"You cheated!"
"Did not, guys. You just didn't have a chance."
"Hey, that was a clear foul!"
"No, it was you stumbling over your own two feet."
"You were simply lucky."
"Women power."
"We let you win."
"Ri-ight!"
Kayla looked up from where she was reading through a new novel she had discovered on CybertronNet's library store when the sound of footsteps came into the reading room, and she had to refrain from laughing out loud. Three men entered. One was Steven Parker, Midnight's Interface partner, a tall, dark-haired man with very blue eyes. As much as he appeared human, he wasn't. The other was a sandy-haired man with dark gray eyes. Jeff Winters, Wild Card's partner and Steve's second in command. The third was dark-haired with lighter gray eyes. Nicholas Cavanaugh, the resident tech wizard and the only Interface of a Seeker. All were dressed in sports outfits; shorts, tank tops and jogging shoes. Towels hung over their shoulders and they were sweating.
They were followed by three women. Shanygn, Rodimus' Interface, had gleeful, blue eyes, her light blue skin glistening with sweat where it wasn't covered by the skintight exo-suit. At her side was Jill McKennen, who had bound her white hair back into a tight pony-tail. She was balancing a basketball in her hands. Last but not least, and surprising for Kayla, was Cathy Lee Russell, the latest addition to their little group and the most xenophobic person she had ever met. She had likewise bound her copper hair back and she was laughing. Laughing! Would miracles never cease?
"You distracted us!" Jeff now groused, but there was a twinkle in his eyes.
"Distract my butt," Jill countered. "You just had your hormones running lose!"
Jeff was decent enough to blush and Kayla buried herself in her book, smirking. It was an open secret that Jeff and Cathy were mates. It helped the Terran woman a lot to work through her fear of aliens, and it gave Jeff something other than day-to-day politics to handle.
"Men," Shanygn laughed.
"I heard no complaints about me being a man last night," Nick countered and Shanygn turned a darker shade of blue.
"Oh, the dirty details," Jeff teased.
A towel landed in his face and Shanygn stuck out her tongue. "Do I want to know about you two?"
Cathy chuckled, but didn't comment, just gave her new boyfriend a smile that said everything.
The good-natured bickering went on for some more time and Kayla enjoyed the light atmosphere of the Community. Throughout the Tji War, all their free time had been spent worrying, planning, training, and this was so much better. After the latest catastrophe, the attack on Kyle the resultant loss of his personal memories, everything was gradually starting to be as it was. With one exception: Kyle.
Kayla sighed and found her gaze drawn to the large window that gave them a nice view of West Central. Kyle and Voodoo were currently on Alean, getting to know each other again, Kyle learning about his life, about his past. She had no real grasp on what this meant for anyone, to have lost this much, to not even know the most intimate partner anyone could have. She knew it was soul shattering, drawing on his reserves, and it was a display of his strength that he had survived the ordeal. She wondered how her reaction would have been, not knowing Spellbinder, her soul partner for the last ten millennia, maybe even longer. She had lost count of their years together.
She had been terrified of him when they had first met, seeing him as a demon come to take her because of her deeds. Because she, as a woman, had dared to Heal. Would amnesia throw her back into that time? If yes, would she ever trust the Sentinel again? Would she even remember her horrific past as a fugitive? Kayla sighed deeply. She had wished to forget these years for a long time after she had Interfaced, but she had come to accept it, had grown with it. It was part of her and she was proud of her heritage. What would happen if she no longer where she came from?
Kayla shook her head.
The merry little group of six had disbanded and only Steve was still sitting on the couch, his fascinating blue eyes now fixed on her, and Kayla wondered what he read in her face. Steve was good at this, reading his friends, his family, something that made him such a good leader. Just because Midnight was the Sentinel leader didn't qualify his Interface partner as the Community's Interface leader. But Steve was good at his 'job' and he took it seriously. Kayla had more than once been surprised by the intensity of his actions, his words, his passion. He was born for this.
She smiled slightly at him now and closed the book. "Good game?"
He chuckled. "Unfair game."
"Oh, that's what you always say when we women use our natural talents."
He laughed out loud. "Talent? Right....."
Kayla smirked again. There were no rules for their ball games, except that no physical violence was allowed. Whoever made the most baskets won. And women had a natural talent over men when it came to charming the opponent. Especially when the opponent also was their husband or mate.
They sat together in silence, Steve studying the floor, Kayla studying Steve. She still remembered the day when he and Midnight had first come in contact with the Sentinels, how both had suffered from their hands, and how this young Interface team had shown an incredible strength and will to survive. Steve was the only known organic to join on a 100% level, closely followed by Jeff and Wild Card. It made them unique, and it made them vulnerable sometimes. Still, the slender black Sentinel and the Akhrian had survived more in this short time than she could think of ever happening to her. Now something else had happened, joining Steve with someone else on an empathic level.
Kyle Scott.
The empathic bond was flimsy at best at the moment, but it was developing in leaps, and it was strengthening, she knew. She and Jill had tested them over and over again. Both men were taking it in a stride, but she knew that both had also been shocked by it. Who wouldn't be? She was just glad that it wasn't a telepathic bond.
"Have you heard anything from Kyle?" Kayla suddenly asked, jarring herself and Steve out of their memories.
Steve smiled slightly. "Winterhawk complains about Voodoo's reckless flying, as usual. Kyle seems to fall back into an old habit: lab work. Otherwise, not much."
"What else is new?" she laughed.
Kyle was a scientist by calling and heart. He loved his work, he wanted to help people, and he had a kind of natural charm when it came to working with patients. He was gentle, though he had a temperament that rivaled Voodoo's if he wanted to, and his knowledge was vast. Kayla was glad that he had at least retained this knowledge.
They had been friends ever since Voodoo and Kyle had Interfaced. Kyle had taught her in many fields of medical knowledge, she had given him an insight in healing and her abilities. He had soon taken to xenobiology and xenomedicine, broadening his knowledge into all kinds of medical fields, and she had always loved to work with the quiet man. Jill had joined their study group, shared her knowledge and given them an insight in yet another field, the Sentinel medical one. The three of them were a good team and she ached with Kyle whenever she saw his blank look when confronted with something he should know and didn't.
"Well, Voodoo and he seem to have come to terms with what happened," Steve went on quietly.
"And you?"
He gazed at her, eyes bright and turmoiled, and Kayla wished she could help him. But all her knowledge as a healer could not undo what the dog creatures had done to those two men and their partners. Steve was still himself, except for one part and it was the most painful. Not for him, because he had lost that batch of memories, but for the person it concerned.
The dog creatures had attacked and injured him, had sent him into a coma, and when he had woken, nothing seemed to be missing from his memories. He knew them all, Interfaces and Sentinels, the Seekers and Cybertronians, everyone. Except the closest person to him in many centuries: Ashtar. Fang's Interface and Steve's mate. He had no recollection of her, of his feelings, of their times together. He didn't know how they had met, though he remembered the mission to the doorway planet where they had first seen each other. He remembered Fang as the Sentinel they had met there, but not Ashtar.
Kayla sighed silently at the recollection of Ashtar coming up to Steve after he had woken and his polite, though blank look. Ashtar had been shocked, naturally, but there had been hope in her. Hope to help him recover. But there wasn't anything inside Steve that even helped a little bit. To him, she was a total stranger.
It was so painful to watch the feline suffer, to see her try and help him with every little piece of memories, showing him pictures, telling him stories. Steve was still polite, he tried to be what she remembered, but he wasn't anymore. The Steven Parker she had mated with had died at the hands of the dog creatures. This Steven Parker was the one all the others knew, but the part that had held Ashtar dearly, had loved her, was gone forever.
Now he also had to cope with an empathic bond to another Interface, and it would prove to be difficult in the future if not trained. Kayla had already helped Melissa Witwicky develop her empathy and she knew she would be able to help those two as well, if they let her.
"Coping," Steve now confessed softly, honestly. "I'm not getting much yet. It's something about distance and such." He tapped his right temple. "But we all know it will grow more intense soon. When Kyle comes back, we have to handle it."
"You know you can ask me anytime, Steven," the dark-skinned healer said gently. "All of us."
"Thanks, Kayla. We both appreciate it." Steve rose slowly, slinging the towel over one shoulder. "I should get a shower. See you." He smiled.
She mirrored the smile, then watched him leave. They would go through this as well. They were all survivors, had always had to be, would always be.

* * *

Dr. Kyle Scott wiped water out of his eyes and scanned the area once more. He had been on this planet for nearly a month now, getting a rough idea of what Alean was. He hadn't met a single soul, no sign of life except animal life forms. The whole landscape seemed to consist more of canyons than anything else. From where he stood he saw a desolate vista of bare rocks and jagged hills, through which whistled a savage wind that tugged at him. Dark clouds churned overhead threatening more rain, but the ground beneath him was deeply dry, and only dust rode the wind, sometimes thick enough to envelop him and obscure his vision, sometimes just creeping along the ground to wrap around his ankles like smoke. Occasionally it hid the distant horizon, the valley that lay spread out beyond him, huge and staggeringly rough, as if a long-ago river had churned violently along the plain, eating it away in huge gulps. Ten feet beyond his booted feet, the ground dropped away as if it had been cut with a serrated knife.
Alean was a rough but beautiful world, and currently this area around the Sentinel base was visited by the first autumn rain storms. He had decided to go outside the base and do some walking, clearing his mind, just enjoying the physical exercise. Voodoo had simply muttered about humans who were dumb enough to risk their necks freeclimbing on treacherous paths. Kyle chuckled. It wasn't really dangerous here, just wild and rough. He loved it.
The valley didn't look very inviting, though he would love to explore it one day. Maybe he had already, but his mind had closed off the facts, erased them, and he would do everything anew. He had all the time in the world, he told himself. All the time....
In the distance, a series of broken ridges rose high overhead with what looked like narrow passes winding through them. Near where the ground vehicle stood which he had used to get here, the ground rose slowly but steadily in a series of rough and jagged steps. Here and there a stark and barren tree found a hold in the rocky ground, thrusting up bare, dead branches toward the leaden sky as if seeking rain.
Kyle closed his eyes, inhaling deeply the clear, sharp air, feeling the sand brush against his unprotected skin, the wind ruffling his short hair. He opened his arms as if to embrace the world and simply stood there, free of the restraints the civilized world put upon him, free of the pressure of life itself. He felt like flying, though his feet were on the ground, and in a way, he was flying. His mind soared free.
And it was joined by the new shard of empathy that he and Steve Parker now shared. Kyle had been shocked at first, embarrassed and frightened, mostly because it meant such a change for Steve. He hadn't been worried about his own new abilities, just for Steve. His friend had reassured him that he was okay, that it didn't bother him, that they would cope with it. And coping they did, he thought wryly. Kyle had gone to Alean and Steve had remained on Cybertron.
Steve.
The only almost complete set of memories from the people he should know. Why, was anyone's guess. No one could explain it. Maybe because Steve was part of a rather painful past, a past where Kyle Scott, a medic, should have helped a young man and had nearly destroyed him. Maybe it was a memory that had clung to his mind because of the vicious nightmares the past events had once induced.
But the odds had not been against him. Steve had been saved from almost certain death by their own hands and it had triggered a tight friendship Kyle would not have believed it.

Kyle entered the medical facility for organic patients and smiled as he discovered Steven Parker sitting in his bed, flipping through the electronic pages of the laptop he had requested. He was physically almost healed, though the scars would take some time to go away, especially those not immediately visible. The scars on the soul. But Parker had shown an incredible resilience, a spirit that rivaled comparison, and he had almost naturally bounced back from the horrors he and Midnight had been put through. Kyle was fascinated by it, aware that even if this had traumatized the younger man, he was working ferociously at overcoming the pain and fear.
And even more fascinating was how this translated onto his robot partner, who was much more wary of their 'hosts', more shy, more withdrawn than Steve. Kyle wanted to study this complete bond; he just had to.
"Good morning. I see you are already up again," he now greeted the pilot. "Did you stay up all night?"
"As much as I could get away with," Steve smiled. "Kayla is rather perceptive when it comes to stubborn patients."
Kyle chuckled. "Yup, she's good at that." He grabbed the chart and scanned the latest entries. Everything was in the green area. Steve was ready to be allowed leave -- if he stayed out of trouble.
"I'll be good," Steve swore when Kyle told him. "Pilot's word of honor."
Kyle smiled slightly at the sincere expression that was accompanied by a twinkle in the inhumanly blue eyes. Steve wasn't human, even if he had a human name, but so had Rayan, at least partly. Throughout the last days where the dark-haired man had been forced to stay in sickbay, suffering through examination after examination, the two men had started to get to know each other. Kyle found it easy to talk to Steve, and was always surprised by the ready acceptance of everything new. They had talked about Steve's homeworld, Akhri, about how he had met Midnight, how long the two had already been Interfaced before they had run into the Sentinels, and a lot of personal items.
Kyle had to confess that he was surprised by Parker, but maybe this ease with which the other met new things was common among his race. Or maybe it came with his job. Rift piloting sounded weird and dangerous, and it took a lot of concentration as well as quick reflexes to be one of the best.
Steve now slid out of the bed, pulling on a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt. He looked very young, Kyle thought. Maybe it was his slightly too pale skin or the intense eyes, but he appeared younger than his mid-thirties.
They left the medical facility, talking, chuckling, Kyle wondering how to breach the subject.
"Spill it, doc, or do I have to tickle it out of you?"
Kyle blinked. "What?"
Steve raised both eyebrows. "You have that look in your eyes. I know it. I might not have been here long yet, but I recognize this 'I burst if I don't ask look'. You had it the last time when you asked me about Midnight, as well as when you wanted to know about complete Interfacing."
Kyle gaped. "Don't tell me you are empathic, Parker!"
"Nope, just good at reading people, and you, Dr. Scott, are an open book with macro-writing. So, what's up?"
 Kyle closed his mouth, shaking his head with a small laugh. "Have to be careful around you."
Steve just grinned.
"Well, what I was wondering about, and it isn't just me, is whether you'd be willing to teach us a bit of piloting."
Steve blinked. "Teach you piloting? As in.... flying?"
"That's what piloting usually involves."
"Uh, why? I take it you and your Sentinel have been Interfaced long enough to handle controls....." Steve looked mystified at his request.
"Yes and no. You see, I can fly Voodoo, but not really fly him. It's like riding a tricycle when you should be a master of the mono-cycle."
"I see." Steve shrugged. "The moment my personal physician," he winked, "gives me the go-ahead, we can try it. No problem. You'd have to give me the flight schematics of each airborne Sentinel so I can have a look at the controls. We need to teach you the theory of flying as well. But then, away we go."
Kyle smiled, relief flooding him. "Thanks."
 

It hadn't been an easy lesson to learn. Flying Voodoo as he had in the past was nothing compared to what Steve and Midnight showed them on the first flight. The trick was not to rely on the handbook, but to merge with your partner on a level that required complete trust. Voodoo was uncomfortable with Kyle touching that part of him and it took weeks to really do it ever-so briefly. The repeat performance needed some more work, but they started to understand.
Jill and Skywolf had less trouble with trust, but Jill, though she was an excellent mechanic, was more comfortable with leaving the aeromaneuvers to her partner. Kayla and Spellbinder displayed the highest potential of them all, executing the training lessons with perfect synchronization, and they soon assisted Steve and Midnight.
Kyle had to chuckle when he remembered the first serious training they had taken on together. It was something he hadn't lost either. It was a clear memory. Midnight had been playing the rabbit while the others had been taxed to catch up with him.

"He's coming your way," Kayla's calm voice came over the intercom and Kyle felt Voodoo twitch beneath him, energy flooding the circuits and energon powering up the engines. He was ready to go at the drop of a needle.
<<Got him!>> the jet called excitedly and Kyle had to smile as he felt the exhilaration as well.
And true to Kayla's word, the midnight black jet shot toward them, a speed that was close to impossible to match for a non-Interfaced jet taking him past the waiting pair. Voodoo gave a growl and accelerated, joined by F/X, who was in the game for the fun of it. He didn't need Interface training, but, so the blue and yellow Sentinel had argued, you could never train flying maneuvers enough.
"He's fast," Kyle muttered, checking their position. Voodoo wasn't far behind Midnight and gaining, but he had a headstart.
"Locking on," Voodoo declared and sank slightly to come up beneath Midnight, who was still flying at high speed.
F/X mirrored the maneuver, rising slightly. Vertical pincer movement.
"Got him in my sight," Kyle said and adjusted the targeting mechanism. "Lock on in three, two, one...... holy...shit!"
He just gaped as Midnight suddenly dropped like a stone, engines dead, his weight and speed taking him down at a rate that would let him crash in the next ten seconds.
"Engines are gone," Voodoo stuttered, surprised. "If he can't fire them up, he's dead!"
"No!"
Without even thinking, Kyle slipped along Voodoo's nervous control and threw the jet around, diving after the black spot that was suddenly in grave danger of bursting apart on the ground. Voodoo gave a startled yelp at the maneuver, but he didn't counteract.
And then Midnight fired up his engines, two seconds from hitting the ground, transforming as he brushed over the rocky surface and shooting past the startled pair. Kyle heard the unmistakable pinging sound of computer-generated hits, and he gaped at the sleek, black form hovering not far away.
"You... you... how did you do that?!" he finally exclaimed.
Laughter answered him. "Just like you just stopped Voodoo from following me the rest of the way into the planet," Steve answered.
Kyle blinked. Voodoo....... was hovering in the air, transformed, radiating stunned confusion as to what had just occurred. Kyle sucked in a breath, trying to retrace what he had done and failing. He had followed Midnight at a speed that should not have let them brake and make a safe turn. All the laws of physics spoke against it. But they had. And they had transformed.
"You trusted in your instinct and you became one with your partner," Steve went on, the laughter still in his voice, though he was completely serious as he explained the events. "You simply became your partner."

Yes, he had become Voodoo for a split second, doing everything his partner would and more. Because on this level, they were more. It was where the difference between an Interfaced Sentinel and a non-Interfaced Sentinel lay. It was this incredible agility, this maneuverability, the speed and control he had while executing maneuvers no normal pilot should be able to. And Kyle wasn't even a born pilot. He was a medic.
Voodoo began to trust Midnight, spending some time with the young Seeker, and Kyle felt his amazement as well as confusion when he met not the fearsome warrior he had expected, but a balanced though shy individual with incredible potential. Midnight wasn't a soldier, he was a warrior if need arose, a listener, a leader..... but he wasn't some kind of ruthless fighting machine. And soon after they had joined the Sentinels, he had also become a member of their Community. Except for Dagger, no one evaded the black robot with the strange skin and the black aura.
And Steve's and Kyle's friendship had grown, though they were to obviously different people, each with different hobbies and approaches to life, but still.....
Kyle was amazed at the fact.
The wind increased and it clearly smelled like rain. Scott reluctantly opened his eyes, watching the sky darken even further, soft rumbles already audible. The storm was coming in fast.
<<Kyle?>>
He smiled. <<Yes, V?>> He loved to annoy his partner by using the nick name some of the others had given him.
<<Winterhawk said there's a vicious storm front coming in. You should return>>
<<I know>> he sighed.  He hated to go. This was so ruggedly beautiful.
<<We can come back as often as you want>> Voodoo told him gently. <<But if you get washed off the planet, we can't do that>>
Kyle laughed. <<Okay, okay, I'm coming back>>
He made his way back to the vehicle, the wind already buffeting quite strongly around him. He slid the rest of the way without falling. He started the car and carefully drove back to the base. Yes, he would return to Alean, and he would see the other worlds he no longer remembered all that well. If it took another six millennia to get it all back, he would take that time. The close contact to Steve, even if the empathy wasn't fully developed yet, was starting to help already, drawing him out of his solitary existence and back into the Community.
Voodoo sent his silent agreement.
They would retrace his life step by step.
As long as it took.

* * *

Steve closed the door to his quarters and leaned against them, drawing a deep breath and exhaling slowly. Emotions he knew weren't his flickered over his mind, skittish and inconclusive, but he knew where they came from. Kyle. His best friend and now someone bound to him in his mind. Like Midnight. And not like Midnight. Midnight shared his soul, Kyle shared a limited part of his mind. Still, it needed getting used to and it needed training. All had to train, both partners, which meant Midnight as well. The Sentinel suddenly had to deal with sudden surges from his Tentchi that came from a completely different source.
Kyle.
Steve opened his eyes, feeling another touch, this one achingly familiar, and he immediately went for it, almost hiding behind Midnight's strong, warm presence.
<<Kyle and Voodoo just arrived>> the Sentinel leader whispered.
<<I know. I felt it>> Steve sank into the couch, burying in the cushions.
Kyle had been on Alean for almost a month Cybertron standard time, a long time for Steve to learn more about empathy from Kayla and Mel. In a way, he had already begun to miss this new shard of energy inside him, but it wasn't as hurtful or bad as when Midnight was gone.
<<Badly?>>
<<No. Vaguely. The bond developed without us even feeling it. The distance helped, but now that Kyle is back, I think it'll grow in leaps to completion>>
<<Spellbinder told me that Kayla offered her help when you want to train active shielding>>
<<Just like Mel. I talked to her this morning when I came into the office. We will take all the help we can get>> Steve rubbed his forehead. <<The normal shields work just that far and whatever else comes through is unbalancing sometimes>>
Midnight sent a smile. <<It's just a matter of learning>>
<<Yeah>>
A matter of learning to create different shields and also riding out the stronger waves of empathic energy coming across when shields leaked or broke. Just like two millennia ago when he had met Midnight. Only now it concerned a flesh and blood person.
<<And it helps Kyle>> Steve added thoughtfully.
Midnight could only agree.
Steve looked around his quarters. They were not larger or smaller than any of the others. He had a general living area, a small kitchen which he, like many, never really used all that much because the Interfaces cooked in the main area, a closed off bedroom and bathroom. No windows. There wasn't a lot of decoration either. There was a picture on one wall, a landscape. The floor was carpeted in soft colors and the couch set fitted in perfectly with its equally soft colors. His old new quarters. The one he had moved back into when he had left those he had shared with..... Ashtar.
Someone he didn't know who she was.
She was a beautiful alien woman, he knew. She was kind and gentle, and she had been hurt by his amnesia, his complete loss of memory of her. The dog creatures had removed whatever he had known of her -- completely. No single emotion was left. He just didn't know her. A complete stranger.
They had tried living together for four months. It hadn't worked out. As much as his body was reacting to her in a male sort of way, there was no love, no emotion to accompany the lust. They had talked about it, he knew he had severely hurt her, that she was devastated, but... but....
Steve sighed. What else could he have done? Pretend? It wasn't his nature.
Ashtar and Fang had left from one day to the other, simply disappearing off Cybertron. Midnight had received a report from the warp gate station in the Nebulos system that he had been seen there, but that had been weeks ago. She was gone.
And for him, forgotten.
A knock on the door brought him out of his dark memories and Steve didn't really have to ask who was there.
::Hello, Kyle:: he thought.
They weren't telepathic. There was no way anyone of the two could read the other mind or hear words, but the emotions coming through were the same. Emotions and something like colors, moods, feelings.... the whole nine yards.
Something like surprised now registered in Steve and he knew it was from Kyle. He smiled as the door opened and a bewildered doctor stepped in.
"How did you do that?" he asked instead of a greeting.
"Yeah, it's nice to see you, too," Steve joked.
Kyle grimaced.
"Thanks to being a hundred percent joined to Midnight, I think this leaves me also very talented in the empathic area," Parker went on, grinning.
Kyle muttered something and flopped down on the other couch. "It has grown, right? I could feel you the moment we entered West Central."
"I believe so, yes. I felt waves as well, but none too bad. I couldn't really tell what came in, just where it came from."
The blond nodded.
"So, how was Alean?" Steve asked casually, eyes trained on his friend.
Kyle sighed. "Not as revealing as Voodoo hoped."
"And as you hoped?"
He shrugged. "It's.... kind of familiar, but nothing really surfaced. I remembered none of the Sentinels there, but they tried to help." Kyle made a helpless little gesture. "Voodoo and I did some mind-explorations, but whatever he shows me, it's like watching a movie. Only that it's my movie and I can't even remember acting in it."
Helplessness surged from him and Steve sighed deeply. He didn't need the empathy to know what the medic felt. Kyle would never regain his memories, even if they all helped, but every little bit he recalled was like a triumph, an Olympic gold medal, he thought sadly.
"Hey," Kyle said calmly, wagging a finger. "No misery, okay? I know it's my life and I have to accept it. I don't want you to wallow as well, okay?"
So much for managing shields, Steve mused wryly. "Fine. Watch me sympathize ever again, Dr. Scott," he groused good-naturedly.
"I'd much more appreciate lunch anyway."
"You know I'm a horrible cook."
"I might not remember it clearly, but there is a nagging memory that trying your creations can be hazardous to ones health," Kyle said, voice thoughtful, but there was a wide grin on his lips.
Steve tossed a throw pillow at him, which the other man ducked quickly, retaliating with a pillow of his own.
"Wow, unfair!" Steve laughed and sought shelter behind the couch.
"All's fair," Kyle snickered. "So, lunch? My treat?"
"Sounds like a plan."
Both men left Steve's quarters, walking down the corridor to the level that would let them board the monorail that stretched between West Central's living quarters and the closest mall.

* * *

Jill watched her colleague and friend work, smiled as he bent down to talk to the little child, laugh lines creasing the sun tanned face. The brown eyes sparkled with humor and the gentle smile creasing the whole features was enough to set even the most nervous patient at ease. The little girl, Jana, had broken her arm while hoverbiking. She was seven years old and the bike had been her birthday present, Jill knew. Kyle had told her when she had come in and he had introduced the white-haired woman to his little patient. That was just him. He spread a sense of family around himself, something she loved about working with the talented doctor, and something patients quickly picked up on. Kyle liked to talk to his patients, big or small, and he got to know them.
Now the child was led out by one of the nurses, who winked at Kyle. Kyle chuckled and placed his scanner on the tray next to him, then turned to Jill. She felt a bit embarrassed being caught staring at him, but his smile simply widened.
"Cute little kid," he commented. "Rather wild, but she'll learn how to bike soon."
"Speaking from experience?" she teased.
He grinned. "Kinda. So, come to help out a bit or are you just playing watcher?"
Jill shrugged. She had actually just come down to the hospital to see how Kyle was doing. She really shouldn't have needed to bother. He was doing just fine and all the nurses from the Community General helped him regain what personal knowledge had been lost to him.
It had been close to a year now that Kyle had lost his memories and things had so much returned to normal that she sometimes liked to forget the devastating events. Voodoo and Kyle still had regular mind-sessions, the Sentinel carefully taking his partner back into his millennia of memories, sharing them. Jill smiled softly. It was a side of Voodoo no one had ever really seen and she had known him for a long time by now. And he would deny ever having such a side.
"I was wondering if I could convince you to join me for lunch," she now answered with a smile.
"What's on the menu?"
Jill chuckled. "Your choice, my treat."
"Hm, sounds tempting."
Kyle had been up since this early morning and his shift would be over by noon, Jill knew.  And knowing her friend, he had barely stopped for breakfast.
"I saw Ellan outside," she went on. "I think she's taking over from you at noon, so....?"
He laughed. "Okay, okay, I'm coming. I have two more patients and then I'm off. Want to help?"
Jill settled back. "Sure. I love to watch the master at work."
Kyle snorted, then nodded at the nurse to get the next patient. This time, it was a teenager, looking like straight off the streets. The boy was barely sixteen, if Jill was any judge, and he was limping. His face showered bruising and cuts, and she suspected he had been in a fight. Kyle greeted him like he did every patient, then calmly asked about pain and difficulties, not even wanting to know if the boy had any money to cover the treatment. He surely didn't.
The hospital did free treatments once a month and Kyle was always there to help. He had even offered some of the patients to visit again and to pay from his own funds. That was the Kyle Scott she knew. Jill smiled fondly.

* * *

A sense of tranquillity and peace had settled over the Community. Eighteen months after the attack of the dog creatures and the resultant permanent, though partial, amnesia of Kyle Scott, things had finally smoothed to a degree that Steven Parker could allow himself to relax. Idly stirring his coffee, he stood in his office, ignoring work and responsibility for a moment of personal space and relaxation. They had survived. Again. Against odds that weren't any more taxing than fighting off Braintrust centuries ago. They all knew that Kyle would never remember what he had lost, that his old life was nothing but Voodoo's memories now, but he was coping so well that Steve was proud of his friend. Very proud.
Carefully feeling for his friend, he received some tightly bound emotional waves. Kyle was working, he assumed. He had gone back to work as a medical doctor in med bay, as well as doing some voluntary work in the community hospital in Strata-Mainframe. Steve and he had managed to get the empathic bond under some control, though there was nothing as real 'control' over it anyway. Mel had taught them that right from the start. Shields could always leak or fracture, even break under stress, but for an Interface it was nothing new to be swamped by alien emotions. Both men just had had to learn to handle a second set of emotions, those not coming from their Sentinel soul partners.
And it had healed a lot in Kyle as well, Steve had noticed. The doctor was more open, didn't retreat when confronted with the unknown that should be something familiar, and the shyness had melted into his usual, almost assured self. It was a good thing. A very good thing.
Steve emptied his mug and gazed thoughtfully at his desk. He had reduced his paperwork to just a few scraps now and he was pleased. Well, he would leave this for another time. He didn't feel like cleaning up his desk anyway. Reaching out to Midnight, he checked the Sentinel leader's current mood and occupation, smiling to himself as he 'heard' him talk to Optimus Prime about something or other. The doorway exploration teams were doing fine and more and more planets and doorways were categorized and the gates tested. Midnight had an essential part in it since he could use doorway energy to Gate. A schedule was currently set up for a new set of Gate jumps to see where the almost dead lines went. Many doorway structures had been destroyed, but Sphere and Raven had devised a way to send a short burst of energy down the dead ends, giving Midnight an idea where to home in on.
Parker was always part of the jumps, an essential part. Midnight would be in grave danger if he left without his Interface.
<<Hey>> Midnight now sent, a smile accompanying the silent greeting.
<<You free for this afternoon>> Steve asked lightly.
<<According to our flight schedule, yes. Anything planned?>>
<<Just some cruising. I need to get out of here>>
Midnight chuckled. <<What's keeping us?>>
Steve concentrated briefly and phased with ease, the long distance no obstacle for a hundred percent Interface. He felt Midnight's presence envelop him, then the jet transformed and shot off into the star-speckled sky of Cybertron, initiating a Gate jump the moment they were clear of traffic.

* * *

Spellbinder rarely sought out his Interface partner. It wasn't because he avoided Kayla while she worked in her specific field of expertise. It was just that they had an instinctive understanding of each other, had perfected their Interface as much as their bond allowed, and they comfortably lived with each other's different professions and interests. Kayla had been the first and was the oldest organic to Interface. No one knew exactly how long ago the bond had happened. Spellbinder had stopped counting. He didn't live in years. He enjoyed his life, he enjoyed Kayla's continuing presence, and he loved her for being what she was.
Currently, she was changing into a more casual outfit. She smiled when she felt him come closer.
<Done with your work already?> she asked.
Spellbinder chuckled. His current project  was dating the ancient artifacts found in the exploration of the Inner Maze of Cybertron. It was a fascinating but time-consuming job. Spellbinder loved it.
"Not really," he answered out loud. "But I felt like taking some time off and see what you are up to. We haven't had some quality time in a while."
Kayla had been busy helping Kyle and Steve with the empathic bond and they hadn't communicated much. Spellbinder knew how important that work was, how much it meant for the two Interfaces involved. And he had seen all the positive results, how Kyle had come back to life, opening up again, like a flower after a rainstorm. He was their old Kyle once more, sans six thousand years of memories, but he was back.
Now she chuckled.
"Sure. I heard the new Fairground is a lot of fun. At least Nick said that and he rode every single ride there is."
"So that's why Tornado looked so green around the gills," Spellbinder chuckled.
As much as Tornado was a jet and could fly the wildest maneuvers, being on the receiving end of an Interface's mind who was going in loops in a rollercoaster, while the robot was still on solid ground, was unnerving.
"Yeah, I guess so."
Spellbinder grinned. "Then let's see how much fun it is."