Act IV: Uzi Seeks Help

The next day, Wheeljack was in his workshop looking over Uzi's railgun when Uzi came in.

"You wanted to see me, Wheeljack?" she asked.

"Yep." said Wheeljack. "I've got good news for you, Uzi. You can officially call your railgun's "thirty-minute recharge" problem a thing of the past."

Uzi was pleased to hear this.

"Thanks, Wheeljack." said Uzi as the Autobot engineer gave her her weapon.

"Of course, I hope that was okay with you, but I did make my own modifications to it." said Wheeljack.

"Like what?" asked Uzi. "Also, as long as it's an improvement, I don't really care at all."

"Got it." said Wheeljack. "Anyway, for starters, the main thing is that I put a charging handle on it so that every time you take a shot, you can just pull on it and before you know it, it's back to being 100% charged in a matter of seconds."

"Ooh, nice." said Uzi. "What else did you do?"

"I also added a bipod to it so you can easily fire it while laying prone." Wheeljack went on. "Furthermore, I built a scope into it so you can use it as a sniper rifle to hit targets at long range."

Uzi was astonished as Wheeljack explained how he had perfected her weapon.

"Dang, you thought of everything, didn't you?" asked Uzi.

"You could say that." chuckled Wheeljack. "In any case, I hope you like it, Uzi."

"I don't like it." said Uzi. "I love it. I can't thank you enough for this, Wheeljack."

"Hey, as long as you're happy with my work, I'm happy." said Wheeljack. "You just be sure to tell me how it works, alright?"

"You got it." winked Uzi.

Just then, N and V came into the room. Ironhide was with them.

"There you are, Uzi." said Ironhide. "N and V told me you'd be in here."

"What's up, Ironhide?" asked Uzi.

"I talked to Perceptor about you seein' him for counsellin'." said Ironhide. "And he says he'll do it."

"Awesome." said Uzi. "When can I go in?"

"He said to tell you you can come anytime you want." said Ironhide.

"In that case, let's just do it now and get it overwith." said Uzi. "N? V? You guys wanna come with me?"

"Sure." nodded N. "In fact, we were gonna ask if you'd be okay with us coming with you for moral support."

"Huh. What do you know?" replied Uzi. "In that case, let's get going."

N and V agreed, and the three drones began making their way to Perceptor's counsellor's office. In said office, Perceptor was seated in an armchair reading a book when he heard his door buzzer ringing.

"Enter." he said as he put his book away.

The door opened, and Uzi entered with N and V.

"Ah, you must be Uzi Doorman." said Perceptor with a friendly smile. "Ironhide told me I'd be expecting you, but I don't think he said anything about your two friends."

"Well, we're mainly here with Uzi for moral support." said V. "If that's cool."

Perceptor nodded.

"Of course it is." he said. "After all, this is but our first session. Just have a seat and we'll get started."

He gestured to a couch that the three drones sat down on. Once the drones were seated, Perceptor spoke to Uzi.

"Now, before we begin, I'd like to state that whatever goes on in this room stays in this room." he said. "Nothing that is said between us will ever leave these walls, and there is no judgement. You are completely free to speak your mind as openly as possible."

"Thanks, Perceptor." said Uzi.

"Now that that's out of the way, let's get down to business." said Perceptor. "What brings you here today, Uzi?"

"Mostly me grieving for my dad who died recently." said Uzi.

"Ah, yes." said Perceptor. "Ironhide mentioned that to me earlier. I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thanks." said Uzi. "I'm actually starting to feel a lot better about it, thanks to Hot Shot and his friends. It was actually them who recommended me to you."

"Well, it's a good thing they did." said Perceptor. "Now, would you mind giving me more background about your problem?"

Uzi nodded, and then she explained to Perceptor about how she originally didn't want to talk about her feelings regarding Khan's death to anyone at all, then explained how the intervention from the previous day had started. Perceptor listened patiently to everything before speaking up again once Uzi was finished.

"You know, Uzi, it appears to me that you're going through what's known as the Five Stages of Grief." he said.

"Five Stages of Grief?" asked Uzi.

"Yes." nodded Perceptor. "Firstly, by refusing to talk about what happened, you were in the "denial" stage. Then, during the first attempt at the intervention, the way you snapped at your friends the way you did put you in the "anger" stage, and afterwards, you went into the "depression" stage by allowing yourself to have a good cry about it."

"Wow." said Uzi. "I've never really thought about it like that. And, yeah, I think having that good cry really did help make the pain more bearable."

N counted on his fingers, and noticed something was off.

"That's only three stages she's gone through so far." said N. "What about Stages Four and Five?"

"Well, usually, there's a stage between the "anger" and "depression" stages; "bargaining"." explained Perceptor. "The "bargaining" stage is when the grieving person often plays through scenarios in their mind and wonders what would have happened if certain circumstances had been in place, like for instance, how a loved one's death could have been avoided."

"Well, now that you mention it, I have been wondering what would have happened if I had killed Doll before she got to Dad." Uzi pointed out. "Like, what if I had been there when Doll was attacking the bunker? I could have shot her with my railgun before she even had a chance to get at Dad."

Perceptor nodded as he listened.

"This is exactly what the "bargaining" stage is." he said. "Of course, Uzi, the important thing is to not blame yourself for your father's death. Besides, it's in the past now, and while the past can't be changed, the future can. In fact, here's a way of looking at it. Imagine you're walking through a dark and gloomy forest, and you suddenly come to a bridge, and on the other side of the bridge is a beautiful meadow that is thriving with life. What would you do?"

Uzi scoffed.

"Easy." she said. "I'd just cross the bridge to get to the other side."

"Ah, but what if the bridge wasn't in pristine condition?" added Perceptor. "Like, what if it was all rickety and worn?"

"Well, I'd still cross it, anyway, no matter how hard it might be." said Uzi.

Perceptor smiled and nodded.

"Good answer." he said.

"I see what you're saying, Perceptor." said N. "You're comparing the gloomy forest to Uzi's grief, the bridge to her recovery, and the meadow to the point where she can move on from her grief for good."

"Precisely." nodded Perceptor. "When Uzi reaches the hypothetical meadow, she'll be reaching the fifth and final stage, which is the "acceptance" stage."

"Yeah, that makes perfect sense." said V.

"Totally." agreed Uzi. "Thank you, Perceptor. That really helps."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all, really." said Perceptor. "After all, as long as you think about what I just told you, you'll be just fine. Still, if you ever feel the need to talk to me again, my door is always open."

"Okay." nodded Uzi. "Thanks."

"My pleasure." said Perceptor. "And with that, I think this concludes our session for today. Unless there's something else you'd like to talk about, of course."

"No, I think I've got all what I could out for today." said Uzi. "Thanks again, Perceptor."

"You're very welcome." said Perceptor.

With that, the three drones left the office.

"You know, guys, I don't know about you, but I feel much better than I did yesterday after that intervention." said Uzi. "I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. And, I really can't apologize enough for my initial feelings."

"Hey, I've told you before, Uzi." said N. "It's okay."

"Yeah, Uzi." said V. "There's no need to apologize for that anymore. You're starting the healing process now, and that's all that matters."

"And, honestly, it is better that you started it now than doing it later." added N.

Uzi laughed.

"So true." she grinned.

Just then, the trio bumped (not literally) into Ironhide and Chromia.

"There you three are." said Chromia. "How did it go?"

"Very well, actually." said Uzi. "In fact, I'd even say it was superb."

"That's good to hear." said Ironhide. "By the way, N, can we talk to you and V in private real quick?"

"Uh, okay." said N. "Sure."

V just nodded before looking at Uzi.

"We'll catch up with you later, Uzi." she said.

Uzi was confused as she watched the two Disassembly Drones leave with Ironhide and Chromia before going on her own way.

"What's going on?" she asked herself out loud. "Why would they wanna talk to N and V but not me?"

But Uzi decided it was none of her business right now.

"Oh, well." she shrugged as she continued making her way back to the common area. "I'm sure I'll find out sooner or later."

Meanwhile, Ironhide and Chromia had taken N and V to the room the former two shared.

"So, what did you want to talk to us about?" asked N.

"Well, N, me and Ironhide are planning something special for Uzi." said Chromia.

"Define special." said V.

"Before we go further, we need you two to make a promise that you won't tell Uzi about this." said Ironhide.

"Well, whatever it is, our lips are sealed." said N.

"Good." nodded Ironhide. "Now, here's what we're gonna be doin'."

"Me and Ironhide decided that we're going to be adopting Uzi." said Chromia.

Honestly, dear readers, if I said N and V could believe what Ironhide and Chromia had just told them, I'd be lying.

"Seriously?" asked N.

"You're joking." added V.

"Nope, we most certainly are not." said Ironhide. "I mean, it's obvious your friend needs a good father and mother figure in her new life here on this planet. Plus, I actually see a little bit of myself in her."

"We've already told the other Autobots, so we thought it'd only make sense to tell you two as well." said Chromia.

"Gotcha." said N. "And, don't worry, your secret's safe with us."

"That's right." winked V.

"Good." said Ironhide. "Now that that's settled, why don't you two go see where your friend ran off to before she starts wonderin' what's keepin' you?"

N and V agreed, and with that, they left to go find Uzi. As Ironhide and Chromia watched them leave, the two Autobots looked at each other and shared a smile.

"I can't lie to you, Chromia." said Ironhide. "I'm gettin' more excited about carryin' out our plans every minute."

"Me too." agreed Chromia. "In fact, I think we should just go ahead and start the process as soon as possible."

"Good idea." said Ironhide. "No sense puttin' it off longer."

"Definitely not." said Chromia. "But obviously, we shouldn't rush it."

"Nope." said Ironhide. "If we're going to make this special, we'll have to time it just right."

"Agreed." said Chromia.

And so, later that night, as Uzi, N, and V were powering down in their stasis pods, Uzi was still completely oblivious to what the very near future, through Ironhide and Chromia, had in store for her.

End Of Act IV