I returned way past midnight with Razor, Rory, and Arya. I had to tell the others about this. This could've easily been Galvatron or someone worse, someone like Lockdown that we weren't aware of.
This was a severe threat.
"Ashley!"
As I entered I found myself face to face with a scolding Ratchet and a worried-looking Sideswipe.
"Hey, guys-"
"Where the hell were you?! Bee and Drift have been looking everywhere for you!" Ratchet said.
"I told Cade I was heading out! Didn't he tell you?!" I protested
"He said you told him you'd be out a couple of hours, not almost an entire day!"
"Well technically I was out for a couple of hours, I went to the mountains and-"
"The mountains? What the fuck were you doing up there?!" Side intervened, "did you get hurt?!"
"No, I'm alright, the storm caught me there, is all, that's why I didn't come sooner," I said, "and that's what I'm trying to tell you, I found something that we should discuss with the other Bots and Cade, call Drift and Bee back, they shouldn't be out on their own"
...
We met at a secluded part of the KSI building, where we were sure that no one could hear us. It was pretty dark, it appeared to be a storage room, a pretty big one thankfully, because the Bots could fit in without a problem.
I told them of Rory and Arya leaving and returning after hours, and how I found it suspicious that they were out hunting as I had thought in the beginning, only to eat more when they got back. I explained my plan, and that I followed them to the mountains with Razor, how we found the cave with Rory and Arya in it, and finally of the Dinobots, and how they were hurt. I also told them that Arya healed them by licking their wounds, so just as Ratchet and I had theorized, she had healing abilities.
"I'm sorry for worrying you guys, I really am, but this is something bad...whoever did that to them could do the same or worse to you," I said worriedly.
"Who could it have been?" Cade asked.
"Galvatron?" Sideswipe asked as he turned to look at Ratchet.
"Possibly, but I doubt he would've let them get away with their lives," Ratchet said, crossing his arms.
"...Joshua?" Bee guessed.
"Even with his technology, it is unlikely he could damage them like they are unless he still had his prototypes with him," Ratchet said.
"I say we go to his lab and see what they're hidin'," Hound said, cocking his gun.
"No, that could be risky, if he's innocent that would be seen negatively in the eyes of the public. We don't know who's our ally and who's enemy," I said, leaning against the wall and caressing Razor's head.
"So what DO we do?" Cade asked.
"First...we should act as if everything is still the same. Tess leaves today, we should be there for her, and we can start searching around once she leaves. Act casual and try not to be suspicious. Ratchet, you'll come with me later today to heal the Dinobots. Side, Bee, and the others can say we left to get some medical supplies that we needed. Report anything that seems unusual to you," I said.
"Sounds like a plan," Ratchet nodded
"We'll get to the bottom of this," Cade said with determination.
"And whoever or whatever it was...we'll make sure that they don't hurt the Bots either," I said firmly.
...
"You traitor, you think you can keep them safe forever? Well, think twice, you should have been dead long ago, but here you are, standing for the liberty of those murderers"
~Calm down Ashley, he's dead...he won't ever hurt the Bots or you again...Cemetery Wind is gone, dead...destroyed...~
I ran a few fingers down my now scarred arm. I had taken a shower and put pajamas on to try and sleep, but the injuries of the Dinobots, and those words remained on my head, so sleeping was nearly impossible.
Tess and Shane had left an hour ago. We drove them to the airport and said our goodbyes before heading back, going our separate ways once we arrived. I was lying down on the bed looking at my arm, wondering and theorizing who it could've been. Galvatron seemed like the best bet, but then, why would he let them go? To send a message? But what if no one found them? It would've been useless and risky, and Galvatron never took risks.
Again humans crossed my mind, but they didn't have such advanced technology, did they?
Was...was it possible?
No...the American government wouldn't dare to cross Japanese territory without permission, but what if they came to an agreement? Or worse, they agreed to something but were working behind their backs.
Rex suddenly barked and jumped into the bed, startling me momentarily. I chuckled as the puppy wagged his tail and licked my face. I sighed and picked him up, sitting down and holding the puppy to my face.
"What do you think Rex? You think the mean evil humans are involved?" I asked.
Bark!
I sighed.
"Well...maybe I should get my mind off all the shit...come on, let's play fetch," I said, placing him on the ground.
I quickly changed into a pair of sneakers, some jeans, and a red shirt before walking out. I yawned tiredly, I know I should try to get some sleep, but with a possible threat looming over our heads, I'd rather tire myself some more before attempting to.
I sat down in the artificial grass behind the house, grabbing a squeaky ball I had bought Rex on my way out. The puppy barked and ran around me before I threw the ball, consequently going after it to retrieve it. I smiled as he came back with it, placing it next to my feet. I grabbed it and threw it away again, repeating the process over and over again every time he came back with it.
Razor soon walked over and stood beside me, gurgling as he watched Rex retrieve the ball and place it near my feet. I threw it again and smiled at Razor.
"Hey boy, what have you been up to?" I said as I patted his side.
He chirped in response; his eyes fixed on Rex as he came back again with the ball in his mouth. The Raptor huffed and tilted his head, letting out another chirp before walking away. I watched him leave with a puzzled look before going back to our game with Rex.
Fifteen minutes later, he came back and dropped a wrench on his mouth.
"Did you steal that from Cade?" I questioned as he placed it next to the ball near my feet. He simply gurgled and nudged it closer to me. "Alright, I won't ask any further..." I said, grabbing the wrench and throwing as far as possible, doing the same with the ball.
Rory joined soon enough and fought for the ball with Rex, which was quite a cute sight. thankfully he knew how to measure his own strength.
After a few hours of fetching and fighting, we decided to stop to eat and rest some. Rory snuggled on the couch with Rex after eating half of their bowl of food. Razor by his part went to the garage to rest on his nest. As for me, I made some fish tacos and ate them in the dining room all by myself, answering a few messages from Cade and assuring him I was ok.
As I finished and washed the dishes, my phone rang and I went over to answer.
"Hello? Who's this?" I asked after realizing it was an unknown number.
"Traitor," A robotic, deep voice growled, "you'll pay for betraying your kind and allying yourself with those murderers"
I frowned.
"If this is a prank, it ain't funny," I said seriously.
"This is anything but a prank, Ashley Cruz, this threat is very real, hand over the Aliens and give us the coordinates of the Dinosaur Aliens and we may spare your life," they said in a threatening tone.
"Listen here you motherfucker, I will NEVER hand over my friends, and we are NOT afraid of you, you hear me? Whatever you think you have to protect you, will be useless against me and the Autobots," I said firmly, "and as for the Dinosaurs, I have no fucking idea where they are"
"Don't lie, Ashley, you've already found them, or at least what's left of them after what we did to them," they said, "and if you don't want the same to happen to your precious Autobots, you'll hand them over, and we may consider letting you go with your life"
"Over my fucking dead body," I said.
"So be it, you have once again chosen them over your own kind, happy death day, Ashley Cruz"
My hands were shaking as they hung up. I looked at the number and wrote it down in case it got deleted. I quickly rushed out to tell the Bots and Yeager.
"RATCHET! SIDE!" I yelled as I ran out of my lot.
We had to track them down.
Before they did anything.
Before they attacked.
...
"What do you mean you can't track them down?!"
"They used an encrypted line, impossible for humans to track but hard to track with our own technology, but in an hour or so it will be done," Side said.
We had come to Hound's lot where the ship had been moved to and stored at the moment, my phone being connected to it as the Bots tracked down the phone call. Apparently, the people behind it knew how to cover their tracks.
"Well, what CAN we do?" I asked worriedly as I paced back and forth.
"For now, we wait..." Ratch sighed, "don't worry Ash, I'm sure they're just trying to intimidate-"
"But what if what they said was true?! What if they were really the ones that attacked the Dinobots?!" I said nervously, "what if they come after all of you?! Or my parents?!"
"Ashley-" Side tried to intervene.
"What if they're like Cemetery Wind but deadlier?! What if they're not afraid to use much more violent weapons?!"
"Ash-" Bee chimed in, but to no avail.
"What if they're not afraid to harm or kill innocent people?! What if they attack and blame it on you?! What if-"
"BLUEBEAM!"
I stopped pacing frantically as Cade grabbed me by the shoulders and made me face him. Tears had begun to well in my eyes from how terrified I was of losing my family. I thought I had already gotten over it, that talking about it with Side and Ratch would help but it didn't, all my fears resurfaced with a simple call from an unknown number.
"Ashley," Cade said in a gentler tone, "this isn't their first rodeo, ain't it? You heard them, it could be empty threats, and even if they aren't, we're prepared. The building has high security and none of the Bots go out without reporting it to Ratchet first," He said calmly, "breath, everything will be alright, ok? Calm down..."
I took deep breaths in, following Cade's advice. He brought me into a hug, which helped me calm down. I sighed, hugging him back.
"Thanks," I whispered.
"You're welcome," he said.
I rubbed my arm as I looked up at the Bots with a small smile. I knew they wanted to comfort me further with more than just words, but couldn't due to their massive size.
"We should stick together from now on, but setting a discrete patrol around the place won't hurt anyone," Ratchet said.
"I will watch the entrance," Drift said
"And I'll watch our rear," Hound said, "if they plan anything, we'll know it"
"Speaking of plans," Side said, grinning, "Ashley, don't you have a date to attend to?"
"It's not a date, and how am I supposed to go with this shit going on?" I said. I knew he was trying to lighten the mood, but this might be a serious threat. "And how did you find out?"
"Word spreads fast," he shrugged, "you go have some fun, you deserve it, we'll handle things from here," he said, "we'll reach out if anything happens"
"But-"
"I won't take no for an answer," he smirked.
"Ratchet!" I protested.
"He's right, you've been under some stress, you should take some time off duty, doc's orders," he said.
I begrudgingly accepted to go before leaving, the Bots chuckling as I walked out, all but Crosshairs who scoffed in amusement.
I'll admit, I hadn't realized how late it was, so I didn't really change from my current outfit. I didn't want to confirm my friends' teasing by changing to something better, so I'd just go on the casual outfit I had on.
The voice's words still lingered in my head, however, even after I reached the cafeteria in time for our meeting. I tried to relax all my way there but, just like sleep, found it impossible to. I would just have to hope that the meeting went smoothly and I could get out of there as soon as possible.
Yes, I could've just lied and said I was going and stayed home instead, but I didn't want to be rude either. Even if I hadn't confirmed I was going, mother always said to be polite to others, even if you don't like them. Something I forgot when I first met Cade, Tess, and Shane, but really, after being in the run for as long as we were, you forget certain things. I'm still adapting to this new life myself.
"Hey," I greeted after seeing Jackson sitting alone at a table.
With a black bag next to him.
"So you did decide to come?" He smirked as he stood up and shook my hand.
"Not alone," I hummed as Razor gurgled from my right side. "I hope you don't mind that I brought him"
"Not at all," he said dismissively. "So, where shall we begin?" He smirked a little.
"Well, first off what's up with the change of attitude? The first time we met you were as scared as a mouse," I grinned.
"That's because I had a very badass-looking girl and her Raptor in my throat," he chuckled, "but I realized you can be quite nice"
"Oh? And how did you realize that?" I inquired.
"Well, I'll admit, me following you around might've not been the best first impression," he said, rubbing his neck, "but you know how it is, orders are orders, right?"
"Mhm," I said, as I looked through a menu, "can't disobey a superior"
"Exactly, or else you get in trouble," he said, "so...will you give me another chance?"
I hummed softly as I peeked from behind the menu, a smirk on my face.
"Alright then, but just if you apologize for following me around like a creep," I said, "it might've been orders, but it's still creepy as hell"
"....Fine then, I'm sorry," he said after a long pause.
I blinked several times. Well, that was easy.
"So...tell me more about yourself, that's why we came after all," I said.
He told me he was 26, and that he joined the military at 17. He fought many wars, but that the Decepticons were an entirely new threat he never saw coming. He wasn't the type of person to believe in aliens or that there was life out there in the universe. He said that he really didn't trust in the government, and how he found it suspicious that from one day to the next they turned their backs on the Bots, on us, but that he really didn't know who to believe since he hadn't worked with the Bots personally, and was out of the country. He came back just when Chicago happened and was transferred here to Japan, to be part of a multi-country military program. He's been here ever since.
We ordered some ice cream and continued the chat. Jackson stated that he had lived in Florida before moving here, and that he had a Labrador Retriever named Buddy. He said that he loved dogs and wanted to open a refuge one day when his military days were finally over.
"That's quite noble of you," I commented, "when do you reckon you'll be able to open it though?" I asked curiously.
"Possibly in a couple of months, when I go back home," he said, "but I'll need funds and whatnot"
"Yeah, well...I wish you luck with that," I said. I might still be skeptical about trusting him, but that does not mean I can't wish him good luck in whatever future projects he has.
"Thank you," he said, finishing his ice cream, "you know, I thought this would go way differently than it has gone up until now"
"Really? How so?" I asked as I took a spoonful of ice cream and ate it.
"I dunno, that I'd say something wrong or accidentally offend you, ending with you blasting me off to space," he said, scratching the back of his head.
I stared at him for several moments before bursting out laughing.
"Really? You think I'm that short-tempered?!" I laughed.
"I mean, you have alien weapons, and a robot Velociraptor, wouldn't it be reasonable to be at least just a bit nervous?"
"I guess..." I chuckled as I calmed down.
"Speaking of space though...I wanted to ask you something, if I may," he said.
"Go ahead," I shrugged. The meeting had gone well up until then, surely he couldn't mess up near the end, could he?
"Well, from what I've heard you have a strong bond with the Autobots," he said, "and...well...you see..."
He reached over to his backpack and opened it. I tensed, sliding one of my hands to my hidden gun belt but keeping a serene and calm face as I finished eating my dessert. I watched him carefully, studying all of his movements, ready for any attempt of attacking. Any human weapon was no match for my own alien weapons. I could beat him quite easily if he attempted anything. It was then that he began speaking again.
"...I was wondering if...if you'd let me near them..."
Try anything, I dare you.
"Because..."
I'm ready! Bring it!
"I'm a photographer"
...Wait, what?
He gave me a small smile as he took out a camera out of his backpack
"A photographer?" I asked, keeping one hand in my gun belt.
"Yeah, that's a hobby of mine, and well, I'd love to take a picture of the Autobots, and of you with them, if you're alright with that," he said.
"That's...kind of an odd request..."
"Yeah, well...I was hoping you'd say yes-"
"I-"
KABOOM!