It was only a matter of time.

His claws dug into the rock as he scrambled up to the top of the cavern, finding a ledge and setting Transmutate down on it. "Stay here..." He whispered.

"You are going to...get hurt." Transmutate whispered, putting her hand to his cheek. "...Let me help."

"No, not unless absolutely necessary. You don't have training, I do."

"Just because I can't fight...Doesn't mean I can't help."

The dinobot sighed, taking her hand. "I will be fine... Stay here. Please."

Transmutate's expression hinted at thoughts of rebellion, but she finally gave a nod. "Fine."

He nodded and then hopped down, leaving the cover of the cave and climbing out into the small clearing that was outside of it. The entrance was a tiny hole in the ground, not above-ground, and hidden by bushes. As long as he kept their attention off of the bushes, she could be safe inside.

And that meant he didn't need to worry about her. That meant he didn't need to hold back.

The pair of hunters came crashing through the trees like a rampaging buffaloid in traffic, knocking entire branches off and flinging them to the sides. One of them was the guard he'd torn up on the ship. His injuries were still quite fresh, but it was obvious his dedication to his work overruled his need for medical attention and rest. "I am impressed... You still stand on your peds."

"You underestimated the damage you inflicted, Kid...! Where's the other one?"

"The femme? In a much better position than you, I'm afraid."

The other hunter chuckled. "It's always the processor-damaged ones that are the bravest... Isn't that right, Pterosword?"

Pterosword, the name they called him, the name that was on his record, but not his spark. He hated it like he hated them...But in all honesty, he hated them more.

"You can't run forever..."

The dinobot's optics narrowed. "Nor can you stay in Shockwave's good graces forever..." He pulled out the sword he carried and held it out, "I'll go offline before I let that maniac near my circuits...!"

"So be it...!"

___________________________________________________________________________________________

The rainstorm that was falling down on the landscape had lessened to a light drizzle as the west-sent team wandered through the trees. With the townspeople knowing their presence, they weren't worried about running into humans in the woods anymore, which made it easier to check the denser portions where their vehicle modes would become stuck.

Sideswipe took point, Grimlock guarding the rear as they searched for any signs of the missing prisoners.

"Everything okay, Sideswipe?" Grimlock asked softly. "You haven't said anything since we left."

"I don't really wanna talk about it, Grim..." Sideswipe paused, and then gave a sigh. "Ever since Bee told us that our sparks are recycled heroes from the war, I can't help but feel like I need to act more mature, more like a soldier and not...Me. Do you feel like that?"

"I'm pretty sure my previous self liked punching stuff too, so...No."

Sideswipe sighed. "But Strongarm won't let me prove to her that I'm trying to be different. She thinks it's all an act."

"Change isn't immediately seen, Sideswipe. Remember when Minitron was controlling me, and Strongarm thought I'd been faking it all along? She was wrong then, and soon, she'll realize she's wrong about you too."

"I suppose..."

"But I think you can be more mature and not stop being you."

Sideswipe chuckled. "I guess you're right, Big Guy..."

The pair paused as they heard a commotion, and they ran through the trees to a clearing.

On one side of the clearing was the entrance to a cave, and fighting in the middle was one of the escapees, and two of the bounty hunters. "Scrap...! Grim, call it in!" Sideswipe shouted.

"But Bee said not to-"

"Bee said not to chase after them if they bolted. He didn't say anything about defending them from the hunters!"

Sideswipe broke out of the trees, slamming a foot into one hunter and knocking them aside. He pulled out his decepticon hunter and blocked a few shots fired at the escapee. "Need a hand!?"

"No." Pterosword replied, though an almost giddy grin was on his faceplate. He shot forward, planting several slashes on one hunter's torso and legs. "You are an Autobot?"

"Yeah. You're Pterosword, right? We looked up your file."

"That's the name they gave me..."

Pterosword's wings flared outward a little as he blocked another shot at his face. "Their associates could be here any minute. We need to finish this quickly."

"You don't mean kill them, do you?"

"Do you have a problem with that?"

Sideswipe opened his mouth to reply, but then yelped as he dodged a missile fired at him. The missile crashed into the rocks behind, exploding and sending debris crashing down in front of a larger boulder.

Pterosword's optics widened with horror. "NO!" He shouted, his attention off of the fight for only a second. A shot hit him in the temple and he yelped, then growled, his grip on the sword tightening. "You will pay dearly for that!"

Sideswipe grabbed the dinobot and held him back; not to keep him from retaliating, but to keep out of the way of Bumblebee flying out of the trees in vehicle mode, knocking down both bounty hunters to the ground before transforming into robot mode with his gun out. The rest of the team followed in short sequence, and though one hunter escaped into the skies, Bumblebee and Strongarm cuffed the remaining hunter, standing on them to keep them from moving.

Pterosword hesitated only a moment before rushing over to the entrance of the cave, throwing rocks away. "Transmutate! Hold on, I'm coming!"

Grimlock came over and assisted him. Once the pile was deminished, they paused, hearing coughing coming from inside the cave. "Transmutate!"

The second escapee crawled out over the rocks, slipping for a brief moment before Pterosword caught her arm and yanked her up and into his arms. "I am okay..." She assured, looking down at the wounds Pterosword had sustained in the fight. "...You are hurt."

"Who cares about me...!?" Pterosword inquired as he pulled her into an embrace.

"I do...!"

"Are the two of you alright?" Bumblebee asked.

Both nodded, but as Pterosword stood up again, his optics fell on Bumblebee and widened. "...Bumblebee...?"

"Yes...?"

Pterosword gave a hard sigh of relief, "Oh thank the Primes! I was worried we'd be stuck with amateurs...!"

"Hey!" Strongarm complained.

"N-No offense!" His expression turned serious once more. "We need to get out of here. Their allies are on their way."

"Right." Bumblebee agreed. "Fixit, activate the groundbridge."

At once, Lieutenant.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It seemed much too quiet.

The moment Flashdrive had opened her optics, she knew something was different. For one, she could think clearly again, and her head wasn't hurting as much anymore. She sat up, overlooking the boat she was in. They must've wanted her out of the way, as usual.

But it was quiet. "D-Daddy? Grim? Sideswipe?" She called. "...Where is everybody...?"

Her feet barely made a sound as she hopped out of the boat and started walking. She'd memorized the maze of stacks and shelves, knowing where everything belonged and which path led where. She heard engines revving and hurried, running around the corner to the clearing. "Fixit, where is-"

Her systems stalled for a brief moment, bringing her to a sudden halt. Though her feet stopped, the rest of her did not, and she let out a squeak as she fell forward. All optics fell on her, and she froze in place, staring back at the pair she had never met and only heard about.

"Well hello, little one..."

The virocon opened her mouth, but nothing came out for several seconds. "...Optimus Prime...!"

Optimus bent down, putting a hand out. "There's no need to be afraid, Flashdrive... Your father introduced us to you earlier while you were sleeping."

Flashdrive hesitated, but finally took his hand and allowed the prime to pull her up to her feet. "D-Daddy talks about you...All the time..."

"Does he now...?" Ratchet muttered. "Never mentioned you to us."

Flashdrive shook her helm. "I am not important like you, Mr. Ratchet."

"But you are important." Optimus' optics twinkled. "Especially to Bumblebee."

Flashdrive smiled. "I understand... Why are you here?"

"We have a mission to complete here on Earth. Bumblebee and the others are going to help from other Autobots who are in trouble. They will be back soon."

"They never take me...'Too dangerous.'"

"For such a little one as yourself, it would be..." Optimus bent down to the little bot's eye level, "...but you will grow up and be able to help soon."

Flashdrive's mouth broke into a wide grin, and she grabbed onto Optimus' arm tightly. "Thank you, Mr. Optimus!"

Optimus chuckled, using his free hand to pat the little bot's helm.

Fixit, Bumblebee's voice echoed through the command center, activate the groundbridge.

"At once, Lieutenant." Fixit replied.

Flashdrive released Optimus as the Groundbridge opened, stepping back as the rest of the team entered with two more bots limping behind. "What happened?"

"Just a scuffle, Sweetspark." Bumblebee scooped up his daughter into his arms, "Glad to see you feeling better."

"Me too...I didn't like being sick."

"Thank you...For helping us." the femme murmured.

"You're welcome, Transmutate..."

"Both of you have a seat so I can check you out..." Ratchet ordered, and the pair sat down on the trailer. "You're both worse for wear..."

"And we'd better get this hunter in a stasis pod..."