I own nothing.

--

Alice led the Cullens deeper into the woods, racing in the direction her vision had gone, trying to keep her thoughts optimistic for the sake of her brother. She knew he was ready to call upon the Volturi. She knew that, if they found Bella there, at the bottom of the lake, there would be no stopping him. She knew that the chances were slim to none that she would be okay, or, at the least, alive. She knew all that, but it didn't keep her from hoping against all hope and logic that her sister would be okay.

Edward was calmer than most would believe. There was no inner struggle going on. If she was alive, he would beg her for forgiveness and protect her for the rest of her life. If she had died, so would he. It was as simple as that. It just wasn't in him to stay away from her any longer.

Absentmindedly, he checked the thoughts of his family. Carlisle was sending him only reassuring thoughts that Alice didn't know if the vision was true or not. Esme and Alice were trying not to break down. Rosalie was cursing up a storm, self-hatred permeating every thought as she prayed that, for the sake of their family, Bella would be okay. She only wanted her family back; she didn't actually care about the human. At least, that was what she told herself. Emmet was easy. Even if he couldn't read their minds, he would recognize the longing on his face. He wanted his sister back.

And then there was Jasper.

Never before had Edward been unable to get words out of his mind, but now there was only darkness and hatred and pity and anger and too many other things to be able to understand them all.

And then they were at the lake.

All at once, they leapt into the water, swimming frantically for the bottom of the lake, perfect eyes bulging at the sight of a massive, metallic... thing.

Almost as one, they all thought, 'A space ship?'

--

"A virus?" questioned Bella, wondering at the way the words rolled off her tongue and into the air of the enormous medical bay.

"Yes, an ancient virus of Cybertronian origin. We had thought it had gone extinct, but when we rechecked our records, we found that a mech by the name of Skyfire, an explorer from the Cybertron Academy of Medicine and Science, was a carrier of this virus. He disappeared nearly four billion Earth years ago. Supposedly, the magnetic interference from the poles of Earth caused him to crash land on this planet, where he went offline. The virus, seeking a suitable vessel to contain it, spurred the evolution of humans so that it could spread to your species," explained Ratchet calmly as Bella nearly went crazy hyperventilating.

Shaking in fear, rage, tiredness, too many things to name, Bella asked the most prominent question her mind could formulate.

"What does it do?"

Wheeljack stepped into the conversation, enthusiastically elucidating, "Well, you see, that's the interesting thing! It's only a virus because it's contagious. In all reality, it only helps the carrier. Increased speed, strength, agility, stamina, all sensors, and processor capacity, not to mention the physical aspects, the beauty that followed those who possessed the virus. The only reason it didn't spread very well was because it took nearly thirteen Earth days to complete the transformation, and it was an excruciating experience."

Bella sighed in relief, plopping down on her bottom, dangling her legs over the edge of the table as she queried, "So, just to be sure we're on the same page, we are talking about the vampires, right?"

Ratchet nodded, "Yes, that is what they are called on your planet. Although, it would seem the virus has evolved to suit your species needs. It increases life span exponentially, alters physical appearance differently than it did on Cybertron, and cancels out certain needs, such as oxygen and Earth foods."

"Wait," began Bella, wondering about the most important aspect of Vampirism. "What about drinking blood?"

"Well," continued Wheeljack, head fins flashing. "It's not the blood itself they drink, but the plasma. The rest of the blood is surplus and just takes up extra room in their bodies until it can be released from the body via the pores. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that it leaves the vampires feeling fairly bloated. In actuality, it's just because the plasma in blood is the closest thing to energon that is produced by organics on your planet, so their systems settle for the plasma. Y'see, energon is the liquid format for energy. Energy is like water in that it has three forms, its gaseous form, harmless, it exists everywhere there is motion, its solid form, which we use for weapons, like our leader, Optimus Prime, has a sword made of solid energon. Its blade never dulls and is thin enough to turn a piece of 8" by 11" paper into two, identical 8" by 11" pieces. Then, there's the liquid form. That's energon. That's what all Cybertronians run off of. That's what their bodies crave, which would, I don't doubt, lead to a very uncomfortable, constant burning in their throats."

Bella nodded in understanding. If she ever saw Edward again, she would have to tell him this. And Carlisle would love to hear it. And Alice-

"Would the Decepticons go after my friends if they were unable to get me?"

The question caught the mechs off guard, but the tall, beaked mech replied with a snort, "You human stupid. You not know them Decepticons never give up. Of course them Decepticons go after them vampires!"

And as the small part of her that had managed to keep her calm throughout her discussion with the aliens finally gave way, the ground came speeding toward her as she realized she had fallen off the table. In her absolute terror, Bella screamed, "Edward!"

--

Edward listened for any thoughts on the ship, but mentioned to the others standing on the shore with him that he couldn't hear anything.

"I can," Jasper started. "I can't hear anything, but I can feel someone on the ship. There's only one. I... I think... I think it might just be Bella, but I'm not sure. She's confused about... something..."

Alice leapt up off the rock she had been seated on and shouted, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's get her out of that tin can!"

"Wait!" shouted Carlisle, the voice of reason.

All eyes were on him as he began, "Alice, can you see anything about her?"

She shook her head.

"Then we need to be careful. Is your phone alright, Rosalie?"

A nod.

"Good," replied Carlisle. "Then I'll go down with Edward and Esme. If anything goes wrong, we'll call you and you can come down to help, alright?"

Collective nodding.

The three vampires dove into the water, reaching the ship quickly and slipping in through a porthole they managed to get open and closed.

Once they were in, though, the trouble began. The hallway they entered was empty except for double doors at either end, one side with strange markings overhead, white on a green screen.

Carlisle sighed, "I can't read the writing, but I'd recognize that set up anywhere. It's a medical bay."

Esme walked over, taking Carlisle's hand in her own, giving him a silent, reassuring smile.

Edward's eyes widened as a scent familiar as his own family's hit him, venom seeping into his dry mouth, spurring him to the doors. With a hiss, they began to slide apart as a cry hit his ears.

"Edward!"

He did not think. He did not see the three giants whose gazes fell to him as he sped to the rescue of the falling female. Leaping in the air, a warm, familiar form landed safely in his arms, silencing her scream as he gracefully landed on the floor. He fell to his knees, gazing into wide doe eyes as he shook.

Tears began to form in her eyes and he pulled her against his chest as she wrapped her thin arms ('Thinner that I remember. Has she been eating?') around his strong frame, crying softly against his soaking shirt.

They would have happily stayed like that had the gasps of Esme and Carlisle not pulled their attention to the tall bots looming overhead.

Bella managed to struggle just enough to sit up in Edward's arms, gesturing to the tall, red and white bot she spoke almost too calmly, given the situation, "So, while you guys were gone, I fell in with a new, non-existent group: aliens. This bot's name is Ratchet and he the Chief Medical Officer. The red, white, and green guy's name is Wheeljack and he's, um..."

"Chief engineer," filled in Wheeljack. "And this is Swoop, our newest Medic."

"Right, Swoop," Bella repeated, nodding dumbly as she realized just how tall they really were. 'Must be at least thirty feet tall.'

"They won't hurt anyone. They're the good guys," assured Bella, glancing at Carlisle and Esme.

Edward simply stared as Bella stood from his arms and walked forward toward Ratchet.

Stopping at his toes, she asked for a bucket.

"What do you need a bucket for?" he inquired, handing her the requested item.

The use became apparent as she fell to her knees, vomiting into the human-sized container before setting it neatly down, wiping her mouth on the sleeve of her sweatshirt, and fainting on the spot.

"Well," commented Wheeljack, staring wide-opticked at the passed out human, watching as the male that had saved her cradled her against his chest once again, apologizing over and over. "That could quite possibly have been the best species introduction we've ever gotten, eh, Ratch?"

"Shut up, Wheeljack," replied the medic, stepping back to give the organics room to take care of their own. The female and her mate raced over to the human and examined her thoroughly. Meanwhile, Ratchet pushed Wheeljack and Swoop out the med bay doors and sent a message to all on the ship that unless someone was dying, the med bay was off limits to anyone who did not want to die.

Turning to look at the Earthly display of care, Ratchet walked over to a chair and seated himself to watch over the Earthlings.

When they finally stopped fretting over the girl, the blond-haired man stood and looked to Ratchet, seemingly debating how to begin a conversation.

"My name is Carlisle Cullen. This is my wife, Esme, and our son, Edward. Your name was Ratchet, am I right?" he questioned.

Ratchet frowned. Edward was the name he had heard fall from the girl's lips many times, usually in a plead to stay, a promise that she did love him, a question as to whether he loved her. 'He hurt her,' he thought as he answered gruffly, "Still is. That your kid, too? The femme?"

"Femme?"

"Human girl, femme, female child, whatever. She yours?"

"She is not my daughter, but she does have a connection with us."

"Hn, you mean did. She did have a connection with that boy, didn't she? And he hurt her, didn't he?"

"..."

"And, to make things even better, thanks to his little stunt, the entirety of the Decepticon Army is now after her, meaning she can't go home because they're waiting for her there."

"What? What are you talking about?"

The conversation halted as all eyes and optics were on Edward, watching the sorrow on his face.

"What do you think, boy? The Decepticons want you and your family. They plan on capturing the girl to use as bait. They were just waiting for a moment when she would be unguarded, which you gave them the minute you all left her. Thanks to your little proclamation, one of our best soldiers was captured by the Decepticons while protecting her from being kidnapped!" by the end of the rant, Ratchet was shouting at the boy. He huffed air into his intakes, sighing angrily as he prepared to continue his tirade.

RRRRRAAAAAaaaaaaawwwwww! RRRRRAAAAAaaaaaaawwwwww!

The crying klaxons tore all dark gazes from living beings and placed them on the angry red lights.

"Warning!" came a voice from over speakers. "Decepticon attacking .17 miles east of the base! This is not a drill! Repeat, this is not a drill!"

And Ratchet was off, tearing through the medical bay, tossing items deftly into cabinets and onto shelves, shuffling random wires, nuts, and bolts into boxes and throwing them onto surfaces that even the frighteningly large bot had to stand on tip toe to reach.

"Earthlings," he began, holding out an enormous black hand to them. "Get on. I need you out of the way when casualties come in. I can't have you being stepped on."

Edward shook his head in defiance, gripping Bella's prone body closer to his chest as he dared to ask, "What are you? What do you want with my Bella?"

Ratchet's glare intensified, Carlisle and Esme fearing for Edward's safety momentarily before the medic's expression became resigned. Grumbling something to the effect of, 'Dammit, Ratchet, you're getting too soft,' he sighed, "Listen, I know this is happening faster than you're comfortable, but as soon as I know none of our mechs are falling over, offline, I will explain everything, alright?"

Edward looked ready to fight, but Carlisle placed a hand on his son's shoulder, thinking, 'Son, he's a medic. Let him do his job and then we can ask questions, alright?'

Growling lightly, Edward conceded, stepping onto Ratchet's palm only to be followed by a nervous Esme and Carlisle.

Ratchet did not fail to notice the silent discussion that took place between the Earthlings, also noting a sudden increase of... 'Is that spark energy coming from the Earthling?'

Gently moving the group over to a cluttered tabletop, Ratchet stood by the doors, ready for the first of the casualties.