Untold Secrets

9 | Hello, old friend

A smile graced your lips as you gently brushed your fingers along the smooth metal of the side of Ironhide's alt mode. You missed him, you really did. "Hey there, 'Hide." You greeted softly, gently patting his hood. "You remember me? Y/N? I'm from N.E.S.T."

Upon hearing the word 'N.E.S.T.' leave your mouth, a slight hissing noise filled the room before Ironhide's alt mode began folding in on itself and shifting. You took a step back so you wouldn't be crushed and watched with a grin as Ironhide fully transformed, his bright blue optics peering down at you.

"I was wondering if someone was going to respond to my signal." The weapons specialist grunted, rolling his shoulders a bit to loosen up the joints. "Is it just you?"

You casually jabbed your thumb over your shoulder. "No, Ratchet's outside. I'll fill you in on everything once we find a secure place to lay low." You replied, slipping your pistol into its holster. You felt a lot safer now that Ironhide was here.

Ironhide nodded once, slowly rising to his full height and lumbering over to the massive door on the widest wall of the warehouse. He lifted it like it was nothing, ignoring the terrible creaking noises it made and stepping outside with you trailing behind. When his optics landed on Ratchet's alt mode, he cracked a grin and put his hands on his hips. "What a sight for sore optics. Nice alt mode." He snorted in amusement, watching as Ratchet transformed.

"Ironhide? I thought you— We—" Ratchet paused in order to gather his thoughts. "We all thought that... well.. Sentinel killed you. You've been alive this whole time?" He finally said, his voice heavy with emotion. He was in disbelief that his friend that he believed was deceased was now standing right in front of him.

Ironhide glanced away, obviously a bit bothered, before looking back. "It was part of a plan that wouldn't have worked if my death wasn't staged." He answered, glancing down at you.

You got the memo and spoke up for him. "I really wanted to tell you, Ratchet, but it could've put everyone's lives in even more danger. I can explain everything when we find a place to spend the night. Please understand why we had to keep it a secret from you..." You looked at the medic with a soft gaze, scanning his face for any sign of hurt or betrayal. If anything, Ratchet was just still in shock. Hopefully he'd come around.

After a few minutes of silence, Ratchet finally nodded with a heavy sigh. "Alright." He murmured, flicking his gaze to Ironhide again. He reached out with one hand and set it on Ironhide's shoulder, squeezing it gently. "It's good to have you back, old friend. You've missed a lot."

"You too, Ratch. Now, I know I have a lot of catching up to do, but the most important thing right now is getting back together with Optimus. Without him, we're no better than pit-bound scavengers." Ironhide muttered, crossing his arms across his chassis. "So what's our next move?"

You thought for a moment, pacing back and forth under the watchful optics of both Autobots. Finally, you came to a conclusion. "Like I said before, we'll find a place to camp out and fill Ironhide in on everything he needs to know. Tomorrow, we'll work on finding the others. Does that sound good?" You asked, looking up at them with a hopeful gaze.

You sighed in relief when they both nodded in agreement. After that was finished, both of them transformed, you climbed into Ratchet's front seat, and you were off again.

Except this time, you had another bot on your side.

———

"Alright, let me get this straight." Ironhide huffed, pinching what would be his nose with his thumb and index finger. "N.E.S.T was decommissioned after the battle of Chicago around the time I went into hiding, Cemetery Wind, a rogue CIA group, is hunting us down for spare parts to give to some company run by more idiot humans, you saved Ratchet from death, and now the others are scattered to the winds?"

You nodded, wincing at his tone. He definitely seemed upset, but he had been in hiding for so long that it was almost like the world had moved on without him. "I know that sounds like a lot, but it's what we know as of right now. We're still working on a plan to find Optimus and the others, as well as Lennox. I'm going to kick his ass when I get my hands on him." You muttered, cracking your knuckles.

"So... you're saying that we're basically on our own unless we can somehow make contact with Optimus and not be detected?"

"Yes."

"And you still have no possible clue as to where they are."

"Not now, no."

"This is going to be fun... just like when we got stranded in Polyhex, remember Ratchet?"

"I'd rather not remember that miserable incident..."