Title: Secrets

Rating: M

Disclaimer: We own nothing, that's Hasbro's title!

Here's the next chapter for Secrets, enjoy! Oh and I forgot to put this first part of the section with last chapter, my bad. I'll fix it soon though!


Working for Powell was not all it was cracked up to be. Somehow that man had tricked him into the lifestyle he was in right now. If he had taken back his agreement to work for Powell he would have. But after what had happened as soon as he stepped inside of the building, there was no way he could work for anyone else

There was definitely no walking away from this now, since he had become part machine himself. He thought he was the only one other then the one he had befriended back at the labs. But at the sight of the girl though, he was obviously proven wrong.

There was another one of them out there and he was going to find out who she was and where she came from.


Meanwhile, Lizy managed to get back to the base, apparently just in the nick of time, because just as she shut off her motorcycle and got off it, Bulkhead came into the room.

"Oh, hey there Lizy," the large green mech said.

"Oh, hi Bulkhead," she said, flashing a quick smile. "What are you doing in here?"

"Just wanted to get a few cans of paint," Bulkhead said. "Sari's spending the night here tonight and she agreed to sit for me while I paint her picture."

Lizy wasn't sure whether to feel sorry for the girl simply because sitting in one position for a long time was bound to be difficult, or because there was no telling what Bulkhead's painting would do to the red-head's image. "Well then I wish you luck," she said simply, and started to excuse herself.

"Hey wait a minute," Bulkhead said. "What were you doing in here?"

"Uh, just checking on my motorcycle, that's all." Lizy said, flashing another smile. "Just started it up for a bit to check the engine, because I thought it sounded funny the last time I used it. It seems alright, though." It was as good a lie as any.

"Oh, okay." Bulkhead said, and seemed to dismiss the matter from his mind. He bent over to grab a few cans of paint, then straightened up.

"So where is everybody else?" Lizy asked, hoping that no one had noticed she was gone.

"Oh Bumblebee still has monitor duty for a while," Bulkhead said distractedly, looking through his paints to make sure he had the right colors, "and everyone else has left to bring the Allspark here."

"Allspark?" Lizy said, raising her eyebrows. Prowl had told her about it, and Optimus and Ratchet had talked about it on occasion too, so she was well-aware of what it was. "They're bringing it here?"

"Yeah, Prime wants to bring it here so that we can keep an eye on it. That way, Starscream or someone else won't be able to get it," Bulkhead answered.

"Ah I see," Lizy said, nodding. "Well, I'm going to get some sleep, so I'll leave you to your painting. Good luck on it." Bulkhead muttered a quick "thanks" as she left the room.

Once she was back in her room, she sat down on her bed and thought about the person she'd just met out there. She wished she could have stayed longer, to find out more about him and who he was. But she couldn't have, because someone would have noticed she was gone if she had.

She decided that she was going to have to slip out again sometime to see if she could find him again. And for the time being, this was going to be her little secret. She didn't want anyone to know she had been sneaking out without permission, and she wanted a chance to find out who that was without scaring him off.


The journey to the ship was uneventful as Optimus Prime, Ratchet and Prowl approached the position of their ship in Lake Eerie. Once they got to the ship, they quickly went inside and went into the room where the Allspark was being kept. Prime and Prowl then loaded the Allspark into Ratchet's vehicle mode, and then the three of them took off once again, wasting no time. They wanted to get their valuable cargo back to the base as soon as possible.

Upon arriving at the base, the Allspark was quickly taken out of Ratchet and then he and Optimus moved it down into the basement. They placed it in a room that had heavily insulated walls, figuring that no sensors would be able to detect it, at least not easily. Then both of the Autobots returned to the normal level of the base, where Optimus relieved a very bored Bumblebee from monitor duty.

Ratchet took a moment to check on Bulkhead, who was currently trying to paint a portrait of Sari. He chuckled softly at the way the girl looked like she was developing a cramp from sitting in one place so long, but he left without a word. He had some equipment he wanted to adjust in the infirmary.

Prowl took a moment to check in on Lizy, and found her sleeping soundly in her quarters. So he simply returned to his own room to meditate, sitting down at the base of his tree and relaxing his mind and body.


Meanwhile, out in the city, Zac had managed to get past the security measures at a research lab where a very special piece of equipment was being worked on. Powell had apparently been unable to get the device legally, even when he offered a lot of money for it, so now it was up to Zac to get it. Zac himself wasn't entirely sure what it was or what it was for, he had only been given enough information to get the job done.

Zac used his built-in technology and features well, to the point where no alarms went off until he was already on his way back to Powell. He drove speedily down the street, although not so fast that he would draw attention to himself.

Once he made it back to Powell's office, he parked his bike and went into the building without hesitation, carrying the package under his arm. He marched right into his boss's private office without even knocking, and set the item down with just enough force to show his displeasure at all of this.

"Here you go," he said, and backed away from the desk, frowning down at the package. "I have no idea what that is, but I think that's what you wanted."

Powell opened the box just enough to look inside, then a satisfied smirk appeared on his features. "Very good," he said. "That's exactly it."

"Hope you're happy with it," Zac muttered. "I didn't really feel good about just taking something that isn't mine."

He then turned and made his way towards the door, but stopped and looked back. "How's D.J."

Powell didn't look up at him when he answered. "Had another seizer, she's recovering in her room."

Zac took that as his dismissal and left as he made his way down the hallway towards D.J.s room. Sometime during the process of being made into a half robot, something went wrong and she wasn't as strong.

He took care of D.J. like a younger sister, because he was upset about what happened to her. Sometimes he wished this had never happened to her, but there was no way to reverse it in anyway.

He knocked softly on the door before entering her room, and he found her lying there on her bed. She was quite still, the only movements being her chest rising and falling as she breathed, and her hands were clasped together atop her chest. Her eyes were closed, although they cracked open as he stepped toward her.

He cleared his throat softly. "You okay?" he asked gently.

D.J. opened her eyes a little, before closing them again as if it pained her to leave them open. "I'm fine, not serious," she whispered softly.

He sighed and walked further into the room, the door closing behind him as he did. "How bad was it this time?"

She didn't answer right away. Frowning, he sat down in the chair next to her bed and touched her shoulder. "Come on, how bad?" he insisted gently.

"Bad enough," she replied. She winced, as if at the memory. "Okay, it was one of my worst ones yet."

Zac sighed, wishing there was something that he could do to help her out. But at the moment he was just as helpless even more.

D.J.s eyes closed, but she continued to speak. "So," she breathed, having some difficulty speaking, "did you get the job done for Powell?"

"Yeah," Zac said in a dismissive tone, not wanting to talk about it. "Hated it, though."

D.J.s eyes opened again, and she looked at him. "You do what you need to do, to take care of us both."

"Yeah but sometimes I hate every minute of it," Zac sighed. "You know, being Powell's bodyguard is one thing, but this is the second time in three weeks that I've had to steal something for him. And I have to do it, too, or he'll cut my pay, and I just can't afford that right now. Especially since he doesn't even care what happens to you."

Zac frowned, falling silent. "I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't be saying these things to you, especially since you need to rest."

D.J. reached out and grabbed Zac's hand, giving it a sisterly squeeze. "I'll be fine," she said simply. "I just need some rest, that's all."

Zac held her hand tightly for a moment. "Someday, as soon as I have enough money, I'm getting you out of here," he promised her.

"Yeah, but where we would go?" D.J. murmured, almost apathetically. She knew as well as Zac did that no one would accept them, not easily anyway.

"Let's just say there is hope," Zac said, almost mysteriously. His mind flashed to the girl he had seen earlier, the one with the sai's who chased him on her motorcycle. He wasn't ready to tell D.J. about her yet, not wanting to risk getting her hopes up. But maybe if he could find out where that girl came from, maybe he could find a safe haven for himself and D.J.

She looked at him, her green eyes widening. However she found she couldn't speak anymore, because the pain of the seizer had taken a lot out of her. She simply lay there limply and closed her eyes, falling fast asleep.

"I'll get you out of here, D.J.," Zac said, setting her hand back down on the bed beside her, and quietly slipped out of the room.


Author's Note: Sad to say there really wasn't much happening in this chapter, but that will soon change! Please review