You'll never be alone again!
Chapter 4: A dangerous place
Smokescreen had never felt better than when he returned to base that evening having vented out to Isabella. He helped him to relax and focus a lot more. However, when he did return to the others, having modelled for Bella for a while, it didn't take long for the strain of war to be put back on to his shoulders. He had been so adamant on impressing Optimus and the others that he was all for going on a mission straight away. It wasn't long before he got his chance to go after an Omega key with Bulkhead. Fresh thoughts of Isabella was on his mind which made the rookie perky. He knew he would have to bring her to the base later on but for now he liked having someone outside of the autobots that he could talk to. He had never completely understood the relationship between his comrades and their human friends but now he had a decent understanding.
In the small amount of time he'd known her Smokescreen had grown fond of Bella. He wanted to protect her and be there for her when she needed him. He wanted to be the person she would run in when she was scared or hurt. He also wanted to be the one that made her smile and laugh.
"Smokescreen wake up!" Bulkhead's voice rang in his audio receptors. His processor being ripped away from the fiery haired woman to the situation at hand. He had to remember what was going on. What he was doing before he blacked out.
Last he had saw of Bulkhead he was facing Dreadwing and had told him to go for the Omega Key. He remembered having it within his grasp and then nothing. He must have been hit from behind and now that he had awoken the relic was gone. He looked up to see Bulkhead above him with a confused look on his face. The green autobot helped him up onto his feet "W…What happened?"
Bulkhead sighed a few scratches and dents on his armour from his run in with the decepticon "That's what I wanna know"
Smokescreen looked to his servos "The Omega key; I had it until something hit me from behind" Smokescreen rubbed his helm from where he was hit a slight ache from where he was knocked unconscious.
"Dreadwing must have had backup, that relic's long gone" the ex-wreckers put his servo to his helm to comm the base "Ratchet we need a bridge" having just lost one of the relics that might restore their planet Bulkhead seemed quite calm about the ordeal. It was something that made Smokescreen a little grateful.
Frustrated Smokescreen sighed. He was becoming desperate "I told Optimus I would return with that key" this would just be another thing to add to his list of mess ups. Another defeat on his part one that he hoped he could vent out to Isabella again. She seemed to be the only that cared for such things and actually listened to him. It seemed quite obvious to him that he wasn't the warrior he wanted to be and still had a lot to learn. He did consider the possibility that he would never be good enough. It wasn't too important just yet but there was one thing he was certain of and that was he was probably going to hear it when he got back to the base.
It wasn't long before the green swirls of the autobot ground bridge appeared in front of them. Bulkhead helped lead Smokescreen into the ground bridge "Listen kid, Alpha Trion said we need all four keys to restore Cybertron remember. We just need to hang on to the one we have and find a way to get the others back from Megatron" with that they both walked through and saw the serious optics of the others on whether they had a successful mission or not. Arcee's was particularly hardened as the rookie had been treating the whole thing as some sort of game.
I did make the rookie wonder a lot more. If he ever wanted to be a great warrior like Optimus Prime how was he ever going to do it? Perhaps there was something wrong with his fighting style, did he need to ask Optimus or one of the others to train him better? Was there an issue with his processor that made him make bad decisions? In which case he'd have to ask Ratchet to run tests on him. So many thoughts plagued him that he didn't even hear Bulkhead explain the ambush from Dreadwing. Smokescreen didn't even want to hear it. He was there; hearing repeats of his failures just put him down even further than he already was. "Smokescreen was sucker punched, could have happened to any of us" Bulkhead put a reassuring hand on his shoulder to which he could only thank for the support.
Smokescreen noticed Optimus back at the monitor trying to decode the next set of coordinates as quickly as he could while they were still in a heated discussion "But it didn't because I was the one that dropped his guard, I was the one that blew it" again the young autobot sighed "some great warrior I'm turning out to be" Smokescreen spoke aloud without realising at and when he did he prepared himself for the worst.
"You still don't get it do you?" Smokescreen diverted his optics to the floor as Arcee began her rant "A couple of victories aren't going to make you a legend and not every mission results in success, not for me, not for Bee and not even for Optimus" only now when his hero's designation was mentioned did Smokescreen meet Arcee's annoyed gaze. "We've gained relics and lost some. We've also lost friends" Cliffjumper was clearly in the forefront of her mind as she placed her servo over her spark chamber. The rookie remembered hearing about the deceased autobot. "We've even lost a world. But this is the one time we get a do over, we have a chance to bring back Cybertron and everyone in this room needs to be in sync. This isn't about you or your destiny" he words were spoken with small pieces of venom in them that began to seep towards Smokescreens spark.
"Arcee, you have made your point" the Primes loud voice spoke with clear authority but that didn't seem to stop the femme. Optimus had heard everything and moved away from his work decoding the Iacon database to step in to the conversation knowing that conflict within the team was rising.
Arcee wasn't going to take her leaders orders though "Optimus, he needs to hear this. You might actually become a great warrior one day and I sincerely hope that you do but greatness begins and ends with putting the team first. Not your personal score card" if looks could kill it would have been Arcee's. Smokescreen had never been on the receiving end of such criticising words.
"There's nothing I wouldn't do for guys" and that was the truth. There wasn't a bad piece of coding in his frame. The thought of going against Optimus Prime hurt him enough.
Arcee's optics narrowed at the rookie not believing him "then stop trying to be a hero and start being an autobot." He could have taken her previous comments in bulk but that was it. That sentence stung him more than any other. There was the lingering silence as the rookies face went from sadness and turned hard.
"You know what maybe I'm not good enough" he didn't want to take any more of what Arcee had to say so he immediately transformed into his vehicle mode and sped out of the base before anyone had the chance to stop him. Smoke from the sudden friction of his tyres on the ground kicked up as he left.
Smokescreen didn't exactly know where he was going only that it was far away from the base. Once out into the open world he shut of his communication link; not wanting to talk to any of team Prime any time soon. It was only then when he had completely ignored the traffic laws he was taught and was far enough away that he knew where he was going. Isabella was the only one that he wanted to see. He craved her attention – to see her smile and hear her voice.
It was the only thing he wanted to help clear his mind. He had vowed to bring the red head to the team as per protocol but on this occasion he would choose to skip it. It would only stir up more arguments.
His body seemed to be acting faster than his mind as he soon found himself speeding through the streets of Jasper Nevada. He made himself slow down knowing he'd only get another scolding for his recklessness in his frustration, luckily for him Jasper wasn't really all that big and it wasn't long before he was outside of Bella's house. He did consider the importance of collecting the last relic but knew that it took Optimus a while to decode the database entries. He would turn his comm link on later when he was sure that he would probably receive some sort of communication for assistance.
He made sure to be quiet in Bella's small neighbourhood so that he wouldn't attract any attention. Rolling onto her driveway he came to a stop. The sun was already setting which made him wonder if he would be intruding on her day to day activities but he figured he wasn't going to find anything out just sitting there on the tarmac. He swiftly activated his holoform inside his vehicular form just in case someone was watching.
It felt weird for the rookie to shift from one form to another again but he knew he would get used to it eventually. It being well worth it considering the things he could experience in this new form. He quickly exited his alternate form and moved to her front door. His hand went to the door handle but stopped when he realised that this was her private establishment and it would have been rude to enter without permission. So instead he knocked gently on the door wondering if she would answer now that it was getting dark.
The sound of footsteps approaching his position was his answer, his spark thrumming hard at the excitement as the door blocking his path opened to reveal the red headed woman he had craved to see. "Smokescreen! I wondered when I was to see you again" her smile at his presence almost made him weak at the knees but he reframed from showing it. Bella moved aside letting Smokescreen step into her residence.
"It's been one of those days" he sighed as he eyed that the hallway had got a little busier. A few more canvases having been added to her collection.
The young woman could tell just by the look on his face that something was wrong but she had the perfect thing to get his mind off of whatever it was. Without any explanation she took his hand, much to his surprise and led him into her living room. There his optics set on the rearranged canvasses that were spread to create more room in the middle. Sheets with little spots of paint on them covered some of the furniture, carpet and a few of Bella's finished pieces. While sat on top of them was a well-used easel, stool and a table filled with paints and brushes. "Why don't you have a look" she gestured to the canvas that was sat on the easel. The back was facing them so neither of them could see but Bella had spent the whole day working on it so she already knew what it currently looked like.
The rookie took a few careful steps around it allowing his blue optics scan over the series of colours that decorated the background. A small inaudible gasp left him; although it was far from complete he was still amazed of its current beauty. She had painted a sky filled with the colours of a setting sun and there glowing at the top was a very much alive Cybertron. The planet cast light onto a grassy area that had a river split it in two. It still needed some work but Smokescreen could have almost sworn that the river was actually flowing. Casting his gaze to the small form of Bella he noticed the smirk on her face. "So are you a bit overwhelmed with the background that you haven't even noticed the foreground?" she pointed right to the unpainted form of an Indy 500 and what looked like his holoform sat on the hood.
"I must have been a good model to have my alternate form and holoform make it in to one of your art pieces"
Bella chuckled as she brought out her sketch book allowing him to see her finished drawing of his form that he had modelled for her not long ago. "Let's just say you have excellent features" she could see that this was proving to be a good distraction for him but knew that to truly put his feelings behind him he'd have to let them out. "Why don't we go for a drive" she suggested.
The rookie saw the soft look on her face and couldn't take his eyes off of her "I'm all for it" immediately before she could say anything back to him Smokescreen's holoform dissolved into thin air. But she didn't waste time in grabbing her jacket and keys before leaving her home, making sure to lock it behind her. The race car was already fired up and waiting so she swiftly sat herself into his passenger seat before he backed out of her driveway and onto the street.
They both remained silent for a while to which neither of them minded. Only when she noticed that they had travel outside of the town did Bella decided to speak up "so what got to you today? Must have been a reason that it was a bad day"
It all came back to the rookie then. The distraction of being with Bella no longer in play as he remembered Arcee's scolding. "My planet was destroyed by the war, its ability to support and create life now gone. But recently we've been decoding an old database that contained coordinates to the locations of relics that were hidden on this planet and the last few have been Omega Keys. Optimus told us all that they could restore Cybertron so long as we have all four of them but…I lost one today"
The red head took everything that he was saying in and felt down hearted at the thought of what he lost. Not just the Omega key but also the loss of his home. "It's not your fault, Smokescreen"
"But it is. I had it and then I got attack from behind. When I returned to base Arcee really had it in for me, told me that I'm not what an autobot should be or a war hero" It was very clear just how much the whole ordeal got to the young autobot.
Bella shook her head "How would Arcee know any of this?" The question baffled Smokescreen. True Bella didn't know Arcee or how good the femme was in battle but she was still questioning the logic of the femme. "The war's not technically over but you could still be a war hero, I know you're mine" had Smokescreen been in any other form he would have blushed at the compliment "You're not Arcee and Arcee isn't you. Each of you will have a different way of going about things but that's what makes you unique so there can never be a true way to be an autobot. You fight to protect your team but also other life, like humans, surely that makes you an autobot"
The rookie couldn't believe how much sense she was making. Bella hadn't known him that long and yet she already knew what made an autobot more than he did. "I guess I never thought of it like that"
"Maybe the real problem is that the others don't know how to work with you and you them. Just because they may be more experienced than you doesn't mean that they're the best. You just need to learn the perfect way to work together" such words inspired Smokescreen that perhaps it he was looking at it all wrong.
"You are a very wise human"
Bella laughed "Perhaps I'm not wise. Perhaps all you needed was someone to tell you what was really going on from an outside perspective" she cast her eyes to the outside world, hoping that she had been able to help Smokescreen. "Where are we even going?"
The rookie laughed not knowing completely himself "wherever my wheels take us" he'd lost track of where he was going as soon as he started driving with Isabella. She had proved to be a great distraction and even better at helping him understand what the bigger problem was. So long as they found a way to complete their objective and protect innocent life. He felt Bella snuggle into his interior as she stared at the world passing by; warm air blew through seeing just how comfortable she was.
They lingered in silence enjoying the presence of each other until Smokescreen couldn't help but ask questions. He was keeping his word in wanting to get to know her and in return Bella did the same. She wanted to know him now that she had the chance. It wasn't every day that you came across an alien; Bella just happened to come across many. A couple wanting to kill her at the time.
It wasn't long before the two of them were exchanging stories. Smokescreen about his time in the Elite Guard and guarding Alpha Trion and Bella about working for a range of different companies. They shared some of their best moments and some of the worst. "The best place you've ever been to?" it was Bella's turn to ask – she wanted to know if he had visited other planets or if there was a special place on Cybertron that he remembered.
Smokescreen took a moment to think it over. He hadn't been to many places. Earth being the only other planet he'd set foot on. There used to be some great places on Cybertron but even now something stuck out in his mind more than them "Earth is a really great place. It's were I met you"
Bella really hadn't expected that answer "Earth isn't as great as you think. It's overpopulated and we're slowly destroying it"
"Cybertron really wasn't that different, Bella. The main difference is that the war actually did destroy it" the mood shifted and the red head immediately felt bad for mentioning it. She guessed Earth wasn't as bad as she previously thought but there were still some major issues.
In the interest to cheering the mood back up Bella thought of an interesting next question "most embarrassing moment of your life?" a playful smirk worked its way on to her lips as she heard Smokescreen chuckle. The seat beneath her vibrating just a little.
"I was put on cleaning duty for 10 solar cycles for tackling my commanding officer to the ground during my Elite Guard training" he listened to the growing giggles coming from his passenger seat. "It was very hard to explain that I mistook my chief for one of my fellow trainees". The fact that Bella was finding it hard to breathe because of how much she was laughing just proved how funny it was and to this day Smokescreen still felt really embarrassed about the whole situation. Her face turned just as red as her hair. "It's not funny" the more he thought about it though the more he began to find it hilarious "okay, it's funny"
"I reckon if you tackled Arcee she would have tackled you right back and if he had been Optimus…" the thought was too much for Bella to handle as she tried to stop her laughter.
The rookie was very glad that it hadn't been Optimus Prime; not that even thought he could tackle his leader, the mech would have been very noticeable. "That would have been the worst. Besides at that time Optimus wasn't even a Prime. So what's yours?" he figured it was only fair to know hers in return.
The expression her face already meant that she had it in the forefront of her mind "So this supermarket was rebranding and wanted a new logo design, they hired me and asked to see my ideas. I keep my work related pieces in clean folders to make seem a bit more professional and when I sat down at a meeting to discuss the designs I came up with well…" her cheeks flushed red in an instant. Smokescreen thought it was very cute but his eagerness to hear how the story ended topped that. "Inside the folder was a sketch of a nude woman amongst the others and let's just say my employers got a very big shock"
Smokescreen couldn't recall the last time he had laughed so hard; it must have been long ago before Cybertron died. "I don't think it could have gotten any worse for you, Bells"
At the nickname he had assigned her Bella blushed. Her heart beating just a little bit faster to which she didn't understand "I literally don't understand how I could have misplaced that piece into my work folder. I've never been able to live it down."
"Yours is definitely worse than mine on that one" still the two of them were engulfed with laughter.
Neither of the two could have imagined that reminiscing of past mistakes and embarrassments could have been so amusing. "Thank you, Smokescreen. I've never had so much fun. Having said that the only people I've really socialised with is Jack and his mother June" it was a saddening thought but it never bothered her that much up until this point.
"The same can be said for me. I've known only war and seeing the others with human charges has made me envy the companionship"
The laughter had finally died and Bella placed her hand delicately on to his dashboard "Well now you have me" she gave a warm smile.
She wanted to say something further but reality came back to them as the road in front of the moving Indy 500 blew up. Bella let out a small scream at the sudden scare, her hands quickly clinging to the seat beneath her. "Hold on!" she heard Smokescreens voice but the words didn't register as the race car swerved around the large hole and then began drifting sideways to avoid getting shot. Crimson red blasts of energy flew past them hitting the ground around 's heart began to pound in her chest from the presence of danger now around them. She tried to calm herself down, breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth. It was becoming difficult however, with the constant shifting that tossed her from side to side inside the moving vehicle. The red head wanted to ask what was going on but the words refused to form in her mouth.
His door mirrors shifted to look at the attacker and Smokescreen immediately identified the minicon "Laserbeak's on our tail!" the panic in the young autobots voice was very clear and just worsening Bella's panic that was building. His one and only concern at this time was to protect Bella. His evasive manoeuvres increased the more the flying minicon shot at them. This only worried Smokescreen more; he could sense the panic rising within the human female and he wasn't sure what to do. Trying to calm her down would be pointless without eliminating the actual threat to her first and it wasn't like he knew what to do. "Just breathe, Bells."
He chose not to tell her his next moves knowing that such an act would make her panic even more. Right now the heat of the moment was making her lose control of her breathing, her form shaking and eyes growing wider and wider the more time they spent under attack. Dodging another attack Smokescreen swiftly transformed into his bi-pedal form; Bella being jerked from his passenger seat into his servo. He held her close to his chest plate for extra protection as he transformed his free servo into his blaster. Aiming it high at the minicon that attacked them first. Bright blue began to emanate from his weapon as it was charging up ready to fire but before he could release the energy Smokescreen was shot at from behind.
The shot smacked him on his back, throwing him forward and onto the ground. As they landed with a loud thunderous thud Bella rolled out of his hand. His grip on her lost as was his hold on consciousness. The red head had been brave to not scream from the sudden attack but that didn't stop her from shuddering at the danger that was now around her. The sand of the desert clung to her clothes and hid itself in her hair as she looked up to Smokescreens smoking form. He had taken quite a hit for the two of them. "Smokescreen" her voice came out croaky but she knew he heard her, his optics flickering as he looked to her. She tried stand but fell back to the desert floor after her wobbly knees gave out.
The sound of metal shifting drew there attention to the side where they saw a faceless mech watching them. Bella didn't know what to make of him, did he have a face at all? He sort of reminded her of slender man with how he was shaped. "Soundwave…" Smokescreen's voice made her look back to where he was struggling to stay awake. Her heart rate went through the roof with worry as she attempted to stand back up on her feet again. Smokescreen's only worry at this time though was the human female he had taken charge of. Soundwave was a dangerous decepticon and as much as he wanted to get up and run away with Bella to safety he couldn't. He felt his systems going into sleep mode one by one. "Bella…run" he groaned as his optics showed every ounce of fear he had for her safety before they offlined and Smokescreen fell unconscious.
The red head screamed internally at seeing her friend pass out in front of her. She tried to ignore her aching body that she could feel beginning to bruise to rush to him. Her hand immediately going to cling to his giant ones; tears forming in her emerald green eyes "Smokescreen" she didn't know what to do now. As much as she wanted to find help she couldn't bring herself to leave Smokescreen. The red head had completely disregarded who had attacked them until she heard the approached footsteps.
A gasp escaped her mouth as she peered over her shoulder to see the faceless robot looking down on her. She couldn't see any eyes but could feel them piercing into her soul. She could feel the panic starting to build within her again, her heart still hammering away in her chest. A greenish looking portal opened behind him and her breathing grew erratic as the next thing she knew the faceless decepticon had been yanked up from the ground and held firmly in his hands. Her fingers clung on to his in her panic.
Soundwave then took a hold of Smokescreen's foot and began to drag him along the floor towards the green portal. Bella's eyes growing wider and wider the closer they got to it. There weren't any words to describe how much she wanted Smokescreen to wake up and get her out of there. She wanted to struggle free but her whole body felt paralysed. Multiple running footsteps caught her attention as she peered at four other bots running at them. Each of them with looks of concern on their faces to which she could only gather that they were the other autobots that Smokescreen had told her about. They were too late however as their forms disappeared as she was taken through the portal. Her stomach immediately felt queasy and her head began to ache before she could even register that she was now in a completely different place. She was disorientated and dizzy from the instant transportation. Her surroundings now consisted of dark and gloomy corridors where the cold air lurked. She couldn't even fathom where they were being taken, each time it was a series of twists and turns that led into very similar corridors. Her thoughts wondered and couldn't stay on one thing. What she did know was that her medication was still in her backpack…which was still inside Smokescreen. There was no way she would be able to get to it to help her with the incoming panic attack.
She let out a yelp when her body felt like it was flying through the air. Soundwave had thrown her to a vehicon that had quickly caught her while the faceless decepticon hauled Smokescreens unconscious body into a relatively cold room. Feeling the tightness of the mechs digits around her made her feel restrained. Her skin began to shake as her thoughts carried her away to all the worst things that could happen to her.
Bella struggled to focus on what was going on in front of her; she saw Soundwave lug Smokescreen on to a metal berth and restrain his hands and legs so he wouldn't be able to escape when he woke. After that she couldn't concentrate on her thoughts or her current surroundings. "So the autobots have a new pet amongst them" the evil warlord Megatron made himself known in the med bay as he noticed the presence of a human in his warriors clutches. "She will prove useful should the autobot decide not to cooperate with us, or perhaps as future leverage against Optimus Prime"
"I don't think the human will prove that beneficial, Lord Megatron. She doesn't seem to be blinking…" the decepticon medic got a closer look at the red headed female "her skin is vigorously shaking and her heart rate is out of control which is abnormal and probably dangerous for a human" the red mech wanted to examine her further but he already knew that his master wouldn't allow such a thing at this time.
It was clear that the warlord was becoming agitated "the human female only needs to be alive long enough to give us what we need, Knock Out" he stood with his hands behind his back. His posture suggesting his high authority and demand for respect.
Long minutes that felt like hours passed by in silence as they all waited for the rookie was awaken. The young mech murmured as he began to stir. His optics slowly onlining as they grew a more vibrant blue. Knock Out moved to stand over his restrained form with a smirk on his faceplates. Smokescreens phase shifter having moved from the rookie's arm to Knock Out's. "Wakey, wakey" the sound of Knock Out's teasing voice made Smokescreen fully aware and conscious.
"What?!" seeing Knock Out above him and the gloomy surroundings of the decepticon war ship. Instantly he began to struggle against his restraints in the attempt to get free. He hadn't yet noticed anyone else in the room, not even the still form of Isabella towards the room's only exit.
Smokescreen frowned seeing the pleasure that his struggling made on the medics face but that wouldn't stop him. He was in enemy territory and needed to escape as soon as he could. His thoughts quickly shifted to the relic that he had held, phase shifter that was supposed to be on his arm but when he looked down to it, it was gone.
There was a slight chuckle from beside him at his confusion "if you're looking for your phase shifter" Knock Out immediately jerked his arm up for the rookie to see clearly – revealing the location of the Iacon relic "finders keepers" his voice already showed how pleased he was to finally be in possession of it.
A low growl came from the other side of Smokescreen; his attention snapped to the hulking silver form of the former gladiator. "Enough prattling Knock Out!" Megatron moved closer to the berth where Smokescreen was being held on. The warlord looked very happy and sure of himself his sharp dentas protruding from his mouth in a devilish manner. "Hand over the final Iacon relic now or…" he moved to the side so that Smokescreen could see Isabella being tightly held by a vehicon. The instant that Smokescreen laid optics on her paralysed form he began to struggle even more to the point that it sounded as if his restraints were going to break.
"BELLA!" his scream for the red head could have easily shook the whole warship. She didn't respond to him however, she was still as silent as ever. Her skin pale and shivering – her eyes cast down to the floor and not moving to even look at him. The rookie already deduced that she was having one of her panic attacks and at this moment he couldn't do a single thing to help her unless there was something that the decepticons wanted that he could give to them in exchange for her safety. But that seemed unlikely and he didn't wish to go against his autobot vows.
Megatron smirked at the clear alarm on Smokescreens faceplates. He definitely has the advantage and therefore the power. He finally decided to end his sentence now that the young autobot was made aware of the circumstances "I may be forced to use extreme force against the human"
"Let her go!" Smokescreens voice was clearly laced with concern and nothing else, not in the least bit for his own safety. "You hear me! Leave Isabella out of this" Megatron had great respect for the fact that humans always seemed to be the weak link with the autobots.
He sneered at the human as her chest heaved up and down. "The human will be spared if you chose to cooperate. Give me the final Iacon relic"
Again Knock Out couldn't help but get a closer look at the human. Her behaviour interested him; he was aware she was alive and yet her actions suggested otherwise. He couldn't believe the young mech had little concern for his own life and more for the human "She appears to be broken anyway, My Lord. It would be better off to put her out of her misery…or I wouldn't mind taking her off your hands"
The rookie body filled with rage, knowing Knock Out planned on experimenting on her and bringing her great pain if he got his servos on her. "You dare touch her and I'll rip out your spark! She's not broken, she's having a panic attack" still he struggled to no avail.
"Enough! The relic" Megatron was really losing his patience now.
"The phase shifter was the only one I was carrying" the rookie was getting irritated.
The warlord clenched his fist, not having received the answer he was looking for which greatly displeased him "Soundwave". On command the communications officer took a small step forward and displayed on his visor the final Iacon entry which took the form of a pixelated image of Smokescreen himself.
"You got the wrong guy, chief. Optimus Prime is the one who can decode the Iacon database" the rookie had to calm himself down and try to play it cool for both their sakes. If he ever wanted to make it out alive with Bella.
There was a slight chuckle from the gladiator "but you misunderstand. The final entry has been decoded by us and according to our findings, it would appear I do indeed have the right guy" the warlord smirked as he stepped aside to allow a clear view to Soundwave. His blank visor quickly lighting up with the Iacon entry in question. As it did the image began to fizzle to life to show an image of Smokescreen himself which confused him.
He didn't believe it, his thoughts betrayed him as his processor tried to make sense of this new information. "The question is: what is it that you are still packing?" Knock Out moved swiftly; hovering a scanner over the young autobots form. It beeped as an outline of the relic they all seeked became visible on the screen. The medic smirked devilishly "why hidden treasure of course"
Megatron saw this too and displayed just as much confusion. There was an obvious reason for there being multiple relics that were the same but as of yet he was unaware of it. "Yet another of these identical relics" if Smokescreen wasn't surrounded by his enemies he would have let out a sigh of relief "remove it swiftly" guess he jinxed that one.
"With pleasure" Knock Out transformed his servo into his favoured buzz saw "I do so resent a finish flashier than my own" at that the decepticon medic slowly began to inch his closer and closer to Smokescreens chassis. The young mech frowned as he tried to wriggle free but to his surprise Knock Out retracted his saw, his limb returning to normal. "Ha, made you skirm" he laughed. Activating the phase shifter on his arm he began to test it out. His other servo passing right through his body. He then stomped his foot on the floor – noticing that he wasn't phasing right through it.
It was at this point that colour began to return to Isabella's skin. She was no longer shivering and she was blinking more frequently. Her heart was still beating so fast that it could outrun a racehorse. It seemed her panic attack was fading, her thoughts finally coming back to her. She recalled her last panic attack and didn't know which one was worse. Both of them seemed to have consumed her but now that she felt more in control she would be able to slowly calm herself. If only the same could be said for escaping this predicament. "Get your stinkin' hand out of my gears" she recognised Smokescreens voice and concentrated hard on it. Her heart rate soothing down…that was until she moved her gaze to where she saw her friend tied to a metal table with a decepticon sticking his arm into his chest.
The red head wasn't sure if she wanted to go back into her paralysed state instead of looking what was going on before her "Smokescreen!" she couldn't help the outburst which caught everyone's attention. Bella tried to reach him but it was only then that she realised she was being held by another decepticon. This one looked just like the other ones that had tried to kill her the other day. His grip on her was firm to prevent her from falling or getting free. Knock Out gladly pulled the relic out of Smokescreen so that all in the room could see it with their own eyes. Bella easily identified it as one of the Omega Keys that Smokescreen was adamant on retrieving for his comrades.
When she case her gaze back to him she locked eyes with him and could see the pain that he showed though it didn't seem to be physical pain "Bella, I'm going to get you out of here" the tone of his voice gave it away. Pain that he couldn't protect her. Pain at the thought that neither of them were going to make it back alive.