A New Dawn - Transformers Prime (4)

Chapter Thirty-Two

THIS SONG.

It literally pulled this entire story together. Ever hear something and all of a sudden you realize what has to happen in the story? That was this song for me. It honestly saved the story, believe me.

Anyways, enough of my chit chat. I know I haven't been posting as often, and that's because I've run out of pre-written chapters and have to actually write, which is a struggle on its own. Not to mention I've been called back to work (it's crazy), so your patience is much appreciated! Now, enjoy lovelies! :)

[Finn]

  Nurse Darby began to tend everyone's injuries the moment we stepped through the ground bridge. She had ushered us up to the living area, forcing us to sit down as she cleaned us up. Miko and Jack both got solid bruises and bumps on their heads, but nothing that would cause serious damage and would take longer than a couple weeks max to heal. I was a little worse for wear, with that calf wound and a fractured rib, but I'd survived worse. Amanda had flat out denied all of Nurse Darby's attempts to bandage her hand, and Nurse Darby didn't push, not after I shook my head. Truthfully, I didn't think I'd even had to give her the sign. Amanda hadn't said a word since the others had joined us and we went through the ground bridge, following us only to curl up on the couch, her knees tight against her chest. Her hazel eyes were glassy as she got lost in her thoughts.

  The Autobots had fought hard against the Chaos Fernontas on the scene, but more and more continued to arrive to the point that retreat was inevitable. Still, once we reported that we had Amanda, Ultra Magnus was completely willing to pull everyone back to the base. Now everyone was gathered in the main area, all lost in their own thoughts.

  "So now what?" Miko said, the first one to break the long silence.

  Jack looked over at her. "What do you mean?"

  "We have our head honcho back, but we don't know what Valilorna was planning with Tempest," She explained. "Technically we're back to square one, chasing after whatever crumbs they leave behind."

  "She's not wrong," Arcee agreed. "We need to gather intel on what they've been raiding all those facilities for."

  Ultra Magnus looked over at Ratchet and Raf. "Were you able to locate any patterns in the heists or the items stolen?"

  Ratchet shook his head. "No, everything still appears to be completely random. If we had an idea of what we're looking at, maybe a pattern would appear, but otherwise there isn't much to see but a grocery list."

  "Fantastic," Smokescreen muttered. "If anything, we were set back by shifting our focus."

  I sucked in a breath, the others all doing the same, but that wasn't before Amanda visibly flinched. Smokescreen realized his mistake, eyes widening slightly.

  "I mean- not that it was a bad set back- but-" He stuttered, and Bumblebee cut him off.

  "It doesn't matter what happened," He said, tone not leaving any room for argument. "We should be looking at our next move, not what's already happened and what can't be changed."

  Bulkhead nodded. "Maybe we can try to track down Tempest's hide out?"

  "We've tried," Raf spoke up. "But not only do they have Decepticon tech on their side, but there's also the Valilorna factor. We have nothing to grasp on to try to find them."

  "So we're stuck," Arcee concluded.

  "No," We all spun around when Amanda's voice filled the air. It wasn't the strong, leader voice that we all had grown accustomed to. She was quieter and almost emotionless. "Tempest was carrying out what had to be done for Valilorna's Uprising."