A/N: I have a wedding to go to tomorrow, so I'm dropping this chapter early! I will likely be too focused on taking care of whatever I need to do to prepare in the morning to sit and sort through stuff beforehand, so I'm preemptively making sure I'm early and not late again! Hope you all enjoy!
Chapter 17: Uh-Oh
Time had a way of getting away from me, no matter what was going on in my life it seemed. A month had passed since we'd investigated the last of the locations I knew before I had even realized it. My days had fallen into such a rhythm of Cy-Stan lessons, battle practice, keeping Miko company and helping Ratchet in medbay to fill the rest of my time that I barely even noticed them passing. But at least I wasn't having that problem because I was laying around doing nothing again.
"Easy, Bulkhead," Ratchet said as he was helping the mech to his pedes. "You've been off your pedes for some time now, you're gonna have to take it slow."
"Ugh," Bulkhead complained and I shot him a sympathetic look over my shoulder from where I was organizing the cabinets for Ratchet. "I don't want to take it slow, Ratchet. I want to get back out there."
"I know, Bulkhead," Ratchet said, tone firm. "But if you want to get back out there, you have to take things slow. If you try to rush it, you will exacerbate your injuries. You know that."
"I can vouch for it, if it helps," I called over, lifting a hand to wave before returning to my task of organization. "When I was human and learning how to cope with my EDS when it started giving me joint problems, I accidentally over did it multiple times when trying to build supportive muscles and it would set me back by weeks. Listen to Ratchet and go easy on yourself. I know it's hard, but it's worth it."
"Ugh," Bulkhead complained, but didn't voice any more arguments as Ratchet helped him walk a few steps.
I returned to my organizing task, listening to the two mechs work through some physical therapy behind me. Bulkhead had gained consciousness several days ago, but it had been in and out for the first couple as his processor recovered from the torture the Decepticons had put him through. Whatever it was, I thought, must've been rough considering how long it had taken him to wake up after Ratchet had repaired the physical damage. I really felt for him, wishing I could take it away, but knowing if I tried to go back in time to change things I'd be risking everything all over again.
Part of me just wanted to do it sometimes, just as part of me wanted to go all the way back. Back to before the war, when Megatron was merely a revolutionary spreading ideas of a free Cybertron. Find some way to stop the war from happening to begin with.
But every time I thought about it, I also thought about the Lost Light comics. How their trip through time hadn't changed anything in their reality, but had created a new one—one where Cybertron just became even more dysfunctional. Optimus didn't even seem to exist in that reality, or had died by the time period the crew had ended up there, it was hard to tell. So, in the end, it didn't really do much besides create a new timeline wherein bots suffered and the main timeline remained the same.
And then, of course, were the thoughts of the stories where time travel to save someone like that led to unforeseen consequences that were very much undesirable. Dystopian futures and wastelands created due to something being introduced too early. One person is saved, but then everyone else ends up dying.
And with not having permission, there's a factor of what would happen between when I saved Bulkhead and came back, as it would clearly play out differently. I would have to come back around the same time I left to avoid a potential paradox. What if we went through with that meeting, but it was a trap, since the Decepticons didn't have their bargaining chip? Megatron could've easily just brought Ser-Ket and it would've gone much worse, probably.
There was just not enough information on my own powers to know how it would go if I disobeyed orders to go back in time to save Bulkhead before he went through the torture. Not to mention that, while I had combat training now and my experience thus far had shown myself capable, I could easily just end up being the one captured instead. And that also had potential to lead to a paradox or some other weird, unwanted consequences. Besides, he was here now. He was safe. And he would recover.
Having time-space portals sometimes felt like a heavier burden than necessary, I thought heavily as I slid a container of empty syringes into place in the drawer.
"Delivery!" Jazz's voice calling out broke me from my thoughts and I looked over to see where he was entering with Elita, both of them carrying boxes.
"What's this now?" Ratchet asked, glancing over his shoulder from where he was helping Bulkhead stretch his legs from a sitting position on his medical bed.
"We were able to convince the humans in charge of requisitions that blankets are not just luxury," Elita said, looking pleased. "Turns out, they just needed a little reminding about how important they are to them." She glanced my way and I realized she had employed the reasoning I had suggested to her one morning as we talked about it during my Cy-Stan lessons.
My wings perked and I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face. I was very pleased my reasonings had helped, even though I was sure it had to do with how she had presented said reasoning as well.
"We already dropped some off at the completed quarters for the bots who have them," Jazz said. "As well as the tent for those who remain there, but the rest we figured we'd bring here. We can shuffle them around as needed."
"Where would you like them?" Elita asked.
"There's a storage room down the hall," Ratchet said, motioning toward a door off the side of the main room. "Put them in there for now and Shade' and I will organize them soon."
Jazz grinned, looking over at me and the sparkle that flicked across visor was unneeded for me to read the tease that was all over his face. He had the grace not to say anything to me about how much time I spent in medbay while uninjured as nonmedical personnel in front of Ratchet, however. He left the room with Elita without another word.
"Did Shadebreaker start training to be your assistant or something, Ratch'?" Bulkhead asked, sounding a bit amused. "How come she's doing all your organizing?"
"She's doing it," Ratchet said and I heard some annoyance in his tone. "Out of the kindness of her spark, because she knows I'm a busy mech. That's all."
I raised an optic ridge at the tone of voice and shared a look with Bulkhead over the mech's shoulder. The medic kinda seemed annoyed. My wings shifted slightly and I turned my attention back to my task.
"No need to be touchy, Ratchet," Bulkhead said. "It was just a question."
"Hmph," Ratchet huffed.
I put the last of the items away for the cabinets I was at and then moved toward the doorway that led to the closet Ratchet had sent Jazz and Elita to with the boxes of blankets. "I'm going to see about that closet now," I told Ratchet as I passed them.
"Mhm," Ratchet hummed in acknowledgement.
I pointed lightly at Bulkhead. "Listen to Ratchet," I said, tone light.
"What are you? My carrier?" Bulkhead asked, teasing lightly.
"Someone's gotta be the mom friend," I said, halfway grinning as I put my hand on my hip.
Bulkhead chuckled and shook his helm at me.
I grinned, satisfied that my job of making him laugh was done and then moved on toward my destination again. I found Elita and Jazz along the way and waved to them, but then paused when Elita motioned for me to come over.
"What's up?" I asked as we met each other in the hallway. I waved to Jazz as he kept going.
"I just wanted to let you know I need to reschedule today's Cy-Stan lesson," Elita said regretfully. "I have to attend a meeting we weren't able to schedule around our usual time."
"Ah, no problem," I said, going over both our schedules in my helm. Mine was a lot more open than hers at the moment, since Optimus wanted me to get more battle practice in before letting me going into the field become a regular occurrence and not a no-one-else-is-here-to-respond-to-this thing or a we-need-a-flying-distraction thing and I hadn't joined the dealing-with-liaisons team yet. "We can just skip this one and meet on our next scheduled day if you like."
Elita smiled gently. "That's kind of you, but I should be able to do the lessons with you tonight, barring anything coming up."
My wings shifted slightly. "But aren't Tuesday nights your nights with Optimus?" I frowned. "I don't wish to take you from him. You're sparkmates. It's important you get time together."
"When neither of us are busy, you'd be right," Elita said softly. "But Optimus is going to be busy himself tonight, unfortunately."
"Aw," I said. "Very well. But if that changes, feel free to bow out and take time with him instead."
"You're very kind," Elita said, reaching out and touching my arm.
I looked down at her hand, then back up at her and smiled a bit shyly. "I just want you two to get your time together," I said softly. I ducked my helm, looking off to the side a bit. "I know how precise such time is."
Elita's thumb rubbed gently on my forearm and I felt her optics on me. "I heard you mention a fiancee to Ironhide," she said. "And I've since learned what that is. I'm sorry for your loss."
"Thank you," I said quietly. "I'll….hm." I wasn't sure what to say. The pain was an easier burden to bear than it had been, but I knew it was a burden I would always carry with me. Even if someday I found a mech, be it one I currently knew or not.
"You don't need to say anything," Elita assured me, likely seeing my struggle to find words. "I understand to a certain degree."
I managed a small smile for her. "Thank you," I said again. "Anyways, I should let you go. You probably have stuff to do…"
Elita smiled sadly. "Very well," she said gently. "Comm me if you need someone to talk to, ok? I'm always here to talk."
I smiled wryly at her, not sure if I truly believed that, but also not sure if my doubt had any credence to it. "I will remember your offer," I said.
Elita considered me for a long moment. "I mean it, Shadebreaker," she said, tone taking on a bit of an officer's commanding aspect. "I'd rather you talk to me than suffer in silence."
"I do have others I can talk to as well," I said, smile having fallen to a neutral expression. "But I will remember that you are in the number of bots willing to listen to my struggles. I cannot promise I will reach out, but I will remember and I will try to reach out to one of you. I'm….trying to move away from handling it on my own. It is not an easy habit to break."
"I understand," Elita said. She was silent for a long moment. "I must be going now. I'll see you tonight, Shade'."
"See you then, Elita," I replied with a bow of my helm.
We parted ways and I was left with my thoughts. I pulled a datapad from subspace and searched for some music to listen to while organizing the closet. I found an artist I was familiar with from when I was human, one I had listened to while going through some hard emotions before, and put it on once in the closet, setting the datapad down on an empty shelf just inside before turning my attention to the boxes within. There were the two boxes of blankets, as well as a few boxes of pillows—which had been waiting for organization for a while—and a few more boxes of towels. One of the boxes was open already with a towel spilling halfway out of it. Some shelves already had towels on them that had been used and laundered already.
I sighed at the amount of work and then set myself to it, deciding which item would go where as I went.
A signal interrupted the conversation Prowl was having with Ironhide about patrol schedules. The two mechs glanced over at the main computer, still situated in the tent that had been serving as a main center of operations thus far. They approached the computer and Prowl hit the buttons necessary to find out what was going out.
"A signal from a Cybertronian Data Cylinder," Prowl said.
"The one Shadebreaker told us about?" Ironhide asked.
"Possibly," Prowl said. "But also possibly not."
"I'll comm Shade' for transport," Ironhide said.
"Call the twins as well," Prowl said as he triangulated the coordinates. "And let Optimus know what's going on."
Ironhide nodded and sent a message to the mentioned bots.
It wasn't too much longer that the twins and Shadebreaker had joined them in the tent, all of them itching to do something. Shadebreaker normally would've been busy this time of day, but by the way she had appeared all but immediately told Ironhide that her normal lessons with Elita had been waylaid. The twins hadn't been far behind, being kept only because they didn't have portals to make transport instantaneous.
"Don't be abusing those portals of yours now," Ironhide said the moment the femme had stepped out of it.
"I won't," she assured him.
He merely gave her a firm look, not sure if he entirely believed her, as they waited for the twins.
"What's going on?" Sideswipe asked once they were all present.
"We've received a signal from a Cybertronian Data Cylinder," Prowl replied as he continued to triangulate its location.
"On Earth?" Sunstreaker asked.
"Is there any indication if it's the one I had information on?" Shadebreaker asked, wings and tone taking on an eager and curious quality.
The twins glanced at her in confusion, not having been privy to what all information she had shared.
"Unknown," Prowl replied as a beeping confirmed that he had found the source. "We'll know more once we retrieve it."
"Am I coming with? Or am I just transporting?" Shadebreaker asked.
"Just transporting for now," Prowl said. "However, stay on standby in the event we need backup."
Shadebreaker nodded.
It was moments later that she was opening a portal up for them to go through to the coordinates Prowl had pinpointed. They stepped out into what appeared to be a desert valley, flanked on either side by rock walls that towered over them.
"This kinda looks like the place Shade' described," Ironhide gruffed, stepping toward the device sticking halfway out of the ground, red light on top blinking.
"Indeed," Prowl agreed, optics and sensors all on high alert for signs of Decepticons.
"Well, we landed right on top of the doohickey, so we can just grab it and go, right?" Sideswipe asked, motioning toward the still open portal as Ironhide wrestled the cylinder from the ground.
A roar called their attention to the sky, where a Predacon was starting to appear over the edge of one of the walls of the valley.
"Slag," Sunstreaker said.
"Ironhide," Prowl said with urgency.
"It's stuck," Ironhide said.
.:Shadebreaker, we have a snag:. Prowl commed.
.:What kind?:.
.:Ser-ket.:.
.:Shall I distract?:.
.:Stay alive.:.
The channel closed and a moment later a purple and silver blur was shooting out of the portal and into the sky, cutting across where Ser-ket had been darting down toward them.
"You," Ser-ket's hate-filled word was heard clearly from the ground as she cut off her dive and looked after Shadebreaker as the femme swooped around to determine if she had grabbed the Predacon's attention.
"That femme," Ironhide said, clearly not approving of this tactic.
"She is merely answering my request," Prowl said, keeping his optics locked on the two beast formers as they flew around each other in the air. "This cylinder is important and she has proved she is capable of avoiding Ser-ket. She knows not to engage."
"She better," Sunstreaker said, his own optics tracking the owl's movements. The portal behind him closed as Shadebreaker's attention was taken up entirely by her efforts to stay alive and keep the Predacon distracted.
"Can you Autobots really afford to keep your optics skyward?" A voice called their attention away from the dance between the beast formers in the sky.
Prowl's attention moved from keeping an optic on the two in the sky to the source of the voice and he found Knock Out emerging from behind some boulders. Some Vehicons were dropping down from the wall behind him and Breakdown stood by his side.
"I would suggest you hand that cylinder over to us," Knock Out said, smirking as pointed his weapon at them.
"Not on your life, 'Con," Ironhide said, abandoning his attempts to unearth the cylinder for now and taking out his canons.
"I was hoping you'd say that," Knock Out said.
At that, a fight broke out over the cylinder. Shots were fired, but because of the nature of the terrain it quickly became a close-quarters brawl between the combatants. Prowl found himself facing the Decepticon medic while the twins dealt with the Vehicons and Ironhide faced Breakdown.
"Such delicate wings you got there, Prowl," Knock Out said tauntingly as he twirled his energon prod in one hand. "It'd be a shame if something were to happen to them."
Prowl didn't show any reaction, even as Knock Out charged forward. He blocked an attack toward his right and grabbed the length of the prod with one hand and extended his other to grab Knock Out's shoulder. He swept his pede out and took the mech's pede put from under him, tripping him up and prying the prod from him in the process.
Growling, Knock Out twisted his legs around the grapple Prowl's leg and then twisted, causing his knee to buckle and the mech to stumble forward. Knock out reached out to grab a hold of his prod again and yank it, pulling Prowl forward some more.
He made to kick Prowl in the rear, but Prowl had moved with the momentum, leaping into a twisting roll to free his leg as Knock Out moved his own to kick, separating the bots from their grappling contest.
Knock Out charged forward again, jamming the end of his prod toward Prowl's midsection. Prowl caught the prod with the crook of his thumb and redirected it away from himself, pede-work bringing him in close to deliver a solid punch to the tank of his opponent. He followed up immediately with a knee to the side and a headbutt that caused Knock Out to crumble to the ground.
"It would be wise to give up," Prowl told Knock Out, shifting his doorwings to get a rough idea on the situation around him. His sensors read only Breakdown was left of the other Decepticons.
"Frag you," Knock Out spat. He flung something at Prowl.
Prowl lifted his arms to shield himself only for a smoke grenade to be what burst against his armor. The sounds of transformation and a Ground Bridge were the most obvious indicators of the Decepticons' retreat.
"Well," Ironhide said as the smoke cleared. "They didn't take the cylinder."
"Indeed," Prowl said, taking in the fact that it was smoking from a hole that had been blown in it.
"Um, guys," Sideswipe said, voice sounding distressed. "That's not all."
Prowl looked at Sideswipe and saw he was pointing up. He followed the twin's line of sight to the sky and then his doorwings hitched.
Ser-ket was flying away.
With Shadebreaker in her talons.
"Slaggit all, I told you that tactic was gonna backfire eventually," Ironhide said.
Prowl's mouth formed a thin line. The two of them had disagreed on it a couple times before, it was true. Every time they had employed it. Which was, to be fair, only a couple times since the initial one. Only as many times as they encountered Ser-ket. The Predacon had an obsession with Shadebreaker, one they had used because the femme had proved adept at avoiding her thus far. It seemed that luck had run out.
"Slag," Sunstreaker said. "What do we do?"
"Unless one of you has randomly sprouted wings, there is nothing we can do," Prowl said.
Ironhide looked like he wanted to argue. He was angry, rightfully so. But there was nothing he could argue. Prowl was right. None of them could fly. Or open portals.
.:Prowl to Wheeljack:. Prowl commed the mech he knew would be working on the Ground Bridge. .:Tell me the Ground Bridge will work for a trip.:.
.:It might, hang tight:. Wheeljack replied. .:Why aren't you just calling Shade' for transport?:.
Prowl hesitated, looking at the agitated bots around him as Ironhide dug out the destroyed data cylinder in hopes something could still be retrieved from it. .:That would be a problem. Given what just transpired.:.
The other side was quiet for a moment. .:You better hope Ratchet accepts whatever explanation you got:. Wheeljack eventually said before a bridge finally opened up for them.
"Shadebreaker's been WHAT?!" Ratchet asked, leaning heavily on the table in front of him.
"We will get her back," Prowl said simply, watching the medic carefully.
Ratchet scoffed a bit. "How many have we lost to the Decepticons when they've been taken, Prowl?" He asked. "You don't know that."
"I know we will do everything in our power," Prowl said logically. "And I know she will do everything in hers. And we know her father rescued her once. It stands to reason that he should again."
"Sure," Ratchet said. "But he also has not spoken a word to her since. How do we even know he even knows she is in danger? She was a captive for years last time, Prowl. Who knows just how many?" He waved a hand helplessly.
Prowl shifted a wing. These were logical concerns, he knew. But they were also mired in emotion. "But she also has something she didn't have before."
"What's that?" Ratchet asked grouchily.
"Us," Prowl replied simply. "And her own portals."
Ratchet stared at Prowl for a long moment, considering this. "Lots of good having us did when you went and got her captured." He said snarkily.
"That is not fair," Prowl said, doorwings shifting. "It is not my fault. Distracting Ser-ket is her strategy."
"You are the senior officer," Ratchet countered. "You are quite capable of turning down reckless and dumb ideas! Slaggit, Prowl! You know how self-sacrificial Shadebreaker is! Yet you continue to allow her to put herself in harm's way against a Predacon you know none of us have a chance against!"
"That is precisely why I allow her to continue this tactic," Prowl said. "Until we find a way to deal with Ser-ket, distracting her is the only option we have."
"Retreat! You can retreat!" Ratchet argued.
"Shadebreaker has always avoided her in the encounters thus far," Prowl countered, not reacting to Ratchet's, admittedly justified, anger.
"Except she didn't this time!" Ratchet angrily pointed out, gesturing wildly with his hands. "And now she's at Megatron's mercy!"
Prowl couldn't argue with that one. "You are right," he admitted. "I, perhaps, grew too complacent in her ability to out fly Ser-ket in our previous encounters with her. Perhaps it was more luck than skill. I was under the impression whenever she said that it was a joke. She was so confident about it the first time and you know how she jokes."
"She jokes to hide her fear," Ratchet said, tone going softer. "To hide her pain."
Prowl bowed his helm a little. "I did not know that," he said. "I will not allow this tactic to continue in the future."
"If she is even here for you to tell her no," Ratchet said cynically.
"We will find her," Prowl repeated, feeling certain beyond reason that they would. He was not certain why he felt so certain, only that he was.
Ratchet only glowered at him, then turned away and moved toward the door leading back to the main room of medbay.
Prowl did not blame Ratchet for his cynicism. They had lost many throughout the war. Way, way more than they had ever saved. Normally Prowl would feel that same way. Some small whisper in his spark was pushing him toward optimism, however. Maybe, just maybe, Shadebreaker's attitude from when it was Bulkhead they were concerned about had bled in somehow.
Dismissing such thoughts as unimportant, Prowl left Ratchet's office himself and made for the medbay door. He had work to do. And none of it could wait.
"You serve me well, Ser-ket," Megatron said silkily as walked around their new prisoner at a leisurely pace. "Very well, indeed."
"I recaptured her for Shockwave," Ser-ket said testily. "When can my master expect to have her back?"
"Your master serves me, beast," Megatron reminded, keeping his hands clasped behind his back lest he lash out at one of his strongest assets, perhaps his only counter balance to Optimus's Star Saber. "You would do well to remember that."
"Of course, my lord," Ser-ket said, bowing.
"Shockwave will get his toy when I am done," Megatron said, stopping in front of the femme. He knelt and took hold of the femme's chin, forcing her to look up at him through the broken visor on her face. "You and I have a lot to talk about, don't we?"
Shadebreaker didn't reply, merely stared back in defiance.
Megatron laughed, shoving her face to the side and moving back. "Take her to the cells. And make sure the power dampeners are active."
"Yes sir."
Vehicons stepped forward to roughly grab the femme by the arms and drag her from the room with Ser-ket following behind.
Left behind, Megatron grinned to himself. Whatever information Shockwave had left out of his reports was soon going to be his. Along with whatever information the femme had gained since escaping the first time. And this time, Megatron would ensure the femme wouldn't be able to tell the Autobots anything she hadn't already told them.
"So the conversation with Shadebreaker had been a ploy just to confirm that she was who he was looking for?" Chromia asked as the normal bots all sat around the table.
"It would appear so," Optimus said heavily.
"Slaggit, I told her that tactic was gonna get her in trouble one of these days," Ironhide growled, slamming a fist on the table.
"I don't believe she doubted you, Ironhide," Optimus assured the mech.
"I don't think that makes me feel any better, Optimus," Ironhide said. "That makes it sound like she had a death wish."
"It's less a death wish," Ratchet said heavily. "And more that she doesn't care what happens to her as long as the rest of us come out ok."
"What's the difference? In the end?" Ironhide asked gruffly.
"The difference is that she was genuinely doing her best to stay alive, mech. She can't ensure our safety if she's dead and she understands that," Jazz said. "If she was gonna call it quits, I don't think she would've even survived Shockwave's experiments."
Optimus had to agree with that assessment of their newest member. Shadebreaker had enough resiliency to rival even that of Bumblebee's by all accounts.
"So what are we gonna do about the fact Megatron's got her?" Chromia asked.
The room was silent for a long moment.
"I think it is time we apply more heat to our captive," Prowl said seriously. "He knows something that can lead us to the warship."
"Assuming Shadebreaker's being kept there," Chromia said darkly.
"I will keep an optic out for her spark signature, in case it becomes trackable again," Ratchet said, though Optimus could sense he didn't have much hope for that tactic to work. "If she manages to escape on her own, who knows whether she'll be able to portal herself home or not."
"We should also keep our scanners peeled for her portal signature." Elita said softly. "In case her spark signature is too weak to detect, but she's able to portal out somewhere."
"Agreed," Optimus said heavily.
"This would be a great time to have the Blades of Time handy," Ironhide grouched.
"Wherever they disappeared to after their last use," Optimus said. "It is not helpful to us now."
"Just saying," Ironhide said. "If we could just tell Vector his daughter is in trouble, maybe he'd help her again."
Ratchet scoffed a little bit. "Like he 'helped' her when he dropped her in the middle of nowhere? When he didn't rescue her for years?"
"Was it years?" Jazz asked, tilting his helm.
"Do you think Shockwave changed a human into a Cybertronian overnight?" Ratchet asked testily.
"Probably not, but…what makes you so certain it was years?" Jazz asked.
"I'm her physician, Jazz," Ratchet replied. "I know how to read the Cybertronian frame like no other. We are lucky Megatron didn't get our prior location sooner."
Jazz made a conceding motion. "So this makes you believe he won't rescue her if he was made aware of her predicament now?"
Ratchet shrugged. "All I'm saying is that we shouldn't rely on an old mech who has poked into our affairs all of twice in over a millenia." He said. "That we don't even have a way to contact to begin with."
"I am inclined to agree with Ratchet," Chromia said, remembering Shadebreaker's own words on the matter. "It doesn't exactly seem like the two of them are on speaking terms. Vector might've rescued her out of some form of obligation or maybe the threat to time and space simply became too great."
"So he might not interfere this time either, unless something about her captivity threatens such again," Prowl surmised.
"We don't even know yet if Shadebreaker is his real daughter," Ratchet said, frustrated. "We don't know if he holds any real feelings of affection. Even if we could contact him, there's no guarantee he'd do anything."
"So we move forward as if Vector is a non-option," Prowl said.
"Very well," Optimus said. "Prowl, see to our prisoner. Use whatever you see necessary at your disposal. Ratchet, coordinate with Wheeljack to monitor for any sign of her spark or portal signatures, but don't let your work on Bulkhead's recovery suffer for it. The rest of us will scout in the field in shifts between our other duties."
There was a chorus of affirmatives from the gathered bots and then they dispersed. Optimus sighed heavily as he watched each depart, a heavy weight in his spark. He felt responsible. Despite regulating Shadebreaker to the sidelines pending further training he had allowed her to continue her distraction ploy against Ser-ket and now that had led to her capture. He had allowed it, because of the threat the Predacon posed and because of the femme's cooperation and display of skill in flight despite her inexperience. Because they had no other viable strategy against the beast.
He was angry at himself for allowing it.
A gentle hand on his brought him out of his thoughts and he looked over at his mate. Elita gazed up at him with sad, understanding optics. She could feel the self directed anger and the other feelings swirling in his spark that he kept hidden from his Autobots.
"We'll do everything we can," she assured him.
"Let us hope it is enough," Optimus said.