AN: Jesus Christ, these author's notes are starting to reach My Immortal levels. It won't be long until I'm calling you all preps and I'm screaming at my best friend to gimme back my poster.

Chapter 26:

I had a hard time sleeping, last night. I felt terrible for a multitude of reason, but I don't wanna go on about that. Lockdown and I were back at the Knight Ship, now. The Wreckers were all taken here, too. Lockdown said something about them being thrown into an imprisonment chamber or something. He said maybe five words to me before he left for the medbay. I didn't see him for the rest of the night, after that.

I hate waking up to darkness. I can't wait for that to be over. The cockpit's lights were on. It was nice, but it felt like night. I used to really love the night time, but I don't know about that, anymore. It's like spending three consecutive days with the sun out. You get sick of it, after awhile. When I woke up, I was on my spot on the armrest of the throne. It was cold but not as cold as it was in the caves we slept in. I took that jacket off, last night. Even without that, it wasn't too bad. It was better than sleeping outdoors. I wonder if that guy back at the base wants this parka back…

That doesn't really matter, right now. I sat up, and Lockdown was wide awake. He was messing with his screen, doing some sort of work. I have no idea what he could constantly be doing with that thing, but whatever. He seemed tired, but I can't explain how. He just kind of looked that way. I guess it was his slouchy posture and the look in his optics. He had his elbow on the other armrest he had his head leaning on his hand. He didn't sleep; I bet you.

It didn't take long for Lockdown to notice I was up. He boredly glanced at me for a second before bringing his attention back to his work.

"We're going back to the airfield, today,"

I was a little relieved to hear this. "Right,"

"It won't be any time soon,"

"When do you think we're leaving?"

"Whenever Gunther is done with his bullshit,"

"What?"

"Reports," He was getting a little snappy. Now is probably not a good time to be asking all these questions. "They're writing up reports."

"Oh, yeah, that's right." I looked away shyly. Suddenly, I just really started to miss seeing the morning light. We would be home soon, though. Home and away from this frozen wasteland. Alaska is a pretty place and all, but I don't like this area. I've read about how it gets dark for months, here and I always thought it'd be cool to experience. I was dead-ass wrong. That seems to be a selfish thing to be worrying about, right now. My friends are locked up in the ship, and I need to find a way to solve this.

"Vega," Lockdown pushed his screen away and sat up. "I need you to do something."

This broke my train of thought. I tilted my head and gave him a puzzled look.

"Those rogue Autobots? They'll listen to you," He began. "I want you to go back there and groom them - tell them anything to get them to speak."

He picked me up and put me down on the floor without really waiting for me to say anything. He then waved his hand and shoo-ed me of like a little bug. Are you kidding me? What the hell did he mean by 'grooming' them? Does he want me to lie to them? Does he want me to threaten them? It's not like it matters, anyway. I climbed down off the platform. My boots made a loud 'click' that echoed throughout the cockpit. I took a few steps before realizing I don't know where the hell I should be going. I turned my head to say something. Lockdown was getting up, I saw.

"Where am I going?" I called out.

He looked at me. He was definitely exhausted. He must have spent the night awake. He didn't wanna put up with my shit, I could tell. He then started glancing around the room until his optics wandered onto one of his robo-dogs by the throne. The mech whistled, suddenly. Only one of the dogs perked up. He then spoke to it a language I couldn't understand. It took me a moment, but I realized it sounded similar to what those Decepticons were speaking when we got jumped.

The mecha dog got up and walked passed me. He got about halfway down the hall before stopping to stare me down.

"It's going to take you there," Lockdown said as he turned to face the window. I took a quick glance and caught sight of the outside world. We're over the town, still, I just realized.

The dog was eyeing me, still. So, I dashed down the hall and caught up with him. He walked at my side instead of in front of me. It was fine and all, but sometimes he'd walk right into me and punt me out of his way if we were making a turn. He was more of a guide, rather than a leader. As we made our way around, I realized something. I'm not sure what was going on, but there were crew members everywhere. I would have figured they would have gone to the deck or something, since the ship has been parked, for so long. It was actually a challenge to not get stepped on, I must admit.

Both me and the dog managed to survive. They all seemed to notice the dog, but they didn't really bother to mind me. It's like I'm invisible to them. Well, all of them except for that one bot. You know the one. I caught sight of him, but for once, he didn't seem to notice me. Another uncomfortable situation avoided, I suppose. We reached a corridor that was pretty dark. The dog didn't seem to mind, though. I realized his optics could glow, too. They were red and beady. How could something so mean and vicious-looking be so cute and loveable at the same time? Our walk was interrupted when the dog ran ahead, suddenly. He ran into a chamber and looked around. He must have been scouting the area. Suddenly, I heard a voice with a thick Scottish accent cry out:

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!"

Do I even have to mention who it was? I picked up the pace and jogged up to the chamber. I poked my head in. They were. All three of the Wreckers, each locked up in a cell. The cells were around a weird pillar in the center of the room. It seemed to have some sort of panel on the side of it. I noticed Roadbuster was to the right of the entrance. Topspin was to the left, and you guessed it - Leadfoot was in the center cell.

They seemed to be befuddled by the presence of the robot dog. He was just standing there, looking them all down, but I could hear Roadbuster shouting at him. What is that bot's problem? The second I set foot into the chamber, it's like they instinctively knew who it was.

"You moron!" Roadbuster cried.

"Vega, you dumbass," Topspin added.

"Goddammit, Vega," Leadfoot scoffed.

I was offended by this. It was like being the middle school push-over and walking into a classroom full of punk-ass kids. "What the fuck did I do?"

"If it weren't for you leaving that shard, we wouldn't be here!" Roadbuster blurted.

"I-I realized that but-!"

"You better do something!"

"I can get you out of here!"

"Can you, now?" Leadfoot chimed in.

"Yes!" I exclaimed. "I'm pretty sure if I can get you to the deck, then you can escape-"

"And you think Lockdown's just gonna let us?" Topspin said.

"Well, of course not," I began "I was thinking we find a way to distract the crew and maybe get them all into one part of the ship-"

"We?" Roadbuster sneered.

"Will you let me finish-?"

"I think she's on to something," Topspin was the only one backing me up, here. What a homie. "What kind of distraction are you thinking, are you gonna smash something or-?"

"Maybe set off an alarm?"

"We could have her plant a bomb," Leadfoot said. Everyone turned and looked at him, a little confused. I didn't take a good look at him when I first walked in. At that moment, I just then noticed the hole in his chest was crudely patched up. It was probably done by the medical crew before they locked him up. He a least looked like he was getting by.

"Hear me out, here; the sound will get their attention," While Leadfoot was speaking, he was making all kind of hand gestures. "And then the damage will keep them occupied!"

"Shit, that's right!" Roadbuster holler.

"Keep it down!" I shouted.

"Right…"

"Where the hell are we gonna get a bomb, though-?"

The second I got out the first syllable of that sentence, I noticed Leadfoot pull something off his hip. A small, cylindrical object. Before I even finished the sentence, he tossed it, and it rolled across the floor and stopped at my feet. I bent down and picked it up. It was pretty heavy.

"So, how does this work?" I inquired.

"Pull the pin up on the top and set the timer," He answered.

I observed it for a moment. It was smooth and mostly chrome. It looked like a pipe bomb, almost. It was pretty big, bigger than both my palms combined. As I said, it was heavy, too. On the top, there was, in fact, a little pin, but it wasn't like a hand grenade pin. It was kind of like a latch, almost. Next to it was a button and below that button, on the round side, was a little screen. This must have been for setting the timer. I looked up and glanced over the gang. They were all focused on me and the object in my hands.

"Did any of you see how Lockdown closed the cells?" I asked. Roadbuster and Leadfoot immediately looked to Topspin. He was the only one who wasn't out cold when we brought them up here.

"He pulled a lever," He pointed toward the big pillar in the center of the chamber. "Somewhere in the terminal, there."

A thought crossed my mind, all of a sudden. I bit my lip, and my eyes began to wander. "I… I think we have a problem, you three," The three fell silent. "He's probably going to come right back for you guys, once he realizes you're gone."

The three of them exchanged glances. Then Topspin spoke.

"I'll stay,"

"What?!" The other two shouted in unison.

"Well, you guys aren't really his target, he just wants to know where the leader is," I said.

"Right," Topspin began. "If he has just one us, then that might be enough, for now. What I need to do is waste his time and spin him in circles for awhile, and when he gets bored with me and comes for you guys, you'll be long gone, by then."

"So, what you're saying is you want us to leave without you?" Roadbuster asked.

"Exactly,"

"How do you plan to escape?" Leadfoot inquired.

"Don't worry about that," The blue bot assured.

"Are you sure?"

"We don't have time for chatter. Vega, go put that bomb… somewhere. I'm sure you'll think of something."

I nodded. With that, I quickly left the chamber, clutching the large explosive in my arms. I felt a little nervous about carrying and actual fucking bomb. I really hope I don't set this thing off by mistake. I wasn't sure where this thing was going to go, in all honesty. The dog guided me out of the corridor. I wasn't sure where to go, from there. When I stopped, the dog stopped. I looked around, trying to think of something. It had to be somewhere where I wasn't going to be spotted. I doubt I'd really be noticed, but you never know. I still don't want any witnesses. I turned and looked at the robo-dog. He sat down and blankly stared back. Well, as blank as the face of a dog made of metal could look.

"I only I could find a… maintenance room or…" I babbled to myself, trailing off. I noticed the dog titled his head, a little. I was confused by this at first.

"Maintenance room?" I repeated. The dog jumped up and took off down the hall. I guess he can understand me. I ran after him as fast as I could with the bomb in my arms. I wonder why Lockdown trained his dog to understand English when that's not even his native language. Is this the only other language the dog can understand? What if it knows more Earth languages?

After a moment of running, I came to found I may have lost him. I stopped at a four-way intersection that leads into three other corridors. There were no signs of that damn dog. I had a one-in-three shot at getting it right. I took my chances, and I decided to go left. This was a part of the ship I don't think I've ever been in. I've seen the holding areas, I've seen the landing bay, but I don't think I've ever been anywhere near maintenance.

The sound of my footsteps was beginning to be drowned out by the sounds of the inner workings of the ship. The floor just seemed to be… rattling. I could hear the sounds of what assume to be the engine. It sounded a little muffled, and it seemed to be coming up from the floor. Maybe it's on a level beneath this one. The corridor gradually became more and more industrial looking. It's like the walls had been ripped off and the everything that goes inside them was on the outside, now. Wires, pipes, beams. Things like that. It kind of reminded me of what the prison halls looked like, but a little less finished.

A loud 'bark' echoed through the corridor, and I almost jumped out of my skin. This caused me to almost drop the bomb. Almost. It fell out of my hands, and it scrambled to catch it. I made the mistake of grabbing it by the pin. It popped right up and long, loud 'beep' rang out, signaling the explosive was active.

"Oh, you've really done it this time," I uttered to myself. I grabbed the bomb by the base and brought it up to look at it. The screen had a flashing '00:00' displayed on it in bright red. I frantically looked around trying to think of something. Maybe I could just hide it somewhere out here. There had to be somewhere to put this thing.

Then, I remembered the steam tunnels. Like the ones I tried to hide in when I first got here. Perfect. I walked to the wall to my right, and as I did this, I tried to figure out the timer. As I was fiddling with the knob, it popped up. It was able to be twisted around, now. Spinning the knob to the left made the minutes increase while spinning it right made them go down. So, I set the timer for twenty minutes and pushed the knob down. The seconds began to countdown. That should be enough time to get back to the cockpit.

I peeked into one of the crevices along the wall. This one was cluttered with wires. I could go look for another spot, but I don't want time. I have to be careful where I leave this. If any of these wires start sparking, it might set it off. I don't wanna end up losing an arm, today. I noticed there was a small opening on the other side. It was out of the way of the wires, but I had to be careful. I didn't wanna touch any of these wires and end up frying myself by mistake.

I knelt down and placed the bomb on the floor. I slipped my hand beneath the nest of wiring and pushed the bomb in place. It took a bit of concentration, but at least I didn't die. I looked hidden, almost. Maybe if anyone happened to look back here, they wouldn't spot it at first glance, I think. That probably won't be an issue; I haven't seen another soul in this area, yet. I don't wanna waste any more time. I jumped up and went to turn around and much to my surprise, there the dog was. I won't lie, he caught me off guard and scared me, a little bit. He had his head tilted, again. He was probably wondering where I went and why I stopped following him.

I placed a hand on his head and gave him a quick pat. "Can you take me to the cockpit?"

He turned around and ran down the hall. I sprinted after him.