And now we're back to mostly following episodes!

Disclaimer: Hasbro owns Transformers and all its characters. I only own Paige and Swiftblade.

The following few days have been pretty busy at base. Without knowing the precise coordinates that Orion Pax had supplied to Megatron, the Autobots have been solely relying on picking up the frequencies on their scanners. So far, they had recovered one Decepticon relic called the Spark Extractor - a very foreboding name, and with good reason. When she had asked about it, Optimus had told her that it would extract the sparks of any Cybertronian within its given radius. She didn't want to know just how large that radius actually was.

Bumblebee and Bulkhead had been on their way to investigate a frequency they had picked up on their radars. Bumblebee had gotten to it first, but it had been a trap of some kind. Because the poor scout was damaged and couldn't remember how or why. So that's where they stood now, surrounding the scout's medical berth at a safe distance so that Ratchet could do his job in diagnosing the problem.

Paige stood watching beside the teens, who all stood next to the feet of their guardians. Her arms were crossed as she watched the blue light scan over Bumblebee with a concerned frown.

Raf ran forward, too impatient to wait for news. "You can fix Bee, can't you?"

"Bumblebee was hit pretty hard," Ratchet told him. "The stun blast may have fried his T-Cog."

"Is that like a T… bone?" Miko asked, trying to understand.

"Not exactly. It's the organ that allows us to scan vehicles and transform," Arcee explained after exchanging a glance with Bulkhead and Swiftblade.

A beep caught their attention and Ratchet breathed in shock. "By the Allspark… Bumblebee's T-Cog isn't damaged. It's missing!" His words made Paige grip her arms tighter, dipping her head slightly to shadow her eyes with her bangs as she listened to the conversation.

"But the Decepticons transform too," Jack pointed out. "Why would they steal that?"

"Megatron may be known to raise zombies, but he's no ghoul."

"If Megatron wasn't behind this… then who was," Raf asked, confused.

"The ones who cannibalized Breakdown," Bulkhead told him, causing Paige to tighten her grip until her knuckles turned white.

"And tried to gut me," Arcee addee, making a seed of dread and anger settle into the pit of Paige's stomach.

"MECH," Ratchet surmised. "And it would appear their knowledge of Cybertronian biotech has grown more sophisticated."

"But why would they want Bumblebee's part?" Raf asked, alarmed.

"Because my dad plans to build his own Cybertronian," Paige finally spoke up, her tone low with a hint of anger. All eyes turned to her and everyone shifted uncomfortably. She felt a hand on her shoulder but she didn't acknowledge it, simply listening to the continued conversation around her.

"Bumblebee, please," Optimus spoke after the scout tried to suggest leaving. "You are not presently equipped to handle this."

-But, Optimus… You don't know what it's like.- The scout looked away with a whir of frustration.

"You are mistaken, my friend. I do know what it's like to lose a vital part of one's self. And, as a result, I know the value of putting one's strength in those around you." Optimus' words had the scout looking down in shame, and Paige looked up at them. "We vow to do everything in our power to make you whole again."

"And if not, Ratchet can just make you a new… cog-thing, right?" Miko asked optimistically. This caused the poor scout to groan and sit down, burying his face in his hands. "What'd I say?"

Paige nudged the girl's arm with her elbow, gaining her attention. "It's an organ, Miko. While Cybertronian tech is far more advanced than ours, I don't think they can build themselves a new liver either."

"Paige is correct," Ratchet sighed. "A T-Cog is a bio-mechanism, not a scrapyard find. If it were that easy, don't you think I would've replaced Bumblebee's voice box by now?" Paige frowned at the tone of guilt hidden in the medic's words, watching as he placed a comforting hand on the scout's shoulder.

"You're not useless, Bee," Raf tried to tell him. But the scout simply looked down sadly, making the boy do the same.

"Alright, alright," Bulkhead spoke up. "I say none of us transform until Bumblebee gets his Cog back!"

"Your spark's in the right place, Bulkhead," Arcee told him. "But I don't think now is the time to be limiting ourselves."

"Not with Megatron potentially seeking other doomsday devices," Optimus agreed. "And, I fear, not while MECH uses Bumblebee's T-Cog for their own sinister purpose."

Paige closed her locker with a sigh, pressing her forehead up against the cold metal. She couldn't sleep at all. Not while she kept thinking about her father, MECH, and their involvement with the Autobots. She growled to herself, balling her hands into tight fists as she whipped around and stormed down the hallway towards the exit. Her father wanted to go illegal and do some bad shit? Fine. He wanted to experiment on some Decepticons? Let's talk about it. But when he put her friends on the line, that was a big mistake on his part.

She was beyond livid. It made her blood boil with an intensity that could rival boiling water. She wanted to punch something. Let's just hope Vince doesn't bother me today or it'll be his face that gets punched, she mused as she shoved the school doors open roughly, alerting any nearby students to her presence and current temper. She stomped down the steps with a scowl until something caught her eye and caused her to halt.

Raf was sitting on the school railing wall, hunched over with a frown on his face as he kicked his feet absentmindedly. The sight was saddening and caused her heart to squeeze, and her temper to instantly get put on ice. Forget her own worries, Raf needed her. She took a deep breath to calm her leftover nerves and made a beeline for him.

"Hey, Raf," she greeted quietly so she didn't startle him, coming up beside him.

"Oh. Hey, Paige," the boy glanced up at her with a meek smile before dropping it and his gaze again.

Paige frowned at the sight. "Mind if I sit with you?"

When he wordlessly scooted over to give her space, she sat down next to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, drawing him close to her side. He didn't protest, but simply leaned into her touch. "Where's Swiftblade?" He asked quietly, being discreet about the topic of their conversation so the other lingering students didn't catch on. But even if they had, they would've had to deal with Paige and so they kept their distance and their curiosities to themselves.

"Out with the others," she supplied just as quietly. "So I'm waiting on a ride with you."

He hummed quietly and they sat in silence for a few moments. Until he noticed something. "What's this? I haven't seen you wear something like this before."

She looked down to see him staring at her bracelet, which was on the hand currently occupying his shoulder. She inwardly cringed, knowing she wouldn't be able to fool the boy long since he's started to recognize the differences between Earth and Cybertronian technology. "A friend gave it to me for my birthday," she answered truthfully, looking away with a small blush as she remembered that night. They hadn't talked since then but she often thought about the Decepticon medic who stole her heart the first night they met.

Raf looked at her skeptically. "I don't remember anyone mentioning making something like this… You were with everyone the whole day and this is Cybertronian tech."

She sighed a little, moving her arm from around him so she could rest her hands in her lap. She stared down at her bracelet and lightly twisted it around her wrist. "Yes, it is," she agreed softly. She let her shoulders sag and closed her eyes. "No one from Team Prime gave this to me…"

His eyes widened for a moment before he stared at her in confusion. "Then… who did?"

"...Kn-Knockout."

"Th-The Decepticon medic?" He whispered in shock, staring at her with wide eyes. "Why would he give that to you?"

She sighed and rubbed her face in exasperation, knowing she'd have to have the same conversation several times in the future once more if their friends found out. "Because we became friends before I knew any of them existed, and even before I knew that he was a Con. I only found out what he was that time Jack took Bumblebee racing."

"And you stayed friends?"

"Yeah… He used a holoform to talk to me from the very beginning, so that's how he kept it a secret from me. But… we like to talk, and we agreed to stay friends. Though it does tend to make it complicated when we do meet in battle…" She shrugged a bit. "But we keep our factions out of it, and sometimes even Breakdown and I talk. It's just… kinda nice to have a friend outside of the bots I guess. And he likes to race just like I do."

Raf was quiet for a few moments as he took in the information. "Does anyone else know…?"

"Miko and Ratchet."

Raf nearly choked on air. "Ratchet knows? Actually, I don't know who I should be more surprised about knowing…"

That got her to laugh a bit. "I know, right?" She giggled and fiddled with the bracelet, being mindful of the button she had been shown. "Miko knowing was inevitable since she kinda knew him since the beginning too, and didn't know he was a Con until, uh… The whole incident with Bulkhead and that data cylinder."

He hummed a bit in understanding. "And Ratchet?"

"The day he totally lost it while under the influence of Synth-En." She shrugged a bit. "I followed him and managed to convince him to let me tag along as his lookout, and that's when we ran into K.O. And I couldn't just let him hurt Ratchet so… I put myself between the two."

"Did… did you two fight?" Raf asked curiously.

"Me and K.O.?" She asked, looking at him for confirmation. When he nodded, she shook her head. "No, thankfully. He didn't want to hurt me just as I didn't want to hurt him. So I was essentially stalling until the others ran in to rescue us, which led him to flee the scene."

"And Ratchet's okay with this?"

"I'd imagine not really, but he seemed to understand my side of things when I explained it to him while he was recovering. He did say to tell him whenever I planned to meet up with K.O., but…"

"You haven't yet, have you?" Raf asked with a deadpan expression, causing her to smile sheepishly.

"No, I haven't…"

His gaze moved down to her bracelet again. But before either of them could speak, the sound of a siren startled them. They looked to see a familiar ambulance pull up in front of them, shutting off its siren as it did.

"Well, that's not embarrassing," Paige grumbled sarcastically, noting how many eyes of lingering students were on them as both she and Raf made their way to the passenger door. She opened the door and put on a big smile for show as she spoke rather loudly for the sake of the other students. "Thanks for giving us a ride while my car's in the shop!" Shooting a glare at the staring students, who thankfully looked away as soon as they saw her glaring at them, she climbed into the cab and over into the empty driver's seat so that Raf could sit in the passenger seat. Buckling up, she kept her hands and feet to herself as they began to drive away. "Now that that's over with… Seriously, thank you for the lift, Ratchet."

He grunted in response. "You're welcome. Where are the others?"

"Jack's at work and Miko's in detention," Raf answered with a sigh.

"Again," Paige added with a roll of her eyes. "I told that girl not to draw in Mrs. Watson's class…"

Raf shook his head before looking at the radio. "I was expecting Bulkhead."

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint but he's on watch duty," Ratchet grumbled.

Paige sighed and looked out the window. That's not what he meant, Ratchet.

"...You wanna ride with the siren on?"

"No thank you," both teens answered immediately.

They lapsed into silence for several moments, with Paige twisting her bracelet absentmindedly as she watched the buildings and cars go. "Ratchet," Raf spoke up finally. "What happened to Bumblebee's voice box?" His question had the brunette looking at the radio curiously, also wanting to know.

"It was… severely damaged in battle," he supplied haltingly, sounding like he'd rather not talk about the subject.

"How?"

"How do you think? Tragically, of course. It happened at Tyger Pax. Our brave scout was captured by Megatron's forces and interrogated. But he refused to provide intel and paid a grave price for his courage." Paige frowned as she listened to the story, scenes of what she assumed was the story flashing in her vision that had her blinking in confusion. "Bumblebee was left for scrap. But Autobot troops found him and evacuated him to a triage facility, where a field medic managed to stabilize his condition."

"So, we owe Bumblebee's life to that field medic," Raf said, bringing Paige out of her visions as she finally managed to blink them away.

"That's… one way of looking at it, I suppose. Though, the medic… could have done better."

Ratchet's words had Paige frowning in sympathy. Though it appeared Raf may not have caught on to the bot's hidden meaning, she certainly did. The amount of guilt he felt for not being able to fully repair Bumblebee was immense even now, and it was likely something he would never forget. She reached over to brush her fingers along the armrest of his door, causing it to tense and shiver slightly at her touch. No words were spoken between them, but she hoped her act of comfort helped soothe the old medic.

It wasn't long before Raf was dropped off at his house, with them exchanging brief farewells before the boy entered his house. She relaxed against the seat as they drove off towards her garage, absentmindedly fiddling with her bracelet as she stared down at her lap.

"How are you doing?"

"Huh?" Paige blinked in confusion as she glanced up at the radio, noticing the rearview mirror angling to look at her.

"You've been rather quiet and… upset since Bumblebee lost his T-Cog."

All of a sudden, all her previous emotions boiled up again beneath her skin. She openly scowled and glared out the window, green eyes ablaze with her hidden anger. "I'm fine," she growled out, trying not to take it out on him. He was undeserving of her temper and she refused to let him be at its mercy.

"You don't seem 'fine' to me."

She sighed and scrubbed her face tiredly. "I'm angry, Ratchet. Angry, and frustrated, and sad, and…" She slumped against the seat and closed her eyes. "...really wishing things were different," she mumbled in defeat.

Ratchet was quiet for a moment, taking in her words and her body language as he continued down the road, but at a much slower pace now. "With Silas," he asked, though he already knew the answer.

"Yeah…" She sighed through her nose, reaching up with her right hand to run her fingers through her hair.

"Paige, where did you get that?"

She froze and then dropped her hand into her lap, glancing at the radio. "Knockout gave it to me."

"You met with him without telling me?" He asked, flabbergasted.

"Y-yes… On the night of my birthday," she said sheepishly, looking away as her cheeks grew warm at the thought of that night.

He sighed heavily, forcing himself to calm down. "What is it exactly?"

"An S.O.S. beacon, essentially," she answered quietly, twisting it around her wrist as she spoke. She squeaked in surprise when he suddenly slammed on the brakes.

"Is there a tracker on it?!"

"I-I didn't think to ask," she admitted, staring owlishly at the radio as she braced herself against the seat in case he made any more wild moves.

He sputtered, appalled. "P-Paige-"

"It's okay, Ratchet!" She tried to assure him, throwing her hands out to placate him. "You can examine it for yourself if you want but I really don't think he'd do that. He seemed upset about the last few times that I was injured so I don't think he'd risk it happening on purpose!"

He was silent for a moment, as if thinking over what she had said. He then grumbled and started back down the road, allowing the brunette to relax again. "...You really believe him?"

"Yes," she responded firmly and without hesitation. "I do."

He sighed and pulled up next to her garage. "Alright. I'll… trust your judgment."

She smiled softly and patted his dashboard fondly, causing him to tense and shudder in surprise. "Thank you, Ratchet. See you later." She hopped out of his cab after hearing his grunted response, and watched him drive away. She shook her head and headed inside. She wanted nothing more than a nice, hot bath to soothe her mind.

The following days were full of drama. Bumblebee disobeyed a direct order from Optimus, but managed to retrieve his T-Cog from MECH and - apparently - Starscream. Though the thing was damaged, Ratchet was able to repair the bio-mechanism and Bumblebee was finally able to transform again. After that, Wheeljack ended up back on Earth after chasing a new Decepticon to the ground, who managed to escape and pledge his allegiance to Megatron. Wheeljack willingly threw himself into a trap set up by Dreadwing with Bulkhead, and Optimus went after them. The last Paige heard of the incident was that Bulkhead had become a ticking bomb and both Optimus and Wheeljack managed to get the Con to deactivate the bomb. But not before blowing up an entire shipyard worth of cargo containers. Oh, Agent Fowler had a field day with that mess. And then Wheeljack struck out on his own again, this time on his own set of wheels to see if Earth suited his taste for a new home of operations.

Paige had been listening to the latest mission outcome via the team - something about Starscream setting a trap for all his enemies in one place with Airachnid and Megatron - when she received a text. She opted to ignore it, but she didn't often get messages. So she checked the message as she yawned and blinked in surprise.

From K.O.: Can you meet me at these coordinates?

She glanced at the coordinates he sent her and bit her lip. She would have loved to visit him, but she was currently at base.

To K.O.: I can't. I'm with the Autobots.

From K.O.: Please

Her brows furrowed as she frowned down at the message in growing concern. He had never pleaded with her for a meeting before. It made her feel uneasy, like something was terribly wrong. Inwardly groaning, she snuck away from the team and headed over to Ratchet who stood by himself at the terminal. She scaled the stairs and stopped at the railing beside him, gaining his attention.

"Ratchet, can you bridge me to these coordinates?" She showed him the message with the coordinates.

The medic frowned in confusion. "Why? Who is…?"

"It's Knockout," she whispered, frowning worriedly as she gripped the railing. "I think something is wrong…"

He looked between her and the phone before sighing. "Alright, but I'm coming with you," he told her, giving her a pointed look. She simply nodded and watched as he went to talk to Optimus briefly. She thrummed her fingers against the railing as she waited, watching as the leader sent a curious glance her way before nodding. She didn't even wait for Ratchet to finish typing in the coordinates before she was sliding down the railing to ground level. She did wait, however, to hear his following footsteps before going through the open ground bridge.

They were greeted by a familiar Aston Martin parked off to the side, with its holoform pacing impatiently in front of it. With a quick look around, Paige confirmed that they were alone on the desert roadside before she jogged over to him.

"Knockout, what's-" She cut off with a squeak of surprise as she was suddenly enveloped in a tight embrace, shocking both her and Ratchet who stood a respectable distance away to watch. A concerned frown made its way onto her face and she placed her hands on his back, using one hand to pat his back comfortingly. Something was definitely wrong. She could feel slight tremors in his holoform, causing her to worry. "What's wrong?" She asked quietly, trying to ignore how his hair was tickling her face as he rested his head against her shoulder.

And then she felt a different rumble vibrate his form, along with a deep sound that escaped his throat. It made her shudder but she forced herself to focus on the situation at hand. She pulled her head back to look at his face, and she could see him clearly glaring at someone behind her. Oh, he's growling at Ratchet, she realized.

Frowning, she reached up and grabbed his face firmly but gently in her hands, pulling him to look at her directly. "Stop growling like a possessive dog and tell me what's wrong," she said sternly, a disapproving frown on her face as she searched his eyes for an answer.

Her actions and words shocked both medics, causing them to blink owlishly at her for a moment. Knockout was the first to recover and he reached up to hold her hands against his face as he closed his eyes. "Breakdown," he whispered, causing her expression to soften as she listened. "He was killed…"

His broken voice and words felt like a knife stabbing her heart. She moved her hands away from his face and instead wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. She felt him hug back as his forehead dropped to her shoulder, and she felt the earlier tremors start again. She could tell he was either crying or trying not to cry. And she was on the verge of doing the same. She closed her eyes and rested her head against his shoulder, rubbing one hand along his back while the other carefully combed through his styled hair, not wanting to mess it up too much.

They stayed like that for several moments until the slight shifting of metal behind her caught Paige's attention. She lifted her head and glanced over her shoulder to see Ratchet standing there awkwardly, not knowing what to do with himself. She took a moment to decide on her next course of action before carefully fishing out her phone and using it to type one

-handed - after making sure to silence the volume for the time being.

To Ratchet: You can go back to base now. And tell Swiftblade he can pick me up in the morning.

From Ratchet: You want me to leave you here alone?

To Ratchet: Yes.

She heard a small sigh escape the Autobot medic.

From Ratchet: Let me know if something happens.

To Ratchet: Will do.

She heard the ground bridge open and Knockout grew tense at the sound, beginning to growl again. She patted his back but he only stopped when the portal closed, and they were left alone. He relaxed and nuzzled into her shoulder. She didn't want to keep talking about it but she wanted answers.

"How did it happen?" She asked quietly, her voice no more than a whisper.

His voice was just as quiet as before when he responded. "Airachnid… Dreadwing and Breakdown were sent to kill her because Megatron couldn't trust her loyalty."

His answer made her grip his jacket tighter, frowning deeply. "But she got away… didn't she?"

His only response was a nod against her shoulder.

She sighed and closed her eyes, resting her head against his. "I'm sorry…" She heard him give a small grunt in response and they lapsed into silence. She ran her fingers through his hair in slow, comforting motions.

His grip tightened on her shirt, as if he were balling his hands into fists. He took a shaky breath. "She will pay," he growled out in a low tone.

"Yes," Paige agreed quietly as she hugged him tighter, prompting him into burying his face into her shoulder. "She will."

And now Raf knows about Paige and Knockout! That's three people so far.

Gosh, poor Knockout. I was really diosappointed that they didn't do more to show Knockout's anger, disdain, or even sorrow about Breakdown's death. So I took it into my own hands! So he seeks comfort from his girl~