Author's Notes: This chapter is a short one, but it has a lot of answers to this story. Well, you guys probably know them already, but humor me. I am always happy to see how many readers are enjoying this story. Part of me thinks I should update this one quicker, but you already know why I don't. Too many stories, not enough time ^_^'

Anyway, thank you for reading, reviewing, and following this fic. I hope you enjoy this chapter of "My Spark Still Shines" :)

Chapter 11

The Most Important Thing

4, ICN-994, and ICN-995 made it to Compton. They landed on a road right beside a construction zone. It was dark out by now, which was a good cover for the Vehicons. They were still in robot mode.

"Alright guys, let's transform and find a place to recharge for the night," 4 suggested.

"Yes sir!" Both Vehicon servants shouted in unison.

4 then transformed into his vehicle mode, a sleek concept car that was standard for all Vehicon soldiers, and the ICNs transformed into...industrial drills.

"Aw, fraggit!" 4 groused as he sunk down on his tires, "You two can't be seen in a populated area lookin' like that! You're too big, and nobody drives a drill on the open road!"

"We can't help it," ICN-995 replied apologetically, "This is just how Shockwave built us."

"Yeah, in case you forgot, we do actual work for Lord Megatron!" ICN-994 snapped irritably.

"Alright, alright, no need to get testy," 4 replied impatiently, "Alright, there's a construction sight. You guys can recharge over there, and I'll recharge on the curb. Tomorrow we'll leave and look for some place to call home."

"And then what?" ICN-995 asked curiously.

"There is no 'then what'," 4 replied bluntly, "We just have to take it one day at a time and hope we don't get scrapped by anybody. Just remember, everyone is your enemy. All we have now is each other. I hope you can live with that."

"Well, considering we only expected to be two instead of three, I'd say this is an improvement over my plan," ICN-995 replied; his voice smiling even though his drill form couldn't, "Goodnight 4. Goodnight ICN-994."

"Goodnight 4. Goodnight ICN-995," ICN-994 replied wearily.

"Goodnight you two," 4 replied good naturedly, "Sleep well. Don't dream of scraplets."

With those words the three fugitive Vehicons found their parking spaces and went into recharge. Recharging in vehicle mode wasn't exactly comfortable, but at least they could escape faster this way if they were discovered.

VS-5001 was a very concerned Eradicon. Lately over 20% of the Vehicon and Eradicon troops were experiencing strange dreams and hallucinations, with a few of them even claiming to have actual sparks. This was very bad for VS-5001. He was in charge of the Eradicon forces, and he didn't feel like having his mechs turned over to Knockout for dismantlement just because of a few processor glitches.

Now, most drones would be content to allow the superior officers to deal with this problem, but VS-5001 knew that real mechs dealt with such problems by smashing them out of existence. He didn't want to lose any more of Megatron's resources than necessary, so he decided to try to figure out what was going on himself.

To be honest, part of him thought his Eradicons were merely caving in to stress when he first noticed the changes. When Starscream was SIC the Eradicons were viewed as a higher class of drone. They were commissioned to look like Starscream, unlike the Vehicons which were designed to resemble the late Shockwave. It was a source of pride for the Eradicons. With Starscream banished and Dreadwing in command the Eradicons were now just as lowly as the Vehicons. That seemed like a reasonable source of stress to VS-5001.

But no, that wasn't the problem. Vehicons were experiencing this too. In fact, the largest population affected was the servant class drones. VS-5001 knew these cases had to be connected somehow, so he got to work figuring out how.

First he thought about diet. Were the dreaming Vehicons getting energon that was somehow different than everyone else's? He looked into it, and no, everyone got the same energon. Next he considered the berths. Maybe they were defective. No, that wasn't it either. VS-5001 even examined which wash racks each drone used to ensure it wasn't a poisoned oil supply in their pipes. That wasn't it either.

VS-5001 was getting frustrated, but then he hit on the answer.

It all started when VS-5001 went into Knockout's medbay and saw the red medic ripping out HLX-034's vital components to kill him faster. Knockout said this drone was one of the ones that was acting strange, and this gave VS-5001 an idea. He told Knockout that he needed a part for Soundwave that was on the top shelf but that he didn't trust his own clumsy hands to grab it. This forced Knockout to get the part himself, and the Eradicon used this moment to open up the dead Vehicon and examine it.

At first nothing seemed amiss. Everything was in place. Then VS-5001 got to the drone's helm, right where a chip near the processor lay, and he saw the corrosion. It was slowly burned away, but VS-5001 didn't know why. He was no scientist, so he didn't even understand what the part was for. Still, he stored that information and searched for more clues.

He tried to link the drones that were hallucinating. They were from different classes, they had different jobs, and they had habits that were the same as the unaffected population. What could cause that unknown chip in their helms to burn out? Then, like a bolt from a blaster, it hit him.

Those chips were made from a combination of Cybertanium and an element the humans called Europium (called Helexium on Cybertron). That meant the chips were very sensitive to oxygen. Oxygen was in earth's atmosphere, and all of these drones had been sent down to the planet for various missions. That was it! It was earth! The oxygen on earth was burning out their chips and making the Vehicons crazy!

Of course, without proof no officer would ever believe him. He would need proof. There was only one way to prove his theory. He would have to spend enough time on earth to burn out his own chip. It was dangerous, but for the sake of his troops it was a sacrifice he was willing to make.

4 and ICN-995 awoke to the sound of ICN-994 screaming madly and transforming into robot mode! 4 scanned for life forms, saw nothing, and then transformed into robot mode as well to calm the flailing Vehicon. ICN-994 took in a few deep intakes and managed to calm herself down. ICN-995 rushed over to be by her side.

"Where...Where am I?" ICN-994 asked in confusion; shaking fearfully as she looked all around her, "Where's the sparkling?"

"The what now?" 4 asked; equally confused.

"Holy pit...I think I just had a dream," ICN-994 whispered in horror, "ICN-995, I think I'm going crazy. I had a dream, and I can still remember it!"

"Calm down, sweet spark," ICN-995 said soothingly as he rubbed ICN-994's back, "Tell me what you saw. Maybe that will make you feel better."

"It was weird," ICN-994 replied; still partially in a daze, "It was a mine just like a hundred other mines we've worked on over the vorns. This one was on Cybertron, and it was broad daylight. I was outside, on top of the mountain that was being drilled and it was hot. I was small, really small, and the Autobot Bulkhead was there."

"That does sound like a nightmare," ICN-995 replied sympathetically.

"No, you don't understand!" ICN-994 wailed helplessly, "It wasn't like Bulkhead Bulkhead. It was...he was a sparkling, but he was still bigger than me. He was playing by himself and I watched him. I didn't feel afraid. Then, there was a crag in the mountain top where we were, and Bulkhead toppled over and fell into it. He grabbed hold of the edge, and he cried out for help. I rushed over to try to save him, but I was so small and not strong enough to pull him out. I was yelling 'Help me! Help me!', but no one heard me. Then I woke up."

"You tried to save an Autobot?" 4 asked critically.

"He wasn't an Autobot in the dream!" ICN-994 snapped, "It was weird. I don't know why, but in the dream it felt like...I don't quite know how to put this. It felt like...that tiny version of Bulkhead was the most precious thing in the entire universe. Like if I let him fall then I would lose everything. It was more terrifying than almost anything else I've ever felt..."

"But it was just a dream, sweet spark," ICN-995 pointed out.

"I know, but it felt so real," ICN-994 said breathily, "I wanted you there with me in the dream, but I couldn't make you come to me. Part of me wants to recharge again just to see if I ever pulled the sparkling out of the crag."

"Let's just say you did," ICN-995 suggested as he looked lovingly into his mate's visor, "Let's just say you rescued him, that I came for you, and that we all went back down into the mine for a nice cube of energon."

"Thank you, ICN-995," ICN-994 replied gratefully, then after composing herself she asked,"So, what's our plan for today?"

"What else? Keep runnin'," 4 told them in a flat tone of voice, "Let's just stay off the main path though. You two just don't fit in with these leisure vehicles."

With those words the three Vehicon fugitives left the area of Compton and made their way to parts unknown. While most vehicles would drive along the highway, 4 and the ICN couple purposefully kept to the areas off the road. They hid behind buildings, trees, and whatever else they could find. They didn't know where they were going, but they knew they couldn't stop yet.

PR-35 was getting sick of all the medical tests. Ratchet had scanned his processor twice, had tested his reflexes, had taken enough energon samples to feed a grown mech, and had asked a million questions about everything from his function aboard the Nemesis to his favorite genre of broadcast! Still, as awful as this was, PR-35 still thought it was better than interacting with the other Autobots. The new couple that had arrived the week before didn't care for him at all, and most of the other Autobots besides Optimus Prime and Ratchet scared him.

One thing he was surprised by was the Prime's attitude toward him. PR-35 expected Megatron's worst enemy to look for any excuse to deactivate a drone, but Optimus Prime was actually one of the few 'Bots that was genuinely nice to him. Optimus went out of his way to see to it that PR-35 was well cared for and fueled properly. It made PR-35 rethink everything he thought he knew about Autobots.

"Nothing," He heard Ratchet mutter under his vocalizer.

"What's nothing, sir?" PR-35 asked curiously.

"I can't seem to find a reason why you have those memories," Ratchet replied in frustration, "Your processor seems normal for a drone, although you do have some slight corrosion in your command matrix."

"My what?" PR-35 asked, but then ducked his helm when he realized he had interrupted the medic, "Sorry sir."

"It's alright," Ratchet sighed, exhausted but trying to not take it out on one of the few patients he ever had that was cooperative with him, "Your command matrix. It's the device that holds your basic programming. It's the part of you that makes you loyal to Megatron, that helps you prioritize tasks, and that gives you your fighting skills. It's kind of like a second processor. I suppose Vehicons have two in case one fails. Shockwave always did believe in overdoing his work rather than be caught unprepared. It holds no answers, however. It wasn't damaged enough to account for your unusual behavior or for why you have memories you shouldn't."

"As much as I hate tests, I should probably point out that you haven't examined my spark yet," PR-35 pointed out, though with a hint of reluctance.

"You don't have a-" But before Ratchet could finish PR-35 had the gears inside him pull back his chassis to reveal the spark inside, "By the Allspark! I don't believe it! Megatron commissioned Shockwave to create living soldiers to serve as his drones? It's all true? Alright then, let me take a scan."

Ratchet went back into professional mode as he diligently scanned the spark. He knew it was a long shot. Sparks were as unique as human fingerprints, and all Cybertronian sparks from before the war were recorded in the Iacon database. It seemed unlikely that this would be helpful to them, however. Vehicons didn't come about until after the war. If Ratchet wanted answers, however, he knew he had to try everything.

After scanning the spark he ordered PR-35 to close his chassis, and then the medic went about running the scans through the computer. PR-35 tried to watch, but he couldn't see most of the computer screen over Ratchet's massive shoulders. Sighing, PR-35 slumped back down on the berth; knowing there would probably be a million more tests.

Ratchet waited for the Iacon records to pop up and tell him whether or not there was a match to anyone from pre-war Cybertron. Ratchet was sure he was wasting his time, yet there was a part of him that wondered if there was more to this than he was seeing. The computer pinged at him, and he turned to the screen to look at the results. What he saw on the monitor made his energon run cold.

Name: Bluestreak

Place of Birth: Allspark

Registry: Praxus

Age: 42,050 vorns

Alt Mode: Car

Optics: Blue

Plating: Grey w/ red and silver accents.

Sire: Ratchet