A World Beyond Our Own | TFP AU

28 || Autobots

"You miss him, don't you?"

Smokescreen rolled his eyes upon hearing Arcee's voice and kept his gaze on the camp entrance. "Who, Ratchet? Psh, no! I don't miss that old grump or his dumb rules." He huffed.

Arcee sat down beside the youngling. "Ratchet only wants to do what's best for you, and sometimes that means tough love. I know his methods are a little... outdated, but he means well."

"I miss him." Bumblebee mumbled dejectedly. He sat back on his haunches between the two and whined softly. "They've been gone for a while. Do you think they're okay?"

"Optimus and Ratchet know how to take care of each other. They've been alone before. I'm sure they'll be back soon, Bee." Arcee said. She wrapped her tail around him to provide comfort.

Not even five minutes later, Bulkhead came barreling through the entrance. Considering the urgency in his movements, Arcee would've thought they were about to be attacked.

"We've got company!" The hulking green dragon cheered, lashing his tail excitedly.

Arcee was immediately on her paws, pushing the young ones behind her. "Woah there, Bulk! What kind of company?"

"The good kind." Bulkhead said with a grin. He stepped aside to reveal Optimus and Ratchet entering the camp.

Arcee's eyes lit up. "Optimus!"

"They're back! I knew they'd come back!" Bumblebee exclaimed, pushing past Arcee to greet the older dragons.

Optimus smiled as he teammates gathered around to greet him. Ratchet sidled up beside him and allowed Taylor to hop off.

"Taylor!" Smokescreen immediately tackled her.

Taylor wrapped her arms around his neck and giggled. "Good to see you too, Smokes."

"We return with troubling news." Optimus said once everyone had quieted down. "The Decepticons are trying to reach the human-place. For what reason, I do not know, but Megatron was using Taylor to achieve it. I fear that humankind is in more danger than we thought."

"What does that have to do with us? We have enough problems in our own territory as it is, we can't be in two places at once." Arcee said with a frown. "Besides, how are we supposed to help the humans if we barely know anything about them?"

Taylor rose to her feet with a nervous chuckle. "We uh... brought some friends who might be able to help with that."

Rafael slid down Ratchet's side, flashing a sheepish smile and a friendly wave. Optimus had to crouch so that Jack and Miko could safely get down. Jack looked frightened by so many dragons staring at him, while Miko's grin only grew wider.

"This is the best day ever! We get to hang with real dragons!" Miko exclaimed.

"Whose idea was it to bring more mouths to feed?" Ultra Magnus asked, lowering his head to study the children with a scrutinizing gaze.

Wheeljack scoffed. "Aw c'mon, Magnus. Look at 'em! They won't eat much." He said with a chuckle.

"I tried to convince them to stay." Ratchet muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes.