I sat on Ratchet's shoulder as the medic gave Smokescreen a full look over. The young Autobot was super excited and proud of his feat, telling them every little detail about his adventure. Everyone was so relieved that he was alright that no one interrupted to stop him. Even Arcee had a small smile on her derma as she listened with her arms crossed. 

Ratchet sighed as he finished, letting him jump up to add to his story. I giggled at his exasperation and patted his shoulder plate. His optics slid over to where I sat, softening and making my heart flutter slightly. He smiled gently but said nothing to me, turning his helm again to watch as Smokescreen finished. My mind began to wander as they began to discuss the Omega keys.

I know what my feelings are now, I thought. But that's about as much as I know. I don't know the future. I don't know what could happen to any of them, especially in this serious situation. What happens if they do win? What then? Will Ratchet leave me?

Then came the dreaded question that I had been avoiding for a long time. 

What if Ratchet doesn't feel the same way? What if he never does?

My heart suddenly felt like it burst in my chest. My lungs squeezed so tight I felt I could hardly breath. I stiffened, but tried not to let anyone notice me. That was right. I had no idea how Ratchet felt about me in return. He probably didn't even know how I felt about him. And he was a robotic organism from another planet. He was an alien, and I was the same to him. We were so different... I was so much smaller and weaker than he was, and so, SO much younger. He was centuries older than me. I was still merely a child. There were so many factors that played against us being together, and he might not even love me the way I did him. 

Was this ever going to work?

A beep from the monitors started me out of my thoughts, though the same feeling bubbled in my chest, I feeling I wasn't able to completely identify, much to my frustration. Ratchet also perked up, walking over and typing away quickly. His optics narrowed when he looked up, his expression turning sour.

"A high frequency signal with an embedded message," he told everyone, who were all waiting for an explanation. 

"Starscream," Bulkhead growled, remembering their previous message.

I shuddered, remembering when I had seen the Con previously. The seeker still frightened me, and I hoped I would never see him again. Though, now that my... father was gone, he couldn't make any more deals with him and take me away. I felt the tension in the room grow in a matter of seconds, and my previous sinking feeling started to fade away as the new one grew.

"I have obtained something of interest to you which seems to be of no practical use to me," Ratchet read grimly. 

"It's got to be the Omega Key!" Bulkhead interrupted, his voice raising. 

"He's the one who blindsided me!" Smokescreen agreed with anger.

Arcee stepped forward. "What else could Scream be referring to?" she said.

"Ep, ep!" Ratchet growled, annoyed. "There's more. Bring medical. I only ask for the surgical replacement of my T-Cog in return." He flinched in near disgust as he finished. I could hardly blame him. He probably despised the Screamer as much as I did. 

"Ha!" Bulkhead scoffed. "Like we're gonna give Scream back his wings."

Ratchet turned sharply, catching me by surprise and nearly sending me flying. I placed my hand on his shoulder plate to steady myself, but he didn't seem to notice. "Without the missing key, Cybertron will remain devoid of life," he shot back.

"Broken record, I know," Arcee said, placing her servos on her hips. "But it could be a trick."

"It is possible that Starscream does not know the significance of what he holds," Optimus interjected, raising a servo as he explained.

"And we do know that he has been incapable of flight for some time," my guardian added with a low tone.

After a few more minutes of discussion, I found myself in Ratchet's servo as he set me down in by the rail. I slid down, turning quickly with an anxious look and gripping the railing tightly. I didn't want him to go. It could be a trick, just like Arcee had said.

"Stay here and don't move until I return," he instructed firmly, pointing a digit at me to get his point farther across.

I quickly placed both hands on it before he could pull away. "Please be careful," I asked in a hushed voice. "The last time we encountered Starscream.."

His faceplate turned gentle and his other servo reached out. "There is no need to worry. He cannot harm you now," he told me calmly as his digits stroked my hair. 

I knew that he wasn't talking about Starscream anymore. I bit my lip and forced back tears as Silas's... my father's horrible face flashed in my memories, his sinister smile keen and cruel. I couldn't deny that when I thought of Starscream, he was there in the back of my mind. Every time, it just seemed to somehow bring it back to him. Any mention of the seeker was related to my awful dad in my head. It was subconscious, and I hated it. I hugged my guardian's digit tightly and used up all of my breath to hold back sobs. I wasn't going to cry at this time. He would be okay. I was worrying to much.

He understands me so well...

When I let go and let my eyes wander back up to his faceplate, I smiled gently and gratefully. "Okay." I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a few moments. "When you return... I have something I want to tell you."

I can do this. I can tell him. It will be okay. 

He smiled a little as my hands fell to my sides. "Alright. Wait here for me, then. It shouldn't take too long."

I forced my expression to turn cheerful, even though on the inside I was nearly exploding. "Okay!" I said with a happy bounce to my voice, waving my hand happily. 

His smile grew a little as he stood straight and then followed Optimus and Bulkhead through the open GroundBridge. Arcee, Smokescreen, and Bumblebee stood guard, watching the swirling mass of color intently.

It's alright. Everything will be okay.

Little did I know, that would be the last time I touched him that day, and for a long while. One moment, I was waiting anxiously at the rail, my heart beating rapidly. Then something seemed to flash before my eyes. My head suddenly began pounding, but when I tried to move, I was frozen solid. Dots and blurs fell on my vision as I felt my whole body heave. It felt like I was being pulled through a WALL. 

And then suddenly I was in the wide green forest, being held in the air, staring directly at Optimus, Ratchet, and Bulkhead. Optimus had a blaster pointed directly at me, a dangerous look in his optics. My eyes widened in shock as my heart started to nearly fly out of my chest. My body felt heavy, oh so heavy, and limp. I felt like I was going to throw up. Then everything in my body seemed to stop as I heard a familiar nervous chuckled above me.

"The red Energon wore off, didn't it?" Starscream chuckled anxiously, and I realized I was in his clawed servo, whilst all the Omega keys were in his other arm. My heart burst in my chest as my head shot back around. 

"Ratchet!!" I screamed, tears of fear falling from my eyes as I struggled in the Con's grip.

The medic's eyes went wide at my cry, the irises shaking as his faceplate was stricken with terror. "Taylor!" he cried, his blades appearing almost instantly as Optimus' blaster lowered.

"He has the Omega keys, too!" Bulkhead shouted, taking a step forward. 

Starscream panicked, fumbling to shoot a missile at them. The projectile collided with the ground, the blast sending the others flying, and causing me to scream in terror. The seeker instantly began to run, doing his best to hold some sort of device in his other servo without dropping the keys. My heart hammered in my chest as a GroundBridge opened in front of me and my captor. Shots missed the running Con by inches, before I heard my guardian shout worriedly for them to cease. He didn't want me to get injured. 

Terror gripped me so tightly as he retreated into the escape portal that my vision blacked out and I was left in oblivion.

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FINALLY!!!

IT'S BEEN FOR FREAKING EVER!!!

Okay, bye now.

Just kidding. :P

This story is back, everyone!!! Thank you all so much for the support!! I can't believe how far this has come! The first book, Guardians, has already reached 3.8K!!!

Thank you all for being patient. It took a little while to figure out how I was going to continue this. I had several different ideas, but all of them were meh. Now this one I hope has you riveted. I hoped it would be more interesting than all the other ones.

Again, thank you all so much!!! I love you guys!

*waves happily*