Disclaimer: Transformers is owned by Hasbro. I only own my OCs.

The next morning, Ellie woke with a start, gasping from a sudden attack of searing pain. Originating from her right leg, the intense signals surged all the way up into her brain the second she gained consciousness. Her mind shifting from sleep to hyperaware in an instant, she tore the blankets off of her and reached for her leg—only for her hands to grab air and fall onto the bedsheets instead. She froze with numbing realization.

For what felt like a long time, she sat still, staring down at her twitching right stump with tear-filled eyes. Then she flopped back down onto her pillow with a great, heaving sigh, the pain steadily subsiding now that she was fully awake and alert.

Been a while since that's happened, she thought as she breathed heavily. She wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead.

Seeing that the sun hasn't risen yet outside, she turned her head to check the time on her alarm clock. The bright green numbers blinked 4:52 at her from the darkness. She groaned; her nerves were too shot for her to go back to sleep at that point.

She sat up once more with a grunt. Then, as if something had just occurred to her, she moved over to the side of the window, stealing a quick look. Optimus was still out there, right where she last saw him.

"Oh, right," she mumbled, moving back.

She rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands, arguing with herself over what she was going to do next. Should she go out there? Or was it still too early? Was he asleep? Do Autobots even actually sleep?

She ran her hands down her face, stretching a little bit of loose skin under her eyes as she sighed tiredly. One thing at a time, she was always told.

Better clean myself up before I do anything else, she decided. She made to get off the bed, reaching for a pair of crutches propped up nearby, only to wince from the still-throbbing sensation coming from where her missing limb was.

"Right after I take some painkillers…"

Over an hour had passed by the time Ellie had medicated, showered, and dressed herself for the day—all while being quiet as possible so as not to disturb her grandmother. When she was finished with those tasks, she went back to her room and grabbed her faded brown messenger bag, intent on packing for a full day out. She had a sinking feeling that being whisked away to the Autobot base was going to happen very frequently from now on. So she figured that she might as well be prepared for…well, anything—mostly to keep herself occupied at base.

In other words: she just did what she used to do before she'd, as Isla had put it, "run off into the blue."

While she was busily moving around her room, placing things like her journal, writing utensils, and the book she was currently reading into her bag, her thoughts went to other places. Most notably, she was thinking about Optimus, her…Autobot bodyguard? Escort? Companion, even? She wasn't certain on what he was to her, not yet.

Compared to the other Autobots, it was harder to get a good read on him. He was civil, polite, was well-respected by the other Autobots, and he was very clear on his morals and beliefs, as shown when he talked with Agent Fowler the day before. Other than that, though, there wasn't a whole lot for Ellie to go on. In fact, has she even seen him show much emotion other than that firm demeanor? It'd be just like her to be paired with the cryptic, unreadable type.

She wasn't much one to talk, though.

As conflicted as her thoughts were about Optimus, Ellie had a feeling that he didn't quite know what to make of her either, like he wasn't sure whether he was pleased to be looking after her or not. Then again, she could be reading too much into it. After all, it wasn't like he abhorred to the task—like another Autobot she's met. But she'd never truly know unless she spent some time with him and actually talked to him.

She did tell her grandmother that she'd made some friends; she might as well make good use of that cover, and try to reach out. Not a lot, mind—she still had her preservations on certain aspects of herself. But she wanted to at least be on good terms with him and the others, especially since she was going to be seeing them more often, if the Decepticon threat was as serious as Optimus had claimed.

Yeah, you better brush up on those people skills of yours if you want that to happen.

Ellie sighed. "I know."

Then she stopped and looked up from her task. "Okay," she said, "first step: stop talking out loud to myself."

And what a bang-up job you're doing there, Ells. Inspirational.

She growled under her breath, but wisely said nothing else aloud, and proceeded to pack her bag with a little more force. Once she was done with that, she took a brief moment to readjust her legging sleeves and tighten the laces of her brown, leather ankle boots. Then she plucked her phone from the charger and left her room, making her way into the kitchen. She went up to the memo pad magnetized on the fridge, taking a marker, and wrote a quick note to her grandmother, explaining that she'd be out with some friends and wouldn't be back until later. It'd be another few hours until Isla was up and saw the note. Then she swiped some honeycrisp apples and mandarins from the fruit bowl and put them into her bag to snack on for later.

With bag in tow and message left behind, Ellie was out the door. Outside, the air was cool and dry. From the easternmost horizon, the sky was just beginning to lighten, but there were still flecks of stars visible towards the west.

After shutting the door quietly, she turned and walked down her driveway, onto the sidewalk, making her way toward Optimus. The closer she got, the more she felt a vague, yet budding sense of excitement growing within her; a feeling that, if she was honest with herself, she hasn't truly felt in a long time. Prudently, she repressed the feeling. Easy there, Ellie. You're just going to base. You're not doing anything strenuous, not anymore.

How Optimus was able to see her coming, she still wasn't quite sure, but once she was close enough, his passenger door opened automatically. She stopped short in bemusement for a millisecond, before she carefully climbed inside.

"Morning," she greeted.

"Good morning, Ellie," was Optimus's courteous reply. He waited until she was well situated and buckled up before he revved his engine to life.

"You're up quite early this morning," he said as he pulled away from the curbside and onto the road. "It's my understanding that you and the other children do not have studies on the weekend."

Ellie hesitated for a second, before answering reservedly, "That's true, yes. But I'm an early riser—been one for a long time."

That was halfway the truth. Because of her insomnia—and, of course, the occasional bouts of phantom pains—she often only slept on and off throughout the night, and by the time it was early in the hours of morning that most would call ungodly, her body simply refused to go back to sleep. She could hardly remember the last time she had a consecutive eight-to-ten hours of rest. It was a marvel that she hasn't completely gone off the rails, but she supposed that it was just years of building up a tolerance to it. Not to say that it was easy at first—not even in the slightest.

"I understand," Optimus said, making her look at the dashboard questioningly, before he elaborated, "I too find myself coming out of power-down earlier in the day than the rest of the Autobots."

Power-down? Ellie wondered before it clicked a second later. Ah, sleep. They must've had different names for certain things, she reasoned, remembering him referring to parents as creators the night before. She made a mental note to try to figure out what other terminologies they used for future preference.

"So…it's not a problem that I'm out so early?"

"Not at all. In fact, it could prove to be beneficial for both of us."

Ellie didn't fully discern what he meant by that, but regardless, she was comforted to know that he wasn't bothered by her being up long before the others.

Then Optimus inquired, "And your…grandmother, is she an early riser as well?"

Ellie brushed a stray lock of her hair out of her face. "Most of the time, but not on the weekends. Her work shift is shorter on those days, so she takes advantage of the time off. She was still asleep when I left the house."

There was a fleeting pause before Optimus carefully asked, "Did she react angrily to your late arrival last night?"

She glanced at the dashboard, then looked away. "Yes," she said truthfully, "but I was able to talk her down. At the end of it all, she was only worried—not knowing where I was and all."

"That is reasonable."

She hummed in agreement. "She's just not used to me coming home after her yet….She's a veterinarian, by the way. That's a doctor, but for animals." Then Ellie released a quiet, humorless chuckle. "She gets along better with them than with most humans, so it works out."

"I see," Optimus said pensively.

Then Ellie looked out the window and noticed that the route they were taking wasn't the same one they had used the night before from the Autobot base. "So, what are we doing today? Are we going to base?" she asked him.

"Yes; however, we have plenty of time for a quick patrol around the Jasper area first. Also, the others will want to spend some time with their charges before joining us at base later on."

"Patrol?"

"Yes. We make an effort to do so daily in various regions around the globe—wherever there is most likely to be any enemy activity—to ensure the safety of your planet."

"That makes sense."

"I hope you do not mind."

"Oh, no, I don't. It's…okay," she said quietly.

The two then fell into a long silence; the only sound between them was the hum of Optimus's engine as they drove their way around town.

So far, so good, Ellie told herself. But can you keep it going? Maybe you start the talking this time?

She pressed her lips together. Then, with some hesitance, she settled her arm on the armrest of the passenger side door and idly watched the passing scenery through her window, thinking. It was still strange to think that the glass, like every other part of the semi, was actually a part of Optimus. She gazed out at the reddening eastern sky for a few more minutes before she looked back at the console once more.

"Optimus?" she spoke up.

"Yes, Ellie?" His voice was more or less the same, but there was an undertone of patience and reassurance, inviting her to speak freely.

"How long have you been living here on Earth?"

"Six years, approximately. And until two days ago, we haven't detected Decepticon activity here in three years."

Ellie's eyebrows rose, not expecting that. "Wow," was all she could say to this revelation. A squadron of enormous, robotic extraterrestrials has lived on this planet for six years? And no one else besides the U.S. government has ever noticed until a few random kids bumped into them?

Talk about being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

She glimpsed toward the sky once more. "And…where is Cybertron? How far is it from Earth?"

"It's far beyond this solar system, I'm afraid. It's not visible in your night sky."

"Oh." Ellie felt a sliver of disappointment. A small part of her was hoping that she'd be able to point out the planet in question when she got to her telescope later in the evening. She supposed that made sense, though; if Cybertron were any closer, NASA probably would've spotted it at some point, maybe even sent out one of those rovers too—now wouldn't that be an odd sight? However, Optimus's answer did rouse her curiosity even more, warranting further conversation.

"So you've come a long way, then."

"We have."

"Ratchet told us that, since you only have the means for a ground bridge, you're basically stuck here now. Is that true?"

Optimus was quiet for a moment before replying, "That is one way of putting it, but I consider it for the best. With only us few Autobots accounted for, we would be at a greater risk of being overtaken by the Decepticons if we were to try to go anywhere else."

Her brows creased slightly. "But there was a time when you were capable of travelling all across deep space, right?"

"Yes…long, long ago. Whether by space bridge or ark, there was a time when intrepid Cybertronians pioneered the stars….I myself have seen many worlds, in my travels."

Ellie stared at the console, astounded. "That's…amazing."

The bewilderment in Ellie's voice was not lost on Optimus. His rearview mirror shifted with a faint whir and focused onto her, which only threw her off for a second. "You believe so?"

A smile grew on her face as she leaned forward. "Yeah. I mean, here, we're just barely planning to put people on Mars—that's the red planet after us, by the way. There's so much that we haven't seen and places we haven't been to yet—so much we don't know. But you—you've actually been out there, exploring space itself, discovering new worlds and things that were once thought impossible."

"I see," Optimus said with what she could've sworn was amusement in his voice, or at the very least a hint of indulgence. "You wish to travel beyond your world, Ellie?"

"Yeah—" Ellie quickly answered in an excited tone, but then she stopped herself short, as if surprised by her own outburst. A moment later, she sat back in her seat, reigning in her emotions. She spoke again, in a more subdued voice, "Well…I mean, doesn't everybody at some point? All of the universe, everywhere and anywhere we haven't seen yet, every star that ever is or was…who would say no to that?"

An especially low noise resonated throughout the interior, which to Ellie sounded like something akin to a contemplative hum. It made her bones vibrate.

"When you put it into perspective like that, it is indeed quite tempting," Optimus acknowledged. "I admire your vision, Ellie. Perhaps one day, you too will explore the far reaches of the cosmos and experience its many wonders."

Ellie blinked, completely caught off guard by the compliment. Then her face blushed, and she looked away. That was not what she expected at all.

"Thanks," she said softly, "but I know that's never going to happen, especially…" her gaze had drifted downward, but she immediately caught herself, feeling even more flustered. She returned to staring out the window. "I—I can always dream, though," she muttered, mostly to herself.

Optimus did not respond that time, both of them falling into a rather heavy silence. Sometime during their conversation, Optimus had ended their patrol through Jasper, driving past the city limits and out into the open desert, heading for base. Ellie rested her head in her hand, gazing out at the empty landscape, inwardly berating herself. I must've sounded so stupid.

Fortunately, she didn't have to endure the uncomfortable quiet for very long, for the mountain of rock that contained the Autobot base soon came into view. The secret doorway opened up for them as Optimus drove straight on toward it, allowing them entrance into the base. Winding through the tunnel, they soon found themselves in the main room. Optimus pulled to a stop in the center, where Ellie wordlessly exited his cab. Once she was clear, Optimus transformed into his bipedal form.

Not sure if I'll ever be used to that, Ellie thought, looking up at him as he finished changing shape.

Optimus strode toward Ratchet, who was, amazingly, still studying the strange liquid from the night before. He must've been trying to figure out what it was all night, Ellie reckoned, mildly impressed.

"Ratchet," Optimus addressed the Autobot scientist, "have you uncovered anything about the substance that was found on Arcee?"

Ratchet lifted his head from the lenses of the microscope. "Only that its core elements are the likes of which I've never seen before," he replied. He didn't sound frustrated by this. In fact, he seemed quite fascinated, having the opportunity to study something new and unknown to him. "Not only that, but the contents are extremely concentrated, going by how quickly it affected Arcee and its rampant molecular activity."

Optimus narrowed his eyes at the computer screen that displayed the microscopic particles that made up the matter, which did indeed prove to move and evolve at quite a proliferating level.

"Do you suppose that it is a form of raw energy, one that hasn't yet been purified?" he asked.

Ratchet glanced back at the petri dish. "It's too soon to tell, though my hypothesis is leaning that way…" then his face contorted into an accusing scowl, "…of course, I'd be further along in my research if a certain former Wrecker hadn't broken my equipment."

Ellie raised an eyebrow, but couldn't help her small smile of amusement. It was obvious that he was referring to Bulkhead from the day before, but…Wrecker? She couldn't tell whether that was a title or an insult. She quickly forced down her smile before Ratchet could see it, lest he channel that ill temper of his her way.

But regardless of whether he saw her humorous look or not, it appeared that she was going to end up on the receiving end of Ratchet's gruffness anyway; for after a long moment of thinking, Optimus declared, "Excuse me. There is something that I must look into that might give us some insight to our find." He turned and, briefly locking his eyes down at Ellie, he said, "Remain with Ratchet. I will not be long."

She did not mishear the annoyed sigh that emitted from the Autobot medic's direction when Optimus said that. Trying to remain impassive, she merely nodded to show that she understood. Optimus walked away from them, heading for the large corridor that led deeper into the silo. Ellie quietly watched him go.

The second Optimus was around the corner, taking the loud thud of his footsteps with him, Ratchet said sternly to her from over his shoulder, "I still need to concentrate, so keep quiet, keep out of the way, and don't touch anything."

No response.

Ratchet fully turned to face Ellie. "Did you hear me?"

She met his gaze, looking genuinely confused. "'Course I did. That's why I didn't say anything."

Ratchet blinked a few times. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something to contradict her, but closed it instead. In the end, he simply growled and turned back to his microscope with a huff.

Ellie frowned once his back was turned. Oh, just what I need: a slightly less angry Isla to deal with.

Shaking her head, she walked away a few paces until she found herself at the bottom of the stairs, where she sat down onto the first two steps. Ellie spared another glance back at Ratchet, who, as promised, was immersed in his research once again, before she looked down at her lap.

I guess this is my morning now.

It was fortunate that she came prepared, then. She took her bag off her shoulders and opened it, rummaging around inside for something to help keep her busy—while still being quiet of course. A green sheet of paper underneath her notebook caught her eye, and she pulled it out. It was a flyer for her school's upcoming science fair.

Oh, yeah, that is coming up in a couple of weeks, isn't it? Ellie remembered. In that case, I better start coming up with a project to do.

She took out her school notebook and, after some thought, she began listing and charting down ideas for possible science projects to do based on what they had covered in class and what she was most interested in.

She didn't know how long she sat there, the only noises to be heard were the occasional beep of the monitor Ratchet was using and the scrawling of Ellie's pencil against the paper, but eventually, her train of thought was halted by a new noise somewhere in the silo—like the sound of metal clanging to the floor. She looked up from her notebook, puzzled.

"I thought I told you to be quiet," Ratchet said with exasperation.

"That wasn't me," she countered.

Ratchet raised his head with a glare, but then he faltered when another sound came, like the rough pitter-patter of something—or someone—running around nearby.

"Optimus?" Ratchet called uncertainly.

The skittering noise came again in response, this time getting closer and louder. Ellie saw movement from the other side of Ratchet in her peripheral vision. She turned her head—and was up on her feet within a second. "Whoa!" she yelped.

Ratchet turned to see what it was, and he gasped in shock. "By the Allspark!"

The best way for Ellie to describe the strange thing that was approaching fast was some sort of robot spider; roughly her height, with silver, thin but razor sharp talons for legs, and a lone, bright purple optic lense placed in the center of its metallic body.

Before either Autobot or human could even begin to question what it was or how it got into the base, the intruder leaped high into the air right at Ratchet, claws bared. Ratchet swiveled to the side, barely missing it, making it land on the counter instead. But it quickly turned around and jumped at the Autobot again, who raised his arms in defense and batted it away, sending it up on one of the high platforms.

While the spider-bot's eye gleamed down at them, emitting a high-pitched hiss, Ratchet grabbed a metal rod nearby. "Stay back!" he ordered Ellie, who remained behind him, watching with wide eyes.

The spider-bot dropped down to attack again, and in turn Ratchet tried to swat at it with the rod. The creature, however, proved to be quite fast, nimbly dodging every blow he tried to lay on it while moving behind the computers and equipment. Then, when it avoided another blow by going behind Ratchet's microscope, it suddenly lashed a claw out, slicing the upper half of the microscope clean off, making it fall to the floor with a crash.

"I needed that!" Ratchet shouted furiously.

Ratchet's anger proved to be enough of a moment of vulnerability, as the spider-bot jumped at him again, this time succeeding in striking him in the face. He staggered back with a muffled cry.

"Ratchet!" Ellie yelled, and she immediately regretted doing that. The robot spider turned its body toward her, its glowing eye glinting maliciously. Then it lunged right at her. Her blood ran cold with a rush of terror as she frantically tried to move out of the way, but it was just too fast. Before she knew it, she was on her back, staring straight up into the glowing eye of her attacker looming right on top of her. It released another ear-piercing, animalistic screech.

Ellie's jaw clenched as her heart pounded rapidly, her ears ringing. All sense of rational thought had completely abandoned her in that moment—there was no time for it anyway, with the spider-bot's talons poised to strike. In its place rose repressed instincts that hadn't surfaced in ages. Almost acting all on its own, her hand reached down and yanked up her legging sleeve, unlatching her prosthetic leg within an instant. Then she pulled it off, gripped it tight by the knee joint, and just started whaling on the spider-bot with it.

"Stupid—" WHACK! "—spider—" WHACK! "—get—" WHACK! "—OFF!"

Meanwhile, Ratchet had recovered from the previous attack and, removing his hand from his face, had looked up in time to see Ellie detach one of her legs in a flash and fend off the impending threat with it.

It took him a second to grasp what he was looking at, and even when he did with his eyes widening in surprise, he didn't have time to give it a second thought as the shriek of the spider-bot promptly snapped him back to reality, the menace jumping away from the girl after she struck it with one last blow into its purple lense.

"Hey!" he yelled, quickly grabbing its attention. He hurled his metal rod at it before it had the chance to go after Ellie again, earning a cry out of it. With a hiss, it bounded toward Ratchet once more, talons ready, but then there came a loud blast, and it was shot right out of the air in a shower of sparks. Startled, both Ellie and Ratchet looked over to where the shot had come from. Optimus stood before them, blaster gun aimed at the now grounded creature, a determined glare on his face.

Another torrent of sparks emitted from the spider-bot before it struggled to get up once more, but Optimus was on it in an instant. With a thundering clap, the spider-bot was flattened beneath Optimus's giant foot. It did not move again.

"And stay broken!" Ratchet snarled down at it.

Seeing that the threat was down for good, Ellie's shoulders slumped with a heavy exhale. "That was violent," she murmured, feeling her adrenaline rush wearing off. She looked down at her prosthetic leg in her hand, taking a careful moment to examine it over. After determining that it was more or less undamaged, she worked to reattach it to her residual limb. She was just about to pull her legging sleeve down, until—

"Ellie."

She froze upon hearing Optimus's voice from right above her, seeing his feet come to a stop right next to her in her peripheral vision—where he had a perfect view of her substitute limb. Her heart dropped faster than a falling elevator.

Oh. Oh, no.

Whatever can be said for her prosthesis, it didn't look anything like a real human leg when exposed. She was sure that even robotic aliens were aware of how different it was from the rest of her body—let alone that you don't just remove normal, organic limbs like some kind of mechanical part.

She shut her eyes as she slowly lowered her sleeve and tucked it underneath the rim of her sock, back into its original position, covering up her leg once more. She reopened her eyes just as Optimus knelt down.

"Are you alright?"

That was all he said, a question of her wellbeing. Nothing else.

She turned her head slightly to glance up at him, and she wasn't exactly sure what she saw in his stoic face. There were very subtle hints of concern there, but that wasn't much of a surprise, given the recent danger that had transpired. Other than that, though, she had no idea what he was thinking.

That was what unsettled her the most.

Averting her eyes, she answered with a faint quiver in her voice, "Yeah, I'm fine."

Taking a steady breath, she readjusted her prosthetic leg, preparing to push herself up. But then a large, metal hand came into her view, palm up, fingers stretched out to her. She blinked at it, taking her a couple of seconds to realize that Optimus was offering to help.

Reluctantly, she reached out and took it, her hand looking extremely small in his, and he gently pulled her up into a standing position.

She didn't miss how his hand lingered until he knew for certain that she had her footing after she let go.

That's just as well, she thought, feeling embarrassment mix into the abundance of emotions currently swirling inside of her. Why didn't I just let that thing rip into me?

"Thank you," she said quietly, still not meeting his gaze. Then she cleared her throat and turned to the now trampled spider-bot with a frown. "What was that thing?" she asked both of the present Autobots, hoping to change the subject onto a more pressing matter.

Fortunately for her, Ratchet already seemed to be ahead of her on that, as he had been over the offending object and was focused solely on examining it, trying to hypothesize what it was and how it came to be. He truly was a scientist through and through.

"It appears to be…" he carefully lifted one of its claws up with a pair of tongs, until his eyes brightened with recognition, "…the manipulator arm that Bulkhead destroyed yesterday…" his eyes then narrowed at the small trace of purple liquid on the side, "…but it was infected by the dark matter that was on Arcee—corrupted, even. Somehow, it was able to come alive. But how? What could have possibly caused it?"

At this question, Optimus straightened back up to his full height. Somehow, Ellie could feel his gaze on her for another moment longer, before he eventually answered Ratchet in a grim tone, "I have a grave suspicion: dark energon."

Ellie's frown deepened, having no idea what the difference was between dark energon and regular energon, but it appeared to be of significance to Ratchet, whose eyes widened. Ellie was surprised by how openly disturbed he looked. "The blood of Unicron," he said breathlessly.

"The very same," Optimus confirmed solemnly.

What's a Unicron? Ellie thought.

With a new amount of care, Ratchet picked up the broken spider-bot with the tongs, carrying it over to a glass container that Optimus opened up for him.

"If the residue Arcee found in Cliffjumper brought your equipment to life, then it would stand to reason that the very same substance reanimated Cliffjumper's body from the dead," Optimus theorized as Ratchet set the object into the tube and sealed it shut.

Like a zombie, Ellie thought, shuddering at the image. She looked over and saw her notebook and a few of her papers scattered by the stairs, having fallen to the floor during the scuffle. She walked over and crouched down to pick them up while the two Autobots continued to speak, not registering Optimus glance her way before looking back to Ratchet.

Ratchet put a hand to his chin, humming pensively. "That seems to be the only possible explanation, based on what Arcee told us about what she saw regarding Cliffjumper. And it does account for his life signal inexplicably coming back online, but dark energon?" He turned to Optimus with a look of slight disbelief. "It's so scarce so as to be virtually non-existent— so much so that it was believed to have been an old myth. How did it end up on Earth, of all places?"

"It was transported…by Megatron. I am certain of it."

Ellie looked up at them in concern. Megatron was back?

"For what purpose, though?"

"To conquer this planet…by raising an army of the undead."

Ellie felt more uneasy as she straightened, her notebook under her arm. Not only has Megatron's imminent return come to pass, but he was planning on animating his own army of robot zombies to destroy the world?

Whoever this Megatron was, Ellie considered, he certainly didn't dawdle or do things half-heartedly.

Ratchet, on the other hand, didn't seem all that worried. He scoffed out a laugh at this news. "Well, Megatron's going to have to break quite a few toaster ovens," he said with a smirk. "I mean, where on this planet would he hope to find any trace of Cybertronian dead—much less an army?"

At this, Ellie's apprehensive expression wavered, making way for a rather puzzled look. When, under what circumstances, would Ratchet of all 'Bots have become aware of toaster ovens?

Optimus, however, looked thoughtful, appearing to already have an inkling of where to look for the supposed undead army that Megatron was seeking. But before he could voice his reasoning, the revving of engines grew loud and clear from the tunnel entrance, and the rest of the Autobots came rolling into the base. Soon, the sound of engines was replaced with brief transformations—the Autobots now in bipedal form—as well as the jumbled words of praise from the other three children as they laughed and smiled up at their respective Autobot companions.

Looks like they're all getting along with each other nicely, Ellie thought with a small twinge of envy, but as quick as the feeling came, it went away, making her feel discouraged with herself. It was her own fault for tarnishing whatever good thing she had going with Optimus. No one else's.

While Bulkhead carefully pulled out a black guitar case from his chassis and gave it to an apologizing Miko, Raf and Jack approached Ellie with dual greetings of, "What's up?" and "Mornin'."

Swallowing down her negative feelings, Ellie put on a smile as she turned to them. "Hey, guys. What've you been up to?"

"Racing, mostly," Jack answered. "Arcee wasn't kidding about how fast she can go."

Arcee gave an almost imperceptible, yet very satisfied smirk, a hand on her hip.

"And who knew Bumblebee could beat me at my favorite video game?" Raf said, throwing the Autobot in question a mock glare, who shrugged with an innocent chirp.

"How about you?" Jack asked Ellie.

"Oh, uh," she said dumbly, not wanting to tell them what had just happened, "I was just…"

But then Jack noticed the notebook under her arm, and he arched an eyebrow. "Let me guess: you're one of those kids that actually does their homework on the weekends?"

She slipped her notebook back into her bag with a low mumble of, "Maybe."

"Nothing wrong with that," Raf said. "Saves you the stress of doing it last-minute."

Oh, yeah, I'm the epitome of care-free here, she thought sarcastically, but she sent Raf an appreciative smile anyway, one in which he returned.

"Autobots," Optimus addressed his team, "prepare to—" but then he stopped short, looking down at the human children, most of whom looked back curiously.

"Roll out?" Arcee provided, though it was said in the form of a question.

Optimus, having reassessed his notion, instead told her, "Remain here." He turned to the Autobot medic. "Ratchet, you'll come with me." Then he returned his gaze to Arcee. "Arcee, we'll be outside of communication's range for some time, so I'm putting you in charge."

"Dude, you're the biggest!" Miko told Bulkhead, looking up at him with an almost joking smile. "You should be in charge!"

Bulkhead put a hand up self-consciously. "Uhh, he never picks me."

Miko shrugged it off before picking up her guitar case and walking over to where the rest of the kids were.

Meanwhile, Ellie felt a vague sense of relief at hearing that Optimus and Ratchet were heading out for the time being. That indicated that she wasn't going to be barraged with questions regarding her prosthesis anytime soon. She knew it was only temporary, but hopefully, with all that was going on, it would take the back seat behind other priorities and concerns, and wouldn't come as such a heavy blow when the time came.

But Arcee, who was proving to be more and more stubborn every time Ellie was in her presence, stepped forward with an air of mild defiance. "Optimus, with all due respect, playing bodyguard is one thing; babysitting is another," she protested.

From next to Ellie, Jack sighed in annoyance before walking off.

"Besides, Ratchet hasn't been in the field since the war on Cybertron," Arcee added.

From his place by the console, Ratchet said cuttingly, "My pistons may be rusty, but my hearing is as sharp as ever!"

"For the moment," Optimus tried to reassure her, "it is only reconnaissance."

Arcee frowned, unconvinced. "Then why do I hear an edge in your voice?"

Optimus looked down at Arcee, his face hardening into a stern expression. When he spoke again, his voice radiated uncompromising finality, "Arcee, much has changed in the last twenty-four hours…" then, almost discreetly, his cerulean eyes shifted and found Ellie's hazel eyes, locking her in place, "…and we all need to adapt."

The look he gave her was brief but clear as day: what he saw was far from forgotten, and was going to be discussed with later at the first given opportunity.

Even Ratchet, from where he now stood behind Optimus, had been regarding her with a scrutinizing frown during their conversation.

Once Optimus no longer held her gaze and turned away, heading through the now activated ground bridge with Ratchet, Ellie sighed forlornly. All of her previous relief was completely swept away, replaced with an empty coldness in her veins. She had a feeling that once their reconnaissance done and over with, she was going to be in for quite the long talk.

What an overly complicated explanation this is going to be.

"'Sup, my dude?" Miko greeted her, pulling her out of her reverie.

Ellie looked at her, then down at the case she was holding. Gradually, her troubled expression softened. "You play guitar?" she asked with some interest, welcoming any sort of distraction from the storm in her mind at that point.

Miko grinned with delight. "Not just any guitar…" she opened up the case and pulled out a black and white, V-model electric guitar, "...it's my pride and joy."

Ellie's eyebrows rose. "Oh."

"Yeah, oh."

Miko picked up the aux chord in her other hand and looked around. "Now, I know I saw an amplifier lying around here somewhere…ah! Bingo!" Elated, she ran over to where she spotted said loudspeaker. "Good thing Ratchet's not here to tell me not to touch it, huh?"

While Miko was busily setting up her guitar, Jack looked up at Arcee expectantly. "So, chief, what's on the activities list?"

Arcee merely rolled her eyes before she grumbled that she was going out on patrol, ordering a reluctant Bumblebee to accompany her. Bulkhead tried to protest, only to instantly be shot down by her, leaving him in charge. With that, she and Bumblebee transformed into their vehicle forms and sped out of the base.

"Yeesh," Ellie grunted lowly once they were gone, turning to Jack. "You're really getting through to her, aren't you?"

"It tends to go up and down," he said with a tired shake of his head, crossing his arms. Then he looked at her. "How's it going with you and Optimus?"

Ellie looked away, her features darkening slightly. That one's on me; I walked into it by asking first.

"Ehh, it's fine," she muttered offhandedly.

Before Jack could have the chance to press for details, Bulkhead spoke up, facing the four children.

"So, uh…what's on the activities list?" he asked somewhat nervously, not used to his new job as "lone babysitter."

His answer came in the form of a grinding squeal, making all of them flinch. They looked over to the source of the noise. It was Miko, having finished hooking up her guitar to the amplifier and adjusting the settings.

"How about band practice?" she suggested excitedly.

"Band practice?" Bulkhead repeated, confused.

"But we're not a band," Raf said.

"Why so antisocial? Come on, it'll be fun!" Miko prodded. "You play anything, Raf?"

Raf thought for a moment before he pulled his laptop out of his backpack and showed it to her. "Keyboard?" he offered hesitantly.

Miko hummed approvingly. "Laptop and samples, good!" She turned to the older boy. "Jack?"

He scratched the back of his head. "I, uh…sometimes mess around a bit on the harmonica."

Miko was unimpressed. "Do I look like I do country? Just—cover yourself in fake blood and jump around screaming." Before Jack could argue, she looked at Ellie. "How about you, Ellie? You play an instrument? And please don't say something lame too—like the accordion." She made a face like saying the very word "accordion" brought a bitter taste in her mouth.

A corner of Ellie's lips twitched upwards before she put a hand up. "No, I don't play anything."

Not for a very long time, at least.

Then Raf piped up, "She sings."

Ellie whipped her head toward him, . "What?"

Miko perked up. "Really? Sweet! You'll be backup vocals, then! Which is basically just screaming right now; we'll work on the hardcore throat tuning when we get to it."

Ellie narrowed her eyes at Raf with a scowl. "Traitor," she grumbled, which only made him smile coyly at her.

Miko looked up at the green Autobot. "Bulkhead, you'll be percussion! Because you can't have a hit song without a beat! We'll go for a big, industrial sound!" She beamed at all of them. "DIY—we're a band! You just gotta learn the songs. This one's a ballad…" she clenched her fist with a fierce look, "…it's called, 'My fist, your face!'"

Without further preamble, she lifted her pick high into the air, only to bring it down, and just started shredding on her guitar freestyle. By rock-and-roll standards, Miko was actually quite good. But if everyone else had a unanimous opinion on it, it was that it was way too loud, as shown when the other three kids and Bulkhead winced, covering their ears from the deafening music. Ellie could swear she could see some dust falling off the rock walls from the vibrations.

Not long after, though, another sound pierced through the strumming: the proximity sensor, the green light blinking in tandem. Bulkhead was the first to notice. He waved his hand at Miko, yelling over the music for her to stop.

Miko did so grudgingly, the music fading out. "What, you can't handle raw power?" she asked.

"Fowler's here! Quick, hide!" Bulkhead warned urgently, just as they heard the elevator descending.

Alarmed by the sudden arrival, the children ran for the nearest cover: behind Bulkhead's leg. They hid with their backs up against his foot just as the door slid open—and not a moment too soon; Fowler sounded more furious than the last time he visited.

"Prime!" he barked, his voice echoing throughout the room as he stormed in.

"Agent Fowler," Bulkhead greeted him nervously, trying to keep perfectly still. "Um, Optimus isn't here. No one is—except me, of course." He let out an awkward laugh.

"Well, where is he?!" Fowler demanded. "Oh, let me guess: he's out pancaking a mini-mall!"

While Fowler continued to rant and rave, he started to slowly walk down the platform towards the stairs, making Bulkhead inconspicuously follow his movements so as to completely face him and keep the kids out of his line of sight. The kids in turn tried to move in sync as well, but they were abruptly stopped by Miko's guitar chord, which had reached its length capacity. Miko tried to pull on it, hoping it would disconnect on its own, but that only produced more frequency from the speaker.

"You forgot to unplug it?" Jack hissed at her indignantly.

"Shut up, shut up!" she hissed right back, giving it one last desperate tug, but it was too much for the amplifier, and it emitted a long, loud screech.

It was suddenly silent between the occupants of the room, Fowler having stopped in his tirade from the noise.

"Since when are you 'Bots electric?" Fowler asked suspiciously.

Bulkhead stiffened, not knowing what to say.

Ellie and the other kids looked at one another, knowing that they had been caught and there was no getting out of it. Together, they slowly moved out into the open, revealing themselves to the liaison.

"Hey! How's it goin'?" Jack said, trying to come off as casual.

Ellie looked up at Agent Fowler with a friendly smile, taking in his appearance for the first time. He was of average height for his age, which looked to be somewhere in his mid to late forties; slightly overweight; dark skin, with even darker, curly hair that looked to have been cut military style at one point but has since grown out some; wearing a grey suit with a loosely tied, black-and-white striped tie.

Fowler stared down at all four of the children, giving a whole new meaning to the word "livid."

"Contact with civilians!" he exclaimed. "Team Prime has really gone off book this time! No, wait—don't tell me: you're running a daycare center!"

Ellie knitted her eyebrows at the comment, beginning to understand why Jack was so against being called a kid. Do we really look that young?

Bulkhead stumbled over his words, trying but failing at coming up with a good excuse. Seeing this, Jack spoke up, hoping to come to his aid.

"Uh—we're interns!" he lied on the spot, grinning convincingly.

"Student interns!" Raf put in helpfully.

Jack nodded. "Yeah, earning extra credit in, uh…auto shop—"

"—Robotics—"

"—Engineering."

Ellie shut her eyes with a pained sigh at her, Miko, and Jack having blurted out different answers simultaneously. We are so dead, she thought with dismay.

Unsurprisingly, Fowler didn't buy their story one bit. "Okay, let's move," he said seriously as he trudged down the stairs, making his way toward them. "I'm taking all four of you into federal custody. It's for your own protection."

Before he could reach them, Bulkhead suddenly slammed his foot down in front of him, stopping him in his tracks, startling all of them.

"We're protecting them," Bulkhead said firmly.

Ellie and the others stared up at him, astounded by his boost of assertiveness.

"Is that so?" Fowler snarled, quickly getting over the scare. He walked over to a landline phone next to the stairs. "Then maybe you can explain that to my superiors at the Pentagon." He picked up the receiver, about to make a call.

In a panic, Bulkhead reached down. "Don't use that phone! It's—" he pressed a giant finger into the machine, effectively breaking it, "—out of order."

Fowler threw down the phone, letting it dangle by its chord. "This isn't over, Big Foot—not by a long shot!" he seethed before stomping back up the stairs, and into the elevator. Bulkhead and the children watched him go, all with mixtures of worry and aggravation on their faces.

"Well, that went smoothly," Jack said drily once they were alone again.

"Talk about a mood-killer," Miko griped, removing her guitar strap from over her shoulders. "Just when I was this close to pulling off the perfect solo."

"You really weren't," Jack deadpanned.

"Hey!"

Meanwhile, a lamented moan brought Ellie's gaze back upward. Bulkhead rubbed a hand down his disconcerted face. You could practically see the anxiety seeping from him. Ellie felt so bad for him; they had probably gotten him and the Autobots into more trouble with the government, on top of everything else they had to deal with. Suddenly her own problems seemed kind of tedious in comparison.

"Sorry, Bulkhead," she told him sincerely.

He sighed. "It's not your fault, he would've found out about you guys eventually, but…that could've been handled better. Optimus is usually the only one who can cool him down."

"Come on, Bulk! You were awesome!" Miko assured him. "That dude's just a total nark, and you showed him who's boss!"

"You stopped him from taking us away, at least. That's something," Ellie added.

Bulkhead smiled down at them, but it quickly disappeared. "Yeah, but…now he's running off to snitch on us to his higher-ups, and I don't think even the Boss Bot can talk him down this time." He groaned again. "I am so fragged."

Ellie blinked up at him. Whoa, that sounded like profanity there. He must've really been stressed out.

"You don't think he'll come back and try to take us again, do you?" Raf asked, concerned.

Bulkhead shook his head. "Don't know. Hopefully, the others will be back by then and do a better job of convincing him than I did."

I hope so too, Ellie mused. I'm not even going to imagine trying to explain this to Gran through a prison phone.

Then, before anything else was said, an alarm started blaring. It was different from the proximity alert; it was more shrill and intense. So much so that Raf could hardly handle it with his young, sensitive hearing. "My ears!" he whimpered.

Ellie pressed her hands over his to help further block out the wailing, while Bulkhead walked over to the monitor to see what the problem was. His eyes roved over the screen.

"It's an SOS…from Fowler!" Bulkhead said, genuinely surprised. His hands hovered over the keyboard, unsure what to do, but the computer saved him the trouble by automatically shutting off the alarm, replaced with a scanning beep.

Ellie removed her hands, letting Raf know that the alarm was off. "You okay?"

He nodded with a grateful smile before asking what the alert was. After she explained, Raf looked up at Bulkhead. "Did you trace the signal?" he asked, just as the monitor went silent again.

Bulkhead read it over. "The location scan was incomplete." Then he shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, well," he said in an uncaring manner, turning to walk away.

"What?!" Ellie cried, thrown off by his dismissiveness.

"Yeah, seriously?! That's it?!" Jack pressed, equally shocked.

"What? Fowler's a jerk!" Bulkhead defended himself.

Ellie looked up at him in disbelief. Was he serious? "That shouldn't matter!" she said incredulously.

"She's right, Bulkhead! Jerk or not, the Decepticons might've gotten a hold of him!" Jack pointed out.

"Plus, he knows your location!" Raf said. Then he gulped, a thought occurring to him, and he added, "…our location."

"And did we not just witness how fast he backs down from a 'Bot?" Miko reminded him. "The 'Cons will totally make him squeal!"

"And what's worse," Ellie spoke up again, wanting to bring the bigger picture into the light, "if the Decepticons really are as bad as you say they are—"

"They are," Bulkhead insisted.

"Yeah, okay. Then not only could they make him tell them where we are—by any means they can—but other secrets too. You'd not only lose the base, but all of your resources, your assets. And without those, you really think you'd stand much of a chance against them anymore? And then what's to stop them from hurting other people?"

Bulkhead's eyes widened slightly at this realization. Even Jack, Miko, and Raf looked surprised by her reasoning. Then Bulkhead sagged a little in defeat.

"But we lost the transmission. Fowler could be anywhere by now!" he said, distraught.

"Hold on," Raf said, getting an idea. He hurried over and grabbed his laptop before he sat down on the floor. "Maybe I can narrow it down."

Ellie went over and delicately lowered herself to one knee behind him. "You can?" she asked as she watched him start to type.

Raf nodded. "About five years ago, the government started microchipping their agents—you know, like how some people do with their pets."

There was a long three seconds of stunned silence between everyone in the room. Raf glanced up at all of them and shrugged at their expressions. "What? I saw it on TV."

On what, the dystopia channel? Ellie thought.

"Anyway, if I can hack into the Fed's mainframe, maybe I can pinpoint Fowler's coordinates," Raf explained.

"You know how to hack? But you're, like...two years old!" Miko exaggerated.

"Twelve," Raf corrected, then looked up at her with a somewhat cheeky smirk, "and a quarter."

Ellie looked at him, eyebrows raised. She's always known since she met him that he was younger than her, but to actually hear out loud that he was twelve still came as a bit of a surprise. But her surprise was quickly overshadowed by intrigue as she watched him continue to type away. From behind her and Raf, Jack and Miko stood, watching as well.

"Tracking devices on agents, huh?" Jack said. "That's convenient."

"If not ethically ambiguous," Ellie remarked.

Miko snickered at her. "You say weird words."

Jack snorted. "Says the girl in Bot-swana."

"Hey!"

Raf and Ellie shared knowing glances of amusement before returning their gaze to the screen, which showed a birds-eye view of a mountainous landscape, the system scanning the area for its intended target. A few moments later, the search was narrowed down, and a sequence of numbers popped up at the bottom of the screen.

"Latitude 39.5," Raf read, squinting so as not to mistake any of the numbers, "Longitude 116.9."

Ellie grinned. "I still think the whole microchipping thing is a huge grey area, but…great job, Raf," she praised.

The younger boy laughed as he closed his laptop. "Thanks, Ellie."

Then Bulkhead, who had been waiting by the console during the scan, quickly punched in the coordinates and activated the ground bridge. "Okay, you guys wait here. I'm gonna go get Fowler," Bulkhead told them as he walked toward the swirling vortex.

Miko, not liking the idea at all, complained, "Aww, don't break up the band!"

Bulkhead stopped, only to look back and hastily say, "Uh—Jack! You're in charge!" Then he proceeded to take off through the portal.

"Well," Jack said once Bulkhead was gone, the ground bridge fading away, "guess we four have the run of the place now."

That was when Ellie felt an undeniable absence—mostly due to the fact that it was significantly quieter among her and the other three kids. She took one look around and figured out why in an instant: they were one kid short. Miko was nowhere in sight.

"Uh, guys?" Ellie said. "Where's Miko?"

Jack and Raf looked around in confusion. "Wasn't she just here?" Raf asked.

Jack started to call out for the girl, but the only answer he got was his echo in the now seemingly empty base.

"You think she's hiding?" Raf suggested.

"No, what would be the point?" Jack retorted.

"No," Ellie suddenly muttered, getting their attention. She was staring at the ground bridge station with grim comprehension. "She didn't..."

"Wait, you're not saying she…?" Jack trailed off, not wanting to believe it.

She nodded numbly. "I'm afraid so."

Jack ran a hand down his face with a groan. "Why, Miko?"

"What should we do?" Raf said anxiously. "Bulkhead may not even realize that she followed him!"

"Miko hasn't seen the 'Cons in action like we have," Jack said with a glare. "She has no idea what she's getting herself into."

"So what now?" Ellie asked, worried that this time, there'd be more than just two Decepticons that Bulkhead would have to go up against, and Miko would be caught in the middle of it.

Raf hurried over to one of the human-sized computers, bringing up a set of codes. "Those are the coordinates; their destination is still locked in," he said.

Jack looked back at the ground bridge with a frown. Then, with a sigh, he turned back to the two younger kids. "Raf, fire the ground bridge back up. And, uh…Ellie? You're in charge."

Both Raf and Ellie stared at him in astonishment. "You're going after her?" Raf asked.

"Someone's gotta!" was Jack's blatant reply over his shoulder, as he was already down the ladder and heading for the tunnel.

Ellie and Raf looked at one another, both of them with conflicted expressions on their faces. After the whole spider-bot fiasco earlier, Ellie would've been perfectly content to just stay put, not wanting to partake in anything else even remotely stimulating. But after measuring the weight of their current situation, she reconsidered. Miko was out there with Bulkhead, no doubt in danger, and Ellie didn't want her to get hurt. And with Fowler missing and having sent a distress call, the safety of the entire secret base was under threat, not just hers and the other kids'.

Not to mention, when she looked down at Raf right then, she could see in his eyes that he didn't want to be left behind either.

And there was absolutely no way she was going to let this boy go off into danger without her, not if she could help it.

Knowing that they had come to a quiet understanding, they both nodded earnestly. Then, after Raf punched in the code to activate the ground bridge, they made their way down the stairs at a quickened pace, catching up to Jack. The older boy glanced down at the two of them with a quirked eyebrow, but didn't say anything in protest to them accompanying him. They walked together down the tunnel, which was already spiraling to life. Ellie stared up in wonder at the bright colors of energy fluctuating all around them. She felt a strange static on the back of her neck the deeper they trekked in.

Her gaze moving between the intense show of alien technology and the two boys next to her, Ellie could feel the same sensation she had felt beginning to develop earlier that morning when she was leaving her house. Only this time, there was no holding it back it as it grew inside, her heartbeat quickening: excitement, anticipation, and a little bit of fear.

But a little fear was alright. It lets you know you're alive, after all.

Slowly, subconsciously, her lips curled upwards into a smile, her gait reaching a point to where she was steadily walking faster than Jack and Raf, the buzzing exhilaration blocking out any strain she had.

"Into the belly of the beast, we go," she said in a whisper as they ventured straight toward the shining light ahead of them.

A/N- Welp. That didn't take long.

There honestly wasn't much inner debate over how long (or, in this case, how short) into the story until someone on Team Prime found out that Ellie was an amputee. Because it's kinda too big a thing for it to kept in the dark—at least for a prolonged amount of time. Now things are beginning to shift into full gear. *rubs hands together gleefully*

I want to thank everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and followed this so far- even you casual readers who are just passing through. Yeah I see you. You are rare gems that shine brighter than Tamatoa. Hope to see you again soon, and stay safe!