When Eleanor clambered out of her truck, the last thing she expected to see was Bulkhead and Bumblebee pushing a giant container holding some sort of purple-opticed, spider-like Cybertronian female out of the main room of the base and into the hallway, presumably to place it into storage.

"Whoa..!" The codebreaker cringed, giving the whole operation a wide berth as she walked through the base. "Spider-lady in a jar. Did not need to see that, but now it's just sorta seared into my brain." Eleanor held out a palm and struck it twice with the side of her free hand, shaking her head. "Someone needs to take some hair-spray and a lighter to that, chop-chop."

Arcee, who seemed to be supervising the movement, raised an optic-brow. "Hair-spray and a lighter?"

"Please, don't give her any ideas!" Jack shouted from the lounge area, and Eleanor raised an eyebrow.

Clearly, she was missing some backstory—but that could wait.

"Hey, Optimus!" Eleanor greeted, smiling as the large mech turned away from a monitor to look down at her.

"Eleanor," he replied, surprised, then his face lit up and he smiled back. "You are walking."

"Yeah. I've been practicing," she informed him, then she chuckled awkwardly and looked away as she reached the yellow staircase. "Wow, that sounds kinda sad…" She looked up at him, shrugging her shoulders. "It's week six, anyway. I should be good to go, except for the shot endurance… but we should fix that soon enough, knowing us."

"Hm." Optimus shook his helm, but he was still smiling when he looked down at her again. "It is good to see you back on your feet."

Eleanor nodded, starting to make her way up the stairs. "Good to be back."

"How are classes?"

"They're going great!" Eleanor replied, her heart jumping a bit in her chest at the mere thought of the courses she was taking. "A little juvenile for me, but-..." She hesitated, then she looked up at Optimus, beaming. "But it's really good to be back in the game."

"Hm." Optimus crossed his arms. "And the job applications? Is your rescheduled interview still going to proceed as planned?"

The young woman chuckled, nodding as she arrived at the top of the stairs. "Oh, yeah. Don't worry, I'm not gonna lose it. Things are looking up, big guy." She glanced up at him, then she blinked. "What's the face?"

Optimus blinked. "Face?"

"You can't hide when something is bothering you to save a life." Eleanor crossed her arms, frowning. "Spill."

"Hm." Optimus just looked at her for a moment, then he stepped aside to reveal something sitting on Ratchet's workstation.

Eleanor's brow furrowed as she saw the object, then she looked up at the Prime questioningly. "The Spark Extractor?"

"Bulkhead was able to infiltrate the Decepticon warship and force it to crash," Optimus explained. "Their forces have been doubled with the addition of an Insecticon hive, which truly triples their might… If we do not act now, we may never have a better opportunity to end the war."

"But… I thought the idea was to keep anyone from ever using that thing," Eleanor said, shifting uncomfortably, then she looked away from the Prime. "Using it yourselves…"

"... You disagree with the strategy," Optimus realized, and the others in the base seemed to take notice of the conversation.

Eleanor closed her eyes, sighing. "It's not that simple, Optimus. I understand why you would do it, I understand why it makes strategic sense and why you'd feel like you have no better option, but it-..." She looked up at him, frowning. "Just because it makes strategic sense doesn't mean that it's right."

The children exchanged wary glances from where they stood together near a monitor, Miko crossing her arms, and Eleanor noticed.

She blinked, also taking notice of how the rest of the Autobots were watching her, then her eyes narrowed before closing, and she took another deep breath before opening her eyes and looking up at Optimus.

"So… yes," she told him, reaching up and gripping her satchel. "Yes, I disagree."

The kids' eyes widened, and they exchanged glances again.

After a moment, Miko's eyes narrowed, and she took a deep breath before she looked up as well.

"... You're not the only one," the teenager said, then she looked away from her guardian's general direction. "Sorry, Bulk."

The green Wrecker's optics widened. "Miko?"

"What?" Arcee blinked, then she looked over at her charge. "Jack?"

The boy cringed, then he sighed. "Arcee, this-... This just doesn't seem right." He looked up, frowning. "Yeah, it'll take out the most 'Cons in the easiest way, but-"

"It's settled, then," Ratchet insisted, growing increasingly frustrated.

Raf looked at the medic pleadingly. "Ratchet!"

"You are children, Rafael, and human," Ratchet scolded the boy. "You do not understand the choices we must make for this war. You know nothing of these matters."

Bumblebee cast a forlorn glance at Raf, but he did not raise any protests as his door-wings drooped.

Eleanor just looked at Optimus for another moment, then she sighed and looked away. "... Fair enough." Her knuckles turned white, and she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Alright, then… I guess that settles that."

"Eleanor?" Optimus tried, but she turned away from him, only opening her eyes once she had her back to the Prime.

"Look, I get it," she said. "We're not soldiers and we really have no idea what you've been through and what you've lost in this war. You have your reasons for making this decision, but it just-..." Her hands started shaking, then she blinked as a hand rested on them before looking up and seeing Raf looking at her worriedly. "There's-...

There's a right and wrong way to do things. There's a right and wrong way to be." Eleanor looked down, then she took another deep breath before nodding at Raf and turning back to look at Optimus one last time, her expression grim. "Look, just-... Just remember that—whatever you decide to do, decide to be—you have to live with your choice."

"Miss Martin." Fowler walked over to her, frowning. "That's enough."

Eleanor glanced at him, surprised, then her eyes narrowed again. "Oh, is it?"

"Optimus, I'm detecting a massive energy signal at the Decepticon crash site," Ratchet spoke up, his optics narrowing as he gazed at his monitor. "It appears to be Dark Energon."

"Optimus." Eleanor looked up at the Prime with a pleading expression, but his optics were locked onto the monitor. "Is this really how you want things to end?"

Optimus did not look at her. "... Autobots, transform and roll out!"

Eleanor reached out and gripped the railing with both hands, her eyes wide. "Optimus!" That outburst did make the Prime look at her, and the codebreaker quickly raised her hands to her mouth. "I-..."

"Hold on, Prime," Fowler raised his voice as the ground-bridge activated, and Eleanor glanced at the agent half-hopefully. "If you are going to deploy some kind of super-weapon in some sort of epic final showdown with the 'Cons, it is my job as a representative of Earth to bear witness."

The codebreaker's face fell, then she let her hands fall and stepped back, shaking her head as she gazed at the agent before scoffing quietly. "... Good." Fowler looked at her, frowning, and Eleanor crossed her arms and looked down at the floor. "Years from now… when someone asks, 'Where were you when the Autobots became the very thing they swore to destroy?'..." She closed her eyes, trying to ignore the feeling of all of those eyes and optics on her. "You can honestly say, 'I just stood by and watched'."

"Miss Martin!" Fowler protested, and Eleanor reacted on instinct, shifting in place and moving away from the sound of his voice.

It was just an inch, just the shift of her left foot backwards so that her left side would follow and the tightening of her own arms' hold around her chest enough to make her ribs burn anew, but she felt like her skin was crawling.

'Too many eyes,' a voice in her head hissed. 'They're furious. Why didn't you just keep your mouth shut?'

Eleanor opened her eyes, and she glanced at the floor, then she looked back at Jack, Raf, and Miko.

They were all looking at her, but with worry and a similar fear; they were just kids, and they needed someone to make a stand.

Pain flashed, but not in the codebreaker's chest—instead, it was ghost-pain in the one place it needed to be most and she most-desperately wished it would not be.

She felt nauseous.

"... But I won't. I won't just stand by and watch," Eleanor decided, stepping forward and glaring at the agent as her hands fell and clenched into fists at her sides, and it was his turn to take a step back. "Yeah, they're Decepticons. Yeah, they're awful. Yeah, they'd do it to us in a heartbeat—but maybe that's the fucking point." Her fists shook, and Eleanor briefly closed her eyes again before opening them as her expression grew resigned even with the anger and disappointment still shining in her eyes. "This isn't an 'epic final showdown', so don't you dare try to call it that. It's desperation…. And at best, it's a tragedy. At worst, it's a fall." She reached up and gripped her satchel strap. "So, if you would excuse me… I have to go talk to those kids."

Eleanor turned away from Fowler and walked over to where Jack, Miko, and Raf were waiting for her.

Jack placed a hand on her shoulder and nodded, and Eleanor managed a small smile before grunting quietly as Miko hugged her and little Raf ended up hugging her as well at her midsection, then she sighed and rested one hand on the girl's back while the other hand rested on the boy's head, and she closed her eyes.

Her skin was still crawling under lingering stares and she felt sick, like the room was spinning, but the crawling sensation lessened bit by bit until Eleanor was pretty sure that only one person was still staring at her.

"... Let's go, Prime," Fowler said quietly. "It's time to finish this."

Eleanor listened to the retreating steps and counted the sounds made with each departure: one, two, three, four, five.

The groundbridge shut down, and she felt the tension leave her body as her shoulders sagged under an invisible weight.

"Thanks, for trying," Miko whispered.

Eleanor opened her eyes and blinked, then she gave a small smile and nodded. "Of course… Now, let's try and get our minds off of it. It's… beyond us, now."

Eleanor sat on the couch between Miko and Raf, Jack on the younger boy's other side as they watched the television.

Raf had turned on the history channel, but the four humans had pretty much zoned-out, lost in their thoughts after what happened.

"... So," Eleanor spoke up. "I rescheduled my interview, and… I might be your Spanish teacher after Friday."

"What?!" Miko asked, looking over at the codebreaker with wide eyes. "You're gonna be one of our teachers?!"

"If I ace my interview," Eleanor replied, looking at her with a light grin. "Haven't goofed one yet, so let's see if I can pull off another miracle."

"... BEST TEACHER EVER!" Miko decided, her eyes shining, and the elder woman snorted. "I might actually LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR CLASS!"

Eleanor blinked, surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah!"

"Hm!" Eleanor's eyes glinted behind her glasses, and she noticed Raf and Jack smiling as well. "I thought you'd be a little worried about too much exposure to my crazy."

"Nope." Jack shook his head. "It'll be good to have you around, El."

Raf nodded. "Yeah, though it's gonna be hard to remember to call you 'Miss Martin'."

"Eh, like I'll care about a few slip-ups," the young codebreaker chided. "We're wrapped up in an alien conspiracy together. Mi Autobot es su Autobot." The children all started laughing, and Eleanor chuckled. "Oh, the things I say."

"Hm." Ratchet glanced over at her, an optic-brow raised, then he looked back at his monitor and shook his helm.

A strange look crossed Eleanor's face, then she walked over to where Ratchet was working and hopped the railing, landing on the keypad and crouching to type something in.

Ratchet watched this in annoyance, then he looked up as several images and articles appeared across his many screens, blinking before his optics widened in disbelief.

"... Don't you ever talk to these kids like that again, Ratchet," Eleanor said quietly, and Ratchet looked down at the codebreaker in astonishment. "Don't you ever tell them that they know nothing of these matters… Yeah, Doc, we're human. You look at our lives and wars, and you must think they're so short and small." Her eyes narrowed. "But this rock of ours was fucked-up long before aliens decided it made a war-zone, too.

We had you long beaten in ways you can't imagine… and it's killing us, thinking that—from now on—we have to know that our friends were pushed to the point where they made a choice that we can compare to that." She gestured to the screens. "Because when history remembers these events… history isn't kind."

"Miss Martin…"

"The Spark Extractor." Eleanor lowered her hand. "I'm told that sparks are your life-force, your memories, your personalities. Your souls…" She raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure I'm the one who didn't understand what the team was doing, when they chose to use that thing? At least human weapons will only hurt the body and the mind, things we leave behind… What do you think is gonna happen to them when they realize what they've done, Ratchet?"

Ratchet stared at the codebreaker, then his face fell as his rotator-cups slumped.

Eleanor's fists clenched at her sides, shaking somewhat, then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening her eyes and looking away.

:The team's down,: Fowler's voice suddenly came over the comms, and everyone looked at Ratchet's monitor in alarm. :Requesting med-evac.:

Eleanor's eyes widened in disbelief, her heart stopping in her chest. "What?"

Out of all of the outcomes she had been imagining, she never actually considered that the team might fail. She thought they might change their minds or—at worst—succeed, but fail?

"... Damn it, Optimus," the codebreaker whispered as Ratchet opened a ground-bridge and ran through, something already starting to prick at her eyes.

She managed to clamber back onto the railing, but she just sat there—gripping the yellow railing and watching the spinning light as she waited for whatever would come back through, a lump forming in her throat.

'He's okay,' she told herself. 'It's Optimus. He's okay.'

But as hard as she tried to focus on those thoughts, all she could think about was the fact that the last that stupid, selfless dork known as Optimus Prime knew, she had been angry with him.

"Please, be okay."

Eleanor did not know what she had been expecting.

Blaster wounds, lacerations. Maybe a dismemberment or two.

But this?

Ratchet had to drag his fellow Autobots through the ground-bridge, their limbs stiff and their bodies unwilling to move from the positions they were in, their optics wide and their expressions frozen in permanent surprise.

The medic stood them up in a corner of the base and began examining them, his optics narrowed in a weak attempt to mask his concern. It was clear that all of the humans—the children, Eleanor, and even the returned Fowler—could see his servos shaking.

"What the Hell?" Eleanor whispered, her eyes wide as she walked across the floor and looked up at Optimus, then she gripped her satchel strap and looked at Ratchet. "What-..? What's wrong with them, Doc?"

"I'm not sure," Ratchet admitted, shining a light in Bumblebee's optic and trying to see if there was any response, then he blinked before sighing and looking over at the young codebreaker with a deadpan. "Miss Martin, I would advise against that."

"Why?" Eleanor questioned the medic as she continued climbing up Optimus's leg, briefly pausing to look up at the eldest Autobot. "What's the worst he could do, start moving?" She raised an eyebrow. "I thought that was the goal."

"... Fair point." Ratchet sighed again, turning his attention back to Bumblebee. "Just don't do anything stupid."

Eleanor snorted as she arrived at Optimus's chest and glanced back at the medic again. "You do realize who you're talking to, right?"

"With painstaking clarity," Ratchet remarked, and Eleanor arrived at Optimus's collar and sat down next to his rotator-cup, cringing and gripping her chest briefly.

The young woman took a few deep breaths, closing her eyes, then she opened her eyes and idly cast her gaze to the side as she tried to recover before blinking as she noticed something. It took her a moment to register it and even longer to accept it as real, but then she finally reached over and rested her hand against it.

The magnet's design had obviously been drawn by one of the kids, and it had a blue Autobot emblem and the blown-up image of Eleanor's Thor necklace. Optimus had it someplace where she would never be able to see it, but he could always find it.

"Well, I feel worse," the codebreaker murmured, then she looked at the Prime's face with a grim expression. "You better not be dead." Her eyes narrowed, then she stood up on his collar and walked over carefully until she could grab the side of his helmet and lean over to look into one of his optics. "Your optics are still glowing… When you killed those Vehicons on the Nemesis, their visors went dark." She shook her head. "I don't think you're dead. We just have to snap you out of this, somehow." Her expression softened. "Hang on, big guy."

"Hm?" Ratchet looked over at the young woman. "What are you blabbering on about, over there?"

"Hey, Prime!" Eleanor flipped like a switch knocked on the Autobot leader's forehead, her eyes narrowed again. "Come on, you dork! Wake up! Don't make me poke you in the optics! You know I will!" She looked down at Miko, who was standing with Jack and Raf and observing the scene forlornly. "Get me a fork! No, a spoon!"

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"It's dull! It'll hurt more!" Eleanor replied, and Miko managed a snort before she ran off. The codebreaker gave a small grin, and she watched the boys walk off to check on their guardians before she sighed. "That oughta lighten them up a bit." She looked back at Optimus, frowning warily. "Hm… Come on, big guy. Snap out of it. You're the closest thing I've got to a friend, and look at how we left things off. That does not get to be the end, you hear me?"

Miko ran up and held a silver utensil over her head. "Spoon!"

"Spoon!" Eleanor held a hand out, and she caught the utensil when Miko threw it before pointing it at Optimus's face as a mock-threat. "So wake up, dummy! You don't get to retire to the sweet life as an oversized hat-rack, just yet!"

"That's it, you." Ratchet picked Eleanor up by her coat and set her down on the floor, shaking his helm, then he sighed and looked at his teammates. "... They're alive. But I've never encountered this form of stasis lock."

"The 'Cons are crossing the Atlantic, making a bee-line for North America," Fowler reported, gesturing to a monitor.

Jack blinked, surprised. "Wait, we can track them?"

"Why aren't they cloaked, like usual?" Raf asked, confused.

"None of this makes a lick of sense," Fowler agreed. "The 'Cons had us in their crosshairs, but they just took off."

"They even bailed on that Spark Extractor thingy," Miko said, her eyes narrowing.

Eleanor crossed her arms, looking down with narrowed eyes. "Megatron would have never abandoned that thing, let alone passed up a chance to mount Optimus on his warship like a hood ornament and use the rest for target practice."

"Wait, if they're not cloaked, maybe the communications relay is open," Jack realized.

"Ep-ep!" Ratchet immediately protested. "Are you suggesting that we just call Megatron and ask him what's happening up there?!"

Jack shrugged, as did Raf and Miko. When Ratchet looked at Fowler, the agent mimicked the gesture.

"That's exactly what he's suggesting," Eleanor said, walking up the stairs and arriving next to Ratchet's monitor. The kids followed soon after, joining the codebreaker and Fowler. "Because I don't think Megatron is in charge of that ship."

Ratchet blinked, then he frowned before approaching his monitor and hesitantly establishing a line of communication. "... Autobot Outpost Omega One to Decepticon Warship. Megatron, please: respond." There was no answer. "Megatron?"

:Megatron has been relieved of his command,: a growling voice spoke.

Ratchet's optics narrowed. "Who is this?"

:Who is this?:

"Have you taken control of the Decepticon vessel?" The medic pressed, leaning forward.

:I am the vessel,: the voice stated, and everyone exchanged stunned glances as several images of frozen Decepticons were shown on the screen. :Any Cybertronian who interferes with my mission will be neutralized.:

Ratchet got over his shock and continued his questioning. "What mission?"

:Priority One: decrypt Iacon Database and recover Decepticon technology.:

"For what purpose?" The medic tried, gripping his keypad.

Silence, then the line cut.

"It hung up?!" Miko was clearly affronted. "Rude!"

"Rude?!" Fowler looked at the teenager, frustrated. Eleanor stepped forward a bit, placing her right side between the girl and the agent as if on instinct, and Ratchet and Miko were the only ones who seemed to notice. "There's a giant spaceship flying around, collecting Decepticon weapons of mass destruction!"

"A giant spaceship full of neutralized Decepticons," Jack cut in.

Fowler looked at the boy with a raised eyebrow. "Point?"

"This could be our only chance to slip aboard and download the Iacon Database," Jack explained, frowning.

Raf's eyes lit up. "So Optimus and Eleanor can decode it!"

"Ingenious," Ratchet murmured, his optics wide, then he grew determined. "I will infiltrate the Decepticon warship."

"Not ingenious." Jack waved the idea off. "You saw what it did to the Decepticons."

Raf nodded shakily. "And probably Megatron, too."

"And Team Prime!" Miko reminded everyone, gesturing to their allies.

"But that tub had me dead-to-rights, and I'm still breathing," Fowler offered a different reminder.

Jack blinked. "The ship may be blind to humans."

"... I'll go," Eleanor decided, and everyone looked at her in surprise. "I'm human, I have experience with the Nemesis's computers, I know how to find the Iacon Database, and I'm toting an anti-Cybertronian weapon." She glanced down at her satchel, then she let her hands fall to her sides and clench into fists. "I'm the logical choice."

"You're also recovering from serious injury, Miss Martin," Ratchet stated, his optics narrowing as he grew a bit frustrated. "I cannot just-"

"Never stopped him." Eleanor gestured to Optimus, then she lowered her hand. "And don't give me that 'only human' bullshit again." Her eyes narrowed. "Yeah, you're giant alien robots, but we're just as alien to you as you are to us, and—as previously discussed—humans have survived and experienced things you could not imagine." She retrieved her gun from her satchel, put it together, and hefted it in preparation as she gazed up at the medic. "Do your research."

"... Very well—but at the first sign of trouble, I am bridging you right back here," Ratchet relented, closing his optics, then he opened them again as he grabbed a device from his monitor's port. "Now, to download the database, you will need a compatible transfer graft."

Raf ran forward with his laptop. "She'll also need tech support."

"And backup," Miko added, gesturing to herself and Jack with a grin.

Fowler gave a small smirk as he took the graft from the medic. "And don't think I'm sitting this out."

"Hm." Eleanor glanced around at the humans, then she looked at Ratchet with a sly grin. "It looks like we've got our codebreaker, our kiddo of many talents, our Wrecker, our broody badass loner, and our responsible old vet."

"Huh." Ratchet blinked. "It… appears so."

"Heh." Eleanor gave a small smirk, then she glanced at the humans and nodded. "Let's go, Team Prime, and show these two-ton morons how it's done."

"Yes!" Miko did an excited fist-pump as the others grinned, and Eleanor watched them start to make their way down the stairs as Ratchet prepared the ground-bridge.

Then, she glanced at Optimus one last time and sighed, shaking her head. "... You and your dumbass Prime bravado." She looked forward and hefted her gun onto her shoulder as she started walking down the stairs. "Once you wake up, you colossal dork, you are getting the talking-to of a lifetime."

"Miss Martin." Ratchet looked up from his monitor, and she glanced back at him with a raised eyebrow. "I must remind you to not do anything too strenuous. You're not supposed to be doing anything like this at all."

"Yeah, well…" Eleanor shrugged her shoulders, her eyes narrowing. "Our guys weren't supposed to get frozen either. Nothing about today is going right, Doc."

Ratchet rolled his optics. "Don't call me that."

"Don't pull the 'you're human' card anymore, and I'll think about it," she offered, a little irked, then she sighed as she reached the bottom of the stairs and started striding across the base's floor. "Keep working on them. Call us with any updates."

"Of course," Ratchet agreed, looking at his monitor, then he glanced at the young woman as she passed over the Autobot emblem. "And Miss Martin?" She paused and glanced back at him, and the medic nodded. "Good work, and good luck."

Eleanor blinked, then she nodded back before looking forward and passing through the ground-bridge with the rest of her little, unlikely team.

/\

The Nemesis was an uncomfortably familiar sight, but Eleanor did not give herself the leisure time to consider that.

"Fowler to base," Fowler spoke over the comms just after the humans had stepped out of the ground-bridge. "We're in."

:Good,: Ratchet responded as Eleanor led the way down the hallway, Jack by her side and the other three close behind. :Their data core should be accessible from any consul.:

"H… Here's one," Raf whispered, pointing into a room, and they all peered in to see a crimson figure hunched-over before a set of monitors.

Before anyone could stop her, Miko ran in and knocked a few times on the mech's leg before looking back with a grin. "Doc Knock is knocked-out!"

"Look!" Raf spoke up as the rest of the humans caught up, gesturing to one of the screens. "The ship's decoded two sets of Iacon coordinates." Another set of coordinates was decoded, and the boy's eyes widened. "Three!"

"Huh." Eleanor tilted her head to the side, nodding. "Not bad, Nemesis." She noticed how the others were looking at her and blinked. "... What?"

"Let's rip and run!" Raf suggested, snapping everyone back to attention, and the humans began using Knockout to climb up onto the consul.

Upon their arrival at the keypads, Jack blinked as he noticed something. "Um… Why is the warship heading for Manhattan?"

"What?" Eleanor asked, glancing at the monitor with wide eyes, and she saw that Jack was right—the ship was heading for Manhattan, for her home.

Raf checked the screens, his eyes narrowing. "Because that's where the first set of coordinates are located."

"What would a relic from Cybertron be doing in the Big Apple?" Fowler asked, using the comms to ensure that Ratchet could provide input.

The medic was ready to oblige. :The Iacon Relics landed on Earth eons ago, Agent Fowler—long before the city was built on top of it.:

"Which means, if the ship wants this one, it may have to move some buildings out of the way," Jack realized, his expression filled with concern.

"... Over my dead body," Eleanor stated, gritting her teeth as something like rage flashed in her eyes, then she took a deep breath before glancing over at Raf. "Kiddo, do you think you can handle the download?"

"Yeah, it's handling itself," the young boy agreed, then he grew worried. "But what are you gonna do?"

"Ratchet." Eleanor glanced at Fowler, who nodded to assure her that the comm was still open. "I need to know how to stop this thing before it reaches Manhattan."

:I would advise disabling the navigation module. Call up the main navigation menu.:

"There!" Raf pointed to the right station.

Eleanor went to approach it, but Fowler stopped her. "Step aside." The agent went to access the consul, but he was suddenly zapped. "Ah!"

"Agent Fowler!" Jack shouted, his eyes wide.

Somehow, Eleanor had the sense to catch Fowler before he could stumble off of the consul and onto the floor below, and she hesitated before she retrieved the comm from his wrist and placed it onto her own.

"System access: detected!" The growling voice of the Nemesis spoke. "Interference will not be tolerated!"

"There!" Raf pointed to a camera that had emerged from the ceiling, but Eleanor quickly kneeled next to him and covered his mouth with her hand.

The camera kept moving around, searching. "Reveal yourself!"

"... It doesn't see us!" Miko realized, her eyes lighting up, then she quickly covered her mouth with both hands as Eleanor pressed an index-finger to her own lips.

:Yet. The ship must not be scanning for carbon-based lifeforms, but once it widens its search parameters…:

Raf gulped. "We're toast."

:I'm bridging you back!:

"No," Jack refused, his eyes narrowing. "There are millions of lives at stake in New York, and we four are currently the only ones who can do anything about it."

:You're out of your element, Jack.:

Eleanor stood up, gazing down at the comm on her wrist. "But he's not alone."

:These readings, the ship's rapid recovery—they all point to the fact that Megatron used Dark Energon to repair it.:

"Hold on, if you're saying that the ship is fueled by Dark Energon…" Jack looked down, thinking, then he blinked. "We can dump it, right?"

:Hm.: Ratchet seemed intrigued. :You'll need to reverse the warship's Energon infuser… Follow the main overhead conduits. They'll lead you to the power core.:

"Roger-roger, Doc," Eleanor said, nodding, then she and the kids climbed down from the consul and onto the floor.

The codebreaker cringed as Fowler rolled off of the consul and landed on the floor behind them with a grunt before starting to murmur deliriously, then she took a deep breath before looking at the kids and gesturing, starting to lead them in a run down the hallways of the Nemesis.

"... I hope Fowler's alright," Eleanor said after a few minutes of running.

"Cybertronian stuff just really hates humans," Miko remarked, and Eleanor glanced at her with a raised eyebrow. "Like, I once messed with a Cybertronian data-cylinder and it launched all of its information as a brain-melting laser because it automatically registered me as a threat."

The codebreaker blinked, surprised. "Huh. I'm just gonna… keep that tabbed, I guess."

When the humans arrived at the power core, they were surprised to find a familiar figure already there.

Eleanor blinked, then her eyes narrowed. "Looks like…"

"Megatron had the same idea," Jack concluded, also glaring at the frozen figure of the Decepticon warlord.

"... Too bad he's the one who fucked-up in the first place," the codebreaker remarked, then she deadpanned. "Dumbass."

Jack blinked, then he sighed. "I can't believe you're gonna be our teacher."

"I can't believe you're gonna be our teacher!" Miko shouted, grinning at the older woman.

Raf cut in, snapping them back on track again. "We're on the right track."

:The Energon injection valve can only be operated manually.:

"Manually?!" All of the kids asked together, their eyes wide as they looked up at where Megatron's servo was still closed around a lever.

"... Give me a boost," Jack finally said, walking over and starting to climb Megatron's leg.

Eleanor walked over, lacing the fingers of both hands together and tucking them under Jack's foot, grunting quietly as she exerted her strength to boost the boy up a bit. After doing that, she actually had to lean against the Decepticon's leg for a moment and recover, a hand on her chest, then she sighed and closed her eyes before opening them again and glancing up at the frozen warlord warily.

"Time to climb King 'Con," she decided, putting her gun back into her satchel, then she started climbing as well and she eventually arrived on the warlord's spiked rotator-cup. From there, as she recovered, she glanced down briefly with a raised eyebrow before shrugging. "Meh." She glanced at Megatron's face, smirking. "Not far enough to compare to your ego-IQ distance. Probably wouldn't kill me, so probably not worth the shot."

Jack, who had already arrived at the control panel, deadpanned. "Eleanor."

"Coming, coming," Eleanor assured the boy, and she held her arms out at her sides as she carefully walked across Megatron's arm. She arrived at the control panel and walked over to Jack, then they both began pushing on the lever with their full weight, doing their best to try and move it. "Can't let this stupid ship wipe out… my stupid… homecity…" The young codebreaker closed her eyes. "Can I?"

"I'm infested with alien lifeforms!" The Nemesis suddenly shouted, and the humans looked up in alarm to see a camera pointed right at them.

"Uh-oh!" Miko cringed, moving a bit closer to Raf. "We just got made!"

"Kids!" Eleanor shouted, her eyes wide as a mechanized claw began targeting Miko and Raf, and she pointed to some stacks of Energon crates. "Over there, now!" The kids obeyed, evading the claw as they ran, and Eleanor nodded shakily. "That's right! Stay in the stacks, in the little gaps!" A hand grabbed her wrist, and Eleanor tensed before looking over at Jack with narrowed eyes. "Hey!"

"I've got an idea!" He told her, and she blinked as he let her go and looked up at the claw with a glare. "Hey, over here!"

"Jack!" Raf shouted as the older boy started climbing down Megatron's frozen form, Eleanor hesitating before following the teen, and the claw noticed them "Eleanor!"

"Run for it!" Miko shouted as the pair arrived on the floor, the claw speeding toward them.

Eleanor and Jack exchanged glances, then they both smirked before nodding in sync and looking at the approaching claw.

"Practice run," Eleanor murmured, and Jack nodded in agreement. "Get ready."

When the claw got close, the two each leapt in an opposite direction, and Jack grinned as he rolled into a crouch and quickly stood up again. "Too slow!"

"Kid, you are crazy!" Eleanor exclaimed, standing up with a hand on her chest as the claw pulled back to prime a new attack, then she raised an eyebrow. "I'm impressed."

"Of course, you are." Jack rolled his eyes as he grabbed her wrist. "Come on!"

"Whoa!" Eleanor blinked as she was pulled along when Jack started running, then she wrenched her hand back. "I can handle running just fine on my own!"

"It's not the running!" Jack paused and faced the claw, standing between it and Megatron's leg. "It's the timing!"

Eleanor fell into place beside him, taking a deep breath. "Genius, remember?"

"Injured ribs, remember?!"

"Vividly!"

The claw lunged, but the two lept out of the way and let the appendage smash into Megatron's leg, causing the warlord to fall back and pull the lever.

Eleanor grunted as she hit the ground on her side, wincing in pain, then her eyes widened and she barely rolled out of the way in time to avoid being crushed by the lord of the Decepticons and arrive back at Jack's side.

The Dark Energon was removed from the power core, and the claw made one last desperate attempt to attack Jack and Eleanor, and the codebreaker noticed and quickly shoved the boy's head down before wrapping her arms around him and bracing herself, closing her eyes as she made her body a shield for the teen.

"Critical power drain!" The Nemesis wailed. "I am… in command…" Jack shook out of his astonishment to reach up and tap Eleanor's shoulder twice, and she opened her eyes and blinked before glancing back to see the claw frozen just inches away from the two of them. "Prepare to be… neutralized…"

The sickly purple glow faded from the Nemesis's conduits and the claw pulled back, returning to its normal functions as the ship was restored.

Eleanor blinked again, then she sighed in relief and let her shoulders slump. "Whoo."

"Eleanor?" Jack asked quietly, and she looked down at him with a raised eyebrow. "Did you-? I mean, were you trying to-..?" He could not seem to find the words, then he sighed. "... Thank you, Eleanor."

"... Don't mention it," Eleanor advised, giving a light grin as she stood up and offered the boy a hand, and he accepted it and let her pull him to his feet. "Seriously, don't. It might tick Prime off." Miko and Raf ran over, and Eleanor quickly checked them both for injuries before laughing out loud. "Haha! We're alive!" Megatron's body slumped and the warlord let out a low groan as his stasis was broken, and the humans' eyes widened. "We're dead."

Jack's eyes narrowed. "Run."

"Don't have to tell me twice!" Eleanor agreed, the codebreaker drawing her gun and snapping it back together, then she used it to gesture to the hallway. "Come on, kids!"

Jack, Miko, and Raf ran past, and Eleanor shot one more glance at Megatron before following them through the ship of slowly reawakening Decepticons.

/\

Back at Autobot Outpost Omega One, four Autobots were suddenly freed from their stasis. They fell out of their frozen positions, clearly fatigued but with their mobility restored.

"Thank the Allspark." Ratchet sighed, smiling in relief.

Then, Jack's voice came through the comms. :Ratchet, fire up the ground-bridge!:

:Yeah, and be quick about it!: Eleanor's voice shouted in agreement, and Ratchet blinked. :The stiffs are waking up!: The codebreaker suddenly yelped. :Whoa, that's a claw! Watch the claws, kids! Watch each other! Buddy system!: The medic's optics widened. :Hey, are the 'bots back?!:

"Yes, they are!" Ratchet replied quickly, starting to prep the ground-bridge.

:Tell Optimus that HE'S AN IDIOT!: Eleanor ordered, then she gasped and there was a loud slamming sound immediately after. :Okay, that's a foot!: Another slamming sound. :Hey, I'm walking here!:

Optimus looked at the monitor, then he looked at his medic with an odd expression. "... Where are the humans, old friend?"

"Uh…" Ratchet looked at the Prime, then he smiled awkwardly as he grabbed the ground-bridge lever. "Heheh..."

/\

The children and Eleanor arrived back at the consul where they had left Fowler and the graft, and Miko went to the woozy agent's side as he appeared to be recovering.

"On your feet, soldier!" The girl commanded, helping the man to her feet.

Fowler was completely out of it, a dopey smile on his face. "Neighbors and ducks and walnuts and… Grandma?" Miko, completely freaked-out, released the agent and let him drop. "Ow."

"Uh-oh." Eleanor cringed in sympathy. "That's… not good."

"That's all that's been downloaded?!" Jack shouted, and Eleanor looked up to see that Ratchet's graft had apparently only taken a little bit of the Nemesis's intelligence.

Raf shook his head. "The Iacon file must be HUGE!"

"Sweet!" Miko noticed that a ground-bridge had opened, then she looked at the boys and gestured. "Come on, here's our ride!"

Raf made his way over and helped the girl pick up Fowler again, and Eleanor got ready to cover their escape, but then Raf looked back. "Jack?"

The eldest teen had linged, his eyes on the abandoned graft.

"... Get Fowler out of here," Jack ordered quietly, his eyes narrowed.

The other two went to protest, but Eleanor gestured for them to go before walking over to stand beside the boy. "I've got your back, kid."

"Thanks." Jack nodded in appreciation, giving the codebreaker a small smile, then he started climbing up Knockout's still-frozen form. "Some is better than nothing. I'm not leaving without that drive."

Eleanor nodded, then she started climbing as well, keeping a tight grip on her gun as she accompanied the boy. They arrived at the consul, and Jack began starting to tug the graft free while Eleanor covered him, her gun raised and her narrowed eyes on Knockout.

"Jack, hurry!" The codebreaker advised as the Decepticon medic began to stir. "Doc Knock ain't so knocked-out anymore!"

"I've almost-..." Jack grunted, closing his eyes as he pulled. "Sorry, it's stuck!"

Eleanor stepped between Jack and Knockout as the medic stood up and smirked. He slammed a fist onto the consul to make it shake, knocking both Jack and Eleanor off of their feet, and Eleanor did her best to shield the teen as Knockout activated a drill mod in his servo and aimed it at the two humans.

"Say 'aah'."

"No, thanks!" The codebreaker had fallen back onto her base instinct: bullshit. "I don't have dental!"

"I'm here to offer a second opinion," a voice spoke, and Knockout looked back just in time to see Ratchet swinging a fist that collided with his face and knocked him to the floor.

"Whoop!" Eleanor raised her free fist into the air, grinning as she gripped her gun. "Go, Doc!"

"Don't call me Doc!" Ratchet protested, grabbing the graft before scooping both humans up and holding them to his chest. The Autobot medic then ran through the ground-bridge just before it closed, leaving the Nemesis behind.

/\

Upon return to base, Ratchet set Jack and Eleanor down on the floor and walked over to his monitor to begin analyzing the new contents of the Cybertronian harddrive.

"Whoa." Eleanor sighed, standing up straight and splitting her gun so that she could put it away in her satchel, then she straightened her coat and looked up with a frown.

Jack was already running over to greet a recovered Arcee while Raf and Miko spoke with a recovered Bumblebee and Bulkhead.

Aside from Fowler resting on a cot, the Autobot base seemed back to normal.

The ground rumbled beneath Eleanor's feet, and the young codebreaker turned her head and glanced up with a raised eyebrow to see a familiar red and blue mech approaching her with an also-familiar expression of concern on his face.

"Eleanor."

"Optimus." She raised an eyebrow as he got down on one knee and seemed to start examining her. "So… were you conscious, that whole time?"

"Allow me to finish checking you for arms before I answer," Optimus insisted, and she blinked as he nodded. "Ah. No spoons." The Prime looked up at her with a small smile and a raised optic-brow. "Yes, I was."

Eleanor blinked again, then she raised a hand to her mouth to try and conceal a smile from the Autobot leader. "Hm."

"... You were against the strategy," Optimus noted, his expression softening and returning to one of concern. "Why?"

"Optimus…" Eleanor glanced around the room, then she looked up at the mech as he hands raised to her satchel strap and gripped it. "A sudden strike with a weapon of mass destruction intended to take as many lives as possible, specifically at the moment when the Decepticons would have no chance to escape?" She shook her head, her expression forlorn. "That-... That's not the Autobots' M.O., it's the Decepticons'."

"Eleanor-"

"And it's been the M.O. of some really bad humans," Eleanor pressed, and he blinked. "I don't mean folks like MECH, I mean-..." She glanced around the room again as she took a deep breath. "There have been events that have shaped our perspective of those kinds of tactics, Optimus." Her hands were shaking in spite of her attempts to still them, and she closed her eyes. "I know we're human and we have no right to try and tell you how to fight this thing, b-but we just-"

"Eleanor." A light pressure on her shoulder, and she opened her eyes and looked over to see one of Optimus's large index fingers resting there. She looked up at him, her eyes wide, to see his worried expression. "Breathe."

The conversation had drawn the others' attention, by that point.

The kids were all looking at the codebreaker with a mixture of gratitude and worry, and the Autobots had noticed and grown visibly concerned.

Eleanor realized how short of breath she was and followed Optimus's advice; she took a deep breath, and her shoulders slumped as another wave of dizziness and nausea took over and the room began to spin, then she closed her eyes again.

The Prime's index finger stayed on her shoulder, grounding her, and she opened her eyes again when the ringing in her ears died down and her mind no longer felt ready to pop.

"... It scared us, Optimus, the idea that you were willing to use that kind of tactic. It scared me," Eleanor said after a moment, forcing herself to be calm as she gazed up at the mech. "It's just frustrating, because we want you to be safe and we know that that's the sort of strategy that could end this war quickly, but… at what cost?" She shook her head again. "We know it's war and that there will be casualties, but-... Christ, do you guys really want to be the side of this thing that put the Spark Extractor into play?"

"Err…" Bulkhead shifted uncomfortably in place, glancing at the others.

Eleanor raised a hand to her forehead, taking a deep breath, then she looked up at Optimus. "I for one cannot bring myself to believe that, when all was said and done, the members of this team would think they made the right call if you had used that thing. If you were the kind of people who would, I don't think I could stand being in the same room—so I'm hoping and praying that what happened today was the result of fear and desperation, not reason." She lowered her hand, sighing. "But all the same… you can't let reason fail. You can't let right fail."

"Hm." Optimus gazed down at the young codebreaker, his expression clearly guilty. "Eleanor, I just-"

The brunette raised a hand to stop him, her eyes narrowed. "Hey. Never would, remember?" The other Autobots became confused, but Optimus blinked in surprise before his expression softened. "You can't let this war change who you are, or… regardless of the outcome… there won't be any Autobots left to win it, not really." She bit her lower lip, then she took a deep and shaking breath. "There is a right way to do these things, and yeah: 'the right way' really sucks, sometimes—but there has to be someone left who is willing to do it, and… I hate to say it, but nothing worth doing is ever gonna be easy. If it was, everyone would do it.

I know that it's hard and unfair and that the Decepticons would do it in a second, but that is EXACTLY why you shouldn't, Optimus." She reached up and gripped her satchel-strap again, her shoulders slumping. "You are not supposed to do what the Decepticons would do before they get the chance, you are supposed to stop anyone from doing anything the wrong way—otherwise, you're nothing but the faster of two evils." She hesitated, seeming to realize what she said and briefly grow too afraid to speak, then she took another deep breath. "Is that what you want to be? Is that what you fought for? 'Cause I-... I don't think so."

"... Tell me that someone got that on camera," Miko commented, her eyes wide as she gazed at the young codebreaker.

The Autobots were all staring at her, and Eleanor noticed all of them watching and blinked before her eyes widened and she took a step back, her knuckles turning white as her hold on her satchel-strap tightened.

Optimus carefully reached out and rested his finger on her shoulder again, and Eleanor cringed before she looked up at him, seeming to freeze in place as the color drained from her face and she seemed to just… wait.

"... Cruelty is not courage, and mercilessness is not strength," Optimus noted quietly, and Eleanor just blinked.

He gently lowered his finger along the strap of her satchel, and Eleanor released the fabric but quickly cringed as she realized she had revealed her shaking hands. She folded them and pressed them closed to her chest, bending over slightly as if to hide them with her body, but Optimus carefully tucked his finger beneath her chin and coaxed her to look up at him.

The Prime examined her face carefully, then he sighed. "I am so sorry that I failed to listen to you earlier, my friend." He lowered his servo as her expression flashed with surprise, and Optimus shook his helm while giving a bitter smile. "As usual when it comes to these matters, you are absolutely correct."

"I…" Eleanor blinked again, then she reached up with a trembling hand and straightened her glasses before curling her quivering fingers around her satchel strap again. "I'm sorry for getting so worked-up, Optimus. I-I know that I shouldn't have-"

"Eleanor." Optimus rested his finger against her hands again, and she went still.

Then, she looked up at him with wide eyes, clear disbelief in her expression. "... Since when were you so good at reading me, huh?"

"You are not the only codebreaker on the team," the Prime reminded his charge. "And you should never have to be afraid of speaking to me. You should never have to be afraid of me."

"I'm not scared of you," Eleanor insisted quickly, shaking her head. "I know I get on your nerves, but you'd never hurt me."

"Then-?" Optimus noticed how she glanced around the room again, and he blinked before his face fell as he must have made the connection. He broke the code. "Oh."

Eleanor looked back at him, biting her lower lip and shifting uncomfortably in place, then she closed her eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Eleanor." Optimus tilted her chin up again, and she opened her eyes. "You have nothing to be sorry for." Eleanor blinked, her eyes searching his face, and Optimus lowered his finger and nodded. "Thank you, for what you did."

"... It was nothing," Eleanor said quietly, looking away, then she looked up at Optimus again. "And Jack's the one who figured out how to trick the ship into dumping the Dark Energon, and I just covered him while he made sure to recover the drive." She gave a small smile. "He, uh… He's a pretty smart kid."

"Hm. That, he is." Optimus shook his helm. "But what am I going to do with you?"

"Whoa." Eleanor blinked as he picked her up by the back of her coat, stood, and set her on his palm before walking over and setting her down on the platform. "I could've just walked, y'know. I mean, it'd've taken a bit-"

"It'd've." Jack sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Please, tell me that a Columbia graduate who claims to be an expert in several languages didn't just use it'd've."

"... Hm." Eleanor hummed, then she shrugged her shoulders. |I could say that, but it would not be true.|

Jack blinked, and Miko snorted before looking at him. "She said that she could say that, but it wouldn't be true." The girl glanced at the codebreaker and nodded. |Not bad. You're not a native speaker, but not bad.|

|Thanks,| Eleanor replied, grinning. |Sorry, it's just been a while. After I got all of my language degrees in the stress-induced speed-run of the century, I still had to get my master's in secondary education and -well- they only had me teaching Spanish in Alaska.| She rolled her eyes. |I mean, I totally get why, but… it's always gonna be Spanish, isn't it?|

|To be fair, it wasn't gonna be Latin,| Miko noted, and they both snickered. |You sound a lot better, now.|

|Just like riding a bicycle,| Eleanor said, then she chuckled. |If riding a bicycle had a complex grammatical structure and culture-specific vocabulary that one would be required to achieve full mastery of in order to call themself a sufficient practitioner.|

"Uh…" Raf looked between the two, his eyes wide. "You're both-..."

"Speaking Japanese," Jack realized. "They're both speaking Japanese."

Miko glanced at Jack and raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms. "Why do you sound so surprised?"

"Well-"

"Dude, I'm from Japan!" Miko sighed, shaking her head. |It's not my fault that practically nowhere in your school system goes out of its way to teach you to be functionally bilingual.|

"Amen." Eleanor chuckled, then she looked up as the Autobots gathered around to see what Ratchet had brought up on his monitor.

"The download of the Iacon database may have been incomplete, but we now possess four sets of coordinates decoded by the ship," the medic reported, looking back at the others.

"Then, we must act quickly—for Megatron possesses the same four sets and he will not hesitate to obtain the potential doomsday devices which lie at the site of each," Optimus decided, growing serious. "If we are to have any hope of recovering then Iacon Relics before the Decepticons do, we must divide our resources."

"But Optimus, when it comes to numbers, we are already at a grave disadvantage," Ratchet protested, looking at the Prime warily.

"Under the circumstances, swiftness of action is paramount," Optimus reminded his medic, frowning. "This is one race that we absolutely cannot afford to lose."

Ratchet sighed, glancing back at his monitor, then he blinked. "Here's a twist. It would appear that the Decepticons have retreated from Manhattan."

"Oh, thank God," Eleanor whispered, closing her eyes.

Arcee raised an optic-brow. "They just… up and left?"

"It is more likely that Megatron has already set course for the second set of coordinates, having dispatched a unit to this relic's underground location," Optimus said, glancing at Eleanor as the codebreaker opened her eyes, her worry returning.

"Without blasting out a city block to get to it?" Arcee pressed, her optics narrowing.

"They used subway tunnels," Jack suggested, and Eleanor looked at him in surprise. "New York has a whole network of them running beneath the city."

"It's a labyrinth," the codebreaker agreed, and everyone looked at her. "Difficult to navigate, full of dead-ends and construction and live third-rails—not to mention the trains themselves, moving at those speeds…" She glanced at the Autobots. "But a perfect way to get underground without causing a scene, especially if they used a construction site."

"Since the human population no longer seems to be directly threatened, maintaining our disguise will be necessary," Optimus stated, then he glanced at two of his teammates. "Arcee, Bumblebee: you are the best choices to navigate through such a densely-populated area."

"Optimus?" Jack cut in, cringing lightly. "New York has more than eight-million people. The odds of being spotted by at least one of them are pretty high, even if they are headed underground."

Arcee looked at her charge with a frown. "Where are you going with this?"

"You're gonna need a face man," Jack informed them. "Someone who can speak on their behalf, a human who can run interference if their cover gets blown."

"Well, I've actually been in subway stations," Miko asserted herself. "I grew up in a major metropolis, unlike Mr. I've Never Been Outside Jasper, Nevada."

"I have been to Cybertron," Jack reminded her.

"Cybertron doesn't have subways!" Miko protested, then she blinked. "... Does it?"

Optimus sighed, then he glanced at where his actual 'face man' was situated. "Agent Fowler's field experience makes him our best candidate."

"BANANA FISH!" Fowler exclaimed, raising a hand into the air briefly before allowing it to drop.

Ratchet cringed, perturbed. "If he weren't still recovering from his encounter with the Decepticon warship."

"Which we survived without incident," Miko reminded the Autobots.

Optimus glanced down at Miko, then he nodded. "... Very-"

"Actually, wouldn't our best candidate be Eleanor?" Arcee asked, raising an optic-brow as she gestured to the young woman, who promptly went wide-eyed and froze. "I'm pretty sure I've heard her mention how she's actually from Manhattan. A native would know the territory, and she's an adult."

"Hm?" Ratchet blinked, then he nodded. "Oh, yes." He glanced at Eleanor. "Miss Martin. You grew up in Manhattan, didn't you?"

"I-..." Eleanor gripped her satchel strap, shifting uncomfortably in place. "I've been away for three years." She shook her head, but anyone paying close enough attention could still see the newly-restored color draining from her face again. "I might be from New York, but I'm really not the best person for the job."

"But-" Arcee noticed the look Optimus was giving her, one which clearly said 'drop it'. "... Alright."

"Miko and Jack will accompany Arcee and Bumblebee," Optimus said, looking forward with a frown.

"Yes!" Miko cheered, grinning.

The Prime looked down at Ratchet. "Initiate transport, and triangulate coordinates of the other three relics."

"That was some trick, Miko," Bulkhead remarked, helping his charge down to ground-level so that she could get over to her temporary partners with greater speed.

"You mean swiping intel from right under Megatron's nose?" The girl asked, looking up at her guardian with a grin. "Just doing my part for Team Prime!" Bumblebee transformed, honked twice, and opened a door, and Miko glanced over at him. "Ooh! Gotta go, Bulk!" She glanced back at Bulkhead as she ran over to the scout. "I'll tell you all about it when I get back!" With that, Miko looked forward so that she would be able to clamber into the vehicle while Jack climbed onto the transformed Arcee. "Wait up!"

"Take care of her, Bee."/"Take care of him, Miko." Bulkhead and Raf spoke together, then they exchanged surprised glances.

Eleanor leaned against a railing, grinning at the green Wrecker. "Aw."

"Stop." Bulkhead rolled his optics, then he glanced at the ground-bridge with a frown as Bumblebee, Miko, Arcee, and Jack departed. "Hm."

"Bulkhead, prepare for departure," Optimus requested.

Ratchet plugged in the coordinates. "You are headed for the equator."

"I'll prep for tropical weather," Bulkhead assured them, facing the ground-bridge. "Wrecker style."

"Hm?" Eleanor raised an eyebrow. "Am I missing some lore, here?"

Bulkhead sighed and glanced at the codebreaker, shaking his helm and giving a light grin. "Don't worry about it, Martin. You just... cover whoever you end up covering."

"What makes you think I'll end up covering someone?" Eleanor asked, surprised.

Bulkhead snorted. "You just talked Ratchet into letting you lead a raid of the Nemesis. You're going on one of these missions, one way or another."

"Heh." The codebreaker smiled at the Wrecker when he winked. "We'll see, alright?"

"Rafael and Agent Fowler will be your communications and transportation hub," Optimus went on, and Raf held a thumb up.

Fowler also showed his readiness. "I CAN HAZ CHEESEBURGER!"

"Oh, boy." Eleanor winced, shaking her head.

Bulkhead seemed just as enthusiastic. "Communications, huh?"

"Hm." Eleanor looked at Bulkhead, nodding. "Good luck, big fella."

Bulkhead nodded back, then he ran towards the ground-bridge.

"Be on your guard, Bulkhead," Optimus advised, and then the green Wrecker was gone. "Rafael, lock onto the remaining coordinates. I will embark for the Antarctic."

"No asking for him to bring back a penguin," Eleanor teased the boy, then she noticed the Prime's expression. "Small, flightless-" She waved it off. "Oh, forget it. I'll put it on the list."

Optimus shook his helm, then he looked at Ratchet. "As for you, old friend, I would prefer that you have company on your mission."

"No one is left to join me, Optimus," the medic reminded the Prime. "Even if Agent Fowler were alert, he's… human."

"Ouch." Eleanor crossed her arms, irked. "We JUST talked about this!"

"And I just had to retrieve you and Jack from the Nemesis," Ratchet said, glancing at her.

The young woman scoffed. "We were fine!"

"And I do not wish to be responsible for the lives of my friends anymore than I must be," the medic insisted, and she blinked. "I feel guilty enough that we have involved you in our war at all." He gestured to his monitor, and Eleanor noticed several open tabs. "I don't need you fighting in it on my behalf, not when it is now clear to me that you chose to take part in more than one war when you stand with us."

"Oh." Eleanor's eyes flitted over the tabs, then her expression softened as she returned her gaze to the medic. "... Damn it, Ratchet."

"I was considering the only remaining Autobot alternative on this planet," Optimus corrected his medic.

Ratchet and Eleanor blinked, then Eleanor winced. "Oh, no."

"But…" The medic's optics widened. "You can't be serious! Wheeljack is insubordinate, a ruffian! Besides, he's Bulkhead's partner."

"Your expertise is scientific, but Wheeljack is a highly capable warrior," Optimus tried. "You would be wise to welcome the temporary alliance." Ratchet huffed, looking away. "... It is him or Eleanor."

Ratchet glanced at Eleanor as the codebreaker flashed a peace-sign. "Yo."

"... I'll call Wheeljack," the medic decided, looking back at the Prime.

"Boo. Hiss." Eleanor rolled her eyes, then she looked back at Ratchet with a smile. "Softy."

"Ep-ep-ep." Ratchet waved her off, then he glanced back at the young woman. "I expect my first proper history lesson after we have finished retrieving these relics, Miss Martin." Optimus glanced at his medic, surprised, then his optics actually seemed to light up and he smiled at his old friend. "Where should I expect you to begin?"

"I'm gonna give a brief overview of stuff that's happened in the last four and a half billion years, then skim over some stuff that's happened between two-million years ago and about ten thousand years ago, and then I'll wing it from there," Eleanor responded, crossing her arms. "About four-thousand years ago onward is when stuff starts picking up, we start really accelerating about two-thousand years ago, America shows up to either fuck up or kick ass a little over two-hundred years ago and throws a bunch of other countries into disarray either accidentally or on purpose, and then-" She cringed. "Oh, boy. The last one-hundred and ten years? Buddy, you aren't ready."

Ratchet blinked. "You have clearly thought this through."

"I've had time, and I realized that if I suggested downloading Earth's history instead of you letting me teach you, you might get double-planet trauma," Eleanor noted. "Let's not do that. I'm not gonna baby you, but we should take the lessons slowly… M'kay?" She saw Ratchet briefly glance at his monitor. "Don't, Doc. I'm watching you."

"Yes, yes…"

"... Eleanor," Optimus spoke, and she looked up at him as he raised an optic-brow and gestured to the ground-bridge. "Would you care for some more… bravado?"

Eleanor blinked, then she slowly smiled and nodded. "You got it, boss."

/\

Why a base in the middle of the desert was equipped with some serious winter gear, Eleanor had no idea.

If she was in a book or movie, she probably would have called the quick and easy find a sloppy convenience of the plot—but that would have required pulling a Deadpool and breaking the fourth wall, and... that train of thought was just getting way too silly, so the codebreaker just 'borrowed' the military property and went on her way.

When she stepped out of the ground-bridge with Optimus, Eleanor was wearing some snow-pants, snow-boots, mittens, a scarf, and a heavy winter coat over her usual attire with her satchel on over that, and the young woman pulled the scarf up over her mouth and nose almost immediately at the cold temperature, which caused her glasses to fog up a bit.

All in all, agreeing to come on this mission was looking to be a fantastic decision right from the start...

And then, she saw the scenery.

"Whoa." Eleanor's blue eyes went wide as she looked around at the towering glaciers. "Alaska's got nothing on this place…"

Optimus sighed quietly, starting to walk across the icy landscape. "I... suddenly do not feel quite comfortable with your presence here, Eleanor. If the Decepticons arrive-"

"I'll be fine," Eleanor promised, then she grinned deviously as she started jogging to keep up with the massive Cybertronian. "I can take care of myself—and I've got you here, don't I?"

"... Let me know if you get too cold," he advised her, frowning under his mask. "Even I cannot last for very long in the harsh conditions in this place, and you are still in recovery. I would never wish for harm to befall you."

"Dude, I'm a New Yorker who lived in Alaska." Eleanor rolled her eyes, stuffing her mitten-covered hands into her coat pockets. "I live for the cold. Trust me, I'm fine."

Optimus did not seem convinced. "Hm."

"... So, it's gonna be like that?" Eleanor raised an eyebrow, smirking under her scarf, then she scooped up some snow from the ground, formed a ball, and pitched it at the Prime. "Hyah!" The snowball burst apart upon contact with his right wrist, and he looked down at her with a raised optic-brow as he paused his steps. "... You are unfairly tall."

"Eleanor."

"What?" Eleanor shrugged. "You moped. I did a thing. You're totally smiling under that mask. Deal with it, you self-deprecating dork." Optimus just looked at her, then he suddenly scooped some snow up and dropped it on top of his charge. "Ah!" Eleanor popped out of the snow, laughing as she took her glasses off and tried to wipe them off with one of her scarf's tails. "Ugh, you jerk!"

"Hm." Optimus got down on one knee and carefully took her hood between two fingers to lift her up and out of the snow, and Eleanor finally managed to clean her glasses enough to see out of and look at him. "You are smiling. Deal with it."

"... When we're done here, we're totally having a snowball fight," Eleanor decided, smiling, then she blinked as Optimus picked her up again. "Whoa!"

"We must make up for lost time," Optimus explained, setting the young woman down on the place between his helm and left rotator-cup—there was a red bar there where she would fit well enough—before starting to walk again.

Eleanor blinked again, then she smiled again. "Always a Hell of a view, Prime."

"Oh?" Optimus raised an optic-brow, then he blinked. "You have... been up there before?"

"Heh." Eleanor grew sheepish. "Yeah. The great escape from the Nemesis couldn't waste time on little legs." She kicked her booted feet out into the open air for emphasis. "What a way to go, huh?"

"Hm." Optimus shook his helm. "I am certain that you would have discovered some solution. You always do."

"Oh, ye of tremendous faith." Eleanor wry chuckled. "When I figure out how to go Superman or Quicksilver, you'll be the first to know." At that, the Prime raised an optic-brow. "... Fly or run with super-speed. Either way, impossible outside of science-fiction films." She snorted. "Though, to be fair, I thought the same of you a couple of months ago."

"Ah." Optimus nodded to show his understanding, then he looked forward. "... Is the height-difference truly so jarring?"

"You try being set on the shoulder of someone six times your size."

"I fear that the opportunity has and likely never will come up."

"Oh, ha-ha." Eleanor snorted again, then she gave a real chuckle. "Oh, wow. Now, I've gotta know: what were your first thoughts when you first saw a human? It's like… Here is a carbon-based lifeform with the same basic body-shape as one of my Cybertronian buddies, but it's got a completely different biological makeup and needs and language and culture and view of metal and mechanics and-" She blinked. "That must've been quite the day."

"It certainly was." Optimus looked forward. "I first arrived here on Earth with Bumblebee, Ratchet, and Bulkhead in the age your people classify as '1984'. Arcee and Cliffjumper arrived two stellar-cycles later."

"Huh." Eleanor blinked, surprised. "Ten years before I was born, right around when Maggie would have shown up. Wowza… You've been protecting us that long?" She gave a small smile and raised an eyebrow. "Thanks for the childhood, I guess?"

Optimus gave a small smile, then he looked forward. "We arrived here by means of a small ship which was so damaged by the time of our landing that it was eventually dismantled for parts, the remnants of which are primarily in Ratchet's lab and our assigned rooms. That small ship was one we took from our main craft, the Ark, to scout ahead for a possible refuge after the Exodus from Cybertron. We lost contact with the Ark shortly after, and can only hope that the Autobots aboard have found someplace else to wait out this terrible conflict in safety or still search for us with the utmost care." He glanced at Eleanor. "I had hoped that Wheeljack would have found a lead while he was searching the stars for refugees, but they remain lost."

"... Okay." Eleanor did her best to carefully take in all of this information. "So… your first human? How did that go?"

"Fortunately, Bulkhead was able to set our ship down in a clearing near a highway; we had cover, but we were able to scan our first vehicle-modes and transform," Optimus explained, and the codebreaker nodded. "We began conducting short-range scouting procedures to gain a better grasp of our surroundings, but it was not long before members of Earth's military arrived on-site after receiving reports of a meteor crash-landing…

A special agent by the name of 'Witwicky', one who would later act as the founder of Unit E and serve as Agent Fowler's mentor and hand the responsibility of the oversight of our group to him when he retired, was on the scene. He was understandably suspicious of our intentions, especially due to us lacking the ability to download and readily speak Earth's languages at that time due to your internet not being as sophisticated then as it is now."

"Yikes." Eleanor winced. "What did you do?"

"Fortunately, Bumblebee's experience with communication without words was able to assist us until Agent Witwicky could take us to an internet access point," Optimus informed the young codebreaker. "My scout was able to convey that we came in peace and could learn to speak their language quickly if helped, and he was able to gain enough of Witwicky's trust on our behalf to make better communications possible."

"Everybody loves Bee, huh?" Eleanor smiled and shook her head, sighing. "He's a sweet kid, I can tell." Her expression softened, and she looked up. "Gotta admit, the way he was talking while his T-cog was M.I.A. tugged real hard at the old heartstrings."

"Talking?" Optimus regarded Eleanor with a raised optic-brow, then his expression flashed with surprise. "Do you… understand him?"

"Uh…" Eleanor glanced at Optimus, her eyes wide. {I don't speak English.}

{That is fine, because I have downloaded the capability to speak all of Earth's languages, including Spanish.} Optimus deadpanned, and Eleanor laughed awkwardly and looked away. "Do you understand Bumblebee?"

"... Yeah," Eleanor admitted, looking at Optimus again with a frown. "I just didn't want to take that away from Raf, so… I didn't." She shook her head. "Please, don't tell them. I promise, I won't let it get in the way in an emergency—but right now, they don't need to know. It's special, just between the two of them."

"Hm." Optimus found himself smiling behind his mask again as he looked forward. "Very well… You certainly are an odd little thing, Miss Martin."

"I take that as a compliment," Eleanor joked, then she grinned. "Now, what did you first think of humans?"

"I thought it peculiar, how small they were," Optimus admitted. "I had read about carbon-based life-forms discovered on other planets while working at Iacon, but humanity was something new—likely because they evolved while my people were warring." He hummed quietly. "There were some similarities, but there were also many differences and things that I felt that I would never completely understand.

Humanity seemed to be a very suspicious, fearful, and violent race… but they were very young and very small, and about to be brought into my dead planet's war because of the Energon deposits my people left in Earth's crust." The Prime glanced at Eleanor. "So to be completely honest, when I first saw a human, I saw a creature which was very new and had very much to learn… and I vowed that I would do everything in my power to make sure it was not robbed of that chance because of my mistakes."

"They weren't your mistakes."

"It takes two sides to wage war, Miss Martin."

"Maybe." Eleanor crossed her arms. "But if you hadn't fought back, what kind of world would Megatron have created?" She looked down, then she looked at Optimus with a frown. "It would be led by someone who had decided that his own freedom came at the cost of everyone else's because—somewhere along the line—he somehow forgot why he was fighting in the first place… That's a scary world, big guy. Alive, but… at what cost?" She shuddered lightly. "I don't wanna even think about where you guys would be."

"I am uncertain of the others, but I would likely be dead," Optimus said plainly. "Megatron likely would not have allowed someone he viewed as a 'competitor' in his quest for the Matrix of Leadership to live… past allegiances aside."

"... New topic," Eleanor decided, wincing. "New, less-depressing topic. Hm…" The young woman looked up, squinting in thought. "How do you guys eat Energon?" Optimus raised an optic-brow. "I mean, I've seen a few of you do it—but… everyone seems to do it kinda differently. What are the rules?"

The Prime could not keep an amused expression off of his face.

"Honestly? There are not any," he replied, and he smiled as she raised a hand to her mouth and snickered. "It is all based upon preference, for Energon transforms much as we do. It can be taken through injection, or it can be bitten or drank or consumed by any number of means."

Eleanor nodded in understanding.

"Okay, so… Bumblebee and Ratchet do it with the I.V., Bulkhead bites it, and you and Arcee drink it," she concluded, and he nodded. "Have you always done it in the same way?"

"Most pick a method and keep to it, though I have witnessed changes in habit," Optimus said, appearing to take notice of the close attention Eleanor was paying. "I can remember a time when Bumblebee would drink his Energon as well, but... he stopped uncovering his mouth whenever he could help it, once he lost his voice."

Eleanor's expression softened. "I can tell that it tears him up, some days. I've seen it in some of my students, how they'll smile and laugh and joke with the other kids... even when it doesn't always carry to their eyes." She looked at Optimus. "I can tell he's on the young side, Bumblebee. A kid, really."

"He is," Optimus confirmed it. "He was a sparkling when the war began. War is practically all he has ever known. He should have never been brought into the conflict, and he definitely should not have been separated from the Ark, but... my scout is nothing if not determined. The day Elita-1 and I met him, we knew he would get involved whether he was permitted to or not. With us, we believed he would be safer." The Prime looked down. "We were the chief commanders in a time of war, and we prioritized a single sparkling."

"... Dude, is 'Bee your kid?" Eleanor questioned the Prime, her eyes wide. "I mean, it would explain a lo-"

"Eleanor." Optimus huffed out a laugh. "Bumblebee and I are merely old friends, and-" He blinked. "Wait, what would it explain?"

"Would you like the examples in chronological order or lined-up from cute to abso-freakin'-lutely adorable?" Eleanor teased, raising an eyebrow.

Optimus sighed. "Miko told you about the hug, hm?"

"There was a hug?!" Eleanor's eyes lit up. "I need to rework my list!" Optimus shook his helm, and she chuckled. "Okay, okay—I'll let it go for now, but this conversation is far from over." She took a deep breath. "Back to the Energon bit... Bumblebee changed his method because of an injury. Would the chosen habit for most be based upon where someone was from, what profession they had, or what economic placement they were in?"

"Well…" Optimus was genuinely surprised by the question. "Bumblebee and Ratchet both spent much more than their fair share of time in hospitals and triage facilities, back on Cybertron. Both Bulkhead and Wheeljack, who also bites his Energon cubes, were in the group known as the Wreckers during the war. Arcee and I both hail from the same district…" He raised a servo to his chin, thoughtful. "It is entirely possible that similar life-experience may have an impact upon the habit of choice."

"Awesome." Eleanor grinned. "Cybertron sounds like an anthropologist's dream." She paused, then she raised an eyebrow. "Anthropologists are those who study people, though. Since you're aliens, would you fit under that category since you are people—just with different biology and from a different place? Or would the study of Cybertron and its culture be the start of a completely different practice? Of course, even that new practice would have to have a base in anthropological practice…" She shook her head, chuckling as her already cold-flushed face darkened a bit more. "Sorry, big guy. Got a bit sidetracked, there."

"It is quite alright, Eleanor," Optimus assured her, still smiling.

Eleanor opened her eyes and looked back at Optimus.

"I'm still sorry, Optimus. I know my rambling must get pretty annoying," she said sheepishly, shrugging. "I think I do it too much, once I get comfortable with someone."

Optimus raised an optic-brow.

"We were having a discussion, and you were trying to work out logistics of a concept. I do not see anything wrong with what you did," he informed her. "You have done that before, Eleanor—apologized for speaking your mind, for the slightest difference in opinion or even just sharing knowledge." His optics narrowed. "Has someone… scolded you for voicing your thoughts?"

He could clearly think of a sharper word than 'scolded', but he must have thought better of it—something his charge could appreciate.

Eleanor blinked, then she sighed.

"... No one important," she said, glancing away, then she smiled tiredly. "Heh. Two years. You'd think that would be more than enough time for me to have broken out of… certain habits I formed over the course of one." She looked back at Optimus. "I guess that I'm just kinda rattled right now, worrying too much. What happened earlier with the Nemesis and you getting frozen just kinda… freaked me out."

"Always so worried for everyone else," Optimus noted quietly.

Eleanor rolled her eyes. "Maybe I wouldn't worry so much if you didn't keep getting yourself into trouble, you dork."

"... At the base, you were terrified," Optimus said. "Not of me, but… you thought that, by speaking against me, you might invoke the wrath of my team." Eleanor blinked, then she looked away. "That day, when we came back from patrol and they readied their weapons to attack… It lingers for you?"

"I'm told that… I can come to trust someone real easily," Eleanor told him softly. "But once that trust is rattled… it's very hard to fix." She closed her eyes. "I've been burned before. I guess that leaves its scars."

"I understand," the Prime told her.

Eleanor opened her eyes and blinked. "... That's it? No 'the team would never hurt you, you were being irrational'? None of that?"

"No." Optimus shook his helm. "None of that, Eleanor."

"... You keep thinking that they're gonna hurt you, too," Eleanor realized.

The Prime glanced at her, then he sighed and looked forward. "For a time, after that night, I too was… rattled. I understand why you are feeling as you are so, no: I will not call it 'irrational'. They scared you." He cast another brief gaze at the codebreaker. "But you stood for what you believe is right regardless, even when in a room full of relative titans who disagreed... Your courage continues to astound me, Eleanor."

"Hm." Eleanor gave a small smile behind her scarf. "What can I say? If there are two things that are gonna make me engage in some bravado of my own, it's gonna be my dork getting himself into trouble and some sad-eyed kids. I'm a total sucker, big guy." She paused, glancing over at the magnet on his rotator-cup, then she looked away. "... I'm sorry, Optimus."

Optimus blinked, then he regarded her again. "Eleanor?"

"I'm sorry that I gave you so much grief over your plan, earlier," she said quietly, then she closed her eyes. "All I could think about while you were frozen was how the last thing I'd done was yell at you, so… I know I already apologized, but I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

"You do not have to-"

"I know, I don't have to as far as your end goes. I know we're cool, as far as you go," Eleanor assured him, then she smirked. "You're kinda shit at lying and I can see right through any act you try to put up, so I'd know if you only said we were alright to make me feel better." The Prime huffed, though he was a little amused. "But I have to make things right on my end... I know I was in the right, but I handled it in the wrong way and... I hurt my friend." She looked away. "And... that could have been it, so... I'm sorry."

"... You mentioned... bad humans," Optimus noted, and she nodded. "Humans who had used similar tactics."

"Yeah." Eleanor opened her eyes and looked at him. "You saw a bit of it, in that video I showed you. Remember, 'cause we-..? We talked about it, after."

Optimus blinked again, then he looked down with a furrowed brow as he tried to think, then his optics widened and he looked up at his charge in alarm. "Eleanor-"

"And that was decades ago," she said quietly. "But people still remember. You don't forget that, 'cause… some hurts just don't heal." She shook her head. "And more bad stuff has happened a lot more recently, Optimus, stuff that-..." She paused, then she closed her eyes. "That would make a lot of folks react a certain way, when someone talks about that kind of tactic." The codebreaker opened her eyes and looked at Optimus. "The kids, me? We-...

We aren't soldiers, but on Earth-... On Earth, civilians see a lot. Soldiers see terrible, terrible things—some they signed up for, a lot more that they didn't—but they aren't the only ones who can witness violence and suffering." Eleanor shook her head. "I had my combat classes and I got involved in my criminal investigations when there was cryptography at play, but... when I was younger and even up until the day we met... I never saw myself getting involved in any sort of massive, armed conflict.

I couldn't, I just didn't think that I had the stomach for it. I mean, I wasn't even six yet when-" The codebreaker paused, then she sighed. "I've seen violence. I've trained for it, for my job. And those kids..." She took a deep breath. "The stuff they've seen on the news as they've grown up, the stuff that they've been taught to do in their schools to-..." Eleanor closed her eyes. "Oh, what wouldn't I give for every kid to grow up in a better, kinder world than this one?"

"... Eleanor, when we get back to base, I want to start the history lessons," Optimus told her quietly. "Whenever you are not working on classwork, that is."

"Hm. Okay," Eleanor agreed, then she looked at Optimus. "But just to ask… how detailed do you want me to get?" Optimus raised an optic-brow. "I have to know now, because… I have to know if I should stop where you're going to be shocked, where you're going to be sad, where you're going to be livid, or where you're going to be devastated."

"I want to know everything."

"Ah." Eleanor nodded. "Got it… Devastated, it is." She took a deep breath. "But... Optimus?" She looked at him, frowning. "... I'd like a few history lessons from you, if that's alright. Orion told me a lot, but... if it's okay... I'd like to know more about Cybertron. Nothing you're not comfortable with talking about with me, of course—but-"

"Eleanor?"

"Yeah?"

"Ask, and I will answer." Optimus looked at her. "I have nothing to hide from you." He looked forward again. "And you are... easier to speak with than most."

"Hm." Eleanor gave a light grin. "I just talk, big guy. It's up to you to decide whether or not I'm someone worth putting up with."

"Worth confiding in," Optimus corrected her. "And... it has not backfired thus far."

The codebreaker chuckled. "Don't jinx us." After a moment, she sighed. "... We're gonna be okay, right? I'm overthinking everything that happened today, and we should just be glad that we're both still alive."

"... You have been burned before," Optimus said. "And no one could fault you if what I did today left you rattled." He closed his optics. "The longer this war progresses, Eleanor, the more-difficult it is for me to-..." He opened his optics. "That day, I hesitated, but I would have killed a defeated and vulnerable Megatron to end this war. Today, I almost used the Spark Extractor to kill all of them just because it was-..." He sighed. "Eleanor, I am afraid of what this war is turning me into. How could I fault you if-..?"

"Hey." Eleanor placed her hand beside the magnet on his rotator-cup, and the Prime met her eyes with his optics. "... There is a spoon in this satchel, and I will use it." She gave a small smirk. "Just letting you know, in case you seriously think there's any way in Hell that I'm afraid of you. Good God, Prime—you'd jump off a cliff before you let Raf get a paper-cut." She grew serious. "Prime, fear makes all of us do things that we regret.

I was never scared of you, only what would happen to you if you let your fear push you into doing something I know you'd regret for the rest of your life." The codebreaker brushed her hand over the magnet. "I know that, everything you do, you do because you're putting literally everyone else first even as you're angry and frustrated and scared. You want to do what's best, and sometimes that comes head-to-head with what's right.

With Megatron, you wanted to do what was right when you hesitated. Today, you wanted to do what was best by ending the war as quickly as possible. Both instances, you walked out feeling pretty terrible." She shook her head. "But I think that, in one instance... succeeding wouldn't have changed you, Optimus, but that would have kinda been the worst part." The young codebreaker let her hand drop from the magnet. "... If you used the Spark Extractor, it would have destroyed you."

"And my team," Optimus agreed softly, looking forward. "Arcee, Bulkhead... Bumblebee... Ratchet, as well." He shook his helm. "If Orion Pax saw me today, he would have been horrified."

"No," Eleanor disagreed. "I don't think so... I think you're sad, and hurt." Optimus looked back at his charge, and she gave a light smile. "But I think I've already made it clear that I'm here to look after you, you big dork, and I'm with you to the end of the line."

"... I still cannot believe you infiltrated the Nemesis," Optimus said, some of the weight leaving his optics, and Eleanor snorted. "I heard everything. What were you thinking?"

The young codebreaker shrugged. "Optimus Prime makes a better friend than a jungle-gym?"

"Hm." The Prime smiled. "Well, Eleanor Martin makes a better friend than a puddle. Next time, you-"

"Oh-ho-ho!" The woman wagged her finger. "Stop right there! There had BETTER NOT be a NEXT TIME, mister, or SO HELP ME-!" She fished the spoon out of her satchel and held it up. "I WILL USE THIS!"

Optimus laughed, and Eleanor could only keep a straight face for a few seconds before she cracked up and joined him.

Eventually, Optimus arrived at the edge of a glacier, and upon hearing noises and voices, he and Eleanor peered down to observe whatever was causing the commotion.

Down below, there were six Decepticons at what appeared to be an excavation site. They were mostly Vehicons, but there was also a large blue and gold mech and-

"Starscream," Eleanor realized, her eyes narrowing, then she blinked as Optimus picked her up and set her down in the snow. "What's the plan?"

"... Remain here," Optimus ordered her quietly. "I will go and retrieve the Relic."

Eleanor blinked again, then she huffed as Optimus leapt off of the glacier and transformed, landing and beginning to drive towards the Decepticons. "Sure thing, boss-'bot."

Optimus transformed and appeared to start speaking with the blue and gold mech, then they all went still until the Decepticons drew their weapons first and opened fire.

Optimus activated his cannons and began dodging blaster-fire, quickly defeating two Vehicons and striking the blue and gold mech in the arm, causing him to falter briefly.

The blue and gold mech retaliated by firing several large, explosive shells, but Optimus flipped over them with ease and landed on his peds before drawing one of his blades to meet the blue and gold mech's sword.

"Whoa!" Eleanor's eyes shone as she watched Optimus, her jaw hanging slightly open beneath her scarf. "And that's why he's the boss-'bot..."

Optimus and the blue and gold mech proceeded to begin battling with their blades, then they switched to just duking it out with their fists and the Decepticon ended up tackling the Prime off of a ledge.

Eleanor ran along the top of her glacier to get a look at what was happening, crouching to hide behind the edge, and her eyes narrowed as she watched the ensuing fist-fight.

Then, Optimus activated a cannon and fired at the glacier, creating massive fissures.

"Oh, you lunatic," Eleanor murmured, then she stood and quickly backed away, but while enough of the ice cracked and crumbled to bury Optimus's opponent, the platform she was standing on did not give. "Huh. That was lucky…"

The two remaining Vehicons arrived with the handcuffed Starscream, and Optimus defeated one while Starscream saw to the end of the other in spite of the fact that his wrists were bound. Starscream approached Optimus and appeared to speak with him, but the Prime raised a cannon and prepared to fire.

"Uh-oh." Eleanor winced, then she drew her phone and used her teeth to remove a mitten. "Oh, that's cold…" She pressed Optimus's contact and watched him, frowning, and she saw him tense before raising a servo to his commlink. "Come on…"

:Eleanor? Are you-?:

"Hell of a show, big guy, but it's not getting any warmer up here," the codebreaker said, keeping her hand close to her mouth so that her breath could half-warm it. "Mind if I come down there, or is there still something worth worrying about?"

A pause, then Optimus sighed. :It seems you have quite the vantage point. Are you certain you wish to give it up?:

"Oh, yeah. I'm all for front row seats…" Eleanor raised an eyebrow. "Worth doing, remember? Hang in there, big guy."

:Hm.: Optimus glanced up, and Eleanor could tell that his optics found her. :Be careful.:

"Will try. No promises." The codebreaker smiled under her scarf. "You know how I get."

Eleanor was able to find her way down through a mix of climbing and sliding, the sliding part ending with the codebreaker rocketing into Optimus Prime's waiting servo rather than a snow drift as she had expected to.

"Thanks!" The young woman looked up at the Prime as he stood up straight, his cannon still trained on Starscream as he set her onto his rotator-cup.

The Prime nodded, briefly glancing over her for injuries, then he set the human back onto his rotator-cup before he turned back to his ex-Decepticon prisoner.

"Oh, you kept it?" Starscream asked, gesturing to Eleanor with a smirk. "I suppose it makes a good pet. Very loyal."

Optimus looked at Eleanor questioningly.

"Uh, remember what I told you?" The codebreaker tried. "While Orion and I were on the Nemesis, that guy broke into the workroom…" Eleanor gave a nervous grin. "But I may have forgotten to mention how I pitched a Coke can at his face."

Optimus deadpanned, then he sighed and looked at Starscream. "My companion is not a pet. She is a consultant."

"Yeah," Eleanor agreed, crossing her arms. "I'm too annoying to make a good pet, so I became his employee so he'd have to deal with me." She shrugged her shoulders. "That, and I get health insurance—but no dental."

"Let's get moving," Optimus said, raising his cannon, and Starscream cringed before starting to walk.

Eleanor frowned, a little unnerved, but Optimus raised his free servo to briefly rest a finger on top of her head. It was an attempt to provide what comfort he could in this situation, which meant he understood the cause of the discomfort.

Given how considerate the Prime could be, Eleanor knew that he would not persist with this course of action unless he felt that his options were limited or he was under intense stress as he had been earlier that day.

With someone they both understood to be dangerous before them and a mission at hand, Eleanor was able to reach up and rest her hand on the Prime's finger in a silent acknowledgement behind the prisoner's back, the young woman taking a deep breath.

This was war.

Optimus knew where to stop better than anyone.

Eleanor just had to make sure that he always remained aware of that knowledge, especially with tensions and his stress at an all-time high. If he acted out of frustration or rage and succeeded in taking a life with one of those feelings as a fuel, he would hold onto the guilt forever.

Optimus brushed his finger over the top of her head before lowering his servo, and Eleanor lowered her hand and hugged herself to try and stay warm.

At this point, she was almost-wishing that she had learned what it meant to have to prep for the tropics 'Wrecker style'.

Bulkhead was probably a lot better off right then than they were.

The trek through the cold went on for some time.

"Be reasonable, Prime!" Starscream looked back, his optics narrowed as he finally grew bold enough to complain. "This cold will freeze both of our actuators!"

"The current temperatures are not extreme enough to affect our biology," Optimus corrected the former Decepticon. "You will be fine."

"Fine but miserable." Starscream huffed, then he raised an optic-brow. "What about your 'consultant'? Won't she freeze?"

"I'm alright," Eleanor insisted, then she grabbed something from one of her massive coat pockets and held it up. "Thermos of hot coffee. I'm resistant to the cold, but I'm not crazy."

"Hm." Optimus glanced over at the codebreaker, then he looked back at the prisoner. "As you can see, Miss Martin is well-prepared."

"Of course, she is." Starscream rolled his optics as Eleanor lowered her scarf from her face to take a sip of her coffee. "Resilient little pest…" He decided to switch tactics. "I cannot believe you would take our alliances for granted, after all that I have done for the Autobots!"

"Oh yeah, Mr. Shoot-First?" Eleanor raised an eyebrow, closing her thermos and raising her scarf over her mouth again. "If I recall correctly, back on the Nemesis, you cornered an unarmed and amnesiac 'bot in a crisis with those missiles of yours and refused to give him any information without getting something in return."

"Be quiet!" Starscream snapped, and Optimus immediately raised his cannon a bit higher. "I-I mean-..!" The former Decepticon chose his words with as much care as one of his character could muster. "Our relationship has always been one of bargaining, a-and I was unaware of the situation, and look who is shooting first now!" His optics narrowed again. "And I did in fact help to restore his memory AND save Arcee's life!"

Optimus kept his cannon raised. "While you have at times proved beneficial to us, it has only been to further your own interests."

"Well now, we can't all be as selfless as you—can we?" Starscream scoffed, turning away to continue the trek.

Eleanor placed her thermos back into her pocket. "We can try."

"Oh, can we?" Starscream mocked the human. "Forgive me for not sharing in your blind naivety, human, but I can't understand what the point would be."

"Hm." Eleanor shook her head. "Then, it would be a waste of time to try and explain."

Eventually, the two Cybertronians and the codebreaker came across what looked to be a research outpost manned by human personnel.

"A-ha." Starscream's optics narrowed, and he looked up at Eleanor in an accusatory manner. "As I suspected. Humans." He looked back at the outpost. "We will find the relic here." The former Decepticon started walking again. "So, let us reclaim what is rightfully ours."

Optimus grabbed the other mech and pulled him back, glaring. "We cannot simply enter a human facility to search for Cybertronian relics."

"Not even if they stole it?" Starscream asked, irked.

Optimus growled out his next few words, his patience obviously tested. "Nor can I expose innocent humans to a dangerous Decepticon."

"What about that one?" Starscream drawled, pointing to Eleanor with a deadpan.

"Meh." Eleanor tilted her head. "Innocent's a so-so." She noticed how Optimus looked at her with a raised optic-brow. "What? Espionage."

Starscream blinked. "Wait, what?"

"Hm." Optimus shook his helm at the codebreaker, though she was relieved to see some of the weight in his optics lift again, then he raised a finger to his commlink. "Rafael, has Agent Fowler regained consciousness?"

:I'm here, Prime,: Fowler replied, and Eleanor blinked before looking down at her wrist and realizing just a bit too late that she had not returned Fowler's comm. Better add 'theft' right alongside 'espionage'... though, she supposed that the gun she took from the Nemesis already put that on the list… :What's your situation?:

"I require access to a research facility at my current coordinates," Optimus reported.

:Let me make a call.:

"All he's gotta do is say that a real-life version of The Thing is going down, and they'll sprint," Eleanor remarked, and Optimus glanced at her questioningly. "... It's a horror movie, and a pretty classic one at that." She grinned, raising her hands and making mock claw-shapes. "This alien crash-lands on Earth and attacks this team in their frozen base, and it starts going on a murder-rampage throughout the base and picking everyone off with ease because it has the ability to transform into anything-" She noticed how Optimus went wide-opticed and blinked before her eyes widened. "Organic! It's an organic transforming alien thing, it mimics organic things! No vehicle-shifting, none at all! No, siree!"

"Smooth," Starscream informed the codebreaker, smirking.

Eleanor looked at him, annoyed. "I will sell your spark to the devil for a bag of day-old Orville Redenbacher."

"Hm." Starscream rolled his optics, then he raised an optic-brow. "What exactly is a 'horror movie', if I may ask?"

"Oh, uh…" Eleanor frowned. "It's, uh… It's a movie where the script is written and the scenes are shot in a specific way to -well- scare the person watching it." The two mechs blinked. "It's a form of entertainment. Humans kinda like getting scared every once in a while for fun, and the easiest thing to do is watch a horror movie." She counted on her fingers. "You've got your slasher flicks, suspenseful thrillers, supernatural phenomenon, monster movies, alternate universes, alien encounters—all sorts of stuff, really." She lowered her hand. "A lot of the horror films that I always found the creepiest were the ones where you didn't know who you could trust because the thing coming to get you could hide in plain sight.

The Thing was so creepy because the monster could perfectly mimic your best friend if it wanted to, right down to the memories and mannerisms—right up until it killed you so that it could take on your shape to kill the next guy." The young codebreaker shuddered lightly. "The ones where something was slowly driving the characters off of the deep end were also bad—something just making someone slowly lose their mind until they cracked and lashed out, attacking everyone around them with their own personal twist." She shook her head. "I am not here for that psychological manipulation shit, okay?

Send me clowns and werewolves and zombies and all of that cheesy stuff, but do not send me my best buddy coming at me with personal secrets and an axe all Jack Torrence style. No, thank you." She raised a finger and pointed. "I do not like demons in horror movies, but only because they tend to go there with that psych shit."

"... Humans are peculiar," Starscream decided, squinting, then he looked at Optimus in annoyance. "Are we really going to wait out here in the freezing cold, completely at the mercy of human bureaucracy?"

"Rude." Eleanor scoffed, then she blinked as several helicopters lifted off from the outpost. "Huh… It really is like The Thing." She gestured to Starscream with her thumb. "Especially since this guy clearly can take on the form of a little bitch whenever he wants."

Starscream growled, baring his clawed servos. "Why, you little-!"

:Base is clear, Prime,: Fowler reported as Starscream found himself once again staring down the barrel of Optimus's cannon. :Try not to wreck the joint.:

Optimus nodded. "Many thanks, Agent Fowler."

When Optimus, Eleanor, and Starscream arrived at the outpost's warehouse, they found a large block of ice with something encased within.

Optimus set Eleanor down on the ground, then he approached the block. "The relic remains sealed in ice."

"Whoa." Eleanor ran over and placed her hands on the ice, her eyes wide as she examined the object within. "Whatever it is, it's still glowing after thousands of years in ice… Optimus, what is this thing?"

"I am uncertain," Optimus admitted, then the three looked back as they heard heavy steps outside and someone stepped into view.

"I knew you were of questionable honor, Starscream, but aiding the Autobots?" The blue, yellow, and gold Decepticon Optimus had battled earlier asked, his crimson optics narrowing. "That is a capital offense."

"What?!" Starscream replied, panicked. "But I-! I left tracks for you—on purpose—so you could rescue me from my captor!"

"Yeah, 'cause you can totally avoid leaving prints in the snow if you wanted to while you have your wrists cuffed and a cannon to your back," Eleanor commented dryly, crossing her arms as she looked up at the former Decepticon. "Idiot."

"Eleanor." Optimus picked her up so that he could set her down behind the frozen relic. "Stay down, and let me handle this."

"You brought a human here?" The blue Decepticon asked as Optimus stood up straight to face him again, taking note of the codebreaker when she peeked out from behind the ice. "How foolhardy."

"Dreadwing, I cannot allow you to leave here with this relic," Optimus informed the Decepticon.

"I know that, Prime," the mech—Dreadwing, apparently—responded. "But I do not intend to give you a choice."

Eleanor blinked as Optimus and Dreadwing began brawling, the fight quickly leaving the warehouse and entering the base's airfield, then she stepped out from behind the ice.

"So-?" She pointed up at Starscream. "So, we're just gonna leave this guy in here with the relic?! Really?!" She dropped her hand and huffed as she rested her clenched fists on her hips. "Christ's sake, Prime. Did the Matrix turn you into a himbo?" She blinked. "Wow. That's... a hot take I never expected to hear, let alone come up with." The young codebreaker looked up at the ceiling, shaking her head. "Thank you, hypothermic hallucination."

"Given all of the fuss, this relic must be truly special," Starscream noted, glancing down at the ice with a raised optic-brow.

"Uh-oh." Eleanor glanced up at the former Decepticon with wide eyes, then she quickly moved out of the way as Starscream began slamming his handcuffs against the ice in an attempt to break it apart. She looked back, her eyes wide, then she drew her gun and put it together before she ran to the entrance to the warehouse and looked out at where Optimus and Dreadwing were still locked in battle. "Hey, idiots! We've got a situation!"

"Armor?" Starscream murmured, and Eleanor looked back with narrowed eyes as he picked up the freed relic. "Of Decepticon origin…"

Starscream raised the device to his chest and pressed a blue button, and his body became rapidly coated in a thick metal armor that broke the binders on his wrists and wings.

Eleanor fired a shot from her gun, but the green bolt bounced right off and she actually shrieked as she dropped to the ground to avoid being struck by her own ammunition.

"That's really not good," Eleanor decided, scrambling to her feet and looking up at Starscream in horror, then she looked back again. "Guys, seriously! Can we get a two-second time-out on the grudge-match?! We have a big problem!" Dreadwing suddenly threw the Prime across the ice-field and approached, raising his sword, and Eleanor's eyes widened as she stepped out of the warehouse. "Optimus!"

The Autobot leader looked at her, his optics wide, just before Eleanor heard a loud crash behind her and she looked back with a gasp as Starscream leapt through the roof of the warehouse and landed on the ice between her and the other two Cybertronians, who quickly disengaged to face this new threat.

"The Apex Armor," Optimus realized, horrified.

Starscream smirked. "A perfect fit!"

"You dare claim that which rightfully belongs to Lord Megatron?!" Dreadwing demanded, raising his sword.

"And what do you intend to do about it, commander?" Starscream asked mockingly, and Dreadwing responded by charging forward and slashing at the rogue Decepticon, but the blade bounced right off the armor. Starscream responded in turn by swatting Dreadwing across the ice-field. "Not so big and strong now, are you?! I haven't had this much fun since I punched that hole in Cliffjumper!" The rogue Cybertronian picked up a snowmobile and turned towards Dreadwing. "Allow me to reunite you with your beloved twin!"

Optimus suddenly ran up and struck Starscream from behind, causing the rogue to drop the snowmobile and spare Dreadwing, but now Starscream's attention was on the Prime.

Optimus tried to throw another punch, but Starscream grabbed his fist and twisted it, forcing the Prime onto one knee while the Autobot leader let out a few pained noises.

"Leave him alone!" Eleanor shouted, raising her gun again, then she groaned and lowered it when she realized it would not do any good. "Son of a-!"

"And you, Optimus Prime!" Starscream smiled cruelly down at Optimus. "I will beat the living spark out of you, just so that I never again have to endure your pontificating!"

The rogue Cybertronian threw Optimus across the field and sent him crashing into a stack of metal crates, and Eleanor's eyes widened. "Optimus!"

Dreadwing was suddenly on his peds and opening fire, but when this did nothing, he drew his sword and tried again to strike through the armor. In retaliation, Starscream grabbed the Decepticon and threw him into the crate-stack as well.

Eleanor gasped, then she looked up again as Starscream turned and smirked down at her. "And you, little consultant. I think I have a 'Coke can' to repay you for."

"Uh-oh." Eleanor backed away, pulling her gun apart and placing it into her satchel. "What? Never heard of 'share a Coke'?"

"Always ready with a remark," Starscream drawled, irked, then he smirked. "Time for some peace and quiet."

The rogue Cybertronian reached down and swatted Eleanor with his hand, and the young woman yelped as she flew back and struck the wall of the warehouse, grunting as she hit the wall before hitting the ground.

Eleanor groaned, pushing herself up a bit, and she watched as Starscream turned away to look at larger threats.

"Dreadwing," Optimus was saying to the Decepticon, alternating his gaze between the approaching Starscream and his recovering charge. "Our battle remains unfinished, but if we do not unite against our common foe-"

"Starscream will destroy us both," Dreadwing finished for the Prime, then he glanced at Eleanor as well. "Why did you even bring her here?"

"I thought that the alternative was worse."

"Would it have been?"

Optimus hesitated, then he sighed in relief as Eleanor staggered to her feet. "I am still debating."

"Hm." Dreadwing raised an optic-brow. "I would hate to see the alternative, then."

Eleanor reached up and gripped her side, taking some deep breaths, then she noticed that Optimus and Dreadwing were talking as Starscream approached. They seemed to be cooperating, but they needed time to plan…

"... Hey!" Eleanor stepped forward, and Starscream looked back at her in annoyance. "Yeah, you—the scrap-for-brains 'Con-reject with the cheap stilettos, inferiority-complex, and evidently weak-ass wrists! Over here!" Starscream growled as the human smirked. "Wouldn't you rather squash the annoying bug who beaned you with a Coke can than hit a couple of guys while they're down?! Are you a coward or a mech?!"

"What?" Dreadwing asked in disbelief as Starscream turned to the human. "What is she doing?"

"Trying to induce an anxious breakdown in me." Optimus shook his helm, at a loss. "Or, in simpler terms, attempting a diversion to buy us some time."

Eleanor took several steps back, her smirk not faltering as Starscream approached her.

"Tell me, at what point did you decide that the horn worked for you?! You should fire your stylist!" She went on, causing the rogue Decepticon to sneer. "I mean, I'm all for dudes getting in-touch with their feminine side, but a goddamn unicorn?!"

"Alright, that's it!" Starscream charged at the woman and swiped an armored servo at her, but she easily dodged the lumbering mech and slid across the icy ground, her eyes narrowed. "Stand still for a moment while I annihilate you, you annoying little pest!"

"No, thanks!"

"She has drawn his attention," Dreadwing noted, passing a grenade to Optimus. "Let us put her diversion to good use."

"Nah-nah, nah-nah, nah-naaaaaah!" Eleanor taunted, smiling deviously as she backed away from the armored mech again, moving back and forth in a zigzag to avoid stomps and swipes from the angered Seeker. "Serpentine, serpentine... Too quick for you, Tinkerbell?!"

"Eleanor, do not be a fool!" Optimus warned, his optics wide.

Eleanor dodged Starscream's foot again, then she looked up at Optimus.

"I may be an idiot, but I'm not stupid," she joked, then she dodged another stomp and glanced up at Starscream again. "No wonder Megs fired you, you anemic loser!"

"Shut UP!"

"... On second thought, I will draw his attention," Dreadwing decided, then he transformed and flew into the air above the armored mech, darting down and firing rapidly.

His blasts did nothing, and Starscream cackled as he snatched the fighter-plane out of the air and tossed it aside. "Might beats flight!"

Dreadwing grunted as he hit the ground and transformed, then he gripped his detonator and looked up to see Starscream flinging Optimus away. The Prime had grabbed Eleanor and shielded her as he landed, and the grenade was no longer in his possession.

The Decepticon second-in-command stood up and glared at Starscream. "You shall be the one to join with the Allspark!"

A press of a button caused the grenade on Starscream's back to go off, but it did not even faze the cracking rogue. "That tickled! Fools! Not only am I intelligent, I am invincible!"

"Yet, you cannot fly!" Optimus noted, setting Eleanor aside and letting her run off as he drew Starscream's attention.

Dreadwing heard the message loud and clear.

"Nobody's perfect," the former Seeker noted, marching over to the Prime and towering over him with a smug grin. "Now, tell me of the other three relics. Are they as powerful as my shiny new armor?"

"Wait." Before Dreadwing could finish preparing the next step of the plan, he was suddenly looking down at the young woman Optimus had brought along with him. She frowned up at him, dangerously close and with her body being battered by Arctic winds. "You won't be able to really beat him unless that armor's gone."

"What do you propose?"

"... I saw him put it on," Eleanor noted. "The button at the center of his chest seems to be the on-off switch."

"It is likely that only he can remove it," Dreadwing told her.

Eleanor gave a small smirk. "My friend Miko told me that Cybertronian relics don't react well to humans."

"What are you suggesting?"

"Hm." Eleanor's eyes narrowed as Starscream backhanded Optimus across the face and chest, sending the Prime staggering back, then she took note of the walkway next to the two mechs. "... I'm asking you to give me some time. I think I've got an idea."

Eleanor suddenly ran across the battlefield and ran up a set of metal stairs to reach the walkway as Starscream approached Optimus again.

The Prime was obviously battered himself, but he still kept punching at Starscream to try and make him back up towards the cracked ice.

"... He is far too powerful, Prime!" Dreadwing shouted, noticing Eleanor reaching the railing as Optimus looked at him. "Fall back!"

"Cowards!" Starscream hissed as Optimus transformed and drove over to stand with Dreadwing.

"Hey, Unicorn!" Eleanor shouted, gripping the railing of the walkway.

Starscream looked back at her and snarled, reaching over and grabbing the woman by the hood of her coat so that he could lift her up to optic-level and glare at her. "I'm going to silence that loud mouth of yours forever!"

Optimus's optics widened and he went to step forward, but Dreadwing raised an arm to hold the Prime back. There was something odd about this human's strategy... He slid one final grenade to the ice at Starscream's peds, much to the continued dismay of Optimus.

"Funny, 'cause I was about to say the same thing to you." Eleanor smirked, then she unzipped her coat and let herself drop. On the way down, Eleanor punched the blue orb at the center of the Apex Armor's chestplate before falling to the snow and looking up with wide blue eyes as the suit began to disengage. "Holy shit, that actually worked?!"

"What?!" Starscream demanded, his optics wide as the armor collapsed and fell, but he quickly caught it. Still, he was without its protection for the moment.

Eleanor smirked again as she stood up and backed several steps away from the former Seeker again, the harsh Arctic wind whipping her hair as her coat flew through the air before it fell to the ground some distance away.

"Humans, buddy: tiny, but mighty!"

"Get down!" Dreadwing shouted, and Eleanor quickly ran away from the cracked ice and dove into the snow as the explosive at Starscream's peds—as well as the ones in the circle around him—went off.

The ex-Decepticon screamed as he fell into a massive pit, the armor toppling as well but not in any position to provide the rogue any aid, and Eleanor sat up and stared at the dark chasm with wide eyes as a splash could be heard somewhere far below.

"Whoa…"

Footsteps snapped Eleanor out of her awe, and she gasped as she looked up to see Dreadwing standing over her.

Optimus immediately readied his blasters again, his optics narrowed, then he blinked as Dreadwing got down on one knee to look at his human charge a bit more closely.

The Decepticon did not seem angry or ill-intentioned, just… curious.

"... Tiny, but mighty," Dreadwing noted, then he sighed and grabbed the young woman's coat off of the snowy ground before dropping it so that she could catch it. "I won't have you freezing to death before our next battle, human. It makes for a poor demise."

"Thanks!" Eleanor replied without thinking, putting the coat on and rubbing her hands across her arms to try and get warm.

Dreadwing looked up to see Optimus still gazing at him warily, then the Decepticon stood. "You've found yourself quite the human companion, Optimus Prime, but I would advise you to take great care in what situations you choose to bring her into in the future."

"Hey, I just saved your tailpipes," Eleanor protested, then she shouted in surprise as Optimus picked her up by the hood of her coat and set her in the palm of his other servo, nodding in agreement with Dreadwing. "But-"

"He is correct, Eleanor. You could have been killed, today."

"Hey, there was a lot more at stake today than just me." Eleanor stood and glared at Optimus. "I can fight, so I will. And if I see that I can save lives, I sure as Hell will do that too."

"Eleanor-"

"No." Eleanor clenched her fists, and Optimus blinked. "If you can risk your life, why can't I risk mine? You may be bigger than me and stronger than me, but I can make just as much of a difference as you can—and I have a right to, damn it. This may be your war, but this is my planet that you're fighting on, so I'm fighting because—despite me being smaller and weaker than any Cybertronian—I think that I just proved that there is always SOMETHING I can do to help." She placed her hands on her hips. "I'm not useless, and I sure as Hell am not helpless."

Had they been in any other situation in that moment, Optimus would have retracted his battle-mask just to show Eleanor the smile on his face. Oh, how far she had come in such a short time—even if it was only Optimus and enemies she felt comfortable with showing this courage around…

But there was a Decepticon right there, and a still-recovering Eleanor has just challenged a clearly-unhinged Starscream while he was wearing the Apex Armor.

"... Lord Megatron would have squashed her for that sort of address," Dreadwing commented when Optimus just sighed.

The leader of the Autobots glanced at the Decepticon, shaking his helm in exasperation.

"Believe me, he has tried," he admitted, then he set Eleanor down and nudged her towards the warehouse. "Get inside. Dreadwing may be finished with you, but I am another matter." The Prime glanced up at the Seeker as he stood up straight. "But with the Apex Armor gone, I see no reason to renew battle."

"We have other unfinished business," Dreadwing reminded the Prime, his optics narrowed as he drew his sword.

Optimus sighed again, his expression forlorn. "I bore Skyquake no malice, and I regret the role I played in his demise... I will offer you the same opportunity I once offered to your twin: turn against the Decepticons and help me end this war, for his sake and for the sake of all of those who have fallen."

Dreadwing just gazed at Optimus for a moment, then he put his sword away. "You and your human saved my life, today… I will terminate you the next time we meet."

With that, the Decepticon second-in-command transformed and departed.

"So be it, Dreadwing," Optimus said softly, looking down, then he looked at Eleanor. She had not moved from her position next to him. "... That was beyond reckless."

"I was fine."

"You might not have been." Optimus got down on one knee to look at her. "One wrong step in any direction-"

"You worry too much," Eleanor chided, then she blinked in surprise as Optimus raised a servo to his face. "What?"

"I think a fuel-line burst in my optic."

"Shit." The young woman's eyes widened. "I made you pop a blood-vessel?" She reached up and rubbed the back of her neck, genuinely at a loss. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean-"

"Hm." Optimus lowered his servo and smirked at her. "It seems I was mistaken."

Eleanor blinked, then her jaw dropped. "Oh, you devious little-... I was really worried!"

"So was I." Optimus got down on one knee to look at the codebreaker, tilting his helm and raising an optic-brow. "Do we have an understanding?"

Eleanor just looked at the Prime, then she bowed her head and started laughing, covering her mouth with both hands. "I-I'm sorry, I just-..! That was great!"

"Hm." Optimus rolled his optics, but he could not help but smile down at the little codebreaker as she giggled into her mittens. "I sincerely hope you take a bit more caution in the future, Eleanor. You were fortunate today, but what about next time?"

"I'll figure it out." She looked up at him, her face flushed and her eyes shining as she spoke over her last few giggles. "I always do, and hey: you wouldn't keep me around if it wasn't at least a little bit more endearing than it was annoying, big guy."

"... Oh, no. It appears that you are overheating." Optimus scooped up another servo-full of snow, smirking. "Allow me, Miss Martin."

Eleanor backed away, raising her hands in surrender and smiling nervously. "Easy, Optimus! Let's not do anything crazy!"

"Crazy?" The Prime tilted his helm. "Unfortunately, I have not had many of my proper human custom courses yet and do not know any better."

"Whoa!" Eleanor shouted in surprise as she was suddenly buried under a small mountain of snow, then her upper-half burst from the pile. "Ha! You are the WORST!" She grabbed some snow. "Take THAT!" The snowball completely missed, and he snorted. "Oh, don't judge! I can barely see without my glasses!"

Optimus blinked, surprised by the revelation as she took the glasses off of her face and used her scarf to wipe them off, then she replaced them and formed a new snowball.

"There, take THAT!" That snowball struck his leg, and the emboldened codebreaker formed another snowball. "And THAT!" That snowball struck his chest, and Eleanor raised her hands in victory before letting out a giddy shriek as Optimus grabbed her by the hood of her coat and lifted her out of the snow. "Ah! Haha!"

"Hm." The Prime gazed at his charge, shaking his helm and smiling fondly, then he sighed as he took note of her fogged-up glasses, soaked coat, and reddened face. "We should return to the base before you get too cold."

Eleanor snickered, then she looked up at him with a smile as he raised a finger to his commlink. "Whatever you say, big guy."

"Agent Fowler, Rafael?" Optimus spoke. "Unfortunately, we were unable to recover the relic, but it is not in Megatron's hands."

"Though it might be in Starscream's, if he survived that blast," his companion noted.

"Bridge us back," Optimus requested, and then he waited… and nothing happened. "Agent Fowler? Rafael?" There was no response. "Rafael?"

"That's not good," Eleanor realized, and Optimus turned his servo over so that he could scoop her up in it and hold her in a more-comfortable manner. "No signal?"

Optimus shook his helm. "The signal goes unhampered."

"So… they're just not answering, for whatever reason," Eleanor decided, then she took a deep breath. "Maybe another team needs their help, right now. We just need a bridge back, so we can wait. Let's just give them a few minutes."

"Very well," Optimus agreed, though he was obviously uncertain. "But you should take shelter."

"Brr…" Eleanor hugged herself and shivered as a particularly cold wind blew. "No arguments, here." Optimus nodded, then he suddenly transformed and the codebreaker yelped as she ended up in his vehicle-mode's passenger seat. "Whoa!" She blinked, then she looked over at his steering wheel with an awkward smile. "Heh. Sorry. Wasn't expecting that."

"Apologies, Eleanor," the Prime said, backing into the outpost's warehouse.

The vents in his vehicle mode went active, and the young woman blinked. "You come with a heater? Nice." She began taking off her coat, then she paused and glanced at the wheel, feeling like she should explain herself. "Wet coat. In here, it's best I take it off."

"Agent Fowler? Rafael?" Optimus attempted communication again as she removed the coat and set it down between the seats. "I am requesting a ground-bridge back to base from my current coordinates. Agent Fowler? Rafael?" After a moment, the frustrated Autobot sighed. "Something must be happening."

"They're probably just running interference," Eleanor tried to comfort the Prime. "Maybe someone in the subway tunnels almost-saw Arcee and Bumblebee. Manhattan is a crowded place." She blinked, then she looked away. "By the way… thanks, for stepping in and-... I know I probably would've made more strategic sense there, but…"

"Eleanor." A weight on her shoulder, and Eleanor looked up to see that the Prime's holoform had appeared and rested a servo there. "I would not force you to go back there."

"... I used to love New York." Eleanor looked down, reaching up and gripping her satchel's strap as her shoulders slumped. "My dad would talk about the history of all the different places over and over again as we traveled through the city, and my mom taught me how to roller-skate in Central Park. My uncle made sure I knew the safer places to walk at night, and that I was always ready just in case—and he always knew the best restaurants, besides Mom's.

Mom's was always the best…" She looked out the windshield, at the icy landscape. "Every winter, Maggie and I would go ice-skating at Rockefeller Center—every Tuesday afternoon, just the two of us, from the time I was six until the time I was twelve. She saved up for it all year, 'cause it could get a bit pricey at times…

She had already started going off the deep end when I was twelve, but she still spent time with me. For the six years after that, up until she left for good, we still did it once per winter: December fifth without fail, every year…" She took a deep breath. "Deep down, I've always wanted to take Gabby like that. I just… really don't know if I have it in me, or if I have the right to do something like that."

"Like what?"

"Like what Maggie should be doing," Eleanor admitted. "I used to be scared sometimes, back when I was really helping Eugene with her, that Gabby would start to think that I was her mom. The one good thing about this distance is that it solidified me as 'Aunt Ellie'... I know my sister screwed-up, but I would never forgive myself if I took 'Mom' away from her." She glanced down, giving a weak grin. "Call it a fool's hope, but… there's still a part of me holding out for her to come back and earn it, I guess. Pretty dumb, huh?"

"No."

"... My cousin, Sophie, tried to teach the both of us how to play the ukelele on the steps outside of her dad's school before she lost it," the codebreaker tried to change the subject. "Maggie didn't like it much, but I got half-decent and I'd play for some of the neighborhood kids while we were waiting for our uncle to close up and walk us to the subway station." She snorted quietly. "Maggie was always a lot taller than me, and we would stand so other folks could sit down, so—when I was too small to reach the hand-rails—she would hold on with both hands and I would hold onto one of her arms.

Sometimes, people took pictures; they thought it was cute, or funny. I am ten years younger—and she was a good sister, though she'd roll her eyes and pretend to be gruffer or cooler than she was." She chuckled, shaking her head. "We both made faces, if we caught people with their phones or cameras out. It was a load of fun, my favorite part of traveling with her."

"Eleanor?" Optimus asked, and she glanced at his holoform. He seemed conflicted, then he raised an optic-brow. "When I was missing my memory, did I express any surprise at my… stature?"

"No, but I wasn't there right after you were brought in," Eleanor reminded him, then she raised an eyebrow. "Why? Were you… tiny?"

The Prime glanced away awkwardly. "I would not say tiny, but I was… significantly smaller in stature, before I became a Prime."

"What, like Bumblebee height?" Eleanor asked, amused, and Optimus would not look at her. "Ratchet height?" He still would not look at her. "... Smaller?" The Prime glanced at her before quickly looking away, and the codebreaker's jaw dropped. "Oh, that's ADORABLE!"

Optimus sighed, shaking his helm. "Eleanor."

"Tiny, shy librarian," the young woman teased, grinning.

The Prime looked back at her, an optic-brow raised. "... Tiny, fiery codebreaker."

"Oh, that is SO unfair!" Eleanor protested, but she had to do so through laughter.

Optimus found himself smiling in spite of his worries. "It is completely fair."

"... What a pair we make." Eleanor tilted her head to the side, beaming. "Huh, dork?"

"Hm." Optimus gazed at his charge fondly, shaking his helm. "You certainly are an odd little thing, Miss Martin… but what would life be without its oddities?"

"Pretty boring."

"Indeed."

:Optimus,: Ratchet's voice suddenly spoke through the comms, gaining their attention. :I have only just heard your messages.:

"Ratchet." Optimus looked forward, frowning. "Were you successful?"

:No,: the medic replied. :Only Arcee and Bumblebee returned with a relic in hand, but Wheeljack and I sacrificed our relic in order to attain the entirety of the Iacon Database.:

Optimus blinked, surprised, and Eleanor's eyes widened. "Whoa."

:It is ready for you and Miss Martin to decrypt upon your return.:

"... His voice," Eleanor murmured, her brow furrowing. "Something's wrong."

Optimus's optics narrowed. "And Bulkhead?"

:Bulkhead found a canister filled with Tox-En,: Ratchet reported, and Eleanor saw the Prime's holoform tense as his engine stuttered. :He found it prudent to destroy the substance by depositing it into a volcano; in this mission, he succeeded through sheer willpower… But he had hunters, Optimus—and when he tried to return to base, one of them-...:

Optimus's servos clenched into fists as the air coming into the cab cut, like the Autobot was holding his breath even though he did not have lungs. "Ratchet."

:He is alive and stable, but he is unconscious and in critical condition,: Ratchet concluded, unable to keep the tremor from his voice. :He has suffered massive trauma to his central nervous system. He was shot… while his back was turned.:

"... Bridge us back, now," Optimus requested, his expression grave.

The communication disconnected, and the Prime's holoform dissolved.

Eleanor picked up her coat and tucked it under her arm, frowning, then she reached up and rested her free hand on Optimus's dashboard as the ground-bridge appeared.

The Prime said nothing as he drove into the vortex which would bring them back to the outskirts of Jasper, Nevada and their devastated team.

Well... I'm not dead, yet!

And I offer you this extra-long chapter as a peace-offering! 'Tis the season for good will, eh? XD

We had a lot to explore here.

When I watched the Triangulation Arc, it shocked me that no one actually addressed the Autobots' attempt to use a weapon of mass destruction further than Ratchet's brief questioning. Fortunately, we have Eleanor Martin!

I thought this situation would be fun as the catalyst for the first "big" disagreement between Optimus and Eleanor, as well as a means by which to further develop her relationship with the kids as a role-model and Fowler with a reflexive unease whenever he tries to exert authority.

I also had a lot of fun bringing real-world historical and current events in as influencers for behavior, even if they were only subtly referenced, and I liked the idea of the kids not always agreeing/going-along-with every plan Optimus lays out because of how the world they've grown up in has influenced them.

I still love writing Miko. Bulkhead's about to make us all sad. Dreadwing was fun, and I hope to develop his character more. Raf is gonna help Bumblebee edit the "You are my dad" Vine for Optimus at some point. We love our soft but grouchy Grampa Ratchet in this digital house. Jack shall not be forgotten. Arcee's trying her best. Fowler's gonna need a hug. We are now accepting members for the Optimus Prime Protection Squad.

I only own my OCs. Please read, review, check out my other stories, etc.

Merry Christmas, guys. Thanks for reading. :)