The den of the space bird

“I’d say so,” he said, allowing you to get up.

“I suggest we observe your state for now. Now that the Decepticon coding is active, there is little chance of removing it. But thanks to the scans, I think I will be able to create a treatment that should dull the coding's effects," he explained. "I do not think I will be able to remove the effects entirely, but weaken them enough to prevent you from going berserk again."

“Is it possible to get rid of this migraine?” you asked, tapping your head.  

“I’m not sure. We can only test and see,” he said. 

“Great,” you uttered, displeased. 

“Can I go?” you asked. “I think I would like to take a walk to think everything through,” you stated with your arms crossed.

“You can go,“ Ratchet nodded. “Though stop by the main hangar. Sergeant Lennox said he would like a word with you.”

“Okay,” you replied and walked out of the medical bay. 

While walking through the corridor, you thought about what Lennox, your father, and Optimus likely wanted to say to you. There was a high chance you were going to be lectured. You did choose to listen to Starscream and go on your own, even if Emily’s life was on the line. 

Reaching the main hangar, you walked out of the corridor. There you saw some of the bots, Ironhide, the twins, and Optimus, who was standing with Lennox, your father, and Emily, who was seated on a chair next to the computers.

“Yo! Look who decided to return from rage land.” Skids started, causing the bots to lay their gaze upon you.

You mentally grimaced. You went into blind rage and caused some damage at the base too, so you were not particularly interested in being in the spotlight. 

“How are you feeling, (Name)?” your father asked. 

“Fine,” you replied. “I just have a killer headache.”

You then frowned when you saw something in the twins’ hands. “Did you… take Starscream’s arm?” you asked. 

“Yeah, the one you ripped out of him. Wanna keep it as a trophy?” Skids asked while using the con’s arm to point at you. 

You shook your head. “No... no thanks.”

“Well, more of us.” Skids shrugged his shoulders. 

“Yo, I want the rockets,” Mudflap said, trying to reach for the rockets in Starscream's arm. 

“No! Keep your hands off.” Skids said, slapping his brother with the severed arm.

You looked at them, grossed out but not surprised. 

“(Name), come over,” Lennox motioned you to walk closer. 

You sighed and walked closer. 

Lennox put his hands on his hips while looking at you. “(Name). Though we’re glad that you and Emily are both alive and safe. What you did was still careless. You should have waited and told us the situation,” he said. 

“I know that. But if I had not chosen to go, what were the chances they were gonna kill Emily while you tried to come up with a solution to rescue her?” you asked. 

“I’ve been their prisoner, so I think it's safe to say they’re not the patient kind,” you stated. 

“I second that,” Emily added. “While waiting for (Name) to show up, the con that took me was kinda gribbing me just to see at what pressure I would pop. It was not a fun experience. ”

“They’re definitely the type to kill a human just because they’re bored,” she stated. 

“And the chances would have also been that even if they claimed to keep her alive, they would have killed her just because I refused to come and then only return what remained of her,” you continued.

“You all kept telling me that the cons were not to be trusted, so I concluded that was a situation where refusal was not a good option,” you said. 

Lennox sighed, rubbing his brows. “You make a good point. But despite the situation, we have rules and protocols. We can’t go on solo whenever the cons demand it.”

Annoyance rippled through you. “Well, I’m sorry that I’m not a trained, war-hardened soldier. I didn’t exactly plan to become a robot after I turn eighteen,” you said with heavy sarcasm.

“Calm down,” your father said. 

“If I can add… “Optimus began. “Considering the situation, despite the choices and side effects, perhaps we should consider this as the best outcome. Young (Name) and Walkerson have endured what most cannot. Knowing the Decepticons, this could have ended in a much less desirable way.”

You sighed, calming down from the annoyance you felt. 

“Fine…” Lennox said. “It had already been done, so there’s nothing we can do about it.” 

“But there is the issue with the Decepticon coding. The high-ups already know its existence, and with it active, that could cause some problems. Galloway will especially start complaining and most likely demand containment measures.” Lennox explained. 

“We could keep quiet about it for a while, but not forever, especially when the bots have said that it can’t be removed,” he added. 

“Okay. What do you suggest?” you asked. 

Lennox and your father glanced at each other. “We discussed it, and we think the best solution to prevent that… is that you become an Autobot,” he revealed. 

The thought didn’t nearly process in your mind. “Become an Autobot?” you questioned, and they nodded.

“Like officially join the war?” you asked.

“Technically.” Your father clarified. 

You shook your head as you nearly struggled to get your thoughts into order. “Absolutely... not!” you sputtered out.

“You do not have to become a field soldier. You can take roles that will keep you away from the battlefield,” Optimus explained. 

“Yeah, well, I was just supposed to find energon, yet I still ended up getting tormented by the cons,” you snapped at the Autobot leader.

“I… no! Nope! nope! nope! Nope!” you uttered, shaking your head and stepping back. 

“You don’t have a choice, (Name),” Lennox stated. 

“Exactly! Ever since I became this, I stopped having a choice over my life!” you yelled with your optics turning red. 

Lennox and your dad tensed up. You noticed it and closed your eyes, rubbing your brows. “Sorry! Sorry…” you answered, calming down and your eyes turning back to their new mixed colors. 

“I… I need to get out,” you said and started walking toward the entrance. 

“Where are you going?” Lennox asked. 

“Out! I need to get out of this… Bullshit!” you answered as you walked out. 

Bots and some people looked after you as you exited the building before going back to their business.

“Damn! Newbie still mad,” Skids commented. 

“Pissed,” Mudflap added. 

“Maybe I could talk to her,” Emily said, getting up from her chair. “Maybe a talk with a friend is what she needs.”

“Yeah. Please do that.” Your father said as she went after you. 

Lennox sighed and shook his head. “This is a really bad time to be upset.”

“Honestly, it is impressive she lasted this long. I would have assumed she would break after the first kidnapping.” Ironhide stated. “Give the kid some space. She’ll come around,” he added. 

“Ironhide is right. “ Optimus said. “(Name) is young and did not choose to become like us. Despite our efforts, she had been forced to endure things no one should. Everyone has their limits.” 

“I think the best thing we can do for her is to give her space and allow a trusted friend to be her comforting voice.”

Outside the base, you marched toward the beach, away from the building and all the noise. Inside your mind, you were uttering all the curses in your vocabulary, cursing your life, the cons, the Allspark, pretty much everything that led you to this point. The anger was boiling in your mind. 

Emily jogged after you. 

“(Name), are you okay?” she began.

“No! I’m not okay!” you said, stopping and turning toward her.

“Everything has been shit ever since I became this!” you motioned at your robotic body.

“I’ve been killed, shot at, kidnapped, chased, tormented!” you listed. “And all because of a stupid magic rock and a gift I never asked for!”

“And now you nearly died!” you pointed toward her. “I knew this would happen, and it fucking did!” you said as you walked back and forth. 

“But everything’s fine now. We survived!” Emily said. 

“No, it's not!” you snapped back at her. 

“You fucking died!” you said. “It’s only thanks to that rock that you lived, but imagine if you didn’t have it?!”

“You would actually be dead right now!” you said, your voice breaking.

“Is this how our lives are gonna be? Constantly chased by psychopathic Decepticons, living through trauma after trauma, and still treated like we’re the issue?!” you questioned. 

“Now I have to become an Autobot because of this fucking coding thing. Because otherwise some high-up asshole decides I should be locked up?!” 

“I can’t even think straight because this coding is giving me a fucking migraine that is only making me even more pissed off!” you spat, your eyes flickering between red and blue. 

“I mean…” rage filled your mind much more. You fought back, then grabbed the nearest rock, forcibly pulling it off the sandy ground. 

“FUCK!!!” you yelled as you tossed the rock toward the ocean. It flew some miles away before landing in the sea, causing a loud splash. 

Emily watched as you breathed heavily and your optics returned to the shade of blue and purple. You exhaled as you rubbed your metallic nose. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” You apologized. 

“I just can’t do this anymore. I just can’t,” you said as you sat down on the sand, looking at the sea. 

Emily looked at you with sympathy before sitting down beside you.

“Don’t be… It’s been a rough year for both of us. “ she said thoughtfully. “You have the right to be upset about this more than anyone.”

“But considering our situation… maybe the only thing we can do now is try to make the best of it,” she stated.

“I don’t think being optimistic is helpful right now,” you uttered. 

“Neither being pessimistic,” she quickly said, making you look at her. 

She looked down at the sand. “I… sometimes still think about the night at that bridge. The moment you lay dead in that car and the moment you turned into a robot," she confessed.

"You do not forget things like that easily, and you have saved my life many times now. I don’t know how to repay that,” she continued, looking you in the eyes. 

“So I stay…”

“But even without the fragment, even if I had nothing to stay involved with this alien business, I would have stayed regardless,” she said, laying her hand on your metallic one. 

“The moment I knew we could remain friends after that summer camp. I knew I wanted to keep you in my life, whether your introverted ass liked it or not,” she smiled at you. 

You released a sound that sounded like a mix of scoff and a chuckle.

"I mean it," Emily said. "You were my ride or die in human life. So, I'm gonna be your ride or die in this one."

Tears threatened to fall from your eyes. You held them in as you looked at her. “I love you too,” you nearly mumbled. 

Exhaling, you looked at the sea. “But it doesn’t change the fact that our lives are now in this alien mess. I mean, are you really prepared to be a target to psychopathic aliens for the rest of your life?” you questioned. 

Emily shrugged her shoulders. “Shit happens. Focusing on the positive sides and being optimistic helps me move forward,” she replied. 

“I most likely have to take heart medication for a while. But I’ll manage,” she continued. “And hey, if you need some positive sides of this. You don’t have to worry about human stuff like finding work, college, or dealing with periods. I still do.”

“Pretty sure that would be easier than this,” you mumbled. 

The Allspark fragment on Emily’s locket began glowing. It slowly started levitating toward you.

You exhaled tiredly. “Now what?”

“I don’t know,” Emily said as the fragment hovered toward you, stopped by the string around Emily's neck. 

You suddenly felt a vibration on your side. Confused, you felt your side until you found the source. 

“There’s something stuck on me,” you said while you moved your fingers around it. You groaned when you pulled it out, as it felt like a needle. Emily’s fragment then followed your hand’s movement as you revealed what it was. It was another small Allspark fragment.

“An Allspark fragment?” Emily questioned. 

The fragment vibrated in your hand, leaning toward Emily's fragment. You decided to release it, and it flung itself against Emily’s fragment. You two watched them merge and change form before flopping back against Emily’s neck. 

You exchanged glances. 

“Huh. Don’t ya look at that,” you said. “Looks like the Allspark can be put back together.”

“Yeah. The fragment must have been in the factory and got stuck on you when you fought Starscream.” Emily reasoned.

She then looked at you. “Maybe we can put it back together, and after all the shards are collected, maybe I won’t need to carry it anymore,” she suggested.

“Yeah. But how long would that take?” you asked. 

“If we’re really diligent. Maybe sooner than we expect,” she replied. 

“I still don’t like this,” you said, looking toward the sea. 

“As I said, we can only try to make the best out of our situation,” Emily said. 

“I would find it cool if you became a badass Autobot warrior,” she joked.

You laughed dryly. “Imagine if we end up facing a great alien evil in the next few years, who came back to Earth and held a grudge toward humanity,” you started. “Then try to do something like… I don’t know. Blow up the sun or something.”

“Heh! Imagine if that Megatron guy came back. The bots said he was the most terrifying con to ever exist.” Emily added. 

“Yeah… I’m pretty sure we would be fucked.” you said. 

You two glanced at each other and then burst into laughter. 

"Seriously, though. Try to have some hope. Maybe things turn out better sooner than we expect." Emily stated.

"It's not like I have a choice," you replied.

"Even so, I will be right beside you," Emily added.

"Thanks, Emily..." you murmured. "Thank you so much... for being there for me."

"Your welcome," she said. "Of course, I can't leave my Amica Endura deal with her personal issues alone."

You raised a brow at her. "What's an Amica Endura?"

She only grinned, which then led you two to laugh again. You decided to leave it and ask the meaning of the word later.

You two then watched the sunset. The waves washed against the beach, and the moon shone brightly in the coming night sky. 

Ratchet took care of your injuries and this time decided to remove your reactivated weapon systems entirely – for your and their safety. You were stable, but still under the Decepticon coding’s influence, causing you to behave aggressively and try to break free. You trashed against your binds, which had to be reapplied many times. You either growled or yelled when anyone tried to get near you. When it complicated the process of scanning you or observing your neural activity, Ratchet decided to induce you into shutdown mode. Though questionable, it was the only way to keep you calm and prevent you from hurting yourself. Telling from the damage you received at the factory, it was clear that in a rage state, you had little regard for your well-being.

Ratchet entered the main hangar after finishing with your physical treatment and scans. 

“What do you got, doc?” Lennox asked. 

“She’s stable for now,” Ratchet answered. “However, the Decepticon coding is still active and causing her neural center to be in a constant state of aggression. I decided to keep her in induced shutdown mode. I’m not sure how long it will hold, but it should be long enough till I figure out a possible treatment.”

“This is rather odd,” Ratchet stated. “Minus the aggression. The Decepticon coding is not acting on its intended functions.”

"What do you mean?" your father asked.

“I suspect that her cyberformed human components interfered with the coding's structure, and after (Name)’s physiological state collapsed under the mental strain, it only activated the function that matched her brain center,” Ratchet explained. “She wasn’t originally born as a transformer after all.”

“Which might be the reason why she’s now acting like a berserked beast rather than a reprogrammed soldier” 

“A case of design mismatch,” he stated.  “It would explain why it allowed her to attack Starscream and his Decepticons.”

“Is there a way to turn it off?” your father asked. 

“The Decepticon coding is integrated deep in her neural system, and considering (Name)’s unique frame, I’m afraid a surgery would cause unprecedented side effects,” Ratchet explained. “Even if she were an ordinary cybertronian, such a procedure is still quite risky for a medic,” he added.

“Only cybertronian mnenosurgeons have the training to attempt such a thing. Unfortunately, Autobot mnenosurgeons became rare after the war started.” Ratchet stated. 

“So, the kid's gonna be stuck like that?” Ironhide asked. 

“I wouldn’t say that,” Ratchet said, checking his datapad. “As I said, all the Decepticon’s coding’s functions didn’t get activated, including the one that would have converted her to think like a Decepticon.”

“I believe her autonomous thinking is still untampered with. The coding is simply keeping her in a berserk state. ”

“She could possibly be snapped back to conscious thinking. So, technically, we need to find a way to snap her back to reality, which should also calm her down,” he explained. 

“And what would you propose?” Optimus asked. 

“I’m not sure,” Ratchet said, tapping on the datapad. “I’ll go through possible therapy treatments.” 

“I trust that you find a solution to help her,” Optimus said. 

“Maybe you should let Newbie see homegirl.” Skids suggested.

“Yeah. Newbie lost it when homegirl got smoked.” Mudflap said, holding Starscream’s arm. 

“So maybe seeing homegirl alive will snap Newbie back to their senses,” Skids continued.

“The two have endured a lot. Perhaps for now it would be best to let the two recover.” Optimus spoke. 

“Yes. Considering how the fragment has managed to bring Walkerson back to life with its energy. I would like to investigate it a little. This is now a second time when the Allspark has rescued an organic life,” Que said with interest. “A very curious phenomenon.”

“Just do what you can.” Your father spoke, and Ratchet nodded before walking away. Your father then sat down on a chair and rubbed his brows.

Lennox looked over to his friend with a worried gaze. “I’m sure they'll find a way to help, (Name),” Lennox said, trying to sound reassuring.

“I don’t doubt that. But it's not easy to see your own child in that kind of state and the things she had been forced to go through these months.” Your father replied. “ I’m even more worried about what the high-ups decide to do about her,” he added.

“They will not do anything to her,” Lennox stated. 

“It wouldn’t be the first time they had gone behind our backs,” your father said. 

“I’ll take responsibility for this incident. Though I have said we’ll look after her. The cons have managed to claw their way to lay harm on both her and Walkerson.” Optimus said. “I can only assure that we will not stop until we find a way to help her.”

“If she can be brought back from that state,” your dad said solemnly. 

“She’s only eighteen years old. Technically still a kid. She doesn’t deserve this,” he added. 

“We can only hope now,” Lennox uttered. 

A few hours since the meeting, Lennox walked over to the medical bay, passing rows of beds until he found Emily. She was resting on the bed after having received further treatment. She was attached to a heart monitor, which beeped with her heartbeats, and an IV drip. The Allspark fragment lay on the table next to her bed, and her burned clothes were put in a bag on the floor. The burns on her cheek that went down to her shoulder looked rough as they were red, but covered with healing salve. 

Emily opened her eyes after he stopped by her. 

“How are you holding up?” Lennox asked. 

“Fine. Though I feel like I got hit by an explosion,” she answered, making him shake his head with a small smile.

 “From what I heard, you did,” he said, walking into the room.

“The doctors said I’m stable. They do want to observe my heart activity for a few days since the Allspark fragment brought me back, “ she said, taking a sip from her glass of water. 

“Feeling quite special...” she uttered humorously.

“Sounds good.” Lennox nodded.

“How is (Name)?” she asked. 

“She’s…” Lennox nearly hesitated. “... stable for now. But she’s under the Decepticon coding's control at the moment,” he said. 

Emily looked uncertain. “The thing… the cons tried to turn on, so she would be brainwashed into a Decepticon?” she asked. 

“Exactly. The bots are trying to figure out a way to calm her down, or at least help her to snap back to her senses,” Lennox explained.

“What triggered it? I can’t remember much after what happened at the tower,” she questioned. 

“I’m not sure,” Lennox answered. “Ratchet had explained that it could be triggered by a deep mental breaking point like stress, anxiety, or anger. I guess your temporal death is what finally tipped her off.”

“Honestly, considering what happened, I’d say that’s an understandable crashout,” she said. Lennox nodded in agreement. 

“Does she think I’m dead?” she asked. 

“Hard to say… probably,” Lennox answered. 

“You think I could go see her?” she asked. “If I was the trigger, maybe seeing me alive will help her calm down,” she explained. 

“It's pretty dangerous at the moment. She isn’t listening to anyone. Let’s not risk your safety,” he said. 

“Try to rest now. Ratchet will try out his solutions, and if they don’t work, we’ll try letting her see you and see if that’s the solution,” he said and prepared to go. 

“Hey, Lennox,” she said, making him stop. 

“Can I get some scissors or a shaver?” she asked and then pointed to her hair. “I would like to fix this because I’m not digging this hairstyle.”

Lennox let out an amused smile. “I let the army doctor know.”

“Thank you,” she said as he then left. 

Emily lay down against the bed, wincing as the burns stung when she moved. Her thoughts drifted to you, imagining your current state. She felt worried. She took a sip from her water before sparing a glance at the Allspark fragment on the table. 

Lennox walked out of the medical wing. A loud yell echoed through the hangar, followed by a sound of something heavy crashing against something. 

Lennox quickly ran over. 

Inside the room where you were contained, you managed to wake from the induced shutdown and went berserk. You ripped yourself free from the bindings, causing some of the people to yell and panic. You screamed angrily, your optics red. Slamming your arm, you tossed some people away, not hard enough to kill, just enough to hurt. You threw some gadgets and things into the air.

“Easy! Don’t get close to her!” Ratchet tried to warn them, but some people shot shock bolts at you. 

You yelled as they struck your arm, causing shocks. 

“No! Don’t do that! You only make it worse!” Ratchet yelled. 

You slammed the soldiers away, then fell to the floor when the bolts caused your arm and legs to go limp. 

“Easy! Easy!” Ratchet said as you crawled against a corner.

Lennox watched from the doorway. Soon enough, Emily arrived, having dragged herself out of the bed after hearing your screams. Also because the Allspark fragment started acting strange when you woke up. 

“(Name)? Can you hear me?” Ratchet asked, but you only responded by throwing a large box at him. The medic dodged, and the box landed somewhere, destroying other things. 

“I’m afraid the coding is still acting strong in her,” Que stated.

“Maybe we should put her back into shutdown mode,” Ratchet said. 

“That might prove challenging as she seems keen on not letting anyone come near her,” Que replied. 

Emily looked at you, seeing you like this, both shocked and pained her. Looking at you made her think of an angry animal that had been traumatized. It also nearly looked like the day when you first woke up as a transformer and fell into hysteria. 

The fragment on her neck vibrated and softly glowed. She thought about what to do. An idea popped into her mind, causing her to think hard. It was stupid. This was not a movie, and trying to calm down a raging person was never a good idea. However, the fragment seemed to follow her thoughts. If she was the trigger to your state…

Oh, fuck it. It could either be this or you staying like this for good. 

When soldiers tried to approach you, it ticked you off, and you charged at them, dragging your body across the floors. Others stood away, but Emily stepped forward. 

“(NAME)!” she yelled as loudly as she could. 

“Emily!” Lennox yelled. 

You froze in front of her, your red optics locked onto her. Your fist was raised up, trembling as you stared at her in a mix of shock, rage, and confusion. Your HUD system kept scanning her, confused as it stated her alive, while your memories remembered her dead face. 

“You’re okay!” Emily continued with her hands raised up. 

“I’m alive!” She added. 

“I’m alive… “ she said again with a softer tone. 

She and the others watched what you would do. You trembled hard as your optics still gleamed red. You slammed your fist against the floor and held your head like you were in pain, groaning. 

Emily watched in hesitation. 

When you pulled your head up, tears ran down your optics as they slowly turned blue with a shade of purple.

You now wept uncontrollably, back to yourself. 

“Em…?” you said weakly. 

“I’m here. I’m here.” Emily approached slowly, laying her arms on your helm. You cried as your metallic hand hovered around her, like you were scared to touch her. Your claws retracted back into normal fingers, and only then did you dare to touch her. You then cried out everything you felt and everything you had been forced to go through. 

“This didn’t have to happen, you know?” he started. “If you had simply stayed put and obeyed. Your little friend would likely still be alive.” 

He then leaned closer to you. “You can only blame yourself for this.”

His words struck you like an invisible knife. It sliced through your anguish and denial, making you freeze as your mind got stuck on the sentence. Your fault? 

Grindor arrived, transforming into his robot mode. Starscream looked over to him. “Take our guest back into the factory. They're in need of an operation,” he ordered.

You breathed heavily, something hot beginning to fester within you as your mind was focused on the sentence. Your fault? YOUR FAULT?! 

They were the ones who killed you and caused you to become a robot. They were the ones who kidnapped you and tortured you with brain-infesting worms. They were the ones who continued to come after you and then Emily. It was they who attacked and caused her death. 

Something clicked in your head, and your vision turned red. Flaming, burning anger filled your entire being. Everything you had felt since the beginning of this life came out like a volcano. It was like the energon in your veins began to burn like lava. 

With a click, a mask covered your face. 

You turned your head, your HUD detecting missiles hidden on Grindor’s leg. With an enraged yell, you ripped Grindor’s armor pieces open, ripped out one of the missiles, and slammed it against Starscream’s leg. 

The impact immediately detonated the missile. Starscream shrieked as the missile damaged his leg. The explosion was strong enough to knock all three of you back. The force tossed Emily’s body away. Her body landed roughly over the crater, but was not further damaged by the explosion.

You landed on your back but quickly rolled back on your feet. Your fingers, which now protruded claws, dug into the ground. Moving like an animal, you charged toward Starscream. The grey mech stood back, startled, as you jumped, but then you were grabbed by Grindor.

You slammed against the ground, forcing you to turn your attention to Grindor as he dragged you by your leg. Starscream watched as you attacked Grindor’s arm, causing him to free you and allowing you a chance to pounce on him. Climbing around the helicopter con, you viciously began ripping pieces out of him. 

Starscream observed. 

The Decepticon coding within you had activated. However, something was wrong. It was not preventing you from attacking your supposed allies. 

Grindor managed to grab you and toss you away. You hit the ground but rolled back on your feet, Ironhide’s landing techniques kicking in even in your rage state. With a rush of energy given by your energon, you managed to re-enable your weapon systems. 

Two small rocket launchers ejected from your back, and you shot six small rockets at Grindor. Surprised, the con didn’t have time to evade and took the hits. Many small explosions happened on impact, not enough to kill him, but enough to damage him greatly. 

Grindor fell on his back, groaning in pain. 

You then turned your crimson optics toward Starscream. With a yelp, Starscream began running away while you gave chase. 

At the landing site, Emily’s body lay motionless on the ground. The twins appeared in their car modes, having lost Long Haul outside the factory. The two transformed and looked around. 

“Yo, where’s newbie at?” Mudflap questioned. 

The two then watched as Starscream attempted to escape by firing the rockets on his back. You charged at him, leaped to a factory wall, then used it to pounce on the seeker in midair. Starscream yelled as you grabbed onto his leg. He tried to throw you off, but you climbed onto his back and ripped into his rocket engines. They exploded and began to fail. 

You both fell toward the factory and landed through the roof.

“Damnnn!” The twins said in unison. 

“What’s up with newbie, she’s all over screamy?” Skids questioned. 

“Uhm, Skids,” Mudflap nudged him, then pointed toward Emily, who still lay motionless.

“Shit.” Skids said as he knelt over and poked Emily. “Yo. Homegirl. You alive?” he asked. 

When Emily gave no response, he stood up and shook his helm. “No good. Homegirl’s cooked.” 

“Damn. So, newbie lost it?” Mudflap asked.

“Newbie lost it.” Skids nodded. “It's all rage now.”

“Damn.” 

Inside the factory, you pushed through the rubble caused by the landing. Starscream stood away from you, having dug himself out of the rubble. You growled at him, your left arm limping, broken by the fall. 

Starscream took out his gun and began shooting at you. Rains of bullets flew toward you, hitting cement walls and pillars alike. The bullets hit your frame, causing you pain and forcing you down. Your system showed a route, and immediately you moved around pillars, the pillars taking the bullets until you got close enough to tackle Starscream against a wall. 

You began pushing and slamming him against the wall. You even slammed your unresponsive left arm against his face, regardless of the pain it caused. 

Energon flew out of Starscream’s mouth. 

The wall eventually gave out, causing you two to fall through. On the ground, you picked up a boulder and attempted to slam it against Starscream’s head. He quickly slammed his arm against you, causing you to be thrown off as he stood up.  

Standing on three, you activated your rocket launcher again, sending out the second and last round of rockets at him. Starscream parried a few of them, but three of them managed to strike him, causing him to stagger back. 

With another energy rush, a blade rose from your working arm. You charged at Starscream, only to get tackled down by Barricade, who had recovered from your previous fight. You landed against a wall.

You growled at Barricade, and he stood back, startled by your crimson optics and different behaviour. He took out his weapon, but you parried it away, then tackled him down, pommeling him with your left injured arm. 

Starscream took this chance to escape, limping away as his rockets were too damaged to fly. 

Outside the factory, NEST vehicles and Autobots showed up. The twins stood over Emily as Lennox’s vehicle stopped beside them while the Autobots transformed. 

“Cavalry’s here,” Mudflap stated. 

Grindor, who had recovered, released a growl when he saw them. He chose to retreat when he saw more NEST vehicles coming in. 

“Secure the perimeter!” Ironhide spoke, his guns ready. 

Lennox rushed over to Emily, dropping onto his knees beside her and testing her pulse. “We need a medic!” he yelled when he felt none. 

Medics ran over and immediately began a resuscitation process for Emily. 

Lennox and your father looked at the twins. 

“What happened?” Lennox demanded. 

“Where is (Name)?” your father asked. 

“Starscream blew up homegirl,” Skids replied. 

“Yeah, and newbie did not like that–” Mudflap continued. 

“Her optics are now red, and it's all rage now,” Skids added. 

An explosion was heard in the distance. 

“Oh, there she goes,” Mudflap said as they all looked toward the factory building. 

Ratchet looked cautious. “Her Decepticon coding has activated,” he stated. 

Starscream was almost outside the factory. Limping, he pushed himself to approach the entrance quickly. He stopped when you landed on his path, having dealt with Barricade. You two stared each other down, your optics filled with uncontrollable fury. 

“Stop! I order you!” he tried to command, but you only stepped toward him. 

“You are a Decepticon. You do not attack your own!” he tried again. 

However, you were not heeding it.

Starscream stood back. The Decepticon coding should not prevent cognitive functions from understanding commands. Could it be… that your former human nature is preventing them from functioning properly? Because now you acted more like a beast than a programmed soldier. 

He took out his missiles and shot at you. You charged at him, letting the missiles fly past you and detonate behind you. You jumped on Starscream and grabbed onto his damaged arm. He yelled in pain. 

“Get off!” he demanded, trying to throw you off, hitting you against the cement pillars and walls. 

You held on tight with your only functioning arm. You began violently tugging his arm hard while ignoring the damage and pain as he slammed you between him and the walls.  You then pushed with your feet and managed to rip Starscream’s arm off his body. He screamed while the ripping caused you to fall through the walls and back outside. The factory walls and ceiling failed and piled up on Starscream while you were momentarily knocked out. 

With NEST people outside, the medics were attempting to resuscitate Emily while the bots went to investigate the factory to find you. 

“Clear!” the medic yelled as one of them used a defibrillator on Emily, the shock causing her body to jolt for a moment.

Lennox and your father looked at this with heavy minds as Emily remained unresponsive. 

“I’m afraid we have to call it in,” your father said. 

“Clear!” the medic said once more as Emily was given another shock. The Allspark fragment in the locket on her chest began to spark with strange blue electricity. The medics stopped in confusion.

Seeing it, Lennox had a feeling. “Try again!” he yelled. 

Unsure but obeying the orders, the medics charged the defibrillator. “Clear!” the medic yelled and gave Emily one last shock. 

The Allspark fragment flashed as it then shocked Emily with its energy. Her body trembled for a moment. 

With a gasp, Emily sat up with her eyes wide open. She leaned on her side as she started coughing. 

“We have a pulse!” medics yelled as they helped her down on her back. 

“Unbelievable,” Ratchet spoke as Lennox and your father sighed in relief. 

“Homegirl’s alive!” Skids yelled, throwing his arms up in a cheer.

“Fuck! That hurt!” Emily yelled as she calmed down from coughing. Lennox walked over to her. 

“No wonder you just came back from the dead,” he said. 

Emily looked over to him as the medics strapped her down to a stretcher. “Where’s (Name)?” she asked.

At the north side of the factory, Starscream broke through the rubble and walked out. Wounded and angry, he looked at you as you stood up, weakly, injured but optics still red. Exhaustion and your injuries had begun to take their toll on you as you were barely able to keep yourself up straight. 

He took out his gun, ready to shoot you until he saw Autobots and NEST vehicles coming. With a growl, he stood down. 

“Decepticons! Retreat!” Starscream yelled as he fled. 

You tried to give chase, but your knees then released sparks, forcing you back against the ground. NEST vehicles and soldiers surrounded you. Ratchet stood before you. You growled at him. 

“I’m sorry, (Name). This is for your own good.” Ratchet said as he then shot paralyzing shock bolts at you. 

You yelled from the shock. Ratchet hit you with three more bolts when you withstood the first one. You shrieked, trying to fight it. The paralyzing shock finally became too much, and you fell to the ground, shut down. Lennox and your father came over and looked at your unconscious self. 

“Let’s strap her down and prepare for transport. She’s going to need treatment,” Ratchet instructed. “Hopefully. It might calm her down from the rage she’s induced in,” he added, which did little to settle the unease in their minds. 

They had managed to find you. Though they managed to resuscitate Emily, you were now under the influence of the Decepticon coding, the one thing they had hoped to avoid. 

Epps shook his head. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have let her go.”

“There’s nothing we can do about it now. We just need to find them as fast as we can,” Lennox said before going to work. 

“I doubt it would be that easy. The cons are good at staying hidden.” Your father muttered. 

“I cannot say much, except that we shall prioritize finding (Name) and Emily as fast as we can before the Decepicons can fulfill their evil plans,” Optimus said. 

“A lowly tactic, I say. Though unwise, I can see why (Name) would do it.” Ironhide started. “But I say she’s not helpless as before. If she managed to escape her first kidnapping, there is a chance she might escape this one with her friend.”

“It would make it a lot easier if she figured out a way to contact us, or do something that would allow us to notice them,” Que said, tapping on the systems. “Like causing some noise.”

“I would hope so. It is not only their lives that are at stake. If the Decepticons succeed, they would gain an Allspark fragment and (Name) would lose her autonomy,” Optimus stated. 

As everyone began working, Epps rubbed his brows. He felt guilty for his choice of letting you go. With a sigh, he looked around and frowned when he noticed an absence that was not usual. 

“Has anyone seen the twins?”

Driving on the road, you approached the location on the GPS. There were fields on both sides of the road, and the city had vanished behind you. It had been nearly two hours since you left the docks. The sky had lost its friendly weather, now filled with gloomy clouds just like your current situation.

A deep sense of dread ruled over your mind. 

You shouldn’t be here. You shouldn’t have followed Starscream’s instructions and left on your own. You can still open the comlinks and call the NEST and the bots. But if you do so, Starscream and his psycho friends would likely have Emily killed, or worse. The chances are that she’s already dead and they are simply using their hold of her to lure you out. Maybe they would have kept her alive even if you stayed with the Autobots. Maybe they would not have. The possibilities were not zero. So, in all scenarios, it would have ended badly for Emily. Doing this might be her only chance to survive. 

It was clear what they wanted from you and why they would keep you alive, but from her, it was just the Allspark fragment. They would have no other use for a useless organic. 

You tried to think of a plan while driving. 

You had no proper plan. Your main hope was to get Emily into your hands. Maybe they would spare her if you decided to join the Decepticons willingly.

You doubted that you would be lucky to escape them like last time. You can’t fight them. One-on-one, you might have a chance. But a bunch of them? Yeah, there was no way. They were battle-hardened soldiers. You are still a rookie, with only one victory under your belt.

You didn’t even have weapons. Ratchet had the weapon systems that came with your resurrection disabled, and you did not know how to turn them back on, even if you didn’t like the idea of having integrated weapons in your body. 

So… offer to join them willingly, and convince them to keep Emily alive — like keeping her as a pet. That’s the only plausible plan you could think of to save yourself and Emily from worse fates.

Your GPS beeped, indicating that you had arrived at the location.

It was a large building in the middle of nowhere. By the looks of it, it looked like an abandoned factory. Its walls and paint were eroded by time, and it had thousands of windows that either had no glass or had glass that was grey from dirt or shattered. In the yards, there were many metal things lying around. Maybe it was a factory built for metallic things that were then used by industries. You don’t know. You never really looked into factory stuff. 

There were also a lot of fences around the place, which would not make direct escape easy. Also, the land around you was bare, so there wouldn’t be any cover even if you did run away. 

You approached the building slowly, trying to see the cons. Transforming into robot mode, you stood in front of the building and looked around. It looked barren, and for a moment, you feared you had come to the wrong place. You hadn’t really looked into how coordinates worked. You inserted them on your GPS and hoped it would take you to the right place.

Suddenly someone walked out. You tensed when you saw it was the police con, Barricade, as his name was. On top of the buildings, you could see the murder cat, Ravage, stalking from the roofs. Then walked out the big green guy, Long Haul. Even if you didn’t remember their names easily, they were not easy to forget. 

“You’re late. “ the cop con, Barricade, said. 

“I’m here… am I not?” you answered. 

“Where is she?” you asked. 

“How about you come inside and find out, whelp,” Long Haul commented.

You hesitated, then took a deep breath. “Emily! Are you in there?!” you called out. 

There was a moment of silence, causing you to wait anxiously. You could still run away, so you wanted proof that she was still alive. If not, then you could floor it, even if your spark wanted you to see her with your own two eyes. 

“(Name)! I’m inside!” you heard her voice. 

Relief filled you within. She was still alive. Barricade motioned his hand toward the inside. “Satisfied?” he asked. 

You stared at the cons for a moment. Taking a deep breath, you walked willingly into the building. The cons followed. Long Haul pushed your shoulder, causing you to stumble faster. You only glared at the con before continuing.

You came to a large room. There stood Starscream. Big as hell and still intimidating. The helicopter guy, Grindor, held Emily in his grip. Seeing her alive brought you more relief. 

“We meet again, (Name)” Starscream started. 

You turned toward Emily. 

“Em. Are you okay?” you asked. 

“Oh, you know, just casually getting gripped by killer robots,” she joked, giving a lightly pained smile. “Just a casual Tuesday.”

You looked at Starscream. “Well… I’m here now,” you started. “Can you let her go now? She has done nothing to you.”

“Maybe not yet. I might still need to keep her to keep you in check,” Starscream said. “Long Haul, prepare our guest for the surgery.”

“Wait! Wait! Wait!” You stepped away from Long Haul as he was about to grab you. “You don’t have to do that!” 

You turned toward Starscream. “You don’t have to do the surgery. I’ll… “You hesitated to say it. “I’ll join your side willingly. I'll become a Decepticon.” 

“But only if you spare her life,” you pointed at Emily. 

Starscream nearly looked amused. “Oh, such bravery. Do you really think such antics work on me?” 

You lightly paled. “Well… don’t you prefer the things the easy way?”

“It was only thanks to her I’m now here. Is it not?” You questioned. “With her alive and unharmed, you would have a leash over me,” you added. 

He hummed. “I do like it when things go according to plan. And I guess I could entertain myself with a pet,” he said. 

For a moment, you felt hopeful. 

“But yet again, there would be a risk of you escaping again with your little friend upon the chance,” he said. “The Decepticon coding, on the other hand, will ensure you don’t even have the desire to leave the Decepticons.”

“I guess I can satisfy myself with the fragment and your ability,” he said. “Long Haul. If you mind.”

“No!” You stepped back. 

Thinking quickly, Emily yelled. “Wait! We could find you the Allspark!” 

You all looked at her. 

You nearly didn’t process what she said. 

“Listen. As we are the chosen guardians, we can access the Allspark’s qualities, right?” Emily questioned. 

“Since this fragment can detect other transformers, maybe it can detect other Allspark fragments. We could possibly reassemble the Allspark,” she explained. 

“The Allspark was destroyed thanks to you humans,” Starscream nearly spat. 

“But there are fragments. I have the one right here. The NEST has one too. So the chances are that there are other fragments that survived.” Emily said back. “Meaning if they’re all collected, it could possibly merge back into the Allspark.”

“Think about it. It brought (Name) back to life as a transformer. It can still heal and bring back dead Cybertronians. It chose guardians again and can detect its life force. So, what are the chances that it could fix itself too?” she asked. 

You glanced at Starscream, and he actually looked like he was thinking about it. You glanced at Emily, silently telling her to keep going. 

“Now imagine. Instead of fragments, which you can only use once. You could have the entire Allspark back,” Emily stated. “All the Earth’s energon veins and the Allspark, both in your possession. I would say that gives you a huge advantage,” she added. 

“And how would you know?” Grindor spoke. “I say we go with the original plan rather than listen to a human.”

Emily turned her head toward him. “Well, do you know? You are a Cybertronian, so tell me if I’m wrong,” she asked. He didn’t answer. 

“I don’t know much about Cybertronians or the Allspark. I know what I’ve seen and been told. “ she said. “But the Allspark has already done impossible things, so fixing itself shouldn’t be far off, right?” she asked. 

“And from what Que told me, the Allspark will only listen to us with two of us alive. And if you scramble (Name)’s mind, what are the chances the Allspark abandons her as a guardian and it's back to one-time-use fragments?” she questioned. 

“That might be the only thing that will kill the possibility of merging the Allspark back together.”

“So, what do you say, Starscream? Do you only want one fragment and pure energon? Or do you want pure energon and possibly the Allspark returned?” she questioned.

You glanced at Starscream as he thought about it. It actually looked like he was intrigued by the idea. You certainly would take the possibility. 

“Very well.” Starscream finally spoke. "You make a convincing point, human.” 

“You’re not serious, are you?” Grindor spoke. 

“Silence! A fragment is valuable. A restored Allspark would be priceless. I will not discard such a possibility before it is tested. Even if it is only a possibility, it is a possibility nonetheless—one that should not be thrown away so easily,” Starscream declared.

“You may keep your life,” he said and motioned toward Grindor, who then proceeded to toss Emily toward you. Emily yelped as you quickly caught her in your hands. You checked her as she held onto your fingers.

“If the possibility is to be believed, you may avoid the surgery as long as you continue to do as we say,” he said. You felt shivers down your spine. Guess you had to become a con. 

Suddenly, a loud noise came from a distance. From what you could tell, it sounded like yelling of people. 

“What is that?” Starscream said. “Go investigate,” he ordered Barricade and Long Haul. The two walked out of the building. 

You tried to make sense of the yelling you were able to hear, but it was unclear. For a moment, you feared that you had been followed without your notice. 

“Two autobots here.” Barricade’s voice came through their comlinks. 

Starscream turned toward you. “You were followed?!” he demanded. 

“No! No! I swear! I turned off the comlinks and signal like you told me. They must have tailed me without my notice,” you explained as you covered Emily with your servos. You moved in front of the windows. 

“I told you we shouldn’t trust anything they say. Let's just squeeze the human. They are just as pathetic as this one.” Grindor said, pointing at you.

You frowned at him. “You know what? Fuck you!”

“Maybe the only reason I wouldn’t join the Decepticons is that I wouldn’t be able to stand looking at your fugly face!” you said without missing a beat, and pretty much without thinking.

“You dare to speak to me like that, whelp!” Grindor suddenly swung his arm at you, smacking you. 

The smack sent you flying through the windows behind you. The glass shattered on impact, and you landed hard on the ground. You covered Emily from harm as she shrieked from the throw. You rolled backwards before landing on your bottom. It took you a moment to realize you were outside the building. 

“Holy shit! Go go go!” Emily urged, realizing this was your chance to escape. Quickly, you stood up and ran away with her in your servos. 

“Grindor! You fool! You gave them a chance to escape! After them!” Starscream yelled. 

After running around the building, you found a hiding spot behind some tall wreckage and set Emily down. You then used your ability to look around, keeping check on the con’s location. Their location was distant, so it should give you time to breathe and possibly plan your exit. 

“That escape was brilliant! How did you plan that?” Emily asked. 

“I… didn’t. “ you answered. “That happened by pure accident.”

Emily chuckled. “Then thank god this factory is a very large place, and that the cons are easy to piss off,” she said. 

You opened your comlinks. “Hey! It’s (Name). Can anyone hear me?” you asked, but all you could hear was static. “Dad! Lennox! Optimus! Anyone?!” you tried again, but still static. 

“Fuck! It’s no good. The cons have a jammer on. “You glanced at Emily. “And the exit is on the other side of the factory.”

“We can’t just go through the fences. There’s no cover,” you added. 

“Then…what should we do?” Emily asked. “Wait? Didn’t they say there were two Autobots here? Who are they?”

“I have no—” you said. 

“Hey!” 

You yelled as you quickly grabbed the bot and punched him straight in the face. Skids yelled as he slammed against the ground. “Ow! Fuck! My face!” he yelled in pain. 

“Skids!? Mudflap?!” you said in bewilderment when you saw the twins.

“Ow! Fuck! Skids, I’m sorry!” you replied in horror. 

“I didn’t hurt you too bad, did I?” you asked as he got up. 

“Nah. I think you should have hit him harder.” Mudflap laughed at his brother. 

“How are you guys here? I had my signal turned off,” you asked. 

“We followed you, stupid. When we saw you leave the city.” Mudflap answered. 

“Yeah, like shadows. No one saw us coming.” Skids said, and they started moving their arms up and down. 

“Anyway. Why did you suddenly go on your own, newbie?” Mudflap asked. 

“I had to—” You shook your head. “Listen. There is a jammer somewhere. I can’t get through the comlinks. Can you?” you asked. 

“Let me try.” Skids said, then shook his head. “Nope. Static as hell.”

“Same here,” Mudflap added as he tried too.

“Ah crap! You have any idea what we should do then?” You asked. 

“We… aren’t really thinkers,” Mudflap replied, rather awkwardly. 

“Maybe you shouldn’t have gotten into this situation in the first place, idiot.” Skids said. 

You forced yourself to think. Your eyes then landed on the radio tower on top of the factory. Que’s teaching about the jammers came to mind, and you grabbed the jammer from your robot pocket. 

“Que mentioned something about two jammers causing a blackout in the network if put to compete with each other. Emily, maybe you could get to that tower and activate the jammer there,” you suggested. 

“That might work,“ she said and took it. 

You then turned toward the twins. “I can get her to the roofs. Can you two cause a distraction?” you asked. 

“Yeah, sure,” Skids said. 

“We can cause some noise,” Mudflap said. 

“If luck is on our side, this should cause enough noise to be noticed by the NEST,” you explained. 

After coming up with the plan, you went to your positions. You quickly taught Emily how to use the jammer. You two hid in a place as the twins went on theirs. You waited for their signal. 

Long Haul and Grindor were investigating the area.

“Yo! Decepti creeps!” Skids yelled, gaining their attention. 

“How about you come kiss my metal ass!” Mudflap added, shaking his bottom at them. 

Long Haul and Grindor set toward them, sending missiles. The Twins transformed and drove away, fast enough to avoid getting blown up by the missiles.

“They’re away. Time to go,” you said and started climbing the roofs. Thanks to your body, you were able to haul yourself over the edges. When you reached the highest roof, you ran toward the radio towers. 

Ravage suddenly appeared, blocking your path. You and Emily yelped as you stopped. The metal jaguar swiped its claws at you, causing you to back away and cover Emily. When Ravage prepared to shoot with its back gun, you took the chance and kicked the murder cat as hard as you could.  Ravage roared as he was sent flying off the roof, landing hard against the ground below. 

Sighing in relief, you and Emily exchanged a glance.

With a loud yell, Barricade suddenly tackled you from behind. Emily fell from your hands to the roof as Barricade dragged you over the edge.

“(Name)!” she yelled, pushing her up after the harsh landing. 

“Get to the tower!” you yelled back. 

With mild hesitation, she turned and began running toward the tower with the jammer. Frenzy climbed over the edge and began chasing her, causing her to yelp and run faster. 

Recovering from the fall, you stood before Barricade. He prevented you from moving or getting away. He said something in his tongue, then tried to grab you. Dodging his attempts, you deflected a few of his fists and then managed to throw a punch at his face and chest, pushing him back. 

Barricade stumbled, surprised by the successful hits. With this opportunity, Ironhide’s training kicked in, and you threw more punches at parts Ironhide taught you to strike. You managed to land one good punch at his face, causing the con to back away. 

You kept your defensive position, feeling confident for a moment. 

Barricade glared at you. Then he grinned as he pulled out a weapon that looked like a spinning blade on a whip. He began swinging it around, making you pale mentally. 

“Fuck off...” you uttered as you now completely focused on avoiding him and his weapon. 

On the roof, Emily was running toward the radio tower. Frenzy was chasing her, uttering curses and promises to do things that likely end up with her dying as painfully as possible. 

She tried to look for a weapon while running, but there was nothing, just open space and small bricks. In a moment, Frenzy grabbed her by the ankle, causing her to fall. She yelled, hitting the ground, and dropping the jammer. 

Frenzy quickly came over her, grabbing her and pulling her around like a dog with a toy. She struggled and tried to avoid getting stabbed by his sharp talons. He managed to make cuts on her skin and through her clothes. He then began to pull her necklace, the string wrapping around her throat and causing her to choke. 

Emily turned her head, causing the string to slip off her neck, and Frenzy to fall from the sudden release. 

Emily quickly got back on her feet, grabbed the nearest brick, and then tackled Frenzy. She yelled as she began hitting the con with the brick many times. Her weight was enough to keep the thing down, and she struck his head until it was nothing but metal parts and a small splat of energon. She then hit his chest, swinging the brick hard enough in an attempt to smash whatever heart it had into pieces – to ensure he was dead. 

Emily stopped and dropped the brick, lightly shocked by her kill. Damn. She didn’t know she had it in her. Maybe she was more pissed than she believed. 

Getting back up on her feet, she picked up her necklace and the jammer. Now with nothing chasing her, she jogged toward the radio tower.

Emily climbed up to the tower and set the jammer against the metal. She set it on the highest setting possible, and it began releasing loud humming sounds. 

She tried her phone, but the lines were still down. She wasn’t able to call anyone. 

“Shit,” she uttered as she looked at the jammer. It looked like it wasn't enough. 

The fragment then vibrated against her chest. She flicked the locket open and saw the fragment glowing. She looked at the jammer and it. Maybe it could power it. She pushed the fragment’s surface against the jammer, and the jammer’s humming turned into high-pitched whirling. 

In the NEST headquarters. 

“Sir. There is strange electronic activity in this sector,” the operator said. Lennox and your dad looked at the computers, which showed a map with a flickering section. “The computers are also picking up a very small reading of Allspark energy,” the operator added. 

Que yelped when he realized. “That is a jammer black hole. (Name) and her friend are there,” he pointed out. 

“Let’s go!” Lennox yelled. “We have a location!” he said as they prepared to move. 

You were still avoiding Barricade as he swung his weapon around. You ducked behind a wall, and the slicer thingie got stuck. Barricade tried to pull.

You took the chance to tackle the con down. You then sent as many punches as you could. You hit his head, and in a moment of confusion, and stagger. You took a running start and threw yourself in the air to kick him with both feet. He was thrown against the wall hard enough to go through, and cause some rocks to pile on him. 

You landed on the ground and groaned for a moment. Slowly, you stood up. Seeing Barricade down, you smiled and quickly climbed to the roof. 

On the roof, Emily tried her phone. “Yes!” she said when it went into open line, meaning someone could pick up and signals were slipping through. She saw you approach her. Smiling, she waved her hand. 

“(Name)! It’s working! Signals are getting through!” she yelled. 

Jogging up to her, you smiled in relief. Until your eyes spotted Starscream on another part of the factory roof, aiming at Emily. Horror flashed through you. 

“Em! Get away!” you screamed, trying to run faster.

Emily heard clicks and turned her head, only to see Starscream fire the missile. She only got two steps away from the tower before the missiles struck and the explosions set her flying. She screamed. 

You ran toward her and jumped off the roof, grabbing her and falling off the roof. You covered her with your body as you landed hard against the muddy ground. 

You spun as you hit the ground and even hit some metal waste before your body skidded across the ground, slowing you to a stop. 

Groaning, you got up. Ow fuck that hurt. You were aching pretty much from everywhere, and you were pretty sure the landing caused you to lose parts of your armor. Your left eye flickered until you looked down. 

“Em! Are you okay?!” 

You froze when you saw her. The explosion hadn’t ripped her apart, but she had burns on her clothes and face. Parts of her hair were sizzled out too. But her eyes were open, and she wasn’t moving. 

“Em...! Hey, wake up!” You nudged her, but no response. 

“Emily!” Tears came to your eyes as you kept nudging her, but no response. You laid your audial close to her chest, but you heard nothing- no breathing or heartbeat. 

A gasp left your mouth as you stared at her. A bone-chilling coldness filled you from within as you were frozen in your place, looking at her. 

She was… dead. 

The place you had arrived at seemed like another quarry. There were a lot of rocks and smooth cliffs. There was even a bright colored lake at the bottom. A typical quarry, though smaller than the last one. 

When you got there, you immediately got to work. You looked around with your ability and located the energon veins. The mining group handled the rest. It was an easy trip. You couldn’t find any pure energon veins, though. They really were difficult to find. 

Surprisingly, no Decepticons stalked in the bushes or tried to attack. You had half-expected them to attack you and the quarry since they had the information about the energon mines, which they took from you. Looks like you were finally going to have a peaceful day. 

Standing on a cliff, you looked over to the city in the distance. Your mind thinking about Emily and the Allspark fragment. You hoped she was doing okay. 

“What’s on your mind, kiddo?” Epps asked, having come to supervise the mining operation. 

“Nothing. Just thinking stuff,” you replied.

“If you’re worried about the cons. They’re not dumb enough to attack with a human city this close. They stay hidden to maintain cover,” he explained. “Also, the outpost is nearby, so backup is close by if needed.” 

“I know. I know. I don’t doubt that. “ You said. “Them, on the other hand…” You glanced toward the twins. 

“Hey. This energon block is mine!” Skids yelled, holding what looked like a piece of rock.

“No way! I saw it first!” Mudflap answered, trying to get it.

Skids grabbed his brother by his arm and then threw the red bot over his shoulder. Mudflap yelled as he slammed against the ground. 

“Yeah, that’s what you get.” Skids laughed before taking a bite out of the rock. “Hm. This energon tastes like rock,” he munched. 

You grimaced. That’s because it was a rock.

“I don’t know what Optimus was thinking letting them come along,” you stated. 

Epps chuckled. “Good thing that me and the boys are the actual backup. Pretty sure Prime just wanted those two out of the base once in a while,” he remarked.

“Come on. Let’s get this job over with. Then we can call it a day,” Epps said as he walked back toward the mining crew.

You glanced at the city once more, thinking if you could drop by to say hi to Emily and see how your mother was doing, since you’re able to transform now. You shook the thought away and followed Epps. You’ll ask once you’re done with all the driving lessons and have memorized the traffic laws. 

In the city, the streets were busy. Emily was on board Sideswipe as he drove on the road, as she planned to do some shopping. The Allspark locket rested on her chest as she looked through the shopping list. She was seated in the driver's seat to prevent Sideswipe from being seen as a car driving by itself. Since Autobots and Decepticons were supposed to be a secret and all.  Otherwise, the bot himself handled all the driving. 

“Okay. Let’s drop by the Walmart for the food. Then let's go to this shop on the other side of the city. They have the cheapest options for the car parts my dad needs? Do you mind making a long trip?” she asked, looking at Sideswipe’s dashboard.

“Seesh. Why not have everything you need in one place?” Sideswipe asked. 

“I guess it depends on the location and how quickly the shops can get their imports to restock their shelves. And besides, it wouldn’t make sense for a shop to sell vegetables and car parts together,” she explained with a humored tone.

“(Name) and I sometimes raced together on bicycles whenever we had to do shopping errands,” she said. “It was a good time and good exercise.”

“You and (Name) seem like really close friends. Are you two Amica Endura?” Sideswipe asked. 

“Amica… Endura? What’s that?” Emily asked curiously. 

“Amica Endura is like a … best friend you have for life.” Sideswipe explained. 

Emily thought about it, then shrugged. “I guess we are. We have been friends since Lynxwood. Lynxwood was a summer camp we used to go to when we were kids. After our first summer together, we were so worried we wouldn’t be able to see each other again. But then it turned out that we lived in the same city. We had been best friends ever since,” she said, softly smiling at the memory. 

“She seems quiet of sorts,” Sideswipe stated.

“She has always been a bit reserved. But once she’s comfortable, you have a good, loyal friend for life. Even if you’re in a dangerous situation and she’s afraid, she will have your back,” Emily said. 

“And with all this alien stuff. It’s not really unreasonable for her to be a bit more timid than usual,” she said.

"I’ll bet,” he said. 

“She has saved me from the cons twice now. I don’t think I ever get to repay her for that. If she hadn’t pushed me off, maybe I would have ended up dead and reborn too,” Emily mused, thinking of the night at the bridge.

“Don’t think too hard on it. You might end up having that chance in the future,” Sideswipe said reassuringly.

Emily softly smiled. 

As they crossed a street, Barricade soon began following them.

Emily looked through the window at the passing scenery until she felt the lock on her neck vibrate. She swiped it open, and the Allspark fragment was glowing. 

“Uhm. Sideswipe. I think we’re being followed,” she stated.

“How do you know?” he asked. 

“The fragment starts glowing whenever a transformer is nearby,” she explained. 

“Huh? My sensors are not picking anything,” he stated.

Emily glanced at the rear mirror and tensed. “Uhm—look behind you," she said, seeing a familiar police car following them. 

“Well, don’t you look at that.” Sideswipe stated after seeing Barricade.

“Hold on. This could get bumpy,” he said, speeding up. 

Emily leaned against the seat as Sideswipe sped up. Barricade immediately began following.

“Sideswipe to base. I got company,” Sideswipe spoke through the comlink. 

At the quarry, you watched as the twins made a game out of the energon mining operation. A game of darts, where they flick a small flag at a stone wall, the target being the veins hiding behind the stone. The one who can get the most flags to hit the vein wins. There was just one thing… 

You and Epps watched as Skids prepared to flick the flag. 

“Steady! Steady!” Skids muttered with his tongue out, really focusing. “And flick!” he threw the flag. 

The flag flew a meter before falling to the ground, joining the other flags that laid around on the ground. 

Skids groaned while his brother only laughed at him, even though none of the latter’s flags had hit the stone wall either. 

You and Epps shared a glance, mildly amused. The twins hadn’t figured out that tiny flags didn’t make good darts. 

“Oh shut up!” Skids flicked a flag into Mudflap’s face. 

“AWWW! MY FACE!” Mudflap yelled with the flag sticking out between his optics. 

“Yeah! That’s what you get for laughing bitch!” Skids said. 

Mudflap only threw a rock at his twin, causing the green twin to yell. 

“AHH! That’s it! I’m beating your ass!” Skids walked up to his twin and threw a punch. The red twin only yelled and punched back. Soon, the twins began fighting for the third time today, forgetting their game.

“They definitely have ADHD or something,” you stated, making Epps only chuckle.

“Oh, they definitely have more than just ADHD,” he said.

The comlinks suddenly beeped. 

“All agents nearby. We have Decepticon activity near Walkerson’s position. Be on standby,” came the operator's voice.

Tension immediately filled your body. Emily was in trouble. 

Epps looked at you after seeing you nearly stand up. “I’m sure everything’s fine. The bots will immobilize immediately if something goes wrong. Emily’s in good hands,” he said reassuringly.

“What if something does go wrong and they don’t get there in time?” you asked. 

“Let’s wait and see. I leave the radio open.” Epps said, keeping the radio open. 

You stared at the radio, anxiety already filling you. Others have assured you that Sideswipe was capable, but that doesn’t stop you from thinking something might go wrong, or that the cons might do something Sideswipe wasn’t prepared for. 

You might have grown confident for yourself, but Emily was a different matter.

Oh, Emily, be safe. 

Driving past the city center, Sideswipe kept a steady but fast speed. Emily looked over her shoulder, seeing the police car still after them. She could see a silhouette of a man inside the vehicle, yet the vibration from the fragment inside the locket reminded her that there was no man inside the police car — that, in fact, it was the vehicle itself chasing them. The same vehicle that chased after her and you that day. She can only guess what kind of intentions it had this time. 

“So… what’s the procedure for a con chasing you across the streets?” she asked. 

“In this case, we go to the nearest NEST post. The guys over there will handle our friend here if he’s stupid enough to follow us there.” Sideswipe explained. 

“You do not mind little speed?” he asked. 

“Not at all. Actually, I would prefer some more speed at the moment. Thank you." She answered. 

“Hold on tight,” Sideswipe said and hit the pedal. 

Sideswipe’s engine hummed louder as he gained speed, losing Barricade behind him. He changed lanes, moved past drivers, and made sharp turns steady enough to be considered only a reckless driver. 

Emily held onto the seat as another car blared horns at her after Sideswipe passed them.

“I don’t mind the speed. But maybe you could show good driving skills. I wouldn’t want to be considered a reckless driver,” she stated.

Sideswipe laughed. “It doesn’t hurt to drive rebelliously once in a while.”

“Alright, one turn here and we should have a clear road for the outpost,” he said as he prepared to make a turn. 

Suddenly, a silver colored car appeared on the road, driving red and cutting Sideswipe off, forcing him to continue straight.

“Well, hello,” Sideswipe mused. 

Emily turned her head and saw the silver car make a sharp U-turn and come after them, along with the police car, which managed to catch up. Sirens echoed from the police car as she and Sideswipe now had two cons chasing them. 

“Looks like Barricade brought a friend over,” Sideswipe stated. 

“Can you lose them?” Emily asked. 

“Let’s find out,” he answered. 

Sideswipe hit the pedal and speeded up. But unlike Barricade, the silver car — a con called Sideways — was able to speed up and give chase. Sideways caught up to them and moved on the lanes, blocking Sideswipe’s path and even threatening to crash to force him back. 

Emily tossed around the seat as Sideswipe moved. She quickly put her seatbelt on. 

Sideswipe released small blades from his wheels, forcing Sideways back and speeding up. He managed to finally make a turn and move forward. 

“Hah! Our friend wasn’t better after all.” Sideswipe said. 

“Sides!” Emily yelled when she saw a car coming at them from their lane. 

“Whoa!” Sideswipe quickly swerved to dodge, turning to another street. This forced him to return to the mainstreet and go forward. 

Emily turned her head, seeing Sideways and Barricade gaining up on them. The mystery car joined them, making them a trio.

The fragment in the locker vibrated stronger, meaning the third car was a con as well. 

“Looks like a whole party.” Sideswipe noted.

He then tried to drive. However, with Sideways and the third car blocking his sides, he didn’t have enough room to move. Barricade was close behind making backward movements difficult. And when Sideswipe tried to attempt to make a turn, the cons on his sides blocked his path. 

Watching this, Emily took notice their strange movement. It looked like the cons were herding them to a different direction, to more isolated place, away from the outpost. Her eyes widened. 

“Sides! I think they’re trying to isolate us!” She said. 

“Looks that way.” he replied. 

“Can you fight them off?” she asked

“Its a bit challenging with you on board and trying to keep disguises.” he answered as he avoided another ramming attempt.

“Looks like we don’t have a choice but face them head-on,” Sideswipe said and opened comlinks. “Sideswipe to base. Several cons are blocking my path. Requesting backup at my coordinates.”

Sideswipe then lost them momentarily and brought her to the docks. He found an isolated place and opened his door. Emily quickly came out and watched as the cop car and the silver car arrived. 

Sideswipe transformed. “Take cover in the boat houses, little lady,” he instructed.

Emily didn’t question it and ran to the closest door into the warehouses. 

Sideswipe activated his blades as he looked at Barricade and Sideways as they transformed. “So, you wanna dance today?” 

His optics then spotted Frenzy and Ravage ejecting from Barricade, charging inside the boat houses. 

“Slag…” he opened his comlink. “Hey, where is that backup! Barricade just released Frenzy and Ravage after the little lady!” 

Inside the large warehouses, Emily ran as quickly as she could. Her ears picked up clicking and familiar growling. She made the mistake of looking behind her, and she saw the murder robot cat from before and a thin, very sharp-looking robot running after her. 

“Oh! Holy Jeesus!” she yelped as Ravage began sending bolts at her. 

Emily dodged as she made quick turns and tried to make aiming difficult by moving between the big boxes. Frenzy gave chase, and then leaped over the boxes, landing right on her path. She yelped and stood back. She grabbed the nearest thing, which was a canister and tossed it at the con. Surprised, Frenzy yelled as he tried to grab hold of it, but his claws were unable to grab hold of the smooth surface. 

Taking the opportunity, Emily rushed to the door and ran through, closing it behind her. Frenzy and Ravage slammed through, but then found no sight of their target. 

“Where are you, she human?!” Frenzy spoke as he and Ravage began investigating the area. 

Hiding behind some cargo boxes, Emily glanced over the corner. Pulling pack, she tried to catch her breath quietly as her pursuers began looking for her. 

The radio peeped again.

“Immediate backup at Sideswipe’s location. Walkerson’s on foot,” the operator spoke.

Epps cursed and shook his head. “This doesn’t look good.” 

“Yeah, no shit,” Skids said. 

“Guys better get there fast, or newbie’s girlfriend’s gonna get smushed,” Mudflap added, which did not ease your growing anxiety. 

You looked toward the city and tried to calculate the time it would take you to get there. You glanced at the road, which was connected to the city. 

“I could go there.” You turned toward Epps. 

“(Name). No,” he said. 

“Epps. I know how to transform now. I also know the city. I could easily go there, get Emily, and get her out of there,” you reasoned. 

“It’s too dangerous. The cons would immediately target you.” Epps said. 

“Emily’s the one who’s in danger right now! Even if I get hit, I have less chance of dying. For Emily, it will only take one bullet or one wrong step,” you argued. 

Epps was quiet as he tried to think this through. 

“Yo, chocolate man. We can tag with the newbie.” Skids said. 

“Yeah! We can give the cons a good ass-whooping if they come close,” Mudflap added. 

You looked at Epps, waiting for his answer. You didn’t want to go against orders, so you hoped hard he would let you go. 

“Alright.” Epps finally answered. 

Relief washed over you for a second. No need to go rogue. 

“But only for retrieval. Get Walkerson, then get the hell out of there,” he instructed as you already rushed toward the road. 

“I will,” you said as you transformed into your alt-mode. Hitting the pedal, you drove on the road, leaving dust behind. 

“Hey! Wait up, newbie!” Skids yelled after getting hit by your dust. He and Mudflap transformed and drove after you. 

When you reached the end of the quarry road, you entered the motor road and headed toward the city. You tried to take deep breaths to keep yourself calm and focused. 

Your comlink peeped. “Alright, (Name). Epps told me you’re imbolizing. This is now your unofficial retrieval mission. Get to the coordinates, collect Emily, and get out.” Lennox spoke. 

“Understood?” he questioned. 

“Yeah!” you replied. 

“Other bots are helping Sideswipe, so you should be clear from being targeted,” he said. 

“Okay,” you said, not slowing down. Coordinates appeared on your HUD, and you inserted them into your GPS. It immediately showed you the location. 

You now only hoped Emily would hold on long enough for you to reach her. 

Hiding between boxes, Emily cautiously looked around from her hiding spot as the sounds of metallic clicking and growling echoed across the warehouse. She glanced toward the door on the other side of the hall, blocked by boxes and one opening, as there was a large sailboat docked on some supports - most likely for maintenance.

She crawled out of her hiding spot and quickly moved to the next one – trying to keep herself moving.

She held onto the locket as the fragment kept vibrating and glowing, which was not helping her situation.  The only thing it helped her was telling her how far her pursuers were. 

Her phone suddenly vibrated. She checked and saw it was your phone number. She quickly answered before the vibration could attract attention. 

“Hello… “ she whispered. 

“Em. Are you okay?” you asked when you heard her voice.

“Currently hiding. So, please speak quietly,” she answered. 

“I’m coming over to the docks. What is your exact location? ” you asked in a hushed tone. 

“I’m inside the warehouses. I think I can get to the north side of the dock,” she explained. 

With you, you looked at the GPS for the location. “I think I know what you’re talking about. I’ll be there,” you said. 

Emily snapped her eyes when she heard something fall and felt the fragment vibrate more strongly. “Gotta go. I’ll see you there. If you don’t see me, I’m inside the warehouse with the sailboat,” she answered before ending the call. 

Emily quickly turned her phone to silent mode so she wouldn’t receive other calls that could complicate her situation. She then scouted for the next hiding spot. Unfortunately, she couldn’t see anything but a long line of boxes that offered not enough space to hide in.

She quickly ducked her head back when she saw the murder cat, or Ravage, as it was called, appear on a catwalk near her, looking around. 

Goosebumps ran across her skin as she listened to the growls get closer. The fragment vibrated through the locket. She tried to think. What now? She would definitely get spotted if she tried to run for it. 

Her eyes then landed on a few gas bottles next to her. An idea popped into her mind, though a risky one. She pulled the gas bottle as quietly as possible to her, opened the valve just enough to release quiet hisses. She then picked the gas bottle and threw it to the other side of her hiding spot. 

It clanked loudly against the stone floor. The whirling of the released gas immediately echoed across the hall. 

Emily quickly moved when Ravage and the thin murder con quickly leaped toward the gas bottle. She moved past the boxes with her head ducked low, listening as the small one threw curses at the gas bottle. The gas silenced her footsteps, and she quietly prayed that the two didn't claw the bottle and cause it to possibly explode. That would not end well. 

She stopped against the last box to catch her breath. She glanced toward the door that was just within her reach. Her ears picked up helicopter sounds in the distance. Hope filled her mind. NEST must be getting close. She just had to get outside. 

She prepared herself to run for it, but then her ears caught whistling and clinking of keys. She froze as she saw a man, most likely a dock worker, casually walk into the warehouse – completely oblivious to two dangerous aliens. 

She switched her head between the man and the aliens, as the latter noticed him. This caused her to panic. No! No! No! NO!

Seeing the cons look toward the man. Without much thinking, Emily ran up to the man. 

“Run! Get away!” she yelled. 

“What! What are you doing here?!” the man asked, confused. 

“Run! You need to get away from here!” she urged. 

Before the man could ask any more questions, Ravage and Frenzy made themselves known. 

“Jesus!” the man immediately ran away at the sight of them. 

But before Emily could follow, Ravage leaped in front of her, blocking her path. She yelped frightfully as the metal killer cat growled at her. She looked back and saw the thin one behind her. They surrounded her. 

Emily saw ladders to the sailboat down, and sprinted toward it, managing to leap and climb up to the boat. Ravage followed and nearly bit off her foot.

Emily quickly crawled across the boat to the front. Frenzy jumped on board but slipped and struggled to stand due to the smooth surface. Same with Ravage, until the cat used its metal claws to climb on board. Their weight began tipping the boat, causing the supports to groan. 

Emily yelped, her heart pounding in fear as the cons moved toward her. At the front, she ducked under a sail. Seeing it tip toward the cons, she had another idea. She saw the ropes holding the sail and began pulling on them. 

The boat's weight tipped as the cons were right in front of her. She pulled the ropes frantically until they finally unknotted, and the sail's boom freely slammed against the cons, tossing them overboard. 

The sudden shift of weight caused the boat to tip fully and fall from the supports. Emily yelled as she was tossed off. She hit the metal wall of the warehouse and then landed roughly on top of boxes. 

The boat fell loudly against the warehouse floor, landing on top of the cons. 

Emily picked herself up slowly. “Ow!” she groaned in pain. Her entire left side was aching badly. There were definitely a couple of bruises.

After picking herself up, she slowly moved toward the door and jumped to the floor.

Hearing some struggling, she turned her head and saw the cons stuck beneath the boat, its weight trapping them against the floor. Ravage was aggressively clawing the boat, trying to rip itself free. Frenzy’s lower body was stuck beneath the boat and definitely damaged. Frenzy moaned in pain. 

“You… bitch!” it said to her. 

Emily only released a breathless chuckle before turning toward the door. She opened it and walked through. The boat should buy her some time. 

After passing through the rest of the warehouses, Emily reached the outside and the north of the docks. She cautiously waited halfway through the door while looking for you.

Driving through the city, you finally reached the docks and the place Emily told you about “Em! Where are you?!” you yelled as you arrived at the location. 

Relief washed over Emily when she saw you. She stepped outside, waving her arm. “(Name)! I’m over here!” she yelled. 

Loud footsteps came behind her. Emily turned her head and saw Grindor walking around the warehouse. The giant Decepticon snapped its red eyes on her. She yelled as she tried to get back into the warehouse, but the con placed his foot in front of the door, blocking her path. With no other choice, she tried to run for it. However, the con was quick and grabbed her into his servos, picking her up into the air.

“Emily!” you yelled when you saw Grindor take her.

You tried to speed it up as Grindor transformed and took to the air. Transforming yourself, you tried to chase but had to stop at the edge of the dock because otherwise you would have fallen into the water.

Helplessly, you watched the con fly off with your best friend. The energon in your veins ran cold. You were too late. 

Something then happened with your comlink, and an awfully familiar voice spoke through. 

“Hello, (Name),” Starscream spoke. His voice sent shivers down your spine. 

“What the— how the hell do you have my comlink?!” you demanded. “And what do you want with Emily? Let her go! She has done nothing to you!”

“All in good time,” he said with a calm voice. “Now listen carefully, (Name). If you want to see your dear little friend alive, you will do exactly as I say.” 

Coordinates suddenly appeared on your HUD. 

“Come to these coordinates — alone,” he instructed. “Close your comlink and signal from the Autobots.” 

“Do this, and you may see your friend alive.” 

“(Name). What’s your status?” Lennox spoke through the comlink, and you saw the twins approach, having caught up. 

“Choose quickly. Because I can’t assure you that your friend will be in one piece the next time we meet, if you choose to stay with the Autobots.” Starscream said.

Panic settled in your mind, causing you to tremble and tears nearly form in your eyes. All the confidence you felt was gone, replaced by the familiar sense of fear. 

You tried to think, but all you could think about was Emily being dead if you didn’t choose to follow Starscream’s instructions. The bots had told you many times that the Decepticons’ word couldn’t be trusted. If you didn’t do as Starscream said, the next time you see Emily is likely what is left of her.

You shook your head. No. You couldn’t leave her to die.

“(Name). What’s your status—” Lennox’s voice came in, but then you closed the comlink and the signal that informed your position. 

You transformed and began driving toward the location on your GPS, away from the twins and the other NEST agents that came to the scene before they could see you go. 

The twins stopped at your previous location. 

“The hell’s she going?” Mudflap asked when they saw you leave.

Driving through the city, you followed the coordinates. You regretted the action, but what choice did you have? You had experienced what they do to prisoners. They had reasons to keep you alive, but Emily only had the fragment and the purpose of luring you to them.

“Wise choice,” Starscream said through the comlink. “We shall see you and keep your friend waiting.” He added before going quiet.

You took a heavy breath. The chances of things going bad for you and Emily were high. You could turn back and return to the NEST, but then Emily could lose her life. If you went there, you had a chance to keep her alive.