[Arcee's POV]

I can't believe I agreed to this, however had I said no, Jack would have found some way to go on his own.....

Lose-Lose-scenario I guess.

Jack's grip on the handlebars tightens, and I feel his anger, agitation, and mild fear. I had only agreed to let him join me on one condition: that he stays out of the way as much as possible and only jumps in when absolutely necessary. His job was to gather a small amount of her energon as we fight when I'm able to land a solid hit on her. Once he gets it, he is to let me know and we get out of there as fast as possible.

Now, to get this started, we just have to find her.

Luckily, I know just what to do to get her out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finally, we make it to the rendezvous, a national forest an hour away from base. Jack hops off and removes his helmet. He sets it down on the seat, and I transform around it, keeping it safe for now. I quickly switch my servos into blasters and release the blades from my arms as well. Jack gazes at me, confused. "Never be too safe, right?"

He smirks, then removes a small, cybertronian flask from his fanny pack. I guess those are pretty handy. "I'll hide, you fight, that was the deal." His smirk flips upside down. "Just... be careful, alright?" I nod and motion for him to hide as I stalk forward. I don't need to worry about when Airachnid will get here.

I already know she is here.

I feel the shiver down my back strut. Swiftly, I turn around, aiming at nothing. I grimace and turn back around, continuing through the forest. "Calm down, Arcee...." I hiss to myself. I slowly move forward again... and a branch snaps on my left. I aim one blaster that way, but keep the other pointed up and ready. 

Something jumps away, but I still hold my fire as I quickly hide behind the largest tree near my current location. It could have just been a deer... I've seen plenty of those by now....

But as I gaze around the tree, green venom splats against it, nearly spraying onto my face. I hiss in slight pain as I press my back against the tree once more. "Arcee." The voice spoke tauntingly, and I grit my denta. "I can't say I'm surprised... but where's your little human, hm?" I hear her claws stabbing into wood, and I gaze up in time to see Airachnid's eyes gleaming down at me. "He isn't, perhaps, burying anyone, is he?"

I feel my energon boil as I finally open fire. The femme con easily dodges, and returns fire with her webs. I swiftly move away from the tree as they hit and begin blasting again. Airachnid dodges until I switch my aim and land a hit on one of her many legs. She howls in pain as part of it flies off and she crashes to the ground. Blue was dripping from the branches, making a small puddle below. Yes!

"Now Jack!"

The boy suddenly appears and dashes to the puddle, which is uncomfortably close to where Airachnid still lay, stunned. He quickly gets a sample before tightly sealing the lid and wiping it off with a towel. With a thumbs up, he rushes off and I swiftly follow. I can hear the con rising behind us and she growls. "So he is here after all! Which means..." I hear shifting and curse before picking up Jack and transforming as well.

A black helicopter passes over us a split second later. It turns in the air and opens fire at us. I barely have time to transform and cover Jack, closing my optics in preperation of the pain to come.

However, just as the shots near us, they stop as the sound of Cybertronian metal on metal ricochets in my audio receptors.

It wasn't transformation though.

It sounded more like a body slam.

Jack confirms my suspicions as he hoots in joy. I turn to spot Wheeljack straddling the helicopter with one blade imbeded in the side. His other hand was a blaster, and he growls before firing multiple times at the base of the spinning blades. Airachnid's cry of pain is heard as he retracts the sword and launches off of her towards us. This movement causes the con to spin madly before slamming into the earth, making the whole forest shake.

I take a deep breath and huffs, placing one servo on my hip. "Took you long enough..." I smirk and slightly turn my gaze to Wheeljack. He huffs as well, but I see the faintest hint of a smile before he speaks. "You weren't easy to find...." The smile is gone as he fully faces me, his optics dark. "She's getting worse..." Jack slowly walks forward, holding up the vial. "Then what are we waiting for?"

I gaze up to Wheeljack once more. "You're in the Jackhammer right?" The wrecker nods, and I carefully pick up Jack. "Let's go then. It flies faster than I drive." Wheeljack nods. "Dang right it does."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[3 hours later - Rachel POV]

"Easy now.... take it slow." Ratchet says softly as I slowly stand up off the berth. The wounds were more scars now, but I still felt drained from the amount of energon I lost and the pain the poison inflicted on my spark. "Jazz? How're you holding up, bud?" Wheeljack asks, gazing at the monitors. "Better. Sore, but that will heal over time. We'll be fine."

I huff as I finally make it to the edge of the berth and my tail lifts slightly. He was right. Every bit of poison was out of my system now, but every part of me was sore, especially my chest. The wounds would most likely never fully heal, and I would have scars there forever, but I didn't care.

Softly, I raise my wings and glide off the berth and to the ground level. I land with shakey legs, but my mom is at my side in an instant. My eyes meet hers, and I look away. "Mom I....I'm so sorry..." I start, but she shakes her head. "No... I am. I should have told you from the beginning... I was just afraid...." She lowers her head as I stand up on my own. I try to think of what else she could be afraid-wait....

"You thought I would leave and go after them, didn't you? That's what you were afraid of...."

My mom doesn't move, but i know the answer. "Mom.... the past is the past... we can't change it now... but we can change our future." Her head lifts and I carefully wipe away the tears streaming down her face. "Mom, Inlove you, and nothing will ever change that. I'm glad you saved my life..... I got to meet a bunch of kind people.... and I got wings now! I can freaking fly!" This earns me a chuckle, and I lift them my wings, flicking them slightly. "I mean, i always wanted to and now I can! Talk about a dream come true, right?"

The smile stays on her face as my mom wipes her own tears away. I grin before cautiously hugging her, holding back a hiss of pain as she wraps her arms around me as well with a slight squeeze. "I love you.... no matter what..." I say again, using my tail to beckon Jack closer. He had slowly made his way over during this, but stayed back for a while. He walks closer and joins the hug, and I complete it by wrapping my wings around them both. "I will always love you guys and now I can protect you as well. Don't worry about M.E.C.H...... We can keep you safe."

I feel my mom relax and Jack sighs. I take that as the cue to let go and back up slightly. My mom wipes her face clean and Jack tries to hide his face as well. I smile, cleaning off my own tears before turning around. Most of the bots had left to give us a moment, but Ratchet was still at the computers and Optimus was behind him, intently watching whatever it was he was working on.

However, I knew better.

His optics flick towards me for a second, then back to the screen, then back to me as he does a double take.

Knew it.

"Yes, Rachel?" He asks, sounding as if he just now hadn't been caught worrying about me. I smile softly and thirdly reply. "Mom needs a ride home. Mind calling Arcee back?" The Prime nods, but my Mom quickly shakes her head. "N-No.... Not tonight. I would like to go back in a more... enclosed vehicle." Optimus nods his head and quickly transforms, opening his passenger door to her. "I will take you home, Ms. Darby." Mom walks over and climbs in carefully. "Please, call me June." The Prime rumbles in response before slowly leaving base. I see mom wave goodbye, and I wave back. Arcee walks in soon after, and Jack turns to me.

I smile at him, but he suddenly hugs me tight. I gasped in shock and mild pain. He doesnt move, and I start to question him when he speaks. "I thought we lost you.... again.... I-I c-can't..... I can't lose you t-too...." I sigh softly and hug him back. "You won't.... not again, and not ever." He gazes up at me and I smile before ruffing up his hair. "Now, head home and get some sleep. And make sure mom hasn't drilled poor Optimus with 30,000 questions." Jack snickers at that as he let's go and heads over to Arcee.

She smiles at him, then me. "We will keep an extra eye on her, Jack. She won't hurt herself.... until she is fully healed again that is." I give a pout to the femme, and she snickers before transforming. Jack jumps on, slips on his helmet, then waves goodbye as they leave.

I wave with my tail this time, and Ratchet looks down at me. I feel his optics bore into me, but I dont move until I he tells me what I want to hear.

"They're all out now. You can stop pretending it doesnt hurt."

A single tear escapes my eye and I feel my knees buckle. Ratchet is quick to catch me and he slowly begins walking to my room. "Rest well, Rachel. You've done enough life saving for one day." I laugh softly before curling up in his servos. "You said it, Doc."

"Don't call me that."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BOO

Did I startle you? No? Oh well. First chapter out in nearly 2 or 3 months i think. Sorry for the wait!! Been busy and.... well, busy... I just recently bought the first season of TFP as well so expect more chapters for Setting Sun as well now.

Anyways, I'm back! And as always,

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