A whole day had passed now. It was getting more and more stressful for the Autobots, and the other children, myself included. I wasn't used to them being in such a scattered frenzy. While Ratchet had stayed back, working on the GroundBridge, the others had all been frantically searching for anything that could lead to their leader. I had been staying farther away from my guardian than normal, mostly to give him space. It hurt to see him so distraught, but when he focused on what he was doing he would seem to settle down. I would watch from the sidelines. The other Autotbots would come and go, each reporting nothing. I would hold conversation with them, doing my best to help by scanning for any signals, something Ratchet had taught me while he was healing. When one would pop up, they would thank me and take off instantly. Ratchet didn't bother to say anything. The kids were all at school for most of the day, and now Miko was in detention and Jack was at work again. I had stayed behind the whole day, deciding to skip. Now Raf was sitting at the couch, studying. I was off on the rails, watching Ratchet as he worked under the GroundBridge.

Sparks flew slightly, catching Raf's attention. He stood up and walked over, his eyes finding Ratchet and widening slightly. He scooted over to me and leaned in.

"Is he actually turbocharging the GroundBridge?" he muttered. "I thought Miko was kidding.."

I smiled at him, leaning on forward on the railing and nodding. "Yep, he's been going for a while."

"I'm just tinkering," Ratchet piped in, looking up. "No need to get anyone's hopes up just yet."

Raf shot him a grin, nodding. He was obviously excited, and still wanted to help. He waved at me slightly before running back over to his studies. I sighed a little and looked up at the screen. Arcee's signal was at Jack's job, signaling that he was finished with his shift. That meant they ought to return to base soon. Bulkhead was probably waiting for Miko, and Bee was close by. With another sigh, I looked over to Ratchet. I wanted to talk to him, I really missed our conversations. Now that he was silent, I was realizing that I was the only one he would really talk to, besides Optimus.

That shouldn't make me hopeful.

I stood up straight at the sound of Arcee's engine. Jack took off his helmet and shook his dark bangs out of his face. Casting a glance to my guardian, I sped off to greet them, grinning. I waved at Jack as he got off, and up to Arcee when she returned to her bipedal form. Jack saw me first and returned the wave, his face getting a little more cheerful.

"How was work?" I asked, stopping just in front of him.

"Fine, thanks." He looked up to his guardian. "Thanks for the ride, Arcee."

She smiled lightly, nodding her helm once. "Anytime." She nodded to me as well, before walking off to check on the monitors. Probably to look for anything else.

Both of us perked up when we heard Bulkhead arrive, and Raf joined us. Miko jumped out with a huff, but when she saw the three of us, she brightened. As Bulkhead transformed, she ran over and tackled me with a hug. I stumbled back, a cry of surprise falling from my lips.

"Taylor!" she cried, before letting me go. "Where were you at school today?" She waggled an accusing finger at me.

I shrugged with a shy smirk. "S-sorry, I didn't feel like going today."

"None of us wanted to go," Miko whined, gesturing to the boys behind me. "You're lucky you have a guardian that doesn't like to take you anywhere!"

I knew that she didn't mean that as an offense, but I cringed on the inside anyway. "T-That's not it!" I protested uncomfortably. "He's.. he's just busy right now."

The other all exchanged a look, while Miko just smirked. My face went red with embarrassment, and I looked at the floor, pouting. The teenage girl took me in her arms again, squeezing me tightly and nearly lifting me off the floor.

"Aw, come on, don't be a sourpuss!" she teased. "You're way to adorable for that!"

My face went even hotter, but I laughed. "Okay, sorry.. oof you're kinda hurting me."

The two teens behind us laughed at this, while Miko let go of me with mock offense. The four of us walked up to the human area, chatting gladly. Though the atmosphere was still grim without Optimus, we just wanted to have some normality. It felt good, and I'm sure we were all feeling a little better now. Raf and Jack plopped onto the couch, turning on their favorite racing game, while Miko leaned back on the railing. My legs were starting to get tired, so I sat cross-legged on the floor. Miko started talking about her favorite band, Slash Money or something, and I nodded, trying my best to listen.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ratchet come out from under the GroundBridge and walk over to the main console. His optics flickered over to me as he passed, and I offered him a side smile. He returned it only slightly, before turning back to the GroundBridge switch. Arcee, seeing him approach, stepped away to let him continue without a word. He bent over, transforming his servo into a welder, and started to make changes to the switch controls.

"Hell-O?" Miko called, narrowing her eyes at me. I turned sharply and she immediately waved a hand directly in front of my face. "Is Taylor in there?"

I backed away quickly from the waggling fingers. For some reason, I felt my heart speed up in fear. Miko must have noticed, her expression turning concerned and apologetic. She sat down in front of me, frowning.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

I swallowed and nodded, calming down almost instantly. "Y-Yeah... I just.. think I have a fear of things in my face, that's all."

She raised an eyebrow. "Why?" she asked quizzically.

I shuffled uncomfortably. "Um... past experiences."

"Are we talking back when you got kidnapped that one time? Ratchet was hoppin mad that day.." Miko said.

I pushed the swell in my chest back down. "..Yeah. Ratchet was that worried?" I found myself asking.

She rolled her eyes. "Like he had lost a puppy or something. Except, you know, more angry like." She smirked at my questionable look. "..so did MECH do something to you?" she finished, her voice lowered to little more than a whisper.

I instinctively hugged myself, glancing away. "..Yes. It was... hard to accept. It still is."

Her expression was one of worry, which made her look a lot less... well, Miko. She leaned forward and hugged me again, which I gladly returned.

"Well, don't worry about it, girlfriend," she said, letting go and grinning broadly. "Whatever it is, I'm sure Ratchet can fix. And if not, maybe you can use it."

I opened my mouth to protest on both counts, but stopped myself. Could he do that? At the very least, he could probably make it more tolerable, or help me understand it. And what I could do. Which also brought up the question about Miko's other statement. Could I use it, my new powers? To help the Autobots? The near last thing I ever wanted was to see battle, but at the same time.. I wanted to protect what I loved most. I was too afraid to shy away from it again. Maybe I could try...

"Ratchet!!" came Agent Fowler's angry voice through the comm. I started and saw his agitated features on full display on the screen. "You awake?! This is an emergency!"

The medic looked up hopefully. "Agent Fowler! Is it Optimus?"

"It's Cons," the man growled. "And they're busting into the same military research lab they hit two months ago!"

I remembered hearing about that story, and looked over to the Autobots in worry.

"Another SpaceBridge?" Jack breathed.

"But for all we know, Optimus is riding with them," Arcee pointed out.

Ratchet's optics narrowed. "Roll out," he commanded, setting the coordinates.

....It sounds kinda cool when he says it, too.

The warriors each nodded their helms and raced through the portal. All of us kids stood up, anxious to see what they would return with, if anything. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Ratchet shifting from one pede to the other nervously. I swallowed and turned back to the swirling mass of color.

Please let Optimus be alright.

——————————————————————————————————————

Yay, another chapter! Sorry I haven't updated much for the past few days, I just didn't do it. I kept getting distracted by other things. I still have a lot of reading to catch up on, too.

Like multifandom-doctor 's new book!!!