Mae wasn't sure how much time had passed, but the silence was deafening. Ratchet refused to say a word to her as he tended to her injuries. Much to her surprise, he demanded she step aside before quickly becoming a contortionist and magically transforming into an ambulance.

Well who would've known?

He demanded she take her shirt off, which she didn't even have the energy to fight against. A series of gashes and cuts were scattered across her sides, which he wrapped with gauze and bandages. She felt tense as his hands brushed over her back, but if Ratchet noticed her jagged scars he didn't bother to mention them.

She had so many questions- how did he change from robot to human? What is he? Why are others trying to hurt him? They sat on the tip of her tongue, but she forced herself not to say anything. He was struggling to treat his own injuries and most likely didn't want to listen to her.

When he finally spoke, there was a hint of regret in his voice. "I shouldn't have involved another human in our affairs. I apologize, Mae."

Shocked, she squinted her eyebrows together. "You're actually apologizing, Ratchet?"

"Do not antagonize me. It will never happen again," he grumbled.

Mae felt herself smile before covering it with a worried frown. All of her unanswered questions were beginning to drift to the surface, and she felt anxious as her legs bounced up and down.

"What's going to happen?"

"From the looks of it, Megatron will use you as a hostage against Optimus. I will most likely stay here for interrogation purposes."

"Interrogation?"

"Torture."

His eyes met hers. There was no fear in them, but she felt terrified. How could he admit that he was going to be tortured and not be nervous? How was that even possible? Mae rubbed at her temples, feeling a headache start to come on. She squeezed her eyes shut.

"Do you require medication?" Ratchet asked.

"You keeping some Advil in your chest or something?"

Ratchet let out a bemused laugh. "I am a medic."

"You're not human."

Mae let the words slip before she could stop them. He didn't act offended, but rolled his eyes at her statement.

"I am glad you've noticed by now."

"Don't mock me," she snapped, "this is all new to me. I don't know what the heck's happening!"

Ratchet rubbed his hand against his face, wincing at the pain from his previous injuries. "I am well aware of your obliviousness. It is preferred that we keep our existence a secret, but it seems more and more humans learn as the days pass."

"Some people know about you?"

"The government, of course. But a few human children such as yourself have also become involved. It was never intended for us to be on earth in the first place. The Decepticons discovered an endless supply of energon, thus deciding to make base here. As Autobots, we are dedicated to fight against them in every way possible. We had no choice but to come as well."

He continued to talk, describing the war that had begun thousands of years before Mae had even been born. Ratchet was very, very old, as she so desperately wanted to point out, but she was so involved in the story she didn't want to interrupt. The Decepticons started a way back on their home planet Cybertron and basically tried to rule anyone and anything that got in their way. The Autobots, ruled by their leader Optimus Prime- who was opposite of Megatron in every way possible- had been fighting for centuries.

It seemed very tiring and unfulfilling. As Ratchet explained the countless wars and deaths, it seemed to Mae that the Autobots were diminishing to absolutely nothing, and the Decepticons were winning.

Where would that leave earth? The thought scared her. She would've been oblivious and unprepared, just like billions of other people, if the Decepticons did finally win and took over earth to rule as their own.

"Do you think you can win?" she asked quietly.

Ratchet hesitated before answering, "We have no other choice but to win." He looked at her, watching her closely, "Are you frightened?"

"Would you believe me if I said no?"

"It would be just as believable as being struck by a pole," he said, humor in his tone. Mae laughed out loud.

"Who knew you could be funny?"

"I am no such thing," Ratchet crossed his arms and looked away. Mae didn't believe it for one second- she craned her neck up, practically breaking it to look up at him.

"It wouldn't hurt to lighten up every once in a while," she hinted at him.

"I do not affiliate myself with pointless banter," he argued again.

She shrugged, "Whatever you say, doc."

"You are just as bad as Wheeljack," Ratchet mumbled.

Wheeljack? Right, she had forgotten; It was hard to imagine more of them. She'd seen countless Decepticons but Ratchet was the only Autobot she had yet to meet. How many were there? Mae felt afraid to ask- as if a small number would snuff her hope out entirely. Maybe that's a question for another day.

She thought back to June. The poor woman was probably panicking by now. Was she aware of who, no, what Ratchet was? She acted so down to earth. It was hard to imagine her holding hands with giant alien robots and singing kumbaya.

And what about Jack? He had called his motorcycle Arcee- it was strange at first, but now everything made sense. If he knew, how many others in Jasper did too? Was she the only one left out?

Mae felt her breathing quicken. Her hands trembled as she used one to rub at the pain growing in her chest. A million thoughts rushed through her head. She was thinking about everything but still unable to process anything. No answers were clear in her head. She hated not knowing. She hated being alone.

Her hands were scratching at her chest now. The panic was rising like an uncontrollable wave, ready to drown her. She took in deep breaths and tuned out everything around her, using one spot on the floor as an anchor point for her watering eyes. Then, without warning, Ratchet's voice suddenly echoed all around her.

She couldn't tell what he was saying but felt two human hands press against her shoulders. Mae looked up to find him in his human form, his mouth moving but no sound coming out.

"What?" She tried to speak but she felt no air in her lungs as she gasped for breath.

"You need to breathe," he repeated, using a hand to press against the one on her chest.

"Geez I would have never thought to do that," she wheezed sarcastically.

"Focus on something; it can just be one thing."

"Your eyes."

Ratchet nodded without hesitation, "What about them? Describe them to me."

"They're bright," Mae said, fighting the tightness in her ches as she paused between breaths, "and they look beautiful. It reminds me of electricity. It's the brightest shade of blue I think I've ever seen."

He said nothing after this, but watched as she stared at his eyes. Her breathing slowed, and although her chest still felt tight it was like she was being yanked off of whatever cliff she was teetering off of. After a few minutes, she looked away in embarrassment.

"What was that?"

Ratchet stepped back, releasing his hand from hers. She hadn't realized that he had pulled both of hers away from her chest and held onto them. There were no doubt scratches across her skin where her hands had once been, but she wouldn't think about it.

"It's called grounding. Mrs. Darby explained the technique to me. Optimus insisted that I learn everything I could about humans, not only physically, but mentally as well. He insisted the stress of our existence on your kind would be too much, so I had her teach me. I was informed to have you point out more than one object, but it would have proven difficult in this cell."

Mae felt her face blush at the fact that she had chosen to describe his eyes. He didn't comment on it, but she felt mortified. Vulnerability was something she did not cope well with. Stuffing her feelings deep, deep inside of her was the best possible option when she was around others.

"Well, thank you," she finally said, feeling the heat crawl up her neck.

Ratchet nodded silently, eyeing her with curiosity before fizzling out of existence completely and returning to his robotic body. "I would suggest you get some sleep," he said after a few moments, "Megatron is unpredictable. There is no telling when he will return for you."

Mae nodded, saying nothing as she turned away from him and letting her mind trail to how close he had been to her. Her hand, chilled from the coldness of the room, touched her burning neck.

What was that?