C h a p t e r F o u r
2 n d P O V
9 - 2 2 - 1 8
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"When you see it, then you'll understand," – Speed Of Sound by Coldplay
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You'd helped Bulkhead rid the hall of Starscream's corpse by directing him to a room off to the side. It would take much longer for anyone to notice it there than in the corridor, that was for sure.
"A comm unit!" Bulkhead announced in pleasant surprise. You looked up from the body to peek at what he was seeing in the hall.
"It would appear so," You replied monotonously. The mech briskly walked over and attempted to contact his friends.
"Bulkhead to base, do you read? Do you copy?" You could clearly hear what you were sure was desperation, frustration, and hopefulness. An interesting combination of emotions. "Ugh, is this thing even on?!" You suddenly realized that, as an Autobot in a Decepticon ship, he may not entirely know what he was doing. You mentally cursed at yourself for not offering to try for him.
"Maybe I should try," you suggested, placing a servo gently on his forearm, "after all, I am more familiar with the tech." The ex-Wrecker paused.
"Yeah, you're right. I'm such an-" he was cut off by the sound of blaring alarms, "-idiot." You jumped into the air from the abrupt noise. Bulkhead covered up his audio receptors with his large servos, while shoved yourself against his side. You pressed a button on the console, and the alarms stopped.
"Go go go!" You urged the larger bot. He turned around and ran into the hall directly behind the console, and you followed after. The guards that came seconds later were met with a very different, uninvited guest.
"Why are you helping me anyways?" The Autobot whispered. His back was pressed against the wall as he peered into the doorway to make sure the guards didn't come after either of you. You were on the opposite side of the doorway, doing the exact same thing.
"Because I want to," you whispered back. "Besides, I don't have allegiance to either side, so trust me when I say I'm not about to turn you into any of the 'Cons."
"You're a vehicon aren't you? Never met one as talkative as you. Aren't you made to obey them?" The two of you met each other's gazes. You both nodded, signaling that the coast was clear, and the two of you scurried the Pits out of there.
"I kind of gained autonomy a couple of weeks ago; it was during a mine collapse at the one I was protecting. I realized I—as a living being with a conscious—deserved to be treated better. So I left," You answered informatively. Bulkhead let out an 'huh' in both surprise and understanding.
"Do you have a name?" He asked. You listed off your serial code, which earned a quizzical look from the Autobot.
"What?"
"That's . . . not a name," Bulk responded. He sounded unsure. You were, however, sure that it was simply a result of his natural awkwardness. You hoped you didn't make him feel to uncomfortable in a place he already knew he was in danger of being discovered in.
"Oh." That was your slightly delayed reply. You felt a little embarrassed too, honestly. You still had so much to learn. "Thats what I was given when I was made, so . . . maybe you could give me one?"
The mech stumbled in his tracks. He was already having such a hard time being stealthy with his giant build. You stretched out a servo to help steady him. Bulkhead wasn't the most perceptive bot out there, but he did notice you did your best to care for the little things. Interesting. Maybe you were worthy of his trust? Friendship, even?
"Um . . ." He thought to himself. "How about, uh, Y/N?" It wasn't the fanciest of designations. It was just one of the first ones that came to mind. Thinking about how you'd acted for the past ten minutes he'd known you, it fit. For now, at least.
"I like that name! I'll take it," you decided contently. You gave him a smile, though he couldn't see it due to your mask. He could hear it in your positive voice, though.
It most mostly awkward silence between the two of you. When either of you did speak, it was because the former Wrecker had a habit of reminding himself to be stealthy under his breath. You made sure to whisper praise and words of comfort when he did. You did your best to empathize with the poor mech. Unbeknownst to you, he was growing increasingly grateful for it. Especially when you found your helms pedesteps away from Megatron's pedes.
"Stealthy, stealthy," The Autobot told himself as he quietly scooted along.
"You're doing fine, Bulk," you reassured him. There wasn't a hint of annoyance in your tone.
"Thanks." His short, but genuine reply.
"Lord Megatron," The soldier addressed his master, "there's been a an intruder."
"Autobot?" You froze up. Had you failed to help the bot? You glanced over at Bulkhead. His frightened optics were captured by the warlord's sudden presence.
"Starscream." Hold on, hadn't he been murdered not an hour ago? "He was last seen in the vicinity of the bridge." Megatron began trudging away, probably making his way towards his former second-in-command.
"Thank Primus," The mech muttered under his breath. "Now we can keep going to-um . . . Y/N? where are we going?" He felt like an absolute moron for asking. Had you mentioned it and he hadn't heard?
"Oh! Right! I should've told you, I'm so sorry—We're going to the engine room! C'mon!" You lightly shoved him. It was somewhat playful too. Bulkhead, though still thoroughly worried, began taking comfort in your presence.
The terrain felt alien to you. You hadn't traveled to the engine room very often, but you had memorized various routes despite that. You always wanted to be prepared. And, because of your newfound fascination and love for living things, you always wanted to make sure as few creatures got hurt. Both of those things made escorting the Autobot into the engine room feel all the more fulfilling. Soon, the two of you fell through a hatch in the colossal room's ceiling.
You landed on the floor with the natural grace of a flier. Bulkhead landed, slamming his pedes onto the floor.
"Are you okay?" You asked him. You knew such a fall would probably leave only a slight stinging in his pedes, but that didn't mean you weren't about to not check.
"Uh, yeah," he answered. He still seemed surprised by your concern. He peered over the edge of where you two were perched. You watched as a claw lifted an energon cube and slid it into the engine to fuel it. It repeated said process over and over. He looked at the machine, then at his servo, transforming it into his spherical hammer, announcing, "I think I know what I have to do."
"Then do it," You answered. You could fly. Whether he brought the Nemesis down to the ground or not didn't hinder your ability to escape.
"Hey, after this," he paused, turning to you, "would you want to-"
"-come with you to the Autobots?" You finished his sentence. He nodded. "No thanks-," you shook your head, "-not right now anyways."
"Oh. Alright. Thanks for, uh, everything, I guess."
"You're welcome!" You chirped. He turned back to the engine and raised his hammer. The Autobot jumped off and rammed the weapon into the engine, sending it all to the Pits. The ship tilted downwards as it sped towards the earth below as a result.
You jumped and landed on the floor, momentarily activating your thrusters for a softer landing. You found Bulkhead and motioned for him to follow you. The two of you sprinted for an exit. A door opened before you, only to bump into Starscream, who scolded you and flew away. You and Bulk looked at each other in surprise.
"Well," You yelled over the turbulence, "this is my stop! Hopefully, if we meet again, it's under better circumstances!"
"Definitely! Thanks for everything!"
"You already said that!" You laughed. You ran for the open exit, jumping off the edge and into the sky, where you transformed and zoomed off at what seemed like the speed of sound to your new friend.
Now, you had to find your home. You'd stolen some energon while aboard the ship, so you had a meal for when you needed it. You were already making plans in case you had to make a pit stop for the night.
For all the times the Autobots had tried to kill you, they weren't all that bad. You forgave them. After all, it was war, and not one Megatron was keen on losing or ending peacefully.
Meanwhile, Bulkhead found out what the rest of his team had been dealing with.
All in all, it had been a long day.