Song: Billie Eilish - When the Party's Over

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Ironhide regained himself after reflecting on the situation for a few moments, slowly he got to his feet, as if ready to pounce at Aneska.

The mech held out his holoforms hand in a clear sign of, 'hand it over'.

Aneska stepped back instantly. I sat back up in the hospital bed with a glare, but the blush on my cheeks didn't fade. "Aneska..." I warned, Curse her and her phone. Always recording and taking photos of stuff.

"Give it" Ironhide demanded in a dangerous tone. Aneska blinked and dodged his hand swiftly, before he quickly grabbed her wrist and went to grab it.

"I'll send It to Jazz!" The raven haired girl threatened, hoping the Weapon Specialist would stop and think at such threat.

Ironhide growled instead, annoyance in his eyes. "Don't care!" With that, the male grabbed the small phone quickly and went to smash it.

"Ironhide!" I scolded him before he could do so. "Just delete the video! Not kill her phone!"

"Yeah Ironhide" Aneska agreed with me easily, cheeky grin on her face. Ironhide sent a glare to both of us in response, I shrunk back sheepishly at this.

Ironhides glare was like lasers burning into your skull. The look of death.

Ironhide quicky deleted the video before facing Aneska, a smug look on his face at getting rid of the evidence. He then reluctantly handed her phone back. "If you tell anyone. I'll kill you"

Aneska awkwardly shifted as she grabbed her phone. Grin falling to light smile. "...but...Autobots don't harm humans?" she replied in a questioning tone, voice doing a slight squeak.

Ironhides smug threat deflated instantly, his shoulders sagging in defeat, he groaned out loud. The male started muttering curses and complaining about humans under his breath.

I snorted in amusement. "Ironhide might not kill you, but I will" I claimed sweetly, my brown eyes hardening. I slowly swung my legs over the hospital bed edge, ready to leave.

It was good that William had given me permission to leave, but I am guessing I will also have to sign myself out...

Aneska put her hands up in surrender by my words. "okay, okay!" she huffed out, before speaking again when she noted my eagerness to leave. "You're free to go when you want, The docs' cleared it out"

"You just gotta go sign out" Aneska confirmed my thoughts, nodding to the front desk in gesture. I sighed dramatically.

"ok, let's go then" I muttered, quickly getting to my feet. I slightly swayed when they met the floor. Ironhide instantly went forward and gripped my arm.

"Careful" Ironhide grumbled at me, while steadying me so I didn't fall over.

I smiled hesitantly taking his advice and walked forward carefully. I looked around the room for my clothes. "I need to get changed...wheres my clothes."

"Oh, here." Aneska pulled my clothes out of her backpack to give them to me. "Me and Hide will wait outside. Call if you need me."

I nodded and quickly got changed after they left. I sighed in relief as I streched out the kinks I felt in my body, before heading out of the room with a light frown on my face.

Many thoughts went through my mind as I walked up to the pair waiting for me. Aneska smiled "sweet, lets get going."

"Alright!" I replied while Ironhide shrugged, we walked down the corridor together. I knew it was going to be awkward between us...maybe we made a mistake?

I frowned while making my way to the front desk to sign myself out.

'Was it a mistake?...' I questioned myself mentally, nose scrunching up in uncertainty.

"Just sign here Miss Lennox" The front desk lady told me, handing me a pen. I blinked out of my thoughts and nodded quickly.

Sighing out loud. I signed out easily with a simple signature and a few ticks, my brown eyes displayed uncertainty, my mind completely elsewhere. Aneska and Ironhide easily took note of my downspiralling mood.

"Everything all right Hazel?" Aneska spoke up in slight worry. Ironhide remained silent at this, his own blue eyes showing uncertainty.

"Fine" I blurted out in a strained voice, before turning around and walking to the exit at a much faster pace. I just want to go home.

"You sure kid?" Ironhide now was the one to ask. I looked at him with an raised eyebrow at his nickname for me, unsure if he could still call me 'kid' now.

I dodged his question. "kid? I'm nearly an adult."

Ironhide snorted at this. Obviously noting my snarkiness in the nickname. "Quit avoiding my question" was the smooth reply, stuffing his hands in his pants pockets. Ironhide clearly wasn't impressed with said avoidance.

"Girl troubles" I grumbled out, but loud enough for him to hear. This made Ironhide blink at me in confusion.

"...What?" He replied dumbly, making me roll my eyes dramatically. I should have known he wouldn't understand.

"Don't worry" I dismissed him with a wave of my hand. It was Ironhides turn to roll his eyes, allowing the subject to fly pass him...for now.

We all stopped walking when we were outside the building and now standing next to Ironhides alt-form. The mech looked around, noting no human activity about before turning off his Holoform.

It was a weird sight to see him suddenly vanish, I blinked while heading to Ironhides alt-mode. I went to open the passenger door to stop when I spotted Aneska still following me.

"Jazz picking you up or?..." I trailed off my sentence in question, double checking that she was still coming back with us or if there had been a change of plans.

"Nah, catchin' a ride with you for today... he's still stuck at the base" Aneska explained to me simply, although her eyes said it all. 'We are talking later'

I nodded at her in defeat, before getting in the passenger side. Aneska hopped in the back, throwing her backpack in first. The seatbelts automatically wrapped around us and the loud engine of Ironhides alt-mode rumbled loudly.

"Your windows...they are tinted darker" I commented out loud when I noted the difference. Ironhide reversed out of his parking spot, before driving off.

Ironhide grunted at this, the lights on his radio lit up a bright blue when he spoke. "So I don't always need my Holoform on, no body will be able to see inside"

"Is it a legal tint?" Aneska asked with a raised eyebrow. "Jazz accidentally went too dark and the cops pulled us over for it."

Ironhide scoffed. "I do my research, unlike Jazz."

I leaned into the seat as the pair bickered. I relaxed, but something didn't feel quite right, something was nagging my mind ever since Nathan had died.

My eyes widened when the Mission City experience resurfaced my memory. Especially about the weird piece of metal with symbols...

That Decepticon found us because of it and was demanding us for it. Is that why they are attacking us so much now? Is that why Nathan was killed? Because we still have the piece of metal?

"Hey Aneska..." I started to speak, interrupting the pairs conversation. she responded with a simple "hmm?"

"Remember that piece of metal we found in Mission City?..." I asked her slowly, wondering if she had forgotten all about it too.

I turned in my seat to look at my friend over my shoulder, Aneska had looked up at me with a confused look."uhm...- oh! yeah! What about it?" She now questioned me when it clicked in on what I was talking about, not getting why I brought the subject up.

"I put it in the backpack" I said to her bluntly, my hand gripped my side as I felt along my healing wound, recalling how Ravages tail was once there.

It was a reminder on how Nathan had been fatally injured a similiar way, stabbed through the chest...killed instantly from such wound. I was stabbed in the abdomen, Somehow missing my vital organs with sheer luck.

-or bad luck. Depending on how you looked at it. My luck sucked.

We had been targeted, but so far Aneska hadn't been hit...not yet.

"Where's the backpack" I asked her with a worried look. At this she gulped, scratching the back of her head trying to remember where it is.

"I don't know. After being attacked by Starscream we were all split up and-"

"Hold up." Ironhide now joined the conversation, obviously catching up to the situation."That purple and black bag that was with you on Mission City? The day you 'stole' me?" Ironhide asked unsure.

"Yeah. That day." I winced at the stole part, knowing he wasn't happy with us when we snuck off to Mission City and pretty much kidnapped him.

"Well...stealing is a bit of an over-reaction..." Aneska muttered out in the background, defensive.

"Oh slag" Ironhide swore outloud. My eyes widened not understanding what he said, but obviously something bad is happening.

"What?..." I asked hesitantly even though I didn't really want to know, but I had to know at the same time...

"We left it in Ratchets med-bay... I forgot the shard was in it. In fact I forgot about it completely!" Ironhide snapped in anger at himself, I cringed at his anger.

"It's okay Ironhide, we all forgot about it...everything has been flying off the rails lately with all of the attacks!" I tried to calm and reassure the angered mech, but I only got a growl in return. I was able to hear the anger hiding the fear he truly felt.

"Meaning?..." Aneska spoke up slowly in a question, the only one seeming to stay calm. Then again she didn't fully understand, neither did I, but Ironhides reaction was making me panic.

Aneska made eye contact with me. 'Calm. Breathe'. I instantly inhaled and exhaled, the clear reminder helped me function again.

"That no one knows about it! I didn't tell anyone, you lot didn't tell anyone!" Ironhide exclaimed to us. "-and if Starscream found the shard last time...and Ravage has stalked down two out of three of you..."

It now clicked with Aneska. That we had been hunted this whole time, over a piece of alien shard. "So you are saying that shard, has caused all of this chaos? What is so important about a piece of metal!"

I gripped the seat in horror, realising what this meant. I remained silent as Aneska and Ironhide pretty much yelled at eachother.

"It's a piece of the alspark. We will have to explain the rest later!" Ironhide now raced down the highway trying to get to the base as soon as possible.

Everyone at the base is in danger. Even we were in danger, all because of this... alspark!

"Frag it! The comm-link is being interfered with!" Ironhide ranted to himself, clearly trying to figure out another method to get the message across.

I searched rapidly for my phone at this, but couldn't find it. Did I loose it? Now at all times? "Aneska call one of the bots! or soldiers! Any of them- Just get a hold of them!" I spoke frantically to Aneska who was instantly onto it.

"Thank the lord Ironhide didn't smash my phone." She muttered shakily under her breath, while she speed dialled a random number as she too was now starting to panic.

"Epps!" Aneska pretty much yelled into the phone when the call was finally answered.

"Aneska? What's wrong?" Epps voice was easily heard, alarmed by the sudden call.

"Notify Optimus that there is an alspark shark in Hazels backpack! Its in Ratchets Med-bay!" Ironhide spoke up, taking charge of the situation. Knowing his leader needed to know of the danger instantly.

"Wait? What? Ironhide what do you mean?" A confused Epps was interrupted by Ironhide once again. "Now Epps! No time to explain-"

Ironhides sentence was cut off with the sound of police sirens. A startled scream left my vocal cords in horror when Ironhides left side was collided into. Aneska and I jolted, my head hit the window with a loud crack.

Ironhides wheels seemed to loose traction, making him spin in circles. Out of control, before his alt-mode flipped sideways into the air.

Automatically Ironhide transformed half-way in the flip. Such actions made me fly across the road, Aneska going in the same direction as me. Just acouple of metres away.

We collided against the asphalt ground around the same time. The wind instantly knocked out of me, my head pounded and my abdomen screamed in pain from where I was previously wounded.

A shaky gasp left my lips, I lifted my head to spot Aneska's phone inches away from me. I heard Aneska groan out in pain from afar, my ears echoing a high pitched sound.

The screeching of car tires and frantic screams were easily heard. The smashing of metal against metal echoed, the roars of Ironhide and his enemy fighting made fear drown all of my senses

"Hel-lo?" The static voice of a worried Epps came through the now smashed up phone.

"Epps..." I mumbled out in pain. A familiar symboled jet flew past the fighting scene that was happening and headed in the direction of the N.E.S.T base

"H-z-le?...is tha-t y-u?" The phone started to cut in and out. Malfunctioning.

"Run..Epps..Run" My strained voice yelled out to the phone. In seconds the phone shut off, the screen going blue and purple, dying.

"Punk Ass Decepticon!"

"Autobot Scum!"