Oops. Sorry! I meant to add this chapter in a month ago. My bad..

Special thanks to Moonpiper, leleana, and ShiTiger! You guys inspired me to write another chapter.

Don't own Transformers and blah blah blah..

Enjoy! =)

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Optimus quickly responded to Bumblebee's frantic databurst. What is your location?

The lookout.

Help is on its way.

Optimus hastily sent databursts to Ratchet and Silverbolt, ordering them to retrieve the neutral and bring him back to base for immediate repairs.

Approximately six minutes later, Optimus only got a glimpse of the neutral as Ratchet and Silverbolt rushed by, the latter carrying the Energon-covered mech. The disfigured faceplate was alarmingly familiar.

Skyfire.

The Autobot leader's optics widened. Seeing Skyfire in this condition was… painful to him. His armor was ripped and gashed savagely; the plating around his spark casing torn away to reveal the poor mech's dimming spark, barely glowing or pulsating. Fundamental wiring and tubing was slashed mercilessly; fuel, coolant, and lubricant oozing out of the lines that Ratchet had missed. The white paint was barely visible from all the char marks and bullet holes. Skyfire was missing an arm and half his right leg. His once glowing blue optics were now eerily black as coal.

Optimus followed the three down the corridor to the med bay, distraught. The doors slid open and Ratchet ran to the examination table, sweeping everything off of it to make space for Skyfire. Silverbolt laid the mech down with extreme caution and care. He too was distressed by the scientist's condition.

Ratchet immediately got to work, clipping and tying off the rest of the Energon lines. "Prime; 'Bolt; Out."

The two followed the simple order without hesitation and vacated the med bay, leaving the medic to his patient. "I hope he can make it through a beating like that," whispered the Aerialbot. Optimus nodded in agreement, and they went their separate ways down the hall; Silverbolt to the right and Optimus to the left.

The commander only took two strides before running into Bumblebee and Sam. Both mech and human were displaying major anxiety. Sam was the first to speak up. "Is he okay? Is he gonna live?" asked Sam in a panicky tone. Optimus sighed. "I don't know, Sam. Ratchet is working on him right now. Come with me to my office."

The scout and boy followed Optimus down the hall to his room, and entered, taking seats in the over-sized chairs. Optimus sat behind his desk and moved a couple of stray datapads out of the way. "How did you find Skyfire, the neutral?" he queried.

Sam explained while Bumblebee just defined the names.

"Bumblebee and I drove out to the lookout to just, you know, relax and talk. And then Starscream and these two other jet dudes-"

"Skywarp and Thundercracker."

"-came and dropped Skyfire in front of us. The blue one-"

"Thundercracker."

"-said, 'No one defies Lord Starscream without the proper punishment.' And then they flew away."

Optimus looked at Bumblebee. "Is that all correct?"

The scout nodded. "Yes sir."

He dismissed the two and sat back in his chair. So Skyfire did in fact defect from the Decepticons.

Skyfire slowly regained consciousness, his processors starting to come online.

Central, Cerebral, and Core Processors: Online (90% Functional)

Audio, Vocal, and Optical Processors: Online (75% Functional)

Memory Core: Online (95% Functional)

Weapons Systems: Offline (0% Functional)

Transformation Cog: Offline (0% Functional)

Opening his optics, he slowly tried to sit up. A firm hand pushed him back down. A greenish-yellow mech was glaring at him. It was the famed Autobot medic, Ratchet. "Don't try to sit up. I didn't put all that work into you just so you could glitch it all up again," he ordered sternly. "Where… Where am I?" asked Skyfire.

"The Autobot base's med bay; you're going to be staying in here for a while until you're completely stable and all your system are back online and fully functioning," stated the medic. Skyfire sighed and laid down on his back. The fact that everything looked and sounded hazy was really starting to frag him off.

The medic was currently sorting out pieces on another table. "What damage happened to me?" queried Skyfire. Ratchet grunted before turning to face him again. "It's more like what damage didn't happen to you. Armor around your spark casing was ripped off, your left arm and half your right leg is missing, and almost all your Energon and coolant tubes were slashed," he explained."You're lucky we got you here when we did, or you'd be dead right now."

Skyfire momentarily gaped at the medic. The Seekers were almost thorough. Almost.

"Thank you."

Ratchet stopped sorting the plating to look back at the neutral. Barely anyone gave him thanks, let alone a Decepticon defect. He hesitated before muttering, "You're welcome."

Skyfire, now fully functioning, was walking to Optimus Prime's office, accompanied by Ironhide. The bulky black mech had his cannons activated and ready to fire. All the Autobots were still taking precautions against him, and he couldn't blame them. He was a Decepticon defect after all.

The door hissed open as they approached it. Skyfire entered, but Ironhide just stayed outside the door, probably as a guard to stop Skyfire if he tried to escape. Which, he definitely wouldn't. The scientist stepped in and the door slid closed behind him. Optimus was sitting at his desk, writing something in a datapad. The Autobot leader glanced at Skyfire and put the datapad down. "Please, take a seat," he requested, nodding towards the open chair in front of his desk.

'And so the interrogation begins,' thought Skyfire.

"How has your recovery been?" asked Optimus.

Skyfire paused. "It has been… great, actually."

"That's good. Was Bumblebee's tour of the base satisfactory?"

"Yes sir."

"How do you like the base?"

"It's nice; much cleaner and friendlier than the Decepticon base."

Optimus raised a brow ridge. "Friendlier?"

Skyfire shifted in his seat and looked away from the commander's optics. "Yes; most 'bots here are amiable and even somewhat… welcoming."

Optimus nodded in contentment. A rather awkward silence settled between the two. Skyfire met Optimus' optics again. "Sir?"

"Yes Skyfire?"

"Would… Would you consider allowing me to… join the Autobots?"

Skyfire's inquiry caught the leader off-guard. He did the robotic equivalent of clearing one's throat and replied, "If that is what you wish."

The white mech's optics brightened with joy. "Really?" he asked, his tone gleeful.

"Of course, Skyfire," affirmed Optimus.

Skyfire bowed his head in absolute respect. "Thank you, sir."

Optimus nodded once. "As I said before, you will always be accepted in the Autobot base."

The scientist stood, took a step away from his chair, and gave the Cybertronian salute to Optimus; kneeled with his fist over his spark. "I pledge all my loyalty to you, Leader Optimus Prime."

Optimus too stood, smiling. "Welcome, Autobot Skyfire."

~*~

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