𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 ━ transformers

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐲-𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞

It starts out slow, the whistling.

First, it sounds like a faint howl of wind, but when I look outside, the trees are still, green and glistening with morning dew.

I ask Ironhide about it.

"It's probably nothing," he says, but he sounds nervous as he continues down the road. We're so close to the Hidden Forest Cave. Cliffjumper throbs in my head, feeble as he is, so I know we're almost there. After checking in the mirror, I see that my eye is burning blue, the brightest it's ever been. It has to be because we're close.

"Yeah, you're right," I say, but there is unease crawling through me.

When we turn off towards the trails, Ironhide grumbling about the mud he's going to get in his wheels and fenders, the unease turns into panic. There is a steady whistle, coming closer as the seconds tick by.

"Ironhide," I mutter, because I know it's him, and I know he's coming for me.

I don't know how he knew where we were going, but if I was right and it was Cliffjumper in the caves, then it means that Starscream also knew he was there. He knew that I would want to go save him. He knew where we would be. I don't know how he knew when, and the thought that he retrieved it from me terrifies me, but I don't let it show.

"I know," Ironhide snarls back, growling into the comms. He uses Cybertronian like he thinks I won't understand, but the words are translated with perfect clarity: "Starscream intercepting. Need backup. Hurry your afts or so help me!"

"Who's coming?" I ask, relieved that he called someone, but also terrified because of the same thing. What if they get in trouble with Galloway? I know that Ironhide commandeering a military vehicle and stealing the cargo on board isn't going to go over well with him. And now the Autobots are coming? Do they have permission or are they following their own orders now?

Will they be exiled because of it?

"Prime, Chromia, Bumblebee, Ratchet and members from Major Lennox's team."

"Dad. . ."

"Yes, Eleanor, your father will be amongst them."

"Ironhide, you can't let him come!" I exclaim, fear freezing my entire body. The hiss grows louder; Starscream is catching up with us. "He could die!"

"So I've been made aware," Ironhide says blankly, continuing his path through the muddy forest.

Anger shoots through me. "Ironhide, this is Starscream—"

"And your father is a soldier," he cuts me off. "He understands the dangers he signed up for."

"But--"

My anger is once again rooted in fear. I know Dad is fully capable of taking care of himself, but Starscream is so much bigger than that. He's so much more than a tiny gun or a couple of grenades. He has destroyed stars and taken countless lives. He won't stop until he gets what he wants.

I sigh. "Ironhide. . ."

"No," he snaps, irritated. The voice is static through his speakers. "You must be foolish to think that it is even an option."

"It's me he wants," I reason.

"I do not care. It is you he will not get."

I swallow thickly. "I can't lose anyone else. I won't."

"You will not," Ironhide denies, sensors going off. He takes a sharp right and I'm thrown against the console in the middle of the cabin. I hiss as it digs into my skin. Ironhide kicks the speed up, but that doesn't stop the hiss from the jet to trail behind us. It only gets louder. "I simply won't allow it."