Chapter Text
Jack breathed deep as he and Arcee raced down an empty road towards the base, the warmth of the afternoon Friday sun filling his whole body as he adjusted his grip on Arcee’s handlebars. The desert wind whipped by them, blowing his hair back as he grinned softly. His mother would throw one hell of a fit if she knew that he was riding without a helmet, but she wasn’t here right now, and Jack wanted to feel the unparalleled rush of freedom that came from driving with his partner. Besides, he knew he had nothing to fear. Arcee would go toe to toe with Megatron if it meant protecting him, a fact that warmed his heart whenever he thought about it.
He’d do the same for her, of course, but that would probably end with him getting squished. He’d still try, though.
Soon, their surroundings became familiar, and his grin grew as they rolled into the base, his eyes drifting around to take in who was here. Optimus was quietly conversing with Ratchet near the GroundBridge controls, while Bumblebee and Bulkhead were hanging around the human’s area, watching Miko and Raf’s intense video game competition. By the smug look on Raf’s face and Miko’s groans of disbelief, Jack could make a pretty good guess as to who was winning. Guess that meant he was in for an in-game ass whooping from Raf.
Jack slid off Arcee, watching as she transformed out of her alt mode. He stretched, making a soft grunt of satisfaction as he felt his joints crack.
“Thanks for the lift, Arcee.” Jack said, tilting his head up to meet Arcee’s gaze. The Cybertronian gave the teen a kind smile.
“Any time, partner.” she said, before striding over to join the rest of her team.
Jack turned his attention back towards his friends, making his way over to the well worn couch as the other humans called out their greetings. He plopped down in between the two just in time to see Raf’s character land the killing blow, the game’s announcer declaring the youngster's victory. Bumblebee and Raf exploded into happy chirps and cheers respectively, leaving Miko to growl out her annoyance and slam the controller into Jack’s hands as she stalked over to the railing, leaning against it as Bulkhead gently rested a soothing digit on her shoulder. The impact made him cough slightly, hand coming up to rub at the sore spot now blooming on his chest.
“Someone’s a sore loser.” he muttered, careful to keep his voice low. Shaking off the now fleeting pain, he held up the controller and looked over at Raf with a smile. “Ready?”
Raf nodded, looking eager to claim another victory, before pausing at the sound of footsteps. Jack looked back, tilting his head slightly as Arcee approached.
“Hey, we’ve picked up a faint Energon signal, and Ratchet says that it’s safe enough for you three to tag along, if you’d like.” she said the last part with a knowing smile on her faceplates. Honestly, their answer would always be a resounding-
“Yes!”
Well, that.
The humans raced down the stairs as Ratchet started his spiel about safety and staying with their partners, each kid coming to a stop next to their respective guardians. The titans transformed into their alt modes, doors opening and engines revving in restrained excitement. It had been far too long since they’d gone on a mission together, not counting the times when Miko managed to weasel her way into trouble, Jack and Raf never far behind.
Jack hopped onto Arcee as the GroundBridge roared to life, its entrancing swirls and snaps of light casting a green glow over them. The Autobots and their charges moved swiftly through the scaled-down space bridge, emerging into the heart of a great pine forest. Jack lowered his body and tightened his grip as Arcee tore across the soft earth, weaving in between towering trees and leaping over small cliffs. The sounds of nature were drowned out by the powerful thrum of the alien vehicles that were indulging their more thrill-seeking sides. Jack was pretty sure anything within five miles of them could hear Miko’s delighted squeals as Bulkhead surged over a chasm, mud and small stones exploding up under his tires as he crashed back down.
Over Arcee’s coms, he could hear the Wrecker’s own booming laughter, and Jack felt the sides of his mouth turn up. He’d found that he’d been smiling so much more after he’d met his friends, and he welcomed the change with open arms. His mother had noticed too, and she often gave him a warm smile of her own when she caught him scrolling through old photos or texting his friends.
Too soon, their wild romp came to an end as they approached the maw of an enormous crack in an even more enormous cliff. The humans crept close to the yawning darkness while the Autobots focused on pinpointing where exactly in the cave the Energon was. Strangely enough, Miko wasn’t bounding around like usual. No, the girl was actually quite still, sticking close to Jack as she worriedly stared into the cave.
“Think ol’ Buckethead will be here this time too?” she asked quietly, forced laughter poorly masking the fear that laced her voice. Suddenly, Jack was reminded of the last time they had been on a mission like this, memories of thin, dusty air and being pinned by the blazing, hateful optics of the Decepticon warlord. He shivered involuntarily.
He put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently. “We don’t have to go in, you know. I’m sure there’s plenty we could do out here.”
Raf nodded in agreement. “Yeah! We could go explore, as long as we didn’t go too far.”
Miko shook her head, some of her usual enthusiasm returning. “Nah, spooky mines are way more fun than dumb old trees.” she spun around and spread her arms out, as if to encompass the entire forest. “And if any ‘cons do show up, I’ll punch their lights out!”
Shaking his head fondly at her bravado, Jack started towards the cave with Arcee, being careful not to get underfoot as they descended into the dark.
The cave, it turned out, was far larger and more maze like than they had thought.
Jack grumbled as he shone his phone’s flashlight around, looking for any flicker of blue. Deep as they were, the Autobot’s sensors weren’t working properly, which meant that they would need to rely on their eyes to find the Energon. He, Raf and Miko were ducking into the smaller tunnels while their guardians handled the larger, higher up places. So far, all they had to show for their efforts were dusty clothes and a few light scrapes and bruises from accidentally bumping into rocks.
“You know what? I’m actually starting to wish Screamer and Buckethead were here. Then at least things wouldn’t be soooo booorrrriiinggg.” Miko whined, kicking over a rock. She sneezed as a cloud of dust stirred up, the sound echoing in the dark space.
“I wish I’d worn something w-warmer.” Raf shivered, rubbing his arms. “I didn’t realize how cold it would be down here.”
Jack glanced back at his companions, sighing out his own frustrations. “Yeah, I’m not having the best time either. Preeetty sure I nearly broke my foot on a rock back there.”
“I hope the ‘bots are having better luck than we are. I wanna do some more off-roading with Bulk!” Miko said, punching at the air.
Clack!
The trio froze, eyes flicking back and forth.
“Uh, did one of you just kick something?” Jack gulped.
Raf and Miko shook their heads, the beginnings of panic starting to show on their faces.
Slowly, Jack turned around, pointing the light down the way that they had came.
Black metal caught the light, glinting in the darkness. Something moved just beyond the flashlight’s reach, slithering coils of shifting steel unwinding itself as the kids looked on, horrified. It reminded Jack of when he’d accidentally awoken a sleeping rattlesnake, the agitated creature uncoiling itself to try and strike. Whatever it was, it was big, it was fast,
and it might be blocking their only exit.
“Run!”
Raf’s scream pulled him from his fear-induced stupor, and Jack bolted down the tunnel. The horrible scccccrrrraaape of metal on stone was only just audible over the sound of his own heart trying to escape his chest. The tunnel twisted and bent, and more than once Jack ended up smacking into a wall. The humans screamed as loud as they could, desperately hoping that their Autobot protectors would hear them and come to their rescue.
Suddenly, Jack felt his foot catch on something, and he went crashing to the ground with a startled yelp. His phone flew out of his grasp, and as his face smashed into the frigid stone ground, he heard it shatter. In an instant, the trio were plunged into an indescribable darkness. It was not the familiar, if sometimes unsettling darkness of a house when all its residents are meant to be asleep, nor the calm darkness of a moonless night. No, this was darkness absolute, the space around them completely void of even the tiniest scraps of light.
The raven-haired boy sucked in a shuddering breath though his now bloodstained teeth, the quiet plip plip plip of his own life fluid dripping out of his broken nose now added to the symphony of ragged, fearful breaths that permeated the room. Frantic hands on his arms drew his mind out of the static haze of pain that always followed a sudden injury, and the adrenaline that was still coursing through his veins forced his legs to comply as his friends hauled him to his feet. Jack gagged and spat, copper clouding his sense of smell and taste as he spit out a mouthful of spit and blood.
Miko and Raf’s voices were little more than a sharp buzz in his ears, but thankfully his friends seemed to grasp that he was in no state to navigate, with or without light. His arms were clumsily maneuvered to lie across their shoulders, a movement that causes his left limb to burn. Broken, he thinks, or dislocated at the very least.
His mom is going to lose it.
He wished he was at home with her.
But he wasn’t. He- they are trapped in the void-like darkness of an abandoned Energon mine with… something. Something that is now hunting them, and thanks to him, they wont even see it coming. And even worse, his injuries will slow them down.
Part of him wants to tell them to leave him here, that he’s deadweight and that he may be able to serve as a distraction.
His survival instincts shut that part down fast. He does not want to die here. He does not want to die in a hole in the ground, doomed to have his corpse be picked away at by whatever creepy crawlies inhabited this place.
Blindly, they stumbled forward, Miko and Raf doing their best to feel the way forward by running their hands along the walls. Jack let out a pained wheeze and focused on just making his body obey his command to keep moving forward. They had stopped screaming at this point, quieting down to terrified pants and whispered comforts and curses. In this new quiet, the sound of their pursuer became nearly deafening, the sound of its approach making Jack want to puke.
“Hey, there’s a gap here!” Raf gasped suddenly. Jack lifted his head, blinking his eyes open. He hadn’t even realized that he’d closed them.
He still couldn’t see anything, but maybe, if there was some higher deity looking out for them, they’d soon be somewhere where they could. Jack hissed as Raf pulled away, the movement agitating his injury. The littlest member of their group quickly apologized, but continued to investigate their possible escape route. Miko helped him to rest against the wall, making sure to still support him as he pressed his back into the rough wall of the tunnel. One of her hands found his and she grabbed it, squeezing it. The pressure distracted him from the pain in his face and arm, and he squeezed back, grateful for the small comfort that his friend was offering.
“Come on Jackrabbit, we’ve gotta split!” Miko said, leading him away from the wall. She huffed has he leaned his weight onto her, but did not complain. Instead, she pulled his good arm around her shoulders once more and led him forward into where he guessed the gap was, her smaller frame not faltering even once under the extra strain, a testament to her strength. Let her status as a Wrecker never be challenged.
Jack was hyper-aware of how fast the monster that was in here with them was approaching, his heart hammering as he heard the harsh screech and scrape of metal echoed through the shadows. What was it? A Decepticon? He’d never seen nor heard about one that matched the brief glimpse of what they’d seen. It had been near seamlessly smooth, just the tiniest of gaps indicating segments, which seemed very different to Cybertronians.
’Although,’ Jack thought to himself, tensing as the mechanical clicks of machinery became audible, ’we’ve only met a small part of their species. Who knows what other kinds exist?’
If it was a Decepticon, why chase them? Why not go after the Energon? Or the Autobots?
If it wasn’t a Decepticon…
Jack didn’t want to think about that.
Instead, he focused on inching his way through the gap, trying to force down a coughing fit. The air down here was stale and dusty, and he had to breathe through his mouth to avoid choking on the blood that was slowly but surely coagulating in his broken nose. Now that he wasn’t actively running for his life and had to focus on more complex movements, the pain in his body started to make itself known. The adrenaline pulsing through his veins kept the worst of it away, but it still made forcing his body to squeeze through a pitch-black, narrow tunnel more of a pain in the ass then it would have already been.
Jagged parts of the wall cut into him more than once as he moved as fast as he could through the tunnel, the rough stones slicing easily through his shirt and pants. The feeling of blood seeping into his clothes and sticking to his skin only added to Jack’s distress, and he rubbed at his eyes quite often, wiping away tears, mucus and blood.
’Fuck Energon mines, and fuck me for doing this shit again after what happened last time.’ Jack hissed mentally. He’d fist fight a Terrorcon before he set foot in another dark, cold, cramped Energon mine again.
Wham!
Jack startled as their attacker slammed into the entrance of the gap, nearly knocking both himself and Miko over. A few chunks of ceiling broke off as the tunnel shook from the impact, and Jack’s heart dropped when he heard both Miko and Raf make noises of pain. Miko barked out what sounded like a curse in Japanese, flinching into Jack. He shifted the arm around her shoulder and sucked in a breath when he felt a warm, wet patch.
“Shit! Are you two okay? Raf?!” Jack called, gasping when another tremor rang out.
“M-my leg got hit.” Raf sniffed, and Jack soon had a small body pressing into his side. He didn’t feel the boy’s glasses, which meant that he’d lost them somewhere in the struggle. Biting down the pain, he draped his arm over Raf’s back, drawing him in close.
“Can-” he coughed, spitting out more blood, “Can you walk?”
Raf nodded into Jack’s stomach, whimpering and gripping his blood-soaked shirt at a third attack. They needed to get out now, before the ceiling came crashing down on their heads-
A deep, rasping growl filled the air, and all three humans felt their blood freeze as the sound of scratching and crushing of stone joined it. All of a sudden, a blinding red light cut through the blackness and illuminated the small space that they were cowering in, an enormous eye staring them down.
-or before that thing broke through and turned them into missing person cases.
Taking advantage of the light suddenly provided to them, the trio moved as quickly as they could, dodging further injuries and supporting each other as gleaming silver talons clawed fervently at the gap, widening it and causing more rocks to fall.
A gust of air ghosted across a gash in Jack’s leg, and he jerked to the left, gripping the back of Raf’s sweater to steady the boy.
“I can feel air! This way!” he explained. As if rewarding him for finding an exit, his body released another rush of adrenaline. He took advantage of the burst of energy and clarity, pulling away from Miko and using his good arm to lift the kid off the ground. Raf got the idea and wrapped his arms around the older’s neck.
Their attacker let out a bone-chilling hiss and surged forward, managing to force part of its body through. Now that there was some light, Jack could see that it was more like a rattlesnake then he’d previously thought. Its head was serpent-like, and two sets of long, black fangs jutted out of its mouth, one on top and the other on the bottom. It whipped and thrashed about, smashing its head into the sides of the tunnel. Rocks fell and left dents on its head and neck, yet it refused to stop.
If it was a Decepticon, then this was one of the duller ones. Couldn’t it see that a cave in might kill it too? Maybe it did.
Maybe it didn’t care.
Jack wrenched his gaze away, scrambling to get his friends and himself away from the creature as soon as possible. The erratic movement of their attacker made it hard to rely on the light of its eyes to see, but it was better than being back in that terrible darkness. The farther they went, the stronger the current got and after what felt like forever they finally, finally reached the end. There, right in front of them, was another crack, and Jack could see the faint glow of some piece of abandoned Cybertronian equipment.
Freedom.
“Go, go!” he yelled, setting Raf down and nudging him towards the crack. He did the same with Miko, urging her to help Raf since he couldn’t see well without his glasses. Behind him, he could hear the scrabbling of claws and the crash of more rocks. They were bathed in the red light once more as the creature managed to snake its head around the corner, and it was then that Jack saw the true size of the crack. It was smaller then the one they’d crawled through to get in here, being just barely big enough for Miko to squeeze through. Which meant that Jack would not be able to fit.
His breath caught in his throat, dread filling his entire body. Miko was already halfway out when she, too, realized the problem. She stared wide eyed at Jack, horrified at the realization that her friend was trapped.
“Keep going, I’ll be okay! I promise!” he said, praying that she would listen, that she would ignore the fear that made his voice tremble and believe his lie long enough to get her and Raf away. “Go find the ‘bots!”
“Nuh-uh, we are not leaving you here!” she argued, starting to inch back towards him. “We’ll find another way out!”
“NO!” he snapped, sharpening his voice. She flinched at his voice, unused to him speaking to her in such a way. “Miko, Raf needs you, you have to go!”
A long hissed filled the air, and Jack spun and grabbed the biggest rock he could lift with one arm, lobbing it at one of the creature’s eyes. The rock hit its mark, and a loud crack rang out. The serpent-like monster let out a garbled, static screech, recoiling back, and Jack took the opportunity.
“GO!” he yelled again, and this time Miko listened. She sniffed, and Jack could see that she was about to cry, but she still listened. Once she started to move away, Jack sprinted back down the tunnel.
The teen narrowly avoided slamming into the hulking metal beast, skidding around the corner and darting down the other path. The beast snarled, swiping at him as best it could in the confined space. The tips of its claws ripped through his shirt, missing his skin by mere millimeters. Jack screamed at the contact anyways, too heavily entrenched in panic not to. Now that he was trapped in here alone, the fear was worse, as he had no comfort, just his own howling mind and pounding heart.
He just had to keep running, keep staying ahead. Surely, surely there must be another way out. If he just kept running, he’d find it, and then he’d find the ‘bots and everything would be just-
Crack!
Jack was on the ground.
He didn’t remember falling over, but the enormous weight on his lower half told him how he’d gotten here. Desperately, he tried to get up, to keep running, but he couldn’t. The rock had him pinned, and he could no longer feel anything below his stomach. The teen screamed again, which quickly morphed into a raw, ragged sob. His whole body, or at least the parts he could still feel, shook violently, and he choked and gagged on the disgusting mixture of mucus, saliva and blood that was flowing down his throat. He lowered his head and breathed as deep as he could, his chest heaving with the effort. His vision swam, and he had to fight the urge to vomit as he heard the beast approach.
It was much slower now, encircling him with its long body. It knew that it had him, that its prey was unable to keep up the chase anymore. Wickedly sharp claws came so, so close to him, and Jack waited to feel them stab or slice into him, whispering silent apologizes to his friends, to Arcee, to his mom. They likely would not get a body to bury.
Then, the rock was gone.
The relief of pressure was glorious, and Jack took a second to breathe just a bit easier, but it was almost like the rock had been dropped right back onto him when he realized that he still couldn’t feel his legs.
There would be no escape.
And if he did? If he somehow survived this?
There would be no more rides with Arcee. No more wrestling matches with Miko. No more climbing up onto the highest rocks that he could find so that he and Raf could stargaze. His old life would be no more, and he would have to deal with the consequences of this day for however long he lived.
The sensation of being lifted up into the air pulled him from his thoughts, and as he was held aloft over the beast’s gaping maw, he realized that, very soon, he wouldn’t have to worry about any of that.
Arcee growled, frustration flooding her systems. Once again, their attempts to scavenge any scraps the Decepticons had left behind had proven fruitless. She sighed, a habit she’d gained during her time on Earth, and activated her coms.
“I’m not finding anything guys. Any luck on your end?” she asked, already knowing the answer.
“No, nothing.” Bulkhead replied.
Bumblebee chirped and beeped much the same, and she could hear a tone of frustration that matched her own.
“Alright, let’s regroup. Maybe the kids found something.” Arcee highly doubted it, but sometimes the humans surprised them. Human children, it seemed, had a knack for finding things that the adults overlooked. Perhaps because they were closer to the ground?
Arcee shook her helm and turned around, heading back to where the kids had promised to wait when they were done looking. She took another glance at her surroundings as she walked, hoping to spot a sliver of blue, or at least something interesting. Alas, it seemed that today they’d be going home empty handed, as she reached the rendezvous site without seeing anything new. With a soft growl, she leaned against the wall of the cavern, waiting for the sound of their human partner’s return. As she did, she let her gaze wander, her sight not as affected by the lack of light as a human’s would be.
As she did, however, she noticed something. There was a hole above the entrance to the tunnel the kids had gone down, one that had been fairly large, but it had been too high up for the kids to get to without help, so they’d left it alone. Now, however, there was a cluster of dislodged rocks at the bottom, partially obscuring the entrance to the smaller tunnel. Arcee’s optical ridges furrowed, and she went closer to the large tunnel. What could have caused the rocks to suddenly fall? Had the kids ended up in the larger tunnel somehow and ended up knocking them down by accident? Leaning in, she took a better look.
There were claw marks on the tunnel’s edge, like something had pulled itself up and into the passage. Those had not been there before.
Instantly, Arcee had activated her coms again, fear filling her. Not fear for herself, but for the children, who were in there with whatever had managed to sneak by them.
“Bulkhead, Bumblebee, get over here now!” she barked, activating her blaster. “Something is in here with the kids!”
The frequency exploded with worried chatter, but Arcee was only half focused on what was being said. She leapt up into the larger tunnel, transforming into her alt mode. As soon as her tires touched the floor, she was off, putting all her energy into going as fast as possible.
How long had this unknown threat been in here with them? Did it know that they were in there? Was it after them? Had it found them? Were they already-
No. No, she would not entertain that line of thought. She would not lose another partner.
She pushed herself to go faster, swerving around rocks and tearing around corners and bends. She tried to call the kids, knowing that they were likely too deep into the mine for the call to work but still having a sliver of hope. That hope was squashed when none of her attempts went through. She cursed human technology, promising herself that she would pester Ratchet into creating com devices for the kids once they got back to base.
“Arcee, what’s going on?!” Bulkhead’s panicked voice pierced her focus and reminded her that she wasn’t the only one who was worried.
“I found claw marks on the tunnel above the one the kids went into. Big ones.” she grit out, wondering how deep she would have to go before she saw something.
“Think its ‘cons?” Bulkhead growled.
“I don’t know what else it would be.” she replied.
Bumblebee let out a hissing stream of clicks.
“Yeah, no more mine trips. This is starting to become a pattern.” Arcee agreed.
“I wonder who it is this time.” Bulkhead questioned, a displeased rumble to his voice. “Definitely not Megatron or Starscream, we would have heard them by now.”
Bumblebee made a softer, more questioning beep, and Arcee’s engine roared in response.
“Considering how hard I kicked her aft last time we crossed paths, I would hope that she would be smart enough not to try something like this.” she snarled angrily, just the thought of the spider femme making her Energon boil. “Besides, the claw marks don’t match hers. They’re too big and wide.”
“So its someone bigger.” Bulkhead concluded, and she could hear the confusion in his voice. “Who has digits big enough and sharp enough to leave marks like-”
There was the sound of him transforming, a pause, and then an answer, more fearful than before.
“...like that?”
Arcee mulled over that question. She’d seen the claw marks and had immediately sprung into action, but she had not considered the fact that someone had to have claws large enough to leave them.
“I… don’t know.” she admitted. “Maybe someone got an upgrade? Or, maybe there’s someone-”
Her sentence got cut off as something exploded out of the wall behind her. Her tires squealed as she spun around, her spark freezing at the sight before her.
An enormous mass slithered out of the hole it had made, body moving in interconnected segments. The thing’s optics blazed a harsh crimson, and when it turned its head to look back at Arcee, she could see two sets of sharp denta protruding from its jaws. Two arms equipped with curved, sharp claws were tucked into its side, folding perfectly into its mechanical body. On the tips of a few of the claws on one of its servos, Arcee could see a smear of a reddish-brown liquid.
Rage consumed her entire being, and she transformed back into her robot mode, her blaster already screaming with energy. With an enraged cry, she fired at the beast’s head, aiming for it’s optics. If this monster had killed the kids, had taken another partner from her, she wouldn’t rest until she’d torn it apart.
The serpent hissed and ducked away from the shots, fleeing back down the passage. It was fast, clearly built more for speed then defense.
That was fine. Arcee was built for speed too.
Her tires squealed with the amount of pressure she put on them, tossing up stones and dust as she raced to catch up with… whatever this thing was. It didn’t look like a Decepticon, not really. It lacked the titular emblem of their enemy, and there was no sigh of higher intelligence behind its optics, just cold, unfeeling obedience. There was also no thrum of energy that would signify a spark. However, it also didn’t match any human technology she’d ever seen. If it was man made, who ever constructed it clearly knew what they were doing.
She could figure out the details later, after she’d shredded it into tiny, smoldering pieces.
“I’ve found our target! Get ready to engage!” she called over the coms, before refocusing on her goal.
Arcee forced herself to go faster, coming up alongside the machine as she tried to out speed it. In her blind anger, however, she didn’t realize how close she was to the wall, and how easy it would be for the serpent to take advantage of her oversight.
Sure enough, once the beast calculated that it had an opening, it acted. It swung the upper half of its body into the motorcycle, crushing her against the rough stone wall. At the speed they were going, the impact caused sparks to fly, and Arcee cried out in pain as the abrasive rock stripped her paint and hit the actual metal of her body. The rubber of her tires nearly ignited at the friction, and it was only by the tunnel ending that she was spared from further damage.
Lightning quick, the serpent gripped her in its jaws and flung Arcee at her fellow Autobots. Bumblebee and Bulkhead, who had not known exactly what kind of threat to expect, couldn’t react fast enough to dodge, receiving the full force of the attack. With the Cybertronians disabled for the moment, the machine slithered down further into the depths of the mine, searching for its missing prey.
Arcee was quick to roll off her friends, but not fast enough to see where exactly the beast had gone. With a shake of her helm, she reoriented herself, optics desperately searching the inky shadows for any indication of where the damn thing was. Her search was interrupted by her panicked teammates, who were demanding the explanation they were owed.
“Arcee, what in Primus’s name was that?!” Bulkhead questioned, getting to his pedes and helping the femme up as well.
A few short clicks from Bumbleebee made Arcee’s spark twist painfully, and her face must have showed it, because the scout went very still, before repeating the question again, firmer this time. She could hear the strain he was putting on his broken voice box as he waited for Arcee to tell him that the kids were fine, that she’d gotten them somewhere safe, and that her pained expression merely stemmed from her injuries.
“I don’t know what it is.” she grit out, not meeting either mech’s gaze. “Its not a ‘con, but its sure as hell built like one.”
She swallowed. A human mannerism she’d picked up from watching Jack. It hurt to do now.
“I don’t know if it has them, but it definitely injured one of the kids… at the least.” at her side, her blaster screamed with energy, begging its owner to fire at whatever was causing her pain. “There was blood on its claws, and no sign of the kids.”
In an instant, the air shifted, going from tense to frighteningly sharp. She could hear Bumblebee’s plating rattle in protective rage, only for the sound to be drowned out by Bulkhead’s enraged snarl, the big mech’s engine roaring louder than an earthquake. She could feel their anger, their sorrow, their agony, as the possibility of losing, or already having lost their human charges settled into their sparks like a scraplet, the feeling stabbing and painful.
“’cee, you need to get back in there, make sure the kids aren’t trapped somewhere and bleedin’ out. Me an’ Bee will take care of that pit-spawned, slag for brains carrier fragger!” The Wrecker dropped into their native tongue as he cursed, something they’d taken up doing to avoid accidentally teaching the kids (really just Miko, if they were being completely honest with themselves) Cybertronian curse words.
Arcee wanted to argue, wanted to be apart of the chase, but she relented, knowing that she’d never forgive herself if she left the kids trapped in the dark, unable to help themselves or deal with whatever injuries they had.
’Please, Primus, if you’re still listening, let it just be injuries.’
Turning back to the tunnel, she forced her body to transform once more, speeding off back through the darkness. Arcee’s movement spurred the Autobots into action, the two setting off on the warpath as they followed the serpent.
Miko held tight to Raf’s hand, keeping the boy close as they slowly crept along the wall of the much larger cavern they now found themselves in. She resisted the urge to whimper as a particularly cold gust of air blew against her injuries, agitating the still bleeding cuts and scrapes. No, she needed to be strong, needed to get help. Jack had given her a job to do, and this wasn’t one she would slack off on. She would be tough now, Raf needed her to be after all, and then, later, when this was all over, then she would let herself fall apart.
It was hard. Like, really hard, to be the strong one. She’d taken Jack for granted, not realizing how much she needed the older teen, how much both she and Raf relied on their friend for guidance and support.
She’d suck up her pride and tell him that when she saw him again. And she would see him again. He had said that he would be fine. He’d promised. He’d promised.
She mouthed the words to herself, and they felt bitter on her tongue.
He’d promised, but deep down she knew he was lying.
She held on to Raf a bit tighter.
The eerie glow of the Cybertronian drills had been long left behind them, leaving only the wind as their guide. She breathed deep, her mind dragging her back to that terrible day where she and Bulkhead had been trapped in that small, stagnant room, the only thing between life and death being the slowly wavering strength of her Autobot guardian. Although her she knew that this situation was so much worse, she couldn’t help but be selfishly grateful that she didn’t have to worry about whether or not she’d be able to breathe.
Ssskkkkkkkkkktch!
She froze, muscle seizing involuntarily. Raf fled to her side, gripping her shirt in fear. Her heartbeat picked up, and she moved to push her friend behind her, eyes searching the shadows for whatever had made the noise. Meekly, she hoped that it was a Decepticon. The unfeeling visor of a Vehicon would be a welcome return to familiarity.
Miko slowly inched forward, careful not to make a sound as she fought to control her breathing. The littlest member of her friend group sniffed, and she felt him press closer to her. They were both scared out of their wits, they’d likely never be comfortable in the dark again, and Miko feared that, now that she’d lost the person that she needed to latch onto, she’d be the one to break first.
’Come on Miko, you’re a Wrecker! Be brave!’ she tried to rally her nerves, but what scraps of bravado remained in her died when she heard that accursed fucking scraping again.
The beast had followed them. It had followed them, and there was nowhere to hide this time.
She walked backwards, keeping Raf out of sight and giving him the best chance to get away if she needed to push him away. He wouldn’t want to leave her, but she hoped that the primal fear of being chased by a predator would jump start his sense of self preservation.
Soon, the hellish red light became visible, near blinding in its intensity. The barren mine seemed to bleed as the monster drew near, its empty walls baring deep gouge marks which seemed like gaping wounds now that they were bathed in the scarlet glow. Suddenly, Miko realized that she longed for the return of the dark, because if there was no light, then there was no creature.
She began backing away faster as the serpent’s metallic head began to emerge from around a bend, wondering how they had possibly gone this deep. Where was the exit? Was there any way out? Or was the wind some kind of sick trick, meant to lure them into a false sense of hope?
She kept moving, backpedaling through the shadows. She had to try, had to get Raf to safety at the very least. Miko didn’t know what happened to Jack, but he’d told her that Raf needed her, and she would do her damnedest to make sure he got out of this alive.
Twin spotlights, sun-like in nature but as red as blood, beamed down upon the two cowering humans. Miko winced on instinct, squinting her eyes. The shift from darkness to blinding light was jarring and painful, and she couldn’t help but lift a hand to try and shield her eyes. A rattling hiss filled the quiet air, and the serpent approached, its winding body low to the ground as it slithered forward. She tensed, hand reaching back to grab a fistful of Raf’s shirt as she got ready to throw the boy away and scream at him to run.
Her impulsive movement was halted as something big suddenly rammed into the beast, an echoing snarl filling the cavern as the serpent crashed against the wall.
“Bulkhead!”
Miko didn’t hold back the relieved sob that passed her lips, her whole body threatening to go slack as she watched the green Autobot start to absolutely thrash their pursuer, sending fist after fist into the thing’s face. His optics burned like stars in the night, and Miko thought for a moment that blue might just be her new favourite colour.
Seconds later, frantic beeping met their ears as Bumblebee drifted around the bend in his alt mode, transforming and planting himself firmly between the serpent and the children, his door wings flaring out as he let out a low, static-like screech. Miko felt Raf jolt forward, and was quick to hold him back, surprising herself with how naturally the action came to her. Usually, Jack would be the one holding her back, and the realization that she was now the responsible older friend struck Miko like a punch to the nose.
The scout looked over his shoulder, worriedly chirping at the kids. His optics flicked over their injured forms, and Miko swore she saw a tinge of red enter them as he let out a loud beep, his blaster lighting up as he took aim.
In the next 10 seconds, four things happened.
Bumblebee fired, not realizing that his anger and stress had made his shot less accurate then normal.
The serpent ducked away from Bulkhead’s next blow, swinging its enormous head into the Wrecker’s chest with enough force to knock him away.
The bolt of plasma struck the Autobot instead of its intended target.
And the serpent?
The serpent lunged.
The burst of light that came from the bolt striking Bulkhead’s armor, combined with the blazing optics of the mechanical beast, was just blinding enough that Bumblebee flinched, giving the serpent just enough time to reach the terror-stricken children.
Twin shrieks of terror were silenced as the metal jaws of the serpent snapped shut around the two humans, the beast throwing its head back to send them sliding down its hollow throat.
The two Autobots, for just a moment, just a nanoklik, were stunned into stillness, their processors racing to understand what they had just seen.
Bumblebee reacted first.
His voice box made an awful, earsplitting noise as the scout screamed, his blaster raising once more to fire at the creature that had just eaten his charge. Bulkhead’s cry of sorrowful outrage joined his pained howl, and his own weapons shone in the dark as he charged forward. The metal monster hissed as his shots struck true, scorch marks marring its neck and face. It leapt forward, claws unfolding out as it skittered away. The Autobots gave chase, wearing their tire treads down with how hard they pushed their bodies. The serpent never slowed, only pausing for the briefest of seconds to claw a chunk of stone out of the wall, flinging it back at the beyond pissed Cybertronians.
Bulkhead revved his engine and went to slam into the serpent’s side, but a panicked trill from Bumblebee reminded him that, if they hit the monster’s middle, they ran the risk of further injuring the children. With no way to tell where they were in the serpent, the only safe spot to hit was the head, which was too far up to reach. The idea that the kids might be beyond the point of injury flitted across both their processors, but they took that line of thought and eviscerated it. If they thought about that, one or both of them would surely make a poor choice.
Bumblebee pushed and pushed and pushed the limits of his alt mode, ignoring the way his insides ached and burned. Steam puffed out between his seams, and his tires made an awful sound as he raced through the cavern. He came up alongside the serpent, just reaching its arms. The beast’s claws shone in his headlights, and he put every ounce of effort he had into getting ahead so that he could drive his fragging blasters into this things optics and blow its processor out all over the floor!
Over the roar of his engine, he missed Bulkhead’s warning call.
The serpent swung its clawed talon back, catching one of the scout’s tires and piercing the rubber-like material. Bee squealed as he was tossed backwards, his windshield threatening to crack as he smashed into the ground. Bulkhead and Arcee both voiced their concerns, but he shook them off, demanding that his fellow Autobots keep going, that they get their kids back.
Bulkhead pushed his own limits, but the heavy hitter just wasn’t built for speed like the yellow scout was. All too soon, the last dying rays of sunlight shone down upon them as the mouth of the mine rushed up to greet them. His spark twisted painfully as he realized that he wasn’t going to make it.
He wasn’t fast enough, Bee had been pushed past his limit, and Arcee was too far away. They’d made the wrong call in separating, in bringing them to this Primus-forsaken place, and now the kids were paying for it.
Desperate, the Wrecker put all he had into one final push, his engine growing hot under the strain. He could feel the Energon in him pumping faster and faster as it raced to keep up with the demands that he was putting on his body, but he could feel that he wasn’t going to be able to keep it up. Well fed on a steady supply of Energon, he likely could have made it, but half-starved as they all were, their bodies simply couldn’t handle it.
His tires hit dirt, and the serpent was gone, putting on its own burst of speed and vanishing into the thick coniferous forest, its more slender frame able to go places the larger, bulkier Autobot simply couldn’t. The setting sun cast long shadows, further obscuring the beast and making a safe hit near impossible. Bulkhead let out a burst of curses over the com line, letting the others know he’d failed without having the guts to say it. He felt lower than the pits when he heard Bumblebee’s sparkbroken wails and Arcee’s near-silent rattles of rage, the heavy sting of failure creeping through him like a wicked poison. He transformed, smashing a fist into the ground before beginning to pace back and forth, his engine still rumbling.
Soon, as the first gentle rays of moonlight started to peak out over the horizon , Arcee rolled out and transformed, her scratched and damaged body reflecting the silvery light. She looked small, her usual attitude having leaked out of her, leaving behind a bot that was experiencing an old and familiar pain. Bumblebee limped out behind her, one leg raised in pain and leaking Energon as he leaned against Bulkhead for support. For a moment, the three just stood there, processing what had just happened. It seemed impossible that a day that had started so well had crashed and burned like it had.
Finally, Arcee could bare the heavy silence no longer, and she numbly activated her coms once more.
“Ratchet… we need a GroundBridge.”
“Affirmative.”
Silence.
“Did the children behave themselves? No Decepticon-filled cave-ins this time?”
There was the faintest hint of humour in the medic’s voice, and Arcee could not hold back the wounded noise that escaped her. Instantly, Ratchet’s whole mood shifted.
“Arcee? What’s wrong? Is someone hurt?”
Her voice refused to work, but Bumblebee’s sudden, broken cry rang out loud enough for Ratchet to hear.
Seconds later, a GroundBridge sprang into existence, and the Autobot medic charged through, concern showing loud and clear in his EM field. Right behind him was Optimus Prime, and both mech’s optics widened as they took in the state of their teammates.
“What in Primus’s name happened?!” he barked, going right to Bumblebee, as he was the most injured. He glanced around at the ground, obviously searching for the little lifeforms that liked to get under pede. “Where are the children?”
“Gone.” Arcee finally managed to bite out, shocking the medic and their leader with the angry, defeated tone of her voice. It reminded them both of the days after Cliffjumper’s death. “All three of them. We failed.”
“Gone?!” both Ratchet and Optimus spoke at once, disbelief in their voice.
“The Decepticons were here?” Optimus questioned, taking in the various injuries his Autobots had.
“Not the ‘cons. Something else.” it was Bulkhead who spoke this time, his voice rumbling with rage. “It was like a huge metal snake, fangs and all. It was fragging fast, and it caught the kids and us off guard. Hunted ‘em down when they went off to look for the Energon. Got ‘em alone in the dark and just…”
He looked away, a slight shudder running through his frame
“…snapped ‘em up and swallowed ‘em whole.”
Bee let out a long whine, visibly sinking into himself. The youngest Autobot shook with distress, voicing his feelings as best he could.
Optimus felt his spark clench with remorse and fear. He extended his field and sent feelings of comfort to the despondent bots, trying to mute his own emotions enough to not overwhelm the others. In truth, he feared greatly for the children’s safety, and just the thought of the young ones being hunted down by some new threat, blind in the darkness and separated from the safety of their guardians, made his plating want to flare in anger.
“I do not know what reason this new threat could have for targeting the children,” he started, going close to Arcee to lay a comforting servo on her shoulder, “but we will find them and bring them home. We will not lose them.”
Arcee didn’t meet his gaze, but she leaned ever so slightly into her leader’s touch, her door wings flicking in a way that told him she was grateful.
“If this serpent did not attempt to kill them right away, then we can assume that it needs them alive.” Ratchet said, reaching over to support an unstable Bumblebee. “Once we return to base, we can track their phones.”
The other’s perked up a bit at the medic’s words, pushing down their sadness and holding onto their need for vengeance. With their sparks still thrumming with anger, the Autobots returned to their base to lick their wounds. They’d get their partners back, and if they saw that damn serpent,
they’d crush it into scrap metal.