"The little things matter."

:[Ah! Optimus?]:

Jack looked confused as he looked at Raf, Miko and Pan, "Uh, n-no, Ratchet. It's Jack."

"Is something wrong?" Jack continued, "'Cause school's been out for almost an hour, and no one's showed to pick us up?"

Ratchet's voice was hesitant, :[That is because the entire team is rather indisposed at the moment. I suggest you obtain an alternate method of transport.]:

"What's he saying?" Miko asked, placing her hands on her hips. 

Jack looked up at the girl standing, "The bots are busy…" he trailed off uncertainly.

Miko scowled, "Then tell Ratchet to come get us! It's not like he has anything else to do!"

:[Just go home!]: Ratchet snapped making all their eyes widen, although Pan's was a little more understanding than the others, :[I will be in touch later!]: 

"He-hello?" Jack asked into his phone, a frown crossing his face as he dropped this arm that held his phone to his side, "He hung up."

"What crawled up his tailpipe and died?" Miko scoffed.

The three teens turned to look at Pan who shrugged. She had been distant all day.

Raf figured it was time to change the subject, "Did Ratchet tell you what's going on?"

Jack shook his head, "No. They seem to be keeping us in the dark a lot lately."

Uncertain silence rained heavily over the quartet.

"I guess we better head home then," Raf sighed, breaking the silence, looking at Pan. His worried look didn't go unnoticed by Jack and Miko.

"You good, Pan?" Miko grinned at the older girl.

Pan nodded, 'I'll head home soon,' she signed, promising the other three.

They looked at each other before accepting it, each heading home in different directions while Pan took a moment to herself.

Panacea sighed, her eyes landing on the concrete in front of her. She hadn't gotten much sleep the night before.

Her mind wouldn't stop thinking about the situation they were in.

Not only were the Autobots going to be able to restore Cybertron, but if the Decepticons were able to get their servos on the all of the keys before them, then they were scraped.

And most importantly, where were the keys? 

Pan didn't even bother asking the Primes in her head. They wouldn't allow such information to escape their derma, even going as far to threaten Amalgamous if he even let slip of anything.

The mech was grumbling about it in a metaphorical corner, his presence faint in her mind.

Pan blinked as someone sat next her. 

Pan immediately snapped to attention to the girl next to her, confusion over her face as she looked at the cool brown haired girl.

‘Who are you?’ Pan signed, hesitant to use her voice with a stranger. 

The girl’s eyes moved to Pan’s hands before looking back up at Pan’s eyes, offering a small smile that lit up her blue eyes, “Lethe Rosier.”

Pan nodded, ‘I’m Pan.’

“I know,” Lethe said, shrugging, "Everyone does."

Pan blinked, her shock more than visible on her face.

Lethe's lips quirked upwards in amusement, "Your mother is one scary woman."

Pan let out a laugh, before sheepishly pushing a strand of her loose hair back behind her ear, "She is," she said softly.

Lethe didn't seem fazed by Pan's voice, "Oh, right," she said, slapping hand on her forehead, "I knew there was a reason I needed to talk to you."

Pan's eyes widened when Lethe brought out a key. Not just any ordinary key, but an Iacon key.

Even if it had shrunk down to fit their human size.

"How…?" Pan asked her green eyes locked on the key.

Lethe smiled, "Just ask Alpha Trion," she said, ignoring how Pan's eyes shot back up to her face in surprise, "He knows."

Alpha Trion was doing his best to hide before Pan's mental glare landed on him. He failed, by the way.

"Take it," Lethe insisted, "I've had it for too long already. Give it to the Autobots."

Pan hesitated, before picking up the key from Lethe's outstretched hand, "Thank you," she said, looking at the key in wonder.

Lethe smiled apologetically, "You won't be saying that again."

Pan's green eyes shot back up to Lethe's blue. The blue flashed with red for a second, "Tell Megs that Hana's pissed."

Then Lethe's fist made contact with Pan's face, right in between her eyes and on her nose, instantly knocking the girl out.

Soundwave's holoform caught the limp body, throwing her over his shoulder as Lethe stood up.

"I may not be Quickstorm," Lethe muttered, "But I still have her memories - and hatred - of when the Autobots killed her."

🌟

Pan woke up slowly. Her eyes blinking as her disoriented brain tried to figure out what was happening.

Her eyes widened when she noticed the Decepticon Vehicon who stared right back at her.

"Pan!"

Pan's eyes shifted to the side where she could feel Raf, her eyes widening when she could only just make him out in a container of sorts.

"Are you okay?" Raf asked, his eyes shining with tears, his eyes already stained red leaving Pan to realise that he had already been conscious for a while.

Pan was confused for a split second, before a furry of pain made her bring her hand up to her bruised nose. She winced, "I'll get better," she reassured him when his worry only grew, "What happened?"

Raf looked around nervously, "I don't know how they managed to get Miko and Jack, but they grabbed me just before I got home," His eyes widened in terror, "You don't think-"

Pan frowned, "I have little doubt that they don't."

Raf's fear flooded over to Pan as his eyes widened.

"Who did that to you?" Raf asked, his worry growing even more.

Pan winced as her nose throbbed at the reminder, "No one," she said, remembering the whisper of the words that made it to her ears before she blanked out completely.

She wasn't going to defend what the other Autobots did to Quickstorm, but she was going to defend the Autobots she did know. It wasn't Optimus, Arcee, Bulkhead, Bumblebee, or Smokescreen's fault that the other Autobots did what they did.

"Pan…"

Pan's green eyes met Raf's light brown.

She didn't even have a chance to try and get that disapproving look off his face as the Deceptions holding them moved forward.

"-and hand over those keys."

Both Pan and Raf winced as the voice of the warlord entered their ears. 

The faint, but still there, link between the three was horrible. 

"And why would we do that….?" Smokescreen's question died on his derma, his optics widening when he saw the four humans.

Arcee's fearful optics flew to her charge as did Bumblebee and Bulkhead.

Pan couldn't help the sad smile that crossed her lips, although it could've looked like grimace of pain as her hand flew to her nose as the jar that held her jerked.

"So that I may hand over the humans," Megatron's smirk could be heard in his voice.

"And if we refuse?" Optimus asked, his optics filled with dread as he looked between the four humans.

"Then I will have no choice but to open the pods, exposing your pets to Cybertron's toxic atmosphere," Megatron's deadly shark like grin, "And then we can all watch them instantly perish, together."

Dread loomed in the atmosphere around them.

Here's Chapter Nineteen.

Well, that escalated quickly.

And guys.... There's only one more episode of TFP, season two...... I'm so dead for the next book....

I betcha you didn't see Lethe/Quickstorm's fury coming.

Hope you enjoyed!
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