"We gotta go," Miko cried an hour later, hopping into Bulkhead's passenger seat and shutting the door.
"Why? What happened?" Bulkhead inquired.
"Nova's gone! She ran away!"
"She did what?" Arcee demanded.
"She took off," Jack explained, hopping onto the back of the motorcycle. "Vince tried to fight her, and I guess she panicked."
"You think?" Arcee snarked.
"We have to go find her before she gets into trouble!" Raf cried, strapping himself into Bumblebee.
"I can hear Fowler now," Bulkhead groaned. "'Prime! Why am I hearing news reports of a bite-sized Robocop tearing up the local Walmart?'"
"You think that's bad?" Arcee growled. "I can already hear Optimus."
Miko snickered. "'What have you done with my small, metal child?'"
Bumblebee beeped a question through the comms.
"No, way," Bulkhead denied. "If we tell Optimus now, he's gonna freak."
"And a big rig barreling through a tiny desert town won't exactly keep us off Fowler's radar," Arcee agreed. "We have to try and find her ourselves."
"Well, she can't have gone far," Bulkhead asserted. "Which way did she go?"
"Uh, last we saw her, she was running that way," Jack pointed. "Toward the edge of town."
All three of the Bots were silent for a moment.
"If I were a frightened child in need of immediate help from someone I trusted," Arcee mused. "Where would I go?"
"Home," Jack answered matter-of-factly.
The children looked at one another, then all three of the vehicles swung around and headed north, speeding towards the base.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Dreadwing transformed and landed on the deck of the Nemesis beside Megatron as the rain pelted down around them.
"Will you be all right unaccompanied, my lord?" the new second-in-command asked, noticing his leader stumble upon transformation.
"Indeed, Dreadwing," Megatron replied. "I must attend to some business on the bridge. Ensure that Knockout knows of the new development, won't you?"
"He has not been informed of his partner's death?" Dreadwing asked incredulously.
"As I understand it, our medical officer has been occupied in the infirmary since before the mission was launched," Megatron replied. "Soundwave informed me that Knockout had not heard of the incident at the time of my departure."
He looked at his second-in-command authoritatively, though his gaze was full of weariness that could not be concealed by the rain. "Take care of this matter for me, won't you?"
Dreadwing was silent for a moment.
"It shall be done, my lord," he said finally.
Megatron nodded at him, and with a slight limp in his gait, he walked into the warship without another word.
Dreadwing followed at a much slower pace, trailing his master until they entered the shelter of the hangar doors and came to where the main hallway split. Megatron walked towards the bridge on the right, and Dreadwing, after hesitating for an instant, took the left passageway and continued until he came to the door of the medical bay, shrouded in shadows cast by the violet lights.
The door slid open, revealing the crimson-coloured medic leaning over a damaged piece of machinery resting on the table before him. Knock Out was not only the sole medical expert onboard the Nemesis; he was also the most qualified repairman, as of late, so everyone on the warship was expected to report to him when they encountered faulty machinery anywhere.
Needless to say, this had taken a toll on the medic's patience.
"Dreadwing, so nice of you to drop in," he said sarcastically, standing up from his work. "To what do I owe this unexpected visit? You've got a faulty landing strut, I suppose? Broken tail-rudder, perhaps?"
"I came to speak with you," Dreadwing replied calmly. "About a matter of some importance."
Knock Out leaned away from the table and arched his back, stretching wearily. "Look, whatever it is, I'm sure Lord Megatron can wait it out for a few minutes. Could you do me a solid, and send Breakdown in here when you get the chance? My finish is looking very shoddy after all the slaving I've had to do in here today."
"Breakdown is not coming," responded Dreadwing flatly.
Knock Out sighed, fiddling with the machinery on the table. "Megatron got him busy monitoring the miners again?"
"No, he … is not with us."
There was a silence as Knock Out looked up at the Seeker. "Didn't Breakdown come back with you?"
Dreadwing shook his head silently.
The medic stopped moving, his face frozen into an expression that Dreadwing could not read. His wide-eyed gaze was directed at the Seeker's face, but with no comprehension. He was looking, but no longer seeing.
"He's … gone, isn't he." Knock Out said. It was not a question.
"Breakdown was terminated, yes," Dreadwing confirmed. "Despite all my efforts."
Knock Out did not respond immediately, instead, his body turned listlessly to the table once again as he placed his hands on the edge of the slab.
"Who did it?" he asked, very quietly.
"Knock Out, I—"
"Who did it?!"
Dreadwing did not know Knock Out well, but he knew better than to argue.
"It was Airachnid," he said.
"Airachnid," Knock Out repeated, turning to the table once again. "That web-spinning witch."
"I am … sorry for your loss," Dreadwing said. Decepticon though he was, his sympathy was genuine. He remembered how angry he had been when he had felt his spark-brother die. Grief had racked his soul for stellar cycles. He suspected that Knock Out could only feel the same as he had in those dark days.
But to his surprise, the medic chuckled.
"Sorry?" he repeated with a hiss. "Oh, I'm sure you are."
He clutched a wrench in his hand, his teeth clenched in a ghastly grimace. "As if you Decepticons could ever feel anything for anyone else. You're sorry!" he growled again. "That's a laugh."
"I am."
Knock Out shook his head. "No, you're not."
Dreadwing moved towards the door. "Be that as it may, my errand here was not to comfort you," he said. "It was merely to impart the news of the incident. I suggest you return to your duties. Megatron will be expecting your report at the end of the cycle."
Knock Out said nothing, so Dreadwing turned without another word, and left.
But once the Seeker had exited into the hallway, he heard a loud, screeching crash, as if something had been thrown off of a table, and it was followed my many others in similar fashion. Above the next few crashes came the yelling — frantic, angered yelling. The shouting and the chaotic noises of the medibay being thoroughly and systematically demolished rang loudly out into the hallway, at least until the Second in Command had passed out of earshot.
And soon, the violent sounds were replaced by a much quieter noise.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Ratchet glanced up as the three guardians rolled into the base and came to a stop above the Autobot symbol painted on the tiles.
"Back so soon?" he groused. Usually, the more socially inclined among them stayed out for hours after school. Whenever possible, they took the children out for milkshakes, or joyrides, or a drive-in movie, or whatever young humans liked to do for fun these days.
"We have a situation," Arcee said, transforming.
"What is it?" Ratchet demanded, instantly reaching for his toolkit. "Is someone injured?"
"It's the kid, Ratch," Bulkhead explained, depositing Miko in the human corner with the others. "She's gone AWOL."
"Nova's missing?" asked Ratchet. "You mean to tell me you have no idea where she is?"
"Well, we were hoping she'd turn up here," Jack said, leaning on the railing.
"Well, if she's entered the base, none of my sensors picked up on it," Ratchet snorted. "How could you three lose track of a child?"
"She freaked out at school," Miko said, standing next to Jack. "Vince figured out who she was, and she ran off-"
Ratchet whipped around. "Someone recognized her?!"
"Apparently she'd run into him before," Jack explained. "We didn't know it, either."
"So, now she's running around out there with no defenses, no Energon, and no Groundbridge?" Ratchet demanded. "How could we let this happen?"
The three kids looked at him.
Ratchet gave a sigh, putting a hand to his head. "Yes, yes, I suppose this is partly my fault."
"We can decide whose fault it is later," Arcee said firmly. "Right now, we need to pinpoint her location before Fowler gets called in for damage control."
"Speaking of damage control," Raf said, pulling out his laptop with a sigh. "I'd probably better start erasing some of the videos we're about to see."
"Videos?!" Ratchet cried.
"Oh yeah," Miko nodded. "Some of the kids got a camera full of Nova's tin shirt."
"I'm already on it," Raf piped up, before Ratchet could have an aneurysm. "In a couple of minutes, those videos will be deleted from existence forever."
"I gotta call my mom," Jack muttered, pulling out his phone. "I can't believe Nova wouldn't come back to the base. She really seemed to miss everyone…"
"Maybe she thinks we don't miss her," Raf pointed out.
Sighing, Jack put the phone to his ear. "Mom. I know you're busy at work right now, but if Nova comes back to our house, please call us."
"Any luck finding her signature?" Arcee asked, approaching the medic as he typed at his monitor.
Ratchet grumbled. "She must have switched off her tracker. I can't get a fix on her vitals or coordinates. Until she calls us or loses Energon, she's as good as missing."
"Who is missing?"
Everyone froze at the sound of the baritone voice, and all eyes turned to the storage hallway as Optimus entered the room, carrying a few cubes in his arms.
"Scrap," Arcee said under her breath.
At the petrified looks on their faces, Optimus tilted his head. "What is wrong?"
Everyone started to speak at once.
"Um…"
"Well, you see, what happened was-"
"We didn't mean to let her get away, she just flipped out, and-"
"—can't find her until her tracker comes online-"
"—trying to erase the videos—"
"Vince was the only one who recognized her-"
"-thought we should try to find her first-"
"-And we figured she'd come back here, but-"
"She's gone," Ratchet finished.
Optimus was silent for a moment, looking them each in the eye.
One by one, they looked away, until everyone was staring shamefacedly at the ground.
"How long has she been gone?" he inquired quietly.
His voice was utterly calm, but everyone who knew him could tell he was angry. Severely angry.
"About three hours, now," Raf reported meekly. "It's six o'clock."
Sunset hour.
With a nod, Optimus put down the cubes and straightened to his full height.
"Then there is no time to be lost," he said, striding to the exit tunnel. "Arcee, Bumblebee, you will assist in the search. Ratchet, you and Bulkhead continue monitoring for her signal. Notify me the instant you find anything."
His orders were met with sharp "yessirs" as everybody scrambled to obey. Arcee and Bumblebee transformed and sped out of the tunnel behind the big rig, headlights on full as they began the search anew.
"Nova, this is Ratchet," the medic said into the commlink. "Do you read?"
No response came.
"Scrap," the medic swore, trying again.
"Why the big rush, Ratch?" Bulkhead wondered. "I mean, I get that Optimus is worried, but Nova's a smart kid. She can take care of herself, right?"
"Maybe when she's with us," Ratchet replied. "But right now, Nova is alone, exposed and very likely irrational. Besides, we are not the only ones on this planet who scan the globe for Energon signatures."
Bulkhead growled. "The Cons."
"Precisely," Ratchet nodded. "They have her unique biosignature in their database. As long as she is out there and decides to use her armor, she is at risk. We must find her before the Decepticons do, or we will very likely have two dead half-sparks on our hands."
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"Soundwave," Megatron said, "What is this matter you saw fit to bring to my attention?"
The silent comms officer turned away from his computer to reveal a pinging signal on the monitor screen.
"An Energon signature?" Megatron asked, leaning on the console heavily. "Alone?"
Soundwave gave a single nod.
"One of ours?"
Turning to his master, Soundwave's visor lit up and displayed a picture of the half-spark, which had been taken during her brief captivity aboard the warship.
"Ah," the warlord said. "It appears Optimus Prime's pet has wandered too far from home."
Soundwave turned back to the screen, attempting to track the location of the signal. It was stuck somewhere in the middle of Nevada, flickering and unsteady, jumping across a small area as the computer struggled to pinpoint the exact position of the little half-breed.
"I was not aware you could detect the locations of our enemies," Megatron smiled wryly, glancing sideways at the CO. "Marvelous work, Soundwave."
Soundwave's only response was a curt nod. He was rather good at surprising Megatron when the warlord needed a bit of good news.
Soundwave himself had been pleasantly surprised earlier that day when Dreadwing had predicted their master's disadvantage in the fight against Airachnid, and had chosen to take action rather than wait for power to fall into his hands.
Dreadwing had only needed to ask Soundwave for a Groundbridge once, and the CO had been happy to oblige. In Soundwave's experience, first lieutenants tended to come and go, but it was refreshing to have a new recruit who cared for Megatron's well-being for once, even if said recruit was a bit of a fool.
Still, one had to wonder how long it would take for Dreadwing to desire the position of leader for himself. The new SIC would need to be closely monitored despite his loyalty - or perhaps because of it. Soundwave hated a suck-up.
"I think that the retrieval of this little halfling would be very beneficial to our cause," Megatron continued. "Prepare the Groundbridge. I will be back shortly."
He took two steps, and immediately buckled.
At the sudden crash, Soundwave turned from the console to see his leader sprawled out in a rather undignified position on the floor.
Evidently, the Insecticon had dealt more damage than the warlord had assumed. Gladiator though he was, Megatron had his limits.
"I think … a trip … to the medibay … would be very beneficial to our cause," Soundwave quipped through his collection of recorded phrases as he shut off the monitor.
"I do not need a physician," Megatron growled, getting stubbornly to his feet. "I need an advantage. Optimus manages to outpace me at every point, though he commands a team of incompetent, bumbling little-"
Sudden pain cut off his words and caused the warlord to sway to the side, barely able to stay upright, and Soundwave decided to make an executive decision as the second-most-dangerous Decepticon on board.
"I will … send a squadron to … retrieve… the half… spark," he offered. "With permission."
Megatron snarled. "I can manage."
As if amused, Soundwave tilted his head.
"With respect … you cannot."
Megatron opened his mouth to protest, but stumbled before the words could make their way into the air. Soundwave stepped forward to catch him, locking his arms around Megatron's shoulder in such a way that he could bear the immense weight of the warlord. Megatron let out a noise of frustrated pain, but was obliged to lean heavily on his CO to keep upright.
Once they had teetered into a tentative sort of balance, Megatron bowed his head wearily, letting out a deep sigh as his pretense of strength failed. Soundwave considered it fortunate that no troops had been assigned to the bridge until later in the day. Had they witnessed this moment of vulnerability, they would not have seen daylight again.
"Very well," the warlord said softly. "Send a squadron to fetch her. If they fail, at least it will send a warning to Prime that his negligence will not go unnoticed. Once her safety is called into question, he will be plagued with fear."
He let out a derisive chuckle as he spat out the words, "Love. So easily exploited."
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Nova looked down at her lengthening shadow, stretching out over the dust, and dimly began to realize that it was getting dark.
Wearily, she got to her feet and wiped the streaks of tears from her dirty face, filling her lungs with a deep breath. Crying is all well and good in the moment, but once you're done crying and your mind is more clear, you still have a problem to fix, and you need to decide what must be done about it.
Forming her helmet again, the half-spark scuffed her feet in the dirt, mumbling to herself, "What am I going to do?"
Her mind drew a blank. Sometimes, when you're alone in the desert at nightfall, there is a sense of aloneness which makes you feel almost unreal, as though you were able to step back from your life. Your mind chugs lazily along in the silence, as though nothing really made sense or mattered at all.
"Well… I'm not going back to June," she processed aloud. "I can't go to Fowler. He could lock me up, or report me to someone else, or he might get mad at Optimus…"
Optimus.
A spark of hope rose within her. If there was anyone she wanted to see in that moment, it was him.
But he isn't here, her mind insisted, her gaze drifting to her hands as the spark faded. He sent you away.
Her half-heart ached to think of her friends. At this time of day, she would probably be helping Ratchet with the last few chores and listening to the kids' stories from the school day, or she would be with Optimus somewhere, asking him questions or just sitting near and watching him work. She missed all of them, even Ratchet, but she missed her guardian the most.
And she missed Coby.
Despite herself, she began to cry again. It was a dry, painful sort of crying, without many tears, just long, hollow sobs which clutched at the ribs and bruised the heart.
Nova hadn't really allowed herself to think about Coby all day, but his last moments were always lingering in her mind, repeating over and over again and reminding her of the hole in her heart. It was like having a song stuck in your head. You could refuse to sing it all you wanted, but it was still there, and you couldn't get rid of it easily on your own.
Gritting her teeth, Nova forced herself to take another breath, her sobs subsiding out of sheer fatigue. Sometimes, you're so sad you can't even muster up the will to cry anymore.
Shoulders shaking, the girl put her throbbing head in her hands and sighed again.
Though her armor was pulled tight around her body, it felt weak; limp, as though she were covered in mere tissue paper. Her eyes wandered from one thing to another, shifting and blurring. Her breath hitched in exhausted lungs, and her spent limbs trembled even as she stood upright.
The fact that she needed Energon had become increasingly hard to ignore. Normally, she used very little of the precious substance, and her circulatory system was able to efficiently recycle it just as it did her regular blood, but the last few days had been long, and tiring. She'd been burning Energon more than usual by keeping her armor so taut, and had just spent most of her remaining reserves by running away.
She sniffed, her eyes downcast.
I want to go home.
Home. Home did not apply out here. Home was not Jasper. Home was not the desert. Home was not even the planet.
Home was safe. Home was with Optimus.
And once she finally had a chance to taste what having that home had been like, another hole opened up in her heart as she realized it had been taken away.
What did I do so wrong? Why were they trying to get rid of me?
Do they even care about me?
She shook her head. Of course they cared about her.
Right?
Ratchet had fixed her up multiple times, taking care to approach her with more patience than he generally afforded the others. Bulkhead and Bumblebee had talked and joked with her, Arcee had even confided in her on occasion.
And of course Optimus cared for her. He had rescued her, protected her, watched over her. He counted her as ... well, as something, didn't he?
Didn't he?
Why would he? a small, bitter voice whispered. You disgust them. You're an abomination to their species. How could they ever consider you one of them? You're a monster.
Nova shook her head harder, trying to shake her thoughts off like the sand on her skin. But doubt crept into her mind on silent feet. The half-spark squeezed her eyes shut and jammed her hands into her arms, stubbornly refusing to look at herself.
A monster.
And, she thought with a bitter twinge, That's exactly what Silas made you to be.
The thought stopped her in her tracks. The sand felt rough beneath her shoes. Her eyes reverted to a low-lidded state as she stared at the ground.
Maybe it's best that I leave, she decided. I don't belong with them.
I could just … run away.
It was an enticing idea. She would no longer have to worry about anyone or anything except herself. She would never have to hurt anyone ever again. Once she was gone, she could try to lure MECH away. Maybe Silas would leave the Autobots alone, and she would cause pain for them nevermore.
The thought was almost freeing.
Almost.
But a more rational part of her knew that Cylas had found his new favorite toy. Cybertronian biology was his new obsession; the thing he had been working to create his entire career. And now the Autobots had been handed to him on a silver plate. He would never let them go. Just like he would never let her go.
Nova sat down again, thinking this over.
She hated the idea of leaving the base for good. After all that had happened to her, all they had sacrificed for each other, all she had tried to do with them…
And all the warmth she felt when they were around…
Her heart broke just thinking about it.
But I don't want to hurt them.
I can't stay.
A sudden roar in the sky yanked her nerves on end. She jumped to her feet, her head spinning with the sudden altitude change, and her armor struggled to tighten itself around her core and head as she cast her gaze skyward.
Decepticons. Six of them, flying in perfect formation overhead.
Suddenly, the darkness seemed less of a comfort and more of a threat; surrounding her, pressing in on all sides, separating her from everyone else.
Breathing hard, Nova looked around. There were very few places to hide in the desert.
In the failing light, she could barely see a thing, but she knew from her trek that there was nothing around her for a great distance but sand and prickly bushes. The mountains were within sight, dark shadows flung against the deepening blue sky, but even if she ran she could never reach them in time. The road, too, had been lost; she had left it far behind in her blind rush for freedom.
Desperately, Nova dove for the ground and crouched as best she could beneath a larger bush, wild eyes gazing heavenward as the Decepticons flew closer.
Maybe this is just a coincidence, she thought, her chin pressing into the sand. Maybe they aren't after me at all. Maybe if I hold still, they'll go away.
The thudding of her heart seemed louder than the sound of their approaching engines, and it leapt straight into her mouth as the roaring tapered off, giving way to the transformation noise she knew so well.
One, two, three, the Vehicons landed, their feet sending up clouds of dust. Four, five, six, they hit the ground, right beside her. A few feet closer, and she would have been flattened by a giant metal foot.
Her helmet snapped back, and Nova clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle her gasps, staring up at the Vehicon's leg with gritted teeth.
One glint of a searchlight on her armor would give her away.
Sweating, arms trembling as they tried to hold their position, Nova forced herself to hold her breath. One by one, her armor plates began to recede, folding away into her spine as she kept her head in the dirt.
"Welp, we came all the way out here, and I don't see slag," one of the Vehicons announced. "You guys think Commander Soundwave pranked us?"
"Soundwave? No way," one of his comrades fired back. "If he said this is the place; this is the place."
"Spread out," the furthest Vehicon ordered. "Lights on full. It can't have gone far. Their legs are so tiny."
Nova shuffled back as the Vehicon's leg swung forward, narrowly missing her body by a couple of inches. Six searchlights blinked on, bathing the sand and bushes in their harsh, white glow. Nova trembled, keeping her hand clamped over her mouth. She began to gulp down breaths to stay quiet, and her lungs felt like they were on fire. Her heart raced in her chest.
"What do we do with the human once we find it?" one of the Vehicons asked, sweeping his searchlight wide.
"Lord Megatron's instructions were to bring it in alive," the first Vehicon reported. "But he said he's open to other options."
The others laughed.
Nova bit her knuckles between her teeth.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
In the middle of his drive, Optimus was taken wholly off guard as a flare of hot panic stabbed through his Spark. For an instant, the bewildered Prime wondered whether or not his systems were functioning properly, but the next moment he chalked the unfamiliar feeling up to his worry over the missing half-spark, who had not been seen or heard from for at least four hours now.
"Arcee, Bumblebee," he commed. "Have either of you found anything?"
"Not a trace," Arcee replied.
Bumblebee buzzed a negative.
Optimus sighed. "Keep trying."
He switched off the comms, his headlights flaring into the darkness as he drove.
Where was she?
She wasn't dead, he knew that much for certain. Something told him he would have felt more than just panic if she had died.
"Optimus," Ratchet cried into his comms. "I'm detecting six Decepticon energy signatures to the east, about three klicks."
Without hesitation, Optimus swerved to the east, his engine roaring. "Arcee, Bumblebee, follow Ratchet's directions and meet at my position."
"You got it."
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Nova flattened herself further, the fingers of her right hand digging grooves into the dirt. Adrenaline throbbed in her veins, prepping her weary muscles to run, to fight, to survive.
Her whole body was shaking like a leaf, now. The Vehicons had surrounded her on almost every side. The only way out was nearly blocked.
Quietly, forcing herself to remain on the ground, Nova began to creep back, scooting toward the dwindling blind spot.
"If only we had some apples," one of the Vehicons muttered, weaving his searchlight back and forth among the desert flora. "The fleshies on TV always love apples."
"What kind of kooky movies have you been watching?" his partner demanded. "Everyone knows humans' squishy little tongues don't even work at nighttime."
"Oh, great. So it'll be even harder to catch."
All at once, a low-reaching bush dug its needles into the skin of her exposed neck, and Nova let out a strangled cry.
"What was that?"
The white light blasted into her wide-open eyes, and Nova finally snapped.
Blinded by the sudden exposure, she leapt to her feet and bolted away, making a mad dash with no destination in mind. She did not stop, she did not turn around. Her only focus now was to outrun them.
"The fleshie!"
"Grab it!"
"Keep your light on it, Jake!"
"I'm trying!"
"I got it, I got it!"
Something moved in front of her in the darkness, and Nova slammed into something hard. Without her armor, her body came into full contact with the Vehicon's leg, sending a dull burst of pain through her skull.
Stooping, The Vehicon reached down before she could escape and pinned her against himself with his free hand.
"Nice work, Spence," his comrade congratulated him as he lifted her from the ground. "Guess fleshies aren't as intimidating as we thought."
"Careful," another warned, pointing to her half-formed gauntlets. "I think this one's still got teeth."
As promised, Nova let out a blast of laser into the Vehicon's face, and he nearly dropped her, swearing.
"Frag!" he howled. "Gah! She shot me in the eye, holy slag!"
"Gimme that," his partner snapped, grabbing Nova in such a way that her arms were pinned to her sides. "One of you bozos comm the ship for a Groundbridge. Tell them we got a tiny package for the interrogation unit."
At the sound of these words, Nova let out a growl, thrashing in the Vehicon's two-handed grip to no avail.
"Let me go!" she screamed. "Augh! Put me down!"
"It's making a lot of noise," a Vehicon muttered. "Should we shoot it?"
"You bolthead!" the one holding her fired back. "It's harmless. We don't need to shoot it unless it escapes."
A hurtling object of red slammed into him before he could say another word, and Nova found herself sailing into the air as he lost his hold on her.
She twisted in the air, trying to get a view of the ground before she hit it, but she needn't have worried, because someone scooped her up and held her close, durasteel hands closing around her firmly.
Thinking it was another enemy, Nova fought against its hold, but the most wonderful sound in the world stopped her at once.
"Nova," Optimus said. "Don't fight me."
Looking up, tears welling in her eyes, Nova let out a choked noise. "Optimus?"
His kind eyes shone down at her as she gripped his thumb, but a barrage of lasers interrupted their reunion as the Vehicons fought for what they had hoped would be an easy kidnapping.
Optimus raised an arm, protecting Nova as he ducked to the side.
"Hang on to me," he instructed, placing her on his shoulder. Nova did so, her fingers gripping his finial tightly as he dove into the fray.
Lasers flared, swords rang, and metal screeched with the impact of fists as Optimus took on the paltry number of assailants with ease.
Within minutes, the Vehicons had all been destroyed, and their smoldering corpses littered the ground.
Arcee and Bumblebee arrived a few seconds later, weapons at the ready as they transformed.
With a glance at the dead Vehicons, Bumblebee buzzed something to the effect of, "I guess you handled it," and walked over to Optimus.
The Prime was busy with the half-spark, who had begun to cry afresh as she clung to him.
"You came back for me," she sobbed, shaking. "You came back…"
She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the Autobot's doors wearily, breathing a heavy sigh.
With a glance at the others, Optimus raised a finger to his comms. "Ratchet, send a Groundbridge. We are coming home."
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"Optimus, could you come and verify this status report we have on the Energon supplies?" Ratchet asked a while later as he typed away at the monitor screen.
There came no response.
"Optimus?" Ratchet turned around.
The kids were occupied playing video games, Arcee had gone into an early recharge, and Bumblebee and Bulkhead had taken up a position behind the children, cheering on their respective charges as they played the familiar racing game.
Ratchet walked over to the "human corner."
"Have any of you seen Optimus?" he asked.
"He's in the back," Bulkhead replied, his eyes on the game. "I think he was helping Nova bury her brother."
"Well, I need him for these reports," Ratchet said, gesturing to the computer.
"Cool," Miko said, tonguing the inside of her cheek in concentration as she tried to beat Raf. "Could you go find him yourself, Doc? We're trying to play."
Ratchet considered using the wrench, but decided it would probably be less messy (and less illegal) if he just forced her to do some chores later.
With a gruff snort, he turned away and approached the storage hallway at the back of the base.
He did not have to go far to find Optimus.
The Prime was sitting within his modest quarters, one-handedly catching up on some work with their only operational datapad.
Upon a closer inspection, Ratchet could see the residual dirt between the Prime's finger joints, likely from their impromptu burial a few hours ago. Next to him, resting beneath his free hand, was a bundled-up half-spark, sleeping peacefully under his careful watch.
Thinking better of interrupting them, Ratchet withdrew from the room and walked back outside. The inventory reports would just have to wait until the morning.