As the green-gold vortex opened in front of them, the younglings drew back, their armor lifting and their optics narrowing. A pair of blades extended from Cypher's forearms, reddish liquid dripping from the ends, and he lowered his helm. Behind him, Voltage activated her whips again, while Nova's servos shifted into plasma blasters. They glanced in the Autobots' direction, gazes accusatory. "We can't do anything to you," Cypher whispered, his voice trembling—whether out of fear or anger, it wasn't clear. "Why would you call for backup?"

"Easy, kid, we're just calling our medic," Bulkhead assured them. He held out his servos, hoping to show that he wasn't going to activate his weapons systems. When he took a step forward, Voltage and Nova darted in front of Cypher and settled into fighting stances.

Then, Nova shook his helm, straightening back to his full height. "Sorry," he murmured as he nudged Voltage until she relaxed. He cycled his vents and suppressed a shudder. Something unrecognizable—something suggesting that Bulkhead's action had awoken unpleasant memories in the mech—flashed in his optics. "The humans have tried to hurt him far too many times. It's instinct now, really."

Voltage let out a protective growl, looking behind her as if to make sure the youngling was still there. Satisfied that he was, she offlined her optics briefly.

"Guys, it's okay." Cypher placed his servos on his companions' shoulder guards, pulling them back slightly. "The humans aren't here; no one's going to hurt me." He cast a questioning glance at the Autobots, as if seeking confirmation for his statement.

Bumblebee clicked at Arcee, gesturing towards the GroundBridge and jerking his head towards the younglings. He crept over to Cypher and the others, holding his servo out in front of him as if they were frightened cybercats rather than young Cybertronians. Whirring, he gave Cypher a once-over and beckoned to him.

Cypher looked up at Voltage and Nova for permission. At Nova's almost imperceptible nod, he rolled forward, doorwings twitching. "My- My altmode?" he repeated, incredulous. "I… I can't even remember what it looks like beyond being land-based. Voltage's is also land-based, but Nova's a flier, if you couldn't see his wings."

As a matter of fact, the Autobots hadn't seen Nova's wings. The mech had refused to let them step around him, baring his denta and snarling when they tried, as if he were afraid they would attack him when his back was turned.

Without warning, a huffing Ratchet stomped through the GroundBridge, throwing his servos into the air and exclaiming in exasperation: "Well, I can't leave the Bridge open all cycle!" Upon seeing the younglings, he stumbled back a step, optics widening. His jaw worked, and his vocorder released a series of Cybertronian curses.

"I know, right?" Bulkhead rumbled.

Voltage crept towards Ratchet, her helm low, whips dragging behind her. She walked in a small circle around him, taking in large quantities of air as she did so. Finally, she retreated to Nova's side and hissed in his audial something about not liking the smell of the new mech. When Ratchet moved to inspect Cypher, who was closest to him, her optics clouded, and she darted over, howling in what sounded like a foreign language. She flicked her whips to activate their galva-conductors.

Cypher stepped in front of her, holding his arms up. "He's a medic!" he shouted desperately. "He's a medic, Voltage! Look at his arms—see, heart monitor lines!"

Still blinded by something the Autobots didn't understand, the femme batted him aside, one of her whips curling around him and electrocuting him. He screamed at the contact, bringing Voltage out of her bloodlust. She staggered back, optics clearing, vents cycling. "Oh, God," she breathed, horrified.

Nova hurried to the youngling's side, pulling him into his lap and stroking his helm.

Voltage covered her speaker grille with her servos, choking on sobs. She quickly dissolved into tears. "I'm sorry. Cypher, I'm so sorry."

"Move!" Ratchet ordered, pushing past the others to kneel in front of Nova and Cypher. He reached out to take the youngling, hardly flinching when Nova bared his denta. "I can't help him if you won't let me get a good look at the injury."

At this, the white and gray mech gingerly handed his companion to Ratchet, standing so that he loomed somewhat threateningly over the medic.

Ratchet pushed him away, tutting. "I need space… and light." He turned Cypher's helm to one side to expose the scorch mark winding from the side of his neck cabling down his back. Upon scanning the small mech, he vented heavily. "The damage is mostly cosmetic; his paint was merely burned away. Unfortunately, the current overloaded his primary systems and forced him into shut-down. He'll be unconscious for a while, but there should be no lasting consequences."

Nova immediately snatched Cypher back into his arms, cradling the youngling against his chassis. His engine rumbled comfortingly, and he nuzzled the other's neck cabling. "Wake up," he murmured. "It's not time to sleep yet."

Keeping her helm tilted downwards, Voltage approached them. She hummed soothingly as her digits traced up and down one of his prominent audial receptors. There was still coolant leaking from her optics, though it had slowed considerably. "Please, forgive me."

Arcee walked over and placed her servo on Ratchet's arm. "What was that about?"

"Fear conditioning," the medic explained quietly, staring at the young femme in a mixture of sympathy and curiosity. "Whatever MECH did to her, they convinced her subconscious mind that those who smell of chemicals used in the medical practice will hurt her or her friends, triggering a violent, almost primitive response. It's a tactic I've seen used on prisoners of war countless times, especially on those captured by Decepticons."

"Can we break it?"

Ratchet shook his helm slightly. "She has to recognize that it needs to be broken before we can do anything."

That sounded like it would be quite the challenge, especially considering that they didn't know how long MECH had been holding the younglings. At this point, it was probably too sore a subject to bring up, so they would have to remain in the dark for now. Arcee cycled her vents and gave them another once-over.

There were three diagonal scratches on Nova's torso, each stretching from just above his hip joint to his shoulder guard. Directly between Voltage's shoulders and right below her neck was a chunk of missing armor, her protoform exposed. Bullet holes littered Cypher's chassis, a steady stream of energon leaking from each one.

Just what had MECH done to them?

AN: I know, this one's short, especially for one of my chapters, but what's to come next chapter is going to be much more interesting, I promise you.