Outsider
By
Robot Zombie

o-o-o-o-o-o

Chapter 8

o-o-o-o-o-o

Watching him closely as he searched, Arcee couldn't stop herself from frowning as she advanced across the vast battlefield. She ignored the crunch of the ground under her massive weight while she approached, although did not lighten her footsteps so that she didn't startle the former Wrecker. She couldn't see his expression because of his back being towards her so she had to rely on his magnetic field and stance.

She stopped only a stone's throw away and scanned over his tense form. Carefully, the blue warrior reached out with her petite hand and brushed the digits over his aura, testing the waters before she dove in. She was surprised when he didn't speak but refused to show so, and she stepped forward once more to stand next to him.

"You're worrying again," she commented dryly. "It's useless to worry. We'll find her."

"Dead or alive," the green mech grunted, without looking at the femme.

"Bulkhead," she snapped, optics swirling to focus on him. "Don't-"

"I'm not stupid."

"What," she scowled, "I never claimed that you were, Bul-"

"No, listen to me," he snapped, voice trembling with anger. It surprised the female scout enough to jump to attention, optics twirling as they focused on the fuming ex-Wrecker. "There's no sign of life out here; Cybertronian or human. We can't contact her, and the Decepticons haven't contacted us. It's been almost two solar-cycles... you know what that means."

"If a soldier is MIA for more than two solar-cycles, you're not looking for a life-form but a..."

"Corpse," he finished for her, a solemn look on his face plates.

"You can't think like that," Arcee replied icily, but then regretted it the moment she noticed the expression he wore. She knew it all too well from looking in the mirror and did something she normally wouldn't. She reached out, brushing her slender yet deadly digits over his massive servo in an attempt to reassure him. She was surprised when he shifted his hand, extending his smallest finger. There was a warmth that filled her systems when she wrapped her fingers around it, and she found herself feeling a bit uncomfortable with the rightness that echoed through her processor. Still, she added, "This is Miko we're talking about and she's going to be fine. She always is."

"I was with her those times," he pointed out, seemingly sinking into himself but locking gazes with the femme. "This time I'm not. I've got to be the worst guar-"

"Don't. Don't say that," she interrupted. "We're going to find her. We're not going to stop looking until we do."

"... 'Cee?"

"Let's split up," she announced while releasing him. She placed her servos on her petite hips, giving him a look of determination. She studied the confused expression, and soon found herself giving a light smile. "We'll cover more ground that way. We'll stay in radio contact at all times, in case we run into something. Any clues are to be-"

"Thank you," he added suddenly, causing the femme to perk up.

o-o-o

Sitting on the couch playing video games, the two boys still didn't look their normal selves; the youngest not really focused on the game while the older seemed equally as distant. It was only when Jack's cell phone rang that the game, neither child's score particularly good, was paused. The dark haired teen turned to the end table and grabbed the device, flipping it open and placing it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Uhm, Jack Darby?"

"Yeah," Jack blinked.

"Oh, good!"

"What's going on," Raf mouthed, looking curious as he turned in his seat. He frowned a bit as his friend shrugged and gave a confused look that rivalled his inquisitive one. The younger male watched as his friend frowned slightly and leaned back on the couch, glancing down in thought then perking up.

"Uh, who is this?"

"Oh, I'm sorry! I forgot that we've never actually spoken. It's Michelle."

"Who," Jack questioned, confusion taking over his tone even more.

"Um, Miko's host mother."

"Miko's... oh," Jack yelped and straightened up, looking to a puzzled Raf. "Miko's host parents. I'm sorry about that. What can I, uh, do for you."

"Well, you see, I can't seem to get in contact with her and she hasn't come home yet. We were wondering since she said she would be staying with you..."

"Oh, uh, well, that's a funny story actually," he supplied lamely, in a panic. He hadn't really thought this far ahead but now that he thought about it, he probably should have. It was only a matter of time that her host family would begin to wonder where their guest was and now that he was confronted with it, he didn't know exactly what to say. So he did the only thing that he could; he lied through his teeth and prayed that he was believed, just long enough for the Autobots to do their thing. "Her cell phone died and we haven't gotten a chance to come get the charger. You know, with the school project that we're working on and everything."

"School project," Raf said in a somewhat amused tone, yet quiet enough for only Jack to pick up on it. "No one who knows—"

"Oh thank God! I thought she was just going to ignore that assignment! I'm so happy that she has found friends that assist her, I was afraid that she was going to fail."

Jack kind of stopped listening. He turned his gaze to Raf before nabbing a sheet of paper, scribbling a single question if they had a project that he may have overlooked with work and the Autobots, and the recent Miko incident. He glanced up at the younger boy, who thankfully had managed to be intelligent enough to skip a few grades or so. He gave him a funny look then pushed up his glasses, shaking his head to Jack's relief. This just meant that Miko had been, as usually, lying to the couple that she shared a home with.

"Is she handy right now?"

"Uh, no, ma'am," he answered, a bit shaken at having to sprout out another lie without making the entire situation obvious. "She's in the garage. Getting supplies for the project."

"Oh..."

Jack remembered something and his lips twitched upward into that of a half-smirk. He needed this phone call to end and now, and he needed to do it so that she would want to hang up without any farther questions. "Would you like to wait until she gets back?"

"What are you doing," Raf hissed lowly.

"Hang on," Jack mouthed to the boy.

"Oh no, I have work. Just have her call me when she has the chance."

"Will do, ma'am," he replied.

"Bye."

"Goodbye," he said politely before hanging up the phone. He tossed the device next to him on the couch and glanced at Raf, who looked more amazed than anything else. "What?"

"How did you do that," the younger boy asked.

"My mom always said there's one thing she hates, and that's waiting for someone to come to the phone. She just tells them to have the person call her back," he answered, sighing heavily. "We also got lucky that she needed to go to work."

"Yeah," he nodded then frowned. "One problem though."

"What's that?"

"Now she's going to be waiting for Miko to call, and we still have no real idea where she is."

"... scrap."

o-o-o

Miko sprang to her feet once Breakdown had disappeared, leaving her alone with Knock Out again. Although afraid, she couldn't let the overgrown manic know that, so she did the only thing she could manage to do. She placed her petite hands to her hips and narrowed her eyes, leaning forward and probably looked as ridiculous as she felt doing it. "What the HECK was that?"

"Whatever do you mean," he responded, sounding far too innocent for her liking. He surprisingly turned to her with his servos dripping energon from a 'patient'. "I'm not sure if I understand what you're babbling about this time. Not that I ever understand what you're primitive rambling is about."

"You know," she growled, channeling her inner-Starscream without realizing it. "How could you betray Starscream like that! He told you not to – what are you laughing about?" Oh yes, of course, Knock Out had to stand there laughing like an idiot, like he knew something that she didn't. "KNOCK OUT!"

"I'm sorry," he managed to turn his pure, humorous laughter into a dark chuckle. "You dare ask me why I betrayed the ultimate traitor. It's just that the irony is so... oh, what's the word? Does it even matter? Would you even understand? Probably not."

"Hey," she snapped, thrusting an accusing finger in his direction. "That's just rude! I'm not stupid, y'know!"

"Oh you could have fooled me."

"Why I oughta–"

"Your threats are useless here," the medic hummed as he approached the table that she'd been stranded on. He seemed mildly surprised when the young teen backed away, lamely attempting to shield herself from his massive form. "How odd. I would have figured you were having the time of your life. Isn't this what you always wanted? In the middle of the action?"

"I...I..." she stuttered, not exactly sure what to do. Of course she'd always loved being in the middle of the action, but then she had Bulkhead. Every time that she had raced off to join the mission, her guardian was always there—protecting, caring—and here she was alone. It was this realization that made the teen understand what the Autobots—and Jack—had been trying to tell her forever now.

"Now," the medic smirked down at the child. "I don't normally threaten the meek pets that are kept here, but, if you so much as breathe a word of this to the commander... I'll have to gather my partner and have a nice conversation with Lord Megatron over his second's recent activities. That would be a real pity, because I'm just starting to like you."

She flinched visibly before attempting to pull herself together, "If you tell, you'll get in trouble too!"

"I doubt it," he responded nonchalantly. He reached over and scooped her up with a single talon, lifting her tiny frame to his face and level with his optics. "Who is Megatron going to believe? A treacherous liar like Starscream, or his ever loyal medic?"

"I-I'll tell him," she almost squeaked at him, despite wanting to sound more sure of herself.

"If you're still alive," he replied simply before lowering her into the small container they'd had for her. "Lord Megatron does not play well with organics."

"I—"

"Knock Out," a voice came over his comm. The medic lifted a servo to hush the girl, turning slightly. "Knock Out, do you copy?"

"Yes, Breakdown," he purred as he activated the link. "What can I do for you?"

"Mission. We're to go check out one of the mines, make sure the miners are doing their job," he answered, sounding a bit awkward. "If you're not too busy, of course."

"I'm never too busy for you," he snickered, optics brightening. He glanced over his shoulder to see the girl looking between confused and disgusted, an urge to farther annoy the child came to him. "As long as you give me a nice polish when we return."

"Knock Out," came his partner's warning tone. "Meet me in the control room as soon as possible."

"I'm taking that as a yes," he responded before the link was closed. He turned to the containment unit completely, noticing the organic's look, and closed the top. He lifted the container and moved towards one of the cabinets, snickering when the girl tumbled inside and glared.

"What's going on," she snapped. "What are you doing?"

"I've got a mission," he hummed and placed her in the cabinet. He smirked and closed up the door, deciding mercifully not to lock it in case Starscream showed up. "And you're going to be a good pet, and shut up and behave. 'Kay?"

"Don't you dare!"

"Can't hear you," he nearly sang out as he turned, crossing the room and leaving the whining child behind.

o-o-o

Pacing back and forth, Starscream clasped his servos tightly behind his back as he ran over this part of the plan in his processor. His quarters were quiet for the first time since the human had arrived there; no one speaking and certainly no odd organic noises, which the child produced all the time. It unnerved him a bit, to be able to hear himself think like this again, but then it also allowed him to hear the shift in the air. He paused and turned his helm, staring at the nothingness that was there.

"Did anyone see you come in," he asked icily.

"Do they ever," a voice answered, tone smooth and lacking any set emotions.

He snorted, "Of course not."

"Do you have the information," was the next question, then foot steps echoed quietly through the still room.

"The datapad on the shelf," the seeker answered, shifting and advancing over to his desk. He listened to the footsteps that thudded lightly and seated himself with his back to the shelf across the room. "The location for the next meeting is inside."

"You're going to have to give me something more than mine locations," the voice responded, sounding mildly amused. "They're not really interested in this at the moment. Maybe next time you'll give me the information about the human, that is if you know where she is."

"I'll keep an optic out for it," he sneered over his shoulder, before hearing a shuffle next to him. He whipped him helm around and noticed two data pads sitting in front of him. He added in an annoyed tone, "These better be the ones I ordered, unlike last time."

"Then you shouldn't have given me locations to stripped mines," was the retort.

"How was I to know that the miners were done there," Starscream responded, words dripping with sarcasm. He had indeed known that those mines were useless, that time, and given it to the visitor in order to punish him for being late. However, the other hadn't taken his actions well and the next drop delivered him data pads that contained a novel about a mech and his robopuppy. Not something that would help the seeker in the least.

There was an annoyed snort, then there footsteps heading to the door before all was silent again. The doors opened and then closed, letting the seeker know that he was alone once more. He leaned back in his chair, mindful of his wings, and activated the first data pad. Much to his relief, it had been the correct one and he leaned over it, optics scanning over the words written and allowing them to be memorized for future reference.

o-o-o-o-o-o

To be continued.

o-o-o-o-o-o

A/N: Okay, so as you can see, there's another plot showing its face. Most of you probably have already figured out just who Starscream's invisible visitor was, but probably wondering just what he's doing there. Well, in the next chapter you'll find out just why, which by the way is probably going to be one of the most exciting of them all. Everything is finally going to start coming to light and bad, bad things are going to happen. I'm not just saying that either.

Guys, guys... one hundred reviews. I never thought I'd see the day that something I wrote would get so much attention. My minions, how I adore your insanity and love of mine. It brings me great joy to have you all around, and I would like to remind you of the livejournal. There you will find previews for upcoming chapters, graphics, and open Q&A for each chapter. The Q&A is a new thing I'm testing out so give it a try, I suppose.

In other news, I saw Hurt when it premiered and I'm kind of on the fence about it. I loved Miko's characterization and Wheeljack's angst was beautifully done, but I'm not too sure about Bulkhead. I've always been kind of 'meh' about his character, but if they handle this right, he might become one of my favorites. Yes, before you ask, I don't want him to be fully functional again, and I want them to display the reality of war injuries. Then again, maybe I'm just expecting too much from a cartoon?