Return (A Ratchet TFP Fanfiction Story)

Chapter 14

As it turned out, Wheeljack was absolutely fine. He had indeed run into some Cons, who had thrown him off the road. Now they were battling in the woods beside the highway. Optimus was grateful that thus far the loose cannon hadn't brought attention to himself. Bulkhead was relieved his friend was okay, though he honestly wasn't surprised to see him kicking tailpipe. 

And that he was, slicing his blades through Vehicons as if it were nothing. Under his mask he was smiling madly, enjoying the rush. He took a quick break, wiping the Energon off his dual swords, just before the other Autobots drove in quickly. They hadn't used a GroundBridge for safety, so they were a little late to the party. As they transformed into their biped modes, drawing their blasters, maces, and blades, they found that most of the Cons were already offlined, and most of the others either injured or trying to escape.

"Woah, Jackie, you're really denting it in them this time," Bulkhead laughed, easily smashing down two more of them.

"Yeah, I got every right to do so," the wrecker retorted, cutting another one in half.

It wasn't long before all of them were finished. Optimus put his guns away and looked over to Wheeljack, relieved to see that he was uninjured. He approached the wrecker and placed a servo on his shoulder plate.

"I am pleased to see that you are well, Wheeljack," he said.

Wheeljack's mask slid off, revealing a smirk. "Same to you, chief. Sorry about the late work, I couldn't contact ya cus of a kick I took to the helm." He tapped his audio receptor, wincing.

Bulkhead looked at him worriedly. "You alright?"

His friend shrugged, throwing him a smile. "Yeah, just one kick. My helm might ache for a while, and I might need a new commlink, but I'll be fine." His faceplate fell slightly. "Although, Ratchet won't be able to fix it for a while, is he?"

Arcee sighed, shaking her helm. "No, Wheeljack."

The said mech looked back to Optimus. "I'll help any way I can, but it doesn't look like any of us are having much luck, does it?"

All of them helms bent down, optics gazing at the floor. Bumblebee sighed. "<We have to keep looking. Ratchet is probably trying to find some way to contact us right now!>"

Wheeljack nodded. "Knowing Doc, he probably is." He turned to the leader again. "I know we were on our way to base, but maybe you want to check out that puddle I found outside Jasper. Maybe I missed somethin."

The Prime nodded, agreeing. "Autobots, roll out!"

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Ratchet almost couldn't believe just how good Alpha and Omega were. Their combat skills were those of veterans, something his team were capable of. He had never imagined the young bots knew so much about combat. They spoke so little of war, so he had imagined that they had only seen the end of it on Cybertron. He had hardly had to help at all, only taking out some of the Vehicons that were hiding away while trying to contact the higher ups. It wasn't long before the smaller mine was completely under their control.

"So," Alpha sighed, his blaster steaming. "What now? I've never actually stormed a mine before."

Omega nodded beside the doctor, her blades disappearing. "Or even been in a mine before. I've never seen Energon in this form," she said, looking around in wonder.

The medic rolled his optics. "Of course not." He gazed around the area before he spotted what he was looking for. "We load as much as possible onto those carts and take them back to your ship. I can process it there."