This human-place was starkly different from the previous one. It looked as though the humans had decided to just pack their things and move one day, leaving everything behind. Nature had begun to reclaim parts of it, but a majority of the structures were still standing.

"I wonder what happened here." Taylor thought out loud as she approached the outskirts of the neighborhood. "Why did they leave?"

Ratchet hesitantly followed, his eyes scanning the area for anything out of the ordinary. "I'm not sure." He answered as his gaze lingered on a human vehicle that sat untouched in a vacant driveway. "They must've been in a hurry."

Bits of asphalt crunched under Taylor's shoes once she stepped off the grass and onto the pavement. There was a house to her right. She decided that was a good place to start looking for supplies. Part of the roof had caved in and allowed nature to find its way inside. The wooden siding was covered with moss and vines that stretched all the way up to the roof. A concrete sidewalk cut a path to the front door through the overgrown lawn, though the door itself was no longer there.

Ratchet could only stand on the front lawn, unable to follow Taylor inside due to his size. "Taylor, please be careful. We don't know if the structure is completely stable." He urged her as she passed through the threshold of the doorway.

"I'll be quick." Taylor assured him. The partially destroyed roof made her nervous too, although she found it interesting that she could look up and see the sun through the gaping hole with vines draping down over the edges.

The sun's light didn't reach every room of the house and some of the windows had been boarded up, so she was occasionally plunged into darkness as she navigated through the shadier spots.

There was nothing of interest in the living room aside from a few scattered books that had fallen from a bookshelf. She decided to take a few so she could pass time later on. Next, she entered the kitchen and rummaged through the cabinets, setting aside the food items that hadn't expired yet so she would remember to take them. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a backpack propped up against the wall. Praising her luck, she grabbed it and stuffed everything she'd found inside.

The house was rather small, so searching the rest of the rooms didn't take long. She took some clothes that were close to her size from one of the bedrooms and put them in the backpack as well. Once she was satisfied, she exited through the front door.

Ratchet had gone across the street to investigate a patch of marigold that had sprung up in the grass. Taylor followed the winding sidewalk back through the yard, then crossed the road to reach him.

"Find anything?" She asked as she approached him from behind.

"Yes, thank Primus." He answered, lowering his head to sniff at the delicate yellow flowers. Normally he'd only choose the best quality herbs to bring back, but he couldn't be picky this time. He needed all the herbs he could get. "We're lucky to have found this much before the first snow. I'm surprised the frost didn't kill it."

Taylor walked around to his side and knelt down in the patch of marigold. "Here, I'll help you gather some. How much do you need?"

"Cliffjumper's wounds won't require as much as mine will. A few handfuls will do." Ratchet told her. He watched her pick some flowers for a short while, then lifted his head to scan the area.

He almost did a double take.

There was a pair of eyes staring at him from the shadows cast by a partially destroyed house. He could scarcely make out their figure. They were small and lean—like they weren't quite fully grown yet. Ratchet lowered his leg to the ground in an attempt to show strength, though his injury said otherwise.

"Don't move." Ratchet murmured to Taylor, keeping his eyes on the other dragon.

Taylor instinctively froze upon hearing the medic's hushed words, her hand hovering inches above a marigold sprout. She followed Ratchet's gaze, soon laying eyes upon the stranger. Who were they?

"Why didn't Huntress tell us there could be other dragons out here?" She whispered, risking a glance at him.

"I don't know." Ratchet replied with a soft huff. His tail twitched anxiously behind him.

"Do you think she led us into a trap?" She asked.

"While I wouldn't be surprised if she did, that dragon looks far too young to be on their own." He said, narrowing his eyes. "Something isn't right here."

As if on cue, the young dragon stepped out of the shadows and approached Ratchet. Their body language seemed hesitant—cautious, even. That kind of behavior solidified Ratchet's belief that they shouldn't be on their own. They should know better than to approach an older dragon whom they weren't related to.

"That's our marigold patch, y'know." The young dragon said as she came closer. Her green and brown scales had a metallic sheen to them, like the shell of a beetle.

"Our marigold patch?" Ratchet questioned, still a bit hesitant to shoo her away. Naturally, he wanted to protect the young dragonet, but he didn't know who she was or where she came from. Plus, he had Taylor to protect. That duty trumped everything. "You shouldn't be out here by yourself. Where are your parents?"

"They've been dead for a while." She answered nonchalantly. She finally stopped around ten feet from Ratchet and looked up at him. "I've never seen you before. Are you new here?"

Taylor inched forward to try and take a peek, but Ratchet promptly blocked her with his leg before the dragonet could spot her.

"We're just—" Ratchet realized his mistake and cursed under his breath as he rushed to correct himself. "I'm just passing through, but I need some herbs to treat my wound."

The dragonet's gaze fell to Ratchet's leg and her eyes widened a little. "That looks really bad..." She murmured. "What happened?"

Ratchet clenched his jaw, his mind racing to come up with a lie that would satisfy her. He couldn't tell her that he'd been wounded by humans. That would only open up another pocket of conversation that he'd rather not get into at the moment, especially with someone so young.

So, he crafted a lie.

"I was.. attacked by a rogue." The words fumbled awkwardly out of his mouth as he tried to keep his train of thought going. "Yes. A rogue. He uh... snuck up on me while I was drinking from a stream."

He pretended not to hear Taylor's quiet giggles of amusement, instead keeping his focus on the dragonet.

"A rogue? Wow!" The dragonet exclaimed. "You must be pretty tough to face off against a rogue and live."

Ratchet briefly averted his gaze. "I suppose you could say that." He said, unsure of how he should continue. "That's why I need this herb, though. It will help heal my wound so it doesn't get infected."

"Well.. I guess I could let you have some. There's plenty around here." She said, kicking at the dirt with her paw. Then, her eyes lit up and she grinned. "Hey, what's your name? My name is Juno. I'm called that because I look like a June bug!"

Ratchet had no idea what a June bug was, but decided to play along anyway. What harm could it do? "My name is Ratchet. It's nice to meet you, Juno, but you should probably head home. It isn't safe out here."

"Then why are you out here?" Juno asked him as she narrowed her eyes. Upon receiving a slight look from him, she remembered. "Oh, right! The marigold!"

"Juno! Juno, where are you?"

Ratchet stiffened as he heard another voice echo throughout the deserted neighborhood. This one was deeper, more masculine. That dragon sounded much older than Juno and probably wouldn't be happy that he was interacting with her.

"Taylor, get on my back." He muttered quietly through his teeth, his eyes scanning the area. "My apologies, but I must be going—"

Before he could turn to leave, however, a blur of white and red shot out from behind one of the buildings and tackled him to the ground. Luckily, Taylor hadn't gotten the chance to climb onto Ratchet's back yet, otherwise she would've been squished like a pancake.

Ratchet gasped sharply as the air was forced from his lungs upon hitting the ground. He immediately began struggling, ignoring the searing pain that shot up his wounded leg. The dragon on top of him was heavier, though, and kept him firmly pinned down.

"Just what do you think you're doing here, Autobot scum?" His attacker snarled, baring two rows of razor sharp teeth in his face. "Looking for a little snack?"

"W-What?" Ratchet sputtered, turning his head to glare at the other dragon. "I would never! You're out of your mind!"

"Like I'm supposed to believe that." The dragon spat as he pressed down harder with his paws.

"Let him go!"

Ratchet's attacker whirled his head around to see Taylor standing there with a frown. At the same time, the medic's heart dropped.

"Taylor, no!" Ratchet growled, desperately trying to break free. That dragon could easily kill her if he wanted to.

"Yeah, Antioch! Let him go!" Juno exclaimed as well, trotting up beside Taylor and glaring at him. "He didn't do anything wrong!"

Antioch directed a hiss of frustration at Juno. "I thought I told you not to come out here alone. You know better!"

"I'm not a hatchling anymore." Juno retorted, rolling her eyes. "For someone who 'doesn't care about scrappy younglings', you sure do worry a lot."

"For good reason." Antioch turned his head back to Ratchet and snarled. "This dragon is a liar and a thief. On top of that, he's working with a human!"

Ratchet was growing tired of the bickering and snarling. He didn't have the time nor the energy to deal with it. "We have a valid reason to be here, actually. If you let me go, I can explain it to you." He huffed softly, narrowing his eyes.

Antioch glared at Ratchet for a few moments as he considered the medic's offer, then stepped off of him with a reluctant snort. "Fine, but you'd better not try anything." He seethed.