Ratchet finished closing the bridge and made sure all was still well with the transmissions of the collar. "So far so good."
"Optimus to Ratchet, do you read?" Prime's voice came through the commlink.
"Ratchet to Optimus, loud and clear. The collar's transmissions are still steady as usual, and I have a visual on all of you." The doc-bot answered.
"Copy. Keep radio communication to a minimum. We don't want the Decepticons noticing our presence aboard. Over." Optimus silently gave orders to his team and they moved out, in search of their ally. Swiftly and silently taking down guards along the way when needed. Ratchet had given them the location to the laboratory with the help of the map, before they bridged onto the ship.
However, without the Autobots noticing, the kids were aboard the ship as well, armed with a tracking software Raf had programmed on his phone. They were following the signal that the collar was transmitting, believing it to still be on Zucky's neck.
Ratchet noticed the kids were being very silent at the moment. He turned to face them. "Don't worry, Team Prime will deliver our friend from the clutches of Megatron. You can count on...? Where are the kids??" He panicked when he noticed it was only Nurse Darby standing there and no sign of the children. She looked around. "Oh? Oh-No..." Seeing that even their favorite hangout spot was empty, it could only mean one thing; "T-they're aboard the ship!"
"Oh, for the love of Solus Prime..." Ratchet pinched his enstrill. "And I can't break radio silence now. Prime and the others are on a stealth mission."
Ratchet quickly weighed his options, knowing that the safety of the children was paramount, but also aware of the delicate situation with the Decepticons. He couldn't risk compromising the Autobots' mission, but he also couldn't leave the kids unprotected on the Decepticon ship.
"Nurse Darby, stay here and monitor the communications. I'll track down the children and ensure their safety," Ratchet instructed, his voice firm with resolve.
June nodded in understanding, her expression reflecting her concern for both the children and the Autobots. "Be careful, Ratchet. And bring them back safely."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With a determined nod, Ratchet opened up the groundbridge set off through the corridors of the Decepticon ship. With the bridge closed behind him, his sensors started scanning for any sign of the children. Pretty soon he picked up the frequency emitted by their cellphones and he moved swiftly and silently, his processor calculating the best route to their location without alerting the Decepticons to his presence.
Meanwhile, the children moved cautiously through the ship, their eyes fixed on Raf's phone screen as it displayed the signal from Zucky's collar. They navigated through the corridors with a mixture of fear and determination, their hearts pounding with adrenaline as they searched for their friend.
Suddenly, Raf's phone emitted a soft ping, indicating that they were getting closer to the collar's signal. They exchanged glances, their excitement mounting as they realized they were nearing their goal.
But their elation was short-lived as they rounded a corner and came face to face with a group of Decepticon guards. Panic surged through them as they scrambled to find cover, their minds racing with fear.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back at the Autobot base, June monitored the communications anxiously, her heart pounding with worry for the safety of the children and the Autobots alike. She knew that every moment was crucial, and she prayed that Ratchet would find the children before it was too late.
"June?" A voice startled the nurse out of her thoughts. "AH?!" She turns around and finds that it's just Agent Fowler. He entered the base through the elevator, but the nurse was too distracted to notice him. "Oh, Goodness Bill, you startled me..." She held a hand to her chest trying to calm herself.
"Sorry...Where's the Autobots?" The government agent apologized.
"They're on a mission," June replied, her voice tense with worry. "Trying to rescue Zucky from the Decepticons."
Agent Fowler's expression darkened with concern. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
June shook her head. "Not at the moment. We're just waiting for updates."
Fowler nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation. "Well, if there's anything I can do, just let me know."
"Thank you, Bill," June said gratefully, offering him a small smile before returning her attention to the communications console.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, aboard the Decepticon ship, Ratchet moved stealthily through the corridors, his sensors guiding him towards the children's location. He remained vigilant, his optics scanning for any sign of danger as he closed in on their position.
As the children crouched behind makeshift cover, they watched with bated breath as the Decepticon guards patrolled the area, their movements erratic and unpredictable. Raf's heart raced in his chest as he tried to think of a plan, his mind racing with adrenaline-fueled panic.
{"We need to find a way past them,"} Raf whispered urgently to his friends, his voice barely audible over the sound of their pounding hearts.
Miko nodded, her expression determined. {"I have an idea, but we'll have to move fast."}
With a silent nod of agreement, the children prepared to make their move, their hearts pounding with fear and determination as they braced themselves for the dangerous task ahead.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zucky eyed Knockout for any signs that he was jesting about the experiment he was about to conduct with the energon cubes. There was none.
"And here you thought you could hide it from us?" The Red con asked and took a piece of polished metal and showed the dragon her reflection. Indeed, her eyes had not stopped glowing since she last checked in the walls of the cage.
"S-so what if my eyes are glowing? It's probably from radiation poisoning or something. Like I said..." She felt like she was repeating herself like a broken record.
"Very well..." Knockout wasn't about to make much effort on his part to convince her to cooperate. He typed a line of code into the computer that summoned the restraints again. With the prisoner restrained, he opened the cage and removed the snack bags. "I tried to be nice, but I guess we're not there quite just yet." He took one of the tiny cubes and placed it into the cage with Zucky. Though it looked more like a 64 cubic inch cube to her. After typing another line of code into the computer, the cage was closed and the restraints were removed. "But I'm not a monster, so I'll leave you with a little bit of sustenance in case you get hungry."
Zucky scowled and growled at him. The con medic didn't pay her any mind and continued about his duties as usual.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hearing the sounds of pedsteps in the adjacent hallway, the Vehicon guards' attention was lured away from the children's hiding spot.
{"Oh? Nevermind then..."} Miko was surprised that the situation seemed to have solved itself.
{"Go,go,go!"} Jack urged them to hurry as the guards could turn right back at any second. Miko and Raf follow close behind as they hop into a vent to avoid being in the same situation again.
{"Now what?"} Miko wasn't sure they were going to get to zucky fast eneough through the vents.
{"Hold on..."} Raf typed a code in his phone and the program recalibrated a route that would take them through the vents towards the collar. {"That way."} He started moving in the direction indicated, and the others followed.
Meanwhile the guards were met with a surprise in white and orange. Thinking quickly on his peds, he dispatched the two decepticons with his daggers and dragged their remains into an alcove. Peeking around to make sure her wasn't seen, he quickly and silently followed the frequency of Raf's phone, only to realise they were now in the vents, out of his reach. "Scrap."
With a frustrated growl, Ratchet continued to follow the signal emitted by the children's phones, his processor working overtime to devise a new plan to reach them. As he moved through the corridors, he remained vigilant, his sensors scanning for any signs of danger or approaching Decepticons.
Meanwhile, inside the vents, the children moved swiftly and silently, their hearts pounding with adrenaline as they navigated the narrow passages. Raf's phone emitted a soft glow, illuminating their path as they followed the recalibrated route towards Zucky's collar signal.
Suddenly, they reached a fork in the vents, unsure which direction to take next. Raf furrowed his brow in concentration as he studied the map on his phone, trying to determine the best course of action.
"We need to go left," Raf said finally, his voice determined. "According to the map, that should lead us directly to Zucky."
Miko and Jack nodded in agreement, their trust in Raf's technological expertise unwavering. With a silent nod, they followed Raf as he led the way through the dark and winding passages of the vents.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zucky with her sensitive hearing, heard the unusual sounds coming from elsewhere in the ship. Clanking and banging, normally despite their nature the decepticon was practically calm and quiet most of the time, besides the ambient noise. She listened closely, but tried not to make it too obvious to Knockout.
Elsewhere in the ship, team Prime was almost about to reach the laboratory. Arcee leading the ambush with her small frame and stealthy combat expertise, while Bumblebee, Optimus and Bulkhead provided backup.
Security was tighter in this particular area of the ship, given the sensitive intelligence that's available on the ship's computers.
Meanwhile Megatron noticed he's haven't heard much of Autobot activity in a while, which is strange, considering how desperate Optimus was to get Zucky back on the battlefield. Something was not right. He made his way towards the helm of his ship, accompanied by his guards. When he got there, he noticed that the place was empty. Which is odd.
With an enraged look on his face, he turned to his guards. "Where is my surveillance team?!"
The vehicons quickly run to the computers, typing up commands to call up a surveillance window with camera feed from all over the ship. "Lord Megatron, The--"
There was a loud knocking on the door. The guards quickly raised their weapons, ready to fight. Megatron too prepared for battle. The door opened and an injured Vehicon fell through the doorway.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Megatron grabbed the decepticon by the throat and demanded an answer.
The bot could barely speak, "Autobots....Stealth...Ambush...." Before he gave up his spark.
Megatron's optics narrowed with fury as he processed the information. The revelation that the Autobots had launched a stealth ambush on his ship sent a surge of anger coursing through his circuits. His grip tightened on the dead Vehicon's throat, his rage boiling over at the audacity of his enemies.
"Autobots... on my ship?!" Megatron's voice rumbled with barely contained fury, his optics blazing with a fierce intensity. "Prepare the troops. I want every available unit mobilized to hunt them down. No mercy."
The Vehicons nodded in response, fear flickering in their optics as they scrambled to carry out Megatron's orders. With a vent to collect himself and get a hold of his emotions, the Decepticon leader released his grip on the Vehicon, allowing his husk to collapse to the floor in a heap.
"Sound the alarm. Lock down the ship. And find those Autobots!" Megatron's voice boomed through the ship, echoing with authority as he prepared to face the threat head-on.
Meanwhile, aboard the Decepticon ship, Team Prime pressed on towards their objective, unaware of the chaos unfolding around them. Until they heard the enraged roar of the warlord echo through the ship as he barked out orders to his minions. The Autobots glanced at eachother, realising that their cover has been blown. Their weapons at the ready as they prepared to engage any Decepticon forces they will soon encounter.
Back in the vents, the children pressed on towards Zucky's location, their hearts pounding with fear and adrenaline as they navigated the dark and winding passages. Raf led the way, his fingers flying over his phone screen as he followed the signal from Zucky's collar with unwavering focus.
Suddenly, they heard the distant sound of alarms blaring throughout the ship, sending a shiver of fear down their spines. Miko's eyes widened in terror as she realized the gravity of the situation.
"Oh no... they know we're here," she whispered, her voice trembling with fear.
Raf's jaw tightened with determination as he pushed himself to move faster, his mind racing with thoughts of their impending confrontation with the Decepticons.
"We have to keep moving," he said, his voice firm with resolve. "Zucky's depending on us."
With renewed determination, the children pressed on through the vents, their hearts pounding with fear and adrenaline as they braced themselves for whatever dangers lay ahead.
Soon the sounds of blairing alarms and the scrambling of the troops awoke Soundwave from his recharge slumber. Clearly he cannot catch a break and leave the surveillance to the vehicons alone. He quickly got up and made his way through the halls towards the helm of the ship, to carry out whatever orders Megatron needs him to.
The children have finally reached the room where Zucky's collar was transmitting from. They peeked through the vent openings and saw it was a room with a recharging chamber.
{"Wait a minute, this looks like a berthroom. You know, where the bots retreat to rest?"} Jack was surprised.
{"But I dont see Zucky anywhere."} Miko added.
{"H-Hold on, uh...."} Raf kept moving his phone around he room to get a better fix on where the signal is coming from. Then his phone indicates to a container on a table in the farthest corner of the room. {"There, on the table!"}
{"Ah, no...It's high up out of reach!"} Miko groans.
{"We'll have to try and get up there somehow. Come on, we'll stand on eachother's shoulders."} Jack took one last look around and removed the vent cover. He jumped out and helped Miko and Raf out of the vent. Once they were accounted for, they made their way to the table and proceeded with the plan. Miko climbed on Jack's shoulders, and then Raf on hers.
As Miko stood precariously on Jack's shoulders, her hands reached out towards Raf to help him up upon her own shoulders. Raf balanced himself carefully on Miko's shoulders, his eyes fixed on the container the container on the table, his hands stretching desperately in an attempt to reach the edge of the table, where the source of Zucky's signal was located. He directed her movements.
{"Almost there... just a little farther,"} Raf urged, his voice filled with determination.
With a final stretch, Raf's fingers brushed against the table, his heart pounding with anticipation as he grasped hold of it tightly. With a triumphant shout, he lifted himself up onto the table and reached the container. Pushing it, he noticed that it was incredibly light for something his friend might be trapped in.
{"H-hey! It's light!"} Getting it down from its perch, he pushed a button on the side, causing it to open, revealing Zucky's collar nestled inside. {"Zucky's not here?! Just her collar..."}
He picked up the collar and returned back to his friends and climbed back down from the table.
{"What?? All that for nothing?!"} Miko couldn't believe it.
Jack had a bad feeling about this. {"Then we better get outta here, this might be a decoy, a trap or something."}
Raf looked at the collar, his fingers trembling with emotion as he inspected it closely. Seeing the familiar device in his grasp filled him with a sense of hope and determination, knowing that they were one step closer to rescuing their friend. {"We're not giving up, guys..."}
Soon they hear the sound of the door opening and closing quickly after. The children whirl around to find Soundwave standing in front of the door.
"Uh-oh, we've got company," Jack whispered, his voice filled with apprehension.
As his many mechanical tentacles prepare to grab for the children, he plays a recording of the last order Megatron has recently given him. "Capture the Autobot's human pets, and bring them to me, Soundwave."
With a quick glance around the room, the children searched for a way to escape, their minds racing with fear as they realized they were trapped with nowhere to run.
Raf said, his voice calm despite the rising sense of panic. "Quick, back to the vents!"
With a sense of urgency, the children scrambled back towards the vents, their hearts pounding with fear knowing they have been found out, and Megatron has ordered for their capture.
As Soundwave advanced towards them, his tentacles reaching out menacingly, the children's hearts raced with fear and adrenaline. With no time to spare, they hastily scrambled back towards the vents, their minds racing with thoughts of escape and survival.
Miko, Jack, and Raf moved as quickly as they could, their movements fueled by sheer panic and determination. With each passing moment, the sound of Soundwave's approach grew louder, his mechanical presence filling the room with an overwhelming sense of dread.
"Come on, we have to hurry!" Raf urged, his voice filled with urgency as he led the way towards the vent opening.
With a final burst of speed, the children reached the vents and began to climb inside, their hearts pounding with fear as they struggled to escape Soundwave's grasp. As they disappeared into the darkness of the narrow passageway, they knew that their only hope lay in outrunning their pursuer and finding a way to warn the Autobots of the danger that awaited them.
Meanwhile, Soundwave watched impassively as the children vanished into the vents, his expression unreadable behind his faceplate. He was too big to follow them in, but his tentacles were very flexible and versatile enough to get the job done.
With swift movements, he grasped the children one by one, their screams of primal fear a good indication that he had captured his prey effectively. As he was retracting his tentacles back out of the vents with the humans in tow, he felt two blades with one swift motion slice clean through the roots of his tentacles located on his back.
Dismembered from the main body, the tentacles let go of the humans, dropping them in the opening of the vent as they fell to the floor. Soundwave caught by surprise turned to only be knocked out almost instantly by a hard punch to the helm.
All the kids saw besides the tentacles now laying motionless on the floor, was Soundwave's limp body following suit as he collapsed right next to the vent. They couldn't see who it was, so they moved in deeper just in case. But with a quick movement, what looked like giant mechanical hand dove into the vent, grabbed them and pulled them right back out. {"You three, are in BIG trouble!"}
As jarring as being literally yoinked out of their hiding spot was, they were still relieved that the servo was attached to Ratchet.