A branch crunching in the distance stirs me awake. I hadn't realized how much sleep I really needed. No dreams happened this time, no nightmares or memories, just pure, peaceful slumber. My eyes struggle to stay open until another snap makes me shoot straight up.

I'm still on Wheeljack's shoulder.

He's in bot form.

We're out in the open.

Slowly, I turn to look behind us. I can already tell by the way his motors are running he is recharging as well. He's not aware of the fact so much time has passed. People could be out here and spot us.

My eyes fall on a family of black bears slowly moving towards us and the lake. The large mother gazes at us, but disregards the massive mech as a threat and nudges her children towards the water. My eyes follow them in awe. I've always wanted to be up close with bears, and the zoo simply never felt right. Being able to see them now, in their natural habitat, holds a different feeling.

"Woah."

My blood runs cold. I turn my head again to see two back-packers on the trail further up. They have a camera in their hands, and it's pointing right at us. I can see the red dot from here.

"Wheeljack, wake up." I whisper, trying to nudge his helm. The hikers are moving closer. The bears have noticed. The larger momma bear lets out a warning roar, gaining the attention of the hikers. I see the camera drop a bit, so I push against Wheeljack's helm once more.

"Jackie! Wake up! Now!"

His fans finally kick on in high gear. Blue light emits from his optics, and he turns his helm toward me. His helm snaps up to gaze behind me, and I turn to see the hikers pointing the camera at us once again. We need tobget out of here and I need to find their footage online and delete it before the wrong people get ahold of it.

The black bear roars again, the hikers now getting too close to her and her cubs. The guys stop, but that camera stays up and on. If they are live streaming this nature walk, we are in even more danger than they are with the bear. Wheeljack starts to move, but the bear also starts to lunge towards the hikers. The two men move back a few steps, but their eyes stay on us. 

"We need to get out of here, Rache."

"But the bear, Jackie."

The cubs are moving from the lake now and into the woods, but the momma bear is starting to near the hikers. She's showing hostility since the hikers are refusing to leave her home. If we leave now, it could spook her more and she could attack them. The longer we stay, the more we endanger ourselves.

"Rachel-"

"Hold on, I have an idea."

I move to the edge of his shoulder plating a bit, waving my hand to get the attention of the hikers. One of them seems to notice my tiny form finally, and they slightly wave back. However, the bear snarls, stomping her foot a bit. 

"Hey! You need to leave! She's going to attack you if you don't go now!"

"What is that thing?"

"It's my robot, and I'd like to stay under the radar if you don't mind!"

The two humans look between each other before one of them actually lowers the camera and turns it off. They step back and I let out a breath. I keep their attention and keep talking. I'm more surprised the bear hasn't turned at my voice, but I need to make sure everyone stays safe.

"Look, please don't upload that! Last thing I need is the government knocking on my door and taking this away from me, okay?"

"I'm sorry, but it was a live stream! We can delete it when we-" The bear suddenly charges, and the guys turn and run, but the one speaking finishes his sentence just before they get out of range. "When we get home! I'm sorry!"

The bear doesn't chase them further, but follows her cubs quickly into the forest, leaving us alone again.

I turn to face Wheeljack, my fear mirrored in his faceplates. 

"We need to go, now."

I can only nod as Wheeljack swiftly stands. He lifts his servo to where I am. Cautiously, I move to his servo and hold tightly to a digit. When I'm secure, he transforms around me and we take off down the trail. A monitor appears where the radio should be, and the Autobot symbol shows our location. 

"Keep your eye on it and make sure-"

"I know, Jackie! I know!"

I hadn't realized how far we traveled. According to the map, we are in Utah, over six hours away from the base. The Decepticon TIC has access to all internet sites and videos. If he's monitoring them, like I suspect he is, then we could be in grave danger if we don't get back soon.

"Wheeljack, can you contact the base?"

"I'm trying kid! Nothing's going through!"

Fear starts to settle in. We're being jammed. Engines start to sound off over Wheeljack's, their shadow slowly covering where we are. I stare out the driver-side window, my eyes locking on the green and blue twin jets slowly growing closer to the tree line.

"Skyquake and Dreadwing!"

Wheeljack's voice only solidifies my fear. One of the two jets flies ahead of us before transforming in mid-air and crashing down in front of us. Wheeljack barely drifts out of the way of the blaster fire. I barely hold myself from getting flung as he turns again. 

"Hold on!"

"What do you think I'm doing?"

The ground shakes again when the green jet slams down in front, barely a few feet away from Wheeljack's grill. Despite his attempt to turn away, something slams into the back end of Wheeljack's alt, sending us spinning through the woods. I hold his door tightly until the sound of metal shifting rings in my ears. Suddenly I'm no longer in his seat, but grasping one of his digits tightly while cupped in his servo. We must be flying through the air, because I'm weightless for a while. My body suddenly slams against the palm of his servo, and I pull myself up to see where we are.

I'm safely cupped against Wheeljack's chassis, but my eyes are on the scene in front of Jackie. Both mechs slowly walk toward us, and I can see the energon on the ground between them and us. A grunt makes me turn. Wheeljack wipes energon from his lip, his optics flicking towards me momentarily before returning to the two towering Decepticons. 

"You okay?"

"I should be asking you that question, Jackie."

He doesn't say anything, doesn't give me even the slightest smirk. My heart drops and my blood freezes. We're in trouble, and there's no one around to help us.

"Can you walk?"

My head snaps up to Wheeljack's helm, eyes are wide as his optics meet my gaze. For a moment, I can't even give him an answer. The only reason he would be asking that is if he knows this is a fight he can't win. 

"Wheeljack, I-"

"We can't take them, kid. Can you walk?"

I shake my head. "No, no! I'm not leaving you! We can get out of this!"

"No, we can't Rachel."

"Jackie, I-"

"You've got nowhere to run, Wheeljack!" I turn to see the green standing just a few feet ahead of his twin brother. His red optics are locked on my small form, a smirk on his face. The blue one behind him holds a more serious look, his optics staying on Wheeljack. Even if I was able to run, I wouldn't make it far. Wheeljack is pretty beat up, and there is no way he can take both of these Con's out on his own. Soundwave must also be nearby since our signal is jammed, and there's most likely an army hiding somewhere.

We're in trouble, and there's no way out.

"Give us the girl, and we'll let you live."

Wheeljack's grip tightens on me, closing in around my body. 

"No, no you won't."

The green one smirks, his fists changing into blasters. The blue one moves similarly, but his face remains stern. His optics flick down momentarily, eyeing my small frame, before returning to glare evenly at Wheeljack.

"Wheeljack."

I can't hide the fear in my voice. We are outnumbered, outgunned, and wounded. My hand rests against Wheeljack's beating spark. I can feel his own worry pulsing through his chassis. 

"I'm sorry kid."

"Better get that in recording!"

A voice rips through the woods from behind, and my heart leaps from joy. Trees crash to the ground as another engine revs into existence. From the right, a silver stingray drifts into view before transforming between Wheeljack and the two Cons. He holds blasters toward the Decepticon twins, standing in such a way to cover us from their sight.

"He'll never repeat it."

The second voice nearly makes me leap from Wheeljack's grasp. A tall black mech moves in on our left, massive canons armed and ready. He grunts, shaking his shoulders a bit as if he's itching for a fight. His optics flick towards us, and I can't help but smile.

"What took you so long, 'Hide?" 

He gives me a soft smile, one of those rare ones. It quickly changes as Skyquake and Dreadwing speak up. 

"You think this will be enough?" The blue one says, lifting his blasters. His brother matches his stance, and Wheeljack shifts a bit until he's standing on his peds. He keeps me close to his chassis, but his other hand also switches to a blaster. Even with Sideswipe and Ironhide here, there's still a chance Wheeljack might not make it, and the others could get hurt. Turning myself over won't work either, as we have already seen they don't hold up their end of the bargain.

"It will be more than enough, Dreadwing."

"Optimus!" I can't contain the excitement as said mech suddenly waltzes in from the right. One servo is a blaster while the other is his signature blade. His faceplates are covered with his guard and those piercing optics glare daggers. He keeps his blaster trained on the blue one, Dreadwing. I can see Skyquake glaring as well, his anger rolling off him in waves. 

We're in a standoff, the tension in the air rising with each passing moment. Everyone refuses to back down, guns blazing and ready, everyone waiting for the first shot to ring out, but no one willing to start the firefight.

"You win this one, Prime." Dreadwing speaks, lowering his canons. I can see Skyquake do the same, but he's unhappy. Optimus and the others keep their blaster up even as Dreadwing and Skyquake walk away and take off into the sky. Once we are completely alone, I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. The silver mech in front of us finally turns around. He moves closer, and I can't help but push myself onto my feet.

"Swipes! You're alright!" Wheeljack moves his servo, allowing me to slip into Sideswipe's metal grip. He brings me up to his helm, and I do my best to wrap him in a hug. "Hey kiddo. Good to see you too." I feel tears streak down my face. Pulling away, I give him a playful punch and attempt to pout.

"The last I saw, you were barreling through Knockout! If you ever do that again, I'll be the one to knock you out!" He laughs, rubbing his cheek a bit. I turn when heavy pedsteps move closer. Ironhide locks optic to eye with me, and I can't help but smile.

"Don't think you're out of the woods either, mister." He smirks, but I don't have the energy to yell at him. My eyes fall on Wheeljack as Optimus moves closer to help him walk. The wrecker is leaking energon, but nothing looks too major. The Prime looks over, and I give him a small nod. He returns it, but keeps his face stern. We'll have to talk later, that's for sure, but right now we just need to get back to base.

"Optimus to Bumblebee. Send a ground bridge and ready the medical bay." Soon enough, a ground bridge appears and Optimus carefully walks through with Wheeljack. Ironhide follows, and Sideswipe carries me in last. I can hear shouts of joy just as the ground bridge shuts off, and despite what almost happened, we recovered two more Autobots.

For now, I'll settle for that small win.