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Will of Fire and Hearts of Steel

Chapter Ten

Arcee ran through the dark woods, Wheeljack by her side. The air between them was filled with a growing sense of dreading anticipation. She could still hear that horrible howl in her CPU, like the sound had never left her audio receptors and was just echoing around there. They rushed towards the new sounds of battle that had begun to emanate from the forest not long ago, both fearing what they would soon find.

The rain had lessened from the downpour into a slight drizzle so it was easier to navigate in the gloomy forest. Her blue-and-pink paintjob was already splattered with numerous stains of mud. Wheeljack looked even worse for wear; He had numerous the scrapes and wounds left by the battle against both the First Lieutenant and the Communications Chief of the Nemesis. The Wrecker looked as grim as she did, blue optics trained at the direction the sounds of battle were emanating from.

There was a ground-grumbling crash from ahead and Arcee narrowed her eyes. She just hoped Naruto and Kakashi could hold their ground until the help arrived.

"Ratchet, what's the situation there?" Wheeljack's voice had a very serious note in it. The Wrecker knew when to joke about the matter and when to cut out the nonsense.

Arcee heard the medic's voice through the CommLink.

"I'm about to bridge them back," he said. "Any sign of Naruto or Kakashi?"

"No, not yet," she heard him reply, "but that'll hopefully change soon."

"They're not far," she grumbled. Another crash, this time almost thunderous in its volume.

Wheeljack was speaking with Ratchet again. "We're about to get a visual. Yeah, there is Naruto – what in the – "

They both stopped dead on their tracks as soon as they saw him.

It.

Well, it was Naruto – or at least Arcee thought so. She stared with wide optics at the weird red smoke-like aura that surrounded the kid, bubbling and moving, almost in a form of some sort of a canine. Yes, she could even see ears and three tails. She could see his injuries too. Blood was running down his arm, the limb looking nauseating with the horrible wound.

What on Cybertron was that thing?

And then it – he – turned to look at them. Arcee felt the first tendrils of cold fear wrap around her spark as she stared into the eyes that had earlier been as blue as fresh Energon. Now the irises were blood-red.

She could immediately see there was no human awareness of any kind left in those eyes. It looked like someone had just hit a switch, opening a cage and letting out something twisted and evil to roam around in the kid's mind. She thought about Naruto and his easy, cheerful smiles and enthusiastic rambling. It was like this creature was a completely different being.

"What in Megatron's rusty exhaust pipe is that?" Wheeljack let out.

Arcee could hear Ratchet's voice through the CommLink, his words getting increasingly more frantic as neither of the Autobots was responding.

The femme's gaze swept over the area. Four flyers were dead on the ground, the wreckages still smoking and sending white sparks into the sprinkling rain. Her fingers flexed. There was no doubt of what had happened to them. Her optics swiftly returned to Naruto.

She could see his intentions – or at least the strange monster's intentions that seemed to have abducted his body. The thing wasn't looking at them like a predator at its prey. It was staring them like a mindless beast at anything living and moving – something it would rip apart just because it could.

Arcee knew it then: the thing would attack them; it really was just a matter of seconds. The question was whether they could fight it without killing it – the thing still was Naruto.

Or if they could fight it at all.

The time seemed to have slowed down; they had probably stood there just for a moment but for the blue Autobot it felt like hours. She more felt than saw Wheeljack silently adopting a battle stance, getting ready to fight if necessary. As it very probably would be.

Suddenly there was a strange look in the thing's eyes. Arcee's optics narrowed. It looked like Naruto was staring at the ground approximately in the middle of the distance between him and them.

And like it had never even existed, the bubbling cloaky aura started to disappear, vanishing soundlessly into the rain. Naruto blinked and his eyes regained their azure color again.

"Naruto!" she shouted and was moving again, quickly closing the distance as the blond boy fell to his knees onto the muddy forest floor.

"Ratchet!" she shouted through the CommLink. "We got Naruto; send someone to get Mrs. Darby to the base now!"

"How bad is it?" Ratchet's concerned voice rang through the link after he had barked orders at someone.

"He's alive but in bad shape. Hurry!" Arcee knelt in front of the boy. Wheeljack had followed the motorcycle and now stood by her and raked his gaze around the surrounding woods.

Naruto had said something but so quietly she hadn't caught it. She spoke to him in Japanese, keeping her voice quiet and kind.

"Naruto? We'll get you back to base soon, you'll be alright."

She glanced at Wheeljack. The Wrecker was looking uncharacteristically somber and Arcee could see the same train of thought in his eyes as she was having at the moment. What had happened? And would it happen again? But right now, she told herself, there was just a badly injured human kid in front of them. They couldn't not help.

"Kakashi-sensei."

Arcee's optics widened and her gaze snapped back to Naruto.

"What?" she breathed.

"Kakashi-sensei, he –he was right there!" Naruto began to sound slightly hysterical. "He was right there, un-unconscious and and – now he's gone." The last words came out in a raspy whisper.

Arcee suddenly realized why the boy had stared at the ground with that horrified look in his eyes. She looked at Wheeljack again.

"Soundwave," the Wrecker spat out.

Arcee closed her optics for a short while. The situation was getting worse and worse at every passing moment.

"We'll get him back, Naruto, don't worry," she said but the teenager had already passed out from blood loss and exhaustion, his body slumping forwards. Arcee carefully caught him and straightened, holding the boy in her arms.

The dark forest was momentarily illuminated by the green glow of a ground bridge that was opening not too far from them. Soon Optimus Prime and Smokescreen stepped out from the vortex.

"Whoa – what happened here?" Smokescreen exclaimed, his gaze sweeping over the bodies of the dead flyers and the clear signs of battle that were scattered around the place: pieces of metal, tracks on the ground, splintered tree trunks. And of course the blood-stained and unconscious boy held in Arcee's arms.

Prime was quickly by their side, one forearm transformed into a blaster a he silently observed the surroundings before focusing his attention to them.

"What is the status?" he asked.

"The 'Cons apparently got Kakashi," Wheeljack said grimly. "As for what happened here…"

"We really don't know what was going on," Arcee concluded.

Optimus nodded gravely. "Bumblebee and Bulkhead are on their way to Jasper. They will bring the children and Mrs. Darby to the base."

Arcee nodded, her mouth a straight line. Naruto was limp as a rag doll in her arms. "Let's get going then," she said.

"Ratchet, we're ready for a ground bridge," Optimus said and soon the swirling vortex appeared before them again. Smokescreen hurried to them from where he had been inspecting the offline flyers.

"Was that Naruto who –"

"Not now Smokescreen." Her words were clipped as she stepped into the green glow…

…and soon arrived to the base where a very worried-looking Ratchet stood by the switch and waited for them all to make it through the portal. As soon as Smokescreen, coming in last, had gotten his both feet into the floor of the base the medic shut down the bridge, then hurried to them.

"Where's Kakashi?" he asked, optics taking in everyone present and realizing who was missing.

"Taken. By Soundwave, probably," Wheeljack said, crossing his arms. Ratchet shut his optics momentarily, nodded jerkily and then focused his attention to Naruto.

"Bring him here," he said shortly, beckoning for Arcee to follow him. The rest of the Autobots trailed after them and Arcee laid Naruto down on the same ascetic bed Raf too had once occupied when hurt.

They gathered around him, everyone silent for a moment as they waited for Jack's mother to arrive. Ratchet seemed to be inspecting the young ninja's wounded arm, blue optics narrowed. Smokescreen was standing beside the white medic, looking a little helpless, eyes trained on the blood still sluggishly bleeding from the deep gashes.

"Looks bad," their newest recruit mumbled. Arcee silently agreed. Humans always looked bad when injured, their bodies seemed to be so soft and fragile that she couldn't help but wonder what would be too much for them to endure. And the blood, the alarming color of red staining everything and looking even darker against the boy's pale skin.

Arcee momentarily tore her gaze from the hurt kid, glancing at Smokescreen. She only now took in the scrapes littering his white paintjob. She felt bad for nearly forgetting they had been fighting too.

"So the beacon was just a trick?"

"Yeah." Smokescreen sighed. "We got there easily enough and took a look around. And suddenly," he waved his arm, "the place is swarming with Insecticons. Took us forever to thin out their lot so we could be bridged back without a bunch of them tailing us to the base."

Wheeljack was nodding. "Back there, at first Soundwave was the only one. Then that heap of scrap metal went and called for reinforcements." The Wrecker snorted.

"And that was something he apparently did only after seeing Naruto there too!" Ratchet snapped, glaring at the white Wrecker's new battle scars. "And didn't I just finish fixing you?"

"I'd like to see you after a fight with both Dreadwing and Soundwave, Doc," Wheeljack growled.

Ratchet glowered at him but kept silent as they all saw that Optimus had one finger pressed beside his audio receptor, receiving something through the CommLink.

"Thank you, Bulkhead," he said and lowered his hand. "Bulkhead is coming to the base with Mrs. Darby. Bumblebee is attempting to keep the children out of the base for a short period. It would be unwise to let them see Naruto in his current state."

Arcee nodded somberly. Better not to frighten the kids yet.

There was a sound of engines roaring and Bulkhead raced to the base, tires screeching as the green truck came to a halt in the middle of the room. The car's door to the passenger's seat was quickly pushed open and June Darby hurried out, medical back held tightly in her right hand. She was pale but looked determined, her brow furrowed as she glared at Team Prime.

"Bulkhead kindly explained the situation to me in advance," she snapped. "What is with you Autobots and your ability to gather children here and then get them injured?"

Arcee wondered how much Bulkhead (who had quickly transformed and joined the others, looking at Naruto shockedly) had actually told Jack's mother. Probably not everything, because the dark-haired woman might have looked a little more shaken if told that there was a wounded ninja kid from another dimension waiting for medical attention in the Autobot base. But then again, Arcee thought as she watched Mrs. Darby to hurry to Naruto's bedside and start to inspect the wound, she was a nurse and as their own medical staff member probably had the invaluable ability to push everything else aside and concentrate on saving lives.

And giving a good telling-off to the ones responsible for her patient's injuries, of course.

"I don't know how I'm able to let Jack and his friends run along with you, Prime," she seethed, kneeling beside her bag to gather the needed equipment and pull latex gloves over her hands. "I knew it; some day one of them will get badly hurt. And now you have another child here, passed out from blood loss!"

Arcee remembered the red eyes of the monster, looking straight at them with nothing but bloodlust in its mind. She felt the heavy gaze of Wheeljack on her shortly. Soon they'd had to tell the others what had happened. But she knew Optimus would want to wait for Naruto himself to explain things, and now it was not the time to press anyone about the matter.

"And he was on a battlefield!" She bristled from anger but her hands were completely steady as she disinfected the deep wounds. "Anyone care to tell me why there was a child of fifteen running around there? He could have been –"

"The kid had been holed up here for a whole week," Wheeljack let out. "And he's a –"

"You!" June pointed an accusing finger at the Wrecker, and Wheeljack managed to look somewhat taken aback, clearly not used to being scolded by human mothers. "Bulkhead told me how he got there in the first place! You should have sent him back as soon as you noticed he had come along!"

Wheeljack looked like he was about to retaliate but Optimus held up his hand.

"Now it is not the time for accusations. How is Naruto's status?" The last words were directed at the still woman glaring at Wheeljack and then dropping her attention back to Naruto.

"As you can see, his arm is seriously injured," she said sharply. "I'll need to take him to the – "

Suddenly she frowned, leaning down to examine the wound again.

"What is it?" Arcee asked.

"It – well, "June looked rather perplexed, straightening her back. "I was about to say that he needs surgery, the tendons and muscles were badly torn. But –"

She paused for a moment.

"They appear to be already healing."

"What?" Ratchet blurted, stepping closer. "How is that possible?"

"It shouldn't be," Mrs. Darby said. "The wounds were very grave, normally they would take a long time to heal but…" she trailed off, and then raised her gaze at Optimus. "But the tissue has already started healing." For a moment, she looked to be at complete loss.

"Then there are his hands. The knuckles were looking rather battered but otherwise okay, and like they had been healing for a short time already."

Okay? Arcee though, dumbfounded. But it had seemed like he had been fighting the 'Cons barehanded. But there had been that strange thing floating around him…

Arcee met Wheeljack's gaze.

"We might have an idea what could be causing it," she said slowly. June frowned, looking at her. Optimus met her gaze.

"We will talk about that later," Prime decided. "For now we should just accept what is happening and make sure he will recover."

Mrs. Darby nodded, lips pursed but she gathered more equipment from her large bag and started to stitch and dress up the wound. She was quick and efficient, and soon the flow of blood was stifled and Naruto's arm was securely bandaged. She was in the middle of making him and arm sling when the boy's eyes suddenly snapped open.

With a gasp Naruto sat up like someone had given him an electric shock and winced after the sharp movement. June let out a sound of surprise and took a step back as Naruto looked wildly around.

"Hey, it's alright, you're safe" she said with a kind voice. Naruto stared at her, clearly struggling to understand her words.

"Unfortunately Naruto doesn't yet understand English very well," Prime explained. "He only speaks Japanese for now."

"Japanese?" June blinked in surprise.

So Bulkhead hadn't told that much to Jack's mother after all.

Naruto's gaze quickly swept over everyone in the room. "Who is she?" he asked in Japanese, eyes now trained on Mrs. Darby.

"June Darby, Jack's mother," Arcee explained. "We called her here as soon as we found you injured. She took care of your arm."

"Oh." Naruto looked down at the bandages. Then he looked at Mrs. Darby who was looking at her patient with apparent doctor's eye.

"…Thank you," Naruto said in English. His pronunciation was a little off but clear enough for June to understand. She smiled warmly at him.

"Does it hurt?" She asked gently in English, very lightly tapping his bandaged arm. Naruto caught her meaning and shook his head. "I am fine," he said. He then swung his legs over the edge of the bed.

"You shouldn't –" June tried, but Naruto was already looking at Arcee and then at Wheeljack.

"Where's Kakashi-sensei?" he asked in Japanese again, voice tight.

There was a sound of car speeding through the tunnel.

"Mrs. Darby, could you please inform the children of Naruto's situation? They must be worried," Prime said to June who had been looking at Naruto, brow deeply furrowed. "There is a matter of high importance we need to discuss with Naruto. And," he said when she seemed ready to object, "we will make sure he rests properly afterwards."

June closed her mouth and nodded curtly. She smiled at Naruto, and then walked to the teenagers who were currently climbing out from the yellow-black Urbana 500.

Arcee returned his attention back to Naruto, who was looking uncharacteristically serious.

"Kakashi has probably been taken to the Decepticon ship," Wheeljack said "Soundwave has kidnapped other humans before, so it could have been him. He was absent from our battle at the time."

Naruto nodded shortly. There was a pained look in his blue eyes. His eyes drifted from Wheeljack to Arcee.

"Did I…" he swallowed. "Did I kill anyone when I was…?"

Bulkhead and Ratchet looked beyond shocked. Others were silent for a moment.

"You took out a bunch of flyers; that seems to be all," Arcee replied.

"Oh, Kakashi-sensei got the one who did this," he beckoned at his arm. "And I took out a couple of them before that but…" He hung his head a little.

"What do you mean you took out a couple of flyers?" Bulkhead asked, baffled. Ratchet opened his mouth, and then shut it again, blinking. Smokescreen seemed equally astonished.

"I believe it has now become very important for you to properly explain the situation," Optimus Prime said. Naruto nodded curtly, flexing the fingers of his good hand.

"And will you help me save Kakashi-sensei?" the young ninja asked first.

Wheeljack snorted, crossing his arms. "What do you think we are, some Decepticon scum? Of course we'll get the little man back." He flashed him a smile. "You don't abandon a member of the band, after all."

Naruto smiled for the first time. "Thanks," he said. He rolled his shoulders and winced slightly as he accidentally moved his bad arm. There was a grimace of pain in his eyes, but brighter as there burned a flame of determination.

"So… This might take a while."

Megatron stood at the bridge of the Nemesis, towering over the Doctor, First Lieutenant and the Communications Chief of his crew and staring at them expectantly. Not the good kind of expectantly, rather than "If you fail to tell me anything useful you will be thrown off the ship, you worthless pieces of scrap metal" kind of expectantly. Such looks rarely summoned confidence in his subordinates, but this time the three in front of him seemed to be rather pleased with themselves, even the blank-visored Soundwave.

"Well?" the Leader of the Decepticons asked in a menacing voice.

"Lord Megatron, we are happy to inform you that we have successfully seized one of the Autobots' new human pets." Knock Out's voice had a clear note of pride in it, and the sleek red racer looked insufferably smug.

"And no thanks to you, Doctor," Megatron growled, making Knock Out take a half a step back. Megatron threw an ugly look at the race-enthusiastic Decepticon and turned his attention to his two other subordinates.

"But I am most pleased with your work," he said. The plan with the false beacon and Insecticon ambush had fled his mind as soon as Soundwave had contacted him, informing him that there was a single Autobot near the Energon mine the Communications Chief had been examining, accompanied by the new human child. And the other one had soon stormed to the place, ready to save his companion. Almost too easy.

"Soon we can interrogate him – "

"I was the one who took him to the cargo bin," Knock Out muttered. Megatron looked at him murderously and the Doctor quieted down so his master could continue:

"- and he will tell us how two humans managed to dispatch an entire team of Vehicons!" His eyes flashed dangerously. His gaze then focused on Soundwave, who stood as silently as always beside Dreadwing.

"Soundwave. I believe you have something to show me."

The Communications Chief nodded and stalked to the computers. After a moment the screens flickered on and there was a video footage of a forest shown there. It started playing immediately.

The Decepticons present took a step forwards to get a better look.

Megatron watched as the smaller one of the newly arrived humans – human children did look so pathetic – attempted to wake up the other one. There was a dead flyer lying on the ground not far from them. Megatron frowned. The flyer was missing a head. Clearly it was one of the two insects covering on the ground that had done it, but Megatron just couldn't understand how two mere humans had succeeded in it. And without using any of those modern weapons the inhabitants of this sorry planet usually favored in order to appear tough.

Then three other Vehicons dived from the sky and landed in front of the humans. The small one tried to protect the unconscious one, planting himself in front of the man lying on the ground. Megatron's smile was nearly an ugly snarl. It seemed the humans were as foolish as the Autobots themselves, busy to sacrifice themselves in every possible direction. Fools.

One of the Vehicons was approaching the boy, and then –

Megatron's red optics widened as he watched the boy turn into some kind of a weird beast, red bubbling cloud coming from nowhere and engulfing him. The boy seemed to growl and then, with clearly improved strength and speed and mindlessness to his injuries, attacked the closest Vehicon. They watched as the flyer was send sprawling back and hit a tree with a force great enough to destroy the tree trunk.

"Did he just…?" Knock Out's voice was flabbergasted. Megatron narrowed his eyes and watched as the kid took out the second flyer like it was nothing. The veil of red around it seemed to spike and grow.

The view angle changed as Soundwave changed his position and sped towards the battleground. Momentarily they got a closer look as the thing laid chaos in the middle of the woods. The boy didn't even notice as Soundwave seized the unconscious masked man lying on the muddy forest floor. Then the footage stopped.

Knock Out was opening and closing his mouth, and Dreadwing's eyes were wide, though he still managed to look as grim as always. Soundwave only tilted his head a little.

Megatron smiled.

"Thank you, Soundwave," he said silkily. "The new information you managed to gather has been most interesting."

The leader of the Nemesis let out a laugh that echoed around the bridge and started to walk towards the door to the corridors.

"Maybe we should go and see if our guest is awake. I'm sure he will have a lot to tell us."

Thanks for reading! Please leave a review!

AN: I still can't believe all the positive feedback this fic has gotten, when I started writing this I wasn't sure at all if anyone would ever find this. So, once again, I want to thank everyone who has read, favorited, followed or reviewed this story! I hope you'll like the future chapters too!

Anyway, I hope I got everything right in this chapter. I'll do my best to post the next one soon enough, as we will hear more about Kakashi then... ;)

If there are any mistakes, please let me know and I'll fix them.