do as he pleased. It allowed him moments of respite from his angry, unhappy master, as he sought out prey. He could sense her nearby, the prey he had caught before and tried to bring back at his kind master's master's command.

Circling around the many buttes that surrounded a large swath of land that he could feel elements of his old world laying in ruins, he took it all in. She was down there, and his prey was alone.

Elita had Ground Bridged to the old base and Dark Mount area in an attempt to take in details that she might have missed during all of the chaos that had happened those days not too long ago. Standing in her whole form on the top of a butte that was the closest to the mass that Dark Mount had once been, her mind kept circling around again.

She was once again angry with herself over her part of the creation of Damocles. She had been so desperate to be accepted into Special Tactics that she blindly went along with projects, only afterwards thinking it over if it was the right thing to do. She was angry with herself for not questioning sooner. Angry at Bishop for using her. Angry at Joel for how he treated her, and herself for allowing him to do so for so long. Angry for their part in ending her human life. Angry over the loss of her mother. Angry that her programs were used for intentional harm to innocents. Angry at Megatron and the Decepticons for numerous things. Angry at herself for how she had treated Ratchet in their mindscape. She was just angry, and she could feel that trying to take over her life again.

A shadow blocking out the light from the full moon made her look up. Her mind recalled the shape, but not exactly why until the Predacon landed on the other side of the butte she stood on. The ground she stood on shook as it landed and when it lifted its head to give a mighty roar, before it focused down at her.

Elita had first felt a jolt of fear rush through her when she first laid optics on the creature, but as they just looked at one another she began to feel murmurs in the back of her mind. Echos of how Shockwave felt about the creature.

The Predacon calmed as he watched the tiny thing he had been hunting change her look of fear to a look of awe as she stared at him. She even reached her and up towards him, but didn't touch him, as if she was silently asking him if she could touch him. It was an action his kind master would do before showing affection. Giving the small appendage a tentative scan of his olfactory sensors, he let his systems process her unique scent. She didn't smell like the others. Naturally he smelt the things that belonged to his old world that made her, but she carried the exotic scents of this world also. The gentle tone to her voice reminded him of his kind master as well, though he could only understand a few things of what she said.

"You are truly a wondrous being," Elita said as she watched the Predacon sniff her hand. When he gently nudged her hand with his nose she smiled and began to gently brush it over his plating. As the massive dragon shaped Cybertronian curled down closer to the ground they were on, Elita brought up her other hand to add to amount of affection she was showering him with as she continued to gently coo. She felt a lot of her tension and anger ebbing away as she did so. He reminded her of a stray cat that would show up around town when she would really get over-stressed and focusing positive energy and attention on the cat helped calm her.

It was not this creature's fault that he was being used as a brute. He was simply made and used as a tool, despite how Shockwave might have felt about him. Right now, it was just the two of them, enjoying a good scratch.

"I don't know about you, but I really needed this. Thank you."

Author's Note: I don't own the show. Thanks for the views, reads, reviews, and faves.

I'm sorry if this seems to be getting off to a slow start. I'm just trying to make sure that all the pieces fit together in a believable way so that it doesn't strain the story more than I already do with an 'overpowered mary sue' insert.