I've realized that I've abused our favorite couple as of late :/

They need more love.

To make up for it, I'm going to make the finale of OTSH Part 1 completely Sol and Fera :)

I'm actually getting impatient myself...

So do you know what this means?

We're in the home stretch! :D

Of The Spark And Heart

Part 1

Chapter 43

"If you put drugs in me one more time Ratchet, I swear I'm going to paint you pink in your sleep!"

"I only had to administer anesthetics in order to run a scan over you. There was no other way to properly do so without your body reacting spastically as before." Ratchet's eyebrows rose, "And as for that painting me threat-"

"You better of had a damn good reason for putting me under then if you wanted to scan me so badly. You know I hate it when you and Terra use that crap, but you two knock me out every freaking five seconds anyway! It's like you don't even care what I think about all of this!"

"If it is any consolation, I was able to get a clear look of your heart, and I discovered something that I am currently examining with Cloudsong."

Fera threw herself back on the bed, staring up at the same exact ceiling she had been for the past three weeks now. Smoldering hate for this said ceiling sizzled in her piercing gaze, which appeared marginally brighter since her awakening. Those ridiculously bright lights that usually hovered over her were now drawn to the side, allowing her still sensitive eyes to adjust to her overwhelming atmosphere. It hadn't been that way when she had first woken up, and she was still getting over the initial burn in the back of her eyeballs from snapping her eyes open to face what could only have been the sun itself. The heart monitor she was attached to was beating erratically at her outburst, releasing those same and all-too-familiar chimes with every annoying pulse of her heart. Not only that, but her blood pressure appeared to be rising as well.

Aggravation was heavy in her sore body from being forced into sleep so many times without her concent, and it only got worse with each time it happened. It couldn't possibly be healthy to be done so much. In fact, Fera thought about speaking up a few moments. But, like the scaredy-cat she was, she didn't. Terra was too nice to possibly go off on, and Ratchet was just as hotheaded as they came, so if she was to yell at him, he was going to do so right back. However, when she'd woken up and immediately resorted to throwing each and every scorching remark at him and his 'completely stupid' reasons for putting her out of consciousness, he'd only responded in an emotionless, withheld manner. It was so frustrating.

Fera needed something to vent on, and that was supposed to be Ratchet. But with his sudden -and weird- lack of reaction towards her, she sincerely hoped that he'd snap so they could scream off their stress. A few times it looked like he was going to blow, but then he'd go right back to taking deep breaths and giving her obviously forced smiles. The discomfort in her heart was immeasurable, as was the uneasy bubble rising in her stomach. Solas was always there to settle her qualms, but for now, she pushed him away, if only to simply regain her thoughts alone. And every time, it hurt like a mother.

A sigh rattled from the elder 'Bot, causing the guilt in Fera to rise from her deeply guarded pit. It wasn't all his fault that she was acting this way- she was who she was after all. It was mainly her own actions to blame, not following his orders and all. At that moment, she'd felt it was right to follow Bee and comfort him. Ratchet on the other hand, didn't think as much. Thus, their heated release of one-sided yelling started up.

"I'm guessing you can't tell me what it is- whatever you found." Fera murmured, knowing full well the mech could hear her. A pause gripped the air, his answer spoken before he actually expressed it. "No." he responded, gentle for the first time since their spat first started, "It would only stress you further. And that is the last thing we wish to be doing at the moment."

"Will you tell Solas then?"

"Only if it absolutely necessary he knows. He is fully capable to contact you and inform you of your possible condition, leading us to reason that the first to know of your condition should, and will be, you or your mother." this gained another groan from Fera, who was already situating herself to sit up. She threw back the blankets of the bed and swung her legs over the side, leaning her elbows on her knees and hiding her head in her hands. Silence overcame their space again, allowing Fera to scrub her face a few times in peace before she could respond to the Autobot medic. When she tented her fingers and pressed them against her lips, her crystallized eyes watching Ratchet carefully, she did. "I guess that's better than nothing." she assumed, dragging her thumbs up her temples before returning them to lock before her chin. "How's Bee?"

Ratchet's expression dropped to a sadder tone and he dipped his eyebrows at her, he too leaning forward onto his elbows. The medic was sitting on a large ledge jutting from the wall, studying her with a gaze she knew was more than him simply watching her. He was scanning her. Slowly, carefully, but surely. If the occasional cramp of her muscles was anything to go by, he couldn't hide his intentions. "Arcee was important to him, you must realize." he commented, knitting his fingers between his knees as Fera nodded, "Then you must also be aware of the answer to your question."

In fact, she was. Too much so. But, it would have been nice to have been lied to at least a little bit. Bumblebee's condition wasn't out of the ordinary as far as Fera had heard, but it didn't make it any better to watch a friend of yours go through Hell wondering what maybe happening to the love of their life. "Have you been able to track her yet?" Fera wondered next, trying to put things at a brighter level. Instead, Ratchet's eyes darkened and Fera felt her stomach twist in a painful knot. Solas tapped at her block, trying to reach her, but she held strong, adamant on getting through this one thing by herself for once. He respectively pulled back, but hovered just on the edge of her consciousness, always there if he was needed.

"No, we haven't." Ratchet informed her, roughly bringing his own hand over his tired features, "As suspected, her signal is being blocked. She must have been brought into their main base of operation, just as Rethalia had warned. Her last known location was vaguely near Wind River in the state of Wyoming."

"Vaguely?" Fera prompted, running her hands over her legs to rid them of the sweat collecting there. Ratchet's eyebrows screwed further together, his hand rolling in the air, "Her signal began shifting in and out of connection throughout the border of the geological elevation your kind refers to as the Rocky Mountains. It ended directly on the outskirts of the river." his voice sounded frustrated as Fera felt, and she could only imagine what she could possibly sound -or look- like in her mental state. They all needed a good nap. A dowse of good news wouldn't hurt either. Though, from what Fera had been through the last six months of her life, she could confidently predict that this wish wasn't meant to come. At least not anytime soon.

Well wasn't this a dandy situation? Arcee was trapped with the Decepticons, whom were also hidden somewhere the Autobots couldn't find, concocting something they don't know about, and planning things sure to come in the near future. It wasn't a pretty picture to paint, and it sure as heck wasn't as fun to think about either. It was making Fera's head hurt to think of all the ways the Decepticons could torture Arcee as they had her. Instinctively, her hand traveled to ghost over the arch-shaped scar on her chest, an electric tingle crawling in her fingers at the touch. If the Autobots were so much more durable than a meager human, then Fera could only dream about the things probably being done to that poor fembot. Severed limbs? Scores to her spark? Mental hacking? The possibilities were as endless as they were sickening.

"At least we're trying..." she put in hopefully, desperate for some sign of brightness to their conversation. Despite her attempts, Ratchet showed no will to enter his own input, so Fera simply laid back and allowed her spinning thoughts to settle. She knew by now that it wasn't the drugs that made her feel vertigo, for those wore off pretty quickly nowadays after she would wake. It was the tons and tons of information and situations being placed on her shoulders. She didn't specifically have to participate in them so-say, but she felt that since she played a part, she would play the entire game. This was what came with being the holder of some mythical almighty device from an alien planet she'd never heard of before six months prior. "Can I leave? I need to think for a little while." Fera called across the room hoarsely, suddenly aware of her parched throat and lead-ridden limbs. Ratchet gave her no other answer but a dismissive flick of his fingers and a nod of the head.

She didn't know where she was going, or why, but she knew she had to leave. Fera gave into her instincts and allowed herself to tread slowly through the base, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Pacing helped to ease her thoughts marginally, and when an hour had passed of her nonstop walking, she nearly collapsed to the floor in a ball of moaning distress. Everything was so jumbled and contorted that Fera feared that they might not be real. Visions warped and bled in with her recollections of the Decepticon base, turning them into things that made them seem ever the more nightmarish. Arcee's profile came up where Rodimus' used to be, however, this time, each sick, vicious torture session done to Fera was suddenly being done to her instead. Fera's mind maybe playing tricks on her now, using her fragile state as a means to mutate her ideals and beliefs. She shook her head, trying to rid her thoughts like shaking water from her ear. Before she knew it, she found herself dropping her bond to Solas and taking in his offered support. It was an unnecessary thing, more mental aid than physical. However, she could have used some of that as well.

You really should rest Fera, I don't think you are in a state to be wandering around at the moment, the mech sent over their connection, brushing her tired thoughts as an example of his concern. Fera smirked and lightly dragged her fingertips over the wall, watching them absentmindedly as she made her way towards who-knew-where. Are you actually worried? About me? she huffed back in a more confident humor than she felt. Of all the people to be caught up about. His uneasiness didn't settle with her joke, and he continued to search her for the core of her troubles, only to end up getting blocked when he came to her more sensitive pondering.

Instantly he was on the alert, trying to figure out just what she was hiding from him. Fera flinched with the constriction in her chest and she was forced to stop her walking for a moment to catch her breath. What are you hiding? he demanded, his question scorching Fera's raw mental state. She flinched at his tone and cringed further away from their bond. Nothing, she insisted, irritation edging into her message.

Should I come back? I'm sure the others can handle a patrol without me-

No, no, stay, Fera interrupted, regaining herself before she started to move on again. I'm fine. Don't leave the others and I'll see you when you get back. A weak smile cracked her lips and she believed for a moment that he could see her. When she reminded herself that he couldn't, she dropped it to a more open expression. She was broken with stress and worry, the bright youth in her eyes replaced by a deeper maturity that was far past her years. Fera... Uncertainty was thick in Solas' side of the bond, but Fera pushed it away with a harsher force than she'd meant. When his surprise rose, Fera jumped in before he could speak again. Believe me, I can be by myself for a little while without you. Everything is ok.

Before he could speak again, Fera cut off their connection and let herself take the blow of the recoil. Those last words echoed in her mind like a whisper in a cavern, rounding back again and again to replay across her thoughts: Everything is ok.

What a lie.

Fera tugged the blanket firmer around her and she aimed for another adjacent hall, not really sure where it led, and not really caring in the meantime. Her quick adventure into the lengthy stretch of grayed halls and balconies led her to a volley of enormous, thickly built doors flanked by smaller, human-sized entryways. So this wasn't entirely a Cybertronian wing of the base. Instead of waiting around for someone -or something- to appear, Fera moved on to a single sheet of barrier that she felt held the activity she searched for. Pushing the handle aside, she opened the first door, only to find a dark and empty space beyond. She could feel the vastness of it, and the chilled breeze that came with its enormous space, but she drew back despite her curiosity. Wasn't curiosity what had gotten her here in the first place?

The next few rooms were the same, with each ending in a disappointed shut of their doors. It took a few tries for Fera to find anything remotely interesting, and that opportunity had almost eluded her when she just barely caught the sight of a light in the distant back of a room, the unmistakable shape of a Cybertronian sitting before a large screen. She entered slowly, careful to make any noise so to not interrupt the being at work. As the noise of tapping fingers picked up, Fera entered further into the room, making her way towards the one at the consol in order to better recognize them.

It was definitely a mech, his form too broad and boxy to be a slimmer fembot figure like Rethalia or Firestar. The generic differences between the two species were so tantalizing to call male and female, but as she had been told before -many times actually- that there was no gender for the Cybertronian race. They couldn't change the way she helped thinking though as she studied this unfamiliar form at the controls, his square-capped shoulders, angled helmet, and compactly lithe build being new to the teenager. His paint was a deeper shade of navy, with a series of grayish-white stripes running up his arms and across the sides of his head while two 'wings' that protruded from his back swayed every so often. When Fera came around to look at him better, she could see his Autobot symbol fit nicely into an indent in his right shoulder.

"Hey look, it's the Lennox girl!" a rough, rugged voice called from out of nowhere. Fera jumped at the sound, whereas the mech sitting merely stilled and looked towards a small laptop sitting at his front right. Fera followed his lead and could only stare as a laptop split and released a flurry of steam from its systems, the parts parting and rearranging themselves to form an absolutely tiny creature compared to his Autobot company. He was a strange thing to look at, with wiry, blue hair that released sparks when he moved, and a squat body with a set of oddly sized eyes. Fera had seen this 'Bot around base, but only briefly, and she hadn't been able to catch his name yet. She narrowed her eyes to get a better look at him, only to have the thing vaulting and flipping down the notches of the controls to get to her. When he'd landed, his giant of a peer gazed in her direction, acquiring an instantly interested look to his marine-blue eyes.

The laptop whom had just been sitting on the consol not a minute earlier approached her, an excited air about him. He smiled up at her in that metal-faced way that all the 'Bots did, and he waved up at her, to which she did the same in kind. "What brings you here to ol' Bluestring an' me huh? Don't you got that Sol mech to hang out with or somethin'?" the little 'Bot's hair fizzled and he grabbed some of it, smoothing out the tiny electric charges. Fera shook her head, her mouth hanging slack as her mind drew a blank. She honestly had no idea how she'd ended up here, but she was interested as to what maybe going on.

"Lennox, as in Fera Lennox?" Bluestring piped up behind his peer, catching Fera's eye with his high-pitched tone. The one in front of Fera turned on his heel and craned his neck back, giving a jerky nod before aiming his side at her so he could see them both. "Yep, the famous one everyone's talking about now." he gave her a crooked grin, "The name's Brains if you already didn't know. Me an' Bluestring here are jus' working on some boring stuff around the perimeter if ya were curious." he shrugged, twisting around to start climbing the control panel again, perching himself higher so he could be at eye-level with her. Fera approached him, leaning in slightly to get a better look at him. Besides Wheelie, she'd never seen such a small Autobot before.

The one named Bluestring shifted beside them, fully swiveling in his chair so he was facing them better. "Your designation is Fera Rosalie Lennox, is it not?" he asked, getting a nod as a response, "It was logged that you were stationed in Saint Louis, Missouri at the military establishment deemed the Special Connections and Relations in Extraterrestrial Alliances Military Base. Is this also correct?" at his question, Fera went quiet for a moment to gather her thoughts. That had been the name of the base in Saint Louis? "Yes, I was at...SCREAM." she confirmed, slightly disturbed at the acronym.

Bluestring leaned forward on his elbows, his eyes wide in wonder, "I couldn't help but notice that my sibling, Hawktail, was logged there as well. Is it possible you may have met him?" the profile of the golden-brown mech flashed across Fera's eyes as if she were looking at him now. The more she thought of it, the more she noticed the details that appeared similar between the armory smith whom had helped return Sol to his former condition, and the blue Cybertronian who sat before her now. If not for their armoring, width of their faces, and the sound of their voices, they could very well have been twins.

Fera removed her blanket and let it drop to the floor, instead crossing her arms over her chest when she found nowhere else to place them. "Yes, I met him," she confirmed, wracking her brain for her memories of the 'Bot, "he's the armory smith that helped out Solas. I owe him a lot for all he's done. You two are brothers?" one eyebrow cocked as Bluestring dipped his head. He lifted an arm to lay on the top of the consol, completely ignoring it in order to pay better attention. Curiously, Fera glanced at was across its surface, only to come up confused as she saw only symbols and unknown glyphs.

"Indeed, we are. Although, Hawktail is the elder of us. We had an even younger sibling when we resided on Cybertron, but that had been in the earlier stages of the war, and he was deadsparked in the midst of it." Bluestring spoke without emotion, as if the memory meant nothing to him. However, Fera felt enough sadness for the both of them. Yet another sob-story about losing family again. What next, Bluestring once had a lover, but they died as well? She was unwilling to ask, mostly for the fact that it was rude and unnecessary to know at the moment, but also in fear that she was knocking another nail on the head and would cross a line. "I'm sorry to hear about that." she commented respectfully, which had Bluestring averting his eyes, "What about the rest of your family?"

"It is just Hawktail and I," Bluestring murmured, releasing a draft of air from his vents as his eyes returned to the monitor in front of him, "we were orphaned at a young stage, as was our brother. He, like us, was left to the Youth Sectors as the war took a turn for the worse. We raised him like our own sibling, yet he still perished." Bluestring returned to his work as if he'd just noticed it, tapping away at the keys with a flurry of his fingers. Looking to Brains, Fera's eyebrows came down. Brains merely shook his small head and waved her closer, having her lean down to his level when she was near. "Bluestring ain't like his brother," Brains darted a look at the mech in question, as did Fera, "he doesn't take things so well, so he sorta just shuts down when one of us...ya know." Fera peered back to the minibot, finding him dragging a thumb across his throat.

There was no need to explain further. Fera knew about Soulsearcher and her recent passing, so maybe that had been what the mech was talking about. She wasn't one to take death very easy either, seeing as her father was a major piece of her life taken from her. For months and months, she had distanced herself from her friends and family, pushing them away until it was only her mother, Epps, and herself. They had been the only to understand what she was going through. She had no grandparents, no aunts or uncles, and barely a pitiful handful of cousins outside the country. Then, she hadn't taken it well, and now she was still getting over it. It was all a matter of moving on. One step at a time. "What is he working on?" she murmured, trying to curb the conversation.

"He's tryin' ta find Arcee's signal." Brains shrugged, "He's an armory smith like Hawk, but apparently he's got some skill with computers." the 'Bot began to swing his legs as he leaned back on his hands. "Has he found anything?" Fera wondered, continuing to watch the blue and white smith at work. "No, and I don't think he will." Brains commented, stilling his legs, "He just wants to do anything he can ta not lose another 'Bot."

"And I will find that signal Brains," Bluestring suddenly spoke up, spooking both the human and miniature Autobot, "which is specifically why you are here. Maybe you wouldn't mind returning to your post to help move along the process?" his eyes narrowed in a more threatening way than his words came across. A graveled groan came from Brains as he rose and began to climb, retaining his spot as a laptop on the control panel. Bluestring then looked down at Fera, his gaze much less menacing than before, "Perhaps you would like to join me? I much prefer company here than being alone with my comrade here." he jerked his head towards Brains, who gave a puff of smoke and a complaining whine of his systems as a retort. Fera grinned, glad to of finally found a 'Bot who wanted to share his experience with her instead of locking them away into secret.

Since she had given no hint of decline, a large hand lowered to the ground, allowing her to climb on and be raised to a better elevation. Minding her ankle was difficult to do as she crawled onto the panel, finding a perfect little notch to sit in so she could see both Bluestring and the screen he worked on. Random and complex shapes and lines of glyphs passed before Fera's eyes as she stared at his progress. Maps flew by at incomprehensible speeds, appearing and then reappearing before she could blink. Only a handful she recognized, finding them matching those of the ones Bee had drawn in the snow the night before. There was only one language she knew that was like this one: Cybertronian.

Interested to see the symbols that went with the tongue she could only recently understand, Fera followed each as best as she could, so to put a face to the words. After sitting in silence, fruitlessly snatching glimpses of these Cybertronian characters, Fera twisted her head around to see Bluestring's concentrated expression. "Do you think you could maybe teach me a little Cybertronian?" she asked, hesitance threaded into her voice. Bluestring quit his typing and he peered to her, "Why? Is there something you wish to decipher?" he inquired. Fera shook her head, adamant on keeping her and Sol's secret for as long as possible. "No, I just wanted to know what all the symbols meant around base is all." her shoulders came up, "Nothing special. You don't have to if you don't want to."

Bluestring studied her for a few moments, maybe assessing her and her motives. There really was no motive behind her wish to learn, just a curiosity. And if there was some reason behind her want to understand, she wouldn't tell it to the mech. Bluestring glanced back up at the screen, followed by Fera. Its surface, once covered in various outlines of odd maps, symbols, and seemingly pointless numbers, now flushed with a new face. New images graced the length of the glass, flashing a variety of different classified pictures and screen shots of Cybertronian symbols around the base or Earth. Fera rose to her feet, slowly walking to the screen. As she came closer, the images became grainy and blurred, but she didn't care. A single human hand rose and touched the first symbol she saw, an energy much like the one from her scar zipping through her fingertips as she ran her palm over its picture. Of all the symbols, why did this one stand out?

"This is a minor overview of the basic Cybertronian alphabet. I can teach you it, but it will not be easy for you to remember." Bluestring warned. Fera didn't acknowledge his words, only concentrating on the images her hand touched. She didn't need to remember it all, only this one. Why this one?

"What's this?" she began, standing back to point at it, her eyes locked on Bluestring. He looked over the symbol for a solid minute before his blue gaze met her own. "That, is the symbol of the Prime."

A pneumatic hiss echoed throughout the room, breaking through a thick tensity that seemed to be gripping the room. Carefully, two tall figures entered the space, one holding their content offspring. As fembot and mech, the two Autobots strode together towards the middle of the floor, passing between an awaiting medic and his smaller, suddenly agape apprentice. Their paint shone in the fountain of light from the overhanging bulbs, the mech's flaming decals appearing to actually flicker and twirl with each move he made. His comrade, holding the young one in her arms, had apparently just polished her armor, the onyx black as deep as night, while her hot pink accents gleamed almost as ferociously as her mate's seemingly living paintjob.

The apprentice, usually a shyer figure, leant towards the fembot holding the youngling, almost as if a magnet were pulling her forward. Her peds remained planted, but her stance screamed of her want to move forward and interact with the little one. It was in her inner programming as a fembot to immediately want to be near the younger stages of their species, so her mentor didn't have the spark to scold his apprentice for simply doing what she was made to do. His intense greenish-yellow coloring caught a ray of light as he shifted forward, immediately snapping the blue and white fembot from her trance. She regained her composure with her helm bowed and her servos clasped before her, her optics averted.

Holding back a sigh at his apprentice's show of immediate yielding to him, Ratchet tore his optics away. If only she were more confident and comfortable around her peers, she wouldn't feel the need to be so timid. "How are you Rethalia?" the medic greeted warmly, coming closer so to gently run a servo over the crest of the youngling's helm. She giggled and grabbed his digits, hugging them near. A warmth spiked in Ratchet's frame at this, and he couldn't hold back the smile that stretched across his face. Liora was smaller than average, especially more so considering her creators' sizes. But, she had a spark the size of Earth's star, more than making up for her lack of height.

Her frightening wisdom and gentle nature echoed that almost exactly of her mech creator's personality, while her smoldering words and intense agility matched that of her fembot creator's. Definitely a fembot to watch, that was for sure. "I would be exceptionally better if I were to have a clearer understanding of Arcee's condition." Rethalia answered calmly, careful not to discomfort her youngling with her movement. Ratchet nodded solemnly and locked optics with his leader. "You understand why I have called you here then?" he questioned, "That I sadly do not have anything to offer you of Arcee's current condition?" both Primes nodded in a grave manner, though the medic found he couldn't possibly blame them for having some form of hope. After all, it was in their nature.

"Cloudsong and I have come to find an extremely interesting element in Fera's condition as of late." Ratchet explained, turning to aim his side to his apprentice, "We felt it was appropriate to inform you and request your insight."

"Fera Lennox has been through entirely too much already," Rethalia murmured, readjusting Liora on her hipbolt to get a better hold on her, "the last thing we need to hear is more grave news Ratchet." the fembot moved away, striding over to the light blue fembot standing quietly by the door. At her Prime's approach, Cloudsong jumped and went rigid, her shoulderbolts too squared and her spinal support too straight. Apparently, Rethalia seemed to ignore the fembot's discomfort, and she gently lifted Liora towards Cloudsong with a single fluid move. Cloudsong was forced to take the youngling in fear that Liora would be dropped if she didn't, and she instantly went into a paternal mode. Liora fit nicely into the hook of her arm, resting on the apprentice's hipbolt as if she had been there her entire life cycle.

Ratchet found glee curling up through him when he saw Cloudsong murmuring to Liora and interacting with her in ease. "That is why I wished for your advice, for we are not quite certain yet of what to think of Fera's condition." Ratchet looked up at Optimus, whom was currently watching his mate and youngling by the blue and white fembot. "You speak of this as a new addition to her health," Optimus noted, bringing his faceplates back towards Ratchet, "which in turn would allow me to believe that it has something to do with the recent seizures she had been having."

"Exactly," Ratchet reached into his bracer and brought out a compad, entering the device in his digit into the port, "though the decision whether it is a positive or negative development is another situation altogether." the images he imported appeared across the screen and he handed it to his leader, "These are mostly Cloudsong's findings however, and I owe her a resounding debt for catching them when I had not."

The medic turned to peer back at his apprentice, finding her observing her mentor and Prime with a careful expression. Rethalia stood beside her, servo on Liora's spinal support, with her optics stalling on the both of them. "These do not show anything but an internal scan of Fera's organic infrastructure." Optimus commented, catching Ratchet's attention again. A confused look gripped Optimus' faceplates as he looked over what Ratchet had given him. The medic came forward and tilted the compad down in order to see it better. When he had found his place, he rose a digit and pointed out the areas of interest. "It appeared to me as that as well. However, Cloudsong had convinced me to do a deeper, more involved scan for the sole reason of myself not discovering anything."

"Wouldn't that be dangerous to her body?" Rethalia piped up from her position behind them. Ratchet turned and nodded, his optics flicking towards Cloudsong, whom was currently allowing Liora to study her digits while she partook in the conversation. "Though it is not recommended for a regularly performed action for humans, it allowed me to delve deeper into her internal composition and discover something I had no knowing of before. If not for Cloudsong's persistence, I would not have found what I did." he started towards Cloudsong and stopped to stand beside her, one servo coming out to lay on her shoulderbolt, "Tell them what it is you found."

Shock filled Cloudsong's features, without a single word being muttered in her sudden surprise. Her wide optics darted from Ratchet to the others now locked onto her for answers. It was apparent that she wasn't used to being center of attention, but Ratchet knew that if she was to become the medic he knew she could be, then she would have to deal with the forces of pressure on her. "Do you recall the discussion we held earlier concerning Solas' deformation in his spark and hover absorber?" Ratchet picked up, breaking the quiet to give his apprentice another moment or so to better ready herself to speak.

Optimus lowered the compad Ratchet had given him, "Yes, of course." he said, turning his intensely blue optics onto the medic. "Well Cloudsong has greatly changed my view on the entire situation." once again leading the fembot up, Ratchet made no plan to save her anytime soon. Cloudsong's helm shrank into her shoulders shyly, "I didn't really..."

"Yes, you did Cloudsong, don't doubt yourself." Ratchet said encouragingly. Cloudsong just drew further away, little Liora tightly gasped in her servos, "Yes...sir." she murmured. Disappointment filled Ratchet's spark and he shook his cranial unit, finally giving into the fact that he was going to have to lead this discussion.

"What is it you discovered?" Optimus prompted, attempting to push on the conversation despite the apprentice's unwilling nature to speak for herself. Ratchet crossed his arms, angling himself so he would be facing both Rethalia and Optimus, "It appears as though the abnormalities are not as I had originally figured."

"This your point being?"

"You've also notice the sudden afflictions that take over Fera's body from time to time I assume? They don't last very long, but she seems to take a great deal of pain from it."

The Prime frowned deeply and Rethalia bit her bottom lip plate. "Yes, I have noticed." he intoned, "I have questioned it before, but she refuses to discuss it with me."

"That is because she does not even quite know herself." Ratchet paused for a moment, finally twisting to Cloudsong with a stern expression on his faceplates. He wasn't taking the credit for this one. "Tell him what it is you found." he instructed again, only firm enough so to not seem threatening. Cloudsong's optics flicked between Optimus and Ratchet, uncertainty clear in her gaze. But when she looked back to her mentor's confident gaze, she took an apprehensive step forward. "I, um..." not a good way to start, "imagine that Fera's...h-heart is holding a p-piece of...Solas Kaon's essence." the moment she finished speaking, she was backing up again, determined to stay out of the meeting and continue to reside in the cover of shadow.

Ratchet was satisfied with her answer, finding it much more than he was expecting. She was making progress. Optimus spoke up with a gentle, "Excuse me?" before he started forward himself, joining his mate at her side. Ratchet cycled air through his vents, preparing himself to voice what he was gathering in his processor. Hopefully, it wouldn't sound as preposterous as it did in his CPU.

"We believe that the mark in Solas' spark is no mere deformation..." a pause, "It's a missing piece of his spark. Cloudsong and I have found it housed in Fera's heart, undoubtedly giving her these pains and unexplainable bond between herself and Solas."

Silence was immediate to befall the group. Its own noise rang louder than that of an electro-bomb in Praxus Square. Intense waves of shock and confusion bombarded the medic wherever he set his gaze. One of the two fembots remained vigilant in keeping her calm, for she had already known of this information beforehand and was determined not to scare the young one in her arms. An unwavering set of curious optics paused on the frozen fembot known to be their creator, her servos clamped tightly to Cloudsong's chassis plating. Both Primes' body language suggested their shared exclamation, while their quiet told clearly of their inner bond communication.

Rethalia seemed too occupied to possibly speak correctly, so Optimus stepped up in her place to put a voice to their expressions: "What...does this mean?" he practically murmured. It was unnecessary for him to be so reserved, for their comrades or any stray human ear wouldn't be able to pick up sound from the other side of the thick metal door. But, a few quiet words from his vocal capacitor seemed to be the only sound he could construct at that moment. It was far more than the others could offer.

"This is the first time I have been able to properly get a complete scan of her body since Solas' revival in Saint Louis." Ratchet announced, reaching forward to retrieve the compad from his leader's grasp. In a single sweep of the arm, he then handed it off to Rethalia for her to study. "If I am capable to do it again in a short matter of time, I may study it and make a full diagnostic to any change in its condition."

"Why is it causing her so much affliction?" Rethalia inquired finally, studying the compad with unrelenting concentration. As time waned on, and Rethalia continued to examine Fera's scan results, Ratchet found her features twisting into deep worry. "I sincerely hope I am wrong, but it appears as though the spark is trying to establish a bond between Fera and Solas as if she held a spark essence of her own." Ratchet slowly shook his helm from side to side, half-believing his own words. His arms crossed over his chassis and he stared at the floor, unable to meet his leaders' optics.

There was a brief moment he hoped Optimus and Rethalia wouldn't believe his explanation and simply brush him off in the name of fatigue-induced insanity, but as they continued to drag on the silence, he realized that this would not be the case. Horror built inside him that the two most sound beings in the room were actually considering his idea. This couldn't possibly good for Fera or any of the Cybertronian populace. Neither Optimus or Rethalia gave him a hint of skepticism in listening to his explanation, but Ratchet was giving himself enough of that to compensate for them both.

"But that's impossible." Rethalia had appeared to speak the first sane statement of the entire meeting, but even then, Ratchet felt no comfort in them. Though he knew he sounded off-center for mentioning something so obscene as to believe a sliver of a spark had become lodged inside a human heart, he noted the general stability he felt in his hypothesis compared to the more safe version of a possible tumor or blockage building inside her cardiac valves. Pinching the bridge of his nasal plate, Ratchet squeezed his aching optics shut and forced himself to process for a moment. "Yes, I understand that, but the scan and symptoms line up flawlessly." he threw his arm down and began to pace, swinging his arms beside him jerkily, "If perhaps it is a living shard of Solas' spark, the essence itself could possibly not realize its incapability to properly establish their bond. It's halfway completed already. It would only wish to complete the bonding process and flourish..."

The mech's words faded off, as did his pacing. Air shuddered through his vents before ceasing, his frame becoming stiff as the facts began falling into line. Symptoms here, observations there, he was able to piece together a solid, yet utterly confounding, option to their predicament. The answer was so simple and clean that it made Ratchet suspicious for a moment. How could something be so simple, yet so complicated at the same time?

Ratchet burrowed in his optic ridges as he studied his prediction further. If maybe he was right, and everything was exactly how it seemed, then how were they supposed to go about it? As a medic in the Autobot field, vorns upon vorns of experience on his side, he had never come to a problem such as this. But was it a problem? Was there maybe a chance that this would turn out differently than what seemed blatantly obvious? "Ratchet?"

Rethalia approached him concernedly, touching his shoulderbolt with a gentle servo. Ratchet swung around, sweeping his gaze from one 'Bot to the next, settling on Cloudsong after a few rounds. "The spark..." he murmured, a dawning light reaching across his features, "it must be growing inside of her heart. It's trying to regenerate into a complete spark to fully establish a proper bond." his servos lifted in a helpless gesture, one that begged for the denial of his superiors. When none came, only interest taking its place, Ratchet switched his optics to stare down at his digits. They were more stable than he was at the moment, he was sure. "That would explain the bursts of energy disrupting her neural processes and giving her these seizures." logic in a situation of impossibility. That's what this was.

"How will Fera be effected by this?" Optimus questioned quickly, not hesitating for a moment as the smaller fembot holding his youngling beside him openly gaped at her mentor. It seemed as though she hadn't expected this from him either. Ratchet looked to her, silently willing her to add to his diagnosis- longing and yearning for some fact that would displace everything he figured was happening. He needed to be wrong. If what he imagined was true... "The human heart is an extremely sensitive organ in their body." he interrupted his own thoughts, darting a glance around the room so to regain his train of thought, "If the essence does not grow or evolve, as I predict it may be doing, and stays stationary, her body may grow accustomed to it."

"And if it doesn't?" Optimus challenged.

Don't say it, he urged himself. Don't let this be real...

"Then she dies."

And here we reach another plot twist!

For some reason, I love doing these...

But OTSH wouldn't be what it is without them, would it?

I sincerely thank each of you for reading this week, and I hope to hear from you guys on what you think :D

*Chapter inspiration: It's Not My Time= Three Doors Down*