I had entirely forgotten about the device Ratchet had given me to track the Bots, and I was pretty surprised when I found it hidden at the bottom of one of my old backpacks.
This gave me an idea of how to keep track of Rory and Arya.
"Hey, Ratch!" I called as I walked into his room. It was empty except for a long, transformer-sized table with medical equipment on it. "You got a minute?"
"Of course Ash, what is it that you need?" He asked as he turned to face me.
"I need a small favor, remember this?" I asked, holding up the watch-like device.
"Oh, yes I do, why?" He asked as he lowered himself to inspect it, "has it broken down?"
"Well, no, but I'd like to put a chip on Razor, Rory, and Arya, do you think you could help me out?" I said as I looked at Razor, who gurgled quietly and glanced at Ratchet warily, just like a dog that knew that it was going to the vet.
"Of course kiddo, we can start right now if you want," he offered, much to my content.
"Alright! I'll bring the other two"
I ran back to my lot and brought Arya and Rory with me, rushing out with them in my arms only to bump into someone. I huffed and stumbled back, clutching my critters tightly. Rory squeaked and Arya growled at the person who had bumped into us.
"Watch it!" I said, my eyes widening slightly as I recognized Jackson. "What are you doing here?"
"Doing my rounds, some of the soldiers were asked to join security and guard the area," he shrugged, seeming unfazed by my slightly annoyed tone, "some people still don't like the aliens, you know? Better to prevent-"
"Than to lament," I sighed, "yeah...thanks, I guess," I eyed him, "are you sure you ain't following me around like a creep though?"
"Absolutely sure," he said, crossing his arms, "are you sure you aren't the one following me?"
"What would I want with you? I don't see any reason why I'd be following you around of all humans," I said, crossing my arms as well, "you don't have anything I want, and besides, you seem quite the boring person"
He gasped dramatically.
"How dare you insult me like that! I am anything but boring," he said.
"Oh really? So you admit to being a creep that follows me around as well?" I grinned.
"I never said that," he protested in a bit of a more serious tone now.
"You said 'I'm anything but boring', therefore you admit to being a creep," I pointed out.
"That's not what I meant," he said, placing his hands on his hips in frustration.
"Yeah? Then prove it," I dared, furrowing my brows.
"Alright then, tomorrow at 5 in the cafeteria on the second floor. I'll prove I am not a creep, and we'll see how interesting you find me after you get to know me"
"And how do I know this isn't a complicated plan to kidnap me instead?" I asked.
"You don't know, but it doesn't hurt to try new things now does it?"
...Well he had a point.
However, I merely shrugged and waved goodbye. I heard him chuckle and walk away as I headed to Ratch's lot. Arya huffed and climbed into my shoulder to watch him leave, while an unbothered Rory curled up on the opposite shoulder and yawned.
Ratchet began working on putting the chips on both of them after finishing with Razor, who had pretty much behaved despite the stinging sensation the needle probably left. It was harder to keep Arya and Rory under control however as they could shift from small to big in no time at all, and boy did they transform. Ratchet had a very hard time with them: the two squirmed and wriggled under his grasp, on occasion even biting one of his hands. Luckily it was nothing lethal and in the end, he managed to put the chips on them.
Now I just had to follow them when they left that day. I decided to let them do as they pleased in the meantime and went back home to watch a movie.
"So who was that cute guy you were talking with earlier?"
I turned around as I was about to enter my lot, only to find Tess walking towards me.
"Eh, no one important, just an idiot I met a few days earlier," I said dismissively.
"Well, that military uniform makes him look attractive in my opinion," she shrugged, "and didn't he just invite you to a date?"
"Tessa!" I protested, "it ain't a date if I didn't confirm I'd go, plus we just met, I won't fall head over hills for a random I just met. In any case, I'd like to get to know him better before even considering dating," I ranted.
And that's when I realized that we were, in fact, meeting to know him better.
...Fuck.
My face probably gave away what I had just gotten myself into, because Tess began to giggle frantically. I gave her a pouty look and placed the critters down, crossing my arms.
"Well, after we leave I won't see him again anyway, besides, I don't feel like dating just yet," I pointed out, "I still have stuff to figure out"
"Right Ashley, riiiiiight," she chuckled, "anyway, I came here 'cause dad wanted to ask you if you'd come to work on the jeep, he's having some trouble apparently"
"Alright, I'll be heading there soon"
After putting the creatures back, I made sure they all had plenty to eat before heading out with Razor, who wouldn't leave my side after I attempted many times to have him stay at the house. Rex was alright and continued playing around the place, so he was too distracted to see me leaving again, although I did send Tess a message to let her know that Rex was staying in the house in case he needed something. I would also come to check on him every 30 minutes. Luckily for me, he was potty trained.
After getting lost several times I finally found where Cade was working at. It was a garage where the Bots could easily fit in both bipedal and car forms. Several tools were displayed around, and the black jeep was parked on the left side. As I walked over, Cade was leaning over the motor, screwing up a hose.
"Problems with the oil Yeager?" I asked from behind, which made him bump his head into the hood of it.
"Ow~" he grunted as he rubbed his head, "hey Ash, yeah...got some trouble with it...but I think I fixed it"
And just then there was a small popping sound. We both glanced down and some oil began to come out from under the car, forming a puddle. I raised a brow and glanced at him with a smirk.
"Hand me the toolbox, let's get this baby fixed"
We happily worked on the motor of the jeep as well as a few other things that needed to be fixed. I constantly checked on Rex as well as on the critters, who mainly remained asleep during the time I was with Cade, except when they decided to play with Rex.
I'll admit, I preferred to spend time with Cade than with Tess and Shane. All that lovey-dovey affection made me uncomfortable if we were alone. Cade made it more bearable in all honesty, mostly because he tried to keep the cuddling and affections at bay. It was a funny and cute interaction between them. Cute as in he cared and worried about Tess. I wondered why in the beginning Tess couldn't see that and saw Shane as the good guy instead. That's something I'll never understand...
"Cade...?" I called as I worked on the motor, "can I ask you something?"
"Huh? Sure," he said from under the vehicle.
"How...how do you know if a guy likes you?"
BONK!
"OW-"
I quickly poked my head to the side as soon as I heard Cade hit his head. He soon rolled out from under the jeep and rubbed his head as he sat up, looking at me with a raised brow.
"Why? Is someone on the radar?" He asked.
"No, I mean there's this idiot that I've seen a couple of times before, but I'm mostly just curious," I explained.
"Shouldn't you have this conversation with your parents though? Did you ever even have it?" He inquired as he made sure he hadn't cut himself.
"We never really did...between their work, me spending time with the Bots, and then the government hunting us down there wasn't really time to," I shrugged, "I never found it necessary either, but seeing Tess and Shane together just made me curious, and you're an adult, and I feel more comfortable asking you, so..."
"Yeah...I get it now..." he said, going quiet for a second, "well...I guess you just...know. It's kind of like an instinct, when you see this person you feel happy and loved, like it's only the two of you against the world. You feel like...this warm feeling of being the luckiest person in the world...and when you find the right partner, it's...the most beautiful feeling in the world"
"I...see," I said, looking down at the jeep's motor.
"Too cheesy?"
"Nah, you worded it quite nicely" I chuckled softly.
"Well, if you ever need to talk again, let me know, also who's the idiot you've seen before?" He said, rolling back under the jeep.
"Oh, he's American but was transferred to Japan after Chicago. Found him spying on me the other day, and told him to stay away because I could take care of myself," I said with a small smirk, as I continued working as well.
"Well that was quite brave of you," Cade hummed, "is he the guy that you think you like?"
Now it was I who hit her head on the car's hood.
"What? No, a creep who follows me around is the last person I'd date," I said, rubbing my head.
"Fair enough, it doesn't hurt to be careful," he said, "did he apologize?"
"No, he didn't," I said, "I met him again today, and invited me to the cafeteria tomorrow to prove he is not a creep"
"Oh really? That's quite interesting," he said, "do you want me to come with you?" He offered.
"Really? You'd come to make sure that nothing fishy is going on for me?"
"Sure, I mean, you said it yourself, your parents ain't here, and yes, you're capable of fending after yourself, but extra help has never hurt"
While that was true, and I'd normally turn down an offer like that from anyone due to how stubborn I am, I felt I should accept. Yes, I'd have Razor with me just in case, but he was right, having another human -who could use an alien weapon no less- could be the difference in a fight should all of this be a trap.
"Thanks, Cade, I really appreciate your offer, and yes, I'd like you to come with me, the more the better," I said, "I'll be taking Razor for extra protection"
Razor lifted his head at the mention of his name and gurgled in confusion. I chuckled as I looked at him when he approached.
"It's alright, there's no danger right now, see? I'm ok," I said, patting his head, "we're just fixing this jeep so Uncle Cade can have a car of his own," I said with a voice one would normally use to talk to babies.
"Uncle Cade?" He chuckled from under the jeep.
"What? It sounds nice, and besides, you're part of the family now," I said, watching Razor lower his head and sniff under the vehicle to look for Cade.
"I guess so," he said, "thank you, Ashley"
"For what?" I asked, confused.
"For not pulverizing us the chance you got"
"You're welcome," I giggled, "oh, by the way, Cade, after we're done with your jeep do you think you could help me with something I'm working on?"
"Sure, what is it?"
"Well I-"
Suddenly a beeping noise came out of my watch. I opened the map and found Arya and Rory's dots moving across the map, soaring out of the city at an incredible speed. They seemed to be heading to the mountains where the ship had crashed days ago. It had already been moved out of there though, and was being fixed by the Bots, so why would they go there?
I frowned. Something seems out of place here.
"Cade, I'm really sorry, but I have to go"
...
I rode my motorcycle for the most part, but when we reached the forest it became a little more difficult to maneuver around the trees, so I had no other choice but to ride Razor.
As I stated before, riding him was fairly difficult, the main issue being that I didn't know where to hold on to other than his neck, and the smooth metal made it hard to keep a good grip on most of the time, so on occasion, I fell to the ground. Thankfully, aside from a couple of scratches and bruises, I was alright for most of the trip.
When we reached the mountains he went slower to prevent himself and myself from falling to our deaths, something I was thankful for. I kept track of Rory and Arya's location through my device from time to time. They were still in the mountains thankfully, and it didn't take long for us to reach their destination.
It had begun to rain and the rocks were slippery, which made climbing more difficult, even for an alien raptor. It got so bad at one point, that we took refuge in a small cave until the storm calmed down again. I could tell he was getting exhausted, and we would stop to rest from time to time so he wouldn't go over his limits. I could barely feel my hands from the cold and from how tight I grabbed his neck when riding.
We finally climbed a few rocks and did a couple of big jumps before we got to where the critters were. I was soaking wet at that point, but that didn't matter as we looked at the huge cave before us.
It was big and dark, but also somehow inviting, luring us in, which we did. Still on Razor's back, we climbed down the moss-filled rocks until we reached the bottom, the only thing illuminating the place was Razor's red eyes glowing in the dark.
I took out a flashlight, illuminating our surroundings. The cave was huge, and thankfully, dry. Moss grew on the stone ground and small bits of vegetation found their way into the cave as well. The air was filled with humidity and different scents, between them one eerily familiar to me.
Energon.
"Hello?" I called, as Razor walked around and gurgled, as if calling out as well.
A squelching sound was made as Razor took another step forward. I looked down and gasped softly as I saw the rock and moss had a large drop of Energon splattered on them. I got nervous and clutched the flashlight even tighter.
Suddenly, a low growl came from deeper inside the cave, and I lowered myself as close to Razor as possible. I slowly turned my flashlight in the direction of the growling, and found none other than Rory growling at us.
"Rory? Hey, don't worry, it's just us," I said, as Razor took a step forward, much to Rory's disgust it seemed, because he growled louder and blocked our way. I frowned, "what's wrong?"
I noticed more drops of Energon lead towards Rory's direction, and I quickly realized that he was protecting something, or rather, protecting someone.
"Rory, step aside, we can help," I said, as Razor again attempted to move forward, but the same happened and Rory wouldn't let us through. We attempted several times, but still nothing. Frustrated, I slid down Razor and walked towards Rory.
"Rory, ENOUGH!" I yelled, setting my foot down in anger and frustration.
Razor roared after I told Rory to stop, which seemed to intimidate the alien, as his ears were pinned down and he let out a whimper.
Then there was a rumble type of growl. Rory glanced back and chirped, seeming to forget about us and rush to the back of the cave. Now confused, wet, tired, and slightly annoyed, I decided to follow, making sure Razor stayed close.
I abruptly fell to the ground, tripping on something and letting go of the flashlight. I cried out in surprise, the moss softening my landing. I grunted and rubbed my sore arms before sitting up to look at what I had tripped on.
A metal root.
No, not a root
A tail
I grabbed my flashlight again as Razor nuzzled me and checked if I was ok. I flashed the light on the metal tail and followed it up to a body, a big body...and then to a face.
The T-Rex Optimus rode.
I gasped as he opened his eyes to look at me, lifting his massive head and huffing, a puff of smoke coming out of his nostrils as he shook his head and yawned, looking at me once again with an unreadable expression.
Something else stirred in the cave. I moved my flashlight and illuminated the surroundings, finding the rest of the dinosaurs waking up as well. I took a few nervous steps back, bumping into one of the T-Rex's feet. I froze momentarily as all of them looked at me, with Razor standing protectively beside me. When my initial shock was over, I finally spoke.
"What are you all doing here...? Why haven't you left-?"
Suddenly I saw the trail of Energon drops on the floor, the same one that we had been following. I looked at it worriedly and slowly followed it to one of the dinosaurs, the Spinosaur, Spike, if I recalled correctly.
I moved slowly, so as to not look aggressive, and approached the predator. His head remained on the ground, and he growled lowly as I approached. I stopped momentarily, but when he closed his eyes again I proceeded to climb on top of his tail and jump down the other side, gasping in horror as a large hole was pierced on his side, Energon oozing from it.
"What..."
"Who...who did this to you?"
I lightly touched the scorched metal, glancing at Spike as he let out a cry of pain and attempted to move away, almost kicking me in the process.
"Hey, hey! Easy, easy Spike!" I said, staggering back and trying to calm him down.
The T-Rex stood up and growled at me in alarm. Razor stood between us and gurgled and screeched, his tail lashing and his claw tapping against the moss. The Rex gave a surprised look at Razor's protective behavior and huffed in response. The Raptor hissed and chirped, glancing back at him and then at me with a chirp. I stood there frozen, afraid that a wrong move would cost me a limb, or worse, my life. The T-Rex looked at me one last time before laying down again, still eyeing me from time to time.
I slowly approached Spike's head then, noticing a wound in his snout that seemed the product of a large bullet that had grazed the metal. Luckily it hadn't pierced deep enough to cause Energon to leak out of it.
Just then, I saw movement from the corner of my eye. I pointed my flashlight in the direction I thought I saw something move, and realized Arya was licking the hole on Spike's side, healing some of it as she did.
"Your saliva is capable of healing wounds...impressive..." I whispered in amazement as I continued watching for a few moments before checking the rest of the dinosaurs.
The flier seemed fine...the Trike had a few scratches and a wound that seemed to have been caused by an explosion of some sort, like a grenade but a little stronger. The T-Rex had a bleeding wound on his leg, another on his back, and a third one on his neck.
Arya couldn't heal them...not all of them. I could tell that healing even a small portion of Spike's huge wound drained her energy considerably.
"I didn't bring any medical equipment with me...I didn't think it necessary...but this should give you some strength..." I said, holding out a piece of meat I had brought for Razor.
The T-Rex sniffed it and seemed to hesitate before taking a bite out of it, then seemed to like it and ate the rest. I took out another piece and gave it to Spike, who shared it with the Pteranodon. The Trike peacefully ate the moss around the cave.
I watched them eat in silence, sitting down a little away from them with Razor sniffing my bag for more food, finding my ham sandwich, and eating it. I chuckled softly before my smile faded and I leaned against the Raptor as I looked at the other Dinobots.
I was worried, more than I had been the past few days.
Whoever did this, whoever hurt the Dinobots, could easily hurt the Bots with ease.