I fell to the ground soon after the gunshot. I heard Ratchet order Hound to close the ramp as Sideswipe cursed and shot at the soldier that had remained in the hangar. I felt the ship take off and obliterate the hangar's roof and scuttle, making the ship shake.
"Ashley!" Cade yelled as he ran to me, checking me over.
"I'm alright-" I groaned as I sat up, looking down and finding no injuries.
To my surprise, Jackson was now laying down in front of me, unconscious.
A bullet in his abdomen.
"GET THE MED KIT!" I yelled at Cade as I turned Jackson over to inspect his wound better.
He...he saved me.
Cade soon returned with the medical kit so we could treat him. Thankfully the bullet had perforated and exited his body, which caused less damage than if it would've stayed inside.
I quickly got to work, cleaning the wound and stopping the bleeding. I used a lighter and a needle from the kit to stitch the injury to the best of my abilities before bandaging him up. By the end, my shirt and hands were covered with blood.
"He should be fine..." I said after we moved him to another part of the ship where we would be resting.
"Are you sure you are ok, though?" Cade asked.
I sighed shakily.
"I will be...this isn't the first time someone tried to kill me, remember?" I said, looking at the scar on my arm. "I'll go get cleaned, can you keep an eye on him?"
"Sure thing"
I smiled and walked a few minutes around the ship before finding a small pool of clear blue water. It looked like a giant sapphire, and for a few moments I wondered if it was safe, so I decided to consult the Bots before anything else, and they confirmed it was safe for humans after a quick scan. I was curious as to what the pool was used for before we took over. Side watched over me as I washed my hands and arms.
"That was close," he mumbled.
"It was," I sighed, "but hey, I'm ok, ain't I?" I smiled, but it quickly faded as I noticed Side's expression, "Side...?"
"You could've gotten badly hurt, Ashley, or worse, dead, and I-" he paused, "I don't know what I'd do if that happened..."
I looked at him sadly and approached him, placing a hand on his arm, which made him turn to look at me. He seemed troubled, his usually goofy and sarcastic self vaporized into a figure of worry and fear.
"Side, you want to know the truth...? I'm not ok...I was just as scared as you were...just like I was back when Savoy threatened to kill me...I thought I would die...and in front of you guys no less..." I let out a shaky sigh, "just because someone smiles...doesn't mean that they're ok..." I whispered, pressing my forehead against his arm and closing my eyes, "I'm scared, ok? Not of just dying, or of ever seeing my parents again, I'm terrified of losing all of you...first to Cemetery Wind and now to these... these bastards..." I gulped down a lump in my throat, "we lost Iron Hide...and I nearly lost Ratchet...I don't want you to die..."
"I don't want you to die either..." Side whispered, gently moving his arm and picking me up.
"I thought I had...gotten over this fear...but Cemetery Wind was destroyed and the Chinese government was working with the American government...Tessa and Shane left for college...everything was going well...and now this?" I sighed, leaning against his hand, "when will it ever stop? When will we stop fighting?"
"I...don't know Ashley," Side said, "but...what I do know, is that we'll always have each other's back..." he gave me a small smile, brushing my hair gently, "won't we?"
"Yeah...we will..."I whispered.
"I...hope I ain't interrupting?"
I opened my eyes and looked at Bee as he entered. Side seemed to roll his optics slightly at the interruption, setting me down as Bumblebee approached.
"What is it, Bee?" I asked.
"Crosshairs found something related to the humans," he said, "you might want to check it out"
I changed to a new shirt and disposed of the blood-tainted one with the lighter and some alcohol I had brought. Me, Bee, and Side walked to the control room back where there was some information displayed on one of the panels.
"Transformers Reaction Force," Crosshairs said, "also known as TRF, they're tasked with eradicating any Transformers that remain on Earth, whether it be Autobot, Decepticon, or any other of our kind"
"Along with any human that sympathizes and helps them," Ratch sighed, looking at me, "don't worry, we located your parents, they're ok, how are you feeling?"
"I'm alive...that's what matters..." I said, sighing in relief hearing that they were fine, "are they affiliated with a specific government? Why did they appear until now?"
"Cemetery Wind was the main team before them, they were the priority," Crosshairs said, "these bastards were, what humans would call, a 'Plan B'. They're independent and don't work for any government."
"However, they seem to be allied with most of the countries up until now, some are still indecisive," Drift chimed in.
"How powerful are they?" I asked
"Very..." Bee said.
"Alright, this ain't good..." I mumbled, "let's get the Dinobots and..." I sighed, glancing away.
"Ashley?" Side frowned.
"Guys, wouldn't it be best...if all of you left?" I asked, "once the Dinobots are on board, you can leave me, Cade, and Jackson somewhere safe and you all can leave to another planet...you'd be safe..."
"Ashley, no, we'll stick together till the end," Side said firmly, "right, Ratchet?"
"I agree, Optimus would never want us to abandon our human friends, you've said it repeatedly Ashley, we're family, and we don't abandon family," Ratchet replied.
I smiled a little, although I was still as worried as one could be. I was thankful for having friends like them.
"Alright then, we'll find a safe place for all of us once we have the Dinobots, and then-"
"Then we'll crush TRF's ass just like we beat Cemetery Wind to a pulp," Side grinned.
"Sounds like we have a plan," I said.
"Let's get out of here as soon as we can then," Ratchet agreed.
...
I retreated to our small corner of the ship with Cade, keeping an eye on an unconscious Jackson. I sighed as I looked out the capsule, looking at the forest below.
"How was it?" Cade asked after an eternity of silence.
"How was what?" I asked him, glancing sideways at him.
"When you first met the Bots, and Bee, how was it?" He asked.
"Terrifying at first...they were aliens and we didn't know what they wanted...and it was hard to communicate with Bee because he barely knew how to use his radio back then," I chuckled, "but we understood something. They weren't invading us, they just...wanted a home"
He hummed softly as a reply, and we went quiet again before he spoke once again.
"If you don't mind me asking, who's Sam?"
I sighed.
"He was one of the first humans of this century to have contact with the Autobots aside from me," I replied, "we were young, roughly teenagers, he was my best friend. He and his first girlfriend, Mikaela, were my friends. We discovered the Autobots together," I said, "if it weren't for them, I wouldn't be here today," I sighed once again, "Sam died...and I stayed in contact with Mikaela before Cemetery Wind began hunting us down. I also talked with his wife on occasion before all of this, his son should be around...13 or 14 by now, I'm not sure"
"He had a son?"
"Yes..."
"And yet..."
"They killed him, I know, that's...why I don't trust people easily anymore, because they can easily stab you in the back," I mumbled, looking back at the scenery.
"Not all of them are bad though"
"I agree..." I said, glancing at him, "not all of them, but they are rare"
We suddenly heard a groan and glanced over at Jackson, who began to wake up. I glanced at Cade before walking over and sitting down next to the injured soldier.
"You're finally awake," I said as he slowly opened his eyes.
"What happened...?" He croaked out, his voice a little hoarse, as if in need of water.
"You saved me, is what happened, one of the soldiers tried to shoot me but you threw me out of the way," I explained, grabbing a bottle of water and helping him drink from it, "you're quite the hero"
"Well..." he said after finishing his water, "you have a family that needs you, you couldn't just go like that...they need you, I wouldn't be missed much"
"You bloody idiot..." I chuckled, then turned serious, "thank you, really"
"There's nothing to thank, it's our duty to protect the people from any threat that would endanger their lives," he forced a weak smile.
I smiled back.
"You said you had a dog named Buddy? I'm sure we could try to get him," I offered, "because...you're gonna be a fugitive from now on..."
"I figured as much..." he sighed, wincing, "he's back in Florida with my brother, but I'd rather they stayed out of all of this"
"Are you sure?" I asked
"Positive..."
"Alright, well...try to rest some more, we have a long journey ahead and you need to heal," I said.
He nodded and closed his eyes. I stood up and was about to head over to my sleeping bag when the ship suddenly shook violently. I cried out, surprised, and held on to a wall as the sounds of explosions were heard.
"What's going on?!" I asked, looking at Cade as he clutched a metal bar tightly.
"What the hell is going on now?!" He said, as the shaking ceased. We looked at each other and ran out to the control room, ignoring Jackson's confused yelling.
"They've found us!" Side said as Crosshairs ran out of the room, "Crosshairs is heading to the armory to retaliate, but one of the motors is already damaged"
"Will we make it out of China?!" I asked alarmingly.
"Yes, but we won't be able to go into space anymore!" Hound called from what I assumed was the weaponry, "so even if we wanted to leave, we can't!"
"We'll also go at a slower pace, which means that it will take longer to get to the mainland," Drift informed.
"You humans stay in the capsule, we'll handle the helicopters, Ashley, we'll call you if we need extra hands," Ratchet ordered. I reluctantly nodded and ran back with Cade and Razor, isolating ourselves in the capsule with Cade.
We could see the helicopters whisk by and shoot at us with missiles and bullets alike, making the ship shake violently every so often. We witnessed how the Bots fought and took down a couple of helicopters, to the point where they tricked two into colliding with each other. As we reached the mountains we used them to our advantage, maneuvering the ship between the peaks and cliffs, and helicopter after helicopter crashed and exploded.
I wished I could help further, but I doubted I could manage any of the weapons that were in the ship, like a giant machine gun, I wouldn't even reach the handle, and the bullets would crush me for sure.
I staggered back as one of the remaining helicopters shot a missile at the window in the capsule, making me stumble and fall to the ground. Thankfully this was not Earth glass, and was stronger than the missile was. As the smoke from the explosion outside cleared up, I watched as out of nowhere the metallic Pteranodon dived towards the helicopter and split it in half with its beaks.
I then heard a distant roar, and before long the T-Rex joined the fight, leaping from one of the peaks and biting down on a helicopter, landing on a patch of grass below the ship.
With the help of the two dinosaurs, the remaining helicopters were gone and destroyed entirely.
I clutched Razor tightly as the ship continued shaking for several moments after the last missile was shot, but soon it stopped and peace once more reigned in the alien vehicle. I sighed in relief and looked at Cade, Jackson, and Razor to make sure that they were alright, and with Cade's help I stood back up and headed back to the control room.
"Follow them, they'll lead us to the rest, then we can leave the country and find a sanctuary for all of us," Ratchet ordered Hound.
...
The ship landed not too far away from the cave, and it was soon time to hike up to it once again.
We assembled a team to go retrieve the Dinobots, including me, Ratchet, Drift, and Crosshairs. Side protested but Ratchet insisted on him staying to guard the ship with Bee and Hound. Cade also stayed behind to look after Jackson and assist them if they needed help repairing something on the ship.
I clutched Razor's reins tightly as the Rex guided us to the rest of the Dinobots. I gulped down and looked down uneasily at the ground far below, reminding myself once again I would never practice rock climbing as a sport even if I was paid for it.
"We have to be quick; we don't know if they will come back with reinforcements," Ratchet said.
"Not comforting at all Ratch..." I said.
"I'm sorry, but it's the truth"
I sighed as we continued climbing up, our feet slipping on occasion and consequently startling the group as we thought one of us nearly fell. To make matters worse, it began to rain, causing the dirt to turn into mud, and hence making it ten times more slippery than before. And to make our luck worse, thunder started striking near us.
I hate thunderstorms.
"Eep!" I flinched as one hit dangerously close to us. The fact that I was surrounded by metallic beings was...everything but reassuring as well.
"That was quite a funny noise," Crosshairs grinned.
"Shut up..."
We finally made it to the cave after various slips, trips, and jump scares. I offered to stand guard as Razor and the others got the Dinos out of the cave. I knew some of them would need help, judging by their injuries from my previous visit.
I remained inside the cave's entrance, hearing the distant voices from the Bots along with the Dinos' own growls, gurgles, screeches, and chirps. I sighed as I took out Sniper Bite and kept watching, glancing at our surroundings as the rain continued to fall.
It was then that I noticed a light in the distance.
I frowned and quickly took cover, watching a large helicopter pass by before it landed on the peak of the cliff where the cave was situated. I peeked out and was instantly met by bullets, not even being able to locate exactly where our enemies were. I clutched my weapon tightly and hid behind a rock.
"GUYS! WE GOT COMPANY!" I yelled.
Drift and Crosshairs quickly came to the entrance, taking a step out and quickly retreating as bullets rained down on them. I noticed with dismay that these bullets could, in fact, penetrate Cybertronian metal. I winced seeing Drift's shoulder bleed and looked out into the rain as they took cover as well.
"What are we going to do?!" I asked, glancing at the two warriors.
"I'm not sure," Crosshairs grunted, "if I could get to the ship, one of its missiles could easily take them down"
"They are not too far away, we must decide what to do now," Drift said.
"One of us has to distract them so the others can get to the ship..." I concluded after a few moments of silence.
"I got an idea," Drift said, "but Ratchet might not like it"
"Because...it includes you"
~•~
"Hold on!" The soldier in charge said as the rest of his squadron prepared to shoot, "it seems they have decided to surrender," he grinned as he saw a young female figure edging out of the entrance with her hands raised.
"Do not underestimate them Agent, they can be smarter than they look," a male robotic voice warned.
"Yes Sir, I'll be careful," the soldier murmured as the soldiers climbed down and retrieved the young girl, tying up her hands with a pair of hand cuffs and bringing her forward, making the leader grin.
"Well well well...what do we have here?" He said, as she was brought to her knees and he forced her to look at him, "if it isn't the little traitor"
"Untie me and I'll show you how 'little' damage I can do," she spat, writhing under his grasp.
"It seems we got a little wild tigress here," the leader mocked as he let go, making the soldiers surrounding them chuckle, "and do you know what we do to wild tigers like you?"
The femme frowned and glared daggers at the male as he got closer to her, inches away from her face.
"I cage them up and kill the-"
It would've been quite the epic line, if it weren't for the fact that the young woman took the opportunity to bite down hard on his nose and clench her jaws tightly on his flesh. A couple of soldiers laughed while others alarmingly attempted to pry her off, but her bite was as strong as a bulldog's.
It took several minutes to finally have the young adult release the leader, using the combined strength of several more soldiers after the laughing ones calmed down and went to their commander's aid. The male in charge snarled in utter anger and growled as the young woman was pried off of him and blood seeped from the piece of flesh that was now missing.
"You surely taste horrible," the girl mocked as she spit out blood and flesh.
"You sure have the guts to do that, bitch!" He scowled, clutching his now bleeding nose tightly, "YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT!!!"
"Sir!" Another soldier called from the helicopter. "They have escaped!"
The leader cursed and turned to the soldier.
"WHAT?!"
"According to the thermal readings, they're no longer in the cave sir, they're gone!"
"Didn't they tell you during training that you have to pay attention to your surroundings?" The girl grinned.
"I DON'T CARE IF THEY'RE GONE! WE HAVE YOU! ONE SIMPLE MISTAKE AND WE WILL-!!!"
Just then, the ground shook and lightning struck in the distance. The air seemed to grow thicker all of a sudden, and the soldiers clutched their weapons tightly as they looked around in confusion. Some cursed, others prayed, while a few fled to one of the helicopters and took refuge there.
The alien spaceship floated menacingly up to the peak where the soldiers were. From a canon underneath the ship, a silver Transformer let out an enraged cry of anger and began shooting mercilessly, making soldiers either flee or fall to the ground, whilst the survivors and braver ones took cover and attempted to shoot.
While this happened, the 'prisoner' had not hesitated to take cover behind a rock, not too far away from the ship, whose ramp had begun to lower, revealing a human figure, and another Transformer standing to the side.
"ASHLEY, COME ON!"
The leader of the squadron yelled angrily at his soldiers, commanding them to get the prisoner. Not wanting to risk their lives however, none even dared to move or risk getting shot by the massive bullets that the ship's cannon fired.
The girl took the chance to flee at a very small gap in which no more bullets were shot. The commander cursed and attempted to run after her himself, but just then even more fire was shot against them, making him fall back and take cover.
The girl ran straight to the cliff's edge, making a leap of faith and jumping into the air, landing on the ramp of the ship and rolling inside just as the alien ship closed off, leaving an angered commander cursing at his soldiers.
~•~
"I hope everyone saw that because never in a million years will I ever be doing it again!" I said as Razor licked my cheek and the group cheered.
"That was brave of you lass!" Hound said.
"You rock!" Bee punched the air in triumph.
"I told ya you'd make it tough girl," Crosshair chuckled.
"That was an insanely dangerous plan, distracting them for us to sneak out camouflaged..." Ratchet said, making all of us go silent, "but...somewhat efficient, good job Ash"
"Never scare me like that again Bluebeam!" Side said as he scooped me up and poked me playfully.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! It was all last minute! But I promise I won't pull a stunt like that again," I giggled, "although whether I keep that promise or not is another issue"
"Ashley!" Side said, making the rest laugh as he placed me down on his shoulder.
The ship soon flew away from the mountains and headed to the ocean to leave China for once and for all. The Dinobots had already been treated by Ratchet and Cade and Jackson were resting in our capsule. I watched the majestic sunset with Razor curled up beside me before hearing Ratchet approach from behind.
"So, where are we going Bluebeam?" He asked
I smiled.
"We're going home"