A/N: Sssooooo
Many Apologise Elscones.... I said I would reveal if a certain person would be in this story in the next chapter.....
That was four-ish chapters ago....
So...... Yyyeeaaaahh.... Here is your answer now!!
~~~~~~~~~

As Ratchet turns into another hangar, Rachel follows and the large mech seems to sense her presence. "Rachel, do not pander me with questions. I won't answer when I don't even know the answers." This makes the girl huff and continue her pursuit. She begins her ascent up the stairs to the area where Ratchet was typing away. His large yellow frame seemed irritated, but Rachel didn't budge. She made her way to the edge of the platform that ended in front of Ratchet and glares up at the bot.

"Tell me."

The mech doesn't stop, and he tries to ignore her. However, the girl huffs and climbs over the railing. She then jumps down onto the large cybertronian keyboard, messing up whatever the mech was typing. He glares down at her only to meet Rachel's glare. "Tell me what you saw that shocked you. Now."

Ratchet growls, then huffs. "If you would kindly remove yourself from my keyboard..." Instead of giving her a chance to move, he carefully lifts her up and places her on his shoulder. She gasps slightly at the sudden movement, but she settles on his shoulder and gazes at the screen before her.

He begins to type again, however Rachel recognizes a few of the letters. Her eyes widen and she turns to look at Ratchet's face. He was concentrated and giving nothing away on his faceplates. However, she knew those symbols spelt her name in their language....

But why did he have a log for her?

He only kept the data logs of the transformers on here.

"Uh.... Ratchet?" The doc doesn't move or give any indication he heard Rachel, but instead pulls up what looks like an x-ray of the young woman. She gazes at it before releasing a gasp.

Everything looked normal.... Except her heart. Instead of a normal, blood pumping vessel, a large light was emitting from there. Rachel stands on Ratchet's shoulder and steps forward. "Is.... Is that...?"

"A spark?.... Yes, yes it is."

Rachel's eyes widen even more and she quickly looks down, holding a hand against her chest. It felt like a heartbeat, not a cybertronian spark beat. However, she already knew that didn't matter. They were nearly the same anyways.

"H-How..." This is where Ratchet finally gives a defeated huff and turns his optics towards the ground. "I do not know. However, it seems that your spark is forming tendrils that are stretching down your spine." He raises his servo to point out the phenomenon that was slowly inching down her spine.

Rachel rubs her back and something clicks in her mind. "H-How-" "I already told you! I don't-" Rachel stops him. "N-No, that's not what I was going to ask. I meant how long? Can you tell me how long I have had.... This....?" Ratchet, having turned to look at her, eyes her for a moment then returns to his computer. He types a few things and a few numbers appear on screen. Quickly they dissipate to only four.

"With the calculations I have done based on the current growth of these tendrils..... Five years. However, they seem to grow much faster when your body is injured."

Rachel had tuned him out after he said the amount of time. It was ringing in her head and she couldn't believe it. Her eyes were wide and she was staring at the numbers before her.

Five years ago....

Five years ago.......

"Say cheese!" Rachel says, holding up her phone. She smiles as her dad leans in and joins the picture. She quickly snaps the picture and lowers her arm. Her face brightens as she swiftly makes it her lock screen background on her phone.

She then locks her phone to show her dad, and he smirks. "Always good to have a handsome man on speed dial, and now he's on your main screen!" Rachel laughs and shoves him as he flexes. "Whatever, dad!" He only smiles and ruffles her hair.

However, a loud explosion rocks the ground and screams echo in front of them. The two gaze in that direction in confusion and slight fear. Another explosion, this one closer, makes the two of the duck instinctively. As a large flash of fire emits from a building, her dad quickly covers her. The building slowly crumbles, and her father doesn't hesitate to spring into action.

rachel...

"Rachel! We need to move, now!" He pushes her towards the building, but as they begin to move, a shadow covers them. He gazes up just in time to see the large mechanical being fly over them and crash straight into the building. He grabs his daughter's shoulders and throw her back behind him.

RACHEL

Rachel crashes against the ground, slightly yelling in pain. She turns to see where her father is, and spots his bulky frame just as a massive slab of building slams down on his position.

"DAD!"

"RACHEL!" Ratchet yells, holding the girl in his servo. She had completely frozen and her heart-sparkrate spiked. He had scanned her and realized that whatever she was just told triggered a memory and had sent her into shock. Optimus was walking in and heard him shout. "Ratchet? What seems to be-" "Rachel went into shock and she's not responding!"

The leader quickly rushes over, radioing Lennox through his com. As he near Ratchet, the medic motions for him to open his servos. Obliging, Ratchet carefully sets the girl in his metal hands and turns to grab some small human equipment to get better scans.

However, a spark on his screen stops him. He gazes at it, then turns to Optimus. His optics fall to the girl, who's eyes finally move with a blink. She blinks again and gasps. Sitting up fast, she holds her chest, and tears stream down her face. Her sparkrate spikes again, and she grips her chest painfully. "She needs to calm down! Her spark can't handle the strain!"

Optimus hears the change in tone before realizing what Ratchet had said. However, before he can question it, Will blasts through a doorway that leads onto the walkway. Spotting Rachel, he quickly rushes through the maze before launching himself onto Optimus' other outstretched servo. The mech quickly moves him over to his other one and he doesn't hesitate to grab Rachel's shoulders. "Rachel! Listen to me, Rachel! Focus on my voice!" The girl doesn't move and it takes Lennox grabbing her face and turning it to him to make her breath slightly steady.

Slightly.

Lennox continues to try to get through to her. "Listen to me. Focus on my voice. I am here, we are here. You are fine. You are safe." He repeats this and Ratchet carefully watches as her sparkrate slows down until he releases a breath. It had finally dropped to reasonable levels, still spiking a little, but she was hiccuping now. William looks at the medic, and as Ratchet nods, he turns to Rachel.

"Hey... Rachel?" The girl gazes up to him, her eyes unreadable. "What happened?" His voice was worried and he could feel Optimus move them up higher so he could see if she was okay as well. She huff's for a minute, and Will asks again. "Rachel, what happened?" She hiccups then turns to look straight at him.

"I-I-I.... I don't h-have a h-heart....."

Optimus is the first to react, his optics widening as he gazes towards the medic. Ratchet gestures to the screen, and Optimus only has to look over it once to see what she meant.

"She has a spark...." Lennox turns his gaze up to look as well, but turns back towards the shaking girl. "That's.... That's not what I meant. What did you see?" Rachel's eyes widen, and she lowers her head, but she speaks. "When m-my dad...... When h-he was cr-crushed... I-I h-had rushed t-towards h-him.... Another p-piece of b-building h-had f-fallen...."

She holds her chest again and continues. "I was c-caught under it.... B-but I s-survived d-due to an operation....." She turns her eyes to Optimus, then Ratchet before she finishes.

"A-An operation on m-my h-heart..."

Ratchet's optics widen and William's blood runs cold. However, before he can speak, an explosion rocks the entire building. A voice screams over the intercom. "Decepticons! We are under att-ACK!" Another explosion rocks the building and Optimus shields the humans in his servo as pieces of the ceiling fall.

The two mechs quickly rush out of the hangar and to the main area just in time to see Ironhide get blasted back. He rolls before finding his footing a d firing back at the two large Decepticons that stood outside. Starscream smirks as Optimus rushes in with Ratchet not far behind. "Prime! I bring greetings from Lord Megatron!"

Without another second, he raises his arm and fires three missiles towards the group. Ironhide yells and fires towards them. He nails two before turning his weapons towards Starscream and releasing a barrage of blasts. However, they don't hit the Con but they slam into the ceiling in front of him. A bright red bot rushes forward to avoid the falling debris, but Ironhide quickly barrels into him, sending the two flying out as the blasts meet their mark. That part of the building crashes down, blocking the Cons from getting in...

Along with Ironhide. Rachel shouts, "Ironhide!" and it takes all of William's strength to keep her from rushing off of Optimus' servo.

Ratchet had dispatched the other missile with ease as Optimus rushes over to the platform. He sets down Lennox and Rachel, who had fully recovered from her panic attack, and heads straight to Smokescreen and begins to prep him for movement. Rachel's eyes fall on the rubble, which was shaking, but then it stopped. However much she wanted to rescue Ironhide, she knew he could handle himself and they needed to leave. Now. "Ironhide can't hold them off forever. We need to evacuate. Now!"

No sooner does she finishes what she's saying, Wheeljack, Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Arcee rush into the hangar. Ratchet gazes over them with worry, supporting Smoke with one arm. "Where are the others?!" He yells, and Arcee speaks first. "They are holding off another attack on the south side while the humans evac." She turns towards Optimus, and Bumblebee beeps in with a clip. "*What now, boss?*"

As if on cue, a face appears on screen, one that usually warrants a loud voice. "Prime! If you are going to evacuate, I'd do it now." The Prime turns towards Agent Fowler's face, which seemed scrunched up in concentration. "Agent Fowler, to where would we-" "Already settled, big guy. Coordinates have been sent to your computers. Plug them into your ground bridge and leave now!" The man seems to yank what looks like a jet joystick over with a grunt and a muffled explosion rings out.

This makes a certain blue bot protest. "I am not leaving without the others! Optimus, we can't leave them here!" Before the Prime can speak, Agent Fowler chips in again. "The other Autobots have sealed any entrance into your area. There is no way in.... Or out. So get moving! Fowler out."

The face vanishes, and Prime turns towards the large switch. Arcee protests, but the Prime speaks up as the wall of rubble shudders. "We do not have a choice. If we do not evacuate, their efforts will be in vain. However," he turns to Arcee. "We will never stop searching for them at our new location." With a solemn face, Optimus turns to Ratchet, who nods and walks over to the switch while carefully helping Smokescreen walk alongside him. The rookie hisses slightly, but seems to walk fine.

Rachel suddenly realizes something as the portal roars to life. "Wait, where's Raf? Sam!" As she turns, Lennox grabs her arm and starts to pull her down the stairs. "We don't have time! We have to go now!" Rachel resists, struggling to pull away. "I am NOT leaving him! Raf!" She tugs, and this forces Will to grab her arm and restrain her against his chest. "They have trackers in their suits! We will find th-"

Rachel swings her head back, cracking her skull against William's nose. He releases her instantly and she dashes back towards the hall they had come from. However, a large servo scoops her up and she roars in rage. "No! Let me down now! Raf!" Wheeljack's voice echoes from above, but she yells again. "Let me down! NOW!" She raises her fist and, at the last word, slams it against the palm of the servo.

A loud blast forms at contact, sending Wheeljack's servo flying away from the girl and making the mech crash down on his back. Rachel lands on the ground on one knee, gasping for air. The whole hangar seems to go silent, and no one moves until Rachel stands and stares at her hands. Wheeljack sits up, holding his hand painfully and gazing at the girl in shock. She turns to him, fear in her eyes. "I'm..... I'm so...."

Before she can finish, the wall of rubble protecting them explodes as an arm appears through it. As it retracts, Optimus shouts. "Autobots! Roll out now!" Rachel turns towards the wall, but as she steps, her leg crumples and she nearly slams into the pavement. Luckily, Wheeljack, stretching out his good servo, scoops her up and races through. She huff's slightly and whines out a name, but it's barely audible. As Wheeljack nears the portal, he says, "Sorry, little lady..." Before transforming around her and speeding into the vortex. Ratchet follows close behind, having already sent Smokescreen through and laid him on a berth, then Bulkhead and Arcee, with Bee not far behind. Lastly, as he enters the bridge, Optimus turns towards the hangar once more and aims his blaster at the console, his other hand holding Major Lennox. He had picked up the man after his hit from Rachel to make she he didn't get left behind. He fires the blaster at the console multiple times before launching two shots at the large boxes containing energon in the corner. An enraged shouts comes from his right, but he doesn't wait to see who it is. Instead, he transforms and drives through just as the portal begins to dissipate.

Arriving on the other side, in what seems to be an old abandoned miss silo, Optimus screeches to a halt with the others still in vehicle form. Lennox gasps for air before stumbling out and leaning against a wall. The bots all stay like that for a moment until Arcee transforms first. She huff's and faces where they had come from in confusion. "How in the Pit did they find us?!" She shouts, gesturing towards the wall. Bumblebee transforms next, saying, "How am I 'sposed ta know?!" With a movie clip. Smokescreen, laying on a berth by the wall, groans at the noise but doesn't move. His optics are shut, and it seems he is in recharge.

Bulkhead follows and adds his own input. "They probably just got lucky. No one can break Ratchet's code." Arcee quickly remind him, "Except Rachel. They probably found out how she did it and used it against us!" Lennox pipes in at that. "That's not possible. Rachel said she stopped that. Bee, play the call from her first week here." Bumblebee nods and searches through his data banks for the call. Ratchet, still in vehicle form says nothing as they bicker. However, he does slightly turn his wheels towards Wheeljack, and Optimus notices this.

The Wrecker had not transformed yet.

And he wasn't one to let Arcee blame people for no reason.

Worry seeps into the Prime's spark, but it's cut off by Bee replaying a clip from a call Rachel held using his com once. "Put up..... Firewalls..... Better protect..... Places I broke through, so the.... Cons can't follow." Bulkhead gestures to Bee. "See? Couldn't have! It had to be something else!" Arcee steps forward, standing on the top of her ped. "What could it have been? Huh, Bulk? What was it then!?"

That's when Wheeljack transforms and says "Guys...." His servos together and his optics dark. The sudden movement makes everyone silent, and Optimus finally transforms as well. He walks over, the others clearing a path for him. Gazing down at Wheeljack's open servos, his optics widen and Ratchet is by his side in a moment. However, what Wheeljack says makes everyone's sparks stop.

"She's not breathing..."

~~~~~~~~~
A/N: Over 2700 words
........
Well there's part of the answer!
*grumbles* I get carried away too much
ANYWAYS I hope you guys enjoyed this super long chapter. I really wanted to get to this part.....
Cuz who doesn't enjoy killing a main character?
Next chapter will be up tomorrow!

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