Kerri went to her room and started packing. She couldn't live this way anymore. She hadn't told Wheeljack the truth, and that had hurt him, terribly. But that still didn't give Ultra Magnus the right to betray her trust. She was angrily throwing her clothes from the dresser drawers and onto the bed when she heard a knock on her door.
"I'm not interested in anything anybody has to say!" she shouted and continued grabbing clothing.
"It's me," said Miko. "Let me in." Kerri thought for a second before walking over to open the door. She turned back to the room without ever looking at the girl. "Close the door behind you."
Miko walked over and sat on the bed, silently watching the woman pack. "You're leaving?"
"Yes, Miko, I'm leaving."
"Where are you gonna go?"
"I don't know, but I'm not staying here anymore."
"I think you're making a mistake," Miko said as she played with her fingers. "They only act that way because they care about you."
"Yeah, well I'm tired of people "caring" about me, I guess."
"Oh yeah? That's pretty selfish. I think you owe the 'bots a little more appreciation."
Kerri spun on the girl. She was fed up.
"I'm tired of the drama, Miko!", she shouted at the girl.
"Drama you started," the girl answered just as angrily. "You should have told Wheeljack the truth from the beginning. But it made you uncomfortable, so you didn't."
"I was protecting him."
"You were protecting yourself. Same with Magnus. He went off on Optimus Prime. Do you have any clue how much he has to care about you to do that? He was worried about you."
"What do you know about it, Miko?" Kerri asked. "You're a kid."
"Funny thing is, you're the one acting like a kid. Running away. Where are you gonna go? The only people who can keep you safe are here."
"Safe? I'm a prisoner here. I can't leave because of a maniac who's out there waiting for me."
Miko looked down at the floor, wrestling with her thoughts before letting out an exasperated sigh. "Look, I heard Bulkhead comming Wheeljack. Jackie's planning on offing Knockout."
"What?! When?!" Kerri grabbed Miko by the shoulders. "Where did Wheeljack go?"
"I don't know. He made Bulk promise not to the the other guys. He doesn't want anybody to try and stop him."
"Thank you, Miko," Kerri said as she released the girl's shoulders from her grip. "You'd better get going. I have to try to reach Wheeljack."
"But how? The bots aren't gonna let you go?"
"The bots don't own me, Miko. But…you're right. I'm going to have to sneak out." She turned to the girl. "And I know how," she said as she threw some clothes in a duffel bag before walking to the door with the girl. "You and I are going to have a sleepover at your house."
"A sleepover?! You and me?!"
"That's what they're gonna think. Come on."
The two walked out of Kerri's quarters and back to where everyone was still standing, talking quietly amongst themselves. Everyone stopped talking when they saw Kerri walking towards them. Ultra Magnus looked incredibly awkward, refusing to meet the woman's eyes.
"I'm staying at Miko's tonight," Kerri exclaimed. "I need a break from this place." Magnus began to protest, but a blistering look from the woman silenced him. There was silence before Prime spoke. "Perhaps it would be beneficial to you. All I ask is that you take a communicator. If anything happens, contact us. Would you prefer to be driven by Bulkhead or groundbridged?"
"Groundbridge."
"Very well," Ratchet sighed as he brought the groundbridge to life and swept his arm towards it. "One groundbridge at your service, ladies."
"Thank you, Ratchet. I'll call in the morning," Kerri said as she took Miko's hand and headed towards the light. "Good night."
" 'Night all," Miko said quietly, waving as they disappeared into the groundbridge.
As soon as Ratchet shut down the bridge, Magnus turned his protest to Optimus.
"Do you really think that was a good idea, sir?"
"Kerri is not our prisoner, Commander," he said. "Besides, I think a change of environment will serve her well. She is feeling a lot of stress. You can understand why," Prime leveled his optics at the Commander.
"I do. But being exposed is dangerous. At least allow me to stand guard-"
"Negative, old friend." Prime put his hand on Magnus' shoulder. "Give her some space. She'll come back." Prime turned towards the others. "I believe it's time to we all head for recharge. Ratchet, would you please?" He said as he looked down at the remaining humans.
"All right, rugrats," Ratchet exclaimed to Jack and Raf. "Time to go." The groundbridge swirled and, with a wave, the two boys disappeared.
The doctor turned to the Autobots. "The rest of you are free to scram as well. I have work to do," he said, already turning his back dismissively. "Good night."
As soon as the groundbridge deposited the two females, Kerri turned to Miko.
"Alright, Miko. I want you to go inside. I'm going to try to get ahold of Wheeljack."
"But what if he doesn't answer you?"
"He will. Don't tell anybody that I left. I'll call you in the morning, ok?"
Miko looked at Kerri with understanding. "I know what you're gonna do. Please be careful."
"We'll be fine, Miko. Just don't tell anyone. Promise?"
"Ok. But if I don't hear from you guys by morning, I'm calling the bots," the girl protested.
"Ok, Miko," Kerri smiled. "Now go on in. I need to find Wheeljack." She gave the girl a hug and watched her enter the house before comming Wheeljack.
"Wheeljack, come in." Nothing. Several more attempts were made with no response from the Wrecker.
"Wheeljack…Miko told me what you're planning to do. I can help. He's not going to come unless he knows I'm with you."
Finally her comm crackled to life, and Wheeljack's familiar drawl came through.
"I can't involve you in this, kid. The Autobots would have my hide. I'll do this by myself. It's the least I can do to make everything up to you."
"I want him dead, Wheeljack. I don't want to spend the rest of my life being afraid. I want him dead, and I deserve to help make that happen. Besides, he's not stupid. He's not going to come without any proof that I'm with you."
Kerri knew the Autobot was mulling over what she said. Finally he said and said "Magnus is gonna kick my ass when he finds out."
"Let me worry about Magnus. I'm at Miko's."
"Be there in a few minutes, kid."
Five minutes later, Wheeljack roared down the street, stopping in front of Miko's house. Kerri climbed in and he pulled away from the curb and headed out of town.
"You sure you wanna be a part of this?" Wheeljack asked. "It could go bad."
"I want it to be over. I want to live a kind of normal life, and that won't happen as long as Knockout is alive."
"You're in love with an alien, kid. That's not normal."
"No," she chuckled. "Neither is having another one as my best friend. But it's what I know now. And besides this Knockout stuff, I'm not complaining."
"Good girl. Now let's do this. You ready?"
"Kerri took a deep breath and exhaled. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be."
"Alright." Wheeljack opened his comm, searching for Knockout's frequency. After a few seconds he hit on the Decepticon's signal.
:Knockout, it's Wheeljack. I have something that you want. All you need to do is come get it."
A/N Sorry it's taken me some time to get this chapter out. I'm taking night classes and working full time. few more chapters and this will all be over!