Basis: Prime
Pairings: (none yet)
Alright... First chapter. Feel free to cheer with joy.
SUUUUPER sorry for the drastically-long delay! I was super busy and tried to work on it as much as I could.
It might be a bit slow at first... but it gets better. Esp with 8000 words. ;) ... (longer than usual chapters I do) Most of it is just single-line talking, so it should pass pretty quickly.
This fluff bunny happened really randomly... All of a sudden all these ideas are just pouring into my brain. After my WTF moment, I decided to write it down :P
Or, actually, type it out... You get the idea. It just made me kinda sad that in the movies Elita One dies all of a sudden, and stupid Bayformers have no feelings I guess because Elita didn't care that Optimus died, and Optimus didn't care that Elita died after he rose from the dead. Too many wtf issues. Aaaand since I highly doubt Elita will find her way into Primeverse, I'm making my own story :3. SO THERE.
And since Ratchet's ex from Crystal City is nameless, I'll make a name for her:)
(Btw, I did NOT intend on having the dates so close to the actual dates in the real world... I started this liiiiike a month ago? And am just now publishing the first chapter. Sorry it took forever...)
Anywho, I hope you like it... Reviews are nice to let me know what you guys think, etc.
-Shapeshift
;)
[ August 15, 7:50 PM ]
Ratchet stood at the monitor, optics squinting as he listened to the faint beeps. He stared intently, but nothing popped up.
"Weird..." he said to himself, optics flicking all over the screen as he fiddled with every button.
"What's that?" Arcee asked as she sneaked up behind the medic.
"I don't... What?"
Two Autobot beacons suddenly popped up online, the beeping growing louder. The two watched the screen as the beacons slowly traveled across the screen, then suddenly stopped. "I don't know... why it's acting like this..."
"What is wrong, Ratchet?"
Ratchet turned to Optimus as he walked up next to him. "Autobot beacons have appeared online, Optimus," he explained. "But now they just suddenly went offline."
"Maybe we should check it out," Arcee suggested.
"Let's wait... It could very well be a trap."
"They could be trapped, Optimus. Decepticons wouldn't just disappear like that."
"Arcee's right, Optimus. This is too much of a homing signal."
Optimus studied the screen with his servos on his hips, all three staring as the beeping continued the little red marks appeared back on screen. "...Perhaps when Bumblebee returns, we will take a look. But for now, keep it monitored."
Optimus walked away after another moment, Arcee eventually bring a digit up to her audio receptor. "What are you doing?" Ratchet asked sternly.
"Paging Bumblebee... That beacon seems familiar."
"Now, tell me what's so urgent again...?"
"No time to explain, Bulk," Arcee replied as she transformed. "Just follow me."
Bulkhead and Bumblebee shared a look, and eventually transformed and flew through the groundbridge. Ratchet shut the portal, watching the screen once more as Arcee finally told him they made it.
"I think one might have crashed," he said, noticing how one was still beeping but wasn't moving. "It's hard to tell... What do you see?"
"Um... A ship just flew overhead... Cybertronian for sure. It's landing south."
"Locate the crashed one first..."
"On it."
Ratchet sighed as he watched the motionless beeping flash, wondering if it was Autobots, who it would be. He remembered mostly everyone during the war... Especially those who would come in contact with them now. Perceptor he probably considered his best friend, but he hadn't heard from the mech in a long time. He had started to think he was dead by now a long time ago... Maybe this ship was Perceptor...
No, surely not, he thought, but the more he thought about it, the more he remembered all the mechs during the war. Mirage and Hound... Prowl and Jazz... The twins of course... Ironhide, the mech he had the longest relationship with... All these old relationships and memories. Ancient memories now. He didn't have the slightest if the couples he knew were still together or not. He knew Arcee took it pretty hard when she had to break up with Springer, and when Optimus thought Elita One had died... He'd never seen the semi that hurt and upset. That could very well be the reason why he was so quiet and serious now.
Static erupted on the screen, making him jump. "Bumblebee and I are in the ship," Arcee whispered.
"Tell me what you see."
"I see... um, well, I smell oil..."
"Oil? That's probably why it crashed. Is there oil inside?"
"Yeah... yeah, oil is... everywhere... no mechs, though..."
"Does the ship look familiar? You said one looked - "
"Yeah, Ratchet, it does. Really familiar."
Ratchet huffed to himself, knowing Arcee had known a lot of mechs on a lot of ships. Primus knows what horrific or terrible memories it brought back to her.
"Who's ship does it remind you of?"
Arcee knelt down and picked up a cracked datapad, examining it, looking up around the dark ship. She smelled the datapad, and sighed. "...This is Springer's ship."
"I still can't believe you didn't find a single mech..."
"...It's... harder than it seems."
"Harder than it - "
"Bulkhead," Optimus raised his servo. "Let's be patient."
Bumblebee broke out in all sorts of beeps and blurts as he walked back into the room with a cube of energon and handed it to Arcee.
"Thanks," she muttered.
"Bumblebee's right," Ratchet said. "Maybe they were okay and escaped before we came out there. And at least we do know they were Autobot ships."
Optimus looked to Arcee after a long while. "Are you certain the crashed ship belonged to Springer?"
Arcee just nodded. "That was the same ship we flew together during the war, before we were sent here..."
"What about the one that landed? You never reported anything for that one."
"It was just a general ship, Ratch. Could've been 'Cons for all I know... Maybe they shot down the crashed one."
"And then ran away when they landed and just left their ship there?" Bulkhead smirked.
"I don't know! We need to go back and check it out."
"Arcee, you know that's too dangerous, which is precisely why Ratchet called you back here. We don't know what these ships are or who they belong to," Optimus explained softly.
Arcee just sighed. "But... if there are Autobots out there... we need to find them."
"I understand that, but we need to investigate further first. After we decide what the Decepticons are up to."
Everyone suddenly jumped as static broke through the sound barriers, sounding throughout the monitor. The unknown mech symbol popped up, flickering as its signal just grew weaker and the static grew more choppier. Optimus walked over next to Ratchet and connected the link to page whoever was trying to contact them, and pressed a digit to his audio.
"This is Autobot Outpost Omega One," he said sternly. "Report your status and who you are."
Everyone listened quietly as the static stopped, and started up again after Optimus let go. Heavy cycling just breathed through, with random loud words and random soft words following the rest of the noise. "Fe - "... "Aut - "... Hel - "..."Cybertr - "...
"Autobots? From Cybertron..."
Optimus pressed his audio receptor again. "Report your name, Autobot."
"Opti - "
"Optimus...?"
"What?"
"Me"... "El - "... "Chro - "..."Hel...!"
"El... Who's El?"
Bulkhead shrugged. "It sounded like the mech said 'female'..."
Bumblebee let more bleeps loose as he stood watching the monitor with his arms crossed.
"Yeah, Bee, which is why I'm wondering how females could be contacting us if they were destroyed eons ago."
"Try to pick up their location," Optimus spoke to Ratchet. "Can you report your location?" he asked the screen.
"Twen - ...ive..."... "Degrees west"... "Jasper"...
"Jasper, Nevada?" Arcee spoke up. Ratchet was already typing the location in as he finally found their signal, indeed about 25 degrees west of their location. He set the coordinates into the groundbridge as the static continued.
But the static suddenly stopped, and the monitor went blank. The signal was gone.
"...What happened?"
"I'm not sure..." Ratchet replied, more to himself as he tried to find the signal again. "Their signal wasn't moving until the end of the conversation... and now it's gone."
"Do you think the Decepticons got 'em?"
Optimus did nothing as he looked at the screen. Everyone's optics fell on him, wondering what was going on inside that processor... what they should do, where they should go... Who did they think was contacting them? Who was El, or Chro? Females...? What was going on?
"...Optimus?"
Optimus still paused and was quiet. His servos floated down to rest on the keyboard, and the semi sighed to himself. "That voice..." he broke out finally, hoarsely. "It sounded so familiar..."
Another long pause had everyone still and silent.
The semi eventually merely shook his helm and let go of the keyboard. No, he wouldn't think about it... about who it possibly could be... Because it wasn't possible. Don't think about, he told himself, trying not to, thinking about other Autobots who could be trying to reach them.
"Open up the groundbridge," he spoke. "We will see what is going on."
Ratchet pulled the lever after another moment and the lights twitched everywhere, eventually forming a stable portal of glowing colors. Optimus looked to Arcee, the motorcycle taking it as cue to transform and roll out. Bumblebee followed, with Bulkhead and Optimus right behind them.
[ August 15, 10:40 PM ]
Optimus braked as they entered the dark open field, headlights beaming right on Bumblebee as the scout stopped as well. The semi slowly circled around his team and transformed, standing tall in the pitch black and musty country air, headlights shining in front of him to see whatever they were looking for. He heard the others transform and watched the added headlights shining all around, looking for... something... But he still wasn't exactly sure what.
There was nothing there... Just an empty corn field about twenty feet in front of them. Nothing at all, at least where they could see...
"Why don't we split into two?" Arcee suggested after a while. "We can scan the perimeter with backup."
Optimus looked to her and nodded. "If anything goes awry..."
"We know, Optimus. Same goes to you," Bulkhead warned.
With that the four 'Bots split and parted their separate ways into the corn field. It wasn't necessarily difficult to walk through the corn stalks; One step crushed about a dozen at a time. They just didn't feel the happiest on how they were ruining farmers' hard work... But it was for a good reason, they would explain.
Arcee made her way rather quickly, like the ninja she was, through the maze. Every screech from a bat or hoot from an owl made her jump, but she kept herself sane as she reminded herself how she wasn't alone.
"Will you turn off those high-beams? They're driving me nuts..."
"Sorry," Bulkhead apologized as he lowered the light.
Arcee barely noticed how she already had her forearm blades retracted and ready to swing into action at any time. She stopped and turned to defend herself as an owl hooted rather loudly, sighing and scowling at Bulkhead as he just laughed at her.
"Calm down, Arcee. It's just an Earth creature."
"...Says the 'Bot who screamed like a little girl when he mistook power cords for scraplets."
His smile faded as Arcee then chuckled to herself.
The two continued to walk to the dark, armed and ready to fight whatever might attack them. Arcee walked about 100 feet in front of him, but suddenly stopped harshly. "Wait..." she soon spoke.
"What?"
"...That noise..."
"Another owl?"
"No! It sounds like... something in the field..."
Bulkhead stopped walking as Arcee gestured him to, and listened. He parted his lips and was about to say he couldn't hear anything, when he heard it...
Running through the corn field? That's what it sounded like... Like someone running on the ground and brushing against every stalk. The two stood there and waited... watched, listened, to whatever this thing was... It was so much closer now, and Bulkhead could tell Arcee was really frightened.
"Arcee," he smiled, but his cry finished it off. He crashed to the ground and was gone before the poor motorcycle could even blink.
"Bulkhead!" she cried out, but nothing happened. No one replied. The running had stopped. Several colorful words repeated throughout her processor as she ran towards where Bulkhead had been... bot-napped? She had no idea what just happened...
She dug through the field, shoving every stalk aside as she looked for a big hole for the mech to fall through, or something...
She searched for several solid minutes, searching the entire area at least twice.
Nothing.
Just... a corn field. In the dark.
And now she was alone.
"Careful, Bumblebee..."
He just looked up with a single beep, and stepped more carefully as they walked deeper and deeper into the field.
They had been walking for about a cycle now. Optimus had tried to contact Bulkhead but his comm. link was nothing but static, and he couldn't get any reception with Arcee's. This obviously worried the semi greatly, but he ordered himself and Bumblebee to keep walking. It was probably just Earth interference with this vast open space in the middle of nowhere...
The two walked about another 200 feet before they heard a strange rustling noise... Optimus gestured to Bumblebee to stop walking after a moment, and looked around frantically, his launcher firing up rather quickly.
More beeps left the scout's vocals and had the semi turned to him.
"No, Bumblebee. I'm taking every caution. Who knows what the Decepticons could have planned..."
The rustling was louder now, and both mechs could tell it was definitely coming towards them. Optimus pointed the gun everywhere he heard it, but he still saw nothing. His scanner didn't pick up a thing; just corn stalks.
After another moment, Bumblebee muttered noise once again.
"Perhaps... It's probably just an Earth creature."
Just then a swirling orb of color blasted through the air waves and expanded, the two surprised to see their femme dashing through. "Quick! Get back to base!"
"Arcee, wait. Tell me what's wrong."
"Just - There's no time! Jump in the groundbridge!"
Bumblebee just looked to their leader as he stood there, staring back at Arcee and thinking. What if this was part of the trap? What if it was just really a clone of Arcee... standing there... Primus knew where that groundbridge lead to - He could walk through and land right on Megatron's sword. How did Arcee even get reception to contact Ratchet if he'd been unsuccessfully trying all this time?
"Optimus, it's me," she exclaimed annoyedly. "Please! Listen to me! That rustling noise got Bulkhead!"
"What do you mean - "
"Just hurry and I'll explain later!"
Arcee was about to run out into the field and grab Optimus' hand to drag him through, until she jumped back as Bumblebee yelped with beeps. He feel on his front, and as he tried to stand up again, he was suddenly being dragged backwards by... what? Air? Nothing?
"Bumblebee!" they cried almost in sync.
He reached out a hand in panic, but was being dragged away too fast. His frame started to go downwards, into the ground, feet first... the poor scout shouting beeps and blurts of all kinds. Optimus finally grasped his hand after running towards him with Arcee right behind him. He pulled forcefully, but whatever force was bringing him down was just as strong.
Arcee grasped his other hand and pulled strongly, little luck showing. "Agghhh! Use your legs, Bee!"
More beeps flew out as he tried to kick at whatever was pulling him down, until one eventually got loose. He wrapped either hand around either 'Bot's arm as they still pulled heavily on him, success finally peeking as he slowly emerged out of the dark hole.
Arcee gasped in pain as she felt something nip hard on the back of her leg, but she still held a firm grip. "That's it Bee, use your legs!"
He struggled to push himself upwards, but one leg was completely numb from whatever had bit him and brought him down to his faceplate earlier. The other scrabbled against the dirt wall until he got it out, bending at the surface and pushing himself up. Optimus pulled as hard as he could, until they had the muscle car completely above ground and were able to let go and run.
"Are you alright?" Optimus actually found himself slightly panting.
Bumblebee looked to his limp numb leg and tried to stand up, with very little luck.
"He's hurt - "
"We have to get through that groundbridge!" he said worriedly. "Help me carry him."
Arcee lifted his arm around her shoulder and the two helped him fast-limp to the glowing portal. Arcee softly grunted with every step, every painful step...
Optimus heard a deep snarling, but didn't turn to see what it was. It would only slow them down. They were almost there... Just another ten feet or so...
Ratchet just gave them all strange looks as they practically leaped through the groundbridge and into their base, the three panting and covered with dirt as they stood there, relief flooding their circuits as they heard the groundbridge slowly closing behind them. And no snarling to follow.
"Primus," Ratchet sighed. "What happened out there?"
"We will explain later... Right now Bumblebee is very injured."
"Get him to the berth," the medic snapped. "Arcee too."
"What?"
"Don't think I can't see you limping. Sit down."
Optimus gently lowered the poor scout onto the berth, not realizing he'd been twitching from shock and pain. The youngling was nearly offline as he laid there, he and Ratchet gasping the the sight of his one leg smoking as it was just about disintegrating.
"Arcee?"
"Hmm?" she spoke weakly.
The medic slowly turned his head to her, optics wide. "Tell me what happened out there..."
Bumblebee sat there with a large blanket around him, Ratchet still surprised he had found the thing. The scout still shivered from the not-nearly-as-intense pain in his leg, but now just mostly from shock. That, and how he was adjusting to all the energon flowing through him, since Ratchet had given him much more as he had lost too much from the wound. Bumblebee couldn't help but feeling his new shiny leg every minute... Ratchet wanted him to stop so he didn't disturb the healing and just about smacked his hand away every time. But that of course didn't stop him, especially when the medic wasn't looking.
"Stop it, Bee, and drink this."
He handed him some energon as he finally finished up and moved on to Arcee. "Alright..."
"...Looks like Bee's..." she spoke hoarsely after a moment.
Ratchet just observed for a while before he agreed. "Your's isn't as bad as his."
She continued to shiver as Ratchet scanned her entire leg. He flipped it over, slowly as she whimpered in pain, and gasped as he found something with the scanner.
"What is it?" Optimus asked.
"Look at this," he said softly, Optimus kneeling down to look at the back of her ankle plate. "Bite marks..."
The leader just looked for a moment, lips parted ever so slightly as this really did surprise both of them. "Bite marks? What could have bit her that's that big?"
"I have... no idea..." he hummed. "Only thing big enough to leave so sharp an indent in this thick of metal, and leave a jaw mark this big... that I can think of... would be..."
"No, Ratchet. That's impossible."
"Who else could have done this besides Ravage, hm?"
Arcee closed her mouth as she thought. He was right... Ravage was the only thing large and capable enough to do this.
"Besides, the bite obviously contained a serious virus. I thought I saw something like this on Bumblebee's leg, but I couldn't tell with all the mess."
"A virus..." Optimus spoke quietly. "Could... Ravage contain a virus like that?"
Ratchet shrugged. "Doesn't surprise me what those 'Cons do, Prime. They're disgusting creatures... Who knows what they've done or will do to their own. Or maybe Ravage already had that trait. I don't know. I've never come face to face with him."
"Because he's dead," Arcee reminded them both. "Besides, if he was alive on Cybertron, how would just he get to Earth?"
"Many questions to be answered, Arcee," Optimus soothed. "But for now, let's just rest. You need it."
"When I'm done, take a decontamination bath first," Ratchet advised. "Then recharge. Then we will find out where Bulkhead is."
Arcee just weakly nodded and winced as she laid down on her backstrut as Ratchet repaired her virus-encoded limb.
As he onlined, barely anything could be made out. It looked like... a ceiling... A dark purple, almost black metal ceiling. His optics focused more and more, until he was online enough to feel the throbbing pain in both his legs; he let out a moan of discomfort, and discovered the multiple painful dents throughout his backstrut and chassis as he shifted every so slightly.
"Wha... What is this place..." he murmured to himself. What was this horrid pain in his legs? What the slag happened in that field?"
The field... The corn field; was Arcee still there? he wondered. He worried about everyone else... He wanted to know where he was, and what this pit-slagging pain was. He tried to remember what had happened... All he could recall was this sharp sudden pain in his left ankle plate, and before he knew it his entire leg was numb. And now it had spread to both legs and almost his entire panel. It felt almost like... something bit him. Or someone... Not an Earth creature, he knew. He was much too big for something so small to affect him like this. Decepticons? But what Deception had a jaw like that?
Bulkhead gasped as he thought of the only one... The only thing -
Another moan disrupted his thoughts. But it wasn't from him... It was... from across the room?
He turned to look, but saw very little in the darkness. He could make out a shape over on the far wall. The shape was moving! It was alive... Maybe it was another 'Bot. Their shape looked similar in size to Bumblebee the more he focused his optics.
He heard another one scrape against the metal berth. He turned and saw another dark shape, this one more close to Ratchet's size.
*Oh dear Primus... Please don't let them all be the team...*
The one he was sure was Bumblebee groaned again. But Bumblebee couldn't groan... He lifted up his servos from the berth, but they were chained down. Bulkhead tried his own, and found the same results.
But... there were only the two shapes... and himself. No one that resembled Arcee or Optimus Prime. He still would like to know what happened... Was Ravage on Earth? After being dead for eons?
"H-Hey..." he hoarsed weakly, vocals nearly static. "You guys okay over there?"
The shapes immediately turned towards him, dull blue optics shining bright in the black room. No one responded.
Bulkhead was about to speak something again as the doors swooshed open, two tall broad chuckling mechs shoving a very weak and whimpering one forward. "Pl-Please... D-Don't..."
*By the...* he started thinking... That voice! It wasn't a mech! Unless he was very feminine... It was a femme's vocals. Bulkhead hadn't seen or heard a femme since before the war, but he still could pick one out when he saw one. He thought any mech could. Oh wow... a femme... Just her frame outline in the dark light made it obvious. He wondered which one it was... It didn't sound like Elita One, but it was possibly one her top spies for sure.
"Quit your whining," the second mech snapped. It was no doubt a 'Con. "Or should we have a repeat of our last session, hm?"
The femme quickly shook her head as she winced in pain again. The first Vehicon threw her to a berth and chained her down like the rest of them, still chuckling evilly as she just weakly kicked in unsuccessful protest.
"Now be a good femme, or Megatron will happily get what he wants outta that sweet little aft of yours," he teased.
She just whimpered as the Vehicon patted her cheek plate. He slowly turned and stopped, and turned to look at Bulkhead over on the opposite wall. Bulkhead gulped as he kept a constant stare on both Decepticons, keeping his cool as one of them walked towards him.
"Beefy little mech," he teased, the other smirking. "Don't worry, two ton. You'll have your chance soon enough."
The first one unchained the one that reminded him of Ratchet and forced him to stand up. By the shouts and whimpers of protest as the two forced him out, Bulkhead could tell it was definitely a mech, but not one of their own. When the light from the hallway hit him, his frame was a bright green with a little yellow, and had silver legs. Sometime told him he'd seen that mech before... but he couldn't place a name.
"Shut up," he heard, the with that the doors slammed shut.
The room was pitch black and silent once again.
That is, until it got so quiet you could hear the femme's chokey cycles of air and hissings of pain.
"Beta..." one spoke weakly. "Are you alright?"
The femme wheezed another breathe. "Y-Yes..."
"What did they do to you?"
She merely shook her head as she was too weak to speak, and didn't want to say anything. The other femme, Bulkhead had discovered by her vocals as well, had stopped talking too. The one called Beta laid there in pain... Bulkhead tried not to think what those horrific mechs had done to her. Rape was a big thing they were known for... he wouldn't be surprised if that's what happened.
All of a sudden the doors opened again, and a mech was thrown inside with the doors slamming shut behind him. The brief lighting showed Beta was also a bright green with a little yellow, and the one thrown in and now unconscious was a bright red with blue here and there, and the second femme was mainly pink.
*Surely it couldn't be... No... That's not possible... Then again, neither is Ravage...*
"Mirage!"
*Mirage? Is that really him? Primus, who all was on that ship?*
"Are you okay?"
No answer.
"M-Mira-age," Beta choked out. "Please, answer us..."
Still no answer.
"Hey you!" one of them shouted after another moment.
Bulkhead looked up and saw two beady optics on him. "Me?"
"Yeah! Are you injured?"
"No... No, I'm okay."
"Can you break through the chains?"
Bulkhead looked down to his arms in the darkness, optics brightening to their fullest to see the chains better. "I don't know..." he said, and pulled rather hard on them.
"Try harder," she whispered harshly.
"I am..."
"If you can break them, you can free us and we can get outta here!"
Bulkhead struggled to yank as hard as he could. He heard his left chain click loudly as it loosened, but he stopped after another klik or so.
"C'mon..."
The warrior just tried again, and eventually loosened the other one. With another couple tries and tugs, he soon had one chain free and finally they both flew to the ground with a loud clatter.
"Don't make too much noise," one reminded him. "They might come back with Springer - "
"Springer?"
"That's right. Do you know him?"
"Yeah..." he said as he eventually got to his pedes. "Yeah, we were Wreckers together..."
"Oh really?" the pink one said as he neared her first. "What's your name?"
Bulkhead grunted as he grabbed the chain and broke it off with full force. "...Bulkhead."
Once the pink femme was on her own pedes, she looked to Beta as he made his way towards her. "Bulkhead..."
"Yeah. I'm with... Optimus Prime and his team."
"Optimus Prime?" The pink one exclaimed almost happily. "He's here? Where? Is he alright?"
"Will you keep your voice down? The 'Cons'll be back any second!"
The femme shut her mouth at the words and watched as the big mech just ripped the chains off like they were plastic. Bulkhead turned around back to her after he helped Beta stand up weakly. "Sorry... I'm just worried and don't know what happened... or why I'm here. Optimus runs the Autobot Outpost Omega One just outside Jasper, Nevada with me and a few others. I don't know his status; I just woke up here."
"Oh..." she sighed. "Yeah, we located a few signals in Jasper but didn't know who it was. I can't believe Optimus - "
"Wait," Beta shushed her. "I hear them..."
"Get down under the berths and stay there," he chirped. "Don't come out until I say."
"What - "
"Just do it!"
The two femmes hunkered down under their berths and waited as Bulkhead did the same. The doors eventually swooshed open, a single strip of light shining on the cold metal floor and revealing two more tall 'Cons with a slumped-over mech.
"Throw him down," one ordered. "He can keep his other offline friend some company."
The other Vehicon chuckled as he watched Springer fall to to the ground with a loud clash, and looked as the second one made his way to the other femme's berth.
He stopped in shock at the empty berth and lifted up a broken chain. "Where are they!"
"What do you mean where are they? They couldn't have gone anywhere!"
"Then why the hell are their chains broke?" he shouted. "What happened - "
Bulkhead just shouted as he ran out from under the berth, wrecking ball transforming and slamming right into the Vehicon's metal helm.
"Did you ever get a fix on Bulkhead's coordinates?"
"No. Not yet."
"Have you even tried?"
Ratchet just turned to Arcee with a look on his faceplate. "No. I've just been standing here all night, waiting for Primus to send him crashing through the ceiling."
Arcee merely snarled at his sarcasm.
Ratchet jumped and turned back to the screen as it just then started to beep. "It's his signal..."
"Is he hurt?"
"No... It says he's fine... But it can't pinpoint his location!" he exclaimed angrily.
"Perhaps, it is because it is cloaked," Optimus spoke up from across the room. He had been watching over Bumblebee's unconscious frame for the past ten kliks, thinking about everything that had happened... that ship, that call... Who was on it? What had bitten Bumblebee and Arcee? He didn't even know if the scout would make it, even though Ratchet said he was fine now. He looked so tired and weak, and his metal was dull and soft, a sign of strong illness. The metal simply looked rotten near his ankle plating, even with the new metal Ratchet had attached. "Bulkhead's signal may be located on the Decepticon warship."
"...Which is cloaked, and why we can't pick it up."
Ratchet just kept his hand on his chin as he thought. "We need to figure out the ship's location," he said.
"What part of it's cloaked didn't you get...?"
"...But what if we uncloak it?"
Arcee just looked to Ratchet confusedly. "What?"
"If I can hack into the Decepticon mainframe, uncloaking their signal will be a piece of cake," Rafael smiled.
"Just hurry," the medic replied. "We need his signal location."
"I'm trying my best. Do you know any Cybertronian codes?"
Ratchet just scoffed. "Of course."
Rafael turned his laptop screen to Ratchet, the medic humming as his thought it over. "All you need is a code?"
"That's right."
"What about security?"
"I managed to hack through everything; I tried the same thing for this but it didn't work. I'm trying the code way."
Ratchet just sighed to himself and went over everything he could think of in his processor. "Here..." he said, and brought the laptop image onto his main screen. He typed at the large keyboard a long code of squiggles and lines and dots, and entered the Cybertronian code.
"Access denied." The computer nearly smirked at him.
"Umm..." He tried another long code, and got the same results.
"Try this one," Arcee suggested, and typed it in but it still didn't work.
After another five red exclamation marks, Optimus walked over coolly. "If I may..." he said, and slowly but expertly typed at the keyboard.
Of course it works for him.
"We're in!"
"Now are you completely in their mainframe?"
"Yep. Just gotta turned off the cloaking device, and Bulkhead's signal's location will pop right up."
Everyone watched the large screen as Raf typed at his laptop. It showed everything in the Decepticon mainframe; they could have hacked into anything. Cybertronian data and information, codes, whatever their next move would be... But Bulkhead was their only concern. They ignored everything that popped up as Raf surfed through the data, waiting for the human to finally find the cloaking orders.
"Aaaand... Got it."
"There!"
Bulkhead's signal automatically located itself on the screen, blinking brightly right in the middle of the Nemesis.
"Where is that, Ratchet?"
"It's... just outside here," he finally said. "They haven't moved. I don't see how we didn't see them before - "
"Whatever! We found him, now set the groundbridge and go get him!"
"I am afraid it is not that easy, Rafael," Optimus spoke up. "Only one of us, and I, will board the Nemesis to find Bulkhead and bring him back. But we cannot make ourselves known."
"We can 'bridge you inside a storage bunker," Arcee suggested. "From there you go find him and bring him back."
"But we don't know where on the Nemesis he is," Ratchet reminded her.
"It doesn't matter."
Everyone turned towards their leader as he spoke up again.
"We will and find him, and we will find those other Autobots from the fields," he finished.
"RUN!"
The pink one shot out from under her berth and grabbed Beta's hand, pulling her out and up and helping her run weakly out their prison. "What about Mirage and Springer?"
"Grab one of 'em!" he shouted back as three more Vehicons piled on top of him. "I'll get the other!"
The femme sighed heavily as a Vehicon spotted and lunged for her and Beta. She twirled to the side, the 'Con face-planting the wall as she reached for Mirage and dragged him out of the dark room.
"Eghhh... A-Are you okay?" she asked the green femme as they made it out the room. She nodded in reply as he helped lift Mirage over the pink Autobot's shoulder, wincing in pain as her own stung from the unwanted stretch.
"What about you?"
"I'm alright... Now help me find Chromia and Moonracer."
"What about Firestar?" she breathed painfully with every step.
"...She's dead."
"What? How do you know that?"
"Because while you were still passed out in those straps, I saw her with the bullet holes in her chassis. She's gone."
The two stopped and flew to behind the corner as four more Vehicons ran down the hall towards the large brig. "Well... Where do you think the others are?"
"Who knows. Blurr could be dead with his big mouth for all I know."
Beta actually smiled as they painfully made their way down the empty metal hallway. Mirage gently clinked against the pink metal as they moved slowly, cautiously peering into every little room for signs of their three remaining comrades.
The two continued walking for a long while. It surprised them how they hadn't seen any other Decepticons other than the few Minors that ran their way. Every room they passed was empty, though, although these were just storage rooms. They could tell they were getting closer to the brigs from that retched and vile smell.
The pink femme turned around after a while to glance at Beta, noticing how she'd become fairly quiet. The green femme just walked limply, holding her wrist with the other servo as she tiredly looked through every room they passed.
"Beta..." she eventually spoke. "Tell me what happened."
Beta simply looked up, optics so dull with exhaustion they looked as if they would fall right out of her helm. She just shook it and turned back to the rooms.
The femme stopped and turned around completely to face her friend. "Beta."
"Nothing happened," she whispered as she stopped in her tracks.
"...I know something happened."
"Why do you want to know?"
The pink 'Bot sighed to herself after a moment, and shifted Mirage so her shoulder was more comfortable. "I just... want to be here for you."
"You already are."
"Just tell me..." she eventually said softly. "Did they... hurt you? In... that..."
A simple nod and pressed quivering lips told her a solid 'yes'.
She sighed again as the poor thing tried to hold back the tears. "Oh honey..." she soothed. "Honey, don't cry..."
"I-I'm not..." she sniffled. The other just looked at her, not even wanting to image the mental suffering she was going through, and would for the rest of her lifestream, from being raped. She felt so bad... She wished it would have been her instead of the young femme. Perhaps they would have taken her anyway, though, since they were going to take her before they discovered she wasn't on the berth.
"I'm so sorry, sweetheart," she soothed naturally. They were only good friends, but she still had that femme nature in her that acted like a mother to everyone. She smoothly stroked Beta's trembling arm and back, relaxing her until they found themselves walking down the hall again.
"You know..." the green one spoke up after another while. "We never would have made it out without him."
"Without who."
"Bulkhead."
"Oh... Yes, I suppose you're right." She gave off a little chuckle. "I'd be scrap metal by now if he hadn't freed me. Or you."
She nodded in reply as they turned the corner. "You think he's alright?"
"I sure hope so. I'd hate for a such a good mech to die like that... and Springer too since he's still in there."
"I wish... wait, look..."
"Hm?"
She looked to where Beta was pointing, and slightly gasped. A servo laid stuck out of a brig cell on the floor, energon leaking all around it.
"Great Primus," she sighed as they ran towards it.
"Oh..." Beta covered her mouth in disgust and horror. "Chromia..."
The poor blue femme laid unconscious on the cold floor, half her faceplate just torn to shreds with her left arm ripped off and thrown across the cell. Her right arm was barely attached to its socket as it rested through the bars on the floor, with whatever remaining parts and circuitry of her destroyed chassis leaked with energon everywhere. The image made the two hope to Primus she was dead... They didn't want her alive and suffering like this.
"Oh..."
"C-C'mon, hon. Don't look." The pink 'Bot urged her on after a moment. "Maybe the others are down here somewhere..."
"What is Ironhide going to say...?" Beta looked like she was going to start crying again at the thought of Ironhide's spark being broken by the news of his lover dead. The thought alone made her spark sink.
"He's still on Cybertron. He'll be alright."
"B-But what if they're in the same shape? What about Powerglide? A-And Inferno?"
"Inferno already knows about Firestar. Fortunately I wasn't the one who had to tell the poor mech. Now come on and help me find the others."
It didn't take long for them to find their green femme sprawled out in the corner of a further brig cell, energon leaking all around her.
"Is she dead?"
"I... I don't know..."
She lowered Mirage down and fiddled with the key to unlock the cell. She slowly stepped in, trying not to cycle in the foul stench as she neared the green Autobot. She squatted down in front of her, and whispered her name.
"Moonracer," she repeated louder. She tapped against her cheek plate, and both femmes gasped as Moonracer suddenly onlined.
"She's alive!"
"'Racer, can you hear me?"
Her optics slowly and painfully adjusted and focused on whoever was speaking to her. She nodded as she finally processed the words, then let out a long groan of sincere pain.
"How many fingers am I holding up?" the pink one asked quickly, and held up four fingers.
"...F-Four..."
She merely smiled as she knew Moonracer would be fine. Well, at least that's one they've found in decent shape... now if only they could find Blurr.
"Can you walk?" Beta asked as the other femme helped her out the brig. Moonracer nodded unsure, but she managed to get better the more steps she took.
"What... is happening..." she moaned.
"We're gonna get you out of here, hon," the pink one soothed. "Don't worry. You're going to be fine."
They walked a few pede steps before Bulkhead ran around the corner, Springer slung over his shoulder while he had Blurr's arm in his other hand. "You guys alright?"
"Hi guys! Do you where we are? My head hurts. What do you think of this ship? Pretty purple... How's Moonracer? Where's Chromia and Firestar? Are you guys okay? Why is 'Racer-"
"Shut it!"
"I see Blurr is fine..." Beta spoke quietly.
The pink femme just nodded slowly to Bulkhead as Moonracer kept gripping her aching head. "We found Moonracer. She's going to be okay."
"Okay..." he replied as he looked around the empty hallways. He still wasn't sure why any alarms weren't sounding - Maybe this was a dream? Surely not... He didn't have time to think. He needed to out of here, now. Before any more Vehicons, or Megatron himself, found them.
"Follow me," he eventually said. He ran down the hallway straight across from him, the others running behind him. Bulkhead hardly paid any attention to how Blurr just shot right past them, leaving a blue streak of light behind them in the dim hall. The four just followed Bulkhead, having stopping every now in then for Bulkhead to decide which hall to take.
"You run around here like you know every inch," the pink one panted.
"I've... had my visits."
The femme just looked to Beta slightly behind her. "Are you doing okay?"
"Yeah... Do you need me to take him?"
She just shook her head and said she was fine as they ran. She set him down at their next corner stop to catch her breath, even though she was still getting use to the whole 'breathing' thing. Cycling air indeed help the flow of energon with this atmospheric pressure of the Earth, but it still felt strange.
"Wait, what's that?" Beta pointed to the end of their next hallway towards a glowing orb that seemed to be shining from the storage room.
"Um..." Bulkhead just panted as they ran, knowing the Vehicons he hadn't made unconscious were just a hallway behind them. "It looks like... a groundbridge?"
"Who would send a groundbridge to our coordinates?"
"...What other Autobot team lives on Earth?"
"Optimus Prime?" the pink one asked, shocked. "Or it could be a Decepticon coming through to his ship."
"Well... That's a chance we're willing to take. Besides, Ratchet probably sent it, under Prime's orders, since no one is coming out."
"Ratchet?" Beta stopped dead in the hallway. Bulkhead and the others stopped to recycle their energon flow and turn to her, watching how her faceplate suddenly showed sincere fear and shock.
Bulkhead shifted Springer as he spoke. "That's right... Ratchet. You know him?"
The pink femme looked to Bulkhead as Beta nodded slowly. "I-I can't go through there..."
"Why not? They're coming!"
"It'll be okay, Beta," Moonracer breathed. "Once we get through the 'bridge we can think better."
"C'mon, hon." The pink femme reached out her hand, and the green 'Bot took it. They all started to run once more, Blurr stopping right at the foot of the groundbridge to wait for everyone else. The others picked up full speed just as the other Vehicons ran around the corner, just a few feet from them, when Bulkhead jumped through the glowing storage room with everyone else right behind him.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
"Keep an optic on Bulkhead's coordinates," Optimus spoke to the medic. "And keep trying to find the others."
"I am, Optimus."
"We'll make sure he's still there," Raf added as he gave him a thumbs up.
The leader merely nodded as he and Arcee turned back towards the open groundbridge. Optimus took the lead and started for the portal, when Arcee made him stop as she saw something.
Optimus slightly moved to the side as Bulkhead came flying through the groundbridge, he and some other green mech crashing to the ground. Ratchet ran over to him as Optimus was about to, but watched as two more smaller mechs ran through.
No... one didn't look like a mech... But a femme?
"Whooo! I haven't been through one o' those since before the war! Well not really, Ultra Magnus and I just visited Junk a few solar cycles ago! Then again that was a spacebr-"
"Shh, Blurr," Moonracer said quietly.
"Who are you?" Raf jumped off his chair to stand against the bars to see them better.
"Blurr! Who are you?"
"Um, Raf... What are you doing here?"
"We... crashed here - "
"Just you three?" Ratchet asked as he rolled the green mech on his back and helped Bulkhead to his pedes.
"No... two other femmes."
"Femmes..." Optimus looked up at the talking sea foam 'Bot from where he now stood by the unconscious Bulkhead on the berth.
"What, like, more females?" Raf asked.
Moonracer nodded. "I don't know if there are any others on Cybertron besides us." She looked to Arcee as she just looked her over, wondering if she looked like that... Was she bonded? What did she do on Cybertron? Who were the other femmes? Oh, this would be so weird... Arcee was so used to being the only femme, and now she couldn't stop thinking what it would be like with three others...
She didn't even pay attention when the other two finally dashed through the portal.
Or when Optimus had to look twice before he dropped Ratchet's drill, optics wide and lips parted in shock as every memory he ever lived instantly shot through his processor at the image of that beautiful pink femme standing there, in his outpost, right in front of him... But too far away to just reach out and touch her. It was like they were still separated...
The leader barely heard Ratchet's scowling "I needed that!" as he just watched the femme as the groundbridge finally closed. He watched until she found him... until her own pretty optics flickered up to his from across the room.
He mentally panicked as they made sudden optic contact. He saw her own little lips part in bewilderment, her own optics widening as she stayed perfectly still. All these years where they thought each other weren't even alive, when they thought each other were dead from that attack, were over... They were here, right in front of each other, barely noticing how the entire room fell into a deep deathly silence.
That is, until the semi stopped his shaking hands and formed two small, two quiet words.
"Elita... One..."