Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The night was cold and dark, the stars shone above the waters as fishermen were getting ready to head back to shore. They packed their quota in ice and mopped the deck of fish guts and blood. Nothing unusual ever happened on the seas of the Atlantic, well nothing too unusual on a regular basis, the fishermen minded their business before hearing sounds of an aircraft that wasn’t familiar to them. They all looked at the sky and found nothing until one of the men started screaming and pointed at the water as he looked pale as a ghost. Everyone stared in awe as a tall metal contraption arose from the waters. When the fisherman flashed fog lights at the metal being did it quickly go back underwater to stay hidden.

The news spread like wildfire across the country as news reports retold the story of what happened at the Atlantic. Scientists came to do an underwater study of where the being emerged and where it disappeared to. It wasn’t long until a certain spunky teenage girl saw the news report while surfing the web on her cellphone. She showed the video to her friends which attracted some unwanted attention as they currently watched the report as one of their friends got nervous upon seeing the being emerge from the water.

“What’s the matter Raph, scared of a little sea monster” a certain blonde mocked as the other frowned making his friends glare at him

“Knock it off Vince, it’s probably some joke made by the locals” A raven-haired boy said as he rolled his eyes

“Whatever, but if it was real. I would go head to toe with that thing!” Vince cackled as his group of friends laughed alongside him

“Oh sure, you probably will get squished like a bug before you even make a move” a Japanese girl mocked making her friends and a few other students laugh

Vince turned red and tried to mutter a comeback but he instead huffed in anger and stormed off. Everyone watched him leave the cafeteria as they either chuckled or laughed at him as his friends followed behind. Jack chuckled as he gave his friend a high-five for defending Raph from the school’s bully.

“Thanks, guys” Raph said gratefully as his friends smiled “and nice burn Miko” he chuckled as said girl laughed

“No problem squirt” Miko said with a smile as she ruffled Ralph’s hair

“Besides we all know Vince will be too chicken to actually go up against an imaginary monster” Jack laughed as he took a bite of his pizza

They laughed and ate their lunches before the next class of the day began. Meanwhile, in a secret high facility base, you can hear the sounds of someone grumbling and muttering to himself as he works the console and monitors for any strange activity. Soon large but soft steps were heard as they came into the main room at the base.

“Ratchet, has there been any progress on locating any energon?” A deep voice asked as the other sighed

“No, and I’m afraid our energon reserves will be gone before the end of this orn” Ratchet reminded before turning to look at his friend “Optimus if we don’t find energon soon we will be offline before we know it”

“Don’t worry old friend, Luck will be on our side soon” Optimus reassured before the sudden beeping of the monitor alerted them to a new energy source

“That’s strange, the system is saying there is a new spark signature here on earth” Ratchet informed as he began to check the system for any viruses

Optimus frowned upon seeing where the location of the spark signature originated from. "it would seem that the spark energy is coming from the Atlantic Ocean, where humans are most likely searching for the source themselves”

Ratchet huffed before calling in the others. “Bulkhead, Arcee. Come in bulkhead and Arcee”

/Bulkhead here. What’s up Doc?/

/Arcee reporting in. What’s the matter Ratchet?/

“Come back to base so I can brief you in on the situation. Ratchet out” he said before ending the call

“And what of bumblebee?” Optimus asked as he quirked a brow at Ratchet as said bot sigh in frustration

“Before you arrived, I’ve been trying to get bumblebee to answer his commlink but I’ve received no answer” Ratchet informed as Optimus sighed

“He must be out of range…” Optimus said as he looked back at the monitor

“Probably, but bumblebee is still a young mech, he’s more likely to be off somewhere and doing his patrol right after” Ratchet huffed as Optimus smiled

It didn’t take long for Bulkhead and Arcee to arrive at the base, the two transformed back into their bi-pede mode and walked into the main room. Bulkhead was the first to notice that a certain yellow scout was missing.

“Where’s bumblebee?” Bulkhead asked as he searched the room once more

“He’s off somewhere, he hasn’t answered any of my calls” Ratchet huffed before getting back at the situation at hand “Now as to why I called you both back from patrol, there’s been a spark signature located in the Atlantic Ocean”

Both bots froze before they rebooted their audial sensors and had to blink a couple of times at the news. “Is it an autobot or decepticon?” Arcee asked as ratchet frowned

“Now that is a question I wish I could answer” Ratchet sighed as he turned to look at the monitor “but for now I’ll bridge you to the coordinates of the last time the spark signature was last recorded”

“While Ratchet bridges you both to your destination, I will search for Bumblebee” Optimus said as Ratchet frowned

The old medibot didn’t say a word but created the groundbridge for Arcee and Bulkhead. The two warriors walked through and began their mission while Optimus waited for ratchet to put in a new set of coordinates.

“I presume bumblebee will be on monitor duty with me once again” Ratchet stated as Optimus frowned

“Though Bumblebee is a young mech, this is still a war and we must not get distracted along the way” Optimus said as he looked at the activated groundbridge “I will see you soon Ratchet” he said as he walked through the portal

The medic sighed as he monitored the screen and kept track of what was happening with Arcee and Bulkhead while checking on Optimus once a while. With Optimus, he was currently in his vehicle mode searching for Bee in Las Vegas city. Managing to avoid being carjacked and having nosey humans looking in his windows while he rested was not pleasant. After hours of searching, he finally found bumblebee near the mountain area, transformers into bi-pede mode he frowned and walked over to the young scout who seemed to be occupied with what he was doing to notice Prime walking towards him.

::Hey Blades nice to see you again after eight meta-cycles and sorry for not calling, I’ve been busy trying to-:: Bumblebee said before drooping ::That is the worst conversation starter:: before he continued ::Blades! Nice to see you! It’s been a while. How’s it hanging” he said before groaning into his two servos “that’s even worse::

Optimus starred quizzically as Bee talked to a rock and stood there for almost 4 groons until bumblebee turned around and made a noise of embarrassment as he saw his leader. Clearing his throat tubing he chuckled nervously and stared at the prime before him.

::How long have you been standing there?:: Bee asked as he rubbed the back of his helm in embarrassment

“Not long...I see you have, obtained feelings for one of out comrades back on the island” Optimus said as Bee became flustered

::NO! We are only friends and I haven’t kept in touch as I promised and I...I wanted to practice what I wanted to say...that’s it:: Bee explained but Optimus saw right through him

Optimus quirked his brow and found the entire thing amusing, he regained his composure and remembered as to why he went to find Bumblebee in the first place. He was going to say something until he received a call from ratchet but all he heard was static. Bumblebee groaned as he had to deal with the static once again for the past three cycles.

“I see I was correct on the lack of signal for any comm frequency to get through,” Optimus said as Bee looked at him in confusion “We should head closer to the city and check-in with Ratchet from there. It will be easier to send our location”

Bee nodded and transformed into vehicle mode as did Optimus and the two drove off into the direction of the city. When they were close enough Optimus pinged Ratchet and sent their coordinates to head back to base but Ratchet had other ideas as he informed them of the situation with Bulkhead and Arcee.

/I’ve already sent Smokescreen onto the scene and no doubt Wheeljack is already there providing aid/ Ratchet said once Optimus and Bee arrived at the coordinates that the groundbridge will appear

“We shall see them soon, Open the groundbridge” Optimus ordered as Ratchet complied and a green vortex appeared and the two bots entered the portal to arrive at their new destination.

When exiting the portal, Bee and Optimus were surprised as they saw their team fire upon the threat that none could quite make out due to the organic plants covering it’s entire being. Bee automatically returned fire and joined in the fight as Optimus made his way to Ultra.

“I didn’t expect to find this being still around this location when first appearing” Optimus said as he dodged the beings fist when it was brought down on the ground he once stood before returning to his friend’s side

“Arcee and Bulkhead had found the creature and then they called for backup when realizing how...large it was” Smokescreen said as he gasped in alarm as he pushed Optimus out of the way of a lone blast “WATCH YOUR AIM!” he bellowed as Bumblebee shouted an apology at the two before returning to battle

Optimus couldn’t help but laugh and Smokescreen stared at him in bewilderment as the prime laughed at the fact he could’ve been shot by one of his own. The prime quickly regained his composure but couldn’t help but chuckle some more. The two then focused back onto the battle and when Optimus managed to get a good shot at the metal being, he found something oddly familiar about it. It was then the creature froze when seeing Optimus and then all they heard was static before hearing the being bellow with laughter.

“By the ALLSPARK!, Who knew I would’ve met more autobots here!”

“What is going on?” Arcee asked she looked at Wheeljack who shrugged

“Don’t look at me. I stopped questioning a whole scrap of things a long time ago” Wheeljack said as Bulkhead sighed

“If it isn’t Team Prime. It is good to see more bots again”

::Optimus:: Bumblebee began but Optimus couldn’t help but smile

“It is nice to hear from you High Tide” Optimus greeted as the other bot removed the organic matter from its torso

The others couldn't help but stare as they realized it was armor they were fighting against the entire time. The being transformed causing team prime to be sucked into its transformation sequence and return to the surface. Optimus was the first to recover as the others groaned, he lifted himself off the deck floor and waited for his old friend. When High Tide emerged he wasn’t alone as his mini-con dog ran out to greet everyone.

Optimus smiled as he patted the dog on his head before it ran off to meet everyone else, Bumblebee was more than happy to play with the mini-con than any of the others. High Tide chuckled as he said his apologies on the scare as he took a look at Team Prime.

“Let’s talk over a nice glass of energon, We’ll do formalities there” High Tide said everyone agreed as the sound of energon made their tanks rumble making High Tide frown “I see energon is hard to come by here”

“Nothing we can’t manage old friend” Optimus reassured as High Tide didn’t look convinced

When they were led below deck High Tide turned and pressed a few commands to order his ship to go underwater. The others relaxed as they were hidden from prying optics or eyes in human terms, the team were then led to the ship’s lounge as High Tide prepared energon for them all.

“Where’s Hatchet? Haven’t seen him in eons” High Tide asked as he served everyone

“He is back at base monitoring things, I’m sure he’ll want to hear from us soon” Optimus informed as High Tide smiled

“It’s good to know the old bot is still functioning. I’ve been alone with servo so long I’ve begun to almost understand him” Tide laughed as his mini-con barked happily

Optimus smiled before he became concerned for his friend. “High Tide what has happened to you since Cybertron went dark?” he asked as the blue bot frowned

“After hearing about the massacre to all rescue bots over the radio, I returned to cybertron from a rescue back on Helix. I found everything destroyed and I laid low to prevent any cons from getting the chance to finish the job” Tide began as he sighed “they were so young”

The room was grim as Bumblebee struggled to keep his intake shut as Optimus cast him a glance when the rescue bots were mentioned. High Tide then looked up and noticed the yellow scout’s discomfort but didn’t call him out on it.

“Now enough with the grim tales, how have you all been?” High Tide asked as everyone looked at each other before becoming more relaxed they had been in a very long time.

The room was soon filled with laughter as they told stories of their adventures and what has so far happened on earth and High Tide’s low profile back in space. Smokescreen and Bumblebee were occasionally petting the mini-con as he growled in content and occasionally would jump on the two to ask for more affection.

“Servo, down boy. They’re not going anywhere” HighTide chuckled as the dog only barked and continued to run around the room

Optimus looked at the mini-con in surprise as he turned to High Tide. “Servo? I haven’t seen him since he was a cyber pup”

HighTide chuckled as he gave servo an affectionate scratch behind his ears. “Servo and I have been together since the whole...affair,” he said not choosing to retell dark times

“So what brings you to earth? Rarely any bot would even come close to an organic planet” Arcee asked as HighTide starred at the femme

“I was minding my business when the monitor picked up a few spark signals, couldn’t quite get the name of the place before my ship decided to hit rock bottom...literally” High Tide informed as he recalled the stressful memory

Optimus and Bumblebee tensed and hoped that High Tide meant their sparks but they both knew better than to hope for the best. Before anyone could say a word an explosion was heard and they looked at the culprit and found Wheeljack frozen in place as he held what was supposed to be a cup of energon.

“Uh...Wheeljack, how-” Smokescreen began but wheeljack cut him off

“Don’t, like I said before I stopped questioning these things a long time ago” Wheeljack said as Bulkhead slowly took the cup from him as everyone took at least one step back from the wrecker except for Bulkhead

“Jackie, I sometimes wonder how but I know I won’t get a straight answer” Bulkhead sighed as the other wrecker smiled cheekily

Optimus smiled before he was being pinged from Ratchet who demanded their whereabouts as they hadn't called back to base for over six groons. Quickly reassuring the medibot about their location and safety did Ratchet relax somewhat. Until he heard High Tide over the commlink did he remain silent before demanding explanations. It was already dark when they returned to the surface for Ratchet to come and greet High Tide personally as Raphael managed the groundbridge back at base. When seeing the bridge open did they then see Ratchet walk out with his arms crossed and a scowl on his faceplates.

“Do you have any idea how worried you all made this medibot!” Ratchet snapped as the younger bots flinched while the older bots frowned

“We’re sorry Ratchet, we didn’t see how time has passed so quickly” Optimus apologized as Ratchet sighed before turning to High Tide

“It’s nice to see you again High Tide” Ratchet greeted with a rare smile that had Bumblebee smirking as Smokescreen and Arcee groaned

Wheeljack held back chuckles as Arcee and Smokescreen both handed bumblebee two shanix each from their little gamble. As Bulkhead gave them a glare as High Tide gave Ratchet a glass of energon as the two bot’s walked back into the ship to get better acquainted, Smokescreen stared at the two bots in question before turning to Optimus.

“Was there any ‘history’ between those two?” Smokescreen asked as Ratchet spat out static at the innocent question he obviously heard

Optimus sighed as he facepalmed while Bumblebee couldn’t help but laugh at the situation as Arcee decided not to add fuel to the fire. Bulkhead and Wheeljack stayed quiet knowing that a certain sword-wielding spiritualist would not take kindly to an old flame of Ratchet’s. Arcee decided to head back to back to base for some recharge as she had patrol in the morning, Smokescreen followed suit as did Bulkhead as their tired frames caught up with them. Only Optimus and Bumblebee remained on the ship’s deck as the cold air hit their plating.

::We have to tell him:: Bumblebee said as Optimus frowned

“When the time is right. Now is not the time, they don’t know he’s here and the decepticons are surely monitoring the strange spark energy that has appeared here” Optimus informed as Bee didn’t look convinced

Chapter Text

It was a new day in Jasper Nevada, as the bots all got up from their berths to start the morning with patrol and more likely another battle with the decepticons. Ratchet was at the console typing away as he monitored frequencies among the humans and cybertronian communications. Optimus was already out on patrol while Bumblebee was sulking in the main room with Ratchet as he sighed for the tenth time that morning.

“If you don’t stop your sulking, I’ll be wielding your intake shut” Ratchet plainly said as Bee stared at him before groaning

::I’m Bored, I would rather be out on patrol:: Bumblebee stated as Ratchet scoffed

“If you haven’t wandered far from where we could contact you then you wouldn’t be here with me” Ratchet chided as Bee scowled

With Bulkhead and Arcee they were currently following an energon lead until they heard the familiar sounds of drills as they cursed at their luck. They quietly made their way forward as they drew out their weapons as they carefully rounded the corner only to freeze to see a familiar sea bot. The bot in question didn’t notice them until his mini-con dog started barking excitedly when he saw them. Arcee and Bulkhead quickly switched their weapons back into servos as their friend turned to look at them. Seeing them he laughed as he stopped the drill to greet them properly before servo can go run around them.

“Hello laddies, what can I help you with?” High Tide asked as the two bots stood frozen a couple of seconds before they came out of their stupor

“High Tide, I didn’t think you’ll be coming to shore,” Arcee said as High Tide shrugged

“Came low on supplies and found an energon trail, decided to harvest some before heading back out to sea” High Tide explained as he pointed over his shoulder at the harvested energon

“Well, we will stick around in case any cons decide to show up,” Arcee said as High Tide waved her off

“Could use the help but no cons would be comin’ here” High Tide said as he loaded another energon crystal on the wagon “This tunnel leads out to sea and that’s where I followed it, we’re in so deep, that it scrambles our comm frequencies” he laughed as Bulkhead and Arcee tried out their comes only to hear static.

“Guess we should harvest the energon before we head back to base,” Arcee said as she went to the tools meant for harvesting energon

“Couldn’t have said it better myself, the waves will be coming in soon and this whole place will be flooded before the groon” High Tide informed making the young bots stare at him in surprise before quickly going to work

The work was strenuous and Bulkhead nearly squashed Arcee to the wall when Servo ran between his legs. High Tide didn’t turn to look at the two bots but he did scowl when his equipment was damaged thanks to bulkhead or his helm nearly being blown off thanks to Arcee being too cautious. Luckily for him, they were almost done with harvesting the energon needed for himself and Team Prime. When Bulkhead and Arcee returned to base, dented and covered in dirt and grime, Ratchet stared at them while Bumblebee stared at the wagon of processed energon cubes.

“I see you ran into High Tide” Ratchet stated as Arcee and Bulkhead groaned

“He worked non-stop, no breaks, he just kept working” Bulkhead groaned tiredly as he sat down on the medical slab

“At least he didn’t make you go inside every crevice in that tunnel” Arcee said with a scowl as she rubbed her backside

“That’s High Tide for you, always working never giving a scrap about being on a team, prefers to work alone” Ratchet scoffed as he went back to the console

The room was awkwardly quiet as Bumblebee took that as his cue to store the energon cubes in the back room while Arcee and Bulkhead went to the wash racks. When Optimus returned he sensed the awkward atmosphere and wondered what he returned to as he walked toward Ratchet.

“I sense that you are angry” Optimus said, startling Ratchet but the medibot merely mumbled something incoherent and continued with his work

Optimus sighed and simply placed a hand on his shoulder to make Ratchet turn to look at him but what surprised the prime the most was the sad look on his face. “Just some old memories, I’ll be fine” Ratchet reassured as Optimus nodded but didn't look convinced on his answer

“Go rest, I’ll handle things from here” Optimus softly ordered as Ratchet slumped but complied either way

“Smokescreen will be here with the humans soon, don’t let them make too much noise” Ratchet said as he went off to his room

“I promise old friend” Optimus said with a smile as he watched Ratchet leave for some much-needed rest

Meanwhile, with Smokescreen, he was currently waiting at the school for the humans and had to scare off a few humans that got to close them by just playing a recording of an angry old human that he got from one of the human movies he enjoys watching with Bumblebee and Miko. When he heard the bell ring he internally sighed in relief as he waited patiently for Jack, Miko, and Raphael to exit the school. Smokescreen didn’t have to wait too long as he saw the three walking toward him and he automatically opened his doors for them to get in. Once they were inside he slowly left the school and headed back towards base.

“So how are things back at base?” Jack asked as Smokescreen sighed

“Usual stuff, patrol, fighting cons, nothing much” Smokescreen replied before remembering about High Tide “Oh and we met another Autobot yes-te-day?” Smokescreen tried to say as Miko laughed

“You mean ‘yesterday’...and What Bot! Is He Cool!” Miko excitingly began

“Well one the human language is weird, two, he’s okay I haven’t known him long this is the first time I’ve heard of him” Smokescreen responded as he finally left the small town and onto the open road

“Would we get to meet him?” Raph asked as Smokescreen thought about it

“It’s up to him, many of our people don’t take kindly to organics” Smokescreen informed as he recalled their sworn enemy for many millennia

The ride became quiet and the racer decided to play the radio for the humans to enjoy while they made their way towards base. When arriving they saw Optimus on the console monitoring for any decepticon activity, getting out of Smokescreen's vehicle mode, the kids went up to their makeshift lounge to greet the prime.

“Hey Optimus” Jack greeted as he placed his backpack on the couch as the Prime nodded at their arrival

“Greetings Jack, Miko, and Raphael. I trust that you all have...home-work?” Optimus asked as the term confused him

“Oh come on, we just got here” Miko whined as she sat on the couch

“And we have a math test on Friday and there’s no way I’m failing it” Jack said as he took his textbooks out of his bag

“Can’t we see what the bots are up to first?” Miko asked as Jack and Raphael stared blankly at her “What?”

“No offense to the bots but every time we check up on what they're doing, we end up in life and death situations” Raph said as he smiled sheepishly when he turned to Optimus “No offense Optimus”

“None taken Raphael, but Jack is correct Miko, you’re education is more important than what our team does on a daily basis,” Optimus said as Miko groaned

“Fine but studying is so boring” Miko said as she took her math textbook out her bag and began to study

Optimus nodded at the three before turning at the console and began to type away as he monitored frequencies and worked on decoding Project Iacon. Smokescreen was already heading out for patrol when he nearly ran into Arcee and had to resist covering his face from the smell coming off the femme.

“Uh...Arcee?” Smokescreen began but stopped when he received a glare from the femme

“Don’t. I already know I smell like seaweed and other things that I would rather not mention” Arcee snapped as Smokescreen nodded

“Got it...Have you tried toe-may-toe juice?” Smokescreen offered as the femme glared and walked away from the scout “Was it something I said?”

The scout shrugged and transformed into his vehicle mode and went out for patrol while Bumblebee sulked as he had to stay in the base for another earth week. Optimus turned to look at him and saw how bored he was, the prime had to resist the urge to send him out on patrol with Smokescreen. He sighed and continued working, enjoying the silence until it was broken by Miko and Jack arguing on what answer was correct.

“No Way! It’s 34!” Miko argued as Jack scoffed

“Not a chance! The answer is 45!” Jack argued back as the two began to yell at each other while Raph sighed

“Actually, you’re both wrong. It’s 22” Raphael stated as both teens turned to look at him

Soon the base was filled with the humans arguing and Ratchet hadn't bothered to check what the commotion was yet so he was probably in deep recharge. Bumblebee was watching the teens argue not knowing he was going to be dragged into it until he did the problem himself and got a different answer than the humans. Soon he was arguing why his answer was correct as theirs was wrong which immediately caused Optimus to send Bumblebee out for a drive to cool off while he called Fowler to aid with the kids. The prime sighed as the arguing continued even after Fowler arrived and the agent sighed as he made a phone call before describing the problem then receiving the answer from a friend of his.

“The answer is 6,” Fowler said as the kids groaned

“But How!” They yelled out before hearing Bumblebee’s cheers

Optimus had to hold back a laugh as his scout was cheering that he had the correct answer all along, which made him wonder if he ever left base or came back early from his drive. Hours have passed and everyone returned from their patrol to refuel and head to recharge for the night. The humans were already back at home while Optimus and Ratchet remained awake a while longer.

“I’ve heard the argument earlier today,” Ratchet said suddenly as he chuckled at the surprise look Optimus had “Don’t give me that look, I’m sure Bulkhead even heard it when he was taking a tomato bath as the humans say it”

“The humans are...eccentric,” Optimus said as Ratchet scoffed but still held a smile

“Our race knows more than this planet can learn in one-hundred meta-cycles, It is not surprising that they’ll argue over petty things,” Ratchet said as he turned to the monitor and frowned “These frequencies...have they been tampered with?”

Optimus frowned and looked over the monitor and tensed seeing the frequency coming from a particular island. “I’m sure it is a glitch in the system”

“I don’t know, if it is I’ll have to reboot the entire system but we will risk losing the progress you made on Project Iacon” Ratchet informed as Optimus frowned

“We can’t risk losing Project Iacon, not after what you and Wheeljack went through to obtain it,” Optimus said as Ratchet sighed

“I’m heading to my quarters for the night, I shall see you in the morning Optimus” Ratchet said as he left the prime alone in the main room

Optimus turned back to the monitor and answered the call and was met with a familiar red fire truck. Meanwhile, at the bottom of the sea, High Tide was analyzing the frequency he heard before he crash-landed on earth. Optics narrowing he typed in a few command codes but it did nothing to find the location to where the frequency came from.

“Scrap, eight deca-cycles and still can’t crack where the frequency is coming from” High Tide groaned as servo whimpered at his companion’s dismay “this frequency, it can’t be coincidence”

Servo whined as he pawed at Tide’s leg struts as the old bot continued typing on the monitor to track down the frequency. He absentmindedly scratched servo’s helm as he continued his work not knowing his work was attracting some unwanted attention.

“Soundwave have you detected the unknown frequency,” a deep raspy voice asked as the silent mech turned and with a negative shake of his helm

The other growled out in anger as he turned he glared at the monitor a few steps away from him before turning to leave for his quarters for some recharge. Soundwave turned back to the monitor and glanced at the strange frequency once more before turning his attention on decoding project Iacon. As Soundwave continued working, unknown to him the frequency all together disappeared from the system as it has never existed in the first place. From the bottom of the sea, High Tide ended his search and upgraded his security systems in the meantime when he noticed he picked up a few unknown frequencies.

“That could have been a disaster, eh servo?” High Tide chuckled as servo barked, he then motioned for his mini-con to follow him back to their quarters for a much-needed recharge

When morning arrived Team Prime was already out on patrol when they once again met up with High Tide. It didn’t take long when they met some trouble at their coordinates as they barely escaped from the deceptions without any major injuries. Now here was High Tide in the Autobot base as he stayed away from the humans as Optimus called them.

“You know, for one big bot you sure get nervous a lot,” Miko said causing Jack to glare at her while High Tide took a step back

“I mean no offense...but organics are not common from where we are. And we would mostly shoot them since they ally themselves with Quintessons” High Tide informed while the kids quickly walked to their guardians as they nervously looked at High Tide

Ratchet glared at High Tide while the sea bot shrugged as he didn’t understand why Ratchet was mad at him. Optimus sighed and Bumblebee looked at him and seeing the look his scout had on his face made the prime come to a decision regarding a major secret.

“Uh...I think we promised Ms.Darby to help clean out her garage” Miko said as she patted bulkhead on the leg as Jack caught on

“Yeah...yeah, we have a lot of stuff to get rid of and I’m sure you guys can handle yourselves” Jack said as Arcee transformed into her vehicle mode as the teen quickly got on and they sped off

Bulkhead followed her lead and Miko quickly went in with Raphael going with her as Bumblebee stayed behind in case anything happened. High Tide watched them drive off not understanding why they were leaving so soon but he didn’t complain.

“Great now they’re scared” Ratchet said as sent a withering glare at the sea bot

“Why would they be scared?” High Tide asked as he looked at the tunnel they left in “I didn’t say anything to frighten them”

Deciding not to waste his energy getting mad at the clueless bot, Ratchet scoffed and turned back to the monitor. High Tide frowned but turned his attention to admiring the base, he wasn’t surprised that they took shelter in the human’s military but the thought of having to rely on the organics, nerve-wracking. Optimus and Bumblebee shared a look and the scout decided to leave prime to do what needed to be done while he went out on patrol. Seeing his scout leave, Prime turned to look over at High Tide who seemed to be lost in thought. The sound of ratchet groaning in annoyance was heard as it caught the attention of the two other bots. Optimus went up to him and tensed seeing the same frequency from the island. High Tide didn’t get the chance to see what happened as Ratchet typed in a few codes and the frequency was gone.

“There. That should fix while I figure out what type of virus the humans managed to put into the system this time” Ratchet said as he went to get his tool kit from the medbay

“Humans can transmit viruses into machines?” High Tide asked as Optimus looked over at him

“Not the type of viruses that affect us. Often times the humans would connect Raphael’s computer to the mainframe and it causes...abnormalities in the system” Optimus clarified as the sea bot quickly relaxed

“These humans are strange” High Tide declared as he decided not to stay for much longer “I’ll be off, Hey Hatchet, do you mind bridging me back to my ship?”

Ratchet scowled at the long term nickname but complied as he walked over to the system and type in the coordinates to High Tide’s ship. Not seeing High Tide scan the system before his eyes widened in shock.

“This is as close as I can get you without alerting the cons that you’re here,” Ratchet said, snapping High Tide out of his stupor

“Right...I’ll see you all the next solar cycle, probably,” High Tide said as he walked through the ground bridge not sparing Optimus a glance

Ratchet questioned his sudden moody behavior but shrugged it off as he got to work fixing the console. Optimus noticed and had to suppress a sigh as his oldest friend found the frequency to the Griffin Rock base. He stayed and helped Ratchet with the repairs as everyone returned from their day out a couple of cycles later. It didn’t take long for everyone to head into their quarters for recharge but two remained awake as they got ready to meet High Tide.

::He’s not going to be happy:: Bumblebee said softly as he twirled his servos anxiously

“I understand your concern Bumblebee, but we can’t hold the truth for much longer” Optimus said as he activated the groundbridge

::What do I tell Ratchet?:: Bee asked as he stationed himself at the console as Optimus walked toward the green portal

“That I went to meet High Tide” Optimus said curtly as he walked into the portal leaving a worried scout behind

As the portal closed behind him, Optimus looked for High Tide’s ship and when spotting it a distance away he made his trek underwater as he gave High Tide a message beforehand of his arrival. When stopping in front of the large ship, the hatch opened and the prime walked through as the water dropped down his frame. He gave a surprised yelp as he was suddenly drenched with solvent as familiar barking was heard in the ship.

“That’s enough Servo, I’m sure O.P. can give an explanation to those frequencies that we tracked from deep in space,” High Tide said as he crossed his arms

Optimus sighed as he was led to the ship’s command center and was met with charts and maps of High Tide’s adventure through space. But what caught his optics was the four spark signatures on the monitor and the familiar frequency he used with the Griffin Rock base.

“You have questions” Optimus said as a High Tide didn’t turn to look at him

“For many millennia I thought I was the last Rescue Bot but when I first tracked down these spark signatures in space I couldn’t believe my optics” High Tide began as he looked over at a map where he searched for the rescue bots “but when I got there. It was just empty space”

“I doubt that stopped you from looking” Optimus said as High Tide chuckled bitterly

“I’ve spent so many deca-cycles looking, then I tracked down their frequency and here I am on earth” High Tide as he finally turned to look at Optimus “but why didn’t you tell me” he snapped

The prime sighed as he walked forward and looked over at the maps and drawn out charts. “Keeping them safe was my top priority, they have never met violence in their entire lifetime” He explained “when I first encountered them, they had no idea of the war going on around them as they woke from stasis due to a message I’ve sent out many vorns ago”

High Tide remained quiet as he let Optimus tell him of the rescue bots on Griffin Rock, he even told them of their coordinates as the prime knew the older bot wouldn’t hesitate to visit his fellow rescue bots. They talked for a while and seeing how late it got, High Tide offered for Optimus to stay the night as the currents were usually stronger when the moon was high. The prime agreed and he sent a message to Bumblebee to head to recharge and inform the team of his whereabouts in the morning. Getting a confirmed message back after a few klicks he chuckled knowing his younger scout probably went to recharge while waiting for him and his message most likely woke him up.

Optimus now currently resided in the guest quarters as he thought of what to tell the rescue bots back at Griffin Rock. It only took a matter of seconds for him to drift off into recharge as the sounds of the ocean’s current lulled him to sleep.