You'll never be alone again

Chapter 6: Meetings

The environment of the ground bridge had Bella all woozy, she literally felt like she had left part of herself back inside that rock that the two of them had phased through. Her insides felt all over the place and if it wasn't for Smokescreen's protective hold on her then she would be freaking out. That or she would have passed out from the lack of energy she now possessed from the adventure she never thought she was going to have that day.

As they materialised out the other side Bella's eyes almost popped out their sockets. "Stay calm, Bells. The others aren't as bad as I make them out to be. I'm the one in trouble for all this" his voice relaxed her nerves as she suddenly began to remember to breathe properly. She noticed how each of the autobots were looking at Smokescreen with some relief on their faceplates. She noted this as the biggest of the mechs moved stoically forward.

"We are pleased to see you return safely, Smokescreen" his voice was laced with grace that Bella could easily identify as that of being a leader.

Smokescreen smiled and leaned down. As gently as he could he placed Bella back down on the ground and then reached back to grab a hold of the Omega Keys that he stowed away on his back plates. He brought them out for everyone to see and the rookie didn't miss the glint in everyone's optics as they took a step closer. None of them couldn't believe that the relics that they had worked and fought so hard over were now right in front of them. "How did you obtain both Omega Keys and still manage to escape the decepticon warship?" Ratchets voice was the most stunned that Smokescreen had ever heard.

Bella wasn't quite sure about what she should do. But at this point she was glad that there wasn't any attention on her at that moment. Instead she chose to hide behind Smokescreens foot in the hopes that she would be forgotten about like she normally was in her life. "Snatched the one Alpha Trion entrusted to me out of Megatrons servos and stole the other from his vault" he was really smug with himself now. For once he could see that he done well for their cause.

This was the kind of achievements that he had wanting to be made since he joined Team Prime on Earth. A questioning buzz got everyone's attention next as Bumblebee noticed the human presence amongst them and asked who she was. Smokescreen rubbed the back of his head knowing what was to come. He looked down to see the red head looking a bit nervous. She was biting down on her bottom lip as she scanned each of the autobots in her own way; making a note of each of them and how they fit in to the stories that she was told by Smokescreen. The rookie lifted his foot up and placed it down just behind the young woman in question so that everyone could see her. "Everyone this is Isabella. She's been with me this whole time" now all eyes were on Bella and she hated that. She wanted to go back to hiding behind Smokescreens foot but new that would be a childish thing to do. She wasn't shy just unsure of what to do with all the attention that was currently on her. The rookie then knelt down so that he was closer to Bella as he spoke to her "Bella this is Optimus Prime, Bulkhead, Ratchet, Bumblebee and..." Smokescreen pointed to each of them but before he could talk of the only femmes name in the room Bella said it first.

"Arcee" the femme was a bit confused how her name was already well known to the human femme. "It's nice to finally meet all of you"

Optimus took note of the words she used. "Smokescreen how long have you known this human and how long has she been aware of us?"

Bella could see the concern on the leaders face and the dread on Smokescreens so she decided to step up "it's not Smokes fault. I've known about you all for the same amount of time that I've known Smokescreen" she could see a lot of questions plaguing on all of their faces but Smokescreens. "Smokescreen saved me from a decepticon attack and from myself and since then we've done a lot of talking"

"You're supposed to follow protocol should your cover be blown, Smokescreen" now it was Ratchet that was having a go at the young autobot.

"That one is on me" Bella raised her hand like she was in trouble in a class full of students "I suffer from a severe panic disorder and i asked Smokescreen to give me some time. I really struggled that night with almost dying I didn't think i could take all this in the same day...today I don't really have a choice in the matter"

The room fell silent but Smokescreen gave a playful nudge with his digit to Bella. It made her instantly smile as she saw how close his faceplates where to her. She could already feel her energy beginning to come back to her from the comfort that emanated from Smokescreen to her. Optimus noticed that though no words had been spoken, Bella and Smokescreen seemed to be having their own kind of conversation. He took note of how their eyes lingered on each other. "Perhaps a debrief is in order" the leader finally broke the silence and the team seemed to move closer to the large monitors.

Isabella stopped Smokescreen before he left her side quickly. "Smoke, is there somewhere I close my eyes for a minute or two. My body is finding it hard to go from one extraordinary situation to another" the rookie gave her a soft smile and offered her his servo. Graciously she sat herself on his palm and allowed him to swiftly transport her over to where there was a sofa and television. Immediately Bella figured this was where the other humans that Smokescreen described to her must hang around.

The red head slipped off of the rookies palm when she was close enough to the floor and thanked him before she sat herself down on the sofa and tried to gather her thoughts. She couldn't quite believe what she was involved with now. She only thought she was going on a peaceful ride with Smokescreen but it had somehow turned into a kidnapping and a near death experience with the decepticons. She hadn't even considered this when she agreed to forgive Smokescreen; the fact that they had talked a lot meant the world to her. For once someone wanted to be around her but she hadn't thought of the consequences of this. Was she on the decepticons radar now?

These thoughts kept coming and going so she chose to close her eyes and try to push them away for the time being. Bella tuned out what the other bots where saying to each other but still felt like she needed to stay alert. There was something that kept her vigilant and not want her to let her guard down but she didn't know what. It was like she was being watched, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on point. "Isabella" the red head her name being called and looked behind her to see the blue femme named Arcee standing there.

Bella stood from the sofa and moved to the railing "you can call me Bella. Isabella sounds a bit formal to me" she smiled and Arcee did too.

It was the hope that no conflict would be created between them. "Bella, I couldn't help but notice that you seemed to know me more than the others"

Bella looked down. From everything that Smokescreen had said she didn't picture the femme as a bad person. Just one that might not take the right approach at getting her point across. "Like I said earlier; Smokescreen and I talk a lot"

"I had an argument earlier with Smokescreen because he was too focussed on trying to be a war hero then being an autobot, and then drove out of the base…" Arcee thought quickly.

Bella nodded to the information she was being given but she already knew how it ended so she finished it for the femme "and he came right to me. It's not Smokescreen that is the problem but the way that you teach him"

Arcee immediately took offence to that "First of all Smokescreen should have followed protocol and brought you in the moment he was exposed. And secondly, Smokescreen isn't a sparkling. He learned how to fight in the Elite Guard so I shouldn't have to teach him anything" her voice was a little annoyed.

At this point their raised voices caught the attention of the others. The rookie in particular was abit surprised at the outbreak "Smokescreen said that it was basically a boot camp"

"That's because war broke out! We needed every available soldier out there"

This really surprised Bella. She made sure her voice was calm and in control with her next words "so how do you expect Smokescreen to know everything? He's only recently come to Earth and before that he was on security detail – you think in all that time Smoke miraculously learned how to work in a team…You had to learn somewhere which meant someone had to teach you" Bella gestured to the femme for more emphasis. Her eyes just glistened with wisdom as everyone listened to her "you can't tell him he's not being autobot when his goals are the exact same as yours. We have a saying on this planet: that you learn something new every day. Can you really tell me that you haven't learnt a single thing since someone stopped teaching you?" she looked to the others and they chose to remain silent. It provided the young woman with her answer. "From an outside perspective; you need to learn to work with Smokescreen and so does he. He doesn't need a criticiser, he needs a team mate" Bella decided to end her rant there and move back to the sofa. There she set herself down and closed her eyes in the hope of resting for a little while.

She blocked out all she could that was going around her but still managed to hear the apologies that Arcee and some of the other team had for the young rookie. She let her exhaustion take her for a while. Her little adventure having drained her along with the words that she had saved particularly for the autobot femme. Her breathing became calm and soft as she drifted into a light slumber.

Smokescreen on the other hand listened to Optimus' debrief and was quite taken aback by Isabella's confrontation with Arcee. He hadn't asked her to stand up for him. He had only found comfort in her company and opinions. Though he wouldn't take it back now; not after Arcee had apologised to him for being a little harsh on him. When the debrief was over he wanted to talk to Bella but his optics found her sleeping peacefully on the sofa. He didn't want to disturb her after the day she had. He blamed himself for that – he shouldn't have sought her out and placed her in danger. It actually surprised him that Optimus hadn't given him a lecture on his recklessness yet.

"Smokescreen, could I have a word?" the majestic voice of Optimus spoke out as the rest of the team seemed to separate to do their own thing.

Smokescreen really wasn't looking forward to this but he couldn't avoid it forever. He followed the Prime to the side of the room where he still had a clear view of Bella but no one else would be able to hear their conversation. "I'm sorry, Optimus. I know I should have followed your orders but…"

"Perhaps you should have" Optimus decided to not let Smokescreen think he was in trouble so he interrupted "but protocol, in my opinion, does not accommodate those that may find the experience of the learning the full truth about us a little more overwhelming that others. I had not considered medical conditions such as Isabella's before today, so you did the best possible thing you could have done. You used your initiative"

Smokescreen looked down to the ground before look back to his leader "so I'm not in trouble?"

"No, Smokescreen. You have done well given the circumstances that have come about since your arrival. It is also quite clear that you have developed a strong bond with Isabella. She feels safe and comfortable around which is why I would like you to act as her guardian as the others to with their charges"

"You're assigning me to Bella?" the rookie really couldn't believe it.

Optimus nodded in reply "the decepticons know about her now. She is a possible target and as such she must be protected. You seem to have already taken the responsibility of her safety as a priority which makes me confident that you will make an excellent guardian" Optimus' confidence in him only boosted his ego.

The two mechs looked to the slumbering human on the sofa. Smokescreen had to admit that since he had met Bella he was always concerned with her safety. Now it was official. She was his charge to watch over and protect. "Thank you, Optimus" Smokescreen saluted his commander before he moved away as a sign of respect. And then it was just Smokescreen left alone. He continued to watch over his new charge while he leant against the wall. The red head was safe in their base and until Optimus reported a mission for him there wasn't much of anything else to do.

It wasn't long however, when her emerald eyes peaked open and she stretched her limbs to get them to wake up. Unfortunately it hurt more than she expected. Her bruises were setting in and her muscles ached from her previous adventure. A small nap wasn't going to change that fact. She pushed herself up into a sitting position on the sofa and heard soft footsteps approaching her. "How was the beauty sleep?" she recognised Smokescreens soft voice immediately and turned around to see him standing right by the railing looking down on her.

She smiled "Could have been longer"

"How are you feeling after everything?" he had to ask her to make sure.

Bella then began to fiddle with her fingers. She didn't really want to tell him the whole truth but she couldn't bring herself to lie to him and tell him she was fine. "Honestly I'm struggling a little. It's not every day you're kidnapped and go skydiving. Considering I met your enemies today and now your allies I'm a bit overwhelmed. But it was going to happen sooner or later"

Smokescreen rubbed the back of his head again. He blamed himself for all this "I was kinda hoping you wouldn't meet them all in one day. That way it would be easier on you"

"And I was kinda of hoping that I wouldn't have to see a decepticon stick his arm into your abdomen and pull out an Omega Key, like it was a magic trick" she looked at Smokescreen with a playful smirk "I guess we don't always get what we want"

A high pitch sequence of beeps from the computer monitors caught everyone's attention all of a sudden. The screens flashed a little and then displayed an image of another mech that Isabella didn't recognise. All of the autobots including Bella seemed to gather unconsciously around the monitors. Ratchet the medic seemed to take point at the controls knowing exactly how to operate their computers without even thinking about it. "It's a high frequency signal with an embedded message" he began typing vigorously.

"Starscream" Bella could hear the frown in Bulkhead's voice as he identified the new bot for her.

Ratchet then began to read the message that they had been sent "I have obtained something of use to you that seems to have no practical use to me"

"It's got to be the Omega key"

They seemed to rush at the thought that this was their chance to finally have all the Omega Keys that they needed "he's the one who blind-sighted me" Smokescreen worked it out. It couldn't have been another decepticon because there wasn't another Keys in Megatrons vault. If there had been then he would have stolen it just like he did with the other ones.

Bella took everything that was being said in. Leaning on the railing she thought about how this Starscream character could have pulled off such a stunt without Smokescreen knowing about it. "Is it possible that he's not working alone?" she had to ask.

"Starscream has been known to try and ally himself in the past but those have never worked out in his favour" Optimus noted that what she was saying could be true.

"Okay, let's say he's not working with anyone" Bella really wanted to help but she couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to this than it appeared "but even I know the importance of these Keys. Are you telling me that Starscream has no idea at all about these relics and their function? And if he really doesn't why doesn't he go to the decepticons instead of us?" she really surprised all of the autobots.

Ratchet was the first to react "Smokescreen, I like this human you've found" the caught the others off guard too. It took the old medic a while to warm up to the teenage humans they watched over. He tried to ignore them as he resumed his attention to the message that was in question "anyway, there's more. I only ask for the surgical replacement of my T-cog in return"

Bulkhead laughed at the end part of Starscream message "like we're going to give Scream back his wings" he was confident that this was not a deal to be made.

Bella was still a little confused "what's a T-Cog?"

Seeing a Ratchet was the medical chief and expert of the autobots he made sure that he was the one to answer her with accuracy "A T-Cog is the Cybertronian organ that allows us to scan vehicles and transform. It also gives us access to our weapons. But we must consider that without the missing key Cybertron will remain devoid of life"

It did sadden Bella that their home had been lost and the only hope for it seemed to be in the clutches of someone that wasn't aware of the power that they possessed.

"Broken record I know, but Bella could be right. This could be a trick" it was very clear that Arcee didn't trust the seeker one bit and now he had something of great importance and value to them.

"It is possible that Starscream does not yet realise the significance of what he holds" Optimus graciously spoke about that possibility.

Ratchet agreed with his leader, nodding to him "and we do know that he's been incapable of flight for some time"

Bella shook her head. Not agreeing with what was being said but she had only just met these bots and didn't want to intrude on their responsibilities too much. Then again she felt like there was something that was being missed here. "But if a T-Cog is as valuable as you say and he's demanding one for an Omega Key then maybe he does know the significance of it" she couldn't let them go through this without warning them of some of the dangers.

All eyes in the room turned to Optimus. It was his call after all. He took a moment to think about it, considering what Bella had brought to attention "the stakes are too great for us not to consider Starscreams proposal" he then looked to a rather worried Isabella "…however we will take precautions" this only worried her even more. She hadn't known the autobots that long at all so she didn't know what they were capable of. If the stories she had been told were anything to go by thought then they were powerful together. A strong team. "Bulkhead and Ratchet will join me in meeting Starscream. While Arcee, Bumblebee and Smokescreen will remain here to protect the other Omega Keys and remain cautious" all of them nodded showing their understanding of his orders.

None of them wasted any time in preparing to move out. Isabella wished she was back home where she knew she was safe. At least there no one noticed her; it was like she didn't exist. There she was in no danger and had nothing to lose but now she felt like she had so much to lose. There was something bigger now that she cared for in her life.

The femme bot Arcee moved to the ground bridge controls and opened a bridge from the base to their destination for them. While the three mechs one by one strode through the portal to meet Starscream. On the other hand, Bumblebee was vigilant as he had his blasters out and ready to fire should he need them. Arcee stayed by the ground bridge controls in case things went badly and she needed to shut off the direct line into their base.

Bella stayed up on the catwalk where she wouldn't get in the way. She had moved to a part that had a good view of the entire base. While Smokescreen stood behind Bumblebee and by Isabella. The young woman shivered, something not feeling right with the silence that lingered. Then there was this unknown breeze that seemed to materialise out of nowhere. She noticed her hair blowing around and a few small pieces whipping at her face. It was something she didn't remember the ground bridge doing before, so why would it do it now?

It was like a scene out of a horror film as the bright lights above them began to flicker for unknown reasons. The atmosphere around all of them became eerie. Only then did it dawn on her that she didn't have her medication and it was surely coming up to the time that she would need to take it. Considering that she had already been through a major panic attack that day she had already figured that taking one might help her should another present itself in the coming moments. Bella really hated not knowing what was going on through the other end of the ground bridge. It made her scared for what could happen next, her breathing going from calm and increasing the more she was left standing there waiting for something to happen. "Smokescreen" she whispered out his name so only he could hear. Immediately the rookie turned to meet her eyes and saw the fear growing inside her like a burning ember. His hard gaze from the moment softened for her "I don't have my medication on me. If I have another attack it could be…"

Smokescreen didn't let her finish "You won't need it. I promise I won't let anything happen to you" he nodded to her hoping that she understood just how seriously he was taking his new assignment as her guardian. Even within the autobot base she should have been completely safe but this was Starscream that they were now dealing with. At times he was quite unpredictable.

A powerful swoosh of air had Bella fall backwards on to her ass with a loud thump. She groaned from the new felt pain "what the hell was that" she spoke to which the others began to scan the area of the base around them.

"The ground bridge does create large movements of air" Arcee pointed out

That made them all tense. If the ground bridge didn't do that then that sudden gust of wind came from nowhere. Before they could question it any further the sprinklers above them all activated and water began to rain down on all of them. It didn't bother the bots too much but Bella was instantly soaked as her clothing clung to her body uncomfortably. The cold liquid making her cold, her skin shivering. Smokescreen saw this quite quickly and reacted by gently scooping Bella up into his servo while hovering his other servo over her to help keep the water off of her. Although she was wet already the rookie wanted to protect her as much as he could; he wasn't oblivious to how sick humans can get.

These sudden activities started to creep the red head out. It really was like a horror movie and she wasn't enjoying it. She clung to Smokescreen's fingers in the hope of feeling a bit safer that she currently felt.

She heard the sound of moving metal and looked to see the autobot femme shutting off the ground bridge. Bella presumed that something bad was going down on the other side of the ground bridge. The sudden gust of wind and the activation of the fire prevention sprinkler system wasn't normal. Something was going on. Once the swirling vortex closed all of them in the base looked to one another blankly. Bumblebee didn't waste time in shutting of the sprinklers to stop the water allowing Smokescreen to move the servo hovering of Bella to rest at his side.

He made sure that his digits wrapped securely around her form and watched as Bella began to chatter from the cold. Her body trying to snuggle further into his hold to get as much of the heat he was giving off. This made Smokescreen smile softly. He lifted her up which confused her slightly until he released his hold on her to allow her to sit on his shoulder. There her body curled up in the crook between his neck cables and his helm. Liking the closeness to the red head, the rookie slightly nudged her playfully with his helm. Only then did he receive a message through his comm link which was sent out to everyone – it was Optimus requesting a ground bridge back to the base.

At that each of the remaining autobots looked a bit disappointed; something seemed to have got the better of them. From the sound of others voice it didn't sound like good news.

All eyes in the base turned to where the ground bridge was turned back on and within a few small moments the shapes of Optimus Prime, Bulkhead and Ratchet emerged back through. Ratchet looking very angry while Bulkhead seemed quite sad. "What happened?" Considering that they didn't see the last remaining Omega Key in none of their grasps it had to be asked.

As leader Optimus felt it was his duty to inform them of what had transpired "Starscream now possess all four Omega Keys, and the fate of Cybertron now rests in his hands"

Bella gasped where the others remained silent in their disbelief. It was difficult to completely understand. All their hard work and the countless times they each put themselves in harm's way and for what? They now had nothing to show for it but their own lives. How had the devious seeker bested them without them even knowing?

Questions that plagued each and every one of them. Bella needed these answers more than the others to fully understand "But we were here the whole time and didn't see anything. How could he steal them?"

"Red energon. If consumed much like regular energon it gives the user the ability to move at super-fast speeds he would become virtually invisible to the naked optic until the effects wore off" Ratchet explained in as much detail as he could. It was his area of expertise.

Bella understood the importance of energon to them all but she hadn't considered that some would grant super abilities. "So I was him that hit me from behind. No wonder I didn't hear or see him" Smokescreen spoke irritated. He surmised that if he had collected that Key then they would currently possess all of the relics and wouldn't be facing a catastrophe.

"It's not your fault, Smoke. If he was using this red energon then you were at a strategic disadvantage" Bella had to try and put his mind at ease from it. There was no point in him dwelling on the past. Not when more important matters needed his attention and it wasn't like he could change it now.

All they needed to do now was focus on trying to regain the four Omega Keys so that Cybertron stood a chance.

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed. Let me know what you think!