If you are just finding this story, this chapter fits between 'Stealing the Spider's Prey' (ch 25) and 'Nemesis Prime' (ch 26) of my main fic 'Cybertronian Rebel Corps', but I'm posting it separate because I'm sure that not everyone who has watched Prime has watched Transformers Rescue Bots.
So yeah. Liliy and the Rescue Bots. I plan to post a prequel chapter later telling how Liliy actually met them.
This chapter covers episodes 'What Lies Below' and 'What Rises Above' (s2e10&11) of the Rescue Bots series.
Optimus had just finished a video comm with Heatwave, the leader of the Rescue Bot team he had assigned to work with the humans on a certain island. Liliy entered the main room humming to herself while reading a book. She was seemingly oblivious of Optimus watching her as she crossed the floor. He wondered if she knew about the Rescue Bots. Or if she had even met them yet.
"Liliy." He said her name as she finished climbing the stairs to the top tier.
She looked up from her book and met his optics. "Hm?"
"I need to go to Griffin Rock. Would you like to come with me?"
"Frag yes!" she exclaimed with enthusiasm, snapping her book shut.
Optimus raised an optic ridge at her. Liliy had a bad habit of cursing aloud now that her identity was exposed. He didn't appreciate it very much, especially around the children.
"Uh. Sorry. Yes. I would love to go with you," she corrected herself sheepishly.
"So you have met them?"
"Well, yeah. They kinda did some time traveling and met past me when I was investigating Griffin Rock so I had to go visit them in the present. I actually told them who I was right off the bat because it was the only explanation I had for not aging in like 70 years."
"They never reported about you."
"I may have had Echo intercept their reports and remove all the information about me," she admitted. "But I haven't been back since then because things got busy around here. Unicron and all that." She waved dismissively. "However, Delta has been collaborating with Boulder and Dr. Greene on some of their experiments. Heatwave probably doesn't know." She shrugged. "Why are you going there anyway?"
"Heatwave just called about an energon deposit they found beneath the island. I am going to go help them mine it."
"Then definitely count me in. I am just as good at mining as Mike and Nova."
[How long have you had this trailer?] Liliy asked via her internal comm, watching the transport bump along behind them. She sat against the back of Optimus' cab, her camouflage mode active so passing traffic could not see her.
{Ratchet made it for me not long after we arrived on Earth.} Optimus replied via his comm since she was outside his cab. {I just don't use it very often because of its odd design.}
[Well, I'm sure it will fit right in on Griffin Rock.]
{Indeed… Liliy, would you mind sitting in the driver's seat when we get to the ferry? I believe Chief Burns is going meet us at the dock so you don't have to ride inside on the way to the firehouse.}
[Don't you have a holoform?]
{Yes, but it is broken and I just never bothered to ask Ratchet to fix it.}
Liliy rolled her eyes. [Hhh. Fine.]
{Thank you.}
[But you're going to get your holoform fixed when we get back. I'll do it myself if I have to.]
{As you wish.}
Just as Optimus said, Chief Charlie Burns was waiting for them on the dock when the ferry arrived at Griffin Rock. He stood tall in his police uniform and his hair and moustache were gray with age.
"Liliy. This is an unexpected surprise," he said as she hopped out of the cab after Optimus pulled off the ferry.
"Optimus invited me along," she replied. "It's been awhile since I visited so I accepted."
"Well, it is very nice to see you again."
"Thanks. Do you mind 'driving' to the firehouse? I've had just about all I can take of sitting in the front seat."
"Sure, Liliy. I don't mind."
"Great." She promptly hopped up to her previous spot, sitting on the back outside the cab. "Ready when you are."
Chief Burns smiled and climbed into the cab.
"Thank you for coming on such short notice, Optimus," he said as he buckled in and the big rig started to move. "Heatwave told me that finding energon here was important."
"Indeed," rumbled Optimus. "Energon is very precious and necessary for our survival."
The Rescue Bots and the Burnses, with the exception of Boulder and Cody, were waiting outside the firehouse when Optimus arrived pulling the trailer. Liliy jumped off his back as Chief Burns climbed out of his cab.
"Liliy!" several voices exclaimed at once.
Dani ran over to hug her. "Since when does Optimus have a caboose?" she whispered.
Liliy chuckled and whispered back. "His alt is a semi. Sometimes he actually does some heavy hauling."
Optimus detached his trailer and transformed. "Greetings, Rescue Bots."
"Nice rig," commented Heatwave.
"The transport is for carrying energon to the surface, once the Rescue Bots, Liliy, and I harvest it from underground."
"We'd like to help you, if we can," offered Charlie.
"I do not wish to endanger your family, Chief."
"Great. Yet another trip to the center of the Earth we won't be taking," Kade grumbled. "And even Liliy gets to go on this one."
"We will require the coordinates your brother found," said Optimus.
"Yeah… A bit of a problem," said Heatwave.
"Woodrow's kind of… disappeared," Charlie clarified.
"Heatwave! Chief!" Boulder called as he came running out of the firehouse. "Optimus, thank Primus." He spotted Liliy. "Oh. Hey, Liliy." He waved and she waved back.
"Boulder, what's wrong?" asked Charlie.
"Uh, right. Chief! Cody and your brother. The forger took off tunneling with them inside!"
"Then let's roll to the-" started Heatwave.
Boulder stopped him. "We'd never reach it, Heatwave. It has too much of a head start."
"It appears our mining expedition is now a rescue mission," said Optimus. "For the entire team."
Charlie nodded.
"Rescue Bots, vehicle mode," Optimus ordered. "Then onto my transport."
"No offense, Optimus, but how can you pulling us on a trailer be any faster than going ourselves?" Heatwave asked.
"Let's just say there is more to this transport than meets the eye."
"Really, Optimus?" Liliy asked. "You couldn't just say it's rocket-powered?"
[Well, this is certainly faster than what you can normally do but I can still run faster than this.] Liliy commented as they barreled down the tunnel that the forger had made.
{Would you like to get off and push?} Optimus shot back.
Liliy blinked, startled that Optimus would even make such a sassy retort. But she made sure her reply carried only a smirk. [I'm good.]
The end of the tunnel was blocked by fallen rock but Optimus did not slow down.
{Everyone, hold on. We are going to break thru.}
He plowed right through the blockade like it was nothing but Liliy was certain it probably left a least a couple dents. It was an open cavern on the other side. Prime slammed on his brakes and turned hard. The transport whipped around and came to a stop.
Cody and Woodrow Burns were cornered and in danger of being attacked by giant cave spiders. The Rescue Bots immediately transformed and leapt across the cave to surround and protect them. Liliy hopped off Optimus just before he detached from his trailer. He transformed as well and joined the Rescue Bots.
Liliy had grabbed onto Prime's leg after he transformed so that he could carry her over to the two trapped humans rather than having to run thru the spiders herself. Not that she really cared. She had no problem with killing organic creatures. It's just her way of killing things could get pretty gruesome and she didn't know how the humans, or even the Autobots for that matter, might react. So she decided to leave the protecting to the mechs.
"Cody!" she called, letting go of Prime's leg and hurrying over to him.
"Liliy!" He hugged her. "What are you doing here?"
"I came with Optimus," she said as the spiders decided to attack the Bots.
The spiders were pretty tough. The Bots smacked and swatted them away without killing them.
"That new robot," Woodrow said, watching Optimus punched away a couple of spiders that were descending on threads from the ceiling. "Impressive!"
Liliy suddenly pushed Cody behind her as more spiders approached from the side. They shot webbing at them. It stuck to Liliy's legs and Cody. Woodrow got all wrapped as well. Liliy ripped a piece of webbing off and quickly analyzed it.
"Heatwave!" she shouted to get the fire-bot's attention. "I need some water!"
The Bots turned at Liliy's shout, alarmed to see that the humans were still in trouble despite their efforts to keep the spiders at bay. Heatwave used the sprayers on his servos to wash away the spiders closest to the humans before he carefully turned the water on the humans themselves. The webbing that had them all wrapped up dissolved like cotton candy.
Some of the spiders tried to attack again but Heatwave got in front of them and turned his sprayers on full blast. The spiders that were washed away decided to retreat back into the hole they came out of.
"Herd 'em this way," ordered Heatwave.
The other Bots shooed the rest of spiders toward the hole in the wall, kicking and swatting at them as they ran. After the last spider disappeared into the hole, Heatwave sprayed some water into the hole to discourage any reappearances. Then he leapt, broke off a large stalactite from the ceiling, and sealed the hole with it.
After landing, he immediately transformed to let his partner out now that it was safe. The other Rescue Bots followed suit, transforming back to bot mode once their humans were out.
Charlie left Chase and went right over to Cody.
"Oh, Cody." He hugged his son. Then he looked up at his brother. "What on earth were you thinking? Didn't I tell you-"
"It wasn't his fault, Dad," Cody insisted. "The forger just took off and-"
"No, Cody," Woodrow admitted. "Your dad's right. It's my fault for sneaking off on this wild goose chase. I put you in danger, and I'm sorry for that."
"Thank you, Woodrow," Charlie said. "Apology accepted."
"The worst part is…" Woodrow continued. "This entire trip was pointless. No lost civilization, no signs of alien life." Liliy opened her mouth to interrupt but Woodrow kept talking. "You're right, Charlie. I've wasted my whole life just chasing shadows. As soon as we get to the surface, I'll head home. And get out of your family's hair."
"Why is he talking about hair?" Chase whispered.
"A metaphor. I'll explain later," Blades whispered back.
"But, uncle Woodrow, what are you going to do?" Cody asked.
"I'm not sure. But I have to face it. Atlantis, Shangri-La… No such things. And aliens have never visited because they don't exist."
While Woodrow hung his head in defeat, everyone else looked at Charlie.
"What?"
"He is family, Dad," Graham said.
"You can't let him go on thinking he's failed," added Kade.
"I mean if it were Kade, I'd try to cheer him up," Dani said. "Maybe."
"Tell him, Dad!" insisted Cody.
"Tell me what?" asked Woodrow, suddenly curious.
"If you don't want to tell him, Chief, I will," Liliy said. "He has, after all, led us to a much needed 'alien' resource."
"You probably would tell anyone, wouldn't you?" asked Kade.
"No way!" Liliy shot back. "There are humans out there who absolutely do not need to know of our existence. But your uncle is not one of them."
"What are you guys talking about?" Woodrow asked again.
Charlie sighed and looked up at Optimus for permission since the Rescue Bots were part of his command. The Prime replied with a nod. Charlie turned back to Woodrow.
"Woodrow, little brother," he said. "I don't know about Shangri-La, or Atlantis. But I can tell you as a point of fact: Aliens do exist."
Woodrow sighed. "You don't have to do this, Charlie. It doesn't make me feel any better."
"Well maybe this will." Charlie turned to the Bots. "Team, introduce yourselves."
The red fire-bot spoke up first. "Heatwave. Pleased to meet you."
"My name is Chase," said the blue police-bot. "And I am proud to be your brother's policing partner."
"Boulder," the green tractor-bot said.
"Blades. And now that I can speak freely," the orange and white copter-bot added, "can I just say how terrifying those spiders were." Heatwave tapped his digits on Blades' shoulder to imitate spiders' feet. Blades smacked his servo away. "Not gonna fall for it."
Woodrow was so startled that he took a tiny step back when Optimus stepped up to introduce himself. The Prime retracted his battle mask.
"I am Optimus Prime. And Chief Burns is correct. To the people of Earth, we are aliens. Our home planet of Cybertron is most likely unknown to you."
"We'd tell you what galaxy it's in," added Boulder, "but you haven't heard of that, either."
"I was right. I was right!" Woodrow said with a laugh. "I just… I just… My DES worked!" He gripped his brother's shoulders. "Charlie, it found aliens! I just never figured you'd be the one hiding them." He turned to the Bots. "So… You guys… Cybernites!"
"Cybertronians, actually." Liliy stepped into his view in her robot mode.
He yelped in surprise and jerked back. "You're one too?"
"Very much so," she said with a smile.
"That is so cool. So you guys have been leaving artifacts on Earth for like centuries now, right?"
"That is a long story, for another day," answered Optimus before Liliy could.
"Oh, I knew it!" exclaimed Woodrow. "Wow, thanks, Charlie. For trusting me with your secret."
"Like Graham said, we're all family. And that's what family does. They also do this…" Charlie grabbed Woodrow in a headlock and rubbed his knuckles on the top of his brother's head while laughing.
"Hey!" Woodrow laughed too as he tried to get his brother to let go. "Stop it, Charlie!"
"This gesture appears to be universal in sibling relations," Chase observed.
"Let's get to work, team," Heatwave ordered. "We have some energon to harvest."
However, right then, there was a deep rumble and the ground started to shake. The floor split open and swallowed the forger. Cracks were rapidly spreading from there.
"Everybody, watch it!" Charlie yelled as they all turned to run for the exit.
Blades snatched up Kade and Dani as he ran. Boulder caught Graham and lifted him. The rest of the team skid to a halt as the floor split open again, cutting them off. Blades and Boulder set the humans in the exit tunnel and Blades climbed up after them. As Boulder moved to follow, the floor suddenly collapsed out from under him. Blades reached out and caught his servo as he dropped. Grunting, he pulled Boulder up and into the tunnel.
The rest of the team was stuck with no way out. As the earthquake continued, a pile of rocks on the other side of the room collapsed to reveal another tunnel.
"This way!" Charlie yelled.
He ran for it while keeping Cody close. Woodrow was right behind them. And Chase hurried ahead to shield them from falling rocks. They stopped in the tunnel entrance in time to look back and see the floor collapse yet again, this time swallowing Optimus, Heatwave, and Liliy.
"Heatwave!" Cody cried.
"Cody, come on!" ordered Charlie, pulling his son into the tunnel before the ceiling came down to bury the exit again.
Liliy slid down a seemingly endless dark hole. Ahead of her, she could hear Optimus and Heatwave yelling as they did the same. The sloped hole ended in sheer drop off into a much bigger hole. The two mechs caught the edge of the sloped hole and slammed into the wall. They looked at each other and sighed with relief.
"Incoming!" Liliy shouted as she slid toward them.
"Got ya!" Heatwave grabbed her leg when she came sliding out of the hole.
Liliy dangled upside down over the black void. "Thanks, Heatwave."
"The safest place for you would be in my cab," he said as he lifted her up so Optimus could grab her.
Liliy clung to Optimus' servo until Heatwave let her go. "No thanks. Riding in your alt is bad enough. Being stuck inside your chassis right next to your spark is even worse."
"Oh yeah," said Heatwave. "I forgot about that."
"But Liliy, why is it that you have no problem riding with Leecher?" Optimus asked.
Liliy stopped in the middle of climbing up Optimus' arm. "That's right. We never told you. Leecher is sparkless."
They stared at her. Optimus looked startled while Heatwave was confused because he didn't know who Leecher was.
"Leecher is just armor piloted by a sentient science experiment and sometimes yours truly," she clarified. At Optimus' growing look of alarm, she added, "And yes. It is made out of vehicon remains."
There was a long moment of silence.
"Vehicons… as in…?" Heatwave asked hesitantly.
"Decepticon troopers," Liliy answered after she finished making her way up to Optimus' shoulder. "We took the remains of dead Cons and used them to make a suit of armor that would allow me to more easily fight bots your size without killing them. We also use the remains for spare parts. In war, nothing can go to waste."
That seemed to shake Optimus out of his shock. "But you are Neutral."
"Doesn't mean I can't fight to protect this planet, Optimus. The CRC claims Earth as home as much as the humans do. We are not going to let Megatron just take it."
"Well," Heatwave said, glancing down and then up, "we can't do much down here. Why don't we start by climbing up?"
"I agree," said Optimus.
Optimus and Heatwave started climbing up the nearly vertical wall. They moved in silence for a while. Heatwave glanced down at the black void below them once again.
"How far down do you think it goes?" he asked.
"I have no desire to find out," Optimus commented.
"Pretty deep from the looks of it," Liliy said, peering over Optimus' shoulder. "But I can't make out the bottom."
"Heatwave," Optimus said, suddenly pausing on a small ledge to rest. "I have been impressed by your many accomplishments on Griffin Rock."
"Thank you, sir," Heatwave replied, stopping beside him. "My team has learned a lot working with our human partners."
"Are you still interested in joining my ranks on the mainland?"
Liliy shot Optimus a suspicious look.
"We would be honored," replied Heatwave. "I need to ask the other bots first but-"
"I am only inviting you," Optimus countered.
"Heh. With all due respect, sir, you asked me to lead my team. If I leave them behind, I'm not only failing them, but you as well."
"That is what I hoped you would say."
Liliy rolled her optics. Of course Optimus was testing him.
"Leadership requires placing other's needs in front of your own ambitions."
"So true," Liliy huffed.
"I am pleased that you have learned that, Heatwave."
"Uh… Thanks," said Heatwave as they started to climb again. "I think."
"Don't worry, Heatwave," said Liliy. "It is a great compliment."
"Sure."
They finally made it up to the hole's edge. As they were climbing up, Heatwave's servo hit a switch of some kind. There was the sound of gears and other components moving.
"It appears you have set some sort of machinery in motion," commented Optimus.
"A volcano," said Heatwave as he studied the switch. "Ah, this must be part of Mount Magma."
"Ah, yes. That stupid volcano the humans made back in 1939. I never really understood why."
"Likely the same logic that went into the pogo stick."
Liliy burst out laughing at that. "Really?"
Optimus ignored her. "Look. Daylight."
"This switch must've opened the top of the volcano," realized Heatwave. "We can climb out of it!"
"Now all that remains is finding the rest of your team," said Optimus. "And returning with them to this spot. Which passage we attempt first?"
Liliy got off Optimus' shoulder and went over to one of the tunnels. "I don't know about finding the others but there is energon down this passage."
"Are you certain, Liliy?"
"As certain as your spark beats, Optimus."
Optimus and Heatwave transformed.
"Try to keep up," Liliy commented.
She ran ahead as they started down the passage that she indicated. For a while, she was gone from their sight but they steadily followed the tunnel.
"Found your transport, Optimus," she said when she reappeared. "It's just ahead and appears to be intact."
"Well done, Liliy."
"But you're going to need a bigger trailer for the energon."
"What do you mean?"
"You'll see."
They arrived at the transport and the mechs transformed back to bot mode. One end of the transport was wedged in between some rocks.
"Heatwave, help me pull it free," said Optimus.
Together, the mechs lifted the stuck end and rotated the transport until it was on level ground.
"Liliy? Where'd you go?" asked Heatwave.
"Over here."
They spotted her next to a hole in the floor that was emanating the faintest blue glow. They joined her next to the hole.
Heatwave shone one of his search lights into it. "What in the AllSpark?"
Optimus let Liliy get on his shoulder and then he jumped into the hole first. Heatwave followed right after. They landed inside a large cavern simply covered in energon crystals.
"Energon," Heatwave said in awe.
"A deposit of energon this rich is invaluable," observed Optimus.
"Not the biggest I've seen but definitely the prettiest," Liliy commented.
"I only wish we had found it under more positive circumstances," said Optimus.
"Don't worry. We'll find them. They're-"
Liliy was interrupted by a loud drumming sound.
"That sounds like Boulder," said Heatwave. "It's coming from this direction." He pointed.
Liliy nodded. "That's where his spark signal is located. It appears Blades is still with him. And Chase is moving in his direction."
"You can tell all that?" Heatwave asked.
Liliy shrugged. "More or less."
"Then let us roll out." Optimus transformed. Heatwave followed suit.
"I think I'll stay here and look for a way back to the volcano," said Liliy.
"Very well. We shall find the others and return."
"Be careful."
Liliy watched them go and then accessed her comm.
"Hey, Leech. You seeing what I'm seeing?" she asked, sharing her visual feed.
{A large energon deposit?} Leech responded.
"Bingo."
{Wait… Is that on Griffin Rock?} They obviously had located her spark signal on a map.
"Double score. You remember Mount Magma?"
{That volcano the humans made? Yeah. Why?}
"This deposit isn't too far from the main shaft. We can have Yankee drop in with the portable bridge for easy transport."
{Drop in? The top is open?}
"Yep. Heatwave accidentally found a switch on the inside."
{Alright. I'll contact Yankee and send him over. And I'll have Mike and Nova standing by with mining equipment. I also want to hear about how you ended up inside a volcano.}
"Haha. That will have to wait till I get back."
{Alright. Talk to you later then.} The link terminated.
Liliy explored the cave a bit more and found a tunnel that led back out to the volcano shaft. She had just gotten back to the cavern when Optimus and Heatwave finally came back with the others. There were several awed exclamations from everyone.
"Incredible!" Woodrow said. He walked over to one of the crystals. "So this is all pure generon?"
"Energon," Optimus corrected. "It is the fuel and life blood that flows within us."
Woodrow rapped his knuckles on the crystal. "Isn't it a little solid for that?"
Liliy laughed as she moved over to him. "This is unrefined energon." She wrapped her arm around his shoulders. "And in this state, it is highly combustible, so you should probably not mess with it." She guided him away from the crystal and over to Charlie.
"So, uh, where's this 'way out' you promised us?" asked Kade.
"Hope you like volcanos," Heatwave said. He glanced at Liliy.
She nodded. "This way." And led them into the tunnel.
Kade was the first to make it out, almost falling off the ledge into the shaft. Liliy grabbed his collar and pulled him back.
"Thanks."
"No problem."
"I don't know," mused Graham as he gazed up the shaft to the open top. "Even inside the Bots, climbing this could take days."
"Days?" whined Kade. "What are we supposed to do about food?"
"Cave dwellers often live on blind grubs," Woodrow shared. "They're quite nutritious. Get stuck in your teeth though."
"Ew, lovely," said Dani.
"We need fresh water too. Dani, what about Blades?" Charlie asked.
"Well, he can't get much height with a damaged rotor."
"So… so we're… we're stuck down here?" Kade demanded.
"No-" Liliy tried to say.
She was interrupted by Chase. "Sir, we will not allow any harm to come to your family."
"There has to be another way to the surface," said Blades.
"There is-" Liliy tried again.
This time it was Boulder. "Maybe Graham and I can create some sort of catapult device."
"Hey!" she finally yelled. "Listen!"
That got everyone quiet but then the air was filled with the sound of rotor blades. They all looked up. A peach and pistachio green helicopter was slowly descending down the shaft.
"Oh, good." Liliy smiled. "He made it."
Once he was close enough, the mech transformed and dropped onto the ledge. He was holding two metal boxes about the size of a coffin each.
"Hey, Madam. Optimus. Rescue Team," he greeted.
"Yankee," Liliy exclaimed. "Thanks for bringing the portable."
"Where were you even keeping those?" Blades wanted to know. The boxes looked like they took up Yankee's entire cabin.
"Don't ask."
"What are they for?" asked Graham.
"It's a portable ground bridge," Liliy explained as Yankee set them up. "Since Griffin Rock has always been weird about allowing space warping portals to open here, we decided to bring our own generators to create a fixed point on the island itself. Hopefully this works."
"You don't know?" Boulder asked.
"No," Liliy admitted. "But I have faith in my 'boys'. And their creations usually work."
"I'm done, ma'am," Yankee called.
"Ok. First, we'll check the connection to the CRC."
The generators powered up and the portal opened. Liliy ran thru it herself. She came back a minute later.
"Well, that's a success. Hey, could you guys move over to one of the other tunnels for a bit?" She motioned for them to move. "We need to get the mining equipment thru."
"Of course, Liliy," said Charlie.
The Rescue Bots and the Burnses gathered in the entrance to the next tunnel. Only Optimus stayed out on the ledge. Liliy signaled someone on the other side of the portal. A giant drill appeared, driven by a copper painted miner. It was followed by a bronze colored miner pulling a couple of a large antigrav carts, one of which had a crate of extra tools.
"Which way to the energon, Optimus, sir?" asked the one on the drill with a salute.
"Just follow this passage, Mike." The larger mech pointed.
"Aye, aye, sir. Come along, Nova!" He urged to drill forward with enthusiasm.
"You'll have to excuse my brother," the other miner said to Optimus. "Leecher showed us a picture of the deposit and Mike got really excited."
"No need to apologize, Nova," Optimus replied with a smile. "It is really an awe-inspiring deposit."
"Um…" Cody's voice came from close by his ped.
Nova looked down. "Oh, hello." He went down on one knee to greet the boy. "My name is Nova and that guy on the drill," he waved toward the tunnel, "was my brother Mike. What's your name?"
"I'm Cody. Are you here to mine the energon?"
"Yep. That is what I'm built for. I'd offer to let you help but unfortunately it is too dangerous for organics. But I'm glad you got to see it before we started mining. Energon deposits are one of nature's wonders. Even if it is alien to this planet."
"Nova!" Mike called from the tunnel. He appeared in the entrance. "Nova, what are you doing? You've got to come see this. It is so much better in person!" He disappeared again.
"Hmh. Alright. Alright. I'm coming!" Nova called after his brother. He looked down at the boy again. "See you around, Cody."
Nova disappeared down the passage with the carts.
"So, now what?" asked Kade.
"Well, let's see if we can't get you back to the surface."
Liliy turned to the controls and switched the destination points. She ran thru again. And came back a moment later.
"It worked. The ground bridge leads into the firehouse."
"That's too convenient," commented Woodrow.
"I know right."
"Well, we humans better go," said Charlie, "but I assume that you are going to stay and help, Optimus?"
"Yes," Optimus replied. "And if the Rescue Bots wish to help as well they may stay."
"Chief, if it's alright with you?" requested Heatwave.
"Of course it's fine. Just be careful, alright?"
"You got it, Chief."
"I'll walk you thru," Liliy said as the humans gathered in front of the portal.
On the other side was indeed the inside of the firehouse.
"Liliy, make sure they don't get into any trouble, alright?" said Charlie.
"I will look out for them as if they were my own," replied Liliy. "Oh, by the way, Woodrow. If you ever want to talk about history," she handed him a card with her number on it, "give me a call."
It was several hours later when the Rescue Bots and Optimus returned to the firehouse with a cart load of energon cubes. Yankee came with them and helped them unload the cart so he could take it back.
"Welcome back, guys," greeted Cody as he joined them in the bunker. "How did it go?"
"We're exhausted," said Heatwave. "I don't how those miner guys are still going."
"Well, we did fight those cave spiders and then got thrown around by that earthquake beforehand," Chase pointed out. "They were starting fresh."
"What about Liliy?" asked Boulder. "She was caught in the earthquake too."
"Liliy is…" Optimus looked for the right word. "Special."
"Is that a nice way of saying Laserblades are freaks of nature?" Heatwave asked.
"Heatwave," chided Blades. "That was rude."
"I know but she is still weird."
"I'll take that as a compliment, Heatwave."
They looked over to find Liliy back in her human form.
"Liliy. What are you doing here?"
"Just wanted to make sure you're all ok." She plopped down on the couch. "And rest my eyes for a bit if you don't mind."
"We don't mind but wouldn't you be more-"
"She's already asleep, Chase," said Heatwave.
Liliy woke up some time later with Cody sleeping against her and there was a blanket draped over them both. Looking around, she noticed that Bots were also in recharge. Blades was on the couch next to them. Chase was on the other side of him, leaning back against the arm of the couch. Heatwave was sitting on a wooden crate, back against the wall. Boulder was on the floor beside him, use the crate as a back rest. And Optimus was opposite them, still standing upright but leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chassis and his chin resting on his chestplates.
The elevator came down from the main floor and Charlie stepped out. He looked around at the Bots and noticed that Liliy was awake. He quietly moved over to her.
"I was wondering why it was so quiet it down here," he whispered.
"Well, I actually just woke up and found them like this."
"Are they all asleep?"
"Yeah. They were pretty exhausted when I finally sent them home. I only came by to borrow the couch for a nap. I didn't expect to be used as a pillow."
Charlie chuckled. "Well, I did come down to get him, so…" He carefully gathered Cody into his arms. The boy was getting a bit big to be carried but Charlie managed to pick him up without disturbing him too much.
Liliy got up and stretched silently. As they moved back to the elevator, Optimus opened his optics.
"Chief Burns?" his voice quiet.
"Just putting Cody to bed. You can continue to rest, Optimus."
"But please at least sit down first," said Liliy. "Recharging on your pedes is dangerous."
Optimus nodded and carefully lowered himself to the floor. Once he was comfortable, his optics closed again.
Liliy accompanied Charlie up to the Burnses living quarters and waited for him as he took Cody up to his room and put him to bed.
"Are you going back to the cave?" he asked when he came back down to the kitchen.
"Yeah. I want to check on their progress." She sat down at the table. Charlie took the seat across from her as she continued to talk. "We're going to stripe the deposit as quickly as possible. Because I fear the longer we are here, the more likely we are to attract unwanted attention. But I might just be paranoid again."
"Attention from who?"
"The Decepticons, for starters. It would be for the best if they didn't find out that there were Autobots living on Griffin Rock. And then there's Griffin Rock's human population. Both current and former."
"Former as in someone like Dr. Morocco?"
"Exactly like Morocco! Him getting his grubby little hands on some energon would be worse than MECH."
"MECH?"
"A militant group who wants to go to war with the current government by stealing the best tech, no matter who it's from, human or alien, and weaponizing it."
"Alien tech? As in Cybertronian?"
"Yep. They have gotten a hold of two Cons and two Bots already. Luckily, they are all still alive thanks to the CRC but if MECH pops up again, I may have to squash them for good. They're using energon for their own tech. That is containable. Morocco would probably use it to build weapons and then sell them to the highest bidder. That is not."
Liliy stood up and pushed in her chair.
"I understand," Charlie said as he got up as well. "Is there anything we can do to help?"
"You have your hands full already with keeping the peace on Griffin Rock. I can't ask you to do any more than keep an eye out for snooping strangers and, obviously, Morocco."
"I'll do my best. And I'll contact you if something comes up."
"Thank you. Well, have a good rest of the night, Chief Burns."
"You too, Liliy."
And she disappeared into a ground bridge.
The next afternoon the Rescue Bots and the Burnses gathered in front of the firehouse to see Liliy and Optimus off.
"Wow. So you guys are really done huh?" said Dani.
"Of course. My 'boys' are always fast. And with all the extra help we had."
"I wouldn't mind working with them again," commented Heatwave.
"It was nice not being the only flyer for a change," Blades added.
"Tell Delta he should stop by for a visit," Boulder told Liliy. "I really want to meet him in person."
"Your 'boys' did seem quite competent. But do they always follow the law?" Chase asked.
Liliy laughed. "Heatwave, you should join us for lobbing some time. It'll be fun. Blades, you should train with Oscar. He's a medic. And a helicopter like yourself. Boulder, I'll pass your message along to Delta. I'm sure he would love to visit. And Chase… No. They don't. The speedsters get ticketed all the time. And Whiskey. He'll never admit to it but I know there was some breaking and entering involved with him obtaining his latest alt-mode."
"Sounds like a troublesome lot," mumbled Chase.
"Yeah. But they're my family. And nobody's perfect."
"That's the truth," Charlie agreed.
"Liliy, we should get going," said Optimus.
"Yeah. Yeah." Liliy waved him off and turned to Charlie. "Chief Burns, would you mind?"
"Not at all, Liliy."
Optimus transformed and hooked up to his transport. Charlie climbed into his cab.
"See you later, everyone," Liliy called as she climbed onto Prime's back.
"Bye, Liliy!"
"Come back and visit soon!"
"Yeah. Don't be such a stranger!"
Charlie 'drove' Optimus to the docks and onto the ferry for Liliy. Once they reached the mainland, Liliy reluctantly 'drove' him off the ferry. She climbed out of his cab while they were en route to the little base Agent Fowler had set up for the Autobots in Maine.
{You really hate it?} Prime asked once she was settled on his back.
Liliy didn't answer right away. She was trying to find the right words.
[I feel trapped,] she finally replied. [I feel like I could be crushed at any moment. Stuck with no way to escape. With bots I'm comfortable with, I can tolerate to an extent but it was sheer torture just to follow you into Unicron's spark.]
Optimus was silent for a long time. Finally, he asked. {When did this start?}
[It's been there for as long as I can remember. But I think it got worse after I fled Cybertron.]
{And how long have you had the Leecher armor?}
[It was sometime after we had settled in our first base but had yet to officially form the CRC. It was just me, Leech, and the first six. Ironically, they were the ones to suggest it. I think they were afraid they'd accidentally step on me.]
{The first six?}
[Yeah. Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, and Foxtrot, but those weren't their names back then. They were all that remained of a Decepticon squadron that had been wiped out by one of their own predacon allies who had gone mad. That predacon was my first kill since I failed to bring down Megatron.]
{Do you ever regret attempting to assassinate Megatron?}
Her head thunked against the cab. […All the fragging time.]
Optimus huffed in disapproval of her language but didn't say anything else until they reached the base to drop off his trailer.
"Alright," Optimus said, after he locked up his trailer. "Shall we be going then?"
"Well, since we're here, let me fix your holo-emitter."
"Liliy, really, you don't have to-O!" His last word was drawn out as he suddenly toppled over.
His optics reset to find Liliy staring down at him while standing on his windshields.
"They warned you, didn't they? That I can put you on your aft."
Prime nodded, his voicebox not yet online.
"Alright. Now, open up."
After Liliy fixed his holo-emitter, they were on the road again. Liliy contacted Alfa for a bridge that got them into the Nevada desert. By that time, it was night.
[We've been gone for a couple days. I hope everything is ok.]
{If something had happened, they would have contacted us.}
[But we were on Griffin Rock. And underground for most of the time.]
{True. But they would have found a way.}
Ahead of them, an oncoming vehicle turned right onto another road. It looked eerily similar to Optimus' alt and there was blue paint transfers on its grill and bumper.
Dun, dun, DUNNNNN! Nemesis Prime is on the move!
Anyway, thanks for reading.