A/N: So far my practical exams are doing good… If I didn't post this chapter my ideas would be stuck in my head and it will bug my studies xD and i just re-watched AOT... I love Optimus' new design and Lockdown's badass-ness (his alt-form really) hehe...
Shanter: Awww thank you so much!
The Silvernote: I'm glad you like this story ^^
CastielLunaWinchester: xD Thank you and sure, I'll check those out *wink
Storygirl747: Haha don't worry, she'll grow out of she shell
Kat151820: thank you for the suggestions ^^
Mywinx14: That's a good guess ^^ I like them too xD
Jgoss: Do you mean Sideswipe? Well, Bee didn't talk to Zoe, but he talked to Optimus about the conditions.
CodeSixty: Hehe thank you ^^ That's would be great! Thanks!
AutobotGuy710: Thank you!
yuki. sawer. 7: hehe thanks!
Chapter 9: Discovery
"Impa— now —re we?"
"Copy 2 out of 5." Epps said as he listened to the conversation between Zoe and the Decepticons. Another man kept on working on communication device to get a better signal. The African-American man adjusted his earpiece, listening to get a clearer sound. He held his hand for the soldier working beside him to stop turning the knob. "Hold it."
"I heard that you have been helping our Scout for the past month."
"Copy 4 out of 5." Epps gave a thumbs up to stop the soldier from turning the knob again. He got a good hearing on what's happening in the warehouse. He turned to look to his other side, facing his partner. "We have two. Startscream and Barricade…Frenzy too." A disbelief look came across his face as he shook his head.
Lennox nodded. "Anything else?"
Epps held up a finger, motioning for him to wait a second. "Tell me, do you have the AllSpark?" his eyes widened to the size of saucers. He turned to face Lennox, his eyes still wide open and his lips set in a line.
Lennox eyes him suspiciously. "What? What did Startscream say?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows.
"Zoe has the AllSpark." Epps announced for the whole crew to hear. Every single of the soldiers who were riding in a military truck turned to face the man. "She has it this whole time… Ironhide was totally right. We should've trust his old rusty nose. We ain't gonna hear the end of it from him."
"Damn…" Lennox leaned his head back, sighing from his mouth. How could a fourteen year old out-smart a whole bunch of military men and the Autobots? Sure she seemed smart and good at hiding emotions, but come on! She's a fourteen year old! The NEST field commander turned to look at his friend, "If we met her in a different kind of situation, I'm sure as hell NEST would find a way recruit her when she's older." He admitted his loss to a teenager.
"Shhhhhh!" Epps pressed his finger on Lennox's lips, who immediately slapped his finger away. He heard a few gears whirring. A female Decepticon was heard talking from the earpiece. People would think the female version would be at least a little less cruel, but this female Decepticon was the exact opposite. In fact, she's way worse than the original level of cruel and evilness of a regular Decepticon. He did not like where this was going. "Oh shit man! Airachnid's there!" he shouted.
"Alright guys, we have at least two civilians and four or maybe even more Decepticons in that warehouse. This is going to be one of our biggest battle against the Decepticons since Mission City." Lennox quickly said, debriefing every soldier on the rescue mission.
It was a good thing Bumblebee placed a small listening device on her backpack. Otherwise this whole thing would forever be unknown to NEST. After the scout heard Zoe's conversation with Frenzy, he quickly reported everything to Optimus and after that, NEST's team was soon dispatch.
"Bumblebee has already arrived and will act if the Decepticons do something that might hurt Zoe or her brother. When we arrive, Team 1 will enter the building. Our top priority is getting the civilians out of the battlefield. Got it? Good. Team 2 and 3 will provide aid to the Autobots. Are we clear?" Lennox instructed clearly.
"Sir, yes, sir!"
"Good." Lennox took a deep breath. "Let's just hope nothing bad happens."
Epps turned to face him. "Dude, don't say that. It'll always lead to something bad. Do you even remember Operation: Rat Attack?"
Lennox groaned. "Don't remind me."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"What's wrong with the human? She's been like that since five minutes ago." The Decepticon, Sideways, pointed out. He was still in his alternative-mode, refusing to transform when most of the space was hogged up by Starscream himself and of course Airachnid. "I think we broke her. Too bad though, I wanted to see how much she could take when you kill her brother." He turned his front wheels side to side without moving forward.
Airachnid smiled as she approached the girl, leaning down. "Aww don't listen to Sideways, child. I'm not going to kill your sibling..." She stood behind Zoe's small figure. She stroked Zoe's head gently with her claw-like servos. "yet." She whispered into the brunette's ear. "In fact, I'll even do it quickly so he won't feel any pain at all. It will just be like a papercut." She chuckled darkly when she saw the darkened look on Zoe's face.
"Do me a favor and shut up. I don't want to hear your tone-deaf voice." Zoe said, averting her eyes to glare at the purple ones staring at her.
The spider-like-Decepticon grinned. "My, my, we should do something with that mouth of yours." She faced the girl from above, staring at the girl upside-down. "It could get you killed one day." She cooed, spurting the web-like-thread to shut the girl's mouth.
Zoe quickly ripped the web-like-thread off and spitted to the floor. "Disgusting." She wiped her mouth with her hoodie's sleeve as her eyes narrowed. She threw the thread to the ground and stepped on it. "Please refrain from spitting your web to me. I hate insects, especially spiders." She hissed.
"M-Master…" Frenzy whispered to his master. He didn't like the way the other Decepticons were treating his new-found human friend. Sure she was irritating and a brat at first, but being stuck with her for more than a month meant something for the cassette. Her cold demeanor was just a shell. She was a really helpful kid that would help someone in her own cold way. Not that he would admit it out loud. "I… I don't like w-where this is going." He stiffened when Airachnid lifted Zoe's chin up.
Barricade didn't move. "…silence." He said lowly, only for the cassette to hear. His spark ached a little when Airachnid and the other Decepticons kept on torturing the fragile human verbally to break her sanity. Wait—ache? Since when does he—Barricade—one of the most loyal scout to Megatron ever feel sympathy to someone, and a fleshling to add. "It's her own fault for provoking Airachnid." He grunted.
"I'm getting impatient here." The Decepticon Barricade—Breakdown—said impatiently. He moved a little forward, revving his engine loudly. "Let's just squish her already. We can take the AllSpark faster like that." He was tempted to bring out his mighty hammer.
Starscream raised his servo. "We cannot do that to this lovely human girl." he said as he motioned his servo for Airachnid to step away from the girl. "We don't want to taint the AllSpark with her flesh and blood." He laughed menacingly.
Zoe merely closed her eyes. "I'm flattered, really." She said sarcastically. "To tell you freaks the truth, you're not all that scary. I find you all…disgusting." She said, her voice and expression calm when the silver Audi roared his engine.
"I had it with this fleshling! Taint or no taint, I'm going to squish her!" Sideways' wheels rotated quickly, leaving tire marks on the ground as it caused dust clouds to gather. His alternative mode lurched forward, but he was immediately blocked by the Decepticon scout. "Barricade what the frag? Get out of my way!" he shouted.
"We can't harm the human, Sideways. She has the AllSpark and we can use her to infiltrate the Autoscums' base. She knows where it is." The scout reasoned. "Isn't that right, human?"
"What if I say 'yes'?" Zoe replied. "But even if I do say 'yes' I would never tell the likes of you."
"I can make you talk." Breakdown said smugly, confident that he would make the human talk.
"Just try if you can, Tinhead." Zoe taunted, glaring at the vehicle.
The air was thick with tension, she could feel it.
"Yehaa! Ride 'em cowboy!" the doors suddenly burst open, breaking the wood. A yellow Camaro skidded to a stop and began to transform in mid-way. His battle-mask was slipped on as he grabbed Starscream and threw the Second in Command out of the warehouse. "You want a piece of me, hotshot?! Come and get some!" he jumped in place, positioning himself in a battle stance.
Starscream hissed. "Autoscum!" the larger Cybertronian growled as the back of his hand began to form a plasma cannon.
The yellow scout, turned his attention a split second to the brunette. "Hide yourself! Trust me…help…is on the way." He browsed through different radio channels, mixing them all together to form a sentence.
Breakdown smirked as he finished transforming into his bi-pedal mode. "Finally some action around here! I'll take care of that slagging scout!" he ran, his giant footsteps making the ground shook with every step he took.
Zoe stared at Bumblebee fighting the two Decepticons bravely. She frowned at the scout's choice to face these Decepticons alone. But nonetheless, she dashed towards her brother. Her eyes landed on the piece of broken glass scattered around. She took the sharp glass and cut through the thick web Airachnid trapped her brother in. She grimaced when the glass scratched her palm, but she has to withstand it for a few more seconds.
"Don't think that we've forgotten about you, fleshy!" Sideways began to transform into his bi-pedal form. The side of his face was suddenly hit by a sharp object. Some of the objects fell to the ground with the 'cling'ing sound resonating in the warehouse. Zoe stared at the object. It was a shuriken. "Frenzy! You slag head! You missed!" the silver Decepticon hollered.
Frenzy blinked, "S-Sorry… M-My aim i-is bad." He apologized. He glanced over to Zoe for a brief second, silently hoping for Zoe to get the message. 'I got your back.'
"Get your optics fixed, you useless insect!"
'Thank you.' Zoe caught his look and quickly dragged her brother's limp body to the sidelines. She was careful not to drag any attention from Sideways and Airachnid. She didn't bother with Barricade. His alternative-mode was facing her and he didn't do anything to stop her or alert others that she was escaping. The girl quickly hide behind a large crate, glancing around the hiding spot. The window was too high for her to climb, plus she can't even lift her brother. The front door was out of the option since a fight between Bumblebee and Starscream and Breakdown was occurring. 'We're stuck until Bumblebee takes care of the Decepticons.' She thought warily, glancing over the edge of the crate to find Sideways looking for her with Airachnid nowhere to be seen. 'Where is that Spider Freak?'
Her head perked up when she heard gunshots coming from out of the warehouse. She kept on looking over the crate, trying to figure out what was doing on. She heard Sideways curse in an unknown language before turning himself back to his car mode. He, Barricade and Frenzy quickly sped out of the warehouse, leaving only tire marks on the floor.
Zoe sighed in relieve. 'I guess they're scared of NEST…' she sat down and leaned her back against the crate, closing her eyes. She turned her head to see her brother in an unconscious state. 'Aiden…'
-x-x-x-x-x-(flashback)-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Knock Knock
"Zoe? Can I come in?" Eighteen year old, Aiden, peeked his head inside of the dark room. His eyes scanned the room and spotted his sister sitting on the bed with a blanket over her head. The door creaks open when the teen went inside, letting the light in the halls shine some light into the room. He stopped a few steps away from the bed, glancing over to his right to find the TV was on. A classic kids' show was showing. "C'mon Zo, you can't keep watching Dora the Explorer all day… I know it's educational too, but you're ten. I don't want you going on adventures on your own with a monkey." He joked.
There was an awkward silence between the two siblings. Aiden sighed, scratching the back of his head with his right hand, keeping his left hand behind his back. The platinum blond sat on the edge of the bed.
"You can't be like this Zoe, I know it's hard for you to let go, but could you at least try?" Aiden said softly and stared at his sister, trying to at least get her to talk again. His sister didn't respond. "You've been like this since Mom forbids you from figure skating. You haven't eaten properly or even talk to anyone for a week. We're really worried, Zo… I'm worried." He tried to look at her face, but she quickly covered it with the blanket.
Aiden sighed. "…how about you try another hobby? Like origami-folding, baking, making poems—No?" the eldest Campbell stopped when his sister turned to look at him with a glare—disagreeing with all of the choices he gave her. "Haha well umm, how about photography? It doesn't involve skating or ice and you also don't need to be an expert to take pictures." He said.
"Photography?" finally, she answered.
Aiden nodded his head. "It's easy! All you need to do is klick and done!" he said enthusiastically. "And to get you started on this new hobby, we have a little something for you. It's from your Dad and I… I hope you like it." He revealed the box he kept hidden behind his back.
Zoe turned to face her brother, her eyes staring at the box curiously. She gingerly took the box and ripped the wrapper open. Her eyes stared at the picture printed on the box. It was a classic Rolleiflex TLR.
"It was Dad's before he moved on to digital. I wanted to buy you a new one, the Blackbird one, but it turns out, it wasn't coming out any time soon. They said that they're still working to perfect it." Aiden admitted. He watched as Zoe examined the camera, turning it around. "But… if the Blackbird comes out, I'll promise to buy you one." He promised, holding out his pinky.
"…okay." Zoe laced her pinky with his.
"Great! How about you start using your camera to capture the moment! That way you won't ever forget that we made this promise!" Aiden exclaimed and taught Zoe which things to do before pulling the trigger down. "Now take a picture of me~!" he sang, a large grin on his face.
Zoe stared at her brother's silly grin.
-x-x-x-x-(end of flashback)-x-x-x-x-x-x
'At that moment… I realize that my brother's smile is worth more than anything.' Zoe let out a heavy sigh. Her love for her brother was far greater than anything. She would do anything that would make her brother happy, just to see the smile that brought her out of her depression. 'Don't worry, Aiden… I'll find a way out of this.'
"Zoe! Are you in here?" The voice of Lennox rang in the empty space of the warehouse.
The brunette moved her hand, showing it from her hiding spot.
"Oh thank God!" Lennox let out the breath he has been holding. He along with his team ran towards the girl's hiding spot. The man crouched down beside the brunette. "Are you okay? Anything hurt?" he asked concernedly as he take a good look, trying to find any injuries, but he was glad that there weren't any.
"My brother." Zoe said, ignoring Lennox's question about her health.
Epps quickly checked Aiden's pulse. "Don't worry. He's just unconscious." The African-American man put his gun away and motioned his head for another soldier to do the same. The two of them quickly placed each of Aiden's arm around their shoulder to support his weight. "Let's just get the heck out of here… This place gives me the creeps." He said, voicing out everyone's thoughts.
Lennox nodded. He helped Zoe up to her feet. "Right." He lifted his hand up to press a button in his earpiece. "This is Team 1. The hostages have been rescue—!"
"Not so fast." Airachnid landed in front of the group of soldier. She creeped forward, moving in a slow pace to intimidate the humans. Lennox quickly pushed Zoe behind him as Epps and the other soldier stepped back. The other two stood by Lennox's side, their guns ready to shoot. "Oh my, oh my, look what we have here? If it isn't NEST field commander. I knew you would come."
"Stand back Zoe." Lennox ordered, pointing his gun at the Decepticon's head.
"And let's not forget the star of the show." Airachnid's optics narrowed to Zoe, who glares at the Decepticon. The team backed away when Airachnid moved forward. "To think that a small human girl would cause us so much trouble. You must be really something." She laughed. "In fact, I think I want to add your head to my private collection."
"You sick psychotic Decepticreep!" Epps shouted, staring at the Decepticon with disgust. "How could you sleep at night?"
"I recharge like a happy little spider." Airachnid answered smoothly. Two of her spider legs were high up above her head, ready to strike. "Now prepare to die!"
Lennox and the other two soldiers began to shoot the spider-like Decepticon. Airachnid kept on jumping from place to place, making it difficult for them to shoot her down, but they kept on moving towards the exit. Airachnid shoot one of her webs to one of the armed soldiers, disarming him. The other quickly helped his fallen comrade as Lennox provide cover.
"There's no escape humans. Hand me the AllSpark and the girl, and you will be let to live another day." Airachnid said from above the ceiling, her purple optics glowing in the dim-lighted room.
Lennox scoffed. "If that happens then what kind of soldier am I?"
"So be it." Airachnid charged down.
But before her legs could even touch the ground, she was tackled by a familiar blue Autobot. Zoe's eyes widened at the sight of the female Autobot coming into action. Arcee punched Airachnid right on her face, sending her flying back. She coolly narrowed her plasma gun at the Decepticons, her blue optics glaring.
"Arcee! Can you take Airachnid anywhere else?" Lennox asked, staring at the blue Autobot and then to the exit located at the other side of the warehouse.
Arcee smirked. "I'll try." She shot a couple of rounds at the Decepticon, but missed as Airachnid was moving too fast. The Autobot was shocked when Airachnid appeared out of nowhere and tackled her to the ground. She avoided getting stabbed by Airachnid's legs, holding two in her servos as she moved her helm every time the legs tried to stab her. "Get off!" she yelled.
"Exit's blocked off and Arcee's in trouble! We need back up!" Lennox yelled over the earpiece as he tries his best to shoot Airachnid to distract her.
'There has to be another way.' Zoe thought, staring at Arcee and Airachnid. She glanced around trying to find a loophole. Her sharp calculating eyes scanned over the broken properties of the warehouse. Her green eyes landed on the broken walking platform located right on top of the fighting femmes. She looked at the pistol strapped on Epps' thigh. 'It's worth a shot.' She took the pistol, surprising the man.
"Z-Zoe! What are you doing?! That's not a toy! You're not even old enough to hold one!" Epps scolded.
Zoe ignored him. She closed her left eye trying to be more accurate in her shot. She lifted the pistol up to her eye level. She pulled the trigger twice, the two shots rigging in the warehouse. The two bullets precisely hit the rusted wires holding up the platform on the right side. The platform quickly swings down, only knocking Airachnid away. The NEST soldiers and Arcee stares at Zoe in disbelief as she lowers the pistol.
"I watched a lot of spy movies, okay?" Zoe shrugged.
"Well whatever kind of movie you watched worked. So let's get moving!" Lennox said, taking the girl's hand.
"Thanks for the safe, kid." Arcee thanked as she ran alongside the humans to provide them cover from the fight going on outside. "Go ahead. I'll cover. Ratchet's waiting for you." She said curtly, helping Bumblebee with shooting a couple of times at Breakdown.
"Alright! All we have to do is go through the other side where Ratchet is." Epps shouted.
Zoe gave him a deadpan look. It was impossible for them to get across without the risk of getting shot, stepped on, and blown apart. It was a completely different scene from the warehouse. The Decepticons seemed to multiply. There were more than five, but most of them looked the same. How could there be more Decepticons than Autobots? "You could at least tell your medic to come get us here." She said flatly.
Epps rolled his eyes. "It's not my fault, okay? It's hard for him to slip past the trees and all this shit." He said.
"We need to find another way. Follow me!" Lennox quickly turned to his left, trying to find a way to go around the fight. He pressed on the earpiece. "Ratchet! We need you to get as close as possible!"
"Right." Ratchet answered through the device. The H2 Hummer moved. Driving itself into the battlefield. "Cover for me, Ironhide." He said.
"Roger!" Ironhide grunted, firing shots at the Decepticon who tried to get in Ratchet's way. "Deceptipunk! Can't even learn to back off!" he shouted over the noise.
A Decepticon—the Vehicon—to be precise, turned his helm to the direction of Lennox's team. He aimed his cannon at the team, shooting once before he was off-lined by the Weapon Specialist himself. Everything seemed to move in a slower pace when the Vehicon fired.
"Lennox!" Ironhide yelled out a warning.
Lennox quickly turned his head and grabbed Zoe. He jumped out of the plasma bullet's way, twisting his body around so he would take the hit instead of the girl in his arms. As there was an explosion because of the bullet, they landed on the ground, skidding to a stop a few feet away. The NEST field commander groaned, lifting his body up when it was over. He looked over to the other side, spotting that his entire team made it out of the explosion alive and without injuries.
Lennox turned back his attention to Zoe. "You okay?" he asked.
"…what do you think?" Zoe clicked her tongue, standing up to her feet.
"You're good. Let's go." Lennox answered quickly, taking the girl's hand again. There was another round of fire, making them duck down to take cover. "We need to split up! Epps! Take care of Aiden!" he shouted.
Zoe refused to move when Lennox tugged. "Zoe! We need to get out of here! Trust me, your brother is in good hands." He said, placing both hands on the girl's shoulders. He leaned his head down a little to look at the brunette's eyes. "You need to listen to me. The Decepticons are after you, not your brother. We need to get you out of here." He repeated, a serious look on his face.
Zoe stared down at her shoes.
"Let's get going." Lennox said, dragging her again, this time she complied. He knew that look. She was worried for her brother. He understood that feeling. It was the same feeling he had when his wife gave birth to Annabelle. He was worried as hell when he waited in that hospital's waiting room. But in the end, all turned well and he's now a father to his precious baby girl. "Ratchet will get to your brother in time. He isn't going to let a anyone die." He reassures.
The brunette sighed as she decided to trust Lennox with his judgement. She didn't like the thought of Ratchet being the only Autobot to protect her brother, but Lennox does have a point. The Decepticons were after her because she has the AllSpark, the thing that started all of this mess. She followed Lennox as he guided her out of the battlefield, hiding behind a tree as he held his gun, shooting at the Decepticons.
"We'll be safe here. I've called Sideswipe to pick us up. Just stay down." Lennox instructed.
Zoe sat on the ground, leaning her back against the tree's trunk. She looked over her shoulder, taking a peek at the battlefield. Though there was a difference in number, the Autobots were winning, especially since Optimus arrived. The Autobot leader has been killing the many-look-alike Decepticons left and right. He was good, far better than any Autobot out in the field, she noted.
Her green eyes glanced over to where Ratchet is.
"Get in!" Ratchet automatically opened the back door.
Epps quickly complied. He was about to carry Aiden inside when a white thread was shot to block the back door. The white thread was also shot to Ratchet's wheels, making him unable to drive or even transform. His holoform appeared in a flash. If he can't transform to his bi-pedal mode or drive in his alternative-mode, he can help with his holoform.
"Sergeant Epps, please move back." Ratchet ordered, his electric blue eyes flashing dangerously.
Epps and the three soldiers moved back, afraid that they will get caught up with the wrath of the medic.
"Ratchet." Airachnid greeted, a smile on her metal lips.
"Airachnid." Ratchet returned, his eyes cold and hard.
"You disguised yourself as a pathetic human? You know that in your human form you can't defeat me." Airachnid said, walking closer to face the medic. "Tell you what? I'm only here to retrieve the human boy. I'll let the others leave if you surrender the boy to me. He's an important asset to us." She smiled sickly.
"Don't push your luck." Ratchet pushed his glasses up to the bridge of his nose.
"Very well then."
Zoe stood up when she deemed it was enough to look at Airachnid getting near her brother. She looked over to her left hand, the pistol still gripped tightly in her hand. The brunette ran from her hiding spot, surprising Lennox.
"ZOE! WAIT!" Lennox yelled, running to catch the girl.
The brunette stopped a few meters away from Airachnid and Ratchet. She fired twice at Airachnid to get her attention. It did. The spider-like Decepticon turned her head to face the person who dares to shoot her, though the simple bullets didn't do any damage to her armor. Her purple eyes gleamed when she found out that it was the precious child she was looking for.
"You wanted to see me?" Zoe asked, her voice calm as she still had the gun pointed at the Decepticon.
"Adella?!" Ratchet said, surprise and anger evident in his voice. "Get the frag out of here! You're just making it easy for her!" he continued.
Zoe ignored the medic. "They have nothing to do with this." She said as she watched the Decepticon crawling to her. "I have a deal to offer." she looked up to stare at Airachnid's optics, her eyes cold and sharp.
"Oh? I'm all ears." Airachnid was interested in the deal. No humans, much less a Decepticon, would even dare make a deal with her.
"You and your freaky friends get the heck out of here and never bother my family again." Zoe said her part of the bargain.
"What's in it for us?" Airachnid considered Zoe's part, thinking that it was easy enough to accomplish.
"You get the AllSpark and my head."
Lennox and a couple more people who heard her deal were completely shocked. "WHAT?!"
Airachnid seemed taken aback.
Zoe closed her eyes. "You Decepticons won't stop bothering my family until you get what you wanted. I'm giving you the stupid rock if you want it that badly." She reached her hand inside her hoodie's pocket, pulling out the familiar rock. "Second, you work separately when it comes to collecting heads. You also wouldn't stop bothering my brother until you get your grimy hands on mine." She explained, opening her eyes to look at Airachnid, her eyes devoid of all emotion. "Do we have a deal?"
"Zoe are you mad?! What kind of deal was that?! You can't just make a deal that would only benefit the bad side!" Epps shouted in disbelief.
"Zoe, back away from the deal. This won't be a benefit on your side at all." Ratchet tried to reason with the girl's crazy ideas.
"I'm only ending it sooner." Zoe simply answered. "Humans face death in the end of their life anyway… Do we have a deal, Airachnid?" she asked again.
Airachnid grinned, offering her servo for the girl to shake. "Deal."
Zoe stared at her metal hand. "I don't shake hands. Only words are enough." She gripped on the rock tightly. "Just get it over with." She sighed.
"Don't worry I'll make it as quickly as possible. I do love it when my prey is obedient." Airachnid raised her blade.
The blade slowly swung at the perfect angle to cut Zoe's head clean off her shoulders. The soldiers stared in horror as Airachnid swung the blade. Lennox quickly fired his gun. "NO!"
Slash
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Y-You're n-not g-going to help, M-Master?"
"I'm in no condition to engage in this pit blasting battle." Barricade answered as he hid in the dense forest. He could still perfectly hear the battle with his sensitive audio-receptors. "Curse that blasted human." He murmured under his breath, referring to Zoe.
He hate to admit it, but he was getting attached to the human girl. The Decepticon could relate to her a little, just a little. Sure humans were annoying, especially Zoe, but she was somewhat loyal to him even though she hates him. It confuses him how the mind of the girl works. It always makes him wonder why the girl would always provoke him in some way that might get her killed. The thing was, the girl wasn't afraid when he slammed his fist beside her or even threatened to blast her to dust.
The scout found Zoe…an interesting human.
Frenzy looked over the trees to look at the battle. His optics zoomed in. "I-It look l-like Airachnid and Z-Zoe are talking."
Barricade turned his helm.
"You get the AllSpark and my head."
"The frag?" Barricade raised an optic-ridge. "Is she out of her mind?!" he shouted, standing up to his pedes.
The Decepticon scout quickly ran pass the trees, Frenzy on his shoulder. He reached the clearing in no time at all, finding out that he was in the right time and moment when Airachnid was about to behead the girl. He rammed into the female Decepticon, failing her attempt to kill the girl.
"Do not touch what is mine." Barricade hissed as he slashed one of Airachnid's spider legs. "The girl belongs to me." He added.
"Barricade?!" Airachnid exclaimed angrily. "Your spark has gone soft, you slag-head. You are a fool for letting a human slip into your cold spark." She said, grimacing when she placed a servo on her severed leg.
The two Decepticons prepared themselves to engage in battle.
"Decepticons! Retreat!" The voice of the SIC shouted through the field, alerting everyone. Airachnid cursed under her breath. "Leave the pathetic scout behind! Get the AllSpark!" he ordered lastly before transforming into the military jet, flying away in high-speed.
Airachnid glared at Barricade before dashing forward to take the AllSpark from Zoe's hand. The brunette just stood there and raised her hand, offering the AllSpark. The spider-like Decepticon took the AllSpark, running past the girl and then turning into a helicopter. She loomed above the brunette, flashing her light at her.
"This isn't over."
Zoe merely stared at the helicopter, glaring at it. Her attention turned to Barricade. "You're not running away too?" she asked.
Barricade grunted.
"M-Master was wo-worried about you." Frenzy sniggered.
"Pesky Insect!" Barricade shouted.
"Freeze you Deceptipunk!" Ironhide shouted, his cannon clearly right behind Barricade's frame. "You aren't using the girl anymore to do your dirty work." He growled.
"Do as you please, Autoscum." Barricade answered.
"Zoe! That was crazy! And I didn't mean it in the good way! You could've gotten yourself killed!" Lennox scolded as he dragged the girl away from the cassette.
"Oh? At least we're all alright." Zoe said, placing her two fingers on her temple to massage it. She was feeling a headache coming.
The gold Corvette Stingray crossed his arms over his chest. "Great… not only the AllSpark is in the Decepticreeps' servos, we have this fragger too." Barricade growled in respond when Sunstreaker jabbed his digit at the black and white mech. "And it's all because of one human girl." he rolled his optics at the girl.
Zoe huffed in annoyance.
"Sunstreaker. Do not blame the child. She did not do it on purpose." Optimus' voice scolded the mech. His tall figure was seen walking towards the group of humans. He smiled at the girl who frowned at him. "We will retrieve the AllSpark back in another time. For now, we shall return to base." He announced the retreat.
"It was only a dumb rock." Zoe suddenly said.
"Dumb? Dumb?! It's the AllSpark for Primus' sake! The source of life! How could you say that it's a dumb rock?! You humans don't understand anything!" Sunstreaker raged, striding forward to teach the girl a lesson.
"Sunstreaker stand down!" Optimus ordered as Sideswipe and Ironhide held the mech back. "And Zoe, please do not provoke him any further." The Autobot leader said.
Zoe sighed. "I'm not lying." She said, taking off her backpack. He also took off her hoodie and held it in her arms. She dug her hand inside the hoodie of her jacket. She pulled out another rock, holding it in her hand loosely. "Like I said. It was only a stupid rock." she remained passive when she heard multiple noises.
"The AllSpark?! How! We all saw you give it to Airachnid!" Sideswipe voiced out everyone's thoughts.
Zoe scowled. "Do you think I'm that stupid? I know that this thing is important to you both. I know which side is better." She took a deep breath. "I figure since it looks similar to any rocks here, I thought it might fool the Decepticons for a few hours maybe. You said it yourself, didn't you? You 'felt' the AllSpark's presences because of the radiation on me. The Decepticon won't know it if they aren't out of range yet." She said, tossing the AllSpark to Ratchet's holoform.
"That's ingenious." Ratchet murmured.
"Wow Zoe… just wow…" Lennox said in amazement as she walked pass by him. She was by her brother's side when he turned his body around. The man approached the girl, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Sorry I doubted you… really."
"…whatever." Zoe answered slowly.
"…" Lennox stared at the weak respond. "Are you alright? You look paler than usual. Ratchet." He called the medic.
"Don't. I'm fine. Just tired." Zoe replied curtly.
"Fine my aft. Your temperature has risen drastically." Ratchet scanned the girl. His eyes widened and handed the AllSpark to Lennox. He quickly supported the girl when her legs gave out. "We have to return back to base immediately! Can you find another Autobot who's available to take Aiden? I need Adella to ride with me." He turned to face Lennox, his eyebrows furrowed down.
"That's easy to handle. Is Zoe alright?" Lennox asked concernedly.
"Yeah. She's just tired, right?" Epps added.
Ratchet lifted the girl gently into his arms.
Barricade narrowed his optics at the medic. This doesn't seem good.
"W-What's w-wrong with Zoe?" Frenzy questioned.
"I don't know if your sensors are broken or not, but she's having a heart attack or CHD to be precise." Ratchet said as he placed the girl in the back of his hummer.
Barricade's spark seemed to break at the news.
A/N: Ahhh! What's going to happen next?!
Special thanks to:
Storygirl747, don't walk in the rain storm, kat151820, matthewcortes93, Eunice Pacheco, MavisVermillion54, The Silvernote, It199789
for adding this story to their favs!
Special thanks to:
Lil-B-Rebel, Storygirl747, kat151820, matthrecortes93, Eunice Pacheno, The Silvernote, It199789
for adding this story to their alerts!
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