Welcome back!

SUPER short chapter before the storm settles again, but here's the aftermath of Seaspray's death. I couldn't write enough to warrant it being my usual 4-5k words, so think of this as an interlude.

Enjoy!

Chapter Thirteen: When the Dust Settles

Halo was silent, the shattered pieces of her visor in her servos. The shaking had mostly stopped now, but the Requiem Blaster still rumbled quietly next to her. The sounds around her were muffled as the makeshift bandage around her helm covered her audio receptors as well as her empty optics.

She could hear them though. Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Arcee, Optimus, Ratchet, even Smokescreen. All of their worries, their infinite questions.

She was just thankful that the kids had gone home so they wouldn't have to hear this.

"So let me get this straight." Ratchet pinched the bridge of his temple. "You knew the origin of Halo's injury, and didn't think to mention it?! It could be vital to her medical records! Is this why she never allowed anyone to examine them?!"

"Ain't my story to share, Doc." Wheeljack said bluntly.

"And the carelessness..." The medics ire grew. "You allowed a child to leave your base unsupervised?!"

Jackie gritted his denta. "'Allowed'? You think I allowed that?"

Seeing the Wrecker's temper brewing, Optimus cautiously stepped forward. The leader had his suspicions about Halo's injuries, but it wasn't his place to question her, nor to push her on such subjects.

"Ratchet. I believe that Wheeljack and the fellow Wreckers were far from complicit in Halo's departure." He stated clearly. "To blame them would be entirely unwarranted."

Ratchet was about to retaliate, but the sound of metal dragging against the floor got his attention. He glanced over to see Halo there, leaning on the wall for support. She was trying to make a sly break for the hallway.

"Haley, you can't be up!" Bulk rushed over to her gently putting his arms out to steady her stance. "Ratch hasn't properly patched your wounds yet."

"I can patch myself up." She spoke weakly, shrugging off his help.

Ratchet stepped forward. "Halo Jyn, as your physician, I must order you to stay in the medical bay! There are so many questions yet to be answered, about Shockwave, the kinds of injuries I need to be careful to not reopen-"

"I'd say you're already doin that, Doc..." Jackie growled, glaring at the medic.

"It's fine, Jackie." Halo sighed, turning to Ratch. "Ask."

Ratchet blinked in surprise. "Would you not prefer to do this in private?"

"I really don't care. I just want to recharge."

"Oh for frag's sake..." She groaned. "I was held at Shockwave's lab for two orns until the 6th Battalion raided it and rescued me." Arcee's optics brightened a little at hearing that team name. "My main injuries are obviously my optics. He put me under. I wasn't told what he planned to do until I woke up and couldn't see anything. He just kept saying the procedure 'hadn't worked with the others'. I never cared to ask what he meant by that, or what he was really planning."

The room fell silent.

Halo tensed at the quietness.

"It's just...been too much today." She stated solemnly.

She walked out. No one had the spark to stop her.

Bulkhead moved to go after her, but Wheeljack placed a servo on his shoulder.

"Not yet, Bulk." He shook his helm at his friend. "The kid needs the rest."

The green mech was far from calm. What came from him next caused Jackie's spark to drop.

"You were supposed to look after her while I was gone." He murmured under his breath. "You were supposed to keep her safe from the 'Cons!"

Optimus tried to step forward. "Bulkhead, your anger is warranted. But please remember that Wheeljack is not the one who inflicted such pain upon Halo Jyn. That blame falls solely on Shockwave's cruelty."

"You were supposed to look after her!" Bulkhead repeated as he yelled at the white mech. "Where were you when she got taken?!"

Wheeljack snapped. "Where was I? I was picking up your slack while you were asleep in some space pod! The day we found her, we made a promise to share the weight of raising her. Then you decided to up and leave without a second thought for what it would do to Haley. We did our best without ya, Bulkhead. But on the day she was taken, you were as much help as I was."

Bulkhead's shoulders sank. His optics widened as the weight of Wheeljack's words sank in.

Wheeljack growled and marched towards the exit. "I only came here for her. If she's safe, I'm leaving."

With that, he transformed before anyone could respond, leaving a trail of dust as he left into the Jasper night.

There it was again. The silence.

Smokescreen glanced between the others, optics darting between them as his processor darted between ways to end the silence.

"Sooooo..." He awkwardly smiled. "Halo finally fired the Requiem Blaster. Did it look badaft?"

Everyone turned to the mech. Optimus looked at him in confusion while Ratchet and Arcee glared with anger. Bumblebee just face-palmed, barely enough energon to deal with the rookie.

"You really need to learn to read the room, Smoke." The scout mumbled.

Several Orns ago . . .

Researchers Log, Update #45:

Three test subjects begin this journey. All healthy and with their frames in tact. The most recent comes from the Sea of Rust, exchanged by our ally with the Wrecker Seaspray.

Subject 142 is not adapting to the new environment well. Her aggressions are frequent and, last week, she was able to stab a guard with a makeshift blade, created from a loose hook in her cell. Resourceful. But dangerous if unchecked.

The guard is alive. He expressed wanting to return equal pain for his injuries, however, I believe what we are going to be putting her through will be a just form of punishment.

She will learn with time that fighting is futile. They all do.

We will have the abilities that the ancients once did. That is not a statement of false hope. It is a logical fact.

A few days later. . .

Arcee had been finding it difficult not to visit Halo. Ironic that, just a few months prior, she wouldn't have cared if the kid was upset. But things were different now. Halo had started feeling like a real team member.

And then there was her mention of the 6th Battalion. Arcee had never mentioned it to her. She'd never even mentioned Tailgate.

It was funny how paths crossed across an eons-old war.

As the sharpshooter walked through the winding hallways of the base, she was surprised to hear a faint rustling coming from the hangar where the Jackhammer and Angel were. Halo was still in her room. As for the others, they were all either picking up one of the kids, or on recon.

Turning the corner, she couldn't even pretend to be shocked at seeing a familiar white, red and green mech. He knelt over with his back to the door, holding up the lid storage unit from the Jackhammer as he rummaged through it.

Wheeljack had only come back to the base days after his initial departure, searching through the unit for some tools.

"Long time no see."

The sarcastic voice caught the mech off-guard. He bolted up to see who it was, only for his helm to hit the lid he'd forgotten to hold up.

"Son of a-!" He cut himself off as he stumbled back to his knees, glancing up at the femme. "Ever heard of knocking?"

Arcee scoffed. "You're a guest here and you want to lecture me on 'knocking'? I'm going to let you rephrase that."

Wheeljack blinked a little in realisation of who he was messing with.

"My bad, Arcee." He stood up, offering a slight nod of apology. "Ya just startled me."

The blue Autobot folded her arms. "Why are you back this time?"

The mech shrugged. "Forgot some weapons for the road. You can never have too many back-up grenades."

"...sure."

Wheeljack was caught off by her response. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Arcee raised an optic ridge. "I'm usually more tactful, but this has been a long week. You really wanna pretend that grenades are the reason you came back?"

He considered her stern gaze for a moment before responding. "...Fine, I also came to check in on Haley."

"Keep goin'."

"Bulk? You think I came back for that lug after all that scrap he shouted at me?!"

Arcee stared at him deadpan. "Yeah. I do. You can play the "Tin man" all you want, but at some point, you have to admit you have a heart."

The Wrecker squinted at her in confusion. "What?"

"Oh. Right, I forgot you don't watch a lotta Earth movies." She recalled. "It's a metaphor to explain your undying bromance with the big green 'bot."

He knew better than to try to convince her otherwise. She was so in tune with how to see through scrap that it'd become her main career as a spy.

And she was right. He had to admit to himself that, as angry as Bulkhead had made him, he couldn't just up and leave again. Especially with Halo still at arm's length with everyone at base. Even Bumblebee hadn't seen her that much in the week after Sea's demise.

"Last time I was on Halo's ship...when we were looking over the evidence against Seaspray, I saw coordinates already logged into the system." He admitted. "Plans to leave Earth for good."

Arcee's optics widened. "You think she would've done it if no one believed us about Seaspray?"

He shrugged. "All this leaving and movin' around is gonna take its toll on her one day. Kid's finally found a home. If her family here is constantly at each other's throat cables, who knows how much she'll put up with before taking a page outta my book and bolting again."

"Huh." Arcee considered before smiling a little. "Well, I'm impressed that you're setting a good example by staying."

Wheeljack raised an optic ridge. "Ya say that like me being sensible is a shock."

"It is. Who knew there were brains up there after all?" She joked.

He rolled his optics. "Either I'm a heartless tin-man, or a brainless scarecrow, but I can't be both." Arcee looked at him in confusion. He grinned back. "What? I stopped at a few drive-in theatres when I was on the road. It gets boring out there."

A brief moment of mutual recognition fell over the two. Wheeljack hadn't had many encounters with the two-wheeler, but he knew to respect her from her reputation among the Warrior ranks alone. As for Arcee, she was more confused than anything. She hadn't been anticipating a full conversation with him, let alone one where she actually ended up...liking him?

Perhaps being friends with Halo was desensitising her to the scrap the Wreckers got up to.

She finally gave a respectful nod to him. "Well, for what it's worth, I'm glad you're staying."

The blue Autobot turned on her heel and strode towards the door. Just as she reached the doorway, his softer tone caught her off-guard.

"Hey." He called after her, causing her to glance over her shoulder at him. "Not a lotta people can get me to talk that openly. I appreciate it."

She was surprised, to say the least. But still offered a half-smile.

"Don't get used to the coffee-talk, Jackie."

End of Chapter Thirteen!

Yes, there is a budding friendship between Wheeljack and Arcee. I'm not sure if it needs to lead to a ship, or more just a mutual respect for each other - because, let's face it, Jackie and Arcee need more friends that are similar to them.

Anyways, that's the end of this short chapter! The next one is actually already finished, so I'll post it next week when I've refined it a bit more!

Thank you for reading!

'Til All Are One,

GreyroseLegacy