Bulkhead swerved slightly which made Nova's body jerking up.

"I'm awake!" She called, sitting up despite the force in her chest advising against it. Bulkhead chuckled beneath her. "Relax, Nova. I'm picking up a signal." He told her. Nova glanced at his dash, confirming that he was, in fact, locating a signal. "We should tell Optimus," Nova groaned. "I guess we can go mudding some other time....."

"Definitely," he confirmed, and she could almost see his smirk. "Bulkhead to base. We've picked up a strong reading - permission to check it out?"

"As long as you watch over Nova carefully," Optimus' voice thundered through. Nova felt bored in the base since she had nothing to do and was a bit lonely Optimus was on a scouting mission which led to Bulkhead's offer to keep her company. Campy was forbidden to accompany her on every mission which she left him in the base. She left her black jacket in the base as well since it was hot outside. Luckily, she left the key at the base so that it might be safe just in case. After what happened to her, it is something she would never to repeat.

Bulkhead turned, ramping the edge of the road and onto the open plains of grass. He zagged through trees, dirt clouding her vision and covering the green paint job. Nova laughed opening, raising her hands up as they traveled. He skidded to a stop, transforming around her.

"That is what mudding is like," Nova explained, panting heavily. "Only with less control!"

He smiled slightly, walking towards a crater in the ground. Peering over it, They saw a massive hole in the ground. "It looks like one of Airachnid's burrows," She pointed out. "No sign of activity," he answered, throwing himself over the ledge, beginning his descent into the depth's. "You're not scared of the dark, are you?" He cocked his optics to her.

Nova laughed. "You kidding? I lived on the streets, buddy. I live in the dark," As he neared the bottom, Nova peered over his frame. She noticed a familiar neon blue glow illuminating the flooring. "Energon?"

Bulkhead paused, looking over himself. "Boxed and ready for pickup?"

The humms of a massive engine shook the walls, Bulkhead and Nova looking up as a darkness overshadowed them. "Scrap!" Nova called as he sped up his pace. A rock beneath him gave, his body falling slightly. He reached up, latching ahold of another rock before he could plummet. "Nova," he called, encasing her with his free hand. The ledge gave out, the bot falling into the masses of energon. Her body bounced up, her head connecting with the metals of his servo, hard. Her vision blurred, before blacking out.

Nova doesn't know how long she had been blacked out. However, the space around her filled with the sounds of a deep groan. She forced her heavy eyes open, feeling the metals beneath her shake as the autobot below her awoke. The metals shifted, Nova braced herself within the folds of Bulkhead's shoulder as he pulled himself up, grabbing at his helm.

"Ohh, my head gasket," he groaned.

"Uh.....Bulkhead?" Nova asked hesitantly, taking in their surroundings.

"Hm?" he paused, his optics looking around in the same manner as Nova. "What the....?" he leaped from the ledge we were on, falling to the solid metal ground on the floor of......"The decepticon warship?"

Air rushed behind NOva as he backed up. "Bulkhead!"

"Woah!"

There was literally a giant hole in the ground of the ship. It lead to open air, clouds drifting below them. They were in the air. Nova shot Bulkhead a look, which he shrugged at.

"Ratchet," he called over his comm. "Don't ask how we got here - long story." The comm was answered with static. "Ratchet, you copy?"

Nova tried her watch as well but it answered with a static. "Oh, That's just great!" she groaned as she shot the bot a look. "Now what do we do?"

He thought a moment, looking around. They were in what seemed to be the energon storage unit, because there were piles and piles of the square containers scattered around them. "Exploring?" he offered.

"On the Nemesis?" Nova demanded. "Are you crazy? You're lucky we haven't been killed yet!"

"It's not like we have any better option!"

Nova groaned, knowing she had no choice as she transformed into her bot mode, in case she had to defend Bulkhead. As they moved forward, eventually finding a door. It opened, Bulkhead peering around it. He slowly moved out, the hallway being vacant.

"Stealthy....." he assured himself. "Stealthy....."

Footsteps echoed down the hall. "Scrap!" Nova whispered as Bulkhead dodged away from the middle. He backed towards the door, it closing and him smashing with it. Nova facepalmed as she sensed the vehicons are coming.

'Scrap, At this rate.....'before turning to Bulkhead, "Bulkhead don't move."Nova placed her hand on Bulkhead's pede as she focus on her power. Bulkhead stared at her in puzzlement when he noticed her body became transparent along with him. Bulkhead was startled when it reached to his arms until they were fully invisible.

Three vehicons emerged from what Nova assumed was patrol, both of them remained still behind a pole as they walked by without even a glancing their way. Nova switched off her invisibility which made her feel exhausted as Bulkhead looked down on her. "Woah did you do that?" He asked.

"I manipulated the light around us that would make us invisible to their optics. Although, it was the first time I used it on both of us. I guess it works only when I touched you."NOva explained tiredly .

"Way to save my tailpipe, Nova. But will you be alright?"

"I..I'm fine...just exhausted, I guess I must have overherted myself."

He backed away, facing the directions in which the con's left. His rear connected with something, his frame spinning quickly to face the abrasion, weapons drawn.

"Starscream?" Nova took in the smaller, petite frame of the con aiming his own weapons at them.

"Why is it that every time I return to my own stomping grounds, I find an Autobot roaming the halls?" Starscream questioned irritated.

"Don't tell me you came crawling back to Megatron?"

"Hardly. Now out of my way."

"Scream, you gotta show me a way off this boat." Bulkhead pleaded.

"Sorry too busy." Starscream lied.

"Doing what? Getting into trouble....That's really low."Nova said sarcastically which caught Starscreams attention. He was surprised to see a small robot beside Bulkhead which he didn't recognize that was Nova.

Nova take a step forward, easing down Bulkhead from getting to close, so Starscream and Nova can get better acquainted when he leans down to her. "You don't look like a proper Autobot. More like aaaaa... minicon. He he he... what can you do?" He asked in a low somewhat playful voice.

Nova has no doubt that he wants to try to gauge how she is considering to him, She don't look all that powerful. Slowly, She cocked her head to the side and bring her right arm up close to his face.

*SHING*

"Guaaaahh!" Starscream lets out an unflattering loud yelp as the blade come out of her wrist, inches from his optics. He jumps back and almost loses his balance but manages to regain his balance.

NOva slowly turn and point the blade at him. "I can do enough. Enough to end you... should you push it." She replied with a threat directly at him. He growls lowly in anger at the embarrassing display she made him do before she take a few steps back and make her way back to Bulkheads side.

"Hmph!" Starscream scoffed.

"Look, when you needed help..." Bulkhead began.

"As I recall, we bartered. So, unless you have anything of value to offer me - step aside."

Bulkhead narrowed his optics. "The exit... now."

"I may have given Arcee a free pass when she and I last met..." Starscream suddenly scratched Bulkhead in the chassis, causing him to stumble backward. "But I won't hesitate to skewer you as I did to a certain Cliffjumper."

Bulkhead glared at the con, his servo falling from his chest revealing four scratches in his armor. Nova narrowed her eyes at Bulkhead as he transformed his servo into a steel ball, charging the con. He punched the smaller frame into the air, Starscream falling to his back. He sat up the next second, blasters firing up.

"Perish, Bulkhead!"

But He was already in the air. He landed ontop him, delivering another punch to his faceplates.

"This is for Cliffjumper!"

POW!

"For Bumblebee!"

POW!

"For everything."

POW!

  It was obviously the final blow, the con falling weakly to the floor. Color drained from his paintjob, the red in his optics dying slowly. Bulkhead panted heavily, before his optics widened. Nova flew over to his shouldr and laid a hand on his cheek, letting him know it wasn't his fault, as he pushed himself up and off the frame. "You left me no choice...." he reasoned with himself, transforming his servo back. He looked at them like they weren't even his. She swallowed the lump in her throat, awkwardly crawling down his arm and landing in his palm, She smiled up at him gently, assuring him in the only way she knew how.  

"If we don't hide...." Nova trailed off, gesturing to the empty frame behind him.

He nodded in understanding, grabbing a hold of the con and dragging him through a door a few feet away. Nova looked behind him, through the halls of the room they just entered. "A comm unit!"Nova called, patting the metals of his helm softly.

His digits danced across the keypad, it beeping to life under his commands. "Bulkhead to base, do you read me?" he called anxiously. "Do you copy?" It beeped again, Bulkhead scoffing in frustrations. "Stupid comm tech,"

"Sheesh, Is it even on?" Nova asked sarcastically.

As soon as she said that, a red flaring and a horrible noise sounded. The Wrecker and the techno covered their audio's. Nova squealed, "BULKHEAD SHUT IT OFF."

  Bulkhead pressed the half circle button which turned the alarm off. "Phew." He sighed in relief.  

 THey turned to the sounds of the door opening, the silhouettes of two cons appearing on the wall. Bulkhead turned and ran, just as the cons emerged. "Halt!" They ordered, running past the pillar Bulkhead was unsuccessfully hiding behind. He turned, running down an opposite hallway.  

"Quick! In there!!" NOva pointed at the Ventilation below. He climbed into a ventilation unit in a wall, crawling through the tight frame carefully.

  "Stealthy. Stealthy." he reminded himself.   

"Lord Megatron!" Nova froze, her heart stopped in fear. Bulkhead peered through one of the vents, just as a familiar pede stomped to a halt.

"Yes, what is it?" he demanded.

"An intruder."

"Autobot?"

Bulkhead froze, sinking into the darkness.

"Starscream. He was last seen in the vicinity of the bridge."

Megatron turned, and thundered away, his pedsteps falling to the same depth as Optimus'.

Nova exchanged a glance with Bulkhead, who pushed forward. He crawled along for a few more minutes, before a distant buzzing could be heard.

"Why does this keep happening?" She complained as the ship shook with an unknown impact. There was another, the ship rocking with an explosion.

Bulkhead shrugged, before halting altogether. He pounded on the floor beneath his servos, a cover falling to the ground. He fell through, landing on his pedes with impressive balance. Looking over the ledge they landed on, there was a massive machine in the middle, feeding itself with energon cubes which piled to the max around it. Large tubes traveled up the walls, glowing with the blue coloring. "Is that?.."

"The engine," Bulkhead confirmed, transforming his servo into his weapon again. "You might want to take cover," he offered her a hand, which she scampered onto. "One way or another, I'm getting us off this boat!" He cradled her close to his chest, and his leapt over the side, releasing a rough battle cry.

The room exploded under the impact, Bulkhead flying away from the connection. He landed far away from the exploding engine, as Nova buried herself deeper into his embrace. The ship's trajectory angled, falling towards - what she assumed - the ground. HE charged through an open door, a familiar frame falling beside them the next instant. Nova visibly shook her head as she looked up which she didn't believe her eyes; She saw Starscream in front of them. "Out of my way!" He said before transforming and flying out of the ship.

"Bulkhead, I thought he was knocked out?" Nova said confusedly.

  "So did I, kid." The ship rocked as it crashed into the ground. "Now, let's go!"  

She nodded and followed his track, leading to a loading dock, open air!

The ship made impact with the ground, Bulkhead falling to metals below as the frame of the ship shook violently. He pushed her body against his chest more firmly, transforming around her. Nova fell into the bench seats in his back, the three different seat belts strapping her in securely. His engine revved, ramping the metals of the landing doc before his charged into the grass and far away from the ship as quickly as he could.

  Bulkhead's tires squealed as he violently applied the breaks, his horn blaring at an alarming volume. The three seatbelts rubbed against her armor uncomfortably, as he came to a stop inside of our base. He transformed, while Nova falling into his servo as he approached the on looking bots. 

   "Guys, you are not gonna believe the day I had!" he exclaimed before noticing the pod with Airachnid in it. "You too, huh?"  

Optimus notice NOva on Bulkhead's servo, which she was still in her robot mode, slumping her body near his digits and trying to stay awake. 

Ratchet questioned, "Bulkhead, what happened to her?"

"Um...Uh...She sort of overexerted herself when she used her new power." Bulkhead said.

"AGAIN? Ugh.....I told her NOT to pushed herself like that." Ratchet complained. However, Nova wasn't listening as she was having a hard time keeping her eyes open after that stunt when she used Light Manipulation to camoflouge themselves although it nearly drained her strength which rendered her body to feel sluggish.

  A gentle tap on her shoulder woke her, bobbing her head up and looking up. Optimus stared down at her, watching her smile up at him sleepily. "Oh....hey." Nova said sluggishly, retracting her mask.

 "You look exhausted." He commented. "Get some rest. You deserve it."

NOva opened her mouth only for her to be interrupted by a yawn. "...I...alright....I'm just....sleepy....." she mumbled before Optimus reached for her. As he placed Nova on the platform where the couch was. Nova was getting comfortable on the couch and quickly falling asleep.

Optimus smiled, grabbing her jacket seemingly out of nowhere and covered her up with it (only below the chest). The autobots watched Optimus, staring at Nova sleeping peacefully after a long day she had.