Lucy was full on sprinting towards the Autobot base through the sandy path which caused her pedes to crunch with every step. She had the option to fly her way back but she promised to better herself, specifically with her sleeping schedule. Her solution? By doing physical training on her own, far away from the safety and watchful eyes of the base.

She was supposed to return back to base before the sun went down, per Ratchet's request. Although, she might have gotten carried away whilst she attempted to wield her short sword. Let's just say that she needs far more practice and basic knowledge on how to properly wield the weapon than she would've hoped.

Eventually Lucy had arrived at the military base where she now stood right outside the hanger. She took notice of the ship that was stationed right outside the base and the sight of its presence made her frown. It won't be ideal for her to simply walk in and then be heavily judged by him, it certainly wasn't going to end well.

Then she came up with an ingenious idea.

A light suddenly envelops her where it physically shrunk her down. The light slowly morphed around her, changing her appearance and replacing her armor for a more curved and plum physique. As soon as the light ceased, she fluttered her eyes open and then raised her hands up to view them. The pale skin she had not seen since her transformation and she couldn't have felt happier to be in her own skin again.

She examined herself further, tracing her hands against the fabric of her sweater and up to her cheeks as well as her hair. Her eyes trailed down to her chest and was comforted at the sight of the necklace. It pulsates in sync with her breathing where it would emanate a soft blue hue, swirled within its gem.

Satisfied with the results, she turns and heads inside the hanger.

Everyone was present within its walls, loud chattering can be heard nearby from the two wreckers who had returned from their missions in scavenging Predacon bones. While the others were scattered throughout the room either engaged in a conversation or doing menial tasks. They were all too distracted to notice her presence as she silently strolled by heading towards the small group of humans. Her main focus at the moment was getting William Fowler and taking him elsewhere to speak in private.

"Fowler, can I speak with you in private?"

The man couldn't have looked more baffled than he was. It took him a moment to fully realize who she was and it visibly made him stagger. She couldn't really put him at fault, it has been quite a while since she was last seen within her own skin.

"I-sure!" Was all he could say, but it was the answer she was looking forward to.

But before she could drag him away, Miko had stopped them by expressing her surprise towards Lucy.

"Whoa... is that really you Lucy? Your hair looks totally different!"

"My... hair?"

"Yeah! Were you always a red-head?"

Her comment left Lucy to wonder, and was reminded that she never truly showed her hairs natural pigmentation. Since she had always been coloring her hair for as long as she could remember that she had forgotten why she started doing it in the first place. Perhaps it was a sort of coping mechanism?

"Always. I guess… I've been covering it for so long." She trailed off with her eyes averting to the side.

"Then don't! You should leave it the way it is." Miko pleaded, using the signature puppy dog eyes to try and convince her.

She blinked and then stifled a small chuckle. "I wasn't planning on it. Maybe when it grows out I'll let you braid my hair. How's that sound, hm?"

With Miko happily accepting her proposal, she proceeds to take Fowler into his own office within the hangar. She closes the door behind her and turns to see him standing beside his desk with his back facing her.

"You haven't uttered a word this entire time and this silence is starting to worry me. Did something happen? Is everything alright?"

Fowler faced her and was looking directly through her eyes. Her body language didn't show signs of being provoked. Instead, she was calm as a cucumber! It was the opposite of what he was expecting to see.

He watched as she approached him and stood before him. She then extends her hand towards him where an item begins to materialize right before his eyes. It was a data pad similar to the ones the Autobots use within the base, however, he noticed that this particular one had a completely darker hue to it. She offered the data pad to him which he willingly took.

"What's this?" He asks, studying the solid tablet and raising it to get a better look.

"Evidence that holds Cylas accountable for the murder of my family."

Her statement genuinely caught him off guard as he darted his eyes over to the tablet and back at her in utter disbelief. He managed to regain his bearings and cleared his throat to shake off the shock that still lingered in his systems.

"You had me worried there for a moment but with this," He gestures his gaze towards the tablet before he sets it down on his desk. "This will finally put the case to rest."

Fowler returns his attention back at her, seeing how her eyes were fixated at the tablet and realizing that they had begun to glisten. He moves away from the desk and approaches her where he then pulls her into his embrace. She gladly returned the gesture where she buried her face against his chest and she soon began to shed her tears.

"Hey, you'll be alright." He whispers reassuringly as he gently rubs her back.

It was a mix between overwhelming gratitude and relief enveloping her senses. There was no other way to describe it. She felt the weight of it all: the pain, the trauma, and the guilt evaporated at Fowler's declaration. Knowing that the murderer is held captive within the Warship is comforting and that's putting it extremely mildly. It didn't matter what the Decepticons would actually do to him as long as he got the punishment he so rightfully deserved.

She can finally be at peace.

"Thank you, Fowler. I couldn't have done this without your help." She hiccupped, and then pulled away from the embrace where she wiped away the remaining tears from her cheeks. Then she met his gaze and gave him a dimpled smile.

"Knowing that their deaths weren't by misadventure like what the previous evidence suggested... is such a fulfilling accomplishment to finally have proof. The case can finally come to a close… I can finally move on."

Once finished with her final say, she bids Fowler farewell before exiting his office.

She walks down the first flight of stairs until she stops midway. Noticing that most of the Autobots weren't present within the hangar, presumably recharging elsewhere. Her eyes eventually landed on Ratchet who was busying himself in front of the monitor. She could faintly tell that it was some sort of equation on the screen, one specifically for the making of Synthetic energon.

It reminded her of the last time Ratchet had been working on Synthetic energon which resulted in him willingly injecting the green substance. How his attitude changed drastically from its effects as well. Not to mention his unique behavior towards her, how he would constantly flirt with her and give her compliments every so often to try and get her attention. It was… an overwhelming experience.

Setting the memory aside, she approaches the railing and proceeds to call out to him.

Ratchets helm perked up at the sound of her voice as he then turned to face her. His optics were searching the familiar face, instead, his optics landed on a fleshy human with short red hair. For a split nanosecond he didn't really recognize her since he had grown accustomed to her Cybertronian frame.

"Hey, I wanted to apologize for arriving late. I lost track of time and well… you know."

The moment she averted her gaze to the side is when she heard his heavy footfall approaching to where she stood. A shadow had now cast down over her small figure where glances in the corner of her eye to see Ratchet towering over her. He didn't utter a single word before extending his servo towards her where he carefully scooped her up and then walked back to his work station.

"Are you mad at me?" She blurts out.

Ratchet looks down at her quizzically. "What makes you think that I am?"

"I guess… It was the silence that was bothering me. Maybe I shouldn't be overthinking it too much." She admitted sheepishly.

He finally stops in front of his workstation where he brings her up and places her in between the crook of his neck cables and shoulder-caps. "You assume the worst when it clearly isn't the case."

"You're not wrong," She made herself comfortable where she leans against the metal plating that separated his neck cables. "And I see that you kept yourself busy with the Synth-En formula. Any luck so far?"

Ratchet visibly slacked his shoulder-caps. "Progress has been excruciatingly slow, and with the limitation of the equipment it makes solving the formula even more tedious."

Lucy hums in thought, absentmindedly brushing away the loose strands of hair and tucking them behind her ear. "Perhaps I can be of some assistance."

...

"Slacking off and recharging all day is not part of it, soldier."

"Brilliant! You clearly don't have the slightest care when I'm not at my best or better yet possibly get killed off out in the field."

"That matter is your undoing."

"Put a sock in it you arsehole!"

It was only a matter of time before the inevitable happened.

Ultra Magnus had been chafing the entire team this specific day and Lucy was not having it. When it came to him accusing her of slacking off instead of assisting out in the field, she easily lost her cool and started biting back. The situation had escalated that Ratchet had to physically hold her back to prevent her from tearing Ultra Magnus apart.

Even with her strength being greater than his own, he miraculously managed to hold her back. Perhaps he was stronger than he led himself to believe or was it simply because she didn't want to warm him in the process?

Ratchet could feel her seething under his grasp, literally. Steam was rising from her flowing hair and her metal frame was slowly burning his servos. The pain was the least of his worries when Lucy attempted to launch herself at Magnus, however, he held her firmly in place with all his might.

"You know what… I'm done with this nonsense." Lucy brought her hands up to either side of her temple to calm herself down. Ratchet's grip on her arms lessened but didn't seem to let her go, to ensure she wouldn't swipe at Magnus.

The steam she emitted was gone which meant that the anger was controlled but never gone of course. She was tired of hearing the words that spewed out of his mouth. Although, Ultra Magnus wasn't particularly done with berating her.

"Ultra Magnus, I believe you've made your point already." Ratchet reminded the commander through clenched dentas. His own anger began to build up and at the same time keeping his temper at a lull.

"No doctor. I believe it is only fitting for her to listen and learn her place."

Without warning, Lucy had slipped out of Ratchet's grasp where she flew up to Ultra Magnus's optic-level and harshly grabbed his shoulder.

"No YOU need to listen!"

She then forcefully shoved his shoulder down with such tremendous strength that it made him go down to his knees with a loud thud. Ultra Magnus squinted his optics from the almost blinding light of her flowing hair, letting out a muffled grunt from the pain. His field of vision adjusted to the light, however, he realized that he was now staring directly into her optics. The anger within her optics were practically radiating towards him and it was enough to make him shudder.

"You need to understand that your style of what 'authority' is to you will do absolutely nothing to make progress go smoothly, in fact it's doing the opposite. They are trying their best but it's quite difficult to do anything productive with you breathing over their shoulders!" She sternly points out before pulling her face away to properly look at his features.

Surely, Ultra Magnus is aware of the effects that he's inflicting on her teammates right? Suddenly an epiphany surges through her and this stuns her, optics wide and mouth ajar.

"Do you really not see how much you are negatively affecting the team?" She uttered out in a hushed whisper for only him to pick up. Eventually she removes her hold from him and moves away.

Before anyone could utter a word, it was the sounds of roaring waves coming from outside the open doors of the hangar. Coming from above and landing with a loud thud was none other than Optimus, returning from a reconnaissance mission. Almost instantly, everyone had flocked over to their beloved leader. In the midst of his arrival, his attention drifted towards Ultra Magnus. He was still kneeled down after his ordeal and then Optimus' gaze drifted towards Lucy. She stood farther away with her arms folded across her chest-plate, being too guilty to even meet his gaze.

Perhaps it was best to not get involved in the matter. He will let this one slide… for now at least.