Chapter 23:

"SAMUEL JAMES WITWICKY, what in the hell is going on and WHERE ARE YOU? Your father and I are worried sick, young man!"

Sam winced as he pulled the cell phone away from his ear, as his mother screamed at him. He had called his parents, to explain his, Mikaela and Bee's absence, and had been met with a rather pissed off sounding Judy.

"Well, Mom, ya see, uh, the Decepticons, well okay, Barricade, uh... shit." Sam faltered, as he tried to think of what to say to his mother as he, Mikaela and Bee were standing around the Rec Room hangar at the Canyon Diablo base.

Bumblebee gave a few embarrassed whirrs and clicks, as he lowered his helm into his hands. Mikaela merely sighed, her hands on her hips, as she shook her head. Sam was slowly digging himself a deeper grave.

"DECEPTICONS? WHAT? IS THAT BASTARD BARRICADE BACK? Oh, what the fuck, Sammy, are you okay? Where the fuck are you! God dammit it!"

Mikaela could hear Judy's exclamations over the tiny cell phone speaker and shook her head again. This was not going well. Of course, when it came to Judy and her almost maniacal protectiveness over her only son, it wasn't entirely surprising.

"Mom, I'm fine. We're all fine. Bee went a little nuts, and uh, it's fine Mom, totally fine. I swear. I'm still alive. And how much have you had to drink? You don't usually cuss like a drunken sailor."

"Sam, I swear to god, this is the last time I'm going to ask. Where are you?" The tone in his mother's voice made Sam go pale. Megatron sometimes seemed like a cute kitten compared to his mother. Like now. All Sam wanted to do was hide in a corner.

Come on, Sam. Stop being such a wuss. You killed Megatron, and you saved Optimus! Get over your mom being such a psycho! You're an adult now! He thought to himself, trying desperately to boost his self-confidence.

He was failing quite miserably.

"Uh. Uh. Um. Mom, it's ah, well..."

Mikaela finally threw her hands up in the air with disgust, before she grabbed the phone out of Sam's unsuspecting hands. His mouth dropped in surprise, as Mikaela put the phone up to her ear and smiled before she spoke into the phone with an amused tone.

"Hi, Judy, it's Mikaela. Sam's being a little sissy-pants right now, so I'll just give it to you straight. Bee attacked Barricade, who's now the Guardian of a human, and we're safe with the Autobots. We're all fine, and there's nothing to worry about, I promise."

Sam couldn't hear what his mother replied, as apparently she had stopped yelling. He continued to stare at his fiancée in shock as she just smiled and continued talking, like his mother wasn't pissed and that they were having a simple conversation about the weather and what to wear. Mikaela simply gave a few "mm-hmms", "yeah, I know", "don't worry, we're fine", and "no, I can't tell you where we are, Judy, I know I should, but Optimus would be really mad if we told you, and we both know it's a bad idea to piss him off".

A few beats later, Mikaela said, "All right, I'll tell him. Don't worry, Bee's with us, we're surrounded by other Autobots too, and we'll be fine. No, I don't know when we'll be back. Give my dad a call and let him know I won't be back for another couple of days. Actually, can you have Ron check in with him? I want to make sure everything's okay with my shop. Thanks, Judy, and don't worry, Sam is going to be just fine. Yup, mmhmm, bye."

She snapped the cell phone shut and handed it back to Sam with a smug grin upon her face and twinkling eyes. "See, not that hard, is it, Samuel?"

Sam's mouth was still open, his eyes radiating with his shock. "How... you know what, never mind, I don't want to know what crazy girl Jedi mind tricks the two of you have."

Mikaela crossed her arms and shot Sam a haughty look. "Shush, you."

Sam smiled at her, before pulling her into his arms. He hugged her to his chest, a soft grin growing upon his face. "Love you, MiKaela."

Mikaela smiled, shaking her head in response. "I love you too, Sam. And you're welcome from saving you from your crazy mother. Again, might I add."

A deep scarlet blush appeared on Sam's cheeks. "Thanks, baby."

A slight chuckle escaped Mikaela, as she glanced up at him. "Any time. By the way, your mom says if you ever keep something like this from her again, she's got your grave and headstone already picked out."

Sam gulped, but quickly smiled, trying to hide his fear of his mother. He squeezed Mikaela tighter, giving her a quick peck on the cheek before resting his chin on her shoulder.

A few amused clicks and whirrs escaped Bumblebee as he watched the two lovebirds. Bumblebee couldn't help but admit that he was proud of Sam, and how far he had come. The young boy had grown tremendously from the insecure and rather dorky teenager Bumblebee had first met four years ago. Well, alright, Sam was still rather "dorky", but his insecurities were not nearly as bad. Bumblebee also recognized the new inner strength Sam had, no doubt the aftermath of what the young man had been through. No one could come back from meeting the Ancient Primes and not be changed.

The sounds from Bumblebee attracted Mikaela's attention, and she gazed at him, a sudden thought flitting through her mind. She was still rather upset with the mech over what he had done in Tranquility and to that woman, but the time alone on the base with just Sam and Bee (she deliberately ignored the rest of the Bots on base, if only to avoid Sideswipe and Sunstreaker and their ridiculous pranks) had somewhat eased her fury.

"Hey Bee?"

The black and yellow mech stared at her, his head cocked to the side, curiosity etched on his faceplate as he let loose a "huh" sort of sound.

"I know it's gonna be hard for you to tell us, but why'd everybody leave in such a hurry? What happened?"

Bumblebee couldn't help the whoosh of air that escaped from his vents, or the saddened clicks and whirrs that flooded his vocal outputs. How could he explain to them what had happened? He couldn't rely on mere soundclips to explain, the situation was too complex for that.

Yet, his vocal "cords" as the humans called it, were severely damaged still, no matter how often Ratchet had worked upon them. It was a mystery as to why he still couldn't talk for long periods of time, and frankly, it annoyed Bumblebee. Talking hurt him, using soundclips at least didn't aggravate his injuries. He only spoke when it was absolutely necessary, like it had been after the disastrous chase of Maeve.

A grimace spread across his faceplate at that. He would blame himself for everything that had happened for a long time; her injuries which his hit had inflicted, the damage done to her reputation, and the destruction of her home by Ironhide were all the direct result of his paranoia and his misguided chase of Barricade.

Now the disastrous event in the Colorado mountains haunted him, which Ratchet had quietly sent him a datapack about only minutes before. No words accompanied the datapack, and Bumblebee's spark had fallen when he had accessed it before Sam called his mother.

The images assaulted his senses, and the woman's screaming as Skywarp took her would haunt his recharge for many nights to come.

Bumblebee knew that Ratchet was giving him a silent reminder of how his actions had helped to bring what had happened upon Maeve and Barricade. He hesitated. He wanted to tell Sam and Mikaela, but then again... perhaps it was best to wait until after Ratchet had returned with the two injured mechs.

Still, at this point, his humans needed to know what had happened with the human woman, Barricade and Prowl. He couldn't leave them in the dark any longer. For Bumblebee felt within his very spark that things were going to become very difficult, very quickly. The more his two charges knew, the better chances they had of survival. He also couldn't help but acknowledge that he wanted to tell them, if only to get the images off his processor, to get the words off his chest.

Bumblebee cycled his vents deeply, before he finally explained why several of the Autobots had sped from the human base, carrying with them a few soldiers, Lennox and Epps; the battle with the Seekers, and... the aftermath.

Mikaela's hands flew to her mouth at the end of his explanation, and Sam's face twisted with worry. While they didn't know Prowl or the woman, they were still concerned about them. Barricade on the other hand... well, Sam was still deeply uneasy about the Decepticon and wasn't about to forget everything he had done to him. Mikaela was much on the same page as Sam when it came to the Decepticon police cruiser.

However, Sam wondered just what would happen to Prowl and the woman if Barricade did pass over to the Well.

Silence fell over the Rec Room hangar as Bumblebee placed a hand around both of his humans in comfort as they all contemplated the situation a few hundred miles away in the cold Colorado mountains.

Bumblebee's spark was sorrowed, as he stared up to the hangar roof. He could see every cobweb, every animal that had decided to make the rusted rafters a home for its nest, and the long-collected dust. He quietly cycled his vents.

Though we may hate each other, Barricade, and I've often wished for your death... I hope you survive. If only so the woman you have become a Guardian to, and your brother, are not harmed by the breaking of the bonds they share with you.

:Skywarp, Thundercracker, report!: Starscream hissed through the comlink. Irritation sped through his lines. Why the frag weren't they answering? And why hadn't they followed when the Seekers had retreated from the ghost town? Where were the impudent glitches?

Starscream was rather irritated, as he and the remainder of the Seekers stood near a run-down puny little ranch in a remote part of western Utah. Starscream paced along the arid landscape, kicking up scarlet dust and flattening any plant or animal life that had the unfortunate luck of being in the way of his stomping metallic feet. His anger flowed through his lines as he tried desperately to find them. Their energy signatures were gone, and they weren't answering.

Starscream wouldn't admit it, but he was afraid for them. He remembered a time when Skywarp and Thundercracker were his fellow Scientists on Cybertron. So long ago, that they had been truly friends. Though he knew now that Skywarp and Thundercracker viewed him as a slightly psychotic leader, Starscream still considered them his brothers in arms.

It took a lot for Starscream to admit that he hoped the damnable Autobots hadn't offlined them. He grumbled to himself, while his other Seekers stared at him.

Slipstream couldn't help the amusement spreading through her optics, or the words that burst forth.

:Well, well, Screamer, isn't this just a wonderful surprise. 'Warp and Thundercracker finally leaving your pathetic excuse of a leadership. You know what would be quite amusing? If they had that stupid human girl with them and decided to go on their own and use her shard to make their own colony of Seekers! And then you'd be nothing. Again. Wouldn't that be wonderful?: Slipstream's mouthplate was pulled into a sarcastic grin as she spoke with a hint of menace and glee at Starscream's predicament of having lost two of his best Seekers.

He wanted to smack her. Instead, Starscream growled, :Femme, do not press your luck with me, or I swear I will rip out your spark and feed it to Laserbeak.:

Slipstream let loose a high-pitched laugh before she sneered at Starscream, : Aw, someone doesn't like hearing they're a pathetic piece of slag.:

A growl escaped Starscream, as he quickly raised his energon gun and sent a shot straight through Slipstream's chest. The rest of the Seekers didn't respond as Starscream's murderous rage was well known.

Instead, the Seekers watched as Starscream stomped away as he once again attempted to com Skywarp and Thundercracker.

A scowl crossed his faceplate. He needed to find Skywarp and Thundercracker. Frag those mechs to the Pit and back! He growled again, as he began to pace around even more. Silence was the only response he received on the comlink.

A string of curses escaped him, and one lonely horse in the next field over barely escaped being blown to bits as Starscream unleashed a barrage of gunfire and missiles in his anger and Slipstream's sparkless body lay in the dirt.

When Fireflight had gotten Optimus' transmission, he had been recharging. The message made him dart up from his berth, his systems immediately charged and ready as they were set to do per his subroutines.

As an Aerialbot, one always had to be prepared for an emergency call. Silverbolt in the next berth over gave him a wary look, crossing his metal arms over his chest as he let a soft sigh escape him.

"Be careful. The Seekers may still be out there, and we both know Ramjet still has a grudge against you for the last time you met in battle." Silverbolt spoke softly, having also heard the message on the emergency frequency.

Fireflight scowled. "I'll be fine. Ramjet, on the other hand, would do well to leave me be. I swear, if we meet again, he won't be flying for a long time."

Silverbolt shrugged nonchalantly, but Fireflight could see the concern emanating from his optics. Silverbolt's voice was low as he spoke again, "Still, my friend, we Aerialbots need you. As does Optimus and the others. Do not be reckless, please. Bring the injured home and avoid the Seekers as best you can. Clearly something has gone very wrong if Optimus has put this out on the emergency frequency. He would not wish for you to fight with Ramjet while you carry the injured."

Fireflight wished to roll his optics, or huff in response, but instead he merely sighed, "I know, Silverbolt. You do not need to lecture me all the time. I'm not a youngling anymore."

Silverbolt's optics lit up with slight amusement. "Fireflight, you still are the youngest of us Aerialbots. Do not take my words as a lecture. I am merely concerned about your welfare. And frankly, I would wish for you not to anger Prime, he already sounds rather frazzled as is."

A smile grew upon Fireflight's mouthplate, and he simply nodded. Silverbolt meant well. It was true, he was the youngest of the Aerialbots, and one of the youngest Autobots on Earth. Silverbolt was like a creator to him, and while he generally viewed his lectures, and they generally tended to be lectures, as irritating and slightly condescending, he knew Silverbolt was merely looking out for him. He couldn't be angry at the older mech. A soft smile flitted quickly over his mouthplate.

Fireflight gave Silverbolt a quick salute before he began to walk towards the open doors of the hangar.

"Stay safe, my young friend." Silverbolt whispered, as Fireflight left the hangar and quickly transformed into his alt mode of a C-17 military cargo plane. He headed for the runway, sending off a quick confirmation to Optimus and Blaster that he was leaving. Within moments, his engines roaring, he sped down the cracked runway and took off with a speed no other C-17 could have achieved.

Bumblebee watched Fireflight's takeoff from the Rec Room hangar, a hand clutched to one of the sliding metal doors. Sam and Mikaela were speaking quietly on the human-sized couch, holding each other's hand. They both looked up when they heard Fireflight lift into the sky and saw Bumblebee's worried stance at the hangar doors.

"Good luck, Fireflight." Sam spoke quietly.

"Fasten your seatbelts... it's going to be a bumpy night." Bette Davis' voice echoed quietly from Bumblebee.

"Let's hope not too bumpy," Mikaela muttered, taking her hand away from Sam's, and started chewing on one of her fingernails again. They all watched as Fireflight flew off into the night, and wondered how different things would be in the morning.

Tiny was more than irritated. He was downright pissed off.

Maeve's SWAT team had ended up in northern Arizona, their Suburban broken down on the side of I-40 close to Meteor Crater. They had been heading towards Colorado, where Hall's friend had notified them of significant police chatter about a Saleen S281E that had escaped after murdering a few Navajo police officers on the reservation, and who supposedly carried a woman with a description matching Maeve's physical attributes. A doctor had also reported that a woman matching Maeve's physical descriptions had then showed up in Silverton, Colorado.

The team knew where they had to go, but the problem was getting there.

Hence, Tiny's wrath.

They were hopelessly stuck, their Suburban hissing steam and refusing to start. It had been a few hair-raising moments when the SUV first began to die as Tiny drove down I-40 at 70 mph where the team thought they would die in a fiery wreck. Luckily, Tiny had been able to pull over just in time.

Now he and the rest of the team, sans Hall and Murphy, were milling around the Suburban in the dark hot Arizona night, wondering how in the hell they were going to get to Maeve now. Tiny resisted hitting the black SUV with his fists, no matter how tempted he was to beat the crap out of the thing.

Hall and Murphy drove up then, in Hall's Tundra. Tiny glared upwards at them, his mouth turned into a scowl. Murphy and Hall couldn't help the looks they gave to each other after seeing Tiny's face. This wasn't going to be easy. The two quickly got out of the Tundra, as semis and minivans roared past them, shaking the very asphalt on which they stood.

"What the fuck happened?" Murphy demanded as he looked around at the scene before him.

"Fucking thing fucking broke down, what the flying fuck do you fucking think happened? Goddammit, this is total fucking bullshit! Fuck!" Tiny snarled, rage showing in his face as he waved his arms and hands around.

"Well, I think that certainly illustrates the diversity of the word," Murphy dryly muttered, an eyebrow raised in amusement.

"LT, not helping." Hall whispered back, as Tiny looked about to go into an apocalyptic rage.

Murphy merely shrugged in response, as he looked over at the Suburban. He sighed.

What else could go wrong? The whole trip to get to Maeve had been riddled with mistakes and epic failures already, starting with before they'd even left Tranquility. Explaining an entire SWAT team going on a sudden 'vacation' to the Chief and his admin staff hadn't been easy, but he'd finally gotten permission.

Then came telling significant others... Hall was lucky to have left his house with a bag of clothes, and Lancaster's girlfriend had flipped all of them off and screaming to Lancaster that they were "over". Everything after that... well, Murphy didn't want to think about the flat tires, getting pulled over by local PD in Vegas, and Bauer having to explain to them why in the hell he had packed Fifi and three dozen cases of ammunition.

The trip had been hell, and this was just the icing on the cake of crap they'd had to deal with. Murphy reminded himself, however, that it was all worth it – finding Maeve in one piece was a bit more important than all the bullshit.

Suddenly the throaty roar of a military plane echoed through the air, and the officers all looked up at the deep sound.

"That's a military cargo plane. Maybe a C-17. Moving a lot quicker than a normal C-17 though." Rodriguez spoke, one of the few Tranquility SWAT officers who had been in the military, and Murphy nodded in agreement.

"What the hell is it doing out here? Sounds like it just took off, and Rodriguez is right, it's moving way too fast for a normal cargo plane. There's no military bases around here either." Hall said quietly, and the others went quiet. Murphy and Hall gave each other a knowing look.

"You don't think..."

Hall scoffed. "It's the government and giant aliens, who knows. Only one way to find out. And I bet Bauer's Fifi that they know where Maeve is."

"Hey! Leave Fifi out of this!" Bauer protested, and Hall just smirked.

Lancaster groaned, "Are we seriously just gonna be knocking on the door of a classified military base?"

Murphy grinned, his eyes showing his amusement. "Most likely."

"Ah shit," Lancaster grumbled, as he and the others quickly moved to get their gear from the back of the Suburban and place it in the bed of the Tundra. Three scrambled into the backseat, while the rest piled into the bed of the truck.

Hall sighed. His poor truck sagged from the weight, and knowing his luck, his suspension was going to get screwed on the way to the military base that shouldn't exist. He hauled himself into the driver's seat, Murphy into the passenger's seat, and Hall quickly sped off. He looked up into the dark sky and could barely see the contrail left behind in the moon's light.

"Keep an eye on that contrail boys, the originating point is where we'll find that base." Hall called out. The team answered with an affirmative as Hall drove off I-40 at the nearest exit and followed the contrail as best he could while Murphy checked the GPS for any roads leading towards the end, and probably the mysterious base.

A frigid wind scoured the broken landscape on the tall mountain Maeve found herself on. Shivering, she moved between two large boulders in the alpine tundra, trying desperately to hide from the sharp wind that bit her skin. She was struggling to breathe again, her head aching and her lungs on fire.

Staring up at the Seekers, who were still gazing at her, she fought to find her voice.

Finally, a whisper escaped her, her teeth chattering, "W-who are you?"

"We are Decepticons, meat-bag." Thundercracker snarled, his optics hard as he glared at Maeve. He was still infuriated with Skywarp. They were dawdling, and even if the woman did have a shard of the All Spark in her chest, it meant nothing to him. Skywarp was still silent on exactly why she was so fragging important. His patience level was steadily dropping, and all he wanted to do was shoot the fleshling.

Maeve couldn't resist rolling her eyes, sudden annoyance flaring. "I know that. You work for Starscream." Her words were drenched with loathing. "I want to know your names."

A wave of surprise rushed through Thundercracker. He was not expecting the femme's reaction, nor the tone in her voice; especially when she had said Starscream's name. Slowly, he began to realize Skywarp's fascination with her, and why Barricade had proclaimed himself as her Guardian. No other meat-bags had ever spoken to him like she had.

It was as if she had no fear of them. Which was technically not true, as he could practically smell the fear wafting from her body in droves. No... she was still fearful of them. He wondered why she stared at him with such hatred.

It dawned on him then. Starscream, loathing in her voice as she said his name. There was a sense of a dark violent past in her vocal tone, and it went far further than what Starscream had explained before their misadventure to offline Barricade and take the human for the shard she held.

Thundercracker wondered what Starscream had done to the fleshling to earn such hostility and hatred. Knowing Starscream, he was sure that the human had been exposed to his ruthless sadism. Thundercracker shook his head slightly to clear his thoughts and scowled. He still wanted to shoot her.

Skywarp leaned down to the human, his dark red optics staring at her with such intensity that Maeve looked away. It made her uncomfortable.

"My designation is Skywarp." The words were quiet, just barely loud enough for Maeve to hear. She snapped her head around and stared at the Seeker in surprise. She hadn't been expecting an actual answer. Truth be told, she had wondered if he'd shoot her for simply asking. Maeve looked over to the other Seeker and wondered if he'd tell her his name.

A small smile crossed Skywarp's mouthplate as he watched the femme gaze at Thundercracker with an expectant look. Thundercracker glared in response, crossing his arms over his chestplate and walked a few steps away, ignoring her.

Maeve sighed. She hadn't expected an answer from that one. He clearly didn't want to be here, on this damn freezing cold mountain, and probably thought Skywarp was crazy. They worked for Starscream, and yet, they hadn't taken her to him. A touch of apprehensiveness filled her mind. She could only assume that Skywarp wanted the shard in her chest. He still hadn't answered her question about what it all meant, and truthfully she wasn't expecting one.

The Seeker looked down at Maeve, and she could see the amusement in his optics. "His designation is Thundercracker. He's slightly angry with me for taking you and ignoring Starscream."

An annoyed grunt escaped Thundercracker, but he said nothing. They both knew it was true.

"And what is your name, little one?" Skywarp asked, his voice soft as he stared down at Maeve.

Maeve's eyebrows were threatening to disappear into her hairline. The Seeker had gone from threatening her life to now acting like a concerned parent. It was strange to say the least. Maeve was certainly beginning to think that Skywarp was indeed crazy. Analyzing her options, Maeve decided to play nice. If this mech was unstable, one wrong word and she feared for her life.

Taking a deep breath, she gazed at the Seeker's red optics. He was staring at her patiently, waiting for her to answer his query.

"Maeve. My name is Maeve." She muttered, and Skywarp smiled. A shiver went down Maeve's spine. She didn't like his smile.

"You asked me earlier what it all meant, wondering about the shard in your chest. The 'cube' as you called it was the All Spark, which had more information about our civilization than you can even imagine. The shard of the All Spark in your chest that is now poisoning you, human, holds the key to our species' survival. Starscream wants you to test, and to save our sparklings upon the Nemesis."

Maeve gave him a disbelieving look. One word had her stare at him with wonder and slight confusion. "Sparklings? You don't mean..."

A deep rush of air sped through Skywarp's vents before he continued speaking, softer this time, "Children. Our children are dying, young femme, and the shard within you holds the key to our re-population and ability to feed and nourish our sparklings."

Shock flooded through Maeve. They had children, sparklings? And she was the key to saving them? What the hell?

A small squeak escaped her as she contemplated just how they were supposed to get the information from her. She gave a deep sigh as she hugged herself harder, her nails biting into the jacket she wore. She looked back up at Skywarp.

"By 'testing', you mean finding ways to extract the shard safely or just kill me and take it, don't you?"

"That is correct."

Maeve paled and stared out into the night. It was all starting to make sense now, why Starscream had gone after her, had murdered her family, why Dead End was sent for her... and why Barricade was her Guardian.

"That is why I have not taken you to him, human."

She startled at Skywarp's words. "What? But... why?" Suspicion began to creep upon her as she stared up at the Seeker.

"He doesn't understand." Skywarp said nonchalantly, waving a clawed hand in dismissal.

Okay, and now I don't either... Maeve thought to herself. She was more than a little confused about Skywarp's intentions and motives.

Skywarp turned to Thundercracker. "Now that I've analyzed her, we may go."

A look of rage crossed Thundercracker's faceplate. "You took her just for that? Now we're not even going to take her back to base with us? What the frag is wrong with you, Skywarp?"

Amusement flooded Skywarp's faceplate. "There's more here that you don't know. We cannot take her back to Starscream just yet..." Skywarp pressed a finger to his mouthplate, a pensive look echoing from his optics.

Maeve watched the two Seekers squabble for a few more minutes, unable to keep the look of disbelief from her face. Okay, so Skywarp had abducted her just to analyze her, Thundercracker wanted her to be taken to Starscream, and Skywarp was refusing, and wanted to leave without her.

I am so freaking confused. Barricade, I need you so much right now. I hope you're all right.

:Maeve... I'm here.: An electric shock flowed through Maeve's body, and she struggled to keep it from the Seekers in front of her. That was Barricade's voice. Yet, he was unconscious, far from where she was. How in the world was he talking to her in her mind?

Great, now I'm hallucinating, she thought grumpily.

A rush of amusement coursed through her heart that was most certainly not her own. :Far from it, femme.:

Okay, this was just weird.

:It is not strange, human. Okay, so it might be to you... and a little to me. But Primus, I need you to acknowledge me. Please. Without you, I am on my way to the Well. You remember our discussion about the Well? Our heaven? Maeve, for the love of Primus, answer me, I need you to survive.:

Forgetting the Seekers in front of her, Maeve gave an audible gasp. Barricade was certainly talking to her, somehow, but she focused on what he had said about the Well and what they had talked about. She knew the Well was their robot "heaven". If he was mentioning that, and how he needed her to talk to him... Maeve connected the dots. She took in a sharp intake of breath, her eyes narrowing.

Skywarp whipped his head towards her, holding a hand up to silence Thundercracker's angered words. The Cybertronian scientist could see the faraway look in Maeve's eyes, could sense the tension in her body language.

He gazed at her with suspicion. Something had changed in the past few minutes while he had been arguing with Thundercracker. Something Skywarp had not anticipated, and something he could already tell he did not like. He shoved all thoughts of leaving away to the back of his processor.

He initiated another scan, which Maeve shuddered at. The sensation was so strange, and she hated the invasive nature of whatever it was Skywarp was doing.

She ignored Skywarp after that, focusing on Barricade, her memories of him. She smiled as she remembered seeing Barricade for the first time at the precinct just a few days ago. How she had been so happy to have her own cruiser, her own Saleen. She focused on the memory, on Barricade, and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes, and allowed her heart to search out for him, along their Guardian link and bond.

Suddenly she could feel him, very faint, but there.

Her heart started beating faster, the scarred tissue upon her chest nearly shocking her with the electrical charge that suddenly surged upon her skin. She ignored the strangeness of it all. She wasn't going to let Barricade go to the Well, no matter how effing weird or uncomfortable she felt about searching him out. She took another deep breath before she fully grasped the link and spoke within her mind.

:Barricade? Can you... hear me?: