Enter Dante, The Rev-9: Book 1: Rogue

Chapter 7: Scrapheap

3rd Person POV

Autobot Base

After Bulkhead and Bumblebee returned from their mission to the Arctic with a frozen containment pod that they had found, Optimus decided that he, Arcee, and Elita would travel to the Arctic for any clues to their find. When he told Ratchet of this, Ratchet replied, "Only until your sensors sound." He held up a handheld device and pointed it at Optimus, Elita, and Arcee, causing their Autobot insignias to flash blue.

"Remember," he continued, "once your core temperature drops into the blue zone, system failures are not just likely. They're immanent."

Just then, the familiar sound of engines was heard, and Bulkhead and Bumblebee drove in, the humans and Dante in tow.

"Miss us, Doc Bot?" Miko asked as she and Dante got out of Bulkhead while Jack and Raf got out of Bumblebee.

"Shouldn't they be in school?" Ratchet complained, a hint of confusion in his voice.

"On a Saturday?" Dante asked in amusement, holding a long rectangular package in his hand.

"We have the whole weekend off... to spend with you," Miko finished cheekily.

"I wasn't expecting the carpool," Jack said, walking over to his guardian. "What gives, Elita?"

"Sorry, Jack, but Arcee and I are going with Optimus on exploration duty."

"That's too bad," Dante said to Arcee, balancing the package on his shoulder. "It's a really nice day for a ride. Would hate for you to feel guilty for leaving me indoors." He gave her a sly grin.

"Arctic exploration," Arcee replied, raising an optic ridge and placing a hand on her hip.

Dante held up his hands, signaling defeat. "Say no more. Just watch out for the glaciers. Those avalanches can hurt." He'd had a bad experience with an avalanche, and, needless to say, that was one mission he did not like to talk about.

Arcee gestured to the item in his arms. "What's with the package?"

Dante grinned slightly. While it may seem like a normal package, the wrapping was actually made out of a very thin layer of his exoskeleton that he could retract at will, and it was covering his Mossberg 500. His instinct had told him to bring it today, and his instinct had never been wrong before.

"It's for later," he replied mysteriously.

Arcee sighed, knowing that her partner wasn't going to say more.

Dante's face softened. "Be careful out there, alright?" he said. Then he grinned. "Or else I'll be the one kicking your aft."

Arcee rolled her eyes but smiled anyways. "Don't worry, I can handle myself. Unlike you," she added with a smirk before walking away, leaving Dante with a semi-hurt expression that quickly collapsed into his signature smirk.

"The Arctic?" Raf gushed. "I've always wanted to see snow."

Dante shared a knowing look with Arcee before turning back to Raf just as Optimus replied, "I would invite you to join, Rafael. But the conditions are much too extreme. Even for us Autobots."

"It's true," Dante agreed. "I've seen metal there freeze in hours. Trust me." He glanced at Arcee. "It may look beautiful, but the most beautiful things are often the most dangerous." What he didn't mention was that he had personally been to the Arctic on a mission back when he was under Legion's control. There, he had watched many of his fellow terminators freeze as their metal exoskeletons iced over and their hydraulics froze.