I am happy to announce... A NEW CHAPTER! *throws confetti* *crowd cheers* *balloons float into the sky*

Please note: I do not own Transformers. I do, however, have my own OC's which I have inserted into the story. My OC's include Reese Shields and Chase Sanders. Electra belongs to my sister.

One Giant Leap

This chapter corresponds to the episode "Orion Pax Part 2"

Now that the Autobots had at least a semblance of a plan of action, everyone was in better spirits. They at least had something they could work towards, rather than sitting around twiddling their thumbs.

While the bots were out scouting for any signs of a space bridge, Raf and Reese were continuing to help Ratchet try and upgrade the ground bridge.

Raf had his little remote-control car ready and waiting. Ratchet adjusted the settings on the bridge and Reese fired it up.

"I have doubts if my calculations have extended our bridge to long range, but there is only one way to find out. Alright Raf, send it through, nice and easy," Ratchet ordered.

Raf fired up the RC car, driving it straight on into the portal. The little car made it about halfway through the portal before exploding into a bunch of little parts.

Ratchet shook his helm sadly as Reese powered down the ground bridge.

"Don't get too upset just yet, Ratchet. It was just the first try. We can get another RC car and try it again after some more recalibrations," Raf tried to encourage the medic.

"No, this whole idea was pure folly. A misguided act of desperation. It takes eons to master space bridge engineering, and no one is more accomplished in it than the Decepticons. Trying to upgrade our own, without the proper knowledge, is a fool's task."

"You know, there is this thing in gym class where you have to climb a rope, all the way to the ceiling. It's really hard, and I have never been able to do it. But, when I told Bee about it, he believed in me, which made me practice a ton. Finally, just a couple of weeks ago, I made it all the way to the top!" Raf told his story to Ratchet.

Ratchet turned around, looking down at Raf in confusion, not to mention, annoyance. "What does any of this have to do with gym class?" He spat angrily.

"I… I was just…"

"UGH," Ratchet huffed and turned back to his computer.

"I'll give you some alone time…" Raf looked away disappointingly, before making his way out of the main room.

"Ratchet, that was uncalled for!" Reese stalked up to the medic.

"Oh, don't you start with me, Reese."

"No! Don't you start with ME! Raf was trying to explain to you that we believe in you, and that with practice, you can do just about anything. Like he could climbed the rope in gym class, so can you learn to upgrade our ground bridge. But what did you do? You shut him down. Yelled at him! I know you're frustrated, we all are, but he was just trying to encourage you."

"I'm doing everything I can to get Optimus back, but I'm a failure! Maybe I could upgrade our bridge someday, but not soon enough to rescue Optimus. I don't need practice; I need a miracle!" Ratchet raised his voice, snapping at Reese.

"You need an attitude adjustment. You aren't a failure to anyone. I know that Optimus would not be happy if he knew you were beating yourself up like this. Now pull yourself up by your bootstraps and get a grip!" Reese snapped back and walked away. She didn't want to be around Ratchet if he was going to act like a jerk about everything. She decided she would probably check in on Raf, see how he was doing. She searched around a little bit, finally finding the boy sitting alone at the table in the kitchen. He had his head resting on the table, looking very upset.

"Try not to take him too seriously Raf. He is just frustrated right now. Give him a little time; I'm sure he didn't mean to say it like that. I'm proud of you for climbing the rope." Reese sat down beside the young boy, wrapping her arm around his shoulders. "I remember, when I was your age, I used to have the same problem. Honestly, I don't know if I ever fully made it to the top, so that puts you up there above me!"

"Really?" Raf looked up at Reese in astonishment. He had always seen her as so strong and brave and talented.

"Yea. You might be surprised to know that I was always the smallest in my class, and I was bullied because of it. Haha, I remember this one girl, Alex, hated my guts, but I have no clue why. One time, she stuffed me in a locker in the girl's locker room. I missed gym class, and the gym teacher only noticed when she came into the locker room and heard me banging on the locker door." Reese chuckled at the memory. As awful as it had been at the time, it was kind of funny, looking back on it.

"That's awful! I'm so sorry," Raf winced at the thought, perhaps it had stirred up memories of his own painful bullying experiences.

"Oh, I didn't tell you that story to get your sympathy. I told it to you because, despite the way I was treated, I didn't give up, and I didn't let it get to me. Or, I tried, at least. Don't get me wrong, I went home and cried after the whole locker incident, but my dad told me something that I will never forget. He said, "There are always going to be people who try and put you down, make you feel inferior, but you're not obligated to humor them. When they knock you down, stand right back up, and prove to them that they are really the weak ones." It takes a whole lot more strength to stand up for yourself, than it does to put someone else down. So, I'm proud of you for staying strong and believing in yourself, even when it seems like people are against you."

"Well, it makes it easier when I know I have other people believing in me…" Raf smiled at Reese. "You and Bee have been really good about making me feel like I can do anything."

"Good! I would be disappointed if we weren't doing that for you."

"You know, I want to grow up to be just like you, Reese."

"Oh, no, don't try to be like me! I make plenty of mistakes. Just do the best you can, and people will respect you for it. Don't try to fit into somebody else's shoes. If anything, I would hope that you would grow up to be better than me." Reese blushed a little at the thought that Raf saw her as such a big role model. She felt like that was a lot of responsibility, and she wasn't sure she was cut out for that kind of job.

"I don't know if I could ever be better than you!"

"Honestly, from what I can tell, I have no doubt in my mind that you will grow up to be much better than me. You will do incredible things. Don't sell yourself short."

"Thanks Reese! You're the best!" Raf hugged Reese tightly.

"Anytime," Reese smiled down, patting the boy on the back. If she found out that anyone did anything to hurt this precious child, they would have to personally answer to her. "Well, why don't we go back into the main room and see if Ratchet has made anymore progress. He has probably had enough time to cool off."

"Okay."

Raf and Reese got up and made their way into the main room, noticing Ratchet and Bulkhead looking very torn. Bulkhead must have just gotten back from scouting. What had he found?

"What happened?" Reese looked at them questioningly. Something must have happened to have them looking so stressed.

"We received an encrypted message from Starscream. He said that he would provide us with information about Optimus if we gave him medical attention," Bulkhead explained.

"Well, what are you waiting for?"

"It could be a trap, Reese. Besides, why should we help a wretch like Starscream? He can go rust for all I care," Bulkhead spat angrily, crossing his arms over his chassis.

"Hey, I don't like Starscream any more than you do! Heck, he tried to kill me, but we have a saying here on this planet, 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you.'"

"What does that even mean? It sounds like a bunch of hooey to me," Bulkhead grumbled.

"It means that you should treat others the way you want them to treat you. It doesn't mean that they will return the favor, but you will be doing what is right, and that's all that matters. That is what sets you apart from them, what makes you better than them," Reese explained. "Besides, if there is even a chance that he could provide some information on Optimus' whereabouts, then isn't that a chance we should take?"

"Reese is right; this may be our only lead to finding Optimus. We don't really have any other choice," Ratchet vented, grabbing his medical tools. "Reese, you take care of the ground bridge while Bulk and I are gone. Bumblebee and Arcee have yet to report in, and they may need a bridge back while we are gone."

"You got it!" Reese saluted, running over to the ground bridge controls. "Be careful."

"We will," Ratchet nodded and then he and Bulkhead walked through the portal.

"Do you think Starscream will really give them information about Optimus?" Raf asked, a little concerned.

"Honestly, I don't know, but we can only hope…" Reese sighed, looking longingly at the ground bridge.

Reese and Raf paced along the platform, anxiously. Ratchet and Bulkhead were taking an awful long time…

"Do you think they are okay?"

"Well, we haven't gotten any distress signals from them, so I would assume so." Reese tapped her chin thoughtfully, though she didn't sound completely convinced.

As if to answer their question, Ratchet's voice came in over the intercom. "Reese, open a ground bridge."

Reese ran over to the controls and typed in their coordinates, pressing the button to activate the portal. The blue-green swirl of the portal mimicked what was going on in the pit of Reese and Raf's stomachs. Had the bots found out anything about Optimus?

Ratchet and Bulkhead walked through, both of them straight-faced. Neither Reese, nor Raf, could tell what the bots were thinking.

"C'mon guys, don't leave us hanging in suspense! Did you find out anything?" Reese finally blurted out. She could barely hold their anticipation.

Suddenly, smiles snaked their way across both Ratchet and Bulkhead's facial plating. "We found out the location of the space bridge!" the latter exclaimed excitedly.

"WHAT?! SCORE!" Reese squealed loudly, jumping up and down. This was just the break they needed!

"I will bridge Arcee and Bumblebee back to the base so we can start coming up with a plan. In the meantime, you kids go find the others and tell them to get in here," Ratchet ordered.

"Sir, yes sir!" Reese was practically tripping over herself trying to get down the stairs. She grabbed Raf's little hand and dragged him along behind her as she ran down to the rec room where Miko and Jack were hanging out. When she got to the room, she burst through the door, completely out of breath.

"What's going on!?" Miko and Jack immediately stopped their game of air hockey, looking over at Reese and Raf in surprise.

"GUYS! WE FOUND THE SPACEBRIDGE!" Reese couldn't contain herself. She looked like her face was going to split with how widely she was smiling.

"No way! Really?" Miko practically screamed.

"That's awesome!" Jack smiled happily, but Reese noticed the hint of worry that flashed in his eyes. She decided not to say anything about it. She knew what he was thinking about, and she could also feel that thud of anxiety in the pit of her own stomach at the thought of traveling all the way to Cybertron.

"Come on, the others are waiting in the main room!" Reese beaconed Jack and Miko to follow her, and she dragged Raf along behind her back to the main room. Bless his heart, he looked like he was getting tired of being dragged all over the base.

By the time they arrived back in the main room, Bumblebee and Arcee were already there. June and Fowler were standing at the top of the platform, as well. Ratchet must have bridged them to the base when he summoned Bee and Arcee.

"So, is it true? Did you guys really find the space bridge?" June crossed her arms over her chest, a look of worry flashing in her eyes. She didn't seem too thrilled with the knowledge.

"Yes. The space bridge is located here, deep within an energon mine," Ratchet pointed to a decepticon insignia that was flashing on the map, which he had pulled up on the computer.

"Adjacent to a raw fuel supply. Clever. How did you find it, though?" Arcee asked.

Bulkhead and Ratchet shared a nervous glance, unsure whether they should tell the others that the information came from Starscream. Ratchet merely muttered, "A reliable source," hoping that it would be enough to satisfy the other's curiosity. Arcee gave Ratchet a hard look but didn't say anything. "So, do we have a consensus?" Ratchet now turned to the humans, namely Reese and Jack.

"Do we even know if people can breathe your atmosphere?" June put her hands on her hips, still very against the plan.

"I can hook Jack and Reese up with some state-of-the-art space gear," Fowler said, placing a hand on Jack's shoulder.

June glared at him. He just had to provide a solution to her last-ditch effort to abort the mission.

"What? I still have connections at NASA. Don't worry, Jack and Reese will be totally fine."

June's expression shifted from anger to worry. "Please, it's too dangerous," her voice cracked as she tried to hold back tears. Just the thought of her son going to Cybertron was enough to send her into a panic.

"Mom, I know this is hard, but Optimus risked his life to save our planet, and he's not even human. We owe it to him," Jack said, hugging his mom.

Reese stood to the side, giving the mother and son space. She didn't have family who worried about her, not like June worried for Jack. Sure, she had gotten pretty close to the autobots, but would anyone truly miss her if something happened? She felt tears prick her eyes at the thought. She turned away, not wanting anybody to see.

"June, Jack and Reese may be the only ones who are able to do this, but I don't want you to worry for one minute that I will let them travel alone, unchaperoned. Don't worry, I will keep a close eye on your son, and protect him with my life," Arcee assured the worried mother.

Reese decided to leave before things got to be too much. She hated not having a real family to come home to, and watching Jack and June's interactions was difficult for her. She quietly slipped out, going to her room to collect her thoughts before the big trip.

Reese curled up in a ball on her bed, hugging her knees close to her chest, as if she was trying to hold in the emotions that were building inside of her. She was afraid that if she stretched out, the emotions might come tumbling out and she wouldn't be able to stop them. She couldn't look weak in front of everyone. Not now. Not before such a big mission.

She pressed her face into her pillow, letting it catch any stray tears that trickled out of her eyes. She would be fine in a few minutes, she just needed to suppress these feelings enough for her to put on a brave face and go back out to the others. Unfortunately, an unexpected knock came at her door.

Reese quickly wiped her face on the pillow and flipped it over, hiding any evidence of the tears it now held. She took a couple deep breaths, calming her nerves. It was probably Fowler coming to tell her to get fitted for the space suit. She stood up and slowly walked over to the door, opening it hesitantly. "Yes?"

Instead of Fowler standing in the doorway, Reese found Rafael, and someone she had never seen before. He was a young man with bright blue eyes and tousled blond hair. He wore a black jacket over a yellow T-shirt. It was tucked into his black skinny jeans. He also wore yellow and black checkered skater shoes.

"Wha- I mean, Who- Um…" Reese stumbled over her words. She looked completely bewildered.

"Hey Reese, we just wanted to come in and check on you. We saw you leave the room looking upset. Is everything okay?" The blond young man's voice sounded robotic and artificial, despite being able to show inflection. It struck Reese that this man seemed a lot like Bumblebee.

"Bumblebee?" Reese stared at the young man in surprise. "Is that you?"

"Yup, its me! Optimus told me to get a holoform since I kept ending up on the internet, I just haven't had a chance to use it yet. I think the others have gotten new forms too," Bee chuckled lightly. "Surprise."

Reese walked over to her bed and sat down, staring at the wall like she was in a daze. She looked completely overwhelmed.

"I'm sorry… maybe now was not the right time to show it to you… I just figured it would be easier to check on you this way, since I wouldn't be able to fit in your room in my robot form."

"No, you're okay… I just… Wow…" Reese held her head tenderly, seeming to take it all in.

"Um… Reese… Can we come in?" Raf finally spoke up. He and Bee were still standing awkwardly in the doorway.

"Oh, yea, come on in," Reese beckoned them in. Raf came and sat down beside her on the bed, while Bumblebee pulled her desk chair up beside the bed and sat down in it.

"You okay?" Raf asked, placing a hand on Reese's shoulder.

"Totally," Reese lied, plastering a fake smile on her face. She hoped that they wouldn't be able to see through it.

"Don't lie to us, we know when you're upset," Bee raised and eyebrow and looked at her like he couldn't believe she would lie to his face.

Welp, so much for them not seeing right through her.

"Really guys, I will be fine," Reese sat up straight, trying to look put together. Her two friends just looked at her, completely unconvinced.

"You know you don't have to hide your feelings from us. I know you want to look all strong and put together but having feelings doesn't make you weak. Hiding them only hurts you more. Please, don't carry this burden on your own anymore. We are your friends, and it hurts us to see you hurting. We are here to carry your hurts with you, you just have to let us," Bumblebee leaned forward and placed a hand on Reese's knee, staring sincerely into her eyes.

That was it. That was all it took to break the dam. Suddenly, tears were streaming down Reese's face like little waterfalls. The sudden flood of emotions felt freeing, like the tears carried away all the hurt she had been holding inside. She covered her face, her shoulders shaking with each sob.

Bumblebee moved to sit on the other side of Reese, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, supporting her as each sob shook her body. "That's it, let it out," Bumblebee rubbed soothing circles on her back.

Finally, the tears began to subside, and Reese sat there, her fists pressing hard into her thighs. She looked like a mess. Her eyes and nose were all puffy and her face was tear stained. She would have been extremely embarrassed to be seen like this, but for some reason, it didn't bother her to have Raf and Bee by her side. If anything, it was comforting, because finally, she wasn't alone anymore.

"Do you feel better?" Raf asked, handing her a box of tissues.

"A little, yea," Reese's voice cracked as she grabbed a tissue from the box, wiping away the moisture from her nose and eyes.

"That's good. See, crying is good for you," Raf wrapped his little arms around her. "I know that I always feel better after having a good cry."

"Sorry…" Reese sniffed loudly, wiping her eyes again.

"For what?"

"For ugly crying in front of you guys…"

"We told you to let it out, so why do you feel the need to apologize?"

"I don't know… I just… I don't want to be a burden on anyone here."

"You're never a burden!" Raf looked at her with sincerity. "You are literally the furthest thing from a burden."

"Exactly."

"Why would you even feel like you were burdening us?" Raf looked at her curiously.

"I guess… I just had to be strong in front of everyone after I lost my parents. I had to be strong at the foster care facility, and in front of the foster family that took me in… They didn't want me… They only wanted the government benefits. I had to be strong at work, or else people would pity me, and treat me differently. I have had to put on a strong face in front of everyone…"

"I doubt your foster family really felt that way about you," Raf tried to assure.

"No… I know they did. They basically gave me the cold shoulder. They wouldn't talk to me at dinner. They wouldn't take me to school or pick me up. They never said, "Reese, we love you," or "Reese, we are so happy to have you in our family." No, they just told me that I was a burden on them, and that I should be thankful to have a roof over my head. There is a reason I moved out as soon as I turned 18. They practically packed my bags for me when I got ready to go."

"How could people be so heartless," Bumblebee sighed.

"Greed… It was all for money… But whatever, it's in the past now. I know that I will never be able to bring my parents back, so I just have to suck it up and move on… I guess, it's just kind of hard, seeing the love and concern that June has for Jack… I don't have anyone who would look at me with that kind of love and concern, not anymore" Reese sniffed, her eyes beginning to water a little again.

"Hey, just because your parents aren't here doesn't mean that you don't have a family that loves and cares about you. You know that I come from a large family and I don't know where I fit into it. All the attention kind of gets spread thin before it can even get to me. To be honest, you and Bumblebee are more of a family to me than my own family is. You two will go out of your way to make time for me and listen to me, which is more than I can say about my biological family. Family is very different than being related. We may not be related by blood, but we are family, nonetheless.

"Reese, do you remember that promise I made to you that night that I found you alone on the top of the plateau? I told you that I would always be there for you, that I would be your new big brother. I promised to be your new family. Do you remember that?"

Reese sniffed, thinking back to that night. She had been feeling extremely scared and lonely. Bumblebee had brought her a blanket and sat beside her, just being there for her. "Yea… I remember," Reese smiled at the memory.

"Good, don't you ever forget it," Bumblebee chuckled and lightly ruffled Reese's hair.

"Thanks, you guys… I needed this…" Reese smiled at the two of them and pulled them both into a big group hug.

"Anytime!" Bee and Raf said in unison, squeezing Reese tightly.

Reese felt a laugh escape her. She suddenly felt very happy and warm. She did have a family. They may not be biological, but they loved her as if she was. They gave her the strength she needed to keep going. She would make them proud.

A couple hours later and both Reese and Jack were suited up in the most advanced space gear that Fowler could get his hands on. Reese looked herself over, the new space suit looked cool, but was also pretty heavy. She wondered what would happen if they ended up running into trouble on Cybertron. Would they be able to run easily with all this equipment on? She shook her head, trying to push that thought out of her mind. Right now, she and Jack both needed to focus solely on finding Vector Sigma and getting the key refilled with the matrix.

Both Reese and Jack watched as the other bots bridged to the location of the mine. They would have to wait until the autobots secured the space bridge.

Reese could tell that the longer they waited, the more antsy everyone got. For goodness sake, June looked like she was about to be sick, she was so worried. Reese looked nervously over at Raf, who gave her a thumbs up. His eyes exuded comfort and calmness to her, something she was extremely appreciative for.

Then, Ratchet's voice came in over the comm link. "Strike team to Base, objective secure. Go ahead and send Reese and Jack through."

"That's your cue, you two," Fowler turned to the two teens, a serious expression on his face.

Reese and Jack gave each other a nervous glance, both of them taking a deep breath. Fowler fired up the ground bridge that would transport the two teens to the space bridge coordinates.

The rest of the humans came up to them. June went specifically to Jack, while Raf went to Reese.

"Hey Reese, bring me back a souvenir, would ya?" He asked playfully, giving Reese a big hug.

"Sure thing, kiddo," Reese smiled, playfully ruffling Raf's hair. She knew that was his way of telling her to come back safely.

She looked over to see June kiss the top of Jack's helmet and place a hand on his shoulder. "Just go already… Optimus needs you… Both of you," She gave a watery smile to both Reese and Jack, and Reese appreciated that the nurse was trying to include her in her statement.

Jack and Reese both nodded, giving a salute to the others before turning and walking through the bridge.

On the other side, they found the bots waiting for them, the Space Bridge depot littered with dead decepticons.

Reese grimaced a little to see all the dead cons… a life was still a life, no matter how bad the person was. She tried to push the thoughts out of her mind, focusing on the mission ahead.

"You two ready?" Ratchet asked.

"Let's do this," Reese and Jack said in unison, pulling out the keys that Optimus had given each of them.

"I will keep the space bridge portal open while you are on Cybertron to eliminate any communication lag you might experience due to the long distance. It will also make you easier to locate when you are ready to return," Ratchet explained.

"Easier to locate? You're not bridging us directly to the big V?" Jack sounded a little concerned.

"Vector Sigma's true location is shrouded in myth and rumor, Jack. It is said that the path of the Primes leads there. We must be confident that Optimus will guide you to it," Ratchet vented.

"Well that's encouraging," Reese muttered. Not only were they bridging to a whole 'nother planet, but they were going to have to explore around to even find Vector Sigma. Great… just great…

Arcee, Jack, and Reese walked up to the space bridge. It was larger than the ground bridge… Much larger. Jack gulped nervously.

"Don't worry, space bridging is just like ground bridging," Arcee assured, sensing the nervousness emanating from the teens. "Its just a little more… intense."

The space bridge roared to life, causing the whole room around them to vibrate with the sheer power it emitted.

Reese and Jack shared a nervous glance, but then, both of their faces shifted into expressions of determination. They would do this, for Optimus.

Then, they walked through the portal.

WOot! Orion Pax Part 2 is DONE! I hope you enjoyed! If you did, please be sure to leave a comment letting me know. I love getting comments from you guys!

Well, that's all I have for now. Thanks again for reading, and as always, have an awesomely blessed day! - Lucy