Flickering Sirens (Transformers Rescue Bots, Chase x Female! Reader)

Chapter Ten

You heard the muffled sound of ocean waves. Ocean waves...? Your eyes snapped open to reveal a ceiling above your head. Memories rushed back to you, similar to the waves that crashed against the beach shore. You sat up and looked around. Currently, you were sitting in the passenger seat of Chase's alternate mode. How had you gotten there? You felt incredibly sore and you stretched immediately.

"You are awake." Chase's voice nearly made you jump out of your skin. Your eyes flicked down to the steering wheel and you steadied your beating heart. You noticed that Chase's face had not appeared on the screen like you had seen when first riding inside of him.

"Nice of you to notice." You huffed and rolled your eyes. Chase was silent for a few moments while you brushed sand off of your clothing.

"If I remember correctly, I fell asleep on the beach." You said.

"You do not remember? You had begun to shiver, perhaps because of the dropping temperature... So I transformed and allowed you to sleep here." Chase's voice seemed slightly more tense than usual, you noted.

Realization hit you in the face like a stinging gust of wind. "We never returned last night!" Panic edged into your voice. The Burns family might not think twice about your absence, thinking you might want time to yourself, but they would definitely notice that Chase had disappeared. "We need to go!" You were worried what the Burns might think, seeing you return with Chase and your tousled hair as well as sand covered clothing. Did Cybertronians even...? You chased the thought from your mind. There were more important things to think about.

You opened up Chase's passenger door and stumbled out. Chase transformed, his expression unreadable as he kneeled down and offered his servo out to you. You quickly climbed into his servo and allowed him to lift you up. Chase began walking back through the woods, though his pace was a bit quicker than the first time you passed through.

Eventually, you reached the edge of the forest and broke out into the open. Chase set you down, about to transform when you both saw a speck of red on the horizon. Panic clamped down on your heart as you realized what it was. Heatwave.

For the first time, you caught a glance of fear in Chase's optics. He quickly, but carefully, attempted to push you into the protective cover of the forest.

"Chase, wait!"

Chase paused and waited for you to speak.

"I... Accept your apology."

Chase dipped his helm in thanks, though you could see a glint of joy in his optics. He moved you into the forest before standing up and staring at the approaching firetruck. You moved behind a tree, though you stayed to watch the scene.

Once Heatwave reached Chase, he transformed. You caught relief in Heatwave's expression before fury consumed it.

"Where have you been?"

Chase began to respond but Heatwave interrupted him. "When you didn't return to the firehouse last night, we had to search the town for you! Thank Primus there has been no serious emergencies! What if something did happen? What if we needed you?" Chase guiltily avoided Heatwave's fiery gaze.

"You are a Rescue Bot, Chase. You have sworn to protect Griffin Rock, yet you wander off to your own little dreamland instead of following the one mission that you were assigned?! What has gotten into you?!"

Chase opened his mouth to respond but decided to close it. He was speechless.

"And do you know how worried the Burns got when they attempted to reach (Y/N), but got no response? Kade and I had gone to see if perhaps she was inside her house, but we found no one. Her comm was silent as well. Do you know where she is?" Heatwave's tone was serious. You felt a twinge of guilt for making the Burns worry. Chase was quiet before responding.

"Negative."

Heatwave swore. He glanced around suspiciously. "Let's go. We'll finish this at the firehouse."

You were about to step out of the forest. To tell Heatwave it wasn't Chase's fault. To defend Chase. But before you could get yourself to move, Heatwave transformed and began to drive away. Chase looked apologetically back at your position in the forest before transforming and driving after Heatwave.

You sighed and left the forest to walk down the side of the road. You didn't understand why Chase would risk his position, or anything else, just to apologize to you. Was the whole thing just an apology? Or was it perhaps something else?

Fortunately, you reached your house before you were caught. You apologized to Ray for not tending to his cage the night before. After properly cleaning up his cage you left a voice message for the Burns family to tell them you were fine. You had simply camped out in the woods for a night, to get away from all the craziness. Hopefully, they would buy your cheap excuse.

You hopped in the shower, allowing the warm water to soothe both your sore body and your scrambled thoughts. Once you finished, you relaxed on the couch. Perhaps tomorrow you would begin work again. You would get used to the robots. Chase had proved they weren't so bad...