A/N: Can I just say, thank you all so much for taking the time to read my little fanfic. I am truly blown away by how many people are actually enjoying this story so far, so thank you all! I appreciate every single comment/fave that you guys leave behind and it really makes me happy. I hope you enjoy the new chapter! :)
"That was far too close!" Knockout panted, holding Kelsey steadily in his clawed servo as he placed her onto the medical berth. Both of them had made it safely back on board the Nemesis with no major injuries, apart from Knockout's finish being scuffed by Arcee's fist and sprayed with gravel by Starscream.
"Would you look at what that two-wheeler did to my finish!" Knockout growled, gesturing to Kelsey his scratched paintjob. "I'll have to buff this out."
Kelsey watched as the red mech reached behind a few medical cabinets and pulled out a large rotary buffer held firmly in his servo. The buffer began to spin and Knockout wasted no time in buffing out the scratch marks. After a little while, she noticed that Knockout was beginning to have difficulty in buffing a rather hard to reach spot. Said spot happened to be on his back, far away from Knockout's reach.
"Ugh! Detailing was so much easier when Breakdown was here!" The red mech grumbled, desperately trying to reach his back.
Kelsey watched Knockout try to reach his back with the buffer in silence, her thoughts swirling around in her head like a whirlpool. Her mind flickered back to a few days ago, when Knockout had captured her from her encounter with Vince. She gritted her teeth at the mere thought of the red-haired teenager, wanting nothing more than to deliver a punch to his acne clad face if she ever ran into him again. In fact, if it hadn't been for Knockout that day, who knows what Vince would've done to her vulnerable and weakened state. A shiver snaked down her spine at the thought. If anything, she started to feel some sort of gratitude to the cherry mech, even if he had in fact captured her, he had saved her from whatever fate Vince had in stored for her that day.
Feeling this newfound gratitude to the robot, Kelsey suddenly spoke up much to Knockout's surprise. "Hey, if you need some help, I can buff that out for you."
The Decepticon medic froze in his tracks and his optics fixated on her small form. He blinked a couple of times and slowly lowered his arm that was holding the buffer.
"You…actually want to help?" he said softly, not quite believing his audio receptors. "But your limb is broken. It would be unwise for you-"
"Hey, I do have one good arm," she retorted, presenting her arm that wasn't covered in plaster. "I don't mind helping you buff out those scratch marks."
Knockout eyed her suspiciously, obviously, he was rather sceptical that she genuinely wanted to help him buff his finish. "Well, I was going to wait until your arm was healed and then you could buff my finish…but if you insist little she-human…"
He wasted no time in swiping her up in his servo, Kelsey feeling her stomach lurch at the sudden movement, and depositing her carefully behind his neck so that she could reach his back.
"Make sure you get out every little dent," Knockout instructed. "I don't want a single scratch visible."
"Got it," she said, rolling her eyes.
Knockout presented her with his buffer, which, of course, was meant for Cybertronian hands, not human. It was far too large and heavy for Kelsey to hold.
"Uh…do you have a smaller one by any chance?" she said quietly.
"Ah, right," said Knockout, putting his normal rotary buffer away. "I keep forgetting just how small you humans really are…"
After a few seconds of Knockout rummaging about in his detailing cabinet, he managed to find a perfect human-sized buffer that Kelsey would be able to hold up.
"Good thing I kept this one," Knockout handed her the small rotary buffer.
"Thanks," she replied, and began to buff out the dings that the blue Autobot Arcee had left behind.
The two of them were silent for a while as Kelsey buffed away at Knockout's finish, the only sound being the small hum of the buffer as it worked its way through Knockout's scratches.
"So…just who exactly is this 'Starscream' guy?" Kelsey suddenly spoke up, breaking the silence.
"Oh, don't get me started on Starscream," said Knockout. "He's arrogant, selfish, annoying…and most of all, he's rude."
"Sounds like a great guy," Kelsey said sarcastically.
"He's second in command but he acts like he runs the damn place," grumbled Knockout. "I'm surprised Lord Megatron hasn't sent him to the scrapheap yet. But, I will admit, he does have a rather radiant finish when he bothers to look after it. It's a shame his personality isn't as nice."
"I'm guessing if I were to run into Starscream, it would be extremely bad?" she asked.
"Incredibly bad. He'd squash you without a second thought. Or, even worse, he'd take you to Lord Megatron." Knockout replied.
"Yeah, you keep going on about this 'Lord Megatron,' guy," she said. "What is so great about him? Why is he your leader?"
All of a sudden Knockout began to laugh, which nearly caused Kelsey to lose her footing and fall of the red medic's back at the sudden movement. She quickly scrambled about on his back, grabbing hold of the back of his shiny red helm for support with her good arm whilst also managing to not drop the tiny buffer that was in her hand.
"You do make me laugh sometimes, organic," he chuckled. "I can't believe you would ask such a thing…although, I suppose you wouldn't really know considering you don't have any knowledge of Cybertronian history…"
"Enlighten me, then," she said.
Knockout began to explain to Kelsey everything about Cybertron and its history, the great war between the Autobots and the Decepticons and how Cybertron turned into a lifeless husk of a planet because of it. But what shocked her the most, however, was when Knockout told her that her own home planet happened to be a giant Cybetronian god known as Unicron, the Chaos Bringer. She continued to listen as Knockout went into further detail about the Decepticon leader, Megatron, and how he used to be a gladiator in the pits of Kaon before rising to the Decepticon cause. She knew one thing for certain know – from what Knockout had told her, Megatron was certainly one robot she would rather not meet in person if she could help it. What felt like hours soon passed, and even after Kelsey had finished buffing Knockout's paintjob he still continued to tell her more about Cybertron. He told her all about the acid wastes, the Sea of Rust, and the radiant aluminium race tracks that he strongly enjoyed racing across before the war. She quickly found herself engrossed as Knockout went on and told her more about Cybetron's rich history, and she even sat down in the space between Knockout's head and his shoulder.
They were eventually interrupted, however, by no one other than Starscream himself.
"Knockout, I need you to tend to me." Starscream's raspy voice croaked.
Both Kelsey and Knockout looked at each other in alarm at hearing Starscream's voice.
Knockout urgently grasped Kelsey in his servo and placed her underneath the medical berth where she would be out of sight. It was just in time, too, for as soon as Knockout had hidden Kelsey the silver seeker made his entrance into the med bay.
"Wow…what happened to you?" Knockout said.
"It doesn't matter how it happened!" Starscream snapped. "I just want you to tend to my wounds and then forget about all of this."
Kelsey watched as two large stilettoes made their way towards her and she stifled a gasp. Thankfully, Starscream was only climbing onto the giant metal slab where Knockout preformed most of his operations on his patients which just so happened to be near her hiding spot.
"Let me guess…it was Bulkhead and Bumblebee that did this?" said Knockout.
"Alright, yes, if you must know…it was those two wretched Autobots," hissed Starscream. "But if you tell anyone about this-"
"Your secret is safe with me, Screamer," replied Knockout. "Hmm, you're quite low on Energon too. Just wait here while I go fetch some for you."
"I'm fine, Knockout, I don't need any Energon!" yelled Starscream.
"Who's the doctor here?" said Knockout.
Starscream muttered something under his breath that Kelsey didn't quite catch as Knockout walked out through the med bay doors. As she watched Knockout's pedes vanish behind metal doors, she silently shouted in her head for him to come back.
Please don't leave me alone with Starscream! What if he finds me here!?
She swallowed hard, steadying her breathing as she tried to calm herself. If she remained as quiet as possible Starscream wouldn't even notice she was here. All she had to do was stay in her spot and make no noise at all.
I'll be fine, nothing to worry about, she quietly told herself, Knockout will be back soon and then everything will be okay.
Kelsey held her breath, not daring to make any noise or movement that might attract Starscream's attention. Her heart was hammering in her chest at the thought of being tossed about by another giant robot who most likely won't hesitate to kill her without a second thought. A large lump was beginning to form in her throat as she anxiously watched the giant metal slab that Starscream was laying on. She could make out his heeled pedes from where she was sitting in her hiding spot and she wondered what kind of face those heels belonged too.
"Ugh, if Lord Megatron finds out that I was scrapped by the Autobots I won't hear the end of it," Starscream's coarse voice rang out through the chamber. "I hope Knockout will keep his word…otherwise his finish will be in trouble if he doesn't."
What a strange robot, Kelsey thought to herself. Now he's talking to himself.
All of a sudden Kelsey felt a sneeze coming on. She could feel the tingly feeling in her nose and she knew it would be a matter of seconds before she sneezed.
No, no, no! Not now! She yelled inside her head and quickly pinched her nose to stop herself from sneezing and blowing her cover. After thirty seconds or so, she stopped pinching her nose and let out a sigh of relief.
That was far too close.
Just when she thought that she wasn't going to sneeze anymore, Kelsey suddenly sneezed. She felt dread wash over her like a wave as she saw Starscream's pedes move in response to her sneeze.
"Who's there?" Starscream said, hopping off the medical berth.
Kelsey smacked a hand over her mouth as she watched Starscream's pedes walk about Knockout's med bay, every hair on the back of her neck was standing up.
Knockout, please hurry up! She screamed silently inside her head.
"Answer me!" Starscream roared, stamping one of his heels on the hard metal floor causing vibrations to rattle through the ground.
Kelsey could feel her pulse beating in her ears as the colour soon drained from her face, leaving her as white as a sheet. She literally didn't have anywhere to go – the doors were closed and her legs were still recovering from her injuries. She could walk, but she couldn't run and she knew that there was no possible way that she would be able to outwalk a robot that was so much larger than her.
"Has Knockout been keeping a little pet?" Starscream growled, slowly making his way towards where Kelsey was hiding. "Come on out, vermin, I promise not to hurt you…much."
Kelsey had to force herself not to scream as she saw a giant, clawed hand slowly make its way towards her trembling frame. If she didn't act now, Starscream was going to snatch her up in a heartbeat. Using all of the strength that she had, Kelsey desperately crawled out of Starscream's reach as his servo missed her by a fraction. She immediately scrambled to the wall and pressed herself up against it, far out of Starscream's claws.
"Ugh! Get back here! I know you're there!" Starscream hissed in frustration.
"Starscream, what in the world are you doing?" Knockout's voice suddenly rang out.
Starscream quickly jumped to his pedes at hearing Knockout's voice.
"N-nothing, Knockout!" Starscream blurted.
Knockout eyed Starscream suspiciously. "Somehow I find that hard to believe."
"It's the truth!"
"Whatever, Starscream. Now you need to rest up – you shouldn't be crawling around with injuries like that."
Kelsey watched as Starscream laid back down on Knockout's operating table, her heart was still beating restlessly from the close encounter with Starscream. That had been far too close to her liking.
"Knockout…are you…by any chance keeping something from Lord Megatron and the rest of us?" Starscream suddenly said.
"No, why do you ask Starscream?" Knockout asked. Kelsey could detect worry in the tone of his voice.
"Oh, no reason…" murmured Starscream.
After that the two robots were silent as Knockout tended to Starscream's injuries. Starscream yelped in pain a few times, with Knockout telling him to 'suck it up' in response. Minutes passed and Kelsey quickly lost track of time. She rummaged through her backpack and ate a few snacks to help pass the time and ease her hunger. Soon enough, however, Knockout finished fixing up Starscream.
"There you are Starscream, all done." Knockout said.
"About time too," grumbled Starscream, jumping off the operating table. "And remember to not mention this to anyone."
"Yes, yes, I won't tell anyone," replied Knockout. "Have you told our master about the Energon-?"
"Of course," said Starscream, making his way towards the exit. "Now, if you don't mind dear doctor, I am going to be on my way."
"Be careful Starscream, don't do anything too strenuous. Your body is still recovering from your injuries." Knockout said.
Starscream simply rolled his optics and exited through the doors. Kelsey heaved out a sigh of relief as soon as Starscream had left. She never wanted to be in that situation ever again.
"Oh, little human," chimed Knockout. "You can come out now."
A frown spread across her features at being called 'little human' – since she had been Knockout's 'prisoner' he had never even referred to her real name, not even once.
Wait…does he even know my real name? Kelsey's brain backtracked as she tried to remember if she had even told Knockout her real name.
It would be a bit strange for me to tell him my name now, she thought, it's a bit late for introductions.
"Are you going to come out or will I have to pull you out myself?" Knockout's voice rang out.
Kelsey sighed, pushing herself up onto her, still rather weak, legs and hobbled out into the med bay. Knockout was standing in the centre of the room, his servos placed on his hips.
"Now, where were we?" The red mech hummed. "Oh yes, I believe I was telling you about Cybertron."
As much as Kelsey had enjoyed Knockout telling her stories of Cybertron, she needed to tell him that Starscream knew about her.
"Knockout, I need to tell you something really important." Kelsey said.
Knockout raised an eyebrow at her. "Really? Spit it out then."
"Starscream knows I'm here," she said, swallowing hard. "And he highly suspects you."
"He knows what?!" Knockout yelled, his red optics wide with panic. "You let him see you? Why didn't you remain still?!"
"He didn't exactly see me!" Kelsey shot back, trying to defend herself. "I kind of sneezed and he…well…he heard me sneeze and tried to grab me."
Knockout looked as if he had seen a ghost. Then, after the shock had settled, his face soon turned from stunned to pure fury. He soon made an advancement towards her, his pedes sending tremors through the ground as he walked over towards where Kelsey stood. She flinched back in terror, putting her one good arm over her face as Knockout snatched her up from the ground.
"Great, so now Screamer knows of your existence!" Knockout roared. "It was bad enough that he was already suspicious, now he knows for certain that I'm keeping a human! First thing he'll do is tell Lord Megatron…oh scrap…I hate to think what Big M will do to me once he finds out that I've secretly been keeping a human on board the Nemesis…"
"But Starscream didn't actually see me," Kelsey said softly, her heart hammering against her chest.
"Are you certain that he didn't see you?" Knockout pressed, his voice lowered considerably.
Kelsey gave a small, nervous nod. "Yes."
"I suppose that isn't too bad," Knockout grumbled. "But that still doesn't change the fact that Starscream is highly suspicious of me…there's no doubt that he'll tear the med bay apart looking for you."
"Then what are we supposed to do?" she gulped.
"Obviously, it isn't safe for you to be in the med bay anymore," replied Knockout. "You'll have to stay in my private berth room from now on."
"Will I get a proper bed, then?" she asked him. "I don't want to sleep on a hard metal floor anymore."
Knockout narrowed his ruby optics at her. "I have no idea what a 'bed' is, but I suppose you'll have your own berth to recharge on…or sleep…whatever it is you fleshies do when you aren't moving about."
I guess that's better than nothing, she thought silently.
"It's best if I take you to my berth room now, in case Starscream decides to rock back over here and complain about something." Knockout said.
Kelsey knew what was coming next as Knockout suddenly opened his subspace inside his chest and quickly dropped her inside. She quickly glanced up, the last thing she saw was Knockout's face as he stared down at her before his subspace closed, trapping her inside. Despite the fact that she had been inside Knockout's subspace before, it did feel rather strange to be inside of a giant alien robot. She could feel each thundering footstep Knockout took as he made his way outside into the Nemesis halls, sending vibrations through her small body. Thankfully, it wasn't completely dark inside Knockout's subspace – there were red bio-lights which lit up the enclosed area, allowing Kelsey to look around his interior. It was rather clean too, not a speck of dirt or grime could be found inside the red medic's subspace. It also emitted a new car type of smell which Kelsey didn't really mind. In fact, it was rather nice. She had also expected it to be rather cold, which, given the fact that Knockout was a robot she had thought that his metal plating would be cold to the touch, but she was rather surprised when she found that the inside of his chassis was pleasantly warm. She could even feel and hear the thrum of what she guessed was his spark above her head, which was oddly comforting to her. Funnily enough, she had somehow managed to hold onto the small rotary buffer that Knockout had given to her when she had been buffing his paintjob earlier. She had no idea why she had held onto it so tightly, perhaps out of fear in case she lost the buffer which would result in Knockout becoming angry with her – something she wanted to avoid greatly. Letting out a soft sigh, she placed the buffer in her backpack to avoid losing it. The last thing she wanted was a cross, giant alien robot that could potentially squish her like she was some kind of insect. Kelsey stifled a yawn as she zipped up her backpack, her eyes suddenly feeling incredibly heavy as her brain began to slow down. It had been a very long day, and an eventful one at that. All she wanted now was a chance to rest her eyelids before Knockout tossed her around like a doll again. She slumped up against Knockout's interior, feeling him jostle in response to her movement, and she began to slowly close her eyes as sleep beckoned her to drift off into slumber.