UPDATE #2
I am extremely sorry for keeping you all waiting for so long. ヾ(･| Many unfortunate setbacks and getting myself motivating seems a little hard, but I have managed to finish this lovely chapter for you guys and I do hope you enjoy!~
P.S. I worked on this chapter at the campus (College) just to show you guys how dedicated I am - - when it's time to finish it, I must finish it! _φ(．．)
A yawn managed to escape from her lips, stretching her arms up before relaxing down on the couch. The kids weren't present at the base; the only ones there were Ratchet and Lucy. The rest of the team was out in Omaha to contain a transformer fight that could possibly cause some collateral damage.
Lucy was having a hard time keeping her eyes open after a long day at the hospital and was barely getting any sleep from her rotation hours. Luckily she has the whole weekend off which is a huge relief. A gentle tap on her shoulder woke her, bobbing her head up and looking over her shoulder. Ratchet stared down at her, watching her smile up at him sleepily.
"You look exhausted." He commented. "Get some sleep. You deserve it."
Lucy opened her mouth only for her to be interrupted by a yawn. "…M'kay…" she mumbled before getting comfortable on the couch, quickly falling asleep.
Ratchet smiled, grabbing a blanket seemingly out of nowhere and covered her up with it.
. . . . . .
" - - Dreadwing."
Lucy drowsily sat up on the couch, rubbing her eyes to clean up the crust in her eyes. She overheard the Autobot conversing to one another and couldn't help but wonder who the new and strange voice belonged to. Lucy turned around and was surprised to see a new Autobot in the base, for what she could guess this was Wheeljack that Miko and Bulkhead had talked so much about.
"Hope he's enjoying the visit. It's gonna be his last." The one called Wheeljack said, standing up from the berth and clenched his right servo into a fist. Ratchet groaned in frustration.
Lucy studied him noticing a fresh injury on his left shoulder pad. 'How long have I been out for?'
"Wheeljack, this planet is heavily inhabited. Any strike we make against the decepticons must be carefully measured as a team, lest we risk endangering the human population." Optimus tries to stem the wrecker's hotheadedness but this sadly failed.
"Are you suggesting we sit back and do nothing?" Wheeljack said irritation in his voice followed by disbelief.
"You! Loose cannon!" The sound of Agent Fowler's voice made her jump out of her skin. 'When did he get here?!'
"Your cowboy antics almost blew our cover." Fowler pointed his finger at Wheeljack who seemed baffled by this new information. "Cover?"
"We're robots in disguise, Jackie," Bulkhead said, walking up behind his fellow wrecker. "You needed an earth-based vehicle mode outside of here."
"That spaceship you shot down - - not earth-based! I had to jump through some big hoops to get it hauled out of plain sight." Agent Fowler said. "You need to keep a tighter leash on you people, prime." Fowler's words didn't hit so well with Wheeljack as the wrecker turned around to face him.
"A tighter leash? Let me clarify, tiny." Wheeljack said as he slowly approached fowler. Bulkhead intends to placate him but Wheeljack didn't listen. He leans down to face the human. "I'm not one of Optimus Prime's people." And then, he walks off.
"I'll talk to him - - with your permission," Bulkhead asks, looking over his shoulder-pad for his leader to respond. "Of course." With that Bulkhead left.
"So, the new guy has a little problem with authority," Fowler said as he watched Bulkhead leave.
"Wheeljack and Bulkhead served together in the wreckers, a combat unit that operated outside the normal chain of command." Optimus smooth this information over to Fowler who seems to finally understand. "Hmm. Black Ops."
"They accepted mission no one else would, and many of them did not come back," Optimus confesses, turning his helm to where Bulkhead had gone.
She couldn't believe what she had just heard. It was hard to think that many wreckers had lost their lives by risking themselves in dangerous missions. She furrowed her brows just at the mere thought of it. Lucy stood up from the couch, quietly; she sneaked away from them and entered the elevator as it silently closed its doors.
Once the elevator reached the top of the silo, the doors opened and Lucy made her way towards a narrow but wide cave up front. She could hear two familiar 'bot talking amongst each other, the closer she got, the clearer their voice became.
"Roadbuster, Pyro, Impactor, Rotorstorm, Seaspray - - all dust." Wheeljack reminds Bulkhead of their many wrecker companions, who are now one with the Allspark.
"That's what I'm talking about. Wreckers are Autobots. There just aren't that many of us left." He frowns but regains his composure. "But if we get behind Optimus, we have a chance to end this once and for all," Bulkhead said his tone filled with reassurance and confidence.
"Guys like Optimus - - they talk a good game, but when you're in the scrap, they don't want to get their hands dirty." Wheeljack retorts.
This was unacceptable! She was unable to control herself and allowed her voice to be heard, loudly. "You're wrong!" Both wreckers were caught by surprise, looking over to see Lucy standing at the entrance of the cave.
"L-Lucy?!" Bulkhead exclaimed.
Wheeljack simply raised his optic-ridge at Bulkhead. "Who the heck is this, chick?"
Bulkhead looked at him, gesturing his servo at Lucy. "Jackie, this is Lucy. She's been a part of this team for months now."
Lucy stomped her way towards them, standing next to Bulkhead's pedes. She placed her hand on her hips, staring directly at Wheeljack in disapproval. "You have no right to speak of him in such an ill manner." She argued, earning her a glare from Wheeljack.
He scoffs. "Listen here, princess." He stepped forward, trying to intimidate her but she didn't budge. "Whether you like it or not - - your so-called 'leader' isn't all that's cracked up to be. I much rather be on my own than to follow orders from an old - - no good - - frag hole!" he raised his voice, causing them to flinch.
Bulkhead had enough, stepping in between them then held up his servos in defense. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Take it easy you two!" He urged them to stop but was mainly directed at Wheeljack.
"Jackie, you don't know Optimus like I do." He stepped back, making sure not to squish Lucy in the process. "Look, being a wrecker meant everything to me, but I left that behind."
Wheeljack rolled his optics. "Because prime was the real thing, blah, blah, blah." Ugh! The nerve of this guy.
Suddenly a loud beeping was heard from inside Wheeljack's ship. He and Bulkhead went inside. Lucy huffed in irritation, pulling out her phone from her pockets typing in a message before she hesitantly followed behind. An unfamiliar voice echoed through the speakers.
"Wheeljack, I know you're out there, listening. I have a proposition for you."
Bulkhead stood next to him. "Is that…?"
"Dreadwing."
"Meet me at these coordinates if you have the spark." The vertical let out a 'beep' and the screen showed them the location that Dreadwing had sent.
"I'll see you there; con, just to watch you fry," Wheeljack said taking a seat to his left in the pilot seat.
"Jackie, it's a trap." He warned.
"I know, but when has that ever stopped me?" Wheeljack pressed a few buttons, activating his ship which let out a loud rumble. He turned his helm to Bulkhead. "You coming with?"
Bulkhead took a seat to the right. "At least let me call for backup."
"You know wreckers don't call for backup," Wheeljack said, looking over at him.
Both exchanged a knowing smirk. "They call for clean-up!" they said in unison before smacking each other's servos with a 'clang'.
. . . . . .
All she could do was watch from behind a tree as Wheeljack confronts Dreadwing by himself. Both determined to finish off each other's unfinished business. They exchange fire, Dreadwing runs, and Wheeljack follows right behind him. Lucy runs after them, making sure she's at a safe distance from where the excitement was taking place. The sounds of various explosions were heard and for what she could guess, it was probably pre-placed by Dreadwing himself. She couldn't help but get a bad feeling about this whole situation; how she hated being right. Dreadwing had run into a dead end down at the crevice. Lucy hid behind a tree, silently watching the scene unfold before her.
"If you're thinking about flying out of here…"
"Think again." Bulkhead finished Wheeljack's sentence as he appeared atop the crevice, holding up his blasters at Dreadwings directions.
"Something's not right." Diffidently, she leaned closer, noticing an unpleasant smirk appear on Dreadwings lips. In fact, she wasn't the only who noticed this, Wheeljack had a look that can only be described as pure shock.
Lucy ran out of her hiding spot. "Guys it's a trap! Get out of there!"
Wheeljack turned his helm only to stare at her in alarm. "Kid, what are you doing here?!"
Their reunion was cut short when a proximity bomb went off on the cliff face, right where Bulkhead was. The cliff crumbled beneath his feet and Bulkhead let out a yell as he slid down the now rocky cliff.
Lucy stumbled back but was unable to keep her balance, not long she lost her footing and began to roll down the cliff. She rolled down safely to the crevice below and she got up on her feet running towards the pile of rocks. Both wreckers were buried underneath the rubble and she didn't pay mind of Dreadwing flying off, probably to avoid being caught in the pile of rocks.
"Bulkhead! - - Wheeljack!" she called out their names but sadly neither of them responded.
She tried to lift a rock twice her size but ultimately failed. "Come on, you good for nothing rock!" she grunted, kicking the rock to vent out her frustration. "Please… you two better be still breathing in there." Lucy whispered huffing out air from her lips.
"I admire your attempts to free your comrades, human but, I'm afraid to say - - you're wasting your breath." Dreadwing looked down at her from atop the cliff.
Lucy looked up at him as she stepped away from the rubble, taking a couple steps back while not breaking eye contact. She watched in fear as Dreadwing jumped down in the crevice and slowly made his way towards her. Her back came in contact with a wall and let out a soft whimper as he now loomed right in front of her.
. . . . . .
He didn't know how much time had passed but he'd imagine it had to bed an hour or so. Wheeljack grunted, moving away a couple of boulders off of him but was then assisted by someone who he assumed to be Bulkhead.
"What took you so long, Bulk?" he asked. "Don't tell me your riding with Prime has made you…" He raised his helm and was surprised to see Optimus helping him out from his rocky situation. "Soft."
Optimus offered his servo to Wheeljack who gladly took it as he hoisted the wrecker out of the rubble. "If you will not take orders from me, that is one thing." he pointed his digit at him "But when you place one of my Autobots in danger…"
"With all due respect, sir, Bulkhead knew the risks. Every wrecker does. Now, I'm sure he's just somewhere in this rubble." Wheeljack turned around to face the boulders.
Optimus receives a comm link call from Ratchet informing him that Bulkheads signal has moved.
"You coming with?" Wheeljack began to walk away with Optimus following behind. "We better hurry who knows what Dreadwing might do to them."
"Them?" Optimus questioned, noticing the wrecker tense up which raised even more questions. "Wheeljack."
"Uh… well - - you see, this kid managed to sneak aboard my ship and followed us here." he stammered, but Optimus grew rather impatient and urged him to finish. "Name, what is their name?" he asked, the tone of his baritone voice sounding slightly bitter.
"Bah… I'm not even sure - - wait. If I remember correctly her name was Lucy."
Optimus abruptly come to a halt and his optics widen. "I… don't understand," Optimus said in disbelief.
"I don't know either, but we better hurry - - who knows what Dreadwing might do to them," Wheeljack said, looking over his shoulder pad at the Prime.
. . . . . .
Wheeljack and Optimus fly to Bulkhead's location, a shipping depot, hoping to find Bulkhead… and Lucy. Optimus had both his blasters at the ready in case of any enemy fire while Wheeljack held a radar in his servos which would lead them to their comrade and hopefully the human as well.
"We are close to population. Remember…"
"Blasters and fuel pumps don't mix." Wheeljack finished as he resumed to the radar on his servo where he continues to search for his comrade.
"Our boys just up ahead." The further he got the quicker the radar beeped. Bulkhead was just around the corner and he was but in a tighter spot.
Bulkhead was strapped to a shipping crate and had a bomb attached to his chest plate which was slowly ticking away.
He looks over at them. "Hey, guys."
Both Optimus and Wheeljack exchanged a quick glance at each other and the back at Bulkhead. "Scrap."
Wheeljack approaches him. "You really got yourself in a heap scrap this time, partner." Bulkhead flinched and warned him to stay back however Wheeljack simply ignored him and proceeded to work on the bomb. "Better get to work."
"Have you defused one of these before?" The prime asks.
Wheeljack presses the bomb watching it extend and thus revealing him many wires inside. "Fail-safes, Dummy leads, Booby traps." He blinks. "It's a work of art."
From afar Dreadwing watches from the top of a crane as they attempt to defuse the bomb on Bulkhead. He receives a transmission from none other than Megatron himself and turns to the side to answer it.
Bulkhead nervously stares down at Wheeljack. "Jackie, if you don't abort we're both gonna need clean-up," him saying those words made Wheeljack feel on edge.
"Trying to focus here, Bulk." He musters and continues to examine the bomb. He didn't know where to begin. Should he pull the blue or the yellow wire… or the red?
Bulkhead looks up and notices Optimus was no longer there. "Where's Optimus?"
Wheeljack turns around and scoffs. "Like I told you and that girl when the scrap hits the fan blades, the generals are the first to bail."
Bulkhead denies this notion by simply saying. "No, not Optimus."
Somewhere not too far from where the others were located was Lucy, chained up and was dangling up to a crane and right below her was the ocean. She was so overjoyed by the whole situation she had gotten herself into.
Lucy sighs deeply and mutters to herself about how she SHOULD NOT have followed them. A wave of guilt washed over her and felt so ashamed. She pulled a Miko. Next time she should choose her actions wisely before sneaking out into a dangerous situation, such as this one.
The sounds of heavy and metallic footsteps could be heard from below. Lucy instantly looked down and to her delight saw Optimus standing there.
"Optimus!"
The prime looks up to Lucy, relief washing over him although seeing her dangling from the crane frightened him to no end. "Hang in there. I'll find a way to set you free."
"Please hurry. Dreadwing attached a bomb behind me and - - please." Her voice trembled, pleading for him to release her from the chains and possibly from her imminent death.
Optimus wasted no time climbing up the crane, but what he heard and saw next made his blood run cold. The crane began to creak - - suddenly the chains gave away and she was now plummeting down, and then the chains came to an abrupt halt and in return, she received a painful whiplash to her neck and was now moaning from the pain.
He quickly made haste finally reaching the top. Optimus slowly but carefully made his way towards Lucy, kneeling down and then pulled the chains up towards him. He made sure to do it gently as to not further injure her from the sudden fall she had experience.
She groaned, feeling awfully light-headed and groggy. "I…regret this." She blurted out, wincing from the pain in her neck.
Optimus grabs hold of her small figure, placing her on the crane before swiftly removing the chains from her body. The sound of the bomb ticking was nerve-wracking and Lucy couldn't help but feel like time was running short. - - *Crack* - - Optimus broke the chains from her body and pulled her close to his chassis before jumping off the crane.
At that moment the bomb suddenly went off, destroying the crane into pieces. Optimus rolled on the floor, landing on his back, and he lets out a groan through his mask. Both servos held Lucy protectively on his chassis and slowly he removed one servo but held her gently with the other, allowing her to sit up. He raised his helm to look down at her, his mask suddenly retracting and the worried look on his face had never been clearer.
"Are you hurt?"
She shook her head. "Just a minor ache in my neck but other than that, I'm alright. I probably would've ended up in pieces, and if you ask me, it sounds unpleasant."
. . . . . .
After the entire shipping depot was blown up and with Dreadwing flying away from the scene, they all returned to base. Stepping inside the base, Lucy was instantly met by a frantic looking Ratchet. Instead of checking up on Bulkhead, he went straight to Lucy making sure she didn't have any external and internal injuries.
Not long she was pulled to the side and was given a long lecture by the two 'bots; Optimus and Ratchet. She apologized profusely and promises not to sneak off without their consent or knowledge.
It was awfully late at Jasper and many of the 'bots had dispersed inside the base and were now resting somewhere within their living quarters, including Ratchet. Lucy was the only one in the main room; she was sat on the couch with a book in hand. Since she slept through the entire day sleep for her right now was not necessary.
Lucy was so engrossed in her reading that she failed to notice a 'bot approaching her from the side. That's when a booming voice called out to her. She raises her head towards the voice and saw Optimus staring down at her.
A smile spreads across her lips. "Hey."
"Why aren't you recharging?"
She blinks. "Oh… well, I slept throughout the day and well… I'm just not feeling sleepy." Optimus hums in thought.
Lucy moves the bookmark in between the pages she is in and then closes the book and throws it aside. "Say Optimus?" she raises her gaze up at the Prime. "Back in the shipping depot - - How did you manage to find me?"
"Do you remember the bracelet I gave you just before we embarked down to the earth's core to stop Unicron?" She nods.
How could she not forget that terrifying day? Earth almost blew up because of Unicron.
"Well," he raises his right servo, pointing his index finger at her left wrist where the bracelet was. "It has a built-in tracker inside and it allows me and me alone to read."
"And whenever you are in a dire situation - - no communication or lost, you simply press the insignia." He grabs her wrist, gently, and presses the insignia, the empty lines within it began to glow a cyan hue. "And I'll come to you."
Lucy's eyes lit up, staring down at the bracelet in awe. All this time he's been monitoring her - - wait, does that mean…? Then he suddenly spoke.
"I've been meaning to ask you something for some time now." Here we go. "You have been visiting the hospital for quite awhile now, and I couldn't help but notice how easily exhausted you look." Bam, she's been found it...well, sorta. "You aren't ill, are you?"
Lucy scratches her cheek with her index finger. "Not exactly." She smiles sheepishly at him. "I wanted to tell you this sooner but you were so busy I had to hold back a bit, you know?"
"I graduated medical school - - finished my medical practices, and now I'm working at the hospital alongside with June." She felt his digits wrap around her arm gently, a smile formed on her lips.
Optimus, too, smiled down at her. "Do you mind telling me about your experience during your time at the hospital?"
"Of course."