Chapter Ninety-Two
Ransom Call
Back in the desert, unaware of what had happened, Raphael, Monalisa and Arcee had been riding out together in the desert, as the sun had set and the stars had come out, they had raced over the long stretch of road enjoying the freedom of the fresh air as the hotness had faded around them.
"Whoo!" Raphael panted as Arcee came to a stop "Great job there Arcee! Personal best!"
"Thanks!" Arcee grinned "I enjoyed that too."
Monalisa chuckled as she shook her hair out and was about to speak when a bleep came from her shell cell, and she looked down to see that it was an alarm she had set to remind them of what time they had to return to the Silo.
"Wow," she said, "Where does the time go?" she asked then looked at Raphael and Arcee "We better head back!"
"Already?" Raphael asked then sighed looking up at Arcee who also looked disappointed. "Don't worry, we can do some more tomorrow." Monalisa said then started to look for the numbers of Pandora and Kemeko.
"We better let the kids know as well."
"Unless they made it back to base before us?" Raphael suggested.
"From what I've seen Raph." Arcee quipped "Pandora wouldn't be one to go back to the base early."
Raphael shrugged but he knew the Autobot femme was right.
"True," he said.
Just then, Monalisa jumped slightly as her shell cell rang and she saw Kemeko's name flash on the screen and she answered it. "Kem?" she asked.
"Aunt Mona!" Kemeko's voice sounded panicked "We got a problem!"
Monalisa frowned. "Kemeko, what is it?" she asked "What happened? Is Pandora with you?"
"No." Kemeko cried "That's the thing! I can't find her! Neither can Bulkhead or Bumblebee!"
Monalisa's eyes widened.
"What? You serious?" she asked.
"What's going on babe?" Raphael asked.
"Pandora's missing!" Monalisa said to which her husband's eyes widened and he went pale.
"Missing?" he asked, "Please tell me your joking!"
Monalisa shook her head and looked back to the shell cell.
"Where are you Kem?" she asked to which she heard Kemeko tell her to hold on then Arcee heard Bulkhead's voice in her audios.
"Come in Bulk!" she said, "Where are you located?"
She narrowed her optics as she listened then looked at the turtle and lizard and transformed "Climb on!" she said and Raphael and Monalisa quickly jumped on her back and the femme took off down the road to Kemeko, Bulkhead and Bumblebee's position.
They soon arrived after ten minutes to see Kemeko on the side of the road with Bulkhead and Bumblebee and they were studying an area.
No sooner did Arcee, Monalisa and Raphael arrive than they look up.
"Guys!" Bulkhead cried.
"What's happened?" Monalisa asked leaping off Arcee's back before she had a chance to completely stop "Where's Pandora?" she demanded.
"I don't know Aunt Mona!" Kemeko wailed "We were playing our ninja version of hide and seek, I was it and she went off to hide, but then when the time was up, I called her, but she didn't answer."
Raphael looked angry.
"How long has she been missing?" he asked.
"Last time I checked, about ten minutes." Kemeko said.
Monalisa looked worried.
"Pandora might be mischievous, but she would never stay hidden longer than five minutes If she was joking around with Kemeko." She insisted "She's wiser than that."
Raphael nodded and Kemeko agreed.
"Somethings not right!" she said then pointed to the ground where the lizard and turtle also observed, and they saw a few marks in the ground as well as a wet patch.
"What is it?" Arcee asked looking down.
Raphael and Monalisa knelt to analyse the patch as well as the prints around it, and they soon recognised Pandora's boot prints, then when they checked the other prints, they frowned.
"Raph." Monalisa said in a worried voice "Those don't look human..."
Raphael narrowed his eyes more as he studied the tracks, his fingers traced it then he looked at the liquid.
"No..." he muttered, yet before he could say anything else, his Shell-Cell rang, and he snatched it up.
He looked at the screen and saw it was Pandora.
"Geisha?" he asked "Pandora?"
But there was only silence on the other end.
"Pandora?" Raphael asked again "Pandora! Answer me!"
"Hello Turtle."
No sooner did Raphael hear Silas's voice than he went pale, and the others saw his demeaner.
"Raph?" Monalisa asked anxiously.
Arcee instantly glared as she heard the voice.
"Silas!" she hissed.
Kemeko gasped in horror, Bulkhead's jaw dropped, and Bumblebee bleeped in shock.
"Mech!" Kemeko cried "How could they have gotten Pandora!?"
Monalisa didn't speak but her worry soon turned to fury.
"You bastard!" she snapped "Where's Pandora?"
"Oh she's safe, for now." Silas's evil voice was heard on the other end and Raphael gritted his teeth as he gripped the shell-cell.
"But only if you follow my instructions."
"You think we're going to take orders from you?" Raphael snarled "I swear, if you've hurt one hair on her head..."
"You'll do nothing Raphael!" another voice was heard and Raphael, Monalisa and Kemeko felt their blood run cold as they heard that voice.
"Arashi!" Kemeko exclaimed to which Monalisa shushed her and looked at Raphael's shell-cell.
Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Arcee exchanged shocked glances having learnt weeks before of Arashi and the Foot and they were horrified to realise that Mech and the Hamato's Clan's enemies had joined together.
"Understand this, Raphael." Arashi's voice said, "Mech and the Foot have no intention of hurting your daughter."
"Liar!" Raphael growled.
"He means it Turtle." Silas's voice was heard "In fact, we'd like to reunite he two of you as soon as possible."
Raphael and Monalisa glared as they listened and knew very well from experience that the Foot never followed up fully on their word, and they knew they would torture anyone they knew and loved to find out their secrets.
"Are you listening turtle?" Silas asked in the same firm calm voice "We need you and Arcee to follow the GPS co-ordinates I sent through to you on your daughter's phone, they'll lead you to the temporary facility I've set up."
As he spoke, Raphael saw an address and co-ordinates appear on the screen of his phone and Arcee also looked so she could take note.
"And also, just in case you were planning to bring back up." Silas warned "Don't, Lord Arashi has his ninja, as well as I have my men in the surrounding areas of the address we are located at, so any sight of the other Autobots, or your friends and family..." he paused "Well, I wouldn't want to feel responsible for the outcome!"
Raphael was panting with anger and his face was turning redder than his mask, he wanted to lose his temper, but he thought of Pandora and how she was counting on him and despite how he wanted to yell every insult under the sun and make threats he had to keep it cool.
"I take your silence as a yes then?" Silas asked, and the mutants, Kemeko and the Autobots heard the smirk in his voice which made their blood and energon boil.
"Yes..." Raphael growled in the steadiest voice he could muster.
"Good." Silas said "You have an hour to get here, and don't make me wait..." he then hung up the phone.
Raphael then felt his soul explode and he shouted up to the heavens in anguish making everyone jump.
Monalisa and Kemeko were used to Raphael's outbursts when he got really angry, yet the Autobots were a little shocked.
"By Primus..." Bulkhead said quietly in cybertronian "Never seen Raph lose it like that before."
"And I thought I got mad enough." Arcee replied also in cybertronian then frowned as she looked at Monalisa and Raphael who turned to her.
"We got to get there and get Pandora out of there!" Monalisa said.
"But Aunt Mona!" Kemeko said "It's likely a trap! You told us Mech have a lot of men and the Foot..." she took a breath "The amount of ninja they have, and not just human ones, but mutated and not to mention the Venomous Five!"
"We know Lotus." Monalisa replied.
"You gotta let us help!" Bulkhead said holding out his servos and Bumblebee bleeped in agreement.
Arcee glowered.
"You heard what Silas said." She said "If any of you apart from me, Monalisa and Raphael are seen approaching the destination Silas provided us with, then they'll do something to Pandora! The hybrid's life is at stake!"
"But..." Bulkhead started.
"No buts Bulk!" Arcee snapped sounding like a teacher telling off her young student "You, Bee and young Kemeko here head back to base and inform the others of what's happened."
"What?!" Kemeko exclaimed "We can't just..."
"No Kemeko!" Raphael barked "If even just one of you accompanies us, we risk Pandora's life! You need to do as Arcee says and head back to the silo!"
"I don't like this Uncle Raph!" Kemeko said as her voice got shaky as she feared for her cousin.
"I know, but we have to do this alone, me, Mona and Arcee!" Raphael hugged the scared Asian girl as she started to cry "Just do as you're told, okay?"
Arcee looked at Bulkhead and Bumblebee.
"Same goes for you two!" she said "Take Kemeko back to the base and inform everyone, we'll get Pandora back, and if..." she paused "When we can, we'll be in touch!"
Bulkhead and Bumblebee looked at each other, they didn't want to leave Arcee, Monalisa and Raphael to the mercy of Mech and the Foot as they knew they would be outnumbered, but they had to trust them.
"Okay." Bulkhead said reluctantly as he lowered his hand to Kemeko who hugged Raphael and Monalisa again "We'll look after Kemeko and inform Optimus, Ratchet and the others."
Arcee nodded at Bulkhead gratefully.
"Thanks Bulk." She said then transformed into her bike form.
"Hop on Raph, Mona." She said to which Monalisa and Raphael after hugging Kemeko again jumped on Arcee's back.
"Good luck!" Bulkhead called after them as Arcee sped off down the road with Raphael and Monalisa in tow.
Kemeko watched them then climbed into Bulkhead's hand before hugging his thumb.
"Hey, Kem." Bulkhead said soothingly stroking her back gently with his digit on his other hand "It'll be alright."
Bumblebee too bleeped in comfort even though he knew Kemeko wouldn't be able to understand him.
He felt helpless seeing Kemeko so upset, and he knew whatever he said wouldn't make it better, all he could do was support and look after her as well as do what Arcee said and return to the silo to inform the others of what had happened.
"Come on Kemeko." He said placing Kemeko on the ground "As Arcee said we best return to base and inform the others."
"But I'm scared Bulk." She said clutching Bulkhead's servo fingers "For my cousin, I know she's strong, and she's fearless, but I still fear for her, and with MECH and the Foot combined..." the human girls started crying again and both giant Autobots knelt and tried to comfort her as they cupped their servos around her.
"Kemeko, I know this is hard, and believe me when I say this is hard for us too!" Bulkhead said and Bumblebee bleeped and whirred in agreement as well as said a few words in his tongue only Bulkhead could understand.
"Me too Bee, I'm just as angry." He said, "And I'd give anything to join Arcee, Raph and Mona, but we have to do what we're told otherwise MECH will follow up on their threat and hurt Pandora."
He looked at Kemeko.
"But our priority is looking after Kemeko."
Bumblebee nodded and transformed into his car form and opened the door for the Asian girl who with coaxing from Bulkhead climbed in then Bulkhead transformed into his truck form.
"Back to base." He said then Bumblebee drove off ahead, Bulkhead behind him.
Kemeko curled up in the back of Bumblebee's car form and held her knees to her chest as she thought of Pandora and her situation.
She remembered how Pandora had tried to save then protect her when the Foot captured her and how years back when the Hybrid had fought their Uncle Tyroth's evil counterpart Vulstrun to protect her and Sonia, Freya and Loki.
She knew Pandora didn't break easily but she still feared for her.
"Oh Pandora..." she prayed "Please be okay, Please! Please! I love you so much my cousin, my honoured sister, my best friend in the whole world!"
Arcee, Monalisa and Raphael have been made aware of what happened to Pandora and are on their way to save her and confront the Foot and MECH.
Meanwhile Kemeko, Bulkhead and Bumblebee have to return to the Autobot Base, stay tuned to see what comes next!
Note: When Kemeko thinks back at the end of the chapter about how Pandora protected her are from my fanfic '13 Candles' and Tyroth Darkstorm's fanfic 'Nemesis'.