AN: I love you guys, so I'm going to be uploading like three chapters in one day. This will be 42, and I'm almost done with 43!

Reviews: Thanks to Jacqueline Walker, anonybot, Iwanita, Fk306 animelover, OrianPrime92, mrsharrypotter, Noella50881, Manga154, shadow-dog18, writergurl616, and 3xX-BOTDF-Xx3 for reviewing!
Devil-O-Angel: Okay, I really, really, hope you see this! I was going to PM you, but you have that disabled. If you go back and re-read, I do have a paragraph that goes through Miles' powers. The only ones within range are Decepticons, and that wouldn't really do him any good. Not to mention it could just get him in trouble if they did find out about his powers.

Chapter 42
The REM cycle

It wasn't too surprising that Bumblebee had processed nearly a million ways to get Miles back, and Sam's body, in the hour it took Ironhide and Ratchet to find him and drag him back to base. The young Scout had turned from cheerful and friendly to murderous, and that was a scary sight.

Only one idea, which had been one of the few that didn't involve dead Decepticons everywhere, was accepted. They would go down and place a small inside one of Megatron's optics, that would act like a video camera. It would show them whatever they wanted for awhile, but it would be found eventually. There was no hiding it entirely.

Ravage had been the one sent down to do it, his first official mission on the Autobot side.

By the time everything was done it was Monday, and it had nearly been a week since the two went missing. Several days since they got the video that should not be mentioned.

Ever since then it was like Bumblebee had lost his vocalisor again. He talked more through the radio and the comm link, rarely if ever using the radio. He tended to avoid the humans, and snapped at any 'bot who was being too comforting. He knew better than to go off completely. Ratchet would have him in stasis in five seconds flat.

Barricade drove up beside Bumblebee, the Scout already in his alt mode. He had snuck off base again, and appeared to be recharging, but the ex-con knew better. Though he didn't understand why he had been sent to retrieve the insect at all. But Optimus had asked, and Ratchet had grabbed the heaviest wrench he could find.

"Ratchet threatened me." No point lying about it, he doubted that the Autobot would actually think he had come out on his own, anyway.

"I reached for you this morning, and woke up with empty arms."

Barricade took a moment to decipher those song lyrics. It was obvious they weren't literal, but it was easy enough to figure out what he was referring to. When a mech, or femme, became a Guardian they could always find their Charge with a simple scan if they were in a reasonable distance. Despite how many people were on base, Bumblebee would be able to find his Charge in a split second if absolutely necessary. That type of scan did take a bit more effort, though, and was avoided from being used often.

And waking up, a Guardian tended to do it without thinking. Just a natural response to locate their Charge, and make sure they were okay all in the same step. Barricade himself had done it a couple of times after the whole Shockwave fiasco, though he'd never admit to it.

"What song is that?" He asked. Bumblebee would know he understood what it had meant.

:Love Lives On by Mallary Hope.: The Scout responded, sending him the song in a databurst.

Barricade took a moment to listen to the song.

"Primus." He muttered before he could stop himself, "You are such a fragging sap."

That little slip up left his audials ringing with the response Bumblebee had. He didn't even realize that there were so many cusswords in the English and Cybertronian language when combined. He sunk down on his wheels, glaring off into the distance.

"It could be fake. I wouldn't put it past them."

"It didn't look fake."

"Neither do our holoforms. Maybe someone got smart."

"Smart enough to trick Miles?"

"Could be he didn't know it wasn't actually Sam."

"Then why don't Epps and Will feel him anymore?"

Frag. Barricade had nothing for that one, but he still didn't think it had been real. He was the only one to have doubts about it, and that didn't help.

"They would have killed both of them to deal a heavier blow if it had been real, insect."

"Or Shockwave wanted Miles as a socket."

Silence, and Bumblebee cursed himself. Barricade was actually trying to remain positive, even just slightly, while Bumblebee was practically swimming in negative. It was like their roles had been reversed, and the Scout doubted that Barricade had even given Shockwave a thought. They hadn't heard anything about him since the escape from Canada, and the ex-con had probably figured he was still licking his wounds.

"I still make two cups of coffee, and tell you all about my day."

A growl. "I'm going to hurt you."

Barricade didn't make a single move to actually do so, and Bumblebee pulled out an entire playlist of sad and depressing songs. They both sat there and listened to them in silence, lost in their own thoughts.

"Skyfire, how many days has it been?" Miles asked, looking at the holoform that had started to become so familiar. Most of the time he was alone, not counting Sam since the teen hadn't woken up once, and he was literally going stir crazy.

Nothing to do besides talk and think, sleep and eat. The only good thing about being given Energon instead of actual human food was that it seemed to cut down on any waste, by a lot. He didn't want to think about how Starscream'd get a kick out of taking him out for a walk to use the potty. It would be awful.

Time just blurred together. He had no watch, no phone, nothing but the light outside of the cave. One day blurred into the next.

"It has now been a week and three days." The holoform replied, shifting to look at the teen ever so slightly.

A week and three days. Tuesday night, through Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday. One week. Then Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday again. Primus, Miles couldn't tell if it seemed like a shorter stay, or a longer one.

"Where are we?"

Skyfire said nothing, looking at the teen wearily. He knew Starscream would be mad if they gave too much away.

Miles sighed, "Does it honestly look like I can contact anyone like this?"

Communication powers aside, as they were useless. By now Miles had figured out who the only safe feeling was, Skyfire, and even that was iffy. Probably because he couldn't decide what side the mech was on concerning them, or not.

"No, but it is still best that I say nothing."

Miles stayed quiet, leaning against the wall closest to Sam and checking on his friend once more. As far as Miles could tell he was in a type of coma, and was showing no signs of waking up anytime soon. Which made it worse and better on Miles. He didn't want his best friend finding out about the video, and being left to think about what Bumblebee would have done after seeing it.

Miles had a lot of time to think how Bumblebee would have reacted. How Mikaela, Judy, Optimus, and all of them would have acted. He could just imagine how worried his parents would be, and wondered if his amazing half siblings would be let in on the situation as well. They all already knew about the Cybertronians, anyway.

Miles woke up to the sound of Starscream and Skyfire talking, and pretended to still be asleep. An actual scan would easily reveal he was awake, but he doubted either would do so, and neither were paying attention anyway.

"Skyfire, we leave you to watch the pathetic fleshlings. Try to wake up the one, Megatron will want a good long look at him when we get back." Starscream, a grin clearly heard in his voice.

"Must you all go? Miles asked me where we were earlier. I did not respond."

"Of course. You do not need us to watch these two. And that was wise of you. Just turn off your audials if the one talks, and ignore them completely. Feed them at least once a day."

"You won't let Megatron hurt Sam, will you?"

A laugh that sent a shiver down Miles spine, despite how cliché it was even to him. "Oh, of course not, my darling Skyfire. Why would Lord Megatron ever want to hurt it?"

"Skyfire."

No response. Miles tried again louder. He could tell everyone else had left. Still no response. All Skyfire had said to him was that he should drink his energon, and Miles had ignored it.

"SKYFIRE!" A scream, and not so much as a twitch of the helm. The mech wasn't looking at him, and had apparently actually turned his audials off.

Miles looked at Sam sadly. He was afraid to risk letting anyone know of his communication capabilities, even if it was a sure fire bet that the one he would be comming was the mech sitting in front of him. He appeared to be on Starscream's side, and if Miles couldn't convince him, what then? He would tell Starscream, and something might be done about it. He might even be killed just as a precaution, and he couldn't leave Sam on his own.

:Skyfire!: Oops, that had been louder than he meant it to be. He watched Skyfire jump, which would have been amusing if he knew the mech was friend or foe, and turn wide and amazed optics on him.

:You can access or comm links?:

:Yeah.:

:How?:

:Get us out of here, and you can do all the tests you want to find out.: Miles was playing out to his scientist side. He had seen just how obsessed the mech could be about things, he was worse than Wheeljack. And thankfully with no explosions.

:I can not do that. Starscream will be returning with Megatron soon.:

:You know as well as I do as soon as Megatron gets here, we're screwed!:

:They are not the Autobots. They don't kill for fun.:

Miles gaped up at the biggest mech he had ever had the displeasure of seeing. :Yo-Who the hell told you that?:

:Starscream. He told me all about what the Autobots have done.:

:He's lying! Some of the 'bots might have done less than pleasant things, but so have some of the Decepticons. But only Decepticons seem to want to harm a fragging sparkling.:

:A what?: Disbelief was heavy in those two words that entered Miles' mind. Skyfire hadn't seen a sparkling in a very long time.

:A sparkling. Orion. We saved him, and then he was kidnapped to be tested on. Allspark energy had to be used to do so, and Shockwave wanted to find out how even if that meant killing him. That's why we have Soundwave now. He contacted me, and I got Sam, and then we pretended to be captured so we could provide a good enough distraction until we could get Orion out. He said he even had clearance from Starscream, leader while Megatron is dead.:

:That's impossible! Starscream would never give anyone permission to harm anything!:

:You obviously know a different Starscream, then.:

Miles got no response, and he tried to think of something to do. It took him a minute to actually think of trying to compose a databurst, and he was reluctant to do so after what had happened after he recieved one from Jazz. He had gotten so much energy. Would he lose a lot if he sent instead of received?

He took a moment to pray to Primus that he could actually do it, and that he wouldn't be affected until after everything was over and done with. Then he gathered his thoughts and memories.

Meeting Barricade, then foolishly standing up to Ironhide, going to the base for the first time and meeting everyone and everymech there. Going to get Jazz, including the Soundwave and cassetticons bit. He balanced that out with going to save Orion, showing everything he went through, and then having Soundwave and the cassetticons now on their side. He gathered a lot of different funny memories, and silly ones. Serious, happy, and sad. The peanuts, the gnomes, taking Barricade to see his siblings, meeting Blurr, being safe in Canada and realizing Barricade had actually became his Guardian, Ratchet installing the tickling protocals, and so many more things. A lot with Orion in it, a lot with Ironhide and Ratchet, Optimus and Bumblebee, Epps and Will. He showed footage he had seen from Mission City, especially of Megatron taunting Sam and saying he'd make a good pet.

He focused, and did his best to send it all to Skyfire. He heard the mech gasp, and could only assume he was going through everything. Meanwhile, Miles went to a corner of the cell and grabbed the energon he had ignored earlier. He chugged it down, and that barely helped, so he sat down and waited. Doing the data burst had taken a lot of energy, and on top of that it gave him a pounding headache. Even his muscles felt tired, not sore, just tired. Like they had been constantly doing something, but it wasn't exactly strenuous. He sent one more thing, even though now it took so much more effort.

:Please.:

They watched for as long as they could. Megatron being revived, taken out of the ocean and taking out a submarine while doing so. And then they tried to find landmarks, places they could easily use to pinpoint which way the Decepticon base was.

Optimus Prime, Ratchet, Ironhide, Jazz, Bumblebee, Prowl, Barricade, Epps and Will watched everything, having a large map at the ready and marking anything down that they could.

It worked for a few hourse, but then Hook found the camera, and it was destroyed. Prowl looked at the map, before shaking his head. For all they knew, the base could still be far from where they were. All it gave was a general direction. They had very little to go off of.

Bumblebee and Barricade said nothing.

Starscream returned to base, feeling smug. Everything was going perfectly. Skyfire was awake, and doing everything he said. He had two of the souces of Allspark energy, one of them being the human that Megatron would hate the most. He had even found some energon for the hatchlings, and had sent it to them and the Fallen.

He looked around, and didn't see Skyfire. He ignored Megatron, who headed immediately to the base. Instead he went to find his old friend, wondering what he had wondered off to investigate this time. Maybe the moss growing on the trees, or a new type of mineral he had discovered.

"Starscream."

He halted immediately when he heard Megatron's voice. That was the tone he had come to recognize as Megatron's scariest, and even he feared getting Megatron so mad that he got that one.

"Yes, oh great Lord Megatron?"

"They're gone."

Starscream felt his spark drop. That meant Skyfire had betrayed him. He couldn't believe it. How could he?

He heard the sound of Megatron's feet coming towards him, and he turned to face his punishment with a scathing remark.

All the other Decepticons just went around doing their duties. They were used to this by now, it was one of the only routine things among them.

Miles woke up slowly, and took a moment to stretch in his seat. He hadn't slept so comfortably for awhile, let alone so deeply, but he was still really tired. It was taking ages for his brain to catch up with what was going on, and he felt extremely groggy.

"It is nice to see you awake, Miles. You have been sleeping for 3.25 hours, and you entered what your species calls the REM cycle for 1.5 of those hours. Your eyes did move extremely rapidly during that time, even when I had the eyelid lifted."

Miles stared at the controls in front of him, where the voice was coming from. He seemed to be sitting in the Captain's chair, and just off to the side he could see another chair leaned back with Sam laying in it strapped down. He could remember finishing convincing Skyfire, and then going down. He could only assume they'd escaped and had been flying since then. It had only been 3.25 hours.

His mind wanted to focus on the fact that Skyfire had been touching him while he slept. Now that was disturbing, and to make it worse he had actually slept through it. But was he really going to complain about it when it was just a natural curiosity, and he had basically saved his and Sam's lives? No way.

"That's why it's called REM, dude. Rapid Eye Movement."

"Indeed. Can you point out where the Autobot base is on the map I pull up?"

Above the control panel had been a window, and Miles could see sky. But then the image of a map of Nevada took it's place. He reached out, and found he could enlarge it on his own. A giant alien touch screen.

"Uhm, it's in a this way direction." He found Tranquility and went South-west a few miles. "Driving at normal speeds it takes about an hour or so to get there. It's in the desert, in a no fly zone, so it should be easy to spot."

"Right."

Miles watched the map disappear, and looked out at the clouds. Then he peered behind him and just saw what looked like a cargo hold. Skyfire must have been changing around the interior. He yawned, and stretched.

"Skyfire? Do you think you can find anywhere to land far enough away to not be noticed, but close enough so that I don't have to walk a long way to a store or a hotel or something?"

"I believe so. Give me a moment."

Miles grinned, leaning back and allowing himself to relax. It didn't take long at all for him to fall asleep again. Skyfire didn't bother to wake him, scans saying that he needed the recharge.

Not even ten minutes later he woke up because of Sam's scream.