"I swear, they didn't do anything to me!" (Y/N) grumbled as Ratchet tried to scan her again, "I was locked in a cage well away from anyone. Optimus found me as Orion and stuffed me in his subspace. I got knocked around too much and hit my head."

         "You do show signs of a concussion." Ratchet sighed. "I'll need to run some specific scans just in case."

         "Ratch', if she's fine, she's fine." Bulkhead shrugged. "You saw her shirt, if she can withstand dark energon staining her sleeves then even if the 'Cons did do something to her, she could handle it!"

         "Those dark energon stains are exactly where the burns on her hands are placed!"

     The medic was still reluctant to let her go so easily, but (Y/N) said Optimus would be far more important at that moment. She suggested a tracking device in the Decepticon symbols on his shoulder plates. After all, like Ratchet had suggested her optics may have tracking systems installed, the Decepticons would more than likely try to keep track of what they considered theirs. Even if Ratchet did continue with his many scans, he'd find nothing different. Knockout had repaired her optics, yes, but there had been nothing major, and the Autobots didn't know they had been damaged. Unfortunately, they did know she had escaped into the spark chamber of Unicron.

         "What was it like in there? Did it have a crazy movement when it pulsed, or-or did the light grow and dull instead?" 

     Miko was the most curious of her adventure, since she was the only one (besides Optimus) to have seen Unicron's spark. The woman had already explained most of her story, up to being taken hostage by Megatron after she tried to protect Optimus when he was still unconscious. The 'protecting Optimus' part was the only fabricated story point in the beginning her tale and had earned a small scolding from the Prime but also a 'thank you'. She had been very brave despite her disadvantages, and very helpful despite refusing to follow orders.

         "Neither really." (Y/N) admitted, remembering her usual long pauses of thought they knew her to struggle with. "It was more of a- a conscious blob of light that would extend or pulse with its attention or emotion. He was definitely angry, so I guess that caused a forcefield of sorts to appear and try to push us away, and wherever his attention was pointed his spark would extend, I guess, to that focal point."

         "A rather astute observer." Ratchet hummed from his computer terminal.

         "So, what exactly are sparks made of? It sounds like plasma." Raphael questioned, his attention turning from the plants that had been tossed about during the earthquakes to the medic.

         "I doubt even you can comprehend the very mysterious aspects of a spark." Ratchet huffed, continuing to type.

         "So, you don't know either?" Miko turned from her back to her stomach on the ugly yellow couch. (Y/N) guessed the Autobots found it in a dump after the children first arrived.

     Ratchet merely sighed, closing his optics as he thought for the right words to say. It wasn't as easy to explain a spark like a human doctor could explain a heart. The spark itself was separate entity from the body. They were not born with it, as a human's soul is. The medic realized their human language did not have the proper equivalent to his own, sighing.

         "I'm afraid your language doesn't have any form of dialect that can explain a Cybertronian's spark. A rather primitive explanation is that it's very close to a human soul, only tangible."

         "Why not just lead with that?" Jack shrugged, leaning on the railing closest to Ratchet.

         "Can your soul be ripped out of your body and therefore leave you lifeless and bleeding? Is it carefully protected by layers upon layers of armor only for you to realize too late that it wasn't enough?"

     There was a long, heavy pause.

         "I think that's a bit rough, Ratchet," (Y/N) put an arm around Raph's shoulders as his eyes widened at the idea. It was a terrifying thought. 

     (Y/N) knew he was only frustrated; Ratchet having seen far too much war in his long life. He was a medic after all, and who knows how many sparks he was forced to watch fade away into nothing. He had seen much more than the children had, and it haunted him. Not only that but being interrupted from his work had clearly made him snappy.

         "Here," (Y/N) decided to attempt at showing the children what she saw, "take this balloon," She grabbed a purple, deflated balloon Miko had brought to celebrate Optimus' return (unused because it reminded them of Decepticons). She then grabbed a flashlight and covered the four of them in a blanket. (Y/N) blew the balloon before wrapping the end over the light and making the purple elastic glow. "Let's say this is Unicron's spark. Now imagine strands of it constantly moving like streamers. Then, there's Unicron's consciousness, or his attention, I guess." She slipped a magnet under the balloon's lip and soon was sliding it around with another, bigger magnet, making the improvised spark "look" to Raph, then the other two as she mocked the deity's horrible voice. 

     Ratchet sighed in the background. (Y/N) was definitely not explaining what a spark was made out of, but it was a good enough substitute to satiate Miko and the boy's hunger for knowledge. She was certainly a gift from Primus, being able to so easily defuse a situation. This time one he created. Ratchet regretted his words, knowing he could have -no- should have been far more child friendly with his description of the difference between a spark and a human soul. He would find a way to better explain it later, for their sakes and so Raphael was a little less traumatized by his answer.

     They all giggled from beneath the blanket, making Ratchet's derma give a ghost of a smile. Yes, (Y/N) was truly a gift from Primus and had gone through so much in such a short time. They were only fortunate the Decepticons had not done any more damage. The mech guessed Megatron had deemed her of little importance and only took her with Orion to question his medical officer. 

         "How goes our search for more energon?" Optimus appeared from the hall, earning the medic's attention.

         "Slow going, as usual." He answered.

         "Something bothers you, old friend." The Prime observed, earning an unamused huff from Ratchet.

         "I- may have snapped when I shouldn't have. The children asked me about sparks and I-" he paused, knowing Optimus understood. 

         "It is a delicate subject, and difficult to explain in human terms." He nodded, setting a servo on the shorter mech's shoulder plating, "If you still wish to explain it, I'm sure they'll be more than willing to wait for your answer. For now, I believe (Y/N) knows enough from what she saw to be able to satisfy their curious minds."

     The two looked toward the four as they finished their fun with the flashlight and sat to watch the small screen set up months ago for their entertainment.