In the few weeks since she left, Quickshadow was slowly readjusting to her old routines. The first few days were the hardest, and readjusting to her old schedule was particularly difficult as she had to get used to running on less than 4 hours of recharge a night again.
And on top of not getting enough recharge, she trained extensively to sharpen her skill set. Training was mandatory, and she'd forgotten just how rigorous the exercises were.
She wasn't all too happy to discover she'd gotten a little rusty, but who could blame her? As chaotic as life on Griffin Rock could get, she didn't have to use her entire plethora of weaponry or energy to aid in most rescues.
After strenuous hours of training, she'd collapse on her berth and hope 4 hours of recharge would be enough to replenish her energy.
Still, she managed and gradually got used to her old way of life, but now it felt strange, almost foreign. Like she was missing something or didn't belong there anymore.
She assumed that's what working with others did to you.
As she carried out her new assignments, she found herself thinking about the family she'd left behind.
Although she didn't fit in initially, she learned what it meant to be a part of something, what it felt to belong.
She learned so much from them, possibly more than they learned from her. And she wouldn't admit it aloud, but she found her views on teamwork had also changed; not to say she was comfortable depending on others entirely, but she didn't disregard the idea anymore.
She never imagined she'd grow attached to everyone on that island, and yet here she was, missing the semi-peaceful life she left behind.
She remembered how Cody and Frankie hugged her when she told the team she'd be leaving, saddened that she wouldn't be there for their freshman year of high school. How Dani and Hayley teared up because they'd unexpectedly grown close to her and would miss her. How glum the others were when they realized it'd be long before she returned.
And then there was Heatwave. He took it the hardest but maintained a stoic expression all throughout the little farewell party Blades threw in her honor. But once they said their goodbyes and left, he dropped the facade, and she saw how distressed he really was.
Quickshadow promised to keep in touch, and so far, she kept her word.
They communicated through calls or audio messages whenever the other wasn't available to call. And despite their busy agendas, they scheduled video calls at least once a week.
An average call would consist of Heatwave telling her about some bizarre experiment Doc was conducting and how it turned into a full-scale emergency or ranting about Blurr's endless recklessness and wishing she was there to knock some sense into him.
Then, Quickshadow would give him some advice for dealing with the speedster and share her progress on whatever she was working on.
They updated each other on whatever was going on in their lives and had the peace of mind that the other was okay. They could pretend everything was how it used to be. Playful banter and teasing, followed by a quick sparring match that Quickshadow would usually win unless Heatwave played dirty or caught her off guard with a sudden kiss. They could pretend until the emergency alarm went off on Heatwave's end or Quickshadow was given a new task.
Their calls were random at best. But they made for good distractions from their responsibilities. And with the assignments she's been getting lately, she was really looking forward to their upcoming call later that week.
At the moment, she was watching a few guards from the side of a hidden building. At first glance, anyone would believe the facility to be abandoned and lost to the war's rage as it was left in ruins. But a few agents were sent to survey the area and reported finding energon signals inside.
The base was completely surrounded from every side. Their orders were to ensure no Decepticon slipped away.
Her task was to break in and take down their surveillance and security systems with minimal casualties.
She waited for the guards to spread apart, and only then did she attack.
She snuck up behind the first one and pulled him into a headlock to bash his helm into the wall. He collapsed with nothing but a slight gasp.
The commotion alerted the other two guards, and she heard their blasters coming closer.
She pulled herself onto the roof and waited for them to round the corner.
When they didn't find anything, the two Decepticons dropped their guard, giving her enough time to jump down and quickly finish them off.
She snuck into the base; within minutes, the other agents got the signal to inspect the facility.
All she had to do now was keep an eye on the control panels and wait.
The minutes passed, and judging by the security feed, everything seemed to be running smoothly.
Suddenly her engine turned, and she felt a shift in the atmosphere, almost like she was being watched.
She scanned the room until she landed on an odd figure moving through the shadows.
Her first instinct was to follow it, so she chased after it, but it vanished around the corner, and she found no sign of the bot.
Unnerved, she warned the others, but no matter how long they searched, no one found any sign of the bot.
A couple of days passed, and she had similar encounters on a few other missions.
After the third time, she realized he was following her and was now really unsettled.
Heatwave was telling her about an incident with the Scrubber Project when he noticed her off-put stare and thought she looked worried. "You okay?"
Quickshadow blinked, realizing she had zoned off. "Sorry," she apologized, feeling slightly embarrassed. "I'm fine." it sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than him.
"C'mon, Quickshadow." Heatwave sighed. "Don't lie to me."
She drew in a breath and moved to sit up on her berth. "You aren't going to let this go, are you?" she tilted her helm.
"Nope." Heatwave grinned on the screen.
She rolled her optics and laughed.
"What's going on?"
"It's nothing..just." she racked her processor for an explanation. "I have astalker."
"A stalker?" he repeated, optic ridges furrowed.
She shrugged. "This bot..I've noticed him following me out on the field."
Heatwave listened in silence; the more she explained, the more concerned he got.
"He hasn't done anything, he simply stares from a distance, but he doesn't show himself to anyone else." she chuckled dryly. "I'm honestly starting to believe I'm going insane."
"Do you know why he's targeting you?"
She shook her helm, and they sat in silence for a second.
"No.." she sighed. "I followed him, but he just vanish—" suddenly, her engine turned, and she felt nauseous. She slapped a servo to her mouth plates and scrambled to the washroom.
"Quickshadow?!" she heard Heatwave's voice from the other room.
He was sitting at his desk, confused and feeling utterly useless.
Quickshadow returned minutes later, muttering a quiet 'I'm fine' even though she was still holding her lower abdomen.
Before Heatwave could bombard her with questions, she assured him she was okay.
"I probably consumed some spoilt energon; I'm okay."
Heatwave studied her face and slowly nodded, letting the topic go.
She'd been feeling slightly under the weather lately and blamed it on her lack of rest. Maybe her exhaustion was making her delirious. That could explain why she was the only one who could see that bot.
A few more days passed, and she gave up a few hours of training for extra sleep and began to feel better.
She was sent to observe a large facility. According to the superintendent, this was likely the largest group of Decepticons, and taking them out would make capturing the rest much more manageable.
Perched atop a ledge, she studied the enemies' movements and took note of any patterns she caught.
But out of the corner of her optic, she saw the familiar dark figure glide across the rooftop, and she could've sworn she saw gold optics staring back at her.
But the shadow quickly moved on, leaving her to wonder if she'd really seen it.
Refocusing on her task, she collected her data and left, deciding she probably just needed more recharge.