Silver Heart Chapter 16, a transformers fanfic

Silver Heart

By TimeAndLife21

Emerald was in her room. She was studying a rather large textbook on quantum physics and mechanical engineering. Shayde had asked for her to improve her intelligence. She frowned at herself. Wasn't she perfect already? She knew of politics, war, relations and many other things of the world. She also knew of 27 martial arts styles, speak over 30 languages, can handle guns larger than her, she even knew how to drive a tank and other various military vehicles. But no…Shayde was never satisfied with her, he wanted to push her to the limits. For now, he was busy with his new projects. Her comrades as he called them, and he was priding himself on their work; the six new projects were impressive. She had the chance to meet them.

Their codenames were Jasper, Onyx, Moonstone, Amber, Diamond, and Ruby.

Jasper was a tall, lanky, and tanned, messy blond haired, 16 year old boy with sharp orange eyes. He was the sniper of the group. He was also the joker and would pull tricks on his comrades every once in a while. But give him a gun and show him a target, he was ruthless…he even smiled every time he had a successful shot; he was all right in Emerald's book.

Onyx was a tanned skinned 19 year old and built like a tank. His brown hair was always in a military cut style and his black eyes seem to hold triumph everywhere he goes and was always lifting weights. Well, more like bench-pressing small cars and punching though walls. He was the strongman and though his large size made him slow, his fighting always seem to decapitate the dummies in the training room. He always had a cocky grin on his face.

Moonstone was a calculating, cold boy. At 14 years old, he was the definite tactician of the group. Every simulation of every situation that could be thought up was always successful. He was the weakling of the group, but he was very valuable to Shayde. But it was his pale milky white eyes that matched with his equally pale skin, put off Emerald... But away from the training room, he would always be playing the video games Halo and Gears Of War.

Amber was a chocolate skinned 18-year-old girl. Her hair was in a dark brown, curly, pixie cut and her golden eyes would pierce the hearts of people and she would always have a bored look on her sweetheart face. She was lazy in Emerald's opinion. She has three piercings on each ear and a stud on her nose. A good soldier, but she wouldn't move from her bed unless it was a job or training that had to be done. She was the infiltration. With her thin and lanky frame, she could get into the smallest of spots and infiltrate places that was thought to be tight and locked up. She'd rather be asleep in a bed than be up and around.

Diamond was a 14 year old perky and annoying as hell beach blonde light blue eyed girl, and has no respect for personal boundaries. She was the poison girl in the group. Past the façade of bouncing, bright and happy girl, was a manic killer. If you get her started on poisons, she will talk about what are her favorites to use endlessly.

Ruby.

Emerald winced at the name. She didn't like Ruby at all. She was always so proud and believed that everyone else was dirt under her shoes. She only listens to Shayde and some of his employees. She has fiery red hair and light red eyes. She was Emerald's age. 12 years old. She could do anything Emerald can do. She can fight well, speak the same languages as her, she could handle guns as if they were extensions, and she was even on the same intelligence level that Emerald was on. Except that it took Emerald a year to get to her high IQ and not get beaten for it. It took Ruby only 3 months and was never punished for missing tests.

She felt something burning in the pit of her stomach. Does she have an upset stomach? No. She didn't eat anything that would bother her sleep. She couldn't concentrate. Closing the Quantum Physics book and pushed it away, having all these strange feelings bubbling up to the surface, she just didn't know how to handle them.

Getting off her white bed, she winced in pain and she felt liquid falling down her shoulder. Ruby thought it would be fun to shoot her and see if she could bleed, and if that's not enough she attacked her while she was shot as well, bruises littered her body. She looked at her bandage left arm and frowned. Going to her stark white bathroom, she turned on the shower, letting it run hot, she took off the bandage and looking it over. She already had taken out the bullet after she was excused to go to the medical bay…except she didn't go to the medical bay. She went straight to her room and tended to herself. If anything, she was thankful that Kingston gave her books on how to medically treat wounds. She was, dare she think it, proud of her skills as a medic. But she never showed these skills to Shayde or any one of her comrades, or anyone at all. She looked over the wound and it was bleeding slightly. Nothing but a clean bandage will do. It'll just heal up in a couple of days.

After taking the hot shower, finishing up her bandages, she put on her sleepwear and went back over to her bed. She was still very sore from training, and she hoped that she would have a restful night's sleep. As she put away her textbooks, she heard a hesitant knock on her bedroom door. She recognized that knock.

"Come in, Kingston." She said with little emotion.

She saw the old man come in and closing the door with a fearful look on his face, but the fear disappeared as he took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Hello Kingston. What are your orders today?" She asked.

Kingston shook his head.

"No orders today, Emerald. I have a new book for you." He smiled as he walked over to her bed.

She tilted her head. A new book? She had enough books.

"I believe that the books I have are sufficient enough for my education." She said confusedly.

"Ah, no. This isn't a textbook, just a regular book that I had picked up today." He smiled.

"It's one of my granddaughter's favorite books. I thought it'd be nice to read it to you." He said as he sat down on her bed.

She was already tucked in.

"It's called, The Cat In the Hat." He smiled. Emerald furrowed her brow.

"Cat in the Hat? What business does a cat have to do with a hat?" She frowned.

That made absolutely no sense to her.

Kingston's smile faltered. He's been getting too attached to Emerald. It's risky business, but he just wanted the girl to have some sense of normality. He looked at her pale skin and noticed the bruises and the gunshot wound on her body. He frowned. He absolutely hated the way Shayde would treat Emerald. The new six other kids of Project: Facsimile was like his favorite pets, and Emerald was the neglected dog that would be outside in the rain. He wrinkled his nose.

"Well, I'm sure you will enjoy it. I will be reading it to you." He said trying not to be bothered by the negative fact of Shayde.

"But it has no sense, Kingston. Why would I read a book with no sense? War and Peace makes sense. This…Cat in the Hat doesn't. Shayde says that books like that will kill you." She frowned.

"Ah…Mr. Shayde doesn't want you to have fun…" Kingston muttered.

"Fun? What is fun?" She asked.

She had heard Jasper speak of fun. But she had no idea what it was.

"Fun is what you are doing something you enjoy. Like…reading. Or playing video games. Or talking with people you care about." Kingston said to her.

It made partial sense to her. "Like…fixing things? Helping things heal? Is that considered fun?" She asked.

Kingston's smile dropped again. At least she liked and knew how to take care of her own injuries.

"Yes. Something akin to that." He reassured.

Emerald was silent. "This…Cat in the Hat book…is it fun?" She asked.

Kingston beamed at her.

"Yes! It is!" He said as he scooted up to read the book to her.

In any sense, Emerald is just like other kids…well as normal as kids can get. After Kingston finished the book, Emerald still had a skeptical look on her face.

"But…this is illogical." She frowned.

She just couldn't grasp the concept of the cat with a hat with strange companions and a completely illogical contraption to clean a house. She felt something burn her eyes. She reached up and felt something wet.

"What is this? I'm leaking? Is this bad, Kingston?" She looked to her caretaker with a frown.

Kingston looked shocked.

"It's okay, Emerald. It's natural. You are just…crying." Kingston said with awe.

Emerald was supposed to be a soldier without emotions. But Kingston knew that Emerald was just a prototype. The other six kids had their own specific personalities, but Emerald has been trained as a soldier since she woke up. She didn't know about feelings. Even is she did have them, she doesn't know how to adjust to them.

"Crying? Isn't that associated with an emotion, Kingston?" She looked at him with eyes still tearing.

"Yes…the most primary emotion is sadness and pain…Emerald, what is wrong?" He asked.

Emerald was silent. The wet trails were evident on her face. Even her nose was starting to run. She was silent as she kept crying.

"I…I don't know." Her voice cracked.

"Kingston…what am I feeling?" She furrowed her brows.

Kingston didn't answer. If Shayde found out that Emerald was crying or even showing emotion, he would toss her away…maybe even kill her.

"Maybe I should head to the med bay." She croaked.

Kingston shook his head."No. You don't need to go to the med bay. Come here close to me. Sit next to me." He said gently.

Whenever his grandsons and granddaughters would cry, he would hug them to make them feel better. He wondered if it was the same thing with Emerald. If he got caught, he was fired from his job and Emerald would get a new handler. He can't let that happen.

She did as she was told. Even sniffed a few times, trying to control the runny snot coming from her nose. She was very confused, yet, she felt her throat tighten and it was painful to swallow. The hits that she got from Ruby today really hurt now. She sat next to Kingston and he wrapped his arms around her. She stiffened at the contact. She didn't know what to do with this foreign contact.

"Relax, Emerald. This is called a hug. It's an affectionate gesture. Right now, you are probably feeling pain and sadness, probably from…training today. I know you have a hard time with emotions. But in here Emerald, there are no cameras to watch you. You can be free to be yourself, you can let everything out, but once you step out of this room, you must lock up those emotions tight. Understood?" Kingston explained.

"I can…show emotion…here in this room?" She relaxed a bit as she looked up at the elderly face of Kingston.

She was starting to feel tired and a headache was forming behind her eyes.

"Yes. But the moment you step out of this room, you must not show anything." He clarified.

Could she really show emotion? She had no clue how to handle those.

"Kingston?" She asked slowly.

He looked down in curiosity.

"Can you teach me to feel?" she asked with a monotone voice.

Kingston smiled down at her. "Yes. I can, but not tonight. You need your sleep. I'll teach you a couple of nights from now. I have…other things to take care of. Okay?" He said gently.

No reply. He looked down again. Emerald was fast asleep. The tears that ran down her face left red marks on her. It made her innocence shine through. It tore at his heart. He joined Shayde's corporation to support his sick wife and younger children. He was 60 years old and he had three more children at home to take care of. Granted they were in their junior and senior years of high school, but as rules stated, he can't tell his family the nature of his job. He sighed. He wished Emerald had a different life. Not this monochrome and dreary life in a facility. He laid Emerald down on her bed and tucked her in.

Turning off the light, he made sure the door was locked after he left the room. He went down to the training room and saw the other subjects either training or resting. He made sure not to frown. While Emerald, a month after she woke up, she was subjected to training everyday, with little to no rest. These subjects however, they could rest after a 6 hour session. Shayde believed that with Emerald as a prototype, she was to be disposed of. Kingston had to be very clever to persuade him to have Emerald stay as a sort of Senior to the younger subjects. Given the fact that Emerald had followed every order, Shayde reconsidered. Kingston was grateful.

"Yo, Kingston." Jasper walked up to him.

Kingston looked down at the ground and sighed, the only times Jasper would talk with him, is if he had questions. Great.

"Hey, where's Emerald? Shouldn't she be here?" He frowned. Kingston looked at Jasper with a confused look on his face.

"Why does he care for Emerald? Why should he?" Kingston thought.

"She's in her room. She's resting for the night. I heard that she was shot by Subject Ruby." Kingston said confused. He saw Jasper's orange eyes droop. This was a strange reaction.

"Oh…well that sucks. Will she…be okay?" He furrowed his brow.

"She'll be fine in a couple of days. She just needs her rest." Kingston replied.

"Well…you wanna know why Ruby shot her?" Jasper whispered. Kingston looked at him curiously.

"Well…yes…I was wondering that." He said looking at Jasper with a curious look.

Jasper looked back as if he was being watched, but the other subjects were too engrossed in either training, or sleeping in Amber's case. Jasper walked closer to the older man and spoke.

"Ruby is jealous. She want's to be leader of the group." Jasper said in a conspiratorial whisper. Kingston raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Seriously, I think out of all of us, Ruby's the mental one." Jasper said as he planted his hands in his pants pockets.

This was an interesting development. A subject caring for another subject, in Kingston's mind, he felt himself wanted to explore the possibilities more.

But in another part screamed, WARNING! WARNING!

"Jasper…" Kingston said as he decided to grasp the young man's arm tightly. Jasper looked at him with sharp eyes, as if questioning why the normally wussy man was grabbing his arm.

"Listen to me, do not show concern for Emerald. She will be fine. Don't even think about trying to help her in any way shape or form. Understand?" He whispered harshly.

If word got out that the subjects were starting to form the softer feelings, it would upset Shayde's plans of trying to get into the new government branch of NEST. Jasper showed shock on his face. Kingston felt his hands go clammy, out of all the Subjects that Kingston had observed, Jasper, and quite possibly Amber, were the only ones that could have a normal life outside of this facility. The other subjects were…in his mind… certifiably insane.

They were trained killers. That's all they are.

"Understand Jasper?" Kingston said with a hard tone.

He hadn't used that tone of voice since his children were old enough to not make their father mad. Jasper nodded.

"But she'll be fine?" He asked with confusion.

Kingston nodded. "Yes. Now get back to your training." He said as he let go of the young boy's arm.

Jasper went over to a stand where a sniper gun was at and he started to shoot targets, smiling every time he shot the middle of a target. Kingston hoped that Jasper wouldn't show any concern to Emerald in the future. Shayde would hate it if his precious pets started to feel that the line of right and wrong would begin to switch in their minds.

Nyx was with Ratchet in the medbay. They were working on Jazz's body and fixing it up pretty well. Ratchet thinks that a couple of more weeks of work on the body it would be ready to bring back Jazz. Dr. Larson was in the med bay as well, looking at Nyx with observing eyes. He had a clipboard in his slightly shaking hands and was writing down whatever observations that Nyx was doing.

"Phoenix, I need you to attach a few small wires in the torso area, specifically the spark chamber area. Could you do that please?" He asked.

Nyx nodded and climbed up into the spark chamber and found the wires that were to be connected to the other side. She made sure that the exposed wires weren't touching until they were covered with a specific nanite to protect those wires.

It took a while for the three elderly scientists to get used to the giant Autobots that had similar bodies like NBE-1. The fact that they are from another planet unnerved them. Larson wasn't too surprised but he was on edge.

"I just don't see how it is possible for beings like yourself could even be alive? You are nothing but metal with electricity running though you." Larson once said to Ratchet.

"Are we so different from your species? You have what is called bones and blood. You could say that we could easily be you in many aspects." Ratchet replied back.

Nyx smiled at the two. Even though they won't admit it, Larson had grown on Ratchet and vice versa. She remembered Larson and Ratchet arguing the week after getting to know Ratchet that he was an Autobot.

"If I was any younger, I'd pull those damn wires out of your head!" He yelled at Ratchet.

"You couldn't with your age!" Ratchet replied back. She thought it was funny.

Larson was a sarcastic and pissy old man. He'd glare at everything and everyone. But his skills in observations and knowing the human body in and out were well above her understanding. He wanted to observe how she moved, talked, walked, and just about everything. He once said that since the cube's waters that she was dunked into changed her biology only just slightly, it's no wonder she never aged. He explained that it was like finding a locked DNA sequence and it somehow 'unlocked' that specific sequence that kept her the same age as she was in the 40s. One night, Nyx was heading to be before she saw a lab that was still open and saw Larson in there frowning at the papers that he had observed from the past tests.

"We played Gods…and yet, this girl is paying the price for our foolishness. God help us all." He said with a tired voice.

She started to like Larson after that. He didn't show it, but he really did care for her. That was nice.

Dr. Jones was the kinder man of the group. He was easily the peacemaker of the group. He would be observing her blood works and other parts of her biology, along with Larson. He would have the younger doctors take small samples of blood, tissues, muscles, and bone. He also oversaw all the exercise routines that he made specifically made for her. They were the same routines that she did back when she was trapped in the hell that was Sector Seven.

Except that this time, Jones didn't put any electrical equipment on her that would shock her to push her to her limits. He always had a kind look on his face, but she could see in his eyes that she haunted him, the trials and tribulations that she went through; Guilty for all those experiments on her. He mentions to her many times that when he saw her in her room many times, he wondered what kind of life could she have lived instead of being a test subject. She told him that if it weren't for him, she would not have gotten this far in her life. He would always give her a sad smile her way.

Dr. Schneider, who preferred to be called 'Doug', was her psychiatrist. She remembered him vaguely. He joked and smiled at her that he let himself go since Project Aindrias. He started to eat more, sadly, due to some trauma of the horrors of Sector Seven, and he gained weight and became depressed over the years. But now that he was working with Nyx, she had never seen him as such a happy man.

He was quite fascinated with her mental state and how she could have had so many memories stowed away. He would be asking question after question, and of course bark at a young stenographer next to him, seeing as he couldn't write—Rheumatoid arthritis seems to do that to people, especially at his age—the stenographer would be sweating bullets trying to write question after question and writing down every answer. Nyx was sure that the young woman was suffering severe writer's cramps after the session was over.

"Now, tell me. What is it like dying?" He asked with a sad smile on his face.

She was confused. Why would he ask that question?

"Why? Why do you want to know?" She asked.

"You see, I'm wondering how many times you have died? And the impact of you waking up must have something to do with the brain patterns in your mind. Basically, when you die, you can't come back to life. It's simple as that. But you…you seem to defy that natural order." Doug said with a little bit of excitement.

"It's as if when you die, whether by bleeding out, or a direct shot to the head, your body some how repairs itself. I believe it something like…confound it, Sarah what would you call it?" Doug asked the shy assistant.

"It's like a rebooting of her system." She shrugged and kept writing.

"Exactly! Your mental state when you die somehow continues in hibernation. A dream state if you will." He said smiling.

That statement stuck to her like glue. She knew of her time in the 'Limbo' state in the Matrix. When she died trying to save Sam and Mikaela from Sector Seven. That night they were taken, she remember that state of mind. She met the All Spark in that limbo. She didn't really have a response to Doug when he asked her about her deaths. She would die. She would wake up somewhere. Either in a Morgue, on the battlefield, or a ditch. That's when she thought about trying to bring back Jazz, would he come back like she did? Would he remember how he died and his time in the Matrix? She felt a headache coming on. She needed to take a break for the rest of the week.

As the weeks went on, her sessions started to work out with her trainings with Ironhide. What was fun was that the recruits had no IDEA that Ironhide was an Autobot. Today was the day that the recruits would graduate to be full-fledged Nest soldiers. Meaning…they will now be meeting Ironhide as a giant robot. She smiled a wicked smile as she 'drove' Ironhide to the hanger. "Are you excited for the new soldiers?" She smiled. She heard him grumble some choice words. None that she wouldn't repeat. Though, in a way, she was also a bit disappointed that Winnie still made the cut.

"I still can't believe that Winston made the cut. I thought for sure that he would get kicked out." She muttered.

"It surprised me as well. Little slagger managed to pass all my tests too." Ironhide grumbled.

Nyx sighed dramatically. "I know…but at least we get to scare the shit out of them." She smiled.

Feeling Ironhide rumble beneath her, knowing that he was chuckling at the part of scaring the new recruits.

She was envisioning the faces of shock and horror, as Ironhide would transform in front of them. Her life would be complete as she sees those subordinates being scared shitless. After her session with the scientists, she would meet up with Ironhide at the internal training field. After her time at Sector Seven, they left it to collect dust, rats, and a multitude of spiders. It looked a lot better when some hardy soldiers cleaned it up and used it for various trainings. She would work the new recruits alongside Ironhide and, bringing out her more sadistic side, driving them to the ground. She made sure to have them crawling on the ground for two hours, hitting targets at the shooting range to make sure they have the skills to do so, and she made sure to grind in every bit of information of all Military attack and defensive tactics. Let's just say that some of the recruits believe that her and Ironhide are in cahoots with each other to kill them before they even graduate.

Nyx pulled up into the training area and she saw the 'maggots' all up in 5 rows. 50 recruits in all. She patted the dash and told Ironhide to wait until she 're-introduced' him. As she got out, she straightened her back and put on a sly smile. This was going to be fun.

"All Right Maggots. You are now part of NEST. We have put you through Hell, my friends. And, I have to say this: Congratulations." She smiled.

She could tell that some of the soldiers in front of her are proud of their accomplishments. But she was going to drop the bomb on them.

"Now that you are part of NEST…I will warn you." She paused.

"NEST is fighting a different war." She could see the confusion flittering across their faces.

Nyx paced her self slowly across the floor. Examining every soldier. She decided to pop a question.

"How many of you have heard of the terrorist attack on Mission City last year?" She said as she stopped in front of them.

No response.

"By raise of hands, who has heard of the attack?" She ordered.

Not very many had raised their hands. She looked at the soldier in front of her.

"Rathebone." She spoke to the small woman soldier in front.

"What have you heard about the Mission City?" She asked.

"Ma'am. It was said that Terrorists attacked Mission city using advanced weaponry, Ma'am." The short, pixie woman spoke.

Nyx nodded. "You are correct. But that not the entire truth." Nyx smiled.

She could see the confusion flit across the soldiers faces.

"Ma'am…" She heard a voice from the left.

It was another soldier. A tall male.

"Yes?" She asked. She could see apprehension as he looked at her.

"I had an uncle in Mission City, he was there the day it was attacked…but it…" The soldier paused.

Nyx walked over to him. His name that was patched on his chest said 'Standford'.

"Continue, Standford." She spoke nodding him on.

She saw him swallow. "There were no terrorists. Only…" He paused.

"Giant Robots." He mumbled, but she caught it.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Nyx mocked as she leaned forward.

"Giant robots." He muttered.

Nyx leaned back and spoke loud enough for the soldiers.

"I can't hear you!" She almost yelled.

"Giant Robots, Ma'am!" He shouted as his face flushed with embarrassment.

Nyx could hear the some of the soldiers snickering and trying to keep a straight face, but failed.

As the snickering died down, some of the soldiers noticed that Nyx never laughed a long or teased Standford. She waited until quiet was bestowed over the room.

"Giant Robots." She said as she started to walk in between the soldiers.

"Sounds funny, right?" She said as she weaved in between the soldiers.

"A madman's delusion. You may be thinking that someone would be on drugs if they were saying that they were seeing giant robots." Nyx said, as she made sure to glare at those who decided it was smart to laugh.

She could tell that they were confused by her behavior. They were expecting her to laugh along with her words. She stood in front of the soldiers once more.

"Standford is right." She said, as she made sure that the soldiers were paying close attention.

"Giant Robots. Otherwise better known as Autobots." She said smiling slightly.

Confusion came in waves as a few soldiers looked at her if she was the one on drugs.

"We are fighting a war, my friends. Not just any war. The world is in danger." She said as she stepped back.

"NEST isn't another branch in the Government. We work with the government to find beings that are larger than anything we can handle. You think fighting Terrorists is hard? Try fighting a Decepticon." She said with a bark of a laugh.

"You may have noticed that our trainer 'Ironhide' isn't with me." She smirked.

"Well, I'll be re-introducing you to him." She smiled. She looked back at the Truck.

"Hey, Ironhide, think these guys are ready to take on your kind of training?" She shouted back to the truck.

There was a beat of silence, until the Truck parts began to take itself apart and reassembling themselves back together. She beamed at the giant autobot that looked down at the soldiers and her. She heard shouts behind her.

"If they could barely past my tests as they are right now, they will be killed if they faced a Decepticon." He said as he kneeled down beside Nyx.

She turned back to see the soldiers either on their bottoms in awe or standing in shock.

"Alright boys and girls. Time to meet your maker. This is Ironhide. He is an Autobot weapons specialist. You are about to get a crash course about how to attack and take down a Decepticon. An enemy of the Autobots. Starting tomorrow, you will get to know the Autobots around here. Don't be too frightened by them. They won't bite. Much." She smiled.

Ironhide chuckled as he stood up.

"Now. Let's have a little fun shall we?" She smiled.

Nyx was running down the hall to meet up with General Morshower. Turns out that the Government (at least those who know about Autobots) will be letting a few other nations know of the Autobots and Decepticons. She entered the room with purpose and sat down at the table. Morshower was right beside her.

"So what do you think about this…expansion of NEST?" He asked gruffly.

"It would be a good thing, but we have to make sure that everything is underwraps." Nyx said as she was reading a file of the proposal to expand NEST into other countries.

But it would take time for those Governments to keep quiet about the Autobots.

"This is impressive. Canada, United Kingdom, and Japan. Thank they will agree?" she asked as she looked through some of the official papers.

"They will. Trust me. If I recall correctly Optimus and Ratchet received a communications not too long ago. Something about more of their allies coming." Morshower said as he rubbed his forehead.

"That's right, Ironhide was talking to me about that." Nyx said as she took out a memo pad from her back pocket. She flipped a few pages and looked at her writing.

"Their names are Sideswipe, Mudflap, and Skids. He was saying that we better be prepared." She said as she put the pad back in her pocket.

"Why?" Morshower asked.

"Ironhide said something about 'Fraggin' Twins and their stupidity.' Other than that, I have no clue." She said as she went back to the file.

A few minutes later, Will and Epps came into the room and took their seats before the Secretary of Defense came in. He had two other people with him, most likely political officials.

"Thank you for coming on short notice, I know that Mrs. Sparks had training to take care of, but this couldn't wait." The Secretary spoke.

"I have received permission from MI-5 from the UK, to station NEST to Diego Garcia. We will be moving there in three weeks. Hopefully before more of our Autobot allies come." He said.

Nyx rolled her eyes to the heavens thanking them. They would finally be able to move to Diego Garcia. They had sent Epps and Lennox out there a month earlier to take a look around. It was the perfect place to station the NEST base. The Hoover Dam Base was starting to get crowded with all the scientists, workers, and soldiers.

"We have met up with some officials of the UK and it wasn't too messy, they want part in the NEST business. We are currently working on connections and treaties with them to assure safety of their country. We have already established smaller bases in Canada and we are working on Japan as we speak. NEST will be as the earth's protector along with the Autobots." He finished saying. "Will the treaties work out?" She asked.

"Yes, NEST will be reporting to certain Branches of the Goverments that will come back to America to take care of certain problem such as the Decepticons. From what the Autobot leader has told us, there will only be more Decepticons coming. We should be thankful that the Autobots are on our side." One of the officials spoke. Nyx nodded. This was good.

"This Operation is still in its early works. It will take time to get everything running smoothly. For now, we are going to start packing up and go to Deigo Garcia. Starting this week." The other official said.

An agreement spread to the table as they spoke a little more about the politics and income that are pouring into the NEST operation. It was then when Nyx started to feel sick. Lennox noticed this as he saw Nyx's face turn a sickly pale green.

"Nyx, are you alright? You look a little sick." He asked with concern for his friend.

Nyx shook her head. "I'm fine, just a little dizzy." She said as she clutched her head.

She could heart her heartbeat in her ears. It was beating fast and loud.

"Nyx?" Lennox asked as he stood up and placed his hand on her shoulder.

She reacted fast as her stomach decided to revolt against her and she pushed away from the table and ran over to a trashcan. She threw up the contents of her stomach and the sour smell hit her nose.

"Sparks!" Morshower yelled.

"Get her to the medical bay! NOW!" Morshower ordered.

Lennox didn't need to be asked twice. He picked up Nyx in a bridal position and took off out of the meeting room and headed to Ratchet's med bay.

"Ratchet! It's Nyx!" Lennox shouted as he ran into the large room.

"Calm down, Lennox! Don't be so worried. What happened?" Ratchet asked as he stomped over to Lennox.

When his optics picked up that Nyx was unconscious, his scanners picked up that something was wrong…very wrong.

"Put her on the table. Now!" Ratchet ordered as he transformed back into his vehicle form.

His holoform popped out and he ran over to the table where Nyx laid. He did the regular human diagnostics. Checking her eyes, temperature, and heartbeat. The heartbeat was erratic and she was shaking. It wasn't a seizure. Then the most odd thing happened to her veins. They started to glow.

"Ratchet, why is she…?"Lennox started to ask.

"It's her biology." Lennox heard one of the doctors that had worked with Nyx.

It was Larson.

"I had a theory that the biology of her body was evolving. Hey, rust bucket, check her blood." Larson hobbled over with his cane.

"I'm already doing that, you old geezer." Ratchet said as he took a vial of blood from Nyx's arm and tied a bandage up after she drew the blood. Ratchet held the vial at eye level.

"Isn't blood supposed to be RED?" Lennox asked confused.

"For normal humans, yes. For Subject 27, no. It seems that since she was exposed to the cube, her biology changed, if only significantly. Over the past six months we have been evaluating her, testing her, poking and prodding, we have come to a conclusion." Larson said as he sat down by Nyx's side and frowned.

"Who would have thought that it would have taken one death, to have a super soldier who would live life as a young immortal?" He spat.

"You sick…" Lennox started.

"Enough. It's in the past. She'll be fine. She'll be down a few hours though." Ratchet said as he put a little of the blood onto a slide and examined it.

"Why?" Lennox asked.

"Phoenix, is suffering from the side affect of being around the giant metal rust buckets." Larson said frowning.

Ratchet tensed up, his alt form did the same.

"What are you talking about?" Ratchet said as he slowly turned his head towards the elderly human. Larson looked at Pheonix on the table.

Her eyes were slits and he could see the glowing underneath the lids. Her breathing was at a staccato pace.

"The other doctors and myself have a theory. One of which we had thought of before she died. Since her exposure to the Cube, we believed that exposing her to similar objects would make her more…powerful." He huffed as he took out a Kleenex and blew his nose, as it was getting a bit drafty in the med bay.

"Unfortunately, with NBE-One still in stasis at the time, we couldn't afford to wake him up. So the theory was dismissed." Larson said as he decided to take her temperature.

Placing his hand on her forehead, he scowled.

"She's freezing." He muttered.

"What was the theory?" Ratchet said as he grabbed some of the blankets that her kept underneath the medical bed in cases like this.

"Our theory is that if we had exposed her to beings similar to NBE-one, like you, The Autobots, it would speed up her 'Evolution'. But I never thought that it would be possible. Until now." Larson said as he observed Ratchet's holoform bundling up Nyx like a child.

"So what you are saying is that you cannot revert her body back to a normal organic biology?" Ratchet looked at Larson.

Larson glared at Ratchet, then a look of embarrassment flushed over his face. "I'm not sure." He muttered.

"Most of the tests we have started are not finished yet." He said as he struggled to get up.

Will got up and helped the older man to his feet.

"When she wakes up, tell her to come and see us." Larson said as he hobbled away. As he reached the door to meet up with his other two colleagues, he looked back at the woman on the table. Her veins were still glowing.

"She doesn't deserve to live like this. If this keeps up…I don't believe that we can ever reverse the effects…at all." He thought as he turned away from the room and headed off.

It has been a few days since her seizure; Nyx felt a pounding at the front of her skull and her body felt like it was on ice. She wanted to open her eyes, but they felt like lead. She could still taste the vomit in her mouth. Finally, when she opened her eyes, it was as if the light was burning them. She let out a small groan.

"Phoenix?" She could hear the voice of Ratchet.

"Ratchet?" She croaked out. Her throat was raw and sore.

"Save your strength for now, Phoenix. You passed out in the meeting room." He said as he placed something over her body. It was very warm against her cold body.

"Ratch…my eyes hurt." She said softly. She heard rustling around in the med bay.

Then she felt something slip over her head and covering her eyes. It was dark, but she knew it was the best.

"Listen to me, Phoenix, you need to take it easy for the next few days. I'll tell Ironhide that you won't be showing up for training. And no whining about it." Ratchet said gruffly.

Nyx nodded weakly. She understood that what Ratchet says, you better do as he says. She smiled at the thought a couple weeks ago that a few of the soldiers, including Winston, got hurt during training. Winston, being the cocky bastard that he is, tried to leave the med bay without Ratchet's permission. Needless to say, he had a few normal sized wrenches thrown at him as Ratchet the Hatchet told him to stay put.

"Phoenix, how do you feel?" He asked as he placed his hand on her forehead and took her temperature.

Nyx frowned. "Well I feel like I've been hit by a Decepticon." She chuckled before hitching her breath in pain.

Her throat felt very raw.

"Phoenix, I'm going to put you on anti-biotics and a morphine drip. What are your pain levels?" She could hear Ratchet nearby shuffling around getting things together.

She felt something soft and wet on her hand before she felt a sharp pinch go into her vein.

"Did you not hear me, Ratchet? I feel like I've been hit by a decepticon. The pain is an 8." She rasped.

She could feel the cold morphine run through her veins.

"You are going to be asleep for a while, Nyx. But before you do, tell me a few things. Have you been eating well?" He asked as she heard shuffling of papers.

"Not really. I've been skipping a couple of meals." She said truthfully.

It was true. She hasn't been eating well enough for the past couple of weeks. The weird thing was, well, she didn't feel hungry. She would eat her fruits and vegetables, some proteins like meat, and a little dairy, but she didn't feel the need to. Ratchet's holoform frowned. As if he knew something that was off.

"Ratchet, is something wrong?" She asked. Ratchet came closer and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Nyx, if you have been skipping meals, I need you to keep eating. Increase your protein intake. And after you wake up after the morphine has done it's job, go and see the scientists. Understood?" He said with a look on his face that Nyx was very confused about.

He looked…sad? She nodded an affirmation.

"Ratchet…can we bring Jazz back…soon?" She asked before she fell into the darkness.

Ratchet looked at Nyx with surprise before she succumbed to the influence of the drug that is running through her veins. Bring him back? Bring back Jazz? Is Nyx even capable of bringing their old friend back to life? He made his holoform dissipate as he transformed into his bipedal form. He vented and walked over to the other side of the large medbay, looking at the still body of Jazz. He only needed to do a few more adjustments to his fallen comrade. His processor ran situations through at a speed of light. How would Nyx bring him back? What theory do the doctors have for her, and what is the problem with Nyx being around the Autobots?

He didn't realized that he had been standing at Jazz's side for the past 30 minutes and he felt a small 'dink' hit the side of his face. He looked down and saw the doctor, Larson, looking up at him with a frown on his face.

"I've been trying to get your attention for the past 25 minutes, you rust bucket! And now my hip is giving me hell for walking up the steps here!" He said as he rubbed the area where the pain was.

Ratchet wasn't in the mood to banter with the elderly human, as much as he wanted to. He wanted answers.

"What did you mean when you said that it was being around us Autobots that her condition is deteriorating?" He asked the human.

Larson's eyebrows shot up to his forehead and gave the robot medic a scoff.

"Deteriorating? If anything, I'd say that she is improving." He said as he waved Ratchet down. Ratchet knew that the man wanted down. He raised his hand to where Larson is at and he stepped onto the palm of the medic.

"Explain." Ratchet said as he walked back over to Nyx and kneeled to let Larson down gently.

"Well, the other two are asleep right now, their excitement made them tired out. I on the other hand have been looking through all the tests that we have performed. Past and Present." He said as he sat on a chair by Nyx's bed.

"Oh? Care to elaborate?" Ratchet said.

Larson looked up at Ratchet and sighed.

"We cannot reverse the condition of Miss Sparks. To even try to reverse what we have tested on her, even if we could, her body would speed up the aging process and she would wither and turn to dust in a matter of minutes. Look at her, Hatchet," Larson used the nickname that made him frown, "She is young. She hasn't changed since we last saw her, and that was when we placed her in the coffin. It frustrates me to no end that she is undoubtedly, immortal to an extent. Doug kept going on and on about her memories of the wars that she has been in, and still manages to remember them even after she has been killed more than once. Jones is fascinated by the fact that she could emit electrical impulses like a miniature EMP bomb. But me, I have been trying to figure out how she could have been living for so long, and her little seizure fits are only proof that she is in fact, evolving." Larson said tiredly.

Ratchet blinked his optics in surprise.

"Evolving? That's impossible." He frowned.

"It may sound that way, but look at the facts. From the information you gave me when you first met her and for us to be testing on her, it seems like since you Autobots came to Earth, it jumpstarted something in her body. Her blood changed from red to a light blue, which should be impossible to have, and on top of it all, she was shot, in the chest, and she came back to life." Larson stated.

"If anything, your arrival and being in contact with the Cube, basically triggered something in here. What it is, I don't know. But what I do know is this. She may look human and act like one, but she's turning into something else. I honestly don't want to give her the answer to the question of 'Can you turn me back to normal?' But who knows what her reaction would be." Larson said as he leaned back in his chair.

"Humans are interesting creatures. You are greedy, prideful, and want nothing more than the world to yourselves, yet, when you create mistakes, you try and fix them, whatever the cost. Its seems to me, you regret your decisions, regarding Nyx." Ratchet spoke down to the man.

Larson didn't have a witty comeback. Silence went between the Mech and the human.

Then, "Subject 27, was our last ditch effort to have a super soldier. We didn't care about gender. She was the only one, who never had any serious side effects. We were all holding our breaths, just waiting for her to fail. But she didn't. She packed some muscle, her intelligence went up, and she was top notch." Larson said wearily.

"When she died, the last one to see her beforehand, was me. I was making sure, that she would be ready to go out and serve her country. When I last saw her, her eyes were black. The next day when a guard tried to get her up for training again, she was already dead. I checked over her body, when I got to her eyes, they were changing color. At the time, I thought it was just death sitting in." Then he growled.

"To be honest, that cube has been the bane of my existence. Ever since I was at the ripe age of 24 years old, I was a genius, mind you; I could have worked with Sector Seven creating new technologies, discovering vaccines for viruses, and the like. But no, instead of doing the things I wanted to do, they placed me in the Project Aindrias department. I, along with Doug and Jones, had to see many subjects die. Ten years. Ten years, we have seen them die." Larson said with conviction.

"Phoenix told us that when you experimented on the humans and mixing the cube's energies with the subjects, they died horrible deaths. The muscles would turn black, they would age rapidly, their minds deteriorating…Phoenix is lucky to even survive." Ratchet said.

"Yes…that was what made many of the scientists curious. The only side effect that she had, was minor illnesses, like the cold or the flu. We kept expecting her to turn into an old woman, with heart fluctuations, dementia, blackened muscle tissue, but it never happen." Larson stood up with his cane by his side and slowly walked over to Nyx, who was still asleep.

"She is now the perfect human being. She cannot die, and she could get sick all she wants but she would over come those sicknesses. She would break her bones, and they would mend in less than a week with no imperfections whatsoever." Larson gritted his teeth.

"I only wish, that we never forced her into this life." Larson fell quiet after that.

"You are certain that you cannot reverse the effects?" Ratchet asked.

He knew the answer. Those who were succumbed to the powers of the All Spark were changed. Ratchet had many theories of what would happen to organics, should they be exposed to the All Spark. Each theory may not have been tested on, but he knew that organics would have Energon sickness and would perish. Phoenix was a special case.

"We cannot reverse the effects. Nyx will forever be immortal. She will age only slightly, I have noticed in some of her biology tests, but I would say that it would take one hundred years for her to only age slightly. But no more. We cannot do anything for her." Larson answered.

A strangled cry came from the bed. Ratchet and Larson noticed that Nyx was struggling to get up.

"Nyx! You must lie down; you are still feeling the side effects-" Ratchet was cut off by a heartbreaking scream.

"No!"

Larson grabbed Nyx by the shoulders to tried and force her down but, due to old age, he stumbled and fell to the ground.

"Don't touch me." She looked at the elderly man with a poisonous glare.

Larson, the proud man that he is, gritted his teeth together in pain and looked up at the young woman. Her eyes were blazing blue, as if it was set alight.

"You monster! I came to you for help, it's all because of you and Sector Seven that I'm like this!" She stumbled over her feet over to Larson.

"Now listen here-" He started to say, but Nyx cut him off.

"I'm sick of dying. I'm sick of being alive! I'm sick of seeing the, the happy faces of those who are young and have families and growing old. I'm sick of it all!" She screeched.

Ratchet noticed that her veins were glowing blue again, growing with intensity.

"Phoenix, enough!" Ratchet reached for her, only for Nyx to turn around, sending a pulse of blue energy at Ratchet unintentionally.

As the pulse hit him, he felt himself reverting back to his alt. form. It was a very painful process, it was as if his body revolted against him and forced him back into his vehicle form. He couldn't revert back to his bipedal state. He couldn't even turn on his holoform. He just sat there and watched Nyx standing over the elderly human.

Larson on the other hand, felt a stab of fear run through his body. He had always learned that angry woman, even if they were the most docile and meek people on the planet, would have the fury that Hell would have shook at this woman's wrath. Phoenix was the second woman, that Larson has fear of her anger, the first, being his late wife.

"You sicken me." She growled as she raised her fist as if to strike him.

He closed his eyes waiting. After a moment of silence, he heard running footsteps retreating. He opened his eyes and saw Nyx running out of the medbay like a shot. He wasn't expecting Nyx to hear his words. He laid his head down on the cold floor and took a few deep breaths. He figured his right hip was bruised as well as his left shoulder blade. He looked back at the door that Phoenix had rushed out of. What had he done? What had he had done, to deserve this cruel torturous treatment? Oh, he had become a scientist. That's why.

Nyx's mind was rampant. After she fell asleep, she was lying in darkness. The side affect of the morphine that she was given. It wasn't long until the morphine started to wear off that she heard Larson and Ratchet talking.

"Are you certain that you cannot reverse the effects?"

"We cannot reverse the effects."

She felt ice surge through her body and swore that her heart stopped at the words.

She could feel fear; anger, and sorrow rip through her mind like a ferocious wave.

She couldn't bring herself to attack that man who aided the Government who funded Project Aindrias. When Ratchet was reaching for her, she turned on instinct, and sent a pulse out at him. She shook her head and kept running. She was sorry that she did that, but she didn't realize that she had that kind of power. She ran past Will, who shouted at her to stop. Running past a few more soldiers, she accidentally ran into Ironhide's leg and fell back onto the cold hard ground. She quickly got back up, and ran again.

"Phoenix!" She heard Ironhide called after her.

She didn't turn back.

"Why me? Why the hell did they pick me off the streets? I should have put up a fight. I shout have screamed 'Let me go!' when they came to me on the streets."

Thoughts of 'What if's' and 'If only' crashed at the forefront of her mind. She twisted and turned into corridors avoiding anybody along her path.

Running up the stairs, she ran into a door and the cold night air hit her full-on. She took deep, shuddering breaths as she could feel the burn in her legs. She kept running. She wanted to get away from the Hoover dam, as far away as possible. She wished she never got involved with the Autobots at all. She wished she never knew Will and Sarah. She wished that she were killed the moment she was dunked into the energon filled waters. She lost the concept of time. She didn't know how far she ran, and didn't care, but she felt the burning in her legs and she had to stop running. Her breaths were labored, and her lungs were burning with want for oxygen. She fell where she stopped and lay there. On the side of the road, there were no cars for miles. Only the wind blowing and her quiet sobbing.

She didn't know how long she lay there on the dirt. But she heard a car. No…the engine was too loud for a car. It was a truck. She didn't move from her spot. Just staring at the sky like she was a lost soul waiting for death. She heard the gavel crunch and pop under the tires of the truck. She closed here eyes and fitfully wished that it were all a dream. She heard a door open and close. Footsteps were coming towards her. She didn't move. The footsteps stopped just by her head and then a deep sigh was heard.

"Phoenix." She heard the deep voice.

She opened her eyes slowly and saw the holoforn of Ironhide. He was wearing casual clothing, instead of the military clothing that he would form on with trainees, he was wearing cowboy shoes with blue jeans, and a denim jacket over a plaid red and blue shirt. He was looking down at her with concerned eyes. She could feel the tears well up in her eyes again and they leaked out. Ironhide then bent down and picked her up gently. She was feeling pain in her legs and they felt like jelly to her. Ironhide shifted her in his arms and took her to his alt. form. She couldn't help but speak weakly.

"Ironhide…I wish I could just die for good." She whispered.

Ironhide just sighed. He heard it all from Ratchet and the human, Larson. Larson was in a separate bed when he came into the Medbay. He was arguing with the other Scientists that it wasn't his fault that Nyx ran off. But the truth had to come out somehow. What was interesting was that Ratchet was in his bipedal form working on himself. The Autobot medic was, as the human saying is, 'Healthy as a Horse'. But seeing the Autobot medic working on his arm complained that being forced into his alt. form was more painful than anything he had experienced in his life.

When Irondhide asked what was wrong, he explained Nyx's situation and her connection to the All Spark. At first, Ironhide didn't see that as a big of a deal. It was interesting that Nyx had live longer than many humans, and even more so that she never aged. But add the All Spark to the mix, and it was next to impossible for Organics, like humans, to have traces of energon running in their bodies. Energon to humans is like cyanide or arsenic. It would kill them. Ironhide may be a weapons expert, but even her knew enough science like Ratchet to know the effects of energon to humans. Nyx, is the only exception.

He opened his passenger side door, placed he inside gently and closed it. Dissipating his holoform, he drove off. Back to the Hoover Dam, but he drove at a slower pace.

"Phoenix, talk to me. I may not be able to help much, but please, I hate seeing you like this." Ironhide spoke through the radio.

Phoenix was quiet. She had a look of hopelessness on her face. He had seen that look before. Many, many times on the faces of recruits on Cybertron. He jerked himself around, making Nyx hit her head on his window. Sure, he had a mark there, but he didn't care at this point.

"Talk!" He ordered.

"About what!?" She snapped.

Well there was a reaction. She was pissed off, but a reaction netherhanless.

"Stop having a 'woe is me' party, it's grinding my gears. I don't see what the problem is. It's not a big deal." He told her.

Actually it was. But he wanted to hear what Nyx had to say.

"Not. A. Big. Deal? It is to me!" She gritted out.

"You have no idea what its like!" She shouted at him.

"Then tell me! I can't understand what you want unless you talk to me!" Ironhide shouted back.

"I want to be normal again!" She said as she slammed her hands against his dashboard.

It didn't hurt, but it annoyed him.

"Normal? What is normal?" He asked.

"A Normal life! A normal job! A normal education! A normal family! Everywhere I go, I see people happy! We have soldiers that have families back home waiting for them, children that shout 'Mommy!' and 'Daddy!" She cried.

Ironhide was shocked into silence. He heard her cries, sobs, and she was shaking.

"I never had parents. My earliest memory was waking up one day on the street and trying to get food from a baker. I was only given stale bread and shooed away." She sobbed.

"I had a husband once! But we couldn't have children! I couldn't have children! He divorced me because of it." She screamed.

She cried and sobbed for what seemed like and hour or so.

Soon her cries quieted down, but the tears that were leaking never stopped.

"Living this long, it sucks. I see the elderly and know that they have lived long and fulfilling lives…me on the other hand…I die, and I come back to life. What is my purpose in life if I can't die like normal humans?" She said sniffed and wiping away her tears. Ironhide though for a moment and them spoke up.

"You remind me of someone once." Ironhide said as he turned a curve.

"He was chosen to become a leader. He tried turning it down many times, but every time he did, he was reminded of the qualities he has to lead." He spoke.

Nyx wiped away the last of her tears, listening intently to the story that the Weapons Expert was telling her.

"His name was Orion Pax, he was just a scribe and organizer of Cyberton's history. I believe you call them 'Librarians' here on earth. This was just before the War had started on Cybertron. He didn't want to take on the work of a Leader. He was comfortable with life and he wanted to settle down and also wanted a family. But that chance never came." Ironhide spoke with a heavy tone.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Not long after he was given the position, there were rumors of Cybertronians rioting. I, at the time, was a bridge builder." He could have continued on, but Nyx started to laugh.

Ironhide was glad that he cheered her up a bit.

"A bridge builder? You?" She smiled.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Don't the two sets of twins that will come here though, I'll never live it down." He grumbled playfully.

She made the motion of zipping her lips and tossing the key.

"Where was I? Ah! So, I worked as a bridge Builder for a short time, before I was hauled off to a Military base. The rumors of Cybertronian rioting were true. I was part of a force to subdue our fellow Cybertronians." He spoke with a heavy sigh.

"Then it escalated. I met Orion in a different camp and I trained him along with a few others. Young. Old. It didn't matter. I made sure that they knew about survival before going out there. Then the Factions came. Decepticons and Autobots."

"It wasn't long, until Orion Pax, after a death of one of his mentors, became a Prime." Ironhide spoke.

He could see the look of shock that went across Nyx's face. "You know him as Optimus Prime. He never wanted that position as leader of the Autobots, but when the other Primes fell, he took reign and fought against Megatron." He finished.

Silence enveloped the space.

"Optimus never wanted the position, but when Megatron waged War, he took it with pride and with honor. Instead of shirking his duties and roll over like a petrodog and die, he along with many friends and comrades, fought against Megatron. He sent the All Spark Cube out of Megatron's reach, because he knew that Megatron would do everything he can to get the All Spark in his hands." Ironhide spoke.

"Wow, I…I didn't think that Optimus went through that. I just assumed that he rose through the ranks." Nyx said with a bit of Awe.

"Optimus is the last of the Primes. He has a lot weighing on his shoulders, but he knows that the Autobots are relying on his leadership to win this War. The Primes always held council meetings to bring up the Next Prime. Megatron, wanted the Position of Prime, but Optimus received that position." Ironhide said.

"Why are you telling me this?" She asked.

"You are not the only one who have sacrificed everything. We have lost brothers," silently mentioning Jazz, "Sister, loved ones, comrades, and many more. But we have one thing in common: Loss, regret, anger, and sadness. But we pull through it. You should be able to pull through this as well. You, Phoenix, have a different destiny that extends in front of you. Are you going to take it, or are you going to keep whining about how horrible your life is like a youngling?" Ironhide barked the last sentence.

Nyx smiled.

"Ironhide…I didn't realize that you had a soft spot." She chuckled. She felt the truck rumble in irritation.

"Don't tell anyone, I will never live this down." He grumbled. Nyx laughed.

"I promise…Softy." She smiled.

Ironhide was right. She had to stop pitying herself for the life she so desperately wanted. She can't just hope anymore. She has to grab life by the reigns now, before she falls into a pit of despair.

"Hey Ironhide…I'm sorry." She mumbled weakly.

"You may have to apologize to the Old Scientist and Ratchet. Ratchet was surprised of what you did to him." Ironhide chided.

"Oh…right…what did happen? I didn't see…" She trailed off.

"Somehow you reverted him into his Alt. Form. According to him, 'It was like gravity pushing me down into a small box.'" Ironhide said chuckling.

"I'll apologize to him…maybe it's time for me to give him a wash." She smiled.

"Sounds like a plan." Ironhide said gruffly.

Shayde was overseeing his little projects. A smile was on his face, like a wicked man. He walked around the training room observing them. Jasper was currently sparring with Onyx, Amber was on a treadmill with a bored expression on her face, Moonstone was playing chess against a super computer and winning, Diamond was currently dipping thin needles into a solution that she made from a plant oil, what kind of plants, he didn't know, and Ruby was shooting targets. His grandfather would be proud. He had created the ultimate Super Soldier. But there was only one thing left. Emerald. To be honest, he never really liked the prototype. That was all she was, is a prototype. He was more than willing to get rid of her, but Kingston, the soft and bleeding heart he is, talked him into keeping her. Shayde had to admit, he was slightly glad he kept the prototype, but something was off.

Yes, something was off about the prototype. He had asked Kingston about Emerald's strange behavior. She would have a happy expression on her face if one of her comrades fell to her hand at sparring. Another time he could have sworn that when Subject Jasper was speaking with her, she would smile only slightly, as if she heard something funny. He expected his pets to have personality, but not the prototype. At first, he dismissed it. It was probably a glitch. Then as he observed her interaction with the other subjects, Jasper and Amber of all people, and she seemed to be…attached to them. He sneered at the prototype that is currently doing upright push-ups. He didn't want any attachments for any of his subjects. He would have to execute the infiltration of NEST soon.

He left the training room and went straight to his office. Calling his assistant, Maria, and telling her to gather his associates to begin the Operation, he then took his seat at a large circular table, and patiently waited for his associates. He smiled to himself. Soon he will have the information that NEST has. He had a little spy go in there. Sadly, the spy only managed an entry-level position. A security guard of all things. But he had promising information. He opened up a folder that was about a quarter of an inch thick and went through it. The spy managed to get some decent pictures and information needed. Whatever NEST is hiding, he wanted the technology and knowledge they have. He did mention something about a Semi, a medical ambulance, and truck, and a Camaro. But he didn't pay attention to that. He was more interested in a woman that the spy talked about.

He took out a picture of the woman and observed it. She was a slender thing, yet she carried herself like a soldier. With platinum blond hair and bright blue eyes. In this picture, she was wearing a green tank top with military grade pants and combat boots. Her hair was up in a high ponytail and her mouth was open as if she was speaking with someone. He had asked the spy who this woman is. He couldn't get much information on her except the fact she was a Special Agent. She had all sorts of clearance. She must be a very valuable asset to NEST. If anything, she may have the answers he needs. After placing the picture back into the folder, he laced his fingers together.

At this time now, all 5 of his associates are here. He stood up with confidence and smiled.

"Welcome friends. We will be putting Project Facsimile into effect. In 144 hours, we will be releasing 7 subjects into NEST, previously known as Sector Seven. Shayde Corporations has always worked with the Government alongside Sector Seven. It was in the early 60s, that Sector Seven cut off all its ties with Shayde Corps, taking most, if not all, files and projects with them. Leaving Shayde Corporation with the leftovers. Luckily for us, we have a file that is part of a super soldier project. My Great Grandfather called it: Project Aindrias. Aindrias: Meaning 'Warrior'. My Great Grandfather thought it was a magnificent scientific experiment, but all subjects were killed during the tests. But, Shayde Corperations, succeeded where Sector Seven failed." Shayde smiled at his nodding associates.

"We will show the Secretary of Defense, that this is the Future of America."

Sighing heavily to rid herself of nerves, Nyx looked up at that large metal medical bed that held Jazz's body. Today was the day that she was to bring back Jazz. Since her little mental breakdown a week ago, Ratchet had put her through a regime that kept her expulsing the electrical blue pulses at random electrical objects. They charged up and worked as if it was new. Nyx also fell into the matrix many times last week. Speaking with the All Spark and Jazz. The All Spark kept giving her vague answers and confusing advices.

"I don't understand." Nyx asked as she floated in the air, sparks floating around her lazily, save for one large spark by her head.

The All Spark, in her shining glory, looked better today. The crack on her were still visible, but the rust spots were gone.

"You need to understand how Sparks are formed. You are bringing back this particular spark." She pointed with a long spindly finger at Jazz's spark.

"You must feel his life coming from you." She gestured with her hands.

Nyx shook her head. "Okay, how do I do that?" She asked.

The All Spark back away from her and stood tall, even in the Matrix, Nyx was awed by the regal stance that the All Spark took. Her legs were together rand her arms extended outward as if she was welcoming an old friend. The All Spark then began to glow. Softly at first, then intensifying. Pulses of electricity surrounded her and her hair flowed around her like a wave from an ocean.

She then brought her hands together in a wide cupping motion. What happened next was amazing. Electricity and somehow energon was flowing in between her hands. They were melding together in small waves and eventually it became a silver spark. Nyx was in such awe that she didn't notice the All Spark snap her fingers in front of her until the 5th snap. She shook her head and looked up at her.

"This is how you created a Spark, that is, in here of course. But the spark I created is inert. It has no life." She said sadly.

Nyx looked at the silver spark. It wasn't moving from the hands of the All Spark. All it was doing was sending out electricity, but it wasn't tittering or anything like the other Sparks around her. Sadness filled her being and she felt like crying. Creating something yet, it wouldn't come to life.

"I believe in your human terms, you call it, 'Miscarriage'? Because my power is limited, I could only create dead sparks." She said as she closed her hand into a fist and the spark was extinguished. The sparks around her tittered sadly, as if they had lost a loved one.

"That's horrible." Nyx said sadly.

"But, seeing that you have more power than I do, you may succeed." The All Spark said.

"Use my shard to bring back Jazz." She motioned to the large spark by Nyx.

"Aw, 'Dank ya' All Spark." Jazz said sheepishly.

Nyx nodded. "Okay, I just try and feel for Jazz then?" She asked.

The All spark nodded.

"You will know when you have the Shard. But please take care. Backlashes are often the effect of creating a spark and placing it in a body." The Allspark said as she disappeared.

Leaving Nyx alone with more questions, and screaming for the All Spark to come back.

Nyx shook her head. She can't doubt herself now. She looked at herself. She was reading a blue tank top and shorts that reach the middle of her thigh. She was currently barefoot. The doctors specifically told her that since she was trying to bring back a 'Dead Robot' as Larson called it, they wanted to see the reactions and observe how she was to bring back the saboteur. It was annoying to her, but it was necessary. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail and went to Ratchet's holoform near the edge of the table. He was writing things down about the All Spark Shard that lay there. It was fairly large, about the size of her forearm.

"Wow, I forgot how big it was." She said as she approached him.

Ratchet looked back at her with a cocked eyebrow.

"You are a giant metal robot, Ratch, of course things are tiny for you." Nyx snarked.

Ratchet pointed a pencil at Nyx. "Don't sass me, Phoenix, I haven't forgotten about the forceful transformation I went through." He mock glared.

"Yeah, yeah, hey, I helped you get better." She said as she rubbed her arms quickly.

"That may be true, but please refrain from having temper tantrums again." He muttered.

Nyx shook her head in amusement, and waited patiently for Ratchet to finish up his observation of the shard. 10 minutes later, Ratchet's holoform disappeared and she heard him transform into his bi-pedal form.

"All right. I believe this is what you humans call it 'a moment of truth'." He said to her.

Nyx nodded to him. Then she looked over the table and shouted orders to some of the soldiers that were down there. Mainly Will and Epps.

"All Right, you guys! Positions!" She shouted to them and they scrambled to their places.

She grabbed the All Spark and placed it tightly under her arm and climbed up Jazz's body. She could feel the tension in the air.

She noticed Ironhide and Optimus across the room. Ratchet was speaking with them, no doubt in Cybertronian. The day before today, Ratchet was speaking with Nyx about precautions of bringing back Jazz.

"Ready to go Ratch!" She signaled him raising her hand.

He nodded back to her, signaling that they are ready. She took another deep breath and walked over to Jazz's open spark chamber.

"Okay, let's hope that I don't get permanently killed here." She muttered to herself.

Steadying herself, she held out the shard at arms length and cleared her mind. She could feel the cold feeling go away. For the past week Ratchet monitored her body temp, which seemed to have dropped to 43 degrees F. She technically should be dead, but Larson insisted it's part of her 'Evolution.' She chased away the thoughts and let the warmth pulse through her body. She saw her veins in her body glow blue.

She was ready.

Shayde stood in front of the Seven Subjects. They were decked in black and were waiting for instructions.

"A year's worth of work, you are now at a final phase. You will be heading to Hoover Dam. Where you will be infiltrating NEST." Shayde said as he took out a remote and clicked a button.

On a screen was a picture of a woman with platinum blond hair and bright blue eyes.

"This is the woman that I want you to get. She has upper level clearance in NEST." Shayde explained.

"I want her. Your job is to find her, sedate her, and bring her here. You have three days. If you can hack into a computer," He nodded to Moonstone, "get as much information as you can. I want information from NEST. Bring back any secrets that they keep." Shayde said to them.

"You are dismissed. Get ready. You are leaving in an hour. We attack. Now"

She felt the shocks of electricity pulsing through her body. The shard of the All Spark lifted from her hands and floated in front of her. That feeling of being in the backseat came to her again. Her vision tunneled. Her body felt as if her blood boiled hot. The shard started to glow along with her and the electricity gathered in her hands. She closed her eyes, and her mind was thrusted into the Matrix. Sparks were surrounding her. Tittering at high speeds and some even overcoming her. She couldn't breath. But she shouted a name.

"JAZZ!" She screamed.

"JAZZ WHERE ARE YOU!?"

All these sparks were surrounding her. She could hear them.

"Take me!"

"I wanna live!"

"Please!"

"I don't wanna stay!"

She ignored those voices and kept shouting.

"JAZZ!"

She felt like drowning. All of these voices were overwhelming her. She pushed sparks out of the way and tried flying though the air, only to be stopped by the same sparks.

"Shawty!"

She would have missed the sound if she weren't listening hard enough.

"O're here!" She saw his spark among the multitude and she reached out her hand. She was so close. So damned close! She wanted him back. The others wanted him back. And like HELL some sparks are getting in her way of that.

"JAZZ! I'm not leaving you here! I'm bringing you back!" She shouted.

"Shawty! Ah can' move! Dese sparks don't want meh to go!" He shouted.

She kept reaching. Sparks kept crashing against her and tried to pull her way. No! She was so close!

Just a little…farther!

She screamed a primal scream and finally grabbed hold of Jazz's spark. It was so sudden that as soon as she took hold of his spark, it was as if the sparks finally backed off, and split like Moses split the Red Sea. She was holding Jazz's Spark close to her chest. Holding it like her life depended on it.

"Shawty…yo' al'ight?" He asked softly. She chuckled breathlessly.

"Yeah. I didn't think that…they would do that." She said remarking the Sparks.

She opened her eyes and looked around. She didn't see a spark in sight. "Where are the sparks?" She asked curiously.

"Dey left. When ya got ta meh, dey knew dat if dey follow me to mah body, I dink you call it 'Muliple Personality Disorder'. Pretty dangerous for bots." He chuckled.

Nyx smiled and hugged his spark close to her chest.

"Let's get you back. Everyone is waiting for you." She smiled and nuzzled the spark.

"Shawty, I can't thank you enough." He spoke genuinely.

The next thing she knew after she closed her eyes in the Matrix, she opened them back up and saw Jazz's spark pulsating in front of her. It was growing larger by the minute and she needed to put it into the Spark chamber. She could faintly hear the shouts in the background. She stepped forward and placed the spark into the chamber. The next thing she knew, she felt electricity flash around her and it felt like she was slammed away by a wall and flew across the room. She hit the wall, leaving a crater behind and fell to the hard ground.

She blacked out.

Emerald and her comrades were waiting on the Hoover Dam. Hiding amongst the tourists. She was partnered with Jasper. She like Jasper. He was like…what did Kingston call him? A best friend maybe? She shook her head. In civilian clothes and holding a cup of what looks like poison to her (Last time Emerald had coffee, Diamond put a numbing substance in it. Emerald was lucky that she only took a sip rather than down the whole cup.).

There were tourists everywhere. She followed Jasper and vice versa. They were playing the part of two young kids on a family trip. The others were also playing the part as well. They had three days to prepare. They came in yesterday, when the spy told them something happened in NEST. An electrical blackout pulsed out from the Hoover Dam to the nearest City. It was suspicious and if it was a new weapon that NEST is working on, they were going to snatch up the information.

It was going dark and they decided to hide in places where security was weak. The spy will get them in and they will go their separate ways. They needed to stick to the shadows and hide well. They couldn't afford to mess up this mission. Emerald gave signs to go down a hall that was empty. They had to split ways and find the woman and get to the nearest computer. The words echoed in their minds.

"Get the information and the woman. And get out. I don't care who is in the way, take them out."

Emerald knew that if they failed, she would be killed. She was just the prototype. The outcast. The disposable one.

"Split up." She told Jasper and Amber.

"Remember to stay in the shadows." She said as she went a different direction.

Emerald knew that Onyx, Diamond, and Ruby couldn't help themselves but kill the soldier that are in their way. That is why they are the distraction. Moonstone would be hacking into a computer by now. Amber and Jasper would also be distracting as well as incapacitating soldiers. They wouldn't kill, but that didn't mean that they couldn't knock them out. Emerald heard alarms go off. She smiled just a little. This may be the first time on her mission, but this adrenaline rush was addicting. She took out her gun and stuck to the shadows. Taking out any obstacles in her way. Without knowing, she headed deeper and deeper into NEST. She ran into an open space. It was filled with strange equipment and it confused her.

"Stop right there!" She heard behind her.

There were three soldiers and she quickly acted. She shot them all close to the heart. They wouldn't die. She didn't want them to.

"Hey." She heard a female voice from behind.

She turned around quickly and aimed her gun at the person. It was a woman.

The woman from the photograph.

She had the platinum blond hair and the startling blue yes, but she was wearing casual clothing for a woman in the military. Emerald kept her aim on the woman.

"Whoa. Okay, obviously you are a kid. And you shouldn't be handling a gun." She said raising her hands. Emerald started to shake a little. Why was she shaking? She steeled herself and glared at the woman.

"It's okay. I'm unarmed. What's your name? Mine is Phoenix." She said softly. Coming closer to her. Emerald bit her lip. A nervous habit she picked up from Kingston.

"C'mon…I know you have a name. Everyone has one." She smiled.

Why did she smile? She's pointing a gun at her, shouldn't she be afraid?

"Emerald." She said emotionlessly.

"Wow, that's a pretty name. Prettier than mine." She smiled.

"Like…the bird of fire, being reborn from its ashes?" Emerald asked confused. The woman smiled.

"Yeah, though friends call me Nyx. Would you like to be a friend?" She asked as she extended a hand to her.

Emerald faltered. Why was this woman extending her hand out to her? Friend? Wasn't her comrades friends? Aren't 'friends' someone you know for a long time? Why would this woman be a friend? Emerald didn't even know her.

"If you put your gun away, I can show you how we can greet each other. Without the gun that is." She said coming closer.

Emerald felt herself putting her gun away. Phoenix sighed with relief and extended her hand.

"Give me your hand." She smiled gently. Emerald was on guard at first, but she tentatively reached out her hand. But before she even placed her hand in hers…Phoenix was shot in the head. Blood spattered everywhere. She turned around and saw Ruby. She had a surprised look on her face.

"You killed the targert!" Emerald snapped back to her former personality. Emerald ran towards Ruby and punched her in the face.

"You killed the target! Let's get out of here. Personal is coming!" She shouted at Ruby.

"Phoenix!" Emerald heard a voice down the hall, she took off with Ruby snarling by her side.

"Shoot on sight! Shoot on sight!"

She heard voices behind her. They were too far away. The two girls met up with the rest of their group. The soldiers and workers would be looking everywhere for a threat. But before they realized what had happened, Emerald and her group were gone.

Pheonix's last 12 hours was a mess. Jazz was finally alive.

Turned out that when he woke up, his first words were, "What's Crackin' Bitches?"

Nyx would have laughed if she weren't unconscious at the time. She was still alive. The doctors took her to the nearest medical bed and hooked her up to machines. She wasn't glowing anymore. And she had a concussion. She was out for three hours.

When she woke up the first thing she saw was a tall black man with bright blue eyes looking down at her. His ears were pierced with a couple of small silver cuffs on etch ear and a small diamond stud in the left one. His hair was pulled back in cornrows and it ended in dreadlocks down to just below his shoulders. He was wearing a long sleeved shirt with the autobot symbol and dog tags to go with it. He had a wide blue visor hanging from the neck of the shirt.

"Shawty! Glad ya can make it." He smiled.

"Jazz?" She said quietly.

"Yeah, Ah 'ave ta admit, Ah do NOT wan' ta be resurrected again. My processor was cur'ently fried at the moment when Ah stood up. Hatchet had ta knock meh back down ta take a look over meh." He said grinning. Nyx gave a breathy laugh.

"Nice to see you too." She said as she sat up.

She felt better now. Just a little shaken but no biggy.

"Ya need help gettin' up? Ah know fo' a fact dat you are no' da kind ta stay down fo' long." He held out a large hand.

She took his hand and he helper her up. Now that she stood on hard floor and barefoot she looked at Jazz, He was just barely taller by her by a couple inches.

"You are still short." She snarked smiling.

Jazz's lips tilted downward in mock anger.

"Well Ah'm taller than ya, so ha!" He said as he stuck his tongue out.

"Jazz, how are you feeling? I mean your bipedal form…" She trailed off as she saw the new and improved Jazz. His alt. form she meant.

It was still a Porsche, but it had blue racing stripes and it looked like a brand spanking new luxury car.

"Wow…got yourself a makeover?" She smiled.

Jazz shrugged. "Eh, Ah don' like ta brag, but yeah, I wanted a new look. But yo' on de otha' hand, ya had burns on ya arms when dey picked yo up. Everyt'ng looks fine now." He smiled as he looked at her backside.

She slapped him on the and laughed.

"Well at least I didn't look like a floating spark." She smiled.

"Ah have nevah been so glad ta 'ave servos again." He joked.

Nyx would have spoken more with Jazz, if it weren't for the fact that the alarms sounded. Jazz's holoform disappeared and his alt. form spoke.

"Human intruders! I can't show myself to outsiders!" He said.

At least he had the protocals down.

"I'm heading off to find the others."

She took off with Jazz shouting at her to stay, but she was long gone. She went down into the empty file rooms, to see if there was anyone there. She learned long ago that if there were intruders, it was either: a) stupid teenagers or b) Enemies from the outside. She hoped it was the former. She passed by many rooms before she heard gunshots. She ran as fast as she could to the location the shot originated from, and saw a young girl there. She was holding a gun expertly and was ready for another shot.

"Hey." She said hopefully.

Maybe the girl wouldn't hurt her. She spoke to the girl for a little bit. It really broke her heart that the girl was pointing the gun at her, but she had dealt with guns and kids before. She made sure to speak with her calmly. As the girl put her gun away, Nyx noticed that the girl had black hair up in a ponytail and really pretty emerald eyes. It really fit her namesake. When she reached out her hand to shake, she saw something in the shadows move. The last thing she saw, was a young girl in the shadows with red eyes pointing a gun at her. The trigger was pulled and her head snapped back as she fell to the floor. She heard voices in the background before she saw the two girls run off. The last thing she heard before she succumbed to the darkness of Death was:

"PHOENIX!

TAL21: WOHOO! Okay maybe a little more after 9 pm, but hey at least i posted the new chapter! Nyx had went though a lot lately and i'm glad to see that you guys are still hanging out with me! I may be doing a bit of editing here and there on this chapter, but other than that, i hope you loved it! JAZZ IS BACK MAN! :D I hope you liked his description, i had to base him off of a few pics on deviantART, but other than that, he's awesome! There is a POLL on my profile to choose of Nyx is either going to be with Jazz or Optimus. Who do you think will be paired up with her?

I will be posting SHOUT OUTS to actual reviews later. This time i want to hear what you though of the chapter and the whole story overall. Which means:

QUESTION TIME!: Now that the story has been updated and of course JAZZ is back, what do you think of the new chapter and story overall? What parts of it do you like? What parts you don't like?

FAN ART QUESTION: Those of you who do art for a living, i would LOVE to see fan art of Silver Heart and it would be awesome of ME to put it up as a cover. Its all voluntary, you don't have to do it. :) If you do however, let me know kay?

REVIEWS ARE GREATLY APRECIATED AND I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU! :D

REMEMBER TO KEEP ON READING AND WRITING!