This story was long overdue for an update, and I did promise that it would eventually come around when I got my muse back into working order. And since I've pushed Inherit toward the back of my mind for a little while, I'm going to update One Star Dies, Another Is Born as soon as I can. Right now, I think I'm just happy how this turned out.

Here are some things you should know in this story for future references:

"Blah, blah, blah," = the Cybertronians talking in their native language - Cybertronix

"Blah, blah, blah," = com-link chatter

Blah, blah, blah, = thoughts

Hope that helps. Now, onto the chapter! I hope you enjoy it! Next one will be coming after One Star Dies, Another Is Born is updated.

Chapter 14:

Hold On Before It's Too Late

As Optimus explained to Jason what had happened to Jasmine, his scanners never strayed from the young man's body for any signs of reaction. Despite Jason's emotionless facial expression, Optimus could see everything that was going on internally. He wasn't surprised to learn that along with the temperature rising, his heart was pounding faster than it normally was, beads of sweat were slowly dripping down the sides of his neck, and his breathing was becoming rapid. Jason thought he could hide his emotions from Optimus, but the body reacted accordingly and never lied.

When Optimus had finished his story, Jason fell flat in his palm with a slight 'plunk'. The boy bowed his head, burying his face into his hands. Optimus could faintly hear the quiet sobs as he struggled not to cry, but was failing miserably. The Autobot commander could do nothing except wait patiently for Jason to regather his thoughts.

For a while, Jason cried as Optimus waited. What was there to say when you had just learned that your only family member had been kidnapped by the enemy of an alien species that was your guardian? Optimus felt his spark quench in grief for the human, but he had years of experience to be able to hold back his own emotions. It came with the territory of being a leader of a faction.

Jason took a deep breath and lifted his head, wiping the rest of his tears away from his face. He looked deeply into the optics of Optimus Prime, a burning question forming on his lips. "How long before we'll be able to find Jasmine?"

Optimus tilted his head to one side, his processor considering his answer carefully. He emits a deep intake of air as an equivalent to a human sigh and answers honestly, "I don't know, Jason." Then his tone shifted from quiet to firm. "But I do know one thing: we will get Jasmine back. I promise you that."

While he had been talking, Midnight had crawled forward and was nudging Jason's hand and licking it with her soft tongue. Jason reached forward and gently stroked the puppy's soft, black fur. She crept onto his lap and curled up, soft snores escaping her black lips.

Jason bowed his head slightly at Optimus' words. They felt like an empty promise.

Seeing his sullen mood, Optimus raises an arm and carefully brings him and Midnight closer to his chest in a fatherly embrace. He felt Jason cringe in surprise, but he didn't pull away from the unusual gesture.

For a few minutes, one said a word as they enjoyed the comfortable silence between each other, each individual with their own thoughts. Finally, Optimus removed his hands from Jason's back and took another deep exhale. He was about to say more when Ratchet came walking into the room, much to his surprise.

Optimus' optics shifted from Jason to Ratchet as he came to his side. He allowed a deep growl to vibrate through his chassis when his CMO ever so 'gently' prodded the metal welding on his side where his injury was. Ratchet continued to poke around for a while until he shook his head with annoyance and muttered something inaudible that Jason couldn't pick up, but Optimus certainly did.

"How long before I am back on my feet again, Ratchet?" Optimus clicked to Ratchet in their native language – Cybertronix. He was determined to be back on his feet just so that he could carry out his promise and reunite Jasmine with her brother.

"It will take twenty-four hours before the welding on your side is officially removed," Ratchet answered solemnly, shaking his head. He sounded like he knew how much his stubborn friend was eager to get back on his feet and find Jasmine in time before it was too late. But thanks to this injury, it would be a little while before he was fit enough to take on Starscream again.

Jason listened to their communication despite not being able to understand what was being said. To him, they sounded like electronic clicks, warbles, whirrs, and whistles. He was amazed at how different they sounded compared to Earth's native languages.

Optimus growled when Ratchet gave him his answer and his cyan optics shifted towards Jason, causing him to look up at him. He asked in a concerned manner, "How are you feeling?"

The young man shrugged his shoulders. "I'll be fine, Optimus," he lied. "Thanks for asking."

Ratchet didn't look convinced thanks to his acute sensors detecting the amount of stress that was going on inside the human's body. "I understand your reason to lie about your condition, Jason Clark," he told him gently, "but being upset about losing your sister to the Decepticons won't make things better."

Jason shot Ratchet a glare, but he said nothing in response his smart comeback.

Optimus tilted his head to one side again. "What do you wish to do while you are here with us?" he asked gently.

Jason shrugged. "I just want a place to rest," he answered honestly, knowing that he couldn't lie again

Ratchet gave a thoughtful look, resting a hand upon his chin as he considered what they should do. "You can stay in a set of human quarters not too far away from the med-bay, but I will have to transfer you into the care of Major William Lennox and Chief Master Sergeant Robert Raymond Epps."

Jason shifted about uncomfortably. He wasn't sure if those two actually liked him for the way how he acted toward them and Ironhide in regards to the whereabouts of his sister. A part of him hoped that they had forgiven him for his stupid behaviour, but another part of him didn't want to see them again. They probably shouldn't even be looking after kids while they're busy looking for Decepticons across the globe.

He sighed in defeat and nodded in agreement. "Fine," he said.

Ratchet offered a hand out to him to climb up on, but not before he tried to take Midnight. However, the little puppy refused to be taken, preferring to remain in the company of Optimus. She licked Jason on the nose in farewell and placed herself on Optimus' shoulder, watching him with bright, brown eyes. Shrugging, Jason climbed onto Ratchet's hand.

Ratchet stood up to his full height and began to make his way towards the exit, but not before he stopped and shot a death glare at Optimus. "Do not even think about leaving this room, Optimus," he growled in warning, tossing a wrench he had pulled from out of his subspace up and down in his hand. "If I find out you've left, then I will strap you down and knock you out with this wrench. Got me?"

Optimus merely rolled his optics and nodded slightly.

Satisfied, Ratchet departed with his passenger.

Major William Lennox chewed on his lip in a casual manner before downing a can of soda. He had been sitting at a table in the cafeteria ever since Ratchet had called them to let them know that they were bringing in Jason to get him something to eat. He had at first been a bit surprised when Ratchet had told him the news, but it had eventually worn off to the point where his fatherly instincts kicked in. Just like any father, he was worried about the wellbeing Jason and his sister. He understood what it was like to have a family member so far away from you. He even understood the amount of feelings the kid must be going through: worry, fear, confusion, uncertainty. There were a number of other feelings in the mix there, but Lennox couldn't possibly name them all.

On the opposite side of the table, Epps was leaning back in his chair as he took a bite of what appeared to be a tomato, lettuce and cheese sandwich. Unlike Lennox, Epps was a battle-hardened man, never one to express his emotions. The times of fighting had made him a bit rough around the edges, but he still cracked a joke every once in a while. But like Lennox, he too had a family, but he never talked much about it.

"We're obviously looking after the kid for a while," Epps groaned to his friend, earning a chortle from Lennox.

"Yeah," Lennox replied, "and I don't mind one little bit. The kid and his sister have been through a lot. I actually understand what he's going through."

Epps cocked an eyebrow. "Do you?" he smirked. "Has any of your family been kidnapped by Decepticons?"

Lennox shook his head, taking another sip from his soda. "No, but being separated from your family is one thing we have in common. The kid doesn't even have any parents. He and his sister live alone unfortunately."

"You dug around in their files?"

"Kind of," Lennox replied with a shrug.

Their talking was interrupted by the sound of heavy footfalls making their way towards the cafeteria. Epps and Lennox glanced up, their food and conversation forgotten for a moment as they glanced at one another and got up from the table, making their way toward the exit.

After what seemed like minutes, Ratchet arrived to drop off his passenger at the door. He kneeled down and placed Jason on the ground. Jason hopped off the hand and waved his thanks to the Autobot medic before heading into the cafeteria and bumping into Lennox and Epps. He bowed his head, avoiding eye contact with the two men.

"Hey kid," Lennox smiled gently. "We're... sorry that we had to take you away from your home. But it was for your own protection."

Jason's sullen expression eventually turned into a weak smile. "Thanks, but you don't have to apologise," he said. "I just want my sister back and go home. We don't belong in this fight of yours."

"No, kid, you don't," Epps spoke up. "That's why once this whole thing is sorted out, you are going straight back home where you belong. No more getting involved in our secret conflict with the Decepticons."

Jason nodded and raised an eye. "Aren't you guys going to take me to my quarters?"

"We will," Lennox answered, "but only after you've got something into your stomach. We did tear you away from your food when we came to take you after all."

"I suppose," Jason mumbled tiredly, knowing that he couldn't quite complain. "But I thought I should let you know that I'm sorry for the way how I acted toward you two and Ironhide."

"Don't worry about it, Jason," Lennox smiled kindly. "We understand your reason for your behaviour. I'm sure even Ironhide understands as well."

Satisfied with those words, Jason made his selection for food; the three returned to the table and then began to eat in silence. As he ate, Jason's jaw clenched in discomfort, but his stomach growled in satisfaction as it was stuffed with the food it had missed during the night. Oh how it felt wonderful to be able to eat a meal without him cooking it up himself. He still felt uneasy about being in this strange place where humans and robots alike worked side by side of each other. However, he knew that he had absolutely nothing to fear since Optimus was one of them and that these ones would do him no harm. What was even the point in being afraid of these ones?

He finished off his meal by downing a Coke and thus fullness settled in. He felt a bit better, but he was still bitter about what Optimus had told him. However, there was no point in dwelling in the past right now. He rubbed his eyes tiredly and he checked his watch. It was merely 12:30PM and he was amazed at how much time had passed since he had arrived at the base. According to what he remembered, he had left late last night and had arrived here at the base toward the afternoon. He obviously hadn't slept and he was beyond exhausted.

But, before he voiced about needing to get some sleep, he asked Lennox in a nervous manner, "How long before we find Jasmine?"

Epps paused in his eating and Lennox cleared his throat as he leaned forward. He stared into Jason's eyes, his face became stone hard. "It would take us a few days to locate a Decepticon signal. However, if the Decepticons were dumb enough, they would be too overconfident in hiding their energy signatures if they were hiding on Earth somewhere. But with Cybertronian technology behind us, we should be able to find Jasmine very soon."

Jason frowned. "It shouldn't take you guys that long to find her if you worked a little faster," he scoffed impatiently.

Epps scowled at Jason's poor choice of words and prepared to open his mouth to say something nasty when Lennox raised an arm in front of his face to cut him off. "I understand your urgency to rescue your sister, Jason," he said softly, "but all I ask from you is have some patience. If you know Jasmine well enough, she will hold on until we arrive to get her."

Jason tried to say something, but his voice died on him and he let off a yawn.

Lennox smirked and pushed himself away from the table and stood up. "Come on, you're obviously tired. We'll take you to the human quarters."

"Thanks," Jason sighed as Epps and Lennox led him out of the cafeteria and down the hallway in the opposite direction of the med-bay.

They stopped at what appeared to be a set of human-sized doors and walked inside. On the inside were two other sets of doors that stood facing each other. The left set of doors was the men's rooms and the right was for the women's. Toward the end of the small hallway were two sets of bathrooms, also for the two genders.

"Just go in the men's room through that door," Lennox pointed out. "Pick out any room you want."

Jason nodded his appreciation and headed through the door and found another hallway with at least fifteen doors leading down it. Each of them had two sets of bunk beds in them, but they all seemed taken. The last one at the end of the corridor seemed empty and Jason entered it and flopped onto the left bottom bunk bed. And before he even knew it, he was soon out like a light.

Epps and Lennox left the kid alone to sleep it off as they headed away from the room. It was best to let Jason sleep since he had quite a day.

"What are we going to do with him?" Epps asked, keeping his voice soft so that only Lennox could hear him.

"I have no idea," Lennox replied. "But all Jason can do is wait until the Decepticons show up on the radar. Hopefully one of them may slip up and lead us straight to their hideout."

Epps nodded. "I hope you're right, Will," he sighed. "I'd hate to be Big Buddha if we don't find his sister in time, because man, oh man, he is going to get his ass kicked."

Three Hours Later
Decepticon Base, Three Rivers

Jasmine stirred, sitting up from her dirty cot. She was beyond tired and slowly getting hungry since she had missed all three meals, including last night's dinner. A cold breeze found its way through the cell, making her shiver. Less than an hour ago, she had suffered from a seizure and not one of the Decepticons had come forward to help her. Even Mixmaster didn't even react as she trembled violently the floor until it had passed. The blood on the floor from her spasms after she had bitten her tongue was all that remained from the aftermath of attack.

She recalled Starscream coming in to check in on her a while ago, but then had departed shortly after to some other part of the base. All of the Decepticons had reverted to speaking in their native language in order to prevent her from understanding what they were saying. This frustrated Jasmine to the point on kicking a nearby wall in her cell in anger, but she had only ended up hurting herself. Pissed off, she had retreated to her cot and had spent the last half hour trying to figure out how to escape. So far, nothing had come through and it was beginning to annoy her.

Her reason for her stirring came when she had heard light clicking on the cold hard floor. She turned her head and her eyes rested upon a silvery black creature prowling near her cell. The creature had a single red eye in the middle of its strange head, its massive maw filled with razor-sharp teeth unlike anything she had seen before. Triangle shaped ears twitched at the simplest of noises and its catlike body gleamed silver in the afternoon light through the window of her cell.

The creature paused in front of her cell, eyeing her curiously.

Jasmine noticed it was carrying something in its jaws, a greyish brown sliver covered in black swirls and lines unlike anything she had seen before. However, the markings stirred her memory when she recalled Optimus having similar tattoos on his face and the sides of his head.

The creature stared at her a little while longer, their gaze being held far longer than Jasmine liked. She could see a fierce coldness in them and she felt fear crawling down her spine, making the hairs on her arms stand up on end.

"Ravage!"

The metallic cat's ears twitched in the direction of the voice calling its name and it darted over toward the owner. It stopped at the feet of Starscream, who opened up his palm, one finger inclining him to hand over the object in its jaws. It did so without hesitation, placing the object in the middle of his palm before it scooted off back into the shadows where it had come from without a backward glance over its shoulder.

Starscream didn't seem to be paying much attention to Ravage's disappearance. Rather he seemed occupied by the strange sliver of metal in his fingertips. He stood up to his full height and inspected it with a large red eye. It pulsed with a strange electrical aura that webbed all the way around it before stopping at its left end. Starscream made a clicking noise, and it sounded to Jasmine like it was in satisfaction. His eyes dart over in her direction and she scowled back, hoping to at least intimidate him with her expression.

He smirked at her pathetic attempt to scare him, and he responded by hissing threateningly at her. She scooted back in terror, away from his line of sight. She knew it was fruitless to try and hide from him; he would find her and make her fear him even more. He laughed manically at her weakness and shook his head before making his way over to the computer console.

He pressed a single button and announced in pure English, "All Decepticons, report to command centre at once. We have what we need."

Less than seven minutes later, all eight Decepticons were present and accounted for, though Mixmaster remained where he was near Jasmine's cell. Six of them no longer had the same jagged armour as they did before, although Jasmine only recognised Barricade through his black and white armour, along with Grindor from his unusual crest and his massively broad chest. Mixmaster had already selected his dark grey and white vehicle form shortly before he had been assigned to be Jasmine's cell guard.

"What do you want, Starscream?" grumbled Grindor, folding his arms across his chest and frowning in an annoyed manner.

Starscream didn't say anything for a moment as he typed in another command and the monitor brought up the image of Soundwave. Once done, he turned back to the rest of the Decepticons. "The fragment that you see in my hand," he began with a growl, "is what will be used to bring back the Allspark."

"How could a human bring back the Allspark?" a small, silver mech with jagged blades on his hands questioned. "It was destroyed when that Witwicky boy shoved the Cube into Megatron's spark chamber. You saw it yourself."

"She is all part of the project, Sideways," Soundwave replied in his deep, emotionless raspy voice. "While the Allspark was destroyed in Mission City, fragments of it were scattered around the world during the insertion. Since this is all we were able to find amongst the cleanup in the city, the human female will provide an excellent home for what we have in mind."

Starscream nodded and clicked something to Sideways, whose eyes then widened in complete surprise. Everyone else's expressions changed from surprised as well to excited chatter. Jasmine couldn't understand what was being said, but she had a feeling that it sounded good to them, but bad for her.

Finally, Starscream called for silence by banging a clawed foot on the ground. The chatting died down as Starscream shifted his cold red gaze over to Jasmine. "We will begin Project Recreation in three days time," he announced. "Barricade and Grindor, you will scout out the perimeter for any signs of Autobot activity. We are going to weaken the human's... delicate mind by dehydration, starvation and darkness."

He turned to address Mixmaster. "Cover her up."

Mixmaster simply nodded and headed out of Jasmine's line of sight. He came back a second later with a massive leather sheet. He then tossed it over her cell and she was left in the cold, lonely darkness.

Three Days Later
Simpson Point, Diego Garcia

The three days had passed by slowly for Jason without much of an incident happening. Jason had struggled to keep himself together in the hopes that a clue would come up regarding his sister's whereabouts. The only thing that had happened was the arrival of four new Autobots – Sideswipe, Arcee, Chromia, and Flareup, or the Bike Sisters as they were nicknamed by their human allies. They had already been given the heads-up to get them settled into the routine of working with their newfound allies. Sideswipe proved to be the stubborn one of the group, preferring to work solo rather than with anyone else.

Jason was still holding onto the hope that the soldiers would be able to pick up any Decepticon activity, but nothing had come up so far. But the longer it took, the more worried he became. He spent so much time alone that when Optimus had recovered from his ordeal with Starscream and Barricade he could not seem to get close enough to the elder twin.

The young man had escaped the care of Epps and Lennox just so that he could be alone with his thoughts. He sighed deeply in frustration and picked up a rock next to him. He bounced it in his palm for a bit before he tossed it into the ocean in front of him. It fell into the water with a slight 'splosh' and slowly drifted to the bottom.

He had been so focused on the rock that he didn't hear the heavy thudding of Optimus Prime's feet until a tall shadow fell over him. He stiffened slightly at the approach, but he didn't turn around to look at his guardian.

Optimus came a little closer until he was standing right beside Jason. He kneeled down to get on even level with him, but his bright blue eyes remained fixed upon the frothing ocean that splashed against the rocks. The smell of the ocean breeze was strong in their nostrils.

Then, Optimus turned his head downwards, his eye lens twisting and turning along with his emotions. "Jason, what is troubling you?" he asked gently.

Without warning, Jason leapt to his feet and whirled upon Optimus. "Why didn't you try to save Jasmine, Optimus?!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. "Why didn't you save her when you had the chance?!"

If Optimus was surprised by the outburst, he didn't show it. Instead, he answered quietly, "I couldn't save her, Jason, because Starscream threatened to squeeze her to death if I didn't let Barricade go. I was a mech of my word, but Starscream wasn't. He eventually escaped with your sister and I was forced to succumb to my injuries." He closed his shutters for a moment, taking a deep intake of air before continuing, "The only thing I can do right now is apologise to you for not upholding my promise to protect you and your sister. All I ask from you is to believe in my new promise to get your sister back."

For a long moment, Jason doesn't say a word. He listened to Optimus' heartfelt, not even daring to interrupt him until he had finished what had needed to be said. Optimus sounded so determined to make up for what had happened to Jasmine. He even sounded like he meant every word that he had spoken. Jason soon knew that he couldn't be angry at him anymore, not when he said it himself that he would do everything in his power to get Jasmine back.

He sagged a bit, though a faint smile crossed his lips. His posture eventually changed as he took a step forward and held a hand out to Optimus. The Autobot commander seemed puzzled by the gesture, but a quick search through the World Wide Web told him exactly what he needed to do. He reached outwards, index finger extended. Jason clasped it in his tiny hand and they shake on it.

"Thank you, Optimus," Jason smiled.

"You're welcome, Jason," Optimus chuckled with a slight curve of his lips.

Jason was about to speak further when barking was heard from behind Optimus. They glanced inland and saw a small black canine making her way down the sandy hill toward them. Tail wagging furiously, ears perked in an alert manner, and tongue hanging loosely from the left side of her jaw.

"Midnight, what are you doing here?" Optimus queried, lifting an optic ridge in surprise at the little creature's appearance. She leapt onto Jason legs, knocking him to ground as he fell flat on his backside. She placed both paws on his chest and licked his face happily.

Optimus let off a deep, rumbling laugh that vibrated through his body and into the sand, causing the particles to scatter.

"Midnight!"

All three turn their heads and they manage to spot the silhouettes of Lennox and Epps in the distance, followed by the broad figure that was Ironhide and the thin, lithe form of Sideswipe.

Lennox grinned when he spotted Optimus, Jason and Midnight as he and Epps came running toward them. However, Ironhide and Sideswipe remained where they were, refusing to come onto the sand.

Optimus frowned suspiciously at this, but he said nothing about it. He returned his gaze to Lennox and Epps. "Major William Lennox, Chief Master Sergeant Robert Raymond Epps," he greeted them. "Why were you chasing Midnight?"

"Sorry, Optimus," Lennox laughed, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Epps, Ironhide, Sideswipe and I were looking for you and Jason when Midnight just made a mad dash for Simpson Point. I wasn't sure why until she led us to you."

"Looking for me?" Optimus asked, tilting his head to one side.

"Yeah," Epps said once he caught his breath. "We thought we should let you know that... we found Miss Jasmine Clark."