A headache greeted Taylor as she slowly came to her senses. Almost immediately, her eyes flew open and she sat upright with a soft gasp. She was laying on a cot in a small room. The room was bare and had no windows. Artificial light from a bulb in the ceiling cast a sickly yellow glow on the walls.

"Good. You're awake." A voice came from the door.

Taylor stiffened, her fearful gaze locking with Silas's stoic one as she turned towards the steel-bolted door. She could only see his face through the small opening in the door, but that was all she wanted to see. As long as he was behind that door, she was safe.

"Where am I? What do you want with me?" She asked him, struggling to keep her voice from trembling.

"You're in my domain. And to be honest, I only sought you out for that dragon friend of yours." Silas replied calmly. "He will make a wonderful specimen for study. The first one we captured was too young to get everything we wanted, but he is older. He's had more time to grow and mature. I'll finally have the missing pieces in the puzzle of dragon evolution."

Taylor pushed herself up from the cot. She needed to reach Ratchet, but how? "You shouldn't be messing with them."

"And who's to say I can't?" Silas turned and stepped out of sight. Taylor thought he'd left before he suddenly spoke again. "A war is coming. It's either us or them. You can't have both."

Once she heard his footsteps fading down the hall, Taylor released a breath she didn't know she'd been holding in.

"He's crazy..." She muttered under her breath, glancing back up at the door. "I have to find Ratchet before it's too late."

She crept over to the door and stood on her tiptoes to peer through the opening. The door was bolted shut by a padlock. For a group with highly advanced tech, you'd think they would invest in better security. Perhaps this wasn't their main facility, which only made Taylor's worries grow.

How were they operating right under the nose of the United States government?

After searching the room high and low, Taylor found a piece of wire on the floor. She bent the end of it into a hook and examined it.

"Let's hope this works." She murmured, heading back over to the door.

Five minutes passed with no success. It certainly didn't help that she had to cease all efforts whenever a patrol passed by. Now nearing the ten minute mark, Taylor was about ready to give up. The muscles in her arm burned as she jiggled the wire around in the padlock. Short huffs of exertion escaped her as she stretched her arm further, determined to make this work.

Finally, after what felt like ages had passed, she heard the padlock click and clatter to the floor. She let go of the wire and pushed open the door with a low creak. Breathing softly, she cautiously traveled down the hall to her right. Her plan was to find something that could give her a hint as to where they were keeping Ratchet, like a sign or a directory. In the back of her mind, she prayed that he was alright.

Navigating the endless twists and turns of the facility while simultaneously avoiding patrols of soldiers was no easy task, but Taylor was rewarded in the end. She had spotted a sign while traveling down a narrow corridor that said:

CONTAINMENT CENTER: AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.

Judging by the awful smell, she figured that's where they were keeping their specimens. Every sense was on high alert as she crept down the corridor. Soon, the corridor opened into a room that could've been considered large if it wasn't cramped by dozens of massive cages. Well, massive by her standards.

A few lights flicked on as she entered the room, though they didn't provide much light. The smell had gotten worse and the air felt muggy. Every instinct was screaming at Taylor to get out of there, but she wouldn't leave without Ratchet.

Unsure of where to start looking, Taylor approached the first cage on her left. There was a panel attached to the outer bars of the cage which displayed information about the cage's contents. She had barely taken a step towards it before a low growl stopped her dead in her tracks.

Looming out of the darkness was a dragon with cherry red scales. He looked smaller than Ratchet, but still just as fearsome despite his mangled appearance. Taylor could see his ribs through his skin as well as raw patches that should be covered by scales.

And his most distinguishing feature? The two horns on his head that were curved like a bull's.

"C-Cliffjumper...?" Taylor shrunk back in fear as he approached the bars of the cage. She could feel his hot breath washing over her like a wave.

The red dragon growled softly as he looked her over, determining that she wasn't a threat. "You ain't one of them soldiers... you're just a pipsqueak." He huffed, though his curiosity got the best of him. "How did you get in here? And who told you my name?"

Taylor swallowed her fear. "I was taken by M.E.C.H. They have Ratchet too." She answered him.

Cliffjumper seemed to stiffen and his head turned this way and that in search of the medic. "They got doc too? Slag. Where is he?"

"I don't know, I still haven't found him." Taylor replied, glancing over her shoulder before looking back at Cliffjumper. "Listen. I'm gonna get both of you out of here. Just gotta figure out how to open the cages..." She reached out to touch the panel, but was interrupted.

"Your mother and I may have disagreed on a lot of things, Taylor..." Silas mused as he leisurely strolled into the room. "...but we both knew for a fact that you were undeniably smart."

Horror gripped Taylor as she stood rooted in fear. Cliffjumper growled at Silas, but instinctively backed away.

"No! No... you're lying!" Taylor shouted, whirling around to face him. "My mother would never marry a freak like you!"

"She was a wonderful woman, but her fatal flaw was that she was soft." Silas said, furrowing his brow. "Just like you. You allow yourself to feel empathy for creatures who only know how to kill. They're animals. They don't have feelings."

"You wouldn't know, you've never talked to one!" Taylor retorted. "They have emotions and feelings just like us! They're my friends!"

"Please. You are unbearably naive."

"They are! And Ratchet has been there for me when no one else has! He cares about me!"

Silas laughed, beginning to advance towards Taylor. "You truly think he cares? To him, you're just a liability. A drawback. A handicap. He doesn't care about you, he fears you. They all do."

Taylor took a couple steps back, trying to keep her distance from him. Her back pushed up against the bars of the cage. She had nowhere to go. "No! You're wrong! You're wrong and I know it!"

Silas loomed over her, his eyes gleaming with malicious intent. "Prove it to me, then. Show me how much they care about a weak little girl who doesn't know what she's—"

"Stop it!" She screamed, punching him on the nose. As he stumbled backwards, she slammed her hand on the panel.

It beeped once, then a loud hissing noise echoed throughout the room. The bars of the cage slowly lifted upward until they disappeared into the ceiling.

Silas wiped the blood from his nose as he looked up just in time to see Cliffjumper emerging. The red dragon stepped out of the cage and roared, his talons screeching across the metal floor. Silas had no time to flee as Cliffjumper smacked him with his tail and sent him hurtling across the room.

Once she got over her initial shock, Taylor glanced up at Cliffjumper. "We have to find Ratchet before more soldiers show up!"

"That's easy! I can follow his scent, come on!" Cliffjumper beckoned her with his head as he started trotting down the row of cages.

Taylor had to sprint in order to keep up with him, but at least they didn't have to go far. She skidded told a stop beside him as he paused at one of the cages and gasped for air.

"Doc, you in there?" Cliffjumper hesitantly called out to the medic, tilting his head.

Ratchet's head appeared out of the darkness, a look of shock gripping his expression. "Cliffjumper?!" He exclaimed as he limped towards the front of the cage. "You're alive! And in horrible condition!"

"I know, I know. I can explain everything after we get the hell outta here." Cliffjumper replied.

Ratchet seemed relieved to know his fellow Autobot was alive, but a pang of worry still plagued him. "Where is Taylor? Is she alright?"

"Who's Taylor?"

"That would be me!" Taylor spoke up. She gave a little wave towards Cliffjumper before pressing the panel on Ratchet's cage. Upon seeing the confusion on Cliffjumper's face, she shrugged. "It's a long story."

Ratchet stepped out of the cage once it had opened and pressed his snout against Taylor's side. "Thank Primus you're alright." He murmured, pulling his head back to look her over for injuries. "You aren't hurt, are you?"

"No, I'm okay. That paw of yours doesn't look too good." She gestured to the paw that Ratchet refused to put weight on. The deep teeth marks in his flesh from the trap were quite visible and still seemed to be oozing blood.

Ratchet shook his head. "I'll be fine." He said dismissively. "How do we get out of here?"

"There's a big door over that way." Cliffjumper jutted his head towards the far wall. "That's how they've been moving these cages in and out. Taylor should be able to open it since she's a human."

Taylor led the way with the two dragons in tow, one limping and the other anxiously scanning their surroundings for enemies. Once she reached the door that Cliffjumper had mentioned, she went over to the panel. However, this one seemed to be different from the rest. It wouldn't accept her handprint, constantly spitting back the same response: access denied.

"I can't open it!" Taylor exclaimed, trying again but to no avail. "If I keep trying, it may lock us out. We need someone else's handprint."

"We've got some volunteers coming right now!" Cliffjumper growled as he faced an approaching group of soldiers.

Ratchet whirled around, teeth bared as he stood protectively in front of Cliffjumper and Taylor. He wouldn't let them be taken from him. Not again.