its been two months since the battle of Peru. Noah, with help from the Joe's, rented out a garage to live in.

he's currently sitting in the floor a metal covered blue orb settled in his lab carefully. he's got his legs crossed so the orb doesn't touch the floor. there's a engine manuel on 964-Gen Porsche 911, sitting on the floor in front of him. there's metal parts from the suit and scrap that Reek had managed to gather for him, strewn around the area. he has one hand on the book, reading through it carefully, attempting to find where he could place the precious blue orb to revive his best friend. his other hand is gently caressing the orb.

spark

Noahs subconscious corrects. Optimus had told him the orb he'd pulled from the suit of whats left of Mirage, was Mirages life force, his spark.

its storming outside and a loud crack of thunder has him gently clutching the glowing orb.

"don't worry Mirage. its just some thunder." Noah murmurs softly. Mirage hated thunder. Noah wipes at his face with the hand not holding Mirages spark. he's sweaty and he has tears running down his cheeks. he's desperately trying to keep it together. but the list of parts and prices just slightly to his left has him worried about failure due to lack of money. he's not sure what to do. he refuses to give up. Mirage and the other Autobots are counting on him, but even with the few parts Reek managed to collect, he'll still need a few thousand dollars worth of parts.

he drops his hand, curling around the spark in his lap gently.

"what do I do 'Raj? I don't know if I can fix you." Noah says softly.

you can do it.

the voice of his basically dead friend floats through his head. nothing unusual these days. Mirages voice had come to him almost as soon as he'd started working on fixing him.

"I can't." Noah sniffles.

call for help. you don't have to do it alone.

Noah nods, carefully getting up off the floor. he places the spark on his work desk, on his folded up sweater, under a small lamp to keep it warm. Noah isn't sure if he needs it or not, but he points the lamp carefully onto the spark. he immediately picks up the receiver of the phone on his desk, given to him by the Joe's, and calls the one person he knows that can get ahold of some help. Charlie Watson.

"Watson house hold." the chipper voice answers.

"I need Bumblebee's help.." Noah says. Bumblebee introduced him to Charlie, behind Optimus' back, in hopes his friend could and would help Noah fix MIrage.

"Noah? are you at the garage?" Charlie asks.

"yeah." Noah mutters.

"I'll tell him to head over there, he's in the garage, knocked his bumper off again, y'know?" Charlie laughs. Noah doesn't laugh. "oh... right... don't worry. I'll send him right over, take care of yourself, alright?" Charlie ask.

"yeah, thanks." Noah mumbles, hanging up. he plops into his chair, slamming hsi head onto his desk, glancing over slightly at the spark.

the glow seems to shimmer under his gaze.

"do you think he'll show?" Noah asks softly.

he promised he would if you needed help.

Noah nods sniffling slightly.

"right. right he did." Noah murmurs. it thunders again, rattling the garage. Noah sits up immediately, reaching for the spark. "don't worry about the storm." Noah says softly.

worried? hey, I'm Mirage I don't get worried over storms.

"yeah, like you didn't get scared when Cheetor tackled you?" Noah teases.

hey man, that ain't cool.

"you're right, you're right 'Raj, m'sorry." Noah murmurs, gently caressing the orb. "hey man, mind if I catch some sleep? I've been up for two days...." Noah trails.

you humans and your need for recharge. how do you guys get anything done? how do you expect me to be shiny again if you get caught sleeping on the job?

Noah winces at the words and sighs softly.

"right. right. you're more important than a little bit of sleep. I've pulled all nighters before I can-" Noah starts. the phone on his desk rings so he picks up the receiver. "yeah?" Noah asks. its silent but he hears beeping outside. "oh right, sorry I'll open the door." Noah mutters. he puts the phone and orb down gently and heads over to the roll up door. he immediately opens it enough for Bumblebee to roll in. the door closes behind him. Bumblebee immediately transformers, crouching down carefully.

he doesn't get more than a questioning buzz out before Noah just breaks down.

"I can't do it. I tried and I tried but i just can't. I can't find the parts or pieces and the ones I do find I can't afford, I-I can't fix him." Noah chokes. Bumblebee tilts his head and frowns, patting the man on the head gently. he sits down on the ground to scoop up the distraught man attempting to fix their friend.

"don't push yourself young man... you don't have to... be ashamed.... we will help."

"help? help? how are you supposed to help Bumblebee?" Noah sniffles. Bumblebee gives him a reassuring look.

"Mirage... is my friend."

Noah shakes his head a little.

"I haven't slept in two days and I haven't made any progress and I just..." Noah trails. Bumblebee gets up, carrying Noah over towards the couch. thankfully the garage would fit the smaller Autobots, Optimus wouldn't fit transformed, but the smaller bots would.he lays Noah on the couch.

"don't worry... Noah... you should rest."

"sleeping won't get Mirage rebuilt!" Noah snaps. Bumblebee lets out what Noah assumes is a scoff and waves him off.

"rest now boy... I have... plans for... help!"

Noah sighs and curls up on the couch, sniffling. maybe he will focus better with some rest. Mirage seems to be quiet with Bumblebee here, so he might actually be able to get some.

"just... keep an eye on him Bumblebee." Noah mumbles, looking over at Mirages spark. Bumblebee follows his gaze, before nodding and sitting beside the desk.

Noah doesn't remember falling asleep, but he wakes up to the sound of the garage door opening. he sits up immediately, catching Bumblebee's attention.

"h-huh?" Noah asks. he looks confused as a trailer is suddenly backed into the garage. its not storming anymore, but it is night time, so Noah can't see who is backing the trailer in, until it gets all the way in. there's an old rusted Porche of the exact model Mirage was, sitting on the trailer. Noah jumps up running over to it, confused but utterly grateful. the car isn't perfect. its missing a lot of pieces, has more rust than Noahs brain can process, doesn't have any seats on the inside, and is missing most of the parts under the hood, but he doesn't care. he looks over hearing a familiar sound. Optimus is transformed and kneeling outside. Noah immediately walks over to him quickly. "wh-where did you-" Noah starts.

"we found this in what humans refer to as a 'junk yard'." Optimus interrupts. Noah is so excited and grateful, he doesn't even stop to think for a second, that they'd probably stolen the car from the junkyard.

"more like a.... graveyard... if you ask me."

"we trust you to help Mirage, Noah, but you do not have to hurt yourself to do so." Optimus says. Noah nods slightly.

"right..." Noah says, turning to look at the scaped car.

"we will be around in case you need help, we should have been around more, we're still in our temporary base in that old factory." Optimus says. "Bumblebee will stay with you tonight. Arcee will be by tomorrow, Wheeljack will be around tomorrow night. we will take turns keeping watch over you in case you need anything." Optimus assures. Noah nods at him, swallowing hard.

"thank you." Noah mutters, finally managing to drag his eyes away from the car to look at Optimus.

"no Noah. thank you. it may not seem like it, but Mirage is a very important part of our team and we do care for him. we are grateful for what you're trying to do Noah." Optimus assures. Noah nods, turning back to the shell he'd use to fix his friend.

"I'll get you fixed up now Mirage." Noah says softly to himself. he climbs up onto the trailer, not wasting a second. he climbs under the car and unhooks it from the trailer. he heads around to the back quickly to put the ramps down and push it off.

"lend him a servo, don't let him get hurt Bumblebee." Optimus says. Bumblebee nods and shuffles over to the trailer. he's as gentle as he can be picking the car up and putting it on the ground. Noah shoots him a grateful look, jumping off the trailer and running over to the shell like a kid on Christmas. ideas running through his head, virtually fitting pieces from Mirages broken body into the shell and trying to decide if they'll actually fit or not. Bumblebee nods firmly at his Prime, watching the bigger hook back up to the trailer and haul it out. the Scout closes the door and turns back to Noah.

"would you like... me to play... tunes?"

"no I'm okay thanks." Noah mumbles quietly. he rushes over to his desk, knocking books over, his coffee cup falls off and bounces twice before rolling off. Noah doesn't even seem to notice. he snatches a diagram off the desk and pins it up to the wall. its several medium sized pictures of the other Autobots engines and other enternals, to give Noah an idea on how Mirage should be rebuilt. he turns back to the desk and puts up three more diagrams. one of a normal Porches engine, pictures of Mirages insides, and a large model of the same model of Porche Mirage was. he runs back to the desk. his hands immediately land on a book for the car, snatching it up. he gently, absentmindedly, pats the spark as he walks past it towards the shell of the car. "time to get started." Noah murmurs.

finally.

Noah rolls his eyes and huffs to himself.

~

Noah works through the night nonstop. flipping through books and making multiple pots of coffee. he doesn't stop when Bumblebee mentions he's burning his hands on the soldering iron, he doesn't even seem to notice.

he only seems to come back to consciousness when a servo lands on his shoulder. he jumps, jerking around. immediately he comes face to face with Arcee.

"holy shit.. wh-when did you come in? where's Bumblebee?" Noah asks, looking around.

"I've been here for about five hours now Noah. your tanks are rumbling." Arcee says, holding out a small bag towards him. Noah looks at the fast food bag, then looks up at her confused.

"h-huh..? you got me food?" Noah ask. Arcee nods.

"one of the 'Joes' brought it to me for you." Arcee says, holding it out to him.

"why..?" Noah asks, confused. Arcee shrugs.

"you're not one of us, but you risked everything you have to help us and now, you're helping Mirage. he's like the annoying little brother of the team, but we appreciate it." Arcee says softly. Noah nods a little, taking the food and heading over to his desk. Acree watches the dimly glowing spark on the desk immediately light up when Noah gets close. it goes from shimmering, when he's near by, to all out flashing/glowing when he sits down at the desk. the blue light fluttering and pulsing happily as Noah reaches out to turn it gently under the lamp, as he does periodically to keep it from getting too hot on singular spots.

Arcee tilts her head curiously, before a small smile comes to her faceplates. she walks over towards the desk and sits down. the humans make her uncomfortable, but Elena had helped with that some. Bumblebee had told her Noah wasn't much for talking, but she just assumes the Scout wasn't asking the right questions. she watches, almost facinated, as Noah scarfs down the food she's brought him and reaches for his cup. unfortunately, its empty.

"damn." Noah mutters softly. he gets up and starts a new pot of coffee.

"anything I can help you with?" Arcee ask.

"nah, I got it. no offense, but your alt mode isn't very helpful." Noah says. Arcee nods a little.

"I get that." Arcee assures. "but don't you think you should get some rest?" Arcee ask.

"no. it's only noon." Noah mutters.

"its 3PM Noah. I'll only be here for another three hours." Arcee says. Noah looks confused, glancing over at the clock. exhaustion hits him like a ton of bricks.

"oh... maybe I should..." Noah frowns. he looks over at the spark and turns the light out. "keep an eye on him will you? sometimes he shifts... he almost fell off the desk the other day." Noah adds.

"yeah, I will." Arcee assures gently.

"but like, don't pick him up too much. he gets really hot, got 3rd degree burns the day I carried him home." Noah mutters, grabbing his blanket and curling up on the couch under it. he yawns and is asleep almost instantly.

~

Noah shifts slowly sitting up on the couch. he heads over towards his desk immediately.

"Arcee you still here?" Noah ask.

"um, no. just me... um... hermano." Wheeljack murmurs. Noah turns to face him.

"why aren't you in Peru?" Noah asks, confused, taking a drink of the coffee thats been sitting out for hours now.

"Prime said you were working on Mirage. I figured I would see him in good health before I go back." Wheeljack says hesitantly. Noah nods a little.

"sí, será bueno volver a verlo con buena salud." Noah murmurs. he shakes his head a little. "sorry, I... sorry." Noah mumbles. he shifts the spark gently and heaves a sigh, turning to the diagrams. "guess its time to start welding, huh Mirage?" Noah snorts to himself.

"huh?" Wheeljack asks. Noah shakes his head quickly.

"nothing... just talking to him. don't know if he can hear me, but I don't wanna risk him being able to hear me but me not saying anything. I just wanna keep him company." Noah says. Wheeljack nods.

"very thoughtful." Wheeljack says. he watches Noah grab his gear and set up his welder next to the shell of the car.

"step back, I don't want you in the way." Noah says.

~

its been six weeks since they brought Noah the shell and started keeping watch over him. he was getting closer and closer to finishing. Reek had helped him by dropping off parts he could find, though had question where the old Porche had come from, Noah always made sure whichever Autobot was there was covered or sitting outside beside another building so Reek wouldn't question them, but had eventually accepted Noahs vague answer of 'junkyard scrap'.

Noah, Reek, and the Autobots had managed to gather almost everything they needed from scrap yards, people selling parts, stealing, and what was left of Mirage, that there are only a few pieces left of the mech to be put together. most of the under the hood items were hard to get a hold of, so he hadn't put Mirages spark back in just yet. it gave the three, occasionally four when Optimus decided to take a shift, rotating Autobots a chance to observe Noah.

the man is extra careful with Mirages spark. he carries it around alot, between tables, over to the car, around the floor, where it generally sits in his lap while he reads, and occasionally to his couch. always treating it with the utmost care.

it interests them that Noah talks to the spark, almost seeming to have full conversations with it. none of them miss how Mirages spark reacts to him.

when Noah sleeps or steps away for too long, the spark slowly starts getting dimmer and dimmer, until it looks as though its about to fade.

when Noah walks close or gets near the spark by sitting at his desk, it flutters and shimmers glowing brighter the longer Noah stands near by.

it glows, pulses, and flutters when Noah talks to it.

but nothing beats when Noah holds Mirages spark. when Noah holds Mirages spark, his spark pulses brightly. the hair on Noahs arms, legs, and the back of his neck stand up from the electricity flowing from the spark. Noah occasionally has to wrap the spark in a blanket so he can hold it while sitting on the floor. occasionally, Noah will take Mirages spark to the couch ot read on how to build an engine properly, and fall asleep holding the spark.

thats when it glows the brightest, as Noah sleeps for 6-8 hours straight, meaning Mirages spark is in constant contact with Noah. strangely enough, Noah doesn't get burned by the spark while sleeping, no matter how bright Mirages spark burns.

"you getting close to finishing him?" Arcee asks from where she sits near the car. Noah nods slightly. he's sitting on the couch the Porche book sitting in his lap and Mirages spark settled beside him.

"yeah, just gotta get my hands on a few more things." Noah murmurs.

"what kind of things?" Arcee asks.

"I'm still needing a fuck ton of shit from under his hood and well, I need a spoiler, a radio, and two front seats." Noah says.

"got a list?" Arcee asks. Noah nods.

"yeah I got a list of stuff from the book and compared it to whats under Bumblebee's hood." Noah mumbles, looking tired as he turns to hold the list up to her. Arcee takes it.

"Bumblebee and I will work on it while you take a nap." Arcee says. "get some rest Noah." Arcee adds. Noah nods a little and sets the book a side, curling up around Mirages spark, pulling his blanket up over him and Mirages spark. Arcee watches him fall asleep, curled around the spark. she waits for him to get settled into a deep sleep then leaves the garage.

Noah isn't sure how long he sleeps, but when he wakes up, slowly sitting up on the couch. the blanket falls off him, covering the spark.

hey! that ain't cool! I thought we were boys? you're just gonna leave me under this thing?

"oh, sorry." Noah mutters, reaching over and pulling the blanket off the mechs spark. it flutters in acceptance of the apology. Noah smiles a little and gets up, pausing as he catches sit of Optimus, sitting on the floor, leaning back against the wall of the tallest part of the garage. "oh, hey Prime." Noah says, stretching.

"Noah." Optimus greets. Noah blinks at him.

"I thought it was Bumblebee's turn?" Noah asks.

"Bumblebee, Arcee, and Wheeljack are searching for the parts on the list you gave Arcee." Optimus assures. Noah nods a little, stretching.

"no parts then?" Noah ask.

"not yet." Optimus says. Noah nods a little and makes himself some toast. he makes himself three or four slices and just downs them. he makes himself a cup of water, drinks it, and heads to the bathroom. he washes his face and changes out of yesterdays dirty clothes.

"you know what time it is?" Noah calls.

"it is midnight." Optimus informs. Noah looks disgusted, heading out of the bathroom.

"fuck that. no parts, no work, and its midnight." Noah mutters, curling back up on the couch. he's exhausted. Mirage won't mind extra cuddles. the spark pulses brightly, as if hearing Noah's thoughts. "will you wake me up when they get back?" Noah asks.

"yes." Optimus says curtly.

"alright, thanks Prime." Noah mutters.

~

Noah blinks awake after a few hours. he can see the sun shining outside and he blinks, looking across the garage. Bumblebee is in his alt mode, settled near a tarp covering a stack of something. Noah gets up slowly, carefully moving Mirages spark to the side so he doesn't knock it into the floor.

"yo Bee, whats this?" Noah asks. the mech doesn't transform, but he rolls his passenger window down and plays an audio clip of Arcees voice.

"Noah needs these parts for Mirage."

Noah immediately perks up.

"you got them?" Noah asks, walking over quickly. Bumblebee rolls backwards out of the way quickly, bouncing on his wheels as a nod. Noah rips the tarp off and stares. "oh hell yeah! Mirage! you're getting finished this week!" Noah grins. he heads for hsi gear and tools quickly. "you guys are good to head out and let me finish. I've gotten enough sleep, food, and hydration to work on Mirage." Noah assures.

he immediaetly ignores the Scouts presence and gets to work. he's so close now at this point, he can't stop. Mirage is almost in his grasp. he's almost got him back.

Noah works for a week straight before he finally gets a chamber under Mirages hood to put his spark into. he works under the car, since Reek showed up an hour earlier, trying to convince him to go home and give up on the 'crap car'

Noah grins, pushing himself out from under the car.

"that outta do it." he smirks, getting up off the ground. he leans over and lets the jack down gently.

"this? this is what you;ve spend so much time on?" Reek huffs. "this is a a complete waste of your skills and my expertise." Reek glares. Noah smirks at him.

"I think he came out pretty good." Noah shrugs. Reek gives him a disgusted look, before looking over the car.

"yeah sure, I guess we can call it... modern art? and sell it to some cats in soho." Reek nods. Noah scoffs, shaking his head.

"nah, I'm not selling." Noah huffs. Reek stares at him confused.

"what?! whyyyyy?!" Reek asks. "wh- is this about the 5-0 thing? dawg, I told you I did not ditch you! I... I-I was running the give and go I-I thought you knew the play!" Reek says, following Noah as he puts his tools up. Noah rolls his eyes, running his fingers across the hood of the Porche gently as he walks by.

"uh-huh." Noah mutters sarcastically, cleaning his hands off on a rag.

"a'ight lets say I did ditch you, even though I didn't, for your sake- I see your face." Reek says quickly. Noahs frowning at him, eye brow raised, but he does look amused. "I think all the time and sweat I put into getting these car parts for you makes us even Stephen." Reek says. Noah shakes his head, tossing the rag over his shoulder.

"its not that," Noah says. "this car... its special." Noah smirks, looking the car over happily.

"this car is a puzzle of garbage and scrap! y'know what? here." Reek huffs, pulling the keys from his pocket and holding them out to Noah.

"what?" Noah asks.

"I bet, the joint don' even start." Reek says. Noah stares at him a moment, a smirk coming to his face as he snatches the keys quickly.

"bet." he smirks, staring at Reek. Reek stares at him like he's crazy. "yo, Mirage." Noah grins. Reek looks confused until he hears the sounds of metal shifting and moving. he turns his head, jaw dropping open, twizzler falling to the ground as the 'garbage car' transforms right before his very eyes.

"WHOOOOAAAAA!! yeah!" Mirage cheers, standing and stretching. "ya boi is back! whoa! whose a puzzle of garbage now!? this dude said I wasn't even gonna start!" Mirage grins. Noah stares up at his friend lost in the joy of seeing his best friend alive again.

"oh hell no." Reek mutters, scrambling out of the garage as fast as he can. Noah watches him go and turns back around to talk to Mirage. the words don't make it out of his mouth before Mirage has wrapped him up in both servos, lifting him quickly up to his chest.

"you did it!" Mirage grins hugging him the best he can. Noah smiles wrapping his arms around the mechs neck tightly.

"I couldn't leave you like that, not since you died for me." Noah says softly. "come on, feel like driving? you wanna take me to the store so I can get some paint to fix you up with?" Noah asks.

"hell yeah! lets go!" Mirage shouts, running towards the door. he manages to smack the botton, transform around Noah, and speed off without stopping for a single second.