I'm sorry again for taking so long to write this. Stupid work and school. They always take time away from me.

So enjoy this long-awaited chapter.

Chapter 21: Deus Ex Machina

It has been a long, boring day for Mikaela. School has been out for a while now, and she is forced to stay longer because of tutoring. She happens to be failing History class, which to her is the boring class ever, and needs to pass it in order to be able to graduate. In order to raise up her grade to a C, she needs to do a History report about any ancient civilization. She wants to enjoy History, but it always seems to bore her.

She has her Wold History textbook up, attempting to read and learn, but failed miserably. She only read one paragraph before giving up and resting her head on the table. She looked up at the clock and saw that it has been only five minutes since school ended for the day and only two more hours for tutoring to finish. She let out a loud, tired sigh as she looked outside the window and glared.

Stupid Miles. He completely ditched her and left to the Autobot base with Bumblebee. They were suppose to go together for the weekend, but her History teacher told her to stay for tutoring before she could even step out of the building. She watched him get inside Bee's vehicle form and drove off, leaving her to stay by herself in class with other students who also needs tutoring. She is so going to get the two for leaving her in this hellhole.

Her mood completely changed when she spotted a green truck parking right outside of her school. She still couldn't get over the fact that she's friends with alien robots, something that happens only in dreams. What's more is that she gets to see two familiar faces, Jack and Sam, and made two new friends, Miko and Rafael. She smiled when she heard Bulkhead blaring loud heavy metal music. From what Sam told her about Bulkhead, he never listens to heavy metal. That all changed when Miko came and introduced him to her kind of music.

She looked back at the teacher and saw he was distracted, reading his newspaper, and then back to Bulkhead. It's either stay here and finish her work or get the hell out of here and join up with Bulkhead. With one last glance at the distracted teacher, she quietly bolted out of the classroom, made a run for it in the hallways, and finally reached to Bulkhead, who was scatting along with the music. She rolled her eyes and got in the driver seat.

"Can you keep it down? I'd like to have my hearing when I'm old."

"Sorry." He said as he lowered down the volume. "Anyway, what are you doing here early? Miles told me that you had to stay behind for tutoring. Did tutoring end early?" He asked in suspicion.

"Did for me." She answered as she put her backpack on the backseat. As she did so, she spotted her teacher heading towards their way. "Aw, crap. Here comes teacher, and she doesn't look happy. Step on it, Bulkhead!" She shifted lower in her seat to prevent the teacher of spotting her.

"Ah, Mikaela." Bulkhead groaned in disappointment. He quickly changed gears and sped away. "Mikaela, I'm supposed to be your guardian, not your getaway car. You can't just cut tutoring. What if your parents found out?" He begins to scold Mikaela as he drives to a desolated location so that Ratchet could bridge them back to base.

"They won't. I have the school's number blocked, courtesy from Sam."

Bulkhead sighed at that. "Mikaela, listen. If you fail high school, you can't go to–uh...uni...kesa...colls...w-wait, what's that word again?" He asked, after his failed attempt.

"Uh, 'college'?" She answered as she got out of Bulkhead, giving him a slight glare as he transformed. "Ugh. You sound like my parents."

"Because we want the best for you. And that means making sure you go to school, not jail."

"Uh-oh. What'd you do?" Miles teased knowingly from above the gallery.

"Look, Mikaela," Bulkhead knelt in front of Mikaela, "before I became a warrior, I was a laborer–construction. I can build stuff, I can break stuff, and that's it."

"Breaking stuff sounds nice. I should be just like you, Bulk."

"Aaargh...why would you want to be like me, when you can be a medic like Ratchet?"

At the same time, the computer began beeping and Ratchet went to work until he located the source for the alarm. "I'm detecting a fresh Energon pulse from the nation called... Greece. An ancient city - quite historic, I believe."

"Ancient Greece, huh? Oh, field trip." Bulkhead singsonged excitedly.

"It's about time, Knock Out. I do not enjoy being kept waiting." Starscream sneered, not taking his eyes off the monitor while Knock Out enters.

"Ah, it was a long drive, Starscream. I'm still picking bugs out of my grille." He explained as he flicked a non-existing bug.

"Yes, right. You're one of those." Starscream spoke with slight disgust in his tone.

"Come again?"

"Never understood why any self-respecting would choose 'automobile' as his vehicle mode when he could have flight!"

"I like the way I look in steel-belted radials." Knock Out admitted sheepishly. Starscream rolled his optics before leading Knock Out to the sickbay. "I take it Lord Megatron requires a laboratory assist."

"You...might say that."

Starscream opened the door to the sickbay, revealing the badly damaged Decepticon leader in his sick bed with life-support cables still attached to him, along with that hole in his chest. Knock Out let out a surprise 'whoa' as he saw the condition Megatron was in. He missed out a lot of things during his absents.

"Sadly, our inevitable former Lord Megatron has been like this for some time." Starscream begins to fill in. "But the crew took a vote," by crew, he means Soundwave, but he wouldn't say that out loud, "and it was decided that an expert might put him on the road to recovery."

"I've done plenty of body work, Starscream, but I'm better at breaking them than fixing them." Knock Out transformed his right hand into a drill to prove his point before returning it back. "It would help if I had my assistant."

"I summoned both of you. Where is he?"

"We were hot on a fresh Energon trial when you called. Breakdown will show when he's through scouting it."

"Here we are!" Bulkhead exclaims as he and Mikaela arrived at an excavation site in Greece through the GroundBridge.

Mikaela hopped out of the truck and smiled as she looked around the place. Miles was so jealous that she gets to go to the other side of the world, while he gets stuck with the boring doctor inside the boring base with no other people to talk to. Jack and Sam are out with Arcee and Bumblebee, so it's just him and Ratchet.

"So, what's on the activity list?" She asked.

"I'm scouting for Energon. You're doing research for your history report."

"Great. I get to spent my field trip doing homework instead of having fun." Mikaela replied sarcastically.

Bulkhead ignored her as he continues to search for Energon. "Hmm. Signal's strong." He noted as his optics spotted two construction equipment. "An excavation site."

"How can you be sure?"

Bulkhead shrugged. "I know construction. According to my scanner, humans hit Energon veins, and they don't even know it." Bulkhead observed the area even more. That was when Bulkhead laid optics on a ancient fresco. This painting has a man, holding a golden orb. Something that is familiar to him. Something from Cybertron. "Why would Ancient Greeks paint an Energon Harvester?" He pondered aloud.

"You know what that round thing is? You're smarter than you let on." Mikaela teased, taking out her phone to take a picture of the fresco.

"But even dumber than he looks."

Bulkhead and Mikaela immediately turned around and saw an approaching Decepticon. His eyes are yellow instead of the usual red that most other Decepticons have. The main colors of his body are gray and blue, with the occasional orange on his face, headlights on his hips.

"Breakdown." Bulkhead stood into battle position, getting ready to fight his old rival.

Breakdown laughed. "Miss me?"

"Like rust in my undercarriage."

"You know him, Bulk?" Mikaela asked, looking at the two.

"We have a history." Bulkhead responded without taking his optics off of Breakdown.

"And you have a pet. Does it play catch?" Breakdown grabbed a nearby pillar and pulled it out from the ground and threw it at Mikaela. "Catch."

Mikaela gasped as she saw the incoming pillar heading straight towards her. She immediately began running for cover. Luckily for her, Bulkhead stepped in and used his sturdy body to protect her.

"Mikaela, stay down!" Once she was out of harm's way, he got ready to face Breakdown.

But it was too late for him to counterattack. Breakdown took advantage of the dust and did a sneak attack on Bulkhead. He charged at Bulkhead, both falling into the excavation site, and Breakdown use the impact to throw Bulkhead to the fresco, destroying it and the picture of the Harvester.

"Oops. Hope the pretty picture wasn't too important." Breakdown transformed into a blue truck and raced off.

As soon as he is out of sight, Mikaela rushes to Bulkhead's side. She sighed in relief, seeing that Bulkhead was alright.

"Told you I'm good at breaking things." Bulkhead remarked, groaning in pain. "And I just broke something very important to us." He looked around and saw that the fresco was ruined.

"Relax, Bulk." Mikaela took out her phone and showed Bulkhead the picture of the fresco. "Luckily, I took it before you smashed into it."

Bulkhead smiled, feeling proud that Mikaela was smart enough to take a picture of it before he crashed into it. Now to take it back to base and find out if that's really the Harvester, or just a fake.

"It is indeed an Energon Harvester," Optimus confirm gravely, "a powerful tool created by the Ancients to remove raw Energon from any source." He explained to the four human kids

"So Greek Gods knew Autobots?" Miles asked, looking amazed. "How cool is that!" He exclaimed, looking at his sister, Jack and Sam.

Optimus shook his head. "No. The Ancients often used the art of a given era to conceal messages. This fresco was likely a signpost indicating a Harvest's location hidden somewhere on this planet."

"Uh, Optimus, if the Harvester removes Energon from anything, and you all have Energon pumping inside you...?" Jack trailed off, not wanting to finish off his question.

Optimus knows what Jack wanted to ask, so he answered, even though it would make the kids worry about them. "In Decepticon hands, the Harvester would be a devastating weapon."

"Will...will it work on me?" Sam asked fearfully.

Optimus hesitated at first to reply, but nodded. "Don't worry, Sam. I won't let the Decepticons use the Harvester on you." Optimus stated protectively, which cause Sam to smile.

Optimus will make sure he keeps that promise. The Decepticons knows that Sam's body can create more Energon, like how human bodies can create more red blood cells. They will try to capture Sam, and then use the Harvester to remove Energon from Sam. But they will make sure they won't drain a lot. They will need him alive if they want to have unlimited supply of Energon. Just imagining Sam's scream when they remove Energon from him made Optimus snarl inwardly. He will crush anyone who dares lay their filthy hands on his Sam.

"Well it's a good thing you destroyed the painting, Bulkhead."

"Mikaela's not wrong. How can the 'Cons find the Harvester without the fresco?"

Miles took a double look at the picture and hummed in deep thought. His eyes went wide in realization and snapped his fingers, getting the attention from everyone. "I knew I saw from somewhere!" He rushed to Sam's laptop and began typing, pausing for a bit every time he tries to remember where to go in the internet.

"What are you doing?" Jack asked.

"I seen that orb somewhere... HAHA! Here, look." Miles showed the Autobots a picture of a statue of the same man from the fresco, holding a golden orb in his hand. "I came across this during my history class in one of my textbook. We were discussing Greece when I saw the exact same fresco in my books. And it says here that it's in a museum. See! Aren't I a genius or what?" Miles asked, feeling quite proud for paying attention in his class. Usually he would sleep through most of the lecture, but something told him that this could be important in the future. And it is.

"You know, you could've just google image it." Sam looked at Miles, unimpressed. "Just type in 'Greek God' and 'golden orb', and there. Here, I'll show you." Sam grabbed the laptop, typed in the key terms in the google search bar and hit enter, showing many picture of the same statue of the man, the gold orb, and also the fresco.

"...Jerk." Miles grumbled.

"That the real deal?" Arcee looked over at Optimus.

Optimus stared at the image long and hard. "Contact Agent Fowler."

Ratchet went over to the computer and began calling Fowler. It rang, but then it went straight to voicemail.

"You've reached Special Agent William Fowler. I'm currently on an intensive training retreat and unavailable until Tuesday."

"I hate talking to machine." Ratchet grumbled under his breath.

"Now you know how I feel whenever I talk to you." Sam retorted teasingly, earning a glare from Ratchet.

"Without Agent Fowler's direct aid, we will have to confiscate the Harvester on our own."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. 'Confiscate'? As in steal museum property?" Jack asked in disbelief.

"That sounds... illegal. Let's do." Sam said cheerfully and excited at the thought of stealing from a museum.

"I do not wish to break human law, but once the Decepticons learn of the Harvester's location, they will not hesitate to obtain it by any means necessary. We must act covertly."

Jack chuckled nervously. "Okay, n-no offense, Optimus, but covertly and giant robots don't really go together. Museums are public. A-and they have guards and security cameras."

"No problem!" Miles stepped in the conversation. "We're small enough to sneak in. And we are not a government secret."

"I am." Sam raised his hand on the whole 'not a government secret' part.

"Miles, I'm not sure that's wise."

"But it may be our best option, Bulkhead. The longer we debate, the more time we give the Decepticons."

But what they didn't know was that Soundwave have also found the exact same picture that Miles found, and is now showing to Starscream, Knock Out and Breakdown.

"Mm-hmm. That's definitely it." Breakdown confirms.

"Then I'm afraid Megatron's well-being will have to wait. It's harvest time."

It was late night when the Autobots arrived at the empty parking lot of the museum. Optimus parked in front of the museum, while Arcee parked on the west side of the museum, Bumblebee on the east, and Bulkhead on the south. All in position, in case any Decepticons arrive to take the Harvester.

"Jack, Miles, Mikaela, Sam, I will have a clear view of you. Once you secure the Harvester, I will contact Ratchet to bridge you back to base." Optimus instructed over the communication line.

Ratchet activated the GroundBridge and looked over at the kids. "Now, since you'll bypass all normal points of normal entry, you won't need to worry about setting off the alarm. But take care to avoid any security guards." He warns the kids, but his optics is on Sam.

The kids travel through the GroundBridge and arrived inside the museum on a motorized scissor lift. They stopped in the area where the Harvester is located. They spotted Optimus outside, and he gave them the go by blinking a few time with his headlights. Jack activated the lift so that they can be the same level as the camera that's facing the Harvester. Mikaela deals with a security camera by taking picture of the Harvester and balancing her phone on top of the camera, to fool the security guard that's keeping watch.

Once that's set up, the kids move in to take the Harvester.

"I've meaning to ask, where are Miko and Raf? I'm sure Miko would love to be a part of this heist." Miles asked in a hush tone.

"Raf had stuff to do with his family, and Miko is grounded, so she couldn't make it today. Can't wait to rub it on her face when I tell this." Sam giggled quietly.

Back outside, Optimus is keeping a close eye on the kids, and his own surrounding. When he heard a car approaching, he moved his rearview mirror to see an unknown red vehicle pulled up next to him, giving him a wolf whistle.

"Sweet rims. 24 gauge? You're a real heavy-duty." Knock Out complimented truthfully. "Just like my friend here."

Another vehicle was approaching, and this time, it's Breakdown. Breakdown fired a missile at the museum. Optimus transformed just in time to grab the missile. But the missile continue to push him back towards the museum. With all his might, he barely managed to stop the missile from destroying the front door, leaving only a crack on the window.

Optimus looked inside the museum and saw the kids staring at him in confusion. Once he turned around to face the Decepticons, Knock Out shocks him with an Energon staff. He staggers forward and then fell to the ground. Knock Out jumped on his back and continued to shock Optimus until he's unconscious. Knock Out blinked his own headlights at Breakdown, giving him the signal to advance forward.

Bulkhead barrels towards museum entrance. Bumblebee comes to stop him, but Breakdown shot at him with his missile, causing him revert back to his robot mode and skidding along the lot. Arcee comes as well, but Breakdown fired another missile at her, causing her to stumble and crash into Bumblebee. Bulkhead jumps from the top of the museum and charges at Breakdown. Breakdown transformed and punched Bulkhead, sending him flying directly towards the museum. But along the way, he took Knock Out with him, and the both crashed into the pillar, causing the pieces to break the window and setting off the alarm.

The security officer looked up in surprise when the alarm went off. He looked at the security camera and saw something fishy on one of the monitor.

With one last push from Miles, the kids managed to get the Harvester on their platform. Jack lowered down the lift and Mikaela jumped off.

"Alright, boys, time for us to get out of here."

Mikaela ran down the hallway, with the boys fight behind her. She pressed a button to have the gate open up. She ducked under it to check if the other side is clear. She gasped in surprise when a bright light hit her. She gulped when he saw the security guard.

"Uh...hi?" She waved at him nervously.

"You better come with me, miss." The security guard turned off his flashlight and grabbed her arm and dragged her into his office.

"Ooh, she's in trouble." Miles singsonged, not even feeling worried for his step-sister. She's a stronger girl, she could take care for herself.

The three boys heard giant footsteps approaching, and from beneath a half-open loading ramp door, a pair of thin legs can be seen. Sam smiled, knowing exactly who it was.

"Arcee!" Sam rushed towards her, Jack and Miles following after. But when the door opened more, it revealed to be Soundwave. Sam stopped and his smile disappear into fear. "Aw, scrap."

Optimus woke up from his unconscious state, just in time to see Soundwave flying off with the Harvester. Knock Out saw Soundwave flying off and smiled.

"Mm. That would be game." Knock Out flipped backwards, transforming into his red vehicle form, and sped away. Breakdown following quickly, and Arcee transforming to go after them. Just as Bulkhead and Bumblebee were about to go after them, they stopped when they heard Jack and Miles.

"The 'Cons have the Harvester and Sam!"

"And the security has Mikaela!"

"What? I'm going in after her."

Optimus put his hand on Bulkhead to stop him. "Bulkhead, Mikaela may be detained, but she is safe from harm."

From inside the office, Mikaela stared at the drumming fingers instead of looking directly at the guard. Her head snapped up when he started to speak.

"Look, kid, if this is some kind of prank, you need to know that the authorities are on their way. It'd go a whole lot easier for you if you just told me what happened to the sphere."

"I was researching my history report. I just lost track of time and got locked in here after closing." Mikaela said, giving the guard a feigning look of innocence.

"So, what's your history report about? I'd love to know." The security rested his chin on his hands, looking at Mikaela with a smirk.

"Shoot." She said, under her breath. Maybe she should've payed attention in class.

"In a likelihood, Starscream will use the Harvester to gather as much Energon as quickly as he can from the planet's otherwise unmineable Energon deposits. Approach with extreme caution." Optimus warns the Autobots as Bumblebee and Arcee began their search. "Starscream will not hesitate to turn the Harvester on any one of us. Bulkhead, it is best that you remain here." He instructs as he opens a GroundBridge for himself.

"So I can bust Mikaela?" He asked eagerly.

"So you can help Ratchet. You may be Mikaela's guardian, but she requires human assistance. Agent Fowler remains our best option." Optimus transformed and headed out to search for Sam. He prays he can find him fast before they might think on using the Energon Harvester on him.

Bulkhead looked at Miles, who was trying to get in touch with Fowler. But instead, the call goes straight to voicemail.

"Still no answer." Miles announced.

"Fowler's lounging around some poolside cabana." He slammed his fist and accidentally broke an equipment.

"Bulkhead! I needed that!" Ratchet yelled in dismay.

"We can free Mikaela if we can just return that Harvester to the museum."

"So the Decepticons can steal it all over again?" Ratchet retorted back.

Bulkhead remain silent for awhile, trying to come up with another strategy, until he groaned. "I am so stupid."

"So how are we going to help Mikaela?" Jack asked.

"By returning this replica to the museum." Ratchet showed the kids an unfinished replica of the Harvester. "The construction of which would be going a lot faster if Bulkhead hadn't just mangled my frame welder!"

"We're already trespassers and thieves. Why not add forgery to the list?" Jack sarcastically comments on the crimes.

"I wish I'd never taken Mikaela to the... The painting of the Harvester isn't the only thing we found at those ruins."

"I'm sorry?" Ratchet asked in confusion.

"Starscream's not dumb. No matter what kind of tool he has, he's gonna take the easy route."

Nighttime has fallen in Greece, as the Decepticons which includes Starscream, Knock Out, Breakdown, and a Vehicon standing guard, and Sam, who is chained up on a pillar high up, are at the excavation site where Bulkhead and Mikaela were when searching for Energon.

"Why move mountains now when we have a motherlode of Energon right here for the taking - courtesy of this gift from Ancient Autobots?" Starscream asked rhetorically.

"Uh, actually, Commander Starscream, it was a gift from Breakdown and myself." Knock Out corrected.

Starscream sighed in frustration and aimed the Harvester at them, making them cower in fear. Starscream activated the Harvester, and a beam of light passed by them and hit the unsuspecting Vehicon. Knock Out and Breakdown watch in fear as the Vehicon's Energon is being sucked into the Harvester in a blue stream. Even Sam looked away at the scene, feeling sorry for the 'Con for being a test subject. The 'Con let out a pained gasp as he fell on the ground, dead.

The Harvester powered down, and Starscream looked at it in amazement. "All that Energon in such a tiny vessel."

"Those Ancient Autobots never missed a trick, Lord Starscream." Knock Out remarked nervously.

Starscream aimed at Breakdown and Knock Out once again, making them flinch in fear. He turned away from them, smiling, and looked at the rocks and then Sam, trying to decide which to use the Harvester on. "Once I'm finish mining Energon, I'll be going for you next." He said, looking at Sam.

"Go ahead, take all the time that you need." Sam smiled nervously. "Hurry up, you guys." He mumbled quietly.

Starscream activated the Harvester and began removing Energon from the crystal rocks. While Starscream starts tapping the Energon seam, Bulkhead quietly walks behind the distracted Decepticons in attempt to sneak up on them. As he starts to get closer, he stepped on a antique pot. The noise grabbed their attention and he cursed himself for being clumsy.

Knock Out and Breakdown charged at him with their weapons active. Bulkhead looked at the two nervously as they split up and going on his side. He thought quickly as he ducked just in time, making the two 'Cons hit each other. Breakdown was strong, so he knocked out Knock Out. Bulkhead grabbed the Energon staff and shocked Breakdown. Once he took care of those two, he went up to Sam and freed him. He held him for a while before placing him to the ground.

"Just in time, Bulk. I would've called to tell you my location, but I was tied up." Sam laughed at his own joke. But then he gasped when he saw Starscream aim the Harvester at Bulkhead. "Look out."

Bulkhead grunted when the Harvester got him and started draining his Energon. He groaned tiredly and pain as he fell to the ground.

"You're a big one. This could take a while." Starscream sneered.

But Bulkhead isn't going to stay down. He has Sam to protect. With all of his strength and determination to protect Sam from the Decepticons, he struggled up and marches towards Starscream, which begins to get frighten.

"W-wait. What are you doing?"

"What I do best: Breaking things!" Bulkhead grabbed the Harvester and punched Starscream right in the face. As soon as Starscream let go of the Harvester, Bulkhead crushed the Harvester and threw it at the sky, watching it explode. He then fell back with a tired groan.

"He's a glutton for punishment." Knock Out remarked as he and Breakdown approach to the tired Autobot.

They turned around when they heard a GroundBridge open. From the GroundBridge came out Optimus, Arcee and Bumblebee, beginning to shoot at them.

"Fight?" Breakdown asked.

"Mm. Drive." The two transformed in their vehicle form and fled the area. The same thing goes for Starscream as he finds out that there is no point in staying. He transformed to his jet mode and escaped.

The Autobots and Sam gathered around Bulkhead, their eyes filled with worry.

"Hey." Bulkhead smiled weakly at them.

Back at the museum, the sun is beginning to rise up, and Mikaela still stuck inside the security office, talking about her history report which is starting to bore the security guard.

"And, of course, there's the whole principle of Deus Ex Machina, uh, the God from the machine. It's that part in Greek storytelling where some character shows up out of the blue to make everything right."

"That so, young lady?" The guard asked, looking unamused. "Well, I'm sure the police will want to hear all about your history report."

There was a loud banging on the door, and the door opens, revealing Fowler. He looked at Mikaela to see if she's ok, and then at the security guard. "Special Agent William Fowler. The stolen property has been located and restored to museum premises."

The security guard looked confused for a moment and looked at the screen to see the replica orb that Ratchet managed to finish back in its place.

"The girl comes with me." Fowler dug in his suit and pulled out Mikaela's phone. "You dropped your cellphone. Found it on the floor, right next to your history report!" He spoke the last part louder so the guard could here. The two left the office, leaving a befuddled security guard.

The two stepped outside and Mikaela smiled when she saw Bulkhead parked outside. She looked at Fowler for permission to leave.

"Off you go." He tells her.

"Thank you for bailing me out. Sam was right. You really are the best." She waved goodbye at Fowler and jumped in on the driver seat. "Great timing, Bulk. I was running out of history stuff, stuff that I didn't even know I knew!"

"Looks like you're smarter than you let on." Bulkhead teased affectionally, using the same words she told him before.

"Under pressure."

"Me too." Bulkhead agreed, turning on his engine and driving off towards town.

"I can't wait to finish my history report. I'm gonna write all about how the Autobots interacted with Ancient Civilization."

"Uh, I'm not sure that'll get you into college, Mikaela."

"Well, it's the only thing I know so I have to write it."

"Mikaela."

Alright. Finish. I have some news to tell you. After I post the next chapter of this story, I will start writing the sequel for "Sam's Vengeance". I was having trouble on how to start it, and create the whole plot of the story. I have to watch the movie over and over again to come up with ideas for the first chapter. Also, trying to think of a title for the story.

Thank you for waiting and hope that you all review.