"Optimus Prime you let me out right now!" the blue-haired girl thundered, eyes seeming to glow with her fury despite how tired she was. Oh he was so going to get it if he did not release her this instant.

"No," her guardian growled back. He had had enough.

"Let. Me. Out." Her blue eyes were definitely blazing now as she roared looking almost crazed with her need to be freed.

"NO!"

You all were wondering why Nova was inside OPtimus truck. It all started where Nova got into trouble after the stunt she pulled on a mission.

12 Hours Earlier

  Attempting to suppress another yawn, NOva wished for a drink that could make her stay awake. Ever since she had encounter with Silas, She had been attending more and more fights as of late, attempting to improve her skills after losing to Silas. She was trying to be cautious with where she went so as to not give any clues as to where she was, driving several hundred miles out of my way to get to another fight in a neighboring street. She had tried to cram in a couple power naps here and there when she could, but she found that opportunities for those were few and far in between. Nova had already hit the 48-hour mark of no sleep a couple minutes ago and from the looks of how things were going, She was no doubt going to reach the 72-hour mark eventually too.

  Campy seems to worry about her well being as he watched her massaged her face wearily. He made sure to stay beside Nova. The next thing she know, She'll be breaking her record of going a week straight without any sleep at all. She almost pitied those unfortunate enough to get on her bad side in the coming days; Nova was probably going to be even more short tempered than before.Thankfully no one at base had seemed to notice yet.

  Although, Optimus was glancing over at his charge for the fifth time since she had arrived at base, he could not shake the feeling that something was wrong with Nova. She seemed worn down, almost haggard, as of late. Her eyes were darker, and the whites of them almost looked to be somewhat yellowed and bloodshot. He had even noticed the beginnings of shadows starting to form under her eyes, threatening to become worse with each passing day.

 If that wasn't bad enough, a new wave of fresh bruises and scratches had started appearing on her skin with a renewed ferocity it seemed. Where one day there could be a half healed bruise on her shoulder, a new scrape could appear the next day right on top of it like a disease before the first even had time to heal.  It took time for her to heal herself.

Not only that, but he had noticed that Nova had started to withdraw from their group. She was a lot quieter than usual, barely piping up anymore to make one of her typical sarcastic, witty remarks. Even then, the only ones that did come out were more snappish and openly hostile.

To say these facts worried him was an understatement. Not only was someone hurting his charge—as it could have only been a human that caused the hand-shaped bruise he saw once on her—but she was apparently working herself to death for some unknown reason.

"She doesn't look too good does she?" said a quiet voice to his left.

Turning, Optimus found Ratchet staring at Nova with a slight frown on his faceplates, having apparently followed his gaze to his charge. The older mech looked to be concerned as he was, if not a little more so since he was a medic after all. The well being of others would always be the top concern of his oldest friend.

Silently, Optimus nodded.

Suddenly, an odd expression came over the red-and-white mech's faceplates as he said carefully, "Optimus, you know as well as I do how stubborn she is. Whatever that femme is up to, she will push herself until she offlines or otherwise." He met Optimus' optics briefly. "Maybe you should talk to her. You are the only one she seems to listen to."

He hummed lowly, nodding once again. "Thank you, old friend. I shall...think on your words. I often find that approaching certain subjects head-on rarely ever works with her."

The older mech made a sound of assent but did not comment further, instead returning to his work at the monitors. As soon as the other mech was no longer within range though, Optimus quietly sighed. Now all he had to do was figure out how to get through to his stubborn charge.

Later

Nova should have known that something was up the second she looked into her guardian's optics. As it was though, the blue-haired girl remained blissfully ignorant as she placed Campy on the couch before approaching  Optimus to request to go with him on his next scouting mission.

With exhaustion and insurmountable amounts of stress bearing down on her, she found that she yearned more often for the moments she got to spend with Optimus. It seemed like those instances were the only brief respite she got where she didn't have to act like a total emotionless. So, approaching the tallest of the Autobot's, She could not suppress the odd little trill of pleasure that went through her when her guardian took note of her presence, bending down and offering his servo for her to climb into.

"Optimus—"

"Nova—"

They both paused when they realized that they were trying to speak at the same time. Had they both been alone, Nova felt that both of them may have smiled, maybe even laughed a little at the foolishness of the moment. As it was, Optimus, being ever the courteous gentle mech he was, inclined his head toward her, a touch of amusement in his optics.

The corner of Nova's lips twitched a little, but she took the invitation to speak first anyways. "Hey Um, I was just wondering if I could tag along again with you."

Usually, directly after she asked that question, Optimus would immediately say yes. This time however, those blue optics of his darkened slightly and there was a brief and unusual moment of stillness between the two of them before he answered. And once again, all this should have sent red flags up, but Nova foolishly remained ignorant, choosing to become more concerned for her guardian. She didn't notice the meaningful look Ratchet gave the Prime.

"Nova, I...I am sorry but no. I cannot allow for you to come with me," he rumbled in a quiet undertone. Her brows furrowed as she frowned a little. Why did she feel so disappointed all of a sudden?

Reining hold over her emotions so as to not show any emotion on her face, Nova swallowed with some difficulty before speaking. "What's this about, Optimus? Is something wrong?" She paused, thinking for a moment and then added, "Have I done something wrong?"

Appear almost saddened, the bot shook his great head. "No Nova, but cannot allow you to go into the field the way you are. Especially considering the state you are currently in."

"Excuse me?" she snapped, tone rising slightly as anger took hold. "'The state' I am in? What the Hell does that mean? I am perfectly fine."

As if he had been expecting her outburst, Optimus did not look offended but her tone, merely waited patiently for her to finish speaking so he could say his piece.

"No you are not," he argued back, his tone steady and gentle but still firm and commanding. "Pardon my plain speaking but you look dead on your feet, Nova. You can barely stay awake let alone operate efficiently enough to anticipate a Decepticon attack. I do not know what you are doing to run yourself so ragged, but you cannot go on like this. You need to rest before you work yourself to death."

She scowled deeply. "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, thank you very much Optimus. I don't need you to babysit me."

Amazingly, the Prime did not flinch. "Be that as it may, I will not risk you being harmed on the account of you being too exhausted to defend yourself."

She opened her mouth to argue again but Optimus cut her off. "So, I am hereby banning you from accompanying myself or any of the Autobot's on their missions until I am satisfied with your health."

Once again, she was about to speak, but Optimus looked her dead in the eyes and said in a very clear tone. "This is not up for debate, Nova."

Like magic, NOva's expression was wiped clean of any emotion whatsoever. However, underneath that stony façade, anger bubbled and simmered like a pit of lava. The only indicators of her emotional turmoil were the stiffness in her posture and the way her eyes seemed to glow like a cumulonimbus cloud would during an electrical storm.

She felt a little hurt to say the least. While she wasn't quite insulted, she still felt like her heart had just taken a steep plummet. Those times she got to spend with Optimus were the only excuses she could give herself to relax, and now he was banning her? Knowing she could not win this argument, Nova eventually looked away and allowed herself the be set upon one of the catwalks as her guardian walked away. Never once did she look at him.

Miko notice her disappointed look as she went over to NOva. "Hey..." Miko called which in return NOva didn't respond. Miko sat beside her and asked, "I was thinking we were going to a concert later on so Jack and I are going with Arcee and Bulkhead's mission after that. YOu wanna join?"

NOva had never heard or seen a concert however she was banned from being on a mission. "Sorry, OPtimus forbid me not to go on mission which was disappointing." Nova grumbled. MIko stared at her a bit before let out a mischievous smile.

"You know....If I were in that situation, I do something pretty reckless."

Nova looked at her for second before realizing what she meant. She stared at Ratchet where he's going to type in the coordinates before returning to Miko. 

SHe sighed, "I'm going to regret this later."

20 minutes later

Leaning against a boulder not too far away, Nova only half-listened as Miko complained loudly about their current location, a forested place with a big, rocky clearing. "We're supposed to be at a rock concert, but all I see is rock," Miko complained, pacing a bit as Jack yawned, leaning lazily against a pile of rock boulders as they all waited for Arcee and Bulkhead to return from inside the abandoned mine.

"Relax, Miko," Jack waved off, still casually lounging about in the afternoon sun. "The show doesn't start for two hours."

In a flash, the foreign exchange student was up in his face. "Do you know how long I've waited to see Slash Monkey?"

"Uh—"

"Forever!" she exploded. "And it's their only U.S. date!"

I rolled my eyes, listening as Jack said sarcastically:

"There's a shock," Jack said dryly. "I mean, who doesn't love obscure Bulgarian shriek metal?"

Jack then turned to NOva, "I can't believe you convinced the bots to take you." 

(A/N Oh yeah, if you hadn't figured already? NOva had pulled a classic "Miko" that Miko gave an advice, she quietly managing to tag along with the two kids and their guardians when Ratchet's back was turned. It was a reckless move but Nova think she just wanted to spite her guardian as payback for basically confining her to base.)

"That was me," Miko cheered. "I didn't tell Bulkhead where she was until it was too late,"

"How that bot misses a human climb inside of him is beyond me," Nova reported next.

"But if we're being honest," Jack sat up from his relaxed position to look at them curiously. "How long do you think it'll be before he realizes that you're gone? You do spend all of your time with him,"

"Not if I had Raf and Bee tell him they were going to get food that I need..."

"So, you got Raf to lie for you..."

She said sheepishly. "Maybe."  Miko asked, "Hey where's Campy? Wan't he with you?"

"OH I asked Raf to look after Campy since I can't risked letting him follow me."

  Then the sound of heavy footsteps could be heard as Arcee and BUlkhead walked out of the cave."By all appearances, the mine's been stripped." Arcee informs to the wrecker.

  "But I'm getting a signal." Bulkhead states as he looks at the device. "It's faint, but it's definitely energon."  

"Whoa." Miko says out as she looks at them with interest. "Doesn't make sense. This operation's been abandoned four, maybe five years. And Decepticons never Energon behind," Arcee pointed out.

"Uh...guys."

Bulkhead and Arcee immediately turned their attention to them as Jack pointed to the mine. When they turned around, they saw Miko was running inside while Nova faceplamed at her antics.

"COOL!" Miko exclaimed as she disappeared into the darkness.

"She went in! Unbelievable!" Arcee scoffed. "Really? Have you... met her?" Jack asks as he was looking at his guardian as if it was obvious that it is no surprise that Miko would pull something like that, which it doesn't surprise me either. Bulkhead groans before running after her, "Miko, get back here!"

"It would be kind of interesting to see," Jack admitted. "If it were safe," Nova shrugged casually. "A stripped mine could be structurally unstable, you two," Arcee warned. 

"We promise to step lightly." He said as he looks at Nova briefly before looking up at her. 

  "Just don't tell you mom," she argued, before she looked at Nova. "Or Optimus,"  

As they both entered the mine for exploration. "Check it out!" we heard Miko shout into a void. "She's nuts," Nova said to Jack who rolled his eyes.

"Arcee," Bulk's voice echoed through Arcee's comm. "Found something."

"Bulkhead?" she asked. Static came in reply, halting Nova in her tracks. "Bulkhead, do you read?"

"Hmm.....The rocks must be causing interference with the comms," Nova offered, kicking a rock lightly. Jack pushed forward, deeper into the rock. "Can we keep going?" he asked, not slowing before continuing their exploration. 

NOva looked to Arcee, who sighed, following closely behind Jack. She run ahead of Arcee and walking beside Jack, trailing her hand along the rock walls, before she heard an all too familiar voice...and bumping into Jack who froze in confusion, NOva looked his way and it was turn to freeze of what they saw.

Megatron and Starscream. Starscream was kneeling on the ground pleading for his life as Megatron held his blaster at him.

"You have ceased to be of use to me, Starscream. So you shall simply cease to be!" Megatron decreed.

Starscream began whimpering and raising his arms to protect his face as he turned his head away. That's when Starscream's red optics was on the two humans. Arcee froze in horror behind them when Megatron turned to face them.

"Ah, it has been a while fleshing?" Megatron stared at Nova with a wicked smile. "Or should I even call you that?"

Nova paled, remembering Optimus' words. I should've listened.  

Arcee growled as she stood protectively in front of Nova and Jack. The last time she recalled when she was in Megatron's grasp, she nearly got killed, and he said that she would make fine warrior as decepticon. 'Why was he interested in me? Could it be because I'm a Techno-organic and he knows it?' 

Megatron roared in frustration and opened fire on them. Instantly, Nova stood in front of Jack and Arcee and quickly make an electric shield. The plasma balls hit her shield head on. Arcee grabs Jack, nodding at her before they take cover behind a pillar.

"Stay down!" Arcee warned Jack as she looked out to see Megatron approaching as he continuously firing at NOva's shield. Her shield is slowly weakening as Megatron continues his assault. After one more shot, her shield disappears and run towards Jack and Arcee. Jack asked concerned, "Are you alright? You seem exhausted..."Nova replied tiredly, "It happens when I reached my limits."

"Starscream, you dare abandon me!?" I heard the warlord cry out as jet engines rocketed out of the mine. Multiple shots rang out, but none of them hitting the wall. Arcee's blaster let off a couples shots, Megatron's following closely behind. Then, the rumbling of the rocks.

A large chunk of the ceiling fell off and landed on top of Megatron. The force of the impact caused the ground to crumble beneath their feet. When they saw the drills disappear, they knew they had to run. Arcee was barely able to make a step before the ground gave out beneath her. Jack and Nova watched in horror as they watched her fall into the dark depths, soon they found ourselves falling into darkness as well.

Oh, I should've listened.

5 minutes later

Jack was coughing and spluttering as he dug his way to freedom. Stumbling around and sliding on rocks, he managed to stand upright and looked around for his missing friends. "Arcee! Nova!" Jack called, hoping he would hear an answer, "Oh scrap."

Then he heard a rumbling sound which Jack jumped and yelled in surprise as a huge rock landed a few feet from him. He turned around and saw a small figure lifting up another huge rock above its head, he knew who it was, but he couldn't believe it. "NOva?!" Jack cried as he raced after her.

"Jack!" Nova grunted as she threw the rock the over way, breathing heavily as she allowed Jack to check on her. "Are you alright?" Jack asked worriedly. "I'm fine....I think," Nova answered with cough, Jack stared at her with a surprised look on his face. She noticed Jack staring while wiping the dust of her clothes.

"What?"

"D-Did you just throw a 10 ton rock over your head?" He pointed to the rock that she just thrown. Nova stared at him for bit before realizing she did. Nova said, swinging her left arm, "Huh? I-I think so. Guess I'm super strong?" NOva said, until it was cut short when she notices someone missing.

"Where's Arcee?"

"I don't know. We'll find her though, C'mon." Jack vowed as he lead the way, with Nova following. As they made their way through the rubble and surveyed the damage, Jack asked If Nova can use her Long Sense to find their energy signature. Unfortunately, she was unable detect them since the autobots are not within radius range as they continue searching. Nova began to wonder how the rest of the team will react to her newfound ability; super strength.

As Nova was in her thoughts, A few more smaller rocks fell and her attention was being pulled to a faint blue light leading away from the tunnel they were in.

"Jack, there," NOva pointed.

They trekked their way over there, wanting to desperately find the bots and get out of there. The rocks led up a small hill, which Nova climbed expertly, Jack not too far behind.

"Arcee?" he called, his voice echoing. Nova turned around, spotting a driller. "Miko!" She ran over to it, climbing on board as Jack finally caught sight of it. "Well, that could come in handy."

After Nova helped him up, they stared at the controls. Jack doesn't how to work it so Nova placed her hand on the panel which made the screen finally coming to life. "Too simple!"Nova said to herself, looking at the controls again. She hit a few buttons, the drillhead itself coming to life, the lever moving forward a bit on its own. Nova pushed it forward, the machine lurching in the same direction, whirring as it went.

"Roll out," Jack muttered as they drove their way through the mine. While they were driving, Jack couldn't help but notice how Nova was quiet. Ever since, discovering that she's actually part Cybertronian or Techno Organic, she's been practicing hard and discovering more about herself and her abilities. Occasionally there were times when something has been bugging her and she's not telling about it. Like how she is right now.

"You've been quiet over the last few minutes, is something wrong?" Jack questioned. Nova didn't answer and only stared at the tunnels. Jack sighed.

"I understand you don't want to talk about it, but someday people are gonna keep asking you about it." He noted. "I know that, but....let's just say that it's something personal ok." Nova answered which they leave it at that. They drove through the different areas of the mine, searching for anyone and anything. But each new area of the mine looked the same to them. Eventually, they spotted something glowing.

"What's that?" Jack asked as she pointed to a rock pile. "Only one way to find out," Nova pointed out. She drove the drill towards the pile and drilled a hole through it before backing out and coming to a stop as Jack climbed down, investigating the hole she just dug. He gasped, Nova herself joined him soon after that.

"I suppose helping the less fortunate would be completely out of the question," Megatron remarked. Jack a few steps back, shocked by coming across the warlord, while Nova stood her ground and gave him a deadly glare. "If that is the case, you might as well use your drill to finish me. I guarantee you will never have a better opportunity then right now," Megatron challenged with a sneer.

Jack and Nova didn't act on his suggestion, Megatron was somewhat surprised.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Think of the glory. Seize the day. Optimus would..."

For a moment, She was completely silent, staring directly into the optics of the Cybertronian before her. He was right; it would be so easy just to finish him right here and now. But would she really do it? Some part of her asked. Would Optimus kill him?

She suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to find the hand belonged to Jack who shook his head. Nova knew the answer to both before the thought had fully formed.

"No. He wouldn't, Not like this." Jack objected.

"And as much as I would love for you to kick the bucket, I am not that type of person." Nova added. Jack retreated back in the driller while Nova turned her back on the warlord.

Despite how it may seem with the blood fights and her altogether dangerous lifestyle, She wasn't a killer in the slightest. Sure, She fought with the intent to kill in the past, but in the present no one had ever technically died by her hand. There were those who made the decision to fight her and later died, but as she saw it, they made a choice to do what they did and paid the price for it. She didn't kill them.

But aside from that, her hands were pretty much clean; She never killed anyone just for the sake of wanting them dead. Which in her case with Megatron was no different. Maybe he did deserve to die for what he has done, but she was not going to be the judge, jury, and executioner. She looked over at the con again, intent on finishing her previous thought. She may not mean anything to him, but Optimus certainly still saw something in him. So, for the sake of her guardian, She would try to hold in her killing intent inside her.

"Even for you and what you've done,"She said to him, "I don't plan on changing that anytime soon. Maybe one day you'll meet your end, just not by my hand."

'Unless you decide to force it,' She mentally added.

"How intriguing," Megatron mused. "I wonder if it is fear or mercy that compels your actions fleshling."

Nova grunted. "Neither. I just don't see the point of killing you when all it will do is destabilize the Decepticon cause for a while before your cowardly second in command or someone else takes up the reins again."

And with that, she turned toward the console and started up the machine, leaving Megatron to his fate, whatever that may have been. However, just before we were completely out of earshot, the Decepticon warlord imparted one last thing:

"I will be sure to share the details of our little conversation with Optimus," he jeered. "The day I rip out his spark!"

Her face twisted into an ugly expression, curling her hands into a fist. She tried to retrain herself from blasting Megatron, but she was told to never use her powers out of angry. Jack placed his hand on her shoulder, to calm her down. "Let it go. We need to find the others," Jack reminded her. Nova relaxed for a minute as they continue searching for the autobots and Miko. That's when a faint banging was heard not too far away, and JAck directed her to dig in that direction.

She hit something metal, a loud groan heard immediately looked around, herself scampering up. Bulkhead was standing in the middle of the room, his arms above him - holding the rock ceiling up!

"Jack! Get Miko out of here!" He pleaded. "NOW!" Jack hopped down, reaching out for Miko.

"Come on! Come on!" he urged the girl, who hesitantly looked back at her guardian, looking as though she might cry. "Run, Miko!" Bulkhead shouted, as he strained with all his might to keep the ceiling from collapsing on top of them.

Turning towards Jack with real tears now in her eyes, Miko slowly reached out a hand to Jack, who grabbed her wrist and pulled her up. "We can't leave Bulkhead!" she cried, but before she could charge back over to him, Nova grabbed a hold of the struggling girl and pulled her close. She understood what the girl was going through all too well. After all, she felt that way of the time she left someone important behind.

For a moment, she let Jack do the controls as he pulled away and headed towards the surface, Miko struggled against Nova's grip, desperately trying to get away. But ultimately, she stopped fighting, burying her face into her chest and sobbing her heart out as she hugged Nova tightly. Truthfully, it was a little awkward for her at first as she really didn't do 'comforting'.

How was Nova supposed to comfort her? So, she just settled on by hugging her tightly and running a hand lightly through her dirty dyed locks, while the other rubbed slow circles into her back. JUst like how Dr. Login did.

Nova thought she may have been doing something right because slowly, her sobs lessened a bit, though that may have been her imagination. Like she said, Nova usually sent people home in tears but didn't really comfort them.

"Arcee will save him, won't she?" Miko managed to hiccup, pulling away enough to look at Jack hopefully.

The raven-haired teen looked determinedly ahead. "We just need to find a way out of here before Megatron digs himself free," was all he said.

"Megatron's here, too?!" she exclaimed sounding near hysterical as Nova continued to hold her tightly; there is no telling what a hysterical Miko would do.

"Jack, Not helping." She told him sternly.

Before anyone else could say a thing, They all heard the pound of a new set of pedes enter the tunnel. Calling a halt to the vehicle, they all looked up to see a familiar form standing before them.

LAter

Standing before the remnants of the now-collapsed mine, the five of them all collectively breathed a sigh of relief in the light of the rising sun. Nova was ever been more glad to see the light of day as it peeked over the horizon, seeming almost brighter than usual after that nightmare come to life.

"We could finish them here and now," Arcee finally said, breaking the silence. "Shame we didn't bring any grenades," Bulkhead agreed pounding his fists together. Nova frowned at them from behind their backs.

However, it was Jack's voice and question that broke everyone out of their morbid thoughts. "Would Optimus finish them?" he asked hesitantly, walking up alongside Miko and Nova. There was silence for a moment, but she was pleased to see that the bloodthirsty light that had once been in their optics, had gone out.

"No. He probably wouldn't," Arcee sighed. "Not like this."

"But Optimus wouldn't rescue them, either, right?" Miko hedged, bringing up a pretty valid point for once.

What would Optimus have done?

But no one had answer for her.

"Guys, let's just go home," Nova eventually called, deep in thought.

Everyone made sounds of agreement, though Nova caught Arcee shooting one last look at the pile of rubble before turning with a defeated sigh; she had no doubt Arcee was having the similar thoughts to what Jack had earlier.

 Nova walked slowly through the ground bridge, the others having gone through as soon as it opened. Her blue hair was a soft gray from the dust of the smashed rocks, the same dust covering her jacket and shoes. She was torn between not wanting to face her guardian after  deliberately went against his orders.

She barely had time to think of hoping that Optimus was still out before the five of them were confronted with the towering form of a very tall and very peeved looking Prime. And as he did so, only one word ran through Nova's mind.

'Scrap.'

Blue optics darkened to a stormy cobalt color with in the wake of his quiet fury, the bot looked over all members of the group before his gaze at last landed on her. None of them spoke, but she could feel the pressure of his look bearing down on Nova as she couldn't bring myself to look up, rather kept her eyes down at her own shoes. "Arcee, Bulkhead, take Jack and Miko and home immediately." He didn't even asked for their reports. That was all he said, but she could feel the looming storm bearing down on her. It was ashamed that NOva didn't see Campy becoz Raf and Bumblebee were not there, she was no doubt going to get soon enough.

In any case, the other four seemed to sense that now wasn't the greatest time to argue with the Prime and left pretty quickly and quietly, Jack only lingering just long enough to shoot her a piteous look before he hopped on Arcee and followed Miko and Bulkhead out of base.  

'Gee, thanks alot. Leaving me alone to fend for myself why don't you.'

Inwardly, Nova cringed as Optimus took a step towards my much smaller frame, but not once did she look up. To he, in doing so would be like admitting guilt...or maybe she was just afraid of what she would see.

Still, the silence the others had left behind with their departure was almost maddening. Wasn't he going to say something? Surely, he had a few choice words prepared for her. But the heavy silence between them just seemed to stretch on.

It wasn't until Nova started wondering if she should say something (like an apology or even an awkward greeting) that she was suddenly scooped up in a large but warm, metal servo and sent tumbling as the bot transformed around her before landing in the passenger's side seat. But that was all he did.

Finally, when she couldn't take the stifling silence anymore, Nova said snappishly, "Well? Aren't you going to say something?"

Still he said nothing.

Usual scowl in place in an attempt to hide how perturbed she was, Nova said, "If that's it, then I'm getting out."

She went to open the door but was stopped by the sound of locks clicking into place. Nova focused back on the console. "Optimus, let me out," she said in a light tone that held a clear warning in it.

Again, he did not respond. The scowl on her face darkened a little as she repeated the sentence in a firmer tone.

"Optimus, let me out."

Still nothing.

Deciding to try the door again in case he had unlocked it and she hadn't heard, she reached out to try again but was stopped this time by the seatbelt moving and locking her in place, preventing her from moving too far.

Trying to control her anger, she said one last time in a false, would-be calm voice, "Optimus Prime, either let me out, or I will make you."

"No."

As if that word had been the spark to ignite the flame, the young woman snapped starting to thrash wildly and struggle against the harness now binding her, which had now tightened even more in an attempt to restrain her further. She wanted to used her power but she was to weak and exhausted.

"Optimus Prime, you let me out right now!" the blue-haired girl thundered, eyes seeming to glow with her fury despite how tired she was. Oh he was so going to get it if he did not release her this instant. 

"No," her guardian growled back. He had had enough.

"Let. Me. Out." Her blue eyes were definitely blazing now as she roared looking almost crazed with her need to be freed.

"NO!"

The angered shout was so unexpected that Nova momentarily fell silent, staring at the radio with something almost akin to shock or maybe even fear.

In any case, the Prime seemed to realize this and stopped himself, venting deeply before speaking again in a slightly calmer tone. "No, this has gone on long enough. Until now, I have stood by and said nothing, letting you carry on doing this to yourself, even if I disapproved of it. But I realize now that that was a mistake."

He sighed dejectedly. "Nova, I have too often seen many valiant warriors, who possessed a strong drive much like yours, fall in battle because they were pushing themselves too hard and did not take the time to look after their own well being. Even I myself need to take a break every once in a while because I know that no team can function effectively when one of its members is too tired to support them."

The young girl tried to argue. "But, I—"

"Nova, do you not understand?" he said, cutting her off, tone changing so that he almost sounded physically pained. "You could have lost your life today. And then how would the rest of us be left to feel?" The Prime may not have known what had exactly gone on today, but judging by the state of her clothes, it wasn't hard to figure out that things had gone sideways.

"I—" her voice cracked.

"Do you have any idea how your death would affect the others?" he finally said in something close to a whisper. "How losing you would affect me?"

And just like that, all the stress and emotional turmoil caught up with her and she broke. She didn't bawl or sob wretchedly like most people when they cried. Nova just looked towards her lap, hair falling to obscure her pale (though slightly dusty) face.

"I— I can't do that, Optimus," she said quietly. "I can't afford to stop."

"Then don't."

She looked up, surprised.

"Nova," he said gently. "I am not asking you to stop completely. Just merely take a short rest before you run yourself into the ground."

She looked conflicted, which Optimus seemed to sense as he said still in that quiet tone, "If not for yourself, then do it for the sake of others...please, little one, get some rest. I promise I will let you join me the next time I go on a scouting mission." The seatbelt tightened slightly as if to emphasize the point, the act almost reminding the blue-eyed girl of a hug.

"I—Fine," she eventually conceded, hand going for the door handle.

"And where do you think you are going?" the Prime demanded.

The girl blinked a little confusion, saying with a note of caution in her voice, "Um...out to get my bike so I can go back."

The safety harness still did not release her. "No, you are going to stay here, where I can keep an optic on you, Nova, and make sure you get at least one full night of rest."

Almost instantaneously, Her usual attitude was back with its usual sarcastic snap. "Um then I'll sleep on the couch, I guess, if you ever decide to let me go that is."

"No," he refuted, and it could have been the byproduct of an overactive imagination, but it almost sounded like there was a note of smug amusement in his voice as he said, "You are going to stay with me. I have a small camper in the back of my vehicle mode where you can rest for the night."

Nova spluttered, dusty cheeks turning slightly pink as she brushed some stray hairs behind her right ear. The girl had truthfully never really been with a man before, so she certainly had never slept with a guy before. And since Optimus was technically the vehicle and the bed...wasn't she basically sleeping with him?

"I– um– uh–." She cleared her throat nervously before trying again. "I– I don't want to get any dirt on your interior," She argued lamely.

The entire vehicle vibrated with Optimus' soft chuckles. "A little dirt never hurt anyone."

Nova opened her mouth to give a  retort and Optimus must have known it because he quickly with some exasperated amusement in his voice, "You know what I mean."

She stared at him for a minute before sighed out a grudging, "Fine."

The safety harness slid back in place, and the worn girl got up. Though she would loathe to admit it, Nova was kind of nervous a bit. What if she spoke during one of her weird dreams? What if she actually screamed or cried out this time? She eventually found the small bed her guardian spoke of;  it was simple but it looked comfortable nonetheless.

"A– are you sure?" she asked, hesitating slightly.

Optimus chuckled lowly, the sound sending shivers down her spine. "Yes, I am positive. Get some rest little one."

Hesitating only once more, Nova sat down, pausing only a little before removing her jacket and boots. She moved cautiously, like she was afraid of damaging something. Oddly enough though, as her head hit the pillow which was the first time she ever lay on a bed, different from sleeping in the cabin. Inhaling the scent of leather, oil, metal, and vanilla chocolate (oddly enough), she failed to stop a huge yawn from escaping. She wanted to give into her body's pleas to sleep, but her worries kept her from falling off that precipice and into (hopefully) blissful unconsciousness.

Don't cave. Don't fall asleep...

Like he could sense where her thoughts lay, Optimus whispered softly, "Sleep little one. Everything will be alright. You are safe."

As if that was the push she needed, Nova's eyes closed, all tension leaving her frame, and breathing lowing and evening out as she took a swan dive into dreamland, feeling more at ease than she had ever felt in a long while.

But just before she did, one last murmur passed her lips, one so faint, no one heard it: "I believe you....Sire."

(A/N If your all wondering what 'Sire' means, it means 'father' in cybertronian language.)