Rafael was not in his best condition right now. He had been worse, but this was still not a pleasant feeling to deal with. He had played a role in the destruction of Laserbeak. It wasn't like he had personally killed her with his own hands, but he had been part of the plan that led to her destruction. When the life sign of Laserbeak disappeared from his computer, he instantly knew what had happened.

The bomb had gone off. This was not part of the plan and nobody had expected it to happen, not even Ratchet. They had thought Soundwave would first notice the bomb, then overlook the virus, but it had turned out to be the opposite.

The thought of killing a living being made Rafael feel sick to his stomach. He felt paler than usual, and Ratchet didn't look any better. The medic looked worse than Rafael at least three or four times. The weight of his duty to save lives didn't help, either. The thought of taking a life, even the life of an enemy, still haunted him. He went through the day at school with this thought in mind, and when it was over, he didn't wait around for anyone to see his ill face any further.

"Raf… are you okay?" a voice came from behind him.

He turned to see Jack approaching him. Despite Jack's worries, Rafael didn't want to burden him with his problems. "Thanks for asking, Jack, but I'm fine… really," he said weakly.

"Okay… if you say so," Jack said, easily laying off the topic. Then he jumped on his motorcycle, Arcee in disguise. "Will you come around the base today?"

Raf shook his head. "No, I already told Bee that I want to rest for a bit. Maybe for a day or a week until I'm ready to be there again."

Jack's face frowned at those words. "What happened to both you and Ratchet? The two of you don't seem the same after we lost the third Iacon relic."

"We… faced a problem of our own," Rafael said, not wanting to tell Jack about what had happened. At least not right now. "I just want to take a break from this whole thing for a bit, that's all."

Jack still looked suspicious, but he shrugged his shoulders. "It's not my decision to make, so I will respect that you don't want me to be part of this," he said, leaning closer to Rafael's face. "But you have to know that you don't have to bear your problems on your own. There's always someone ready to lend a hand. It will be easier to share your problems with others because we are friends and friends help those in need. That's all."

Rafael looked into Jack's eyes and saw only truthfulness in them. "Thanks, Jack. That means a lot to me, but… this is something that I have to deal with on my own right now. Maybe another time, I can share the information with you," he said with a sad smile.

Jack nodded. "I told you that I respect your decision, so you can tell me when you're ready. I hope to see you around the base very soon," he said, putting on his helmet. "And always remember, your friends are always ready to help you." Then, Jack and Arcee took off into the road.

Rafael sighed with relief as he leaned against a tree. He was grateful to have Jack as a friend, the black-haired teenager always had a way with words that could calm anyone around him. Rafael felt better already just from talking to him. Perhaps he should tell Jack about what had happened, about what he and Ratchet had done.

Suddenly, he heard a loud noise, like something was coming towards him at a high speed. Before he could turn to see what it was, he felt himself being lifted off the ground and then everything went dark.

When he awoke, he was in a metallic medical room. He tried to move his arms, but they were trapped in bracelets that were attached to the bed. His legs were also trapped. He tried to use his strength to break free, but the restraints wouldn't budge. He felt a presence on his left and turned to see Soundwave standing there.

Rafael realized that he had been kidnapped by the Decepticon communications officer and knew why he had been taken. This knowledge filled him with fear. "Err…hello?" he stammered.

Soundwave didn't move, didn't speak, didn't respond.

Sweat began to bead on Rafael's face as he watched the emotionless expression on Soundwave's face. This expression could mean that he was deeply calm or completely insane, a madness that couldn't be described in words. "Where am I?" Rafael started with the simplest question.

"Decepticon base," Soundwave answered in a monotone voice.

Rafael's face showed surprise that he had actually received an answer. "Why did you bring me here?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"Punishment and Redemption," Soundwave replied emotionlessly.

Rafael knew what punishment meant, but redemption? "What redemption?" he asked.

Soundwave's visor didn't move as he answered, "To regain what has been lost."

This only added to Rafael's confusion. He wanted to ask Soundwave more questions, but the Decepticon stepped away and showed Rafael what was behind him. It was a body, not just any body, but the body of Laserbeak. Everything about the body appeared normal, the wings, the blue color, and the metallic bird shape, but one thing was missing.

Life.

"Laserbeak's spark: missing. Need replacement," a monotone voice came from behind Rafael.

He looked at the body and saw a cable connected to the chest. He followed the cable with his eyes and saw that it led above his head. Then he felt Soundwave attach something like a helmet to his head.

Rafael now knew the meaning of redemption.

"Wait! Soundwave, I'm sorry!" Rafael heard Soundwave step away from him. "I'm truly sorry about what happened to Laserbeak. I didn't want her to die. I just needed a distraction so I could get my virus into your system." He waited for a response, but there was only silence.

Then, a reply came.

"Soundwave doesn't care."

And then, his world went black.