A/N: Heya, everyone! Sorry it took so long to update. I couldn't get myself to sit down and do it. Hope ya like it, and please R+R. I do not own Transformers, only Katie.
XXX
The doors hissed to a close, hydraulics releasing a small burst of white steam as they relaxed, the slight 'bang' resounding through the empty room and hanging in the tense air. All four stood, rigid as their glazed eyes remained on the exit, absorbed in their own thoughts. Finally, the Asian girl jumped from her stiff position, swiveling on her toes to face her companions. Her eyes glimmering with her excitement, she leapt into the air slightly, landing with her feet apart and her arms braced in front of her chest.
"That was intense!" she caterwauled, fidgeting with her glee. Jack's face darkened in fury, and he turned on his heel, glowering down at the girl with pure rage.
"It's your fault we're stuck in this intensity!" he exclaimed, voice just over a whisper as he clenched his fists. Kate took a nervous step back from the two, colliding into Raf, who quickly took her hand in his own, watching the argument with rapt attention. "What were you thinking?"
"Did I ask you to follow me?" she demanded, leaning forward as her excitement turned to fury.
"Didn't you want u to be a band?" he rhetorically demanded, glaring daggers. "Doesn't that usually mean playing together?"
"Well, maybe I decided to go solo!" she exclaimed, crossing her arms as she fumed.
"Ever think I may have some regard for your safety?" he retorted, face masked with disbelief.
"Oh, is your name 'Optimus'? You can leave my protection to Bulkhead, thank you very much, and worry about Katie!"
"Stop it!" Raf suddenly screamed at the top of his lungs, capturing their attention instantly. "Both of you!" Before they could respond, he broke into a sprint, disappearing behind a large metal structure jutting from the ground. Jack paused, anger vanishing as he caught sight of his sister, tears coursing down her face. He quickly stepped over, gently pulling her into his arms before following Miko over to Raf.
Reaching the distraught boy, they both lowered themselves to the floor, legs dangling over the edge of the small cliff with Kate in her brother's lap.
"Hey, it's gonna be okay, Raf," Miko soothed, kicking her feet as she attempted to console him, glancing to Kate as well.
"Yeah, our 'Bots'll come back for us!" Jack vowed, gently squeezing Katie as he wrapped his arms around her.
"They'll take us home!" Miko continues, gently nudging each in with her shoulder in turn.
"How do you know?" Raf challenged, burying his face in his knees. Kate looked up at them both, clearly hoping for an answer. Both teens paused, sharing a tentative, uncertain gaze. They could not answer that question. Suddenly, a green flare caught Jack's eye, the flash bringing his attention to the wall. He bit back a gasp as he looked up, chewing his bottom lip and squinting.
"Hey, Raf," he nervously called out. "What do you make of that?" He slowly lifted his head, straightening immediately as his eyes landed on the glowing green monitor, diagrams and numbers scrawled neatly across. He paused a moment.
It's important." He stated. "Real," he looked to the teen. "Important."
"How do you know it's not just a giant recipe for space nachos?" Miko requested, standing. Jack sat Kate to the side, rising himself.
"I know math when I see it," Raf drawled, excitement evident in his voice. "And this is one serious equation!"
"Can you…. Download it, or something?" Jack inquired, snatching his sister's hand into his own.
"I think I have a flash drive…" he trailed off, unsure as he slid his backpack off of his shoulders and allowed it to fall to the ground. Kneeling beside it, he quickly unzipped the middle pouch, squinting as he reached in. "Here!" he happily exclaimed. Zipping the pouch back, he left it where it was and leapt off of the small cliff with ease. The others followed as he sprinted to the machine.
"But," he sadly distractedly started. "I don't see anywhere to plug it in. This tech is way alien!" Kate tore her gaze from the small hunt as the ground tremored slightly, clanking echoing through the air. She gasped in shock as one of the many drones sauntered into the room, freezing as his optics landed on his off-lined comrades.
"Jackie!" she fearfully called out. Her brother turned, and his eyes widened as the vehicons turned, red visor glinting as it caught sight of them. He quickly grabbed Raf and Miko's shoulder, shoving them forward.
"Katie, run!" he shouted in horror as the Decepticon unveiled his blaster, eagerly charging it's cannon as a sickening blue light emits from the barrel. The little girl quickly sprints to the side, following her brother's orders as she ran. Jack groaned, however, as she darted the opposite way from him, her blue eyes wide with panic and her strides clumsy and uncoordinated. "Not that way!"
Without a second thought, he leapt from their hiding spot by the wall, sprinting as fast as he could across the room in pursuit. "Miko!" he suddenly shouted out, voice strained and tight with effort and horror. "Take a picture!" The teenage girl broke into a huge grin, eyes glimmering as she whipped out her flip-phone.
"Great idea!" she praised. She sprinted forward around twenty feet. "Hey, you!" she yelled out. The drone whipped around, blaster still aiming at the toddler running across the room, and she hastily pressed the button.
"Not of that!" Jack screamed in disbelief as he tackled his sister to the ground, wincing as she let out a high-pitched, pained screech. "Of that!" he finished, motioning to the monitor with his head.
Her mouth formed a slight 'O' as she caught sight of the screen, and she easily – almost casually- snapped the picture. Seeing, Jack jumped to his feet, yanking Kate into his arms roughly. "Go, go, go!" he screamed out, motioning widely with his hand for them to make a break for the exit.
They sprinted out of the door and into the hall, quickly sliding into the turn as they advanced, the drone thundering behind them, floor shaking. Suddenly, a loud bang caused them to slow, and they hesitantly looked back as Bulkhead skidded to a stop beside them, Arcee pulling up by their other side. Bulkhead's doors popped open, Miko and Raf diving in as Jack practically through Katie on before scrambling onto the seat himself. They accelerated, tires screeching.
"I told you to stay put!" Arcee growled, sensors momentarily turning to the frazzled teen and distraught toddler.
XXX
The room was enveloped in a sickening silence, the only noise the small welder the leader was using to attach a metal brace to the medic's arm. Kate clung to Arcee's leg like velcro as she waited for her guardian to finish, not allowed to draw near to him for fear the sparks would burn her, though the femme didn't seem to mind that much.
"What happened to you guys out there, anyways?" Jack finally questioned as the semi set the welder back onto the table, stepping away from Ratchet. Said ambulance glanced to him, turning his head slightly.
"We engaged an army of he undead," he tiredly explained, grim face pulled into a deep frown. Miko stiffened before slowly turning to face him, face neutral.
"Zombies?" she questioned, tone neutral. He nodded slightly, confusion glinting in his optics.
"You fought zombies, and I missed it?" she loudly exclaimed, leaping forward slightly as her eyebrows furrowed, eyes widened and her fists clenched.
"Bulkhead," Optimus cut in, disrupting the welling argument. "You exercised extremely poor judgment in allowing the children to accompany you." He risked a swift, unnoticeable glance to his own charge, internally grimacing at her scarred, disturbed features. She had been abnormally quiet for a human of any sort, merely hanging on to his second-in-command's leg while he worked, watching him intently. His sorrow and fury grew. He had not been there to protect her. She could have easily been killed.
"It won't happen again, Optimus, I-I promise," he sheepishly, guiltily swore, bowing his head slightly.
"But it wasn't Bulkhead's fault!" Miko angrily burst forward, digging in her pocket for her pink cell-phone.
"Miko!" the olive-green wrecker hissed, turning slightly.
"And check it out," she continued, ignoring his protests. "Recon!" she brought her phone up for him to see, a satisfied smirk crossing her face. He leaned down, narrowing his optics as he approached.
"Ratchet," he finally began, glancing to him. "Look. It may be of importance to Megatron."
"Whoa!" Jack suddenly exclaimed, eyes wide in horror. "Megatron's back? That's bad news, right?" He went unanswered as Miko turned, holding the phone in Ratchet's direction. He stared at it blankly.
"I… Don't understand," he stuttered, shooting a sideways glance to his leader. Miko furrowed her eyebrows, lowering her hand and glancing at it.
"Oh, that's just the drone that nearly blew Katie away… At least, it was before Bulk rearranged his grill!" she whooped, clicking the correct picture and holding it up once more. The Autobot leader glanced to her, alarm flaring within him as he turned to glance at her once more. She was still in the same position, though her eyes were glazed and her posture more relaxed. Had she really been that close to dying?
"What?" Arcee stuttered, optics brightening. She, too, glanced down, startled.
"Miko, Katie was almost killed!" Jack finally snapped, glowering in her direction. "This isn't a game! When are you going to get that through your thick skull!" Said toddler jolted, surprised by the sudden outburst, blinking in surprise as she tensed.
"Um, we were all almost killed, Jack!" she exclaimed as if it heightened her point. "You, me, Raf, Katie. Even them!" she finished, pointing to the Autobots.
"Well, if this is an average day with the Autobots, then I don't want to be a part of it!" he snapped, causing all occupants of the room except the small child, who was not paying attention, to glance at him with a mixture of shock and hurt. "And neither will Kate!"
"Wha'?" she stuttered, blue eyes widening as she heard her name mentioned. She jerked in surprise as her brother stormed down the stairs, snagging her hand.
"Jack, putting either of you in harm's way was never our intent," the red and blue titan forced himself to choke out, voice even as he futily attempted to convince the teen to remain. "However, it is no longer the safety of only you four that is at risk, but the safety of all humankind. We will respect your decision if you wish to leave." Katie stared at him in disbelief, eyes glimmering with confusion.
"No point in long goodbyes, here's the door!" Ratchet eagerly remarked, crossing to the groundbridge and laying a hand on the lever.
"Come on, Raf," Jack called out, looking to the boy. Bumblebee warbled, doorwings lowering to a near upside-down 'V' as his head dropped. Raf turned to him, eyes shining.
"I'll be okay," he finally remarked. "See you at school." Jack nodded after a second, clutching his sibling's hand firmer. A blue leg blocked their path for a second. He glanced up.
"We know, you don't exist." He reminded, nodding slightly in closure.
"Don't make me hunt you down," she finished, though her optics belied her sorrow and pain, her posture sagging. He smiled slightly, though grimly, and his head snapped down as he felt a slight tug on his shirt. Kate glanced up to him, innocent cerulean eyes shining with confusion and worry.
"Where we goin'?" she questioned, words slurred and indistinct, as most childrens' were.
"Home," he forced himself to reply, reaching over and flicking her mussed pigtail.
"Comin' back?" she questioned once more, glancing to her guardian, who refused to meet her gaze.
"I don't think so, Katie-bug," he choked out, looking to the ground. Her eyes widened as realization struck her, and she immediately stumbled backward, breaking Jack's grasp on her hand, tears welling in her eyes.
"No!" she emotionally defied, turning tail and clumsily sprinting to the Prime. She reached him, throwing her small arms as best she could around his foot, tears coursing down her cheeks. "Stay here!" The Autobot looked down in surprise, watching as she pressed her cheek against his metal plating and glanced to her brother in fear. His spark painfully throbbed in dismay. "Don' let'm ge' me!" she sobbed, peering up to him through tear-filled eyes. His spark broke further.
Jack rigidly moved to her side, wordlessly grasping her underneath her arms and pulling her to himself, lifting her. She fruitlessly thrashed, struggling to break his grasp as they neared the open groundbridge. Finally, something in her spirit broke.
"Oppie!" she screamed out, looking to him. "Don' let him take me!" And with that, she fell limp in a sobbing bundle, too tired to further fight. And then they vanished into the portal, leaving the base standing in silence, the leader spark-broken.
XXX
A/N: So, how was it? I don't know why I stopped here, honestly. But, I did. Please R+R!