1. Guardians (A TFP Fanfiction Story)

Chapter 12

It wasn't long after Agent Fowler left that the rest of the Autobots returned to base. Their engines revved as they halted to a stop, but I woke up from the noise, I did notice that they were going conveniently slower than I had seen them race in previously with the kids. I gave them all a worried glance as they transformed into their biped modes after the children had jumped out. Miko looked a little disappointed, while the two boys looked slightly solemn. As my eyes searched over the Autobot guardians, I could see why. Arcee was covered in dents and scratches, while Bumblebee's paintjob had tire marks over his chest chassis(?). Bulkhead looked fine, but his pedes were dragging across the floor as he made his way to Optimus Prime.

"We confronted some 'Cons," Bulkhead sighed. "On the way back from picking the kids up."

"Don't worry," Jack piped in, seeing Optimus bemused expression. "They dropped us off before engaging."

Miko huffed. "They didn't have to," she muttered.

"Knockout and Breakdown were escaping with Energon," Arcee said, gently rubbing her arm with her servo. "We went after them, but were cut off by reinforcements. They must have not really wanted a fight, because as soon as the duo were out of our range, the Vehicons fled."

Bumblebee whirred something to Arcee I couldn't understand, but Raf gave him a stressed look. Ratchet sighed from behind me.

"We could have used that Energon," he muttered bitterly, before waving a servo at Arcee. "You need an examination. The rest of you, as well."

The guardians begrudgingly dragged their pedes over to the medic station, which was once again out of my line of sight, from where I was. I gave a stressed, worried sigh and hugged my knees again. The other children all ran up to my medical bed, standing around me.

"So, did you do anything fun while we were stuck in boresville?" she asked excitedly. Jack rolled his eyes, but didn't comment.

I shook my head, remembering my nightmare. "Not really.. other than meeting Agent Fowler."

Their eyes all widened in shock. "You met Agent Fowler?!" Jack exclaimed.

"He must have yelled at you a lot," Raf said, shuddering at his own harsh memories of the Agent.

I shook my head again, surprising them. "Only a little.. he wasn't as bad as you guys said."

They all gave a collective sigh, confusing me. Were they worried about something?

"Well, that's good," Raf sighed, beaming at me.

"Yeah, I don't think you really need anyone yelling at you right now," Miko said in a low voice, receiving a harsh elbow to the ribs from Jack. I blinked at her.

"What do you mean?"

"Well..," Jack started, rubbing the back of his head. "You just seem to be going through a lot right now, so..."

"I guess we didn't want you to get more upset," the teenage girl said, smiling gently, a rarer sight form the girl.

I resisted crying out of... joy? I felt like I had already shed enough tears today. Instead, I reached out and smooshed the two closest to me into a big hug, which happened to be Miko and Raf. They laughed and returned it genuinely, squeezing me as well. Jack stood off to the side, smiling like a big brother. I looked to him gratefully and motioned for him to get in there. He blushed slightly, rubbing the back of his head again, but reluctantly did so.

"Aw, you guys look like you're getting along well," Bulkhead teased, but his grin was sweet. He was up again now, standing over us with a happy look on his faceplate.