"Just gonna stand there and watch me burn,
But that's alright because I like the way it hurts"

»«

"Hey, Dana." Jack approached her between passing periods, offering her phone to her. "You accidentally left this with me . . . After you left base."

"Oh, thanks." She smiled, though it was clearly forced. "I probably should have offered you a ride, I'm sorry."

The boy shook his head. "No, no, it's okay. I'm sure you wanted to let off some steam by yourself."

She nodded, tucking the device in the pocket of her scrubs. "Again, thanks."

"No problem." He paused for a moment before he headed off to his next class, Dana getting ready to drive to the hospital for another round of shifts. As an afterthought she checked her phone, looking at the battery - at 100%, so she assumed Jack had charged it for her - before her eyes landed on the notifications.

5 New Voicemails from Ratchet

She frowned. Every message was probably him apologizing, or asking if she needed anything, or chastising her some more, but none of them were inviting her back to base. After their fight, he probably wanted to see her immediately, but not with her in the base. She didn't feel like talking to him anyways, especially after he yelled at her. While her guardian was admittedly right in chastising her and gr , this was their first real fight. And it hurt.

Closing her phone again, and ignoring the voicemails, she climbed in the car and headed to the hospital, trying to keep her mind on more important things, like saving lives and catching up on homework. Finals were eventually going to come around, and they were something she did not want to miss.

And then it's one more summer, and then after that it's college. She couldn't help but smile a little. I can't wait.

»«

Megatron stalked around the bridge, his optics burning with both anger, fear, and a bit of confusion. Optimus Prime had the Star Saber, a weapon that not even Megatron dared to challenge, especially in the hands of his mortal enemy. He would have to take great lengths to ensure that he too was put on even ground.

And Dana . . .

Nothing made him more frustrated than trying to intimidate the flesh bag without hurting her, but to no avail. She wasn't afraid of him, even when he threatened to hurt her friend, whatever his designation was. As much as he wanted to throw her infuriatingly smug face against the wall, he didn't want to outright kill her. Not yet.

Logically, he knew he shouldn't obsess over something as trivial as a human. But that was what bothered him. She was trivial. A bug compared to him; a bug that did not seem to grasp his might.

Somehow, he would make her see him for what he truly was. And when he finally had her afraid . . . Well, he didn't know what would happen next. But he assumed their game would be over, and he would be allowed to hear the satisfying crunch of her flesh and bones as he crushed her between his digits.

Oh yes, that would be most satisfying indeed.

»«

Over the course of the next few weeks, Dana stayed away from base, and even had minimal contact with the other three humans. She ignored Ratchet's calls, which had eventually tapered off from a couple times a day to once every other day. He left a voicemail occasionally, but she never bothered to listen. Right now, she was pouting, and she figured that even hearing the sound of his voice would put her in a bad mood.

As far as her parents knew, she just got in a friend fight. Which, though partially true, wasn't entirely the whole story. She considered Ratchet something closer than just a friend; a best friend, or something even ascending that level, but not in significant other territory.

Regardless, their fight had left her in a terribly low place, emotionally at least. She just wanted to work, and go to school, keeping her mind off of the Autobot and Decepticon war. Occasionally she would flinch when an ambulance passed by, but her guardian never actually tried to visit her.

Still, it was fine by her. In her mind, she assumed he was just fine without her; the frequent calls were just his guilt eating away at him. Ratchet had never been too terribly fond of humans, and after this fight, Dana realised she probably wasn't an exception.

And that hurt.

Her mind almost didn't register Jack, Miko, and Rafael sitting outside the school until she almost passed them, driving from work and heading home, stopping the car and backing up a little so she could swing around front. It was incredibly odd that they were sitting outside this late; school had been out for almost two hours.

"What are you guys still doing here?" She asked as she pulled up and parked the car, stepping out in order to talk to them better, and perhaps help them throw their stuff in the car.

"Nobody has come to pick us up." Jack shrugged, standing as Miko jumped from her perch on the stairs.

"And Ratchet was being a Mr. Grumpy pants, as always." The younger girl rolled her eyes. "So we don't know where anyone is."

"Well, I can drive you guys home." Dana offered, smile thinning a bit when she hears her guardian's name. "Just give me directions."

"Suh-weet!" Miko grabbed her backpack. "I call shotgun!"

"Uh, guys?" Rafael pointed into the sky, Dana turning in confusion before they all realized what was coming their way.

"Get in the car, now!" Jack shouted, shoving Rafael in and Miko sliding into the passenger seat, Dana throwing herself in and starting the car, not even waiting for Jack to close the door.

"Vehicons?!" Miko looked out the window. "How did they find us?!"

Dana didn't know the answer to that question, instead focusing on the road and doing her best to drive as fast but as safely as possible toward the base, not caring if the Decepticons figured it out, just wanting to get somewhere safe. As soon as they left the city limits she pressed on the gas, slowly climbing up to eighty miles an hour.

Her vehicle was soon surrounded, however, the Vehicons closing in, not sure how to attack without hurting them, but needing to find a way-

"Dana!" Jack shrieked.

She slammed on the brakes as a Vehicon transformed in front of her, the back of her car swinging as she struggled to keep it from spinning out, the car slamming into the Vehicon's foot. The airbags deployed immediately, the side ones preventing Jack or Rafael from bashing their heads on the door, the hood of her car so dented it obscured their view.

"Is every one okay?" She asked, feeling her face ache from the airbag; but everything else seemed intact.

"I'm good." Miko was shaking beside her, but the girl looked alright. There was no blood.

"Rafael and I are okay back here." Jack stated, having checked on the boy. "Thank goodness for airbags."

"Yeah." Dana tried restarting her car, but the engine didn't even turn over, indicating that there was no way it would-

Miko screamed as the top of the car was ripped off and cast aside, all of them scrambling to buckle their seatbelts as another Decepticon towered over them.

"S-Soundwave!" Rafael shrieked, the four kids attempting to scramble out of the car before the Vehicons could snatch them.

Soundwave wasted no time watching them run. Deploying his tentacles, the Decepticon knocked Miko and Jack off their feet, one Vehicon managing to grab Rafael immediately, Dana in the process of avoiding a grab just before Soundwave used the end of his tentacle to jab her backside, making her lose balance and fall directly into a waiting servo.

"Hey! Let us go!" Miko squirmed and struggled, beating against the fingers of their captors while Jack did the same.

But the Decepticons did not listen to them, a Groundbridge opening up and waiting for the Vehicons to file inside. It didn't take much for all four kids to realise where they were going, which made then struggle even more.

We're being taken prisoner on the Nemesis!

»«

Megatron stalked towards the Autobots, a confident grin on his face; he had the one thing that would prevent them all from just annihilating him right then and there, and give him exactly what he wanted.

"Autobots, I suggest you put a halt to your task," he watched as all of them prepared to fight and defend the Omega Lock. "And hand over those keys."

"And why would we do that?" Smokescreen demanded.

The warlord gave him a dangerous grin, a Spacebridge opening behind him. Three Decepticons stepped through, but they had four containers between them. To the Autobot's horror, the containers held their human counterparts.

"So that I may hand over the humans." Megatron sneered, gesturing to Soundwave, Starscream, and Knock Out's catch.

Soundwave stepped forward and silently handed Megatron the one he knew his master would want. Able to grab it with just one servo, Megatron held up his human so that they were face-to-face.

Arcee felt her spark drop, knowing Ratchet would throw the mother of all fits if he saw the bright red scrubs in Megatron's hand.

Dana looked back at the warlord with her hands pressed against the glass for balance, the two of them retaining eye contact for longer than necessary before Megatron looked away, his attention drawn to Optimus as he asks a question.

"And if we refuse?" Optimus was not willing to take any chances, especially when it came to their human companions.

"Then I will have no choice but to open the pods, exposing them to Cybertron's toxic atmosphere." Megatron replied, running his digits down the side of Dana's pod. "And we can all watch them instantly perish, together."

Dana looked at him, her hands balled into fists, expression twisted into an angry one. She was already in a bad mood thanks to Ratchet, but now . . .

She was not impressed by Megatron. No, she saw him as an absolute coward, hiding behind beings smaller than himself, playing dirty to get what he wanted. Something seemed to now click in her brain. She was no longer fascinated by him; in fact, she was repulsed.

Megatron noticed this, his gaze narrowing slightly as he let the Autobots talk it out amongst themselves. He brought her up to his face again, looking unhappy.

"How are you not afraid?" He demanded. "You must be a fool to not understand the severity of your situation! I have the upper hand here, I have you at my mercy!"

"I'm not afraid of you." She snapped back, her own fire and temper showing itself. "You're nothing but a coward, taking advantage of those lesser than yourself to gain the upper hand!"

"I am not a coward!" He snarled, loud enough for his subordinates and even the Autobots to take notice. "I fight with the skills I honed in the pits of Kaon! Cowards died by my servos! This, where you are here and now, is the result of careful planning, meant for manipulation so that I may have the advantage."

Optimus saw the situation escalating quickly, wanting to take a step forward but stopped when Starscream wrapped his claws around Jack's lid, threatening to open it should the Autobots try and take advantage of the distraction.

Dana remained steadfast, and unafraid. In that moment, she wanted to make Megatron know she wasn't afraid of him through cutting words and hateful phrases.

"The pits of Kaon must have forgotten to teach you about honor in the ring." She snarled. "Or were you such a savage that such things were above your level of understanding?"

Megatron squeezed her prison a little tighter, seconds away from crushing it. "You know nothing about the gladitorial ring of Kaon, or of my past!"

"I know you were nothing but a lowly miner." Came the biting reply. "That's where you built your strength until you chose to kill people for funsies instead. Must have been a nice change of pace."

"Watch your tone." Megatron felt his entire arm tense, his frame starting to warm from both embarrassment and anger. He didn't know how she knew these things, but he wanted her to shut up.

"Or what? You'll hurt me?" She taunted. "You're too cowardly to even do that. Especially since you need me. What are you going to do, open my pod? Go right ahead, D-16. If you kill me, that's one less key the Autobots-"

At the mention of his former designation, Megatron snapped.

"No!" Optimus reached out in a pitiful attempt to stop what was happening, the other humans feeling a sense of shock crash through their bodies as Megatron thrust Dana's pod back, smashing the human girl against the side, before he threw it, her pod crashing into the rusted ground. It rolled for several turns before eventually slowing to a stop, the human unmoving inside, and in a miraculously twisted chance of fate, the glass of the pod remained intact.

The Omega Lock was completely silent for a brief amount of time, Megatron straightening and struggling to regain his composure, glaring at the other Autobots.

"Does anyone else have something to say?!" He roared, servo clenched into fists. "If not, Autobots, surrender your relics and hand over the keys. Or I will select another human to be next!"

Arcee couldn't tear her gaze away from the body, praying with all her spark that Dana would move, show signs of life, something. Her thoughts immediately went to Ratchet, and after she surrendered the Apex Armor, she looked toward her leader.

"Optimus, please let me take her back to base." She begged. "If she's alive . . . She needs medical attention."

Optimus listened to his fellow Autobot, optics gazing toward the listening Megatron in a silent question. The warlord only thought about it for a moment before he waved his servo.

"Go right ahead." He spoke. "She is of no use to either of us now, is she?"

Arcee handed her key to Bumblebee, making him promise to take care of Jack, her human charge nodding and telling her to go to his injured friend. The Cybertronian femme ran out to Dana just as her other Autobot friends were surrounded, leaving her to gingerly take hold of the pod, careful not to jostle it.

Inside, Dana looked barely alive. Her breaths were there, but shallow, one entire side of her face bruised and already turning a deep black color. Her arms didn't look entirely right, and Arcee could only imagine the damage to her endoskeleton. Time was also of the essence; if there was internal bleeding, Dana could die before she even got to a hospital.

"Ratchet, I need a Spacebridge." She said, the medic able to pick up on her tone.

"What is it? What happened?" He asked as he typed in her coordinates, and activated the Groundbridge.

"I . . . I'll tell you when I get there." Arcee partially dodged the question, taking a large ex-vent as she looked down at the human girl before stepping into the bridge.

Please, Allspark please. Spare this girl.