Wheeljack watched as Soundwave flew into the portal then ran towards it to go after him. Shockwave left the fight and walked off as he called for a bridge, and Arcee ran after the wrecker to join him. They had to help the others. She watched the portal as it started to fade and knew she could easily get into it. Wheeljack glanced at her then shouted for her to hurry up as they raced to the closing portal. He needed to save Bulkhead and Miko from whatever was on the other side.

"Bee? Ratchet? Is everything okay? I can't get anyone's signal... Bumblebee?" A voice said over the com-link. Arcee stopped in her tracks as she realized Raf was still at the base manning the bridge. She looked at the wrecker then ran and tackled him to the ground.

"Gah! What gives?!" he shouted and shoved her off then got up. She grabbed his arm and narrowed her optics.

"We can't go after the others!" She yelled and looked around to see the cons had all retreated by now. "Raf will be alone to defend the base... He'll be scared and feel like we abandoned him... we can't do that to him." She said seriously. Wheeljack stared at her then looked back at the vortex as he clenched his servos.

"What about Jack? You can't leave him." He muttered and she tensed a little before looking at the portal as well.

"Don't you think I know that?" She snapped then sighed forcefully as she looked off to the side for a brief moment. "Jack knows how to take care of himself, and he has others to look after him. But Raf doesn't have anyone. We can't abandon him and let the Decepticons hurt him again." She reasoned.

Wheeljack glanced at her then listened as the boy asked if anyone was out there still. The wrecker felt his broken spark twist a little in pain as he listened to the earth child's plea for an answer. He sighed again and squeezed his optics shut.

"You and Bee owe me." he growled lowly and the femme smiled a little as they watched the portal finally close and disappear.

Raf listened to the silence and static on the computer as he waited for a response from the team, or anyone. He looked around at the empty base and felt so small. He was scared suddenly and realized the cons might find him and torture him. He couldn't leave but didn't want to stay.

The small boy tried again to contact the others but still couldn't seem to reach anyone. He fought back tears and fixed his glasses as he tried to figure out what to do from here on out to protect the base on his own. He hesitated and tried again to contact someone.

"Is anyone there?" He asked shakily as tears fell down his face. He didn't hear anything and he hugged his knees to his chest. "Bumblebee... please answer." he whispered as he shook. "I'm scared... I don't want to be alone again..." he choked but he didn't hear his friend and he sobbed silently as he shook more with fear. The base was filled with an eerie silence as he cried quietly.

"You ain't alone kid." A voice said and he jumped as he looked up then to the computer with hope in his eyes.

"Wheeljack?" he asked and quickly wiped his tears away as he sniffed sadly. "You're still here?" he rasped.

"We both are Raf." Arcee said and the boy choked back another sob, this time with joy and relief to hear he wasn't alone.

Wheeljack glanced at the femme and she could tell the boys relief tugged at his spark. The wrecker quickly looked away and cleared his throat.

"Why don't you get a bridge to us so we aren't sitting ducks out here?" He smirked trying to help him feel better. He didn't know the kid very well but knew he was a sensitive, innocent and gentle soul, one everyone wanted desperately to protect. Similar to the scout.

"Okay... okay..." He sniffed and wiped his eyes again so he could see better as he typed. He sniffed again and managed to get a portal open for them.

The two Autobots came through and he closed the bridge when they were safely inside. The boy jumped up and ran to them then hugged the wreckers ped as he sobbed again.

"Thank you.. for not... leaving me..." He cried as he held on to him. Wheeljack glanced at Arcee who gave him a slightly smug look, as if saying she told him so. The wrecker scoffed under his breath, then carefully knelt on one knee plate as he hesitantly set a servo over the boy in a type of hug.

"Bumblebee and the others didn't leave you, kid." The mech said gently as the child tried to calm down. "The portal was like a black hole and they got stuck in it. I... uh... don't think Bee could ever leave you." he smiled a little. The boy looked up at him then sniffed again before looking at Arcee then him. The child quietly thanked him and slowly let go then stepped back a little as the mech stood up.

"W... what... do we do now?" Raf asked as he looked up at them then around the empty base again. He felt so small again. Arcee hesitated and looked at Wheeljack who didn't know how to respond. They honestly didn't know what to do in that moment.

~

Jack held on to Miko as tightly as he could as they were tossed through the portal. He looked back as his heart raced and wondered who else had managed to get sucked into the vortex. He could hear yelling behind him but wasn't sure who it was. Miko held on to him for dear life as she buried her face in his chest. He heard more yelling and some cries of pain but couldn't see where they were coming from.

"Don't let go Miko! Just hold on to me." He said as he felt them move down as if they were falling now. He saw the portal open up and his eyes widened in surprise as he saw a river below them. Thankfully it wasn't too high up.

"Hold your breath!" He yelled and glanced around to see an unconscious man falling beside them. He didn't recognize him and buried his face in the girls hair before turning so he could take most of the hit from the water if not all.

Jack unintentionally gasped as the wind was knocked out of him. His lungs quickly filled with water as the two slowly sank in the depths of the river.

~

Optimus looked around as they traveled and tried to locate his team, wanting to make sure he knew where everyone was. He could see Ratchet and Bumblebee but not the other three or the children. He grunted as something flew passed him and bumped into him but didn't seem to care. He blinked in surprise as Soundwave flew by in his alternate mode.The con was moving quickly and didn't care if he hit anyone on his way to his target.

"Optimus!" Ratchet called as he grasped the scouts arm to keep him from falling somewhere he shouldn't. "Soundwave is going after Chat! He killed Laserbeak!" He said and the Prime narrowed his optics before he glanced at the boy in his servo.

"Watch after Benjamin." He said seriously then handed him to the medic before flying after the con to stop him. As he flew, he found himself becoming smaller. He blinked in surprise but ignored it as he continued onward.

Chat held on to Ladybug as they went through the portal. He looked at her and grinned making her frown in turn.

"What are you smiling at?" she asked and he shrugged as he looked around then winked as his smile grew.

"I'm pretty sure we're going home milady." He said and she blinked in surprise at the realization this then looked for the others. She had lost her yo-yo when they got trapped inside the portal.

She saw a half human half robot flying towards them. She screamed in surprise and horror as the man with the jet-pack got closer. Chat looked at the strange being before it slammed into them and started choking the hero. Ladybug was flung back towards the others as the cyborg fought the black cat.

Soundwave was in agony as he choked the hero, between the strange change and the pain in his spark from losing his friend. Chat kicked him away as his eyes widened in surprise. The other Cybertronians had passed out because of the change, but Soundwave fought it, determined to kill the hero.

Noir yelped as he kicked and fought the cyborg, which was becoming more human by the second. Soundwave made a static noise which was between his Cybertronian voice and a human noise as he called for his other minicon. The cat like beast moved towards him at lightning speed making the hero move away. Which was hard when they were floating.

Soon the communication specialist and the minicon were completely organic as they exited the portal. The minicon finally passed out from the pain and his master looked to him before he went back to fighting the hero. He gripped his neck and squeezed as he narrowed his eyes behind his mask. Chat choked and stared into the haunting mask as he saw his own terrified reflection. Soundwave tightened his grip on the young hero as the child struggled to get free. The con was determined to kill him.

Chat felt his movements slow as the con prepared to snap his neck, wanting to watch him fade. He was suddenly ripped away as another man fought him. Chat glanced at the newcomer, who he realized could only be Optimus Prime, before he passed out and hit the water.

The Autobot leader fought the con even after they hit the water. He had fought the pain and the urge to slip into an unconscious state knowing that the child was in danger. He would rather die then go into stasis knowing that one of the human children were being harmed. Especially if he knew he could stop it.

Soundwave quickly surfaced and took a breath of air before going back under, keeping Optimus from getting any air. The con shoved him down and pushed him towards the bottom of the river as the two fought. He grasped his neck and squeezed until the Prime was forced to try and breath. The con waited until the leader stopped moving before he went towards the surface. Nothing would stop him from his goal.

As he came to the top, Ratchet hit him over the head with a wrench, knocking him out.

"Not who I was aiming for, but that works too." The doctor muttered and looked around the waters surface. Searching for Starscream.

He glanced to his side where Bumblebee, Smokescreen and Bulkhead lay on the bank as they started to wake. Benjamin wasn't waking up at all. He looked to the city around them and heard sirens. The doctor couldn't wait. He knew the rest of the team was in the water, but he didn't know if he could get them out.

He ignored his own fear and dove into the water.