The smell of caffeine dulled her senses; her eyes were fixated on the table in front of her. The steam from the coffee grace against her face as if it was persuading her to wake up from her trance. A yawn escapes her lips, rubbing her eyes with the insides of her palms, and then she took a sip of her coffee. It tasted bitter, but it also had a hint of vanilla flavoring to it. It was her only source of warmth inside these cold hospital walls.

None of her coworkers resided inside the break room—alone. She didn't mind at all - she's used to it. It reminded her of when she used to work at the Library with Rikona. The atmosphere was calming which was the opposite of working in a hospital.

The nurses are the busiest and are always tending to the care of patients before informing the doctors, such as her, about any problems that could occur. There are times when paramedics would come by and drop off patients who are injured, ill, etc. And there are some occasions where volunteers would help around the building. Interns and medical students are always seen around the halls. These are just everyday tasks that go around inside this building.

She took another sip of her coffee, leaving nothing behind other than the foam that had stained itself inside the rim of the cup. The taste lingered in her mouth, but this was nothing compared to what she's been feeling. She felt exhausted, not just physically but emotionally as well.

Then the jingle of her phone caught her attention. Her eyes drifted down to the table where her phone was, she swiped the screen with her index finger. It was a message from Miko, it read:

Hey... You busy?

She types in her reply: Why? Is something on your mind?

Two minutes went by when she received another message.

Do you think you can drop by at the base?

She stood up from her seat, swinging her small grunge backpack over her shoulder. Then she threw away her coffee at a nearby trashcan. She exited the break room walking down the hallway while at the same time typing on her phone, she pressed send: I'm on my way. It was a brief message but enough to reassure the teen that she was coming.

Lucy hurried on out through the sliding doors of the entrance and walks over to her car. She hops inside, the engines roar to life as she drives out of the parking lot and heads down the road.

The journey towards the base was quiet, there was no music playing aside from the hum of the car when it was in motion, it's like you could have heard a pin drop. The gust of cold air from the ac was causing her fingers to go numb, and a tingling sensation like pins and needles would follow suit. This didn't bother her - - It was fine, she kept repeating these words to herself until she reached the base.

She closes the door to her vehicle before making her way up the steps. Her gaze drifted towards the empty couch, a quizzical look forming on her face. Where in the world is Miko? She pulls out her phone and right when she was about to press the call button, a voice called out to her. She perked up and looks over her shoulder towards the main monitors to see Optimus staring at her.

"I see that you've been keeping yourself busy." He commented, his optics studying her hospital uniform.

A smile graces her lips. She puts her phone away and approaches over the railing and was now standing beside Optimus. Not exactly at eye-level but it will have to do.

"I should be saying the exact same thing to you." Her eyes glance up at the screen then moves to meet his gaze. "Deciphering the iacon database isn't an easy task, per se. If it were me in your place, I would've been fast asleep with drool all over my face!"

The way she over exaggerated her sentence made Optimus look at her weirdly, it was a look that she had never seen him do before. Since he normally doesn't show much aside from smiling for a moment before it vanishes from his face, it was one of the few quirks that she enjoys about him. His facial expression to human notions never ceases to amaze her.

"So," she rests her forearms on top of the railing. "How are you doing in deciphering the iacon database lately—any progress?"

"Hardly." his eyes drifted up at the screen. "It's been rather difficult, especially with one of the files that we had retrieved from the warship."

Lucy perked up at this. "The one that we brought back from the warship?"

"Precisely." he glances over from the corner of his optic. "I've only managed to decipher one set out of the four that are missing."

"Wait a minute." she waves her hands in front of her. "Isn't it already decoded? The warship DID decode the file didn't it?"

"Indeed," he turns to face her completely. "But this file is unlike anything that I have ever encountered before. It seems to have a complex encryption underneath and the way it was encrypted it is making it much more difficult for me to decipher it."

Lucy hums thoughtfully before suddenly remembering why she came here. "Optimus, have you seen Miko? She contacted me a while ago to meet up with her here but... I can't find her anywhere. I was wondering if you knew where she was."

Optimus didn't take long to answer. "I assume that she is atop with Arcee."

"Atop?" she looks around before her eyes landed on the elevator and that's when she pointed her index finger at it. "You mean atop the plateau?"

She looks over her shoulder at him and he nods. She makes her way over at the elevator as the doors slide open. Right, when she was about to step inside Optimus's called out her name making her stop in her tracks. She turns to face Optimus.

"I've noticed that you look more fatigued than usual. How have you doing lately?"

She blinks. It took her a couple of seconds to recover and she smiles reassuringly at him. "Oh, it's nothing really! Attending patients' daily and organizing important files isn't easy. I appreciate your concern Optimus, it means a lot, but I'm fine."

Lucy steps inside the elevator, her smile unwavering until the doors slid shut. Once it did her smile vanishes, her eyes were cast down in a mournful gaze. A wave of regret instantly washes over her. She felt awful for lying to him, but she didn't want him to worry about her. After all, that's been happening about the iacon database it was best that she kept things to herself. It was for the best.

Upon reaching atop of the plateau she searches for Miko and finds her sitting close at the edge with Arcee by her side. It seems that Arcee had been comforting Miko in her absence. She didn't want to disturb them, so she left them alone. Miko got the comfort she needed and she's happy to know that.

Lucy looks over her shoulder. Her eyes taking one last glance at them before she walks away. Then a voice in the darkest corners of her mind hissed at her and asked her: Why do you keep pushing them all away?

-x-

It has been two days since her last visit at the base. As a result, Miko has been messaging her constantly and was telling her about Bulkhead's recovery. She was so glad to know that he was slowly getting better and was being told every little detail about his journey. In short, Miko was proud of her work in helping her friend get stronger.

At one point, Miko mentioned about a new Autobot recruit that recently arrived on earth. Miko went on to tell her about the bot –Smokescreen. Then she went on telling the recent events on how he assisted team prime when Starscream was about to steal red energon. Suddenly their talk was cut short when she announced through text that she had to go and help the bots.

Lucy hasn't gotten word from her for a while now; it must be something serious then. She places her phone on the small table before her as she rests her back against the couch. Her eyes look out the window that was behind the TV in front of her, it was dark out and she had just gotten back from the hospital not too long ago.

On her way over to her house was when Miko had begun messaging her. She learned how difficult it is to drive and text at the same time, it wasn't a good decision on her part but she's lucky that no other cars were on the road tonight. Otherwise, she would've ended up with a flipped car. What a wonderful scenario to think about on this lovely night.

She casually pulls a strand of her behind her ear and then reaches over the small table to pick up her cup of tea. She takes a small sip, feeling the warm fumes grace against her skin. It tasted sweet but salty at the same time. This was her favorite kind of tea; salted caramel. It wasn't overly sweet yet not overly bitter. The flavor was somewhere in between, and it wasn't overpowering for her palate.

While she was enjoying her evening tea when suddenly her phone began to vibrate. She leans over to see the screen, wondering who was calling her currently. It was an unknown number. At first, she wanted to just let it ring but she decided against it. So, she places her cup of tea on the table, picks up her phone and casually answers the unknown number.

"Hello?"

When the caller spoke her body instantly tenses up, she sat there—unmoving.

"It's been a while since our last encounter, my dear."

"S-Silas!?"

"You've grown. That's good. I'm genuinely surprised—years had gone by since that day—you've gotten stronger too." he complimented.

Silas was probably referring to him witnessing her using her abilities out in the open when he was using Nemesis Prime. This was a grave error on her part.

She couldn't help but notice that his voice sounded more...robotic? Whatever he did to modify himself with didn't matter to her. She didn't know how the bloody hell he got her number but what mattered most was him calling her out of the blue.

"Listen here, Silas. You called me for a reason. So, stop stalling and get straight to the point." she gave a straightforward response. Her patience was running thin and she was already tired of listening to his blabbering.

"Can't I have a little bit of fun? How rude of you. Didn't your parents teach you any manners?"

As soon as he brought up her parents into the conversation and it was like a match that had suddenly lit up inside of her. She didn't what came over her when all the fumes had escaped. She lashed out on him.

"You - don't you dare speak of them! You didn't know them..." She was livid now that she could've accidentally broken the phone from how tight she was holding it.

"After all this time and you're still holding on to the past, huh? How pitiful."

"You don't know anything about my life. Stop acting like you know everything about me." She said, but her words fell onto deaf ears as he continued on with his ramble.

He chuckles. "Varvara's defensiveness – Erasmus calmness – Emily's seriousness—there's no doubt that you're their youngest daughter. I failed to discard you back then but seeing you as you are now—suffering over the course of the years." he laughs half-heartedly. "It's such a gratifying feeling."

She couldn't breathe; it felt like someone was choking her. Her lips were quivering, and her heart was pounding. An icy feeling caused her to shiver as she gathered the strength to speak again and was jumbling her words from the shock.

" Wha... how... do you-" Silas interrupts her.

"Let me ask you this—after all that's happened, have you ever questioned the fate of your beloved parents?"

There was a brief silence in which was then followed by him clicking his tongue in disappointment.

"What a shame... not knowing the truth of the tragedy." suddenly he lets out a displeased groan before addressing to her. "I'd hate to cut our conversation short, but I have important matters to attend to. Do heed my advice, my dear. Good luck." then the line cuts off.

The adrenaline in her system was going insane, making her heart beat faster and she was feeling squeamish. Her breathing had quickened, and it was getting shallow as the minutes went by. In a panic, she instantly got up and headed straight towards the kitchen.

She placed her phone on the kitchen counter and went over to the sink where she splashed water on her face. The urge was slowly fading, and her breathing had calmed down significantly but the uneasiness hadn't subsided. She looks over to her left, the phone only inches away, so she reaches for it. Now that her phone was in her grasp there were a couple of noticeable indentations where her fingers had gripped around the phone. Luckily, she had a hardcover on otherwise she would've literally crushed her phone. There are times where she has no control over her immense strength, it just happens whenever she is in distress or when she's overwhelmed. It's almost frightening.

She wasted no time and contacted the person that she needed the most.

-x-

He had underestimated the weather tonight, but it wasn't as cold as when he went to boot camp while snow was falling. It's been a while since he felt that kind of weather—no, having the ac cranked up doesn't count as weather...unless you're the weatherman, then good for you.

The chilly air tonight reminded him of how sensitive his skin had gotten over the years. Maybe he should visit Alaska more often although, he'll probably look like an overstuffed marshmallow.

Fowler pulls out his phone making sure that he was going in the right direction. It hadn't been long since Project Damocles was put to an end. He was ready to head back to base when he received a call from Lucy. It was a strange occurrence since she usually doesn't contact him as much, but he brushed it off and answered. Just hearing the tone of her voice from the end of the line, she was upset about something that she refused to say on the phone. She begged for him to come over immediately and he gave in quite easily.

He looks up from his phone as he now stood before a house made of mahogany wood. Fowler walks up the steps of the small front porch and approaches the front door. He knocks on the door and announces his presence through the door.

"Lucy? It's me Fowler." then he heard her voice from the other side of the door.

"It's open."

Fowler shows himself inside and then closes the door behind him. His gaze searches for her and he sees her in the kitchen with her arms folded in front of her chest. She looked tensed.

"What's got you so worked up? You wouldn't tell me through the pho-" he gets cut off by her saying these three words that made him go silent.

"Silas called me."

He was shocked beyond belief and the look in his eyes was almost the size of a quarter. This was serious than anticipated. Fowler slowly moves closer and stops, standing next to the dining table to his left.

"What did Silas say to you?" he asks.

At first, she was hesitant to say anything, but he waited patiently for her to reply. She opened her mouth, but she couldn't find her voice. It took her a bit before gathering enough courage to speak which she chokes out.

"He... mentioned my parents and he kept talking about... the incident..." she trails off and practically whispered the last part of the sentence.

Fowler asks again but in a more calming tone. "Do you have any idea as to why he would ask you about it?"

He read her files before and he is aware of how much this topic was sensitive to her. It was a painful subject even for him to think about.

"I don't know... I don't know..." her voice cracked at the end.

She covers her mouth with her hand while at the same time shaking her head. The feeling of grief slowly flooding within her was undeniable. She felt the lump in her throat increase and was holding it back. This caused her throat to ache uncontrollably; the feeling reminded her of acid being poured into her esophagus and she was drowning in it.

"He kept saying how... how I should've been dead..." she stops herself before taking in deep breaths. Fowler took this chance to finally speak.

"He won't hurt you, Lucy. I swear on my mother's grave that I will make sure he won't lay a finger on you." was his assured reply.

"No. That's... not it." She said while holding the bridge of her nose. "After what Silas said I-" she looks over to Fowler. "I'm starting to have second guesses."

Fowler lets out a sigh in disbelief. "Lucy, you can't be serious..."

"Fowler, you didn't hear what Silas said. He was acting as if he knew them, and he was bloody gloating about it!" Lucy argued forming her hands into fists before mumbling incoherently to herself.

"Silas has no remorse and practically feeds off of people's misfortune or worse—he's obsessive, cruel, you name it." Fowler made his point across. "Look - - what I'm trying to say is that you can't always believe whatever that bastard says."

Lucy looks fixedly at the floor, a shadow casting over her eyes. Fowler does prove a valid point there, but something was off. Silas wouldn't go out of his way just to speak with her and then talk about the incident. There was something more to that.

"This is going to sound really selfish... but Fowler." she raises her gaze at him. "Do you think you can look into the case?"

He wanted to disagree but stopped himself. He couldn't do it. There was a feeling in his gut that he just had to follow and the "what ifs" were taking over his thoughts. Fowler quickly gave in to her request and proceeded to ask.

"Ok, what is it that you want me to do?"

She wasted no time in replying. "Reopen the case and tell them that you received new information."

Lucy pulls out her phone with the screen facing him. On the screen was a voice recorder. This meant that she had the conversation prerecorded for this moment. She was prepared for the unexpected.

"Starting with Silas."

There wasn't much to be said after their private conversation with each other. At one point, Fowler had to leave to return to base, but she stops him in his tracks.

"Before you leave can you promise me something?"

He looks over his shoulder with a quizzical look on his face. "Depends on what you're asking."

"Promise me you won't tell the others about this, and that includes about the-" Fowler interjects her in mid-sentence.

"I know." he watches as her features relax. "But there will come a time when you'll have to tell them, you know that right?"

She shakes her head in agreement. "I'm well aware of that."

Fowler gives a content nod. "Have a good night, Lucy." he turns to head out the door but right as he opened the door, he heard her voice from behind him.

"Thank you."

He chuckles and looks over his shoulder. "Just doing my job, Miss Demetria." was all he had to say to lighten the mood before leaving.

A/N

Uuuu, more stuff to figure out while the Author is laughing maniacally in the background.

I'm giving you all a heads up, as of this chapter I will not be following the continuity of the show... for now. Because in the next two or three chapters they will be purely written by me. I'm still debating on how many chapters I have to write from here on. I'll figure something out.

╮(￣ω￣;)╭
Well, have a nice day everyone! ~ c: