Azura was still trembling as she lingered underneath Ratchet. She looked around fearfully as she glanced around the lobby and the open panel. She glanced at the ground bridge, hoping that this could be fixed very, very soon. She didn't know how she would feel knowing the possibility of Optimus dying. It would really break her heart, and probably spirit all together. She's already lived a life believing her parents abandoned her, and now knowing who her parents were, she wasn't ready to lose them. Although, she knew one was gone. Megatron might have played a part in her creation, but she did not know how he would even be with a sparkling.
She watched Jack and Miko walk towards them with confused expressions. They both were curious about why the lights were dimming. She still wondered where Raf was, but if he was just doing his own thing somewhere and he was safe, there wasn't much to worry about. But Raf wasn't exactly brave either, so he might be startled by the dimming of the lights and he might have a panic attack because of it.
She turned her head when Ratchet gasped loudly, reaching in and pulling out one of the circuits. She widened her eyes when the circuit he was holding looked like different parts of it had either been chomped through, or melted. She assumed they had been melted given the black around the edges. "We most definitely have a problem. But what could have caused this?" Ratchet was still confused by the whole thing.
Azura jumped again when the lights dimmed once more. "Or that," Bulkhead said bluntly, glancing up at the lights as Jack and Miko stop by the autobots, looking at the panel curiously. "It isn't doing Azura much good."
"No, it is not," Ratchet agreed, looking back at the circuit. "She's never really slept in the dark here before." He glanced down at her briefly before looking back at the circuit. "However, this might just be because of the main grid. Hopefully it isn't a substation malfunction." He looked back at the circuit to study it closely.
Azura didn't know what to believe, but she wanted to hope the same as Ratchet. "Hey guys..." She turned her head quickly when she heard Rafael. "Look what I found."
Ratchet was immediately annoyed by Raf's sentence as he looked away from the circuit. "We're busy!" He shouts at Rafael before he suddenly screamed in shock and fear.
Azura didn't have time to realize as Ratchet scooped her up suddenly, making her scream in surprise as the medic and the other two bots backed away fearfully as though they just seen something scary, like a snake. Ratchet held her against his chassis as she looked at Rafael. He was holding something in his arms. It looked like a small, robotic insect of some kind, and it was recharging in Raf's arms. Bulkhead and Bumblebee both stand in front of Ratchet with their canons armed towards the boy.
Miko and Jack were both alarmed at the autobots' reaction as they back themselves over to Raf, who was shocked at their reaction too. "Hey, hey!" Miko shouts, raising her hands to try and diffuse the reaction. "What's with you guys?"
"Scraplet!" Bulkhead began to shout fearfully, making Azura look at him with wide eyes. "SCRAPLET!"
Raf frowned as he heard the name. "What's a scraplet?"
"The most dangerous vermin to crawl upon the face of Cybertron," Ratchet responded in complete disgust, glaring at the creature that was still recharging in Raf's arms.
Jack and Miko glance at each other, surprised by what they just heard and did not seem to believe them. They both relaxed at this point too. "This?" Jack gestured at the scraplet in disbelief with a light chuckle. "Are you kidding me?"
"You're giant robots," Miko said with a smile, spreading her arms as an expression of their size. "Scrappy here is teeny."
Bulkhead was panicking as he shook his head, it was something Azura had never seen before and that made her think she should be scared too. It these adult autobots were scared of this scraplet, she should be too. "You have no idea the damage that teeny thing can do!"
Raf was still rubbing the scraplet's head and still did not believe the bots as he glanced down at the scraplet. "Aw, he wouldn't hurt anything."
That seemed to wake the scraplet up as it lifts its head and blinked. It's bright purple eyes turn as it locked onto the sight to the three autobots and sparkling. It took only a second before it's face plates open suddenly, revealing a mouth filled with rows of sharp teeth that seemed to rotate within its mouth and the sound it made sounded like a very loud, powerful screwdriver. A sound that made Azura shudder, and when the scraplet jumped from Raf's arms, it's teeth chomp together quickly as it ran towards the bots quickly.
Azura tensed as Ratchet covered her with his other hand, shielding her from the scraplet's sight. Bumblebee and Bulkhead fire at the scraplet, which surprised her that they would do that within the lobby. But the scraplet seemed to take the hits and jump to the side very quickly, making it hard for the bots to get a good shot on them. The scraplet jumped at Bee's leg and she was horrified as she watched the scraplet begin to eat around Bee's leg. The scout fell onto his rear in both shock, fear and pain, staring the scraplet briefly.
He tried to grab the scraplet, only for it to seemingly eat through his hand. The scraplet seemed to freeze for a moment and turned its head towards Azura. Before it could do anything, Bee swipes his hand at the scraplet, flicking it off his arm onto the ground. When it landed on the ground, the scraplet got back up and proceeded to run towards the bots again, only this time the humans seemed to get the message that these things were dangerous.
Raf ran over to the scraplet and slammed a crowbar on its head, successfully stopping the bot and destroying its head. It was clear that these bots were weak against brute force to their body, especially when they were not expecting it. Azura trembled as she did not know what to think. If these things eat metal, they could be the reason why the bridge was down. But she wondered where these things even came from. Certainly not from Earth.
Raf took out his anger on the scraplet until Jack grabbed the crowbar, stopping the boy from continuing. "E-Easy there, killer," He said to the boy gently, taking the tool from Raf so he could calm down.
Raf took deep breaths before realizing his mistake and ran over to Bee. Ratchet kept a hold of Azura as he knelt down to check Bee's injuries. They didn't look bad, but the amount of damage done to Bee was extremely fast and clearly brutal, and it reminded her of piranhas. Which did not help at all, and the fact Ratchet was holding her said that she was the most vulnerable, and she hated that. She felt panic rising in her at that thought.
"I'm sorry, Bumblebee!" Rafael apologized with a worried expression.
Bee looked at him kindly, not taking offence that the boy did not know the danger. "Don't worry, it's okay, Rafael." Bee was too kind it would seem.
Raf was still worried, despite the confident response he got. He looked at Ratchet hopefully. "Is he gonna be okay?!"
"Only a mesh wound." Ratchet's voice was gentle as he responded, likely to not worry Raf any further. And to not worry her further either. "He'll live."
"Now do you believe me?!" Bulkhead asked in frustration. He was still worried and afraid as he spoke, but not as much as he was before. "All scraplets do is dismantle machinery and eat anything metal. Especially loving metal!"
Living metal...even me...oh, no. That means...oh scrap!
Jack looked at the bots sympathetically as he walked back over to them with Miko. "Well, bug squashed, game over, right?"
"No." Azura looked up at Ratchet with wide eyes as soon as the medic said that, making her shiver fearfully. "When it comes to scraplets there's never just one. And I fear I know how they got in here." He turned his head with a frown as he thought on how they got in here.
"Okay, so here's the next question..." Azura looked at Miko when the girl spoke with a confused expression. "You said these things eat metal, right?" Ratchet looked back at the girl and nodded. "Why did you grab Azura like she could be eaten? She's a human, too! She cannot be eaten!"
Azura tensed and whimpered a little as the girl questioned why Ratchet had grabbed her protectively, and she didn't like it. Ratchet sighed deeply before he spoke. "As much as you might like to believe that she is a human, Azura is not." The girl looked at Ratchet, placing her hand on his cheek and the medic softened his expression. "Azura, I am sorry. I know you wanted to tell them in your own time, but under these circumstances, we have no choice." She frowned and looked down, taking a deep, nervous breath as she knew what was about to be said. Jack was looking at her sympathetically, while Miko and Raf waited for the explanation. "And I am afraid it is a long story, but understand that Azura did not know until three years ago. She is, well..." He glanced down at her briefly before looking at the three kids. "She is Optimus Prime's daughter."
Miko frowned in confusion and Raf widened his eyes in shock. Jack seemed to be happy, though he didn't show it as Azura's eyes well with tears. "I knew it!"
Miko looked at Jack in surprise. "Wait, you knew?! How?!"
"Well, I've known Azura for about three years and she used to tell me she was an orphan," The boy explained gently. "But after we were brought to the base, and we saw that Azura was already here, I noticed small things. I noticed that the bots were affectionate towards Azura. And I mean they seemed to adore her as though she were a child. I didn't understand, until I asked some questions, and I became suspicious as she and Optimus seemed to have a different bond to the others. Especially with how Optimus holds her."
"You are very intuitive, Jack," Bulkhead said with a gentle smile. "You figured it out based on what you know of Azura, and by observation. We appreciate that you did not come out and ask directly, as Azura had wanted to tell you in time." He glanced at Azura as she let out a few soft sobs. "But...as Ratchet said, this is a different circumstance. We will tell you the full story later. We need to figure out what to do now regarding the scraplets."
Miko stared at Azura as she watched the girl cry softly. She didn't want to believe it, but it seemed like a genuine reaction. "Hmm, okay. I'll believe you for a bit, but...she looks like she has flesh! Won't the scraplets ignore her?"
"I am afraid sparklings are extremely vulnerable when it comes to scraplets. And while it looks like her skin is flesh, it is actually a very soft, metal membrane," Ratchet explained as he stood up. Bulkhead helped Bee to his feet and the medic turned to walk into the hallway, gesturing for the others to follow. "And scraplets happen to love that type of metal more than us."
Azura shivered and buried her face into Ratchet's chassis, feeling very frightened about this situation. She had thought it would not be terrible, but it seemed she was wrong. Ratchet rubbed her back gently as he walked through the hallways to the large room where the pod had been placed. And she realized this was probably how the scraplets got into the base.
Jack, Miko and Raf all found items to use to hit the scraplets if they ever come across any on the way. Miko was staring at Ratchet with a frown. She was so curious about how Azura could be Optimus's daughter, who her mother is and why she looked like a human. Jack was more concerned on how vulnerable Azura was to scraplets, and he did not like it at all. And if what Ratchet said was true, he hoped that they could protect her well enough.
"So..." Jack looked at Miko when she began to speak to him. "I still don't get how you figured out that Azura was Optimus's kid. How did you figure out?"
"Well...uh..." Jack grimaced a little as he knew that Miko might not believe Azura was a Cybertronian sparkling. "When I first met Azura three years ago, she seemed to be in a low place. While she enjoyed spending time with me, I remember seeing her stare outside with a sad expression. When she told me she was an orphan and had just been adopted from an orphanage in Wyoming, I had assumed she was simply missing Fowler. He actually portrayed the act of being her adopted father."
"That explains why Fowler acted weird when we saw him the first time," Rafael said thoughtfully as he listened to Jack. "But...Ratchet said Azura did not even know until three years ago. I...I wonder what the full story is. She must have believed she was an orphan."
"That is what I am thinking as well. And something obviously happened three years ago, because Azura was living in a single bedroom unit during those three years." Jack glanced up at Ratchet, even though he couldn't see Azura, he knew that the medic was still carrying her. "Now that I think back, a lot of things made sense. Anyway, I noticed right away that Optimus seemed to carry Azura like she is a baby. He was cradling her, not simply carrying her."
"Huh, I noticed too. But didn't think much of it." Miko tapped her lips with her index finger thoughtfully and shrugged. "Actually, come to think of it, there were many instances that I can think of that seemed...odd. Azura did seem to act younger than seventeen..."
"I have noticed too. But if she is indeed Optimus Prime's daughter, and sparkling seems to be their word for baby, I am going to assume she could technically be very young, despite being seventeen." Bulkhead glanced at Jack and nodded affirmatively to him. "Uh, I am right, it would seem."
"You are, Jack. Even though Azura is seventeen in Earth years, she is still considered an infant. She has many, many more years ahead of her as our life cycles are much longer than humans." Bulkhead shuddered as they enter the large room, glancing at the ground as there was a streak of water running into the drain from the melted ice. He widened his optics as he gazed at the pod. "Oh no..."
Ratchet approached the pod cautiously and transformed his right arm into a torch, shining the light as he gazed upon it. Azura stared at the pod, seeing that there was a large hole in it and it clearly had been chomped on. She was still trembling and she did not like it at all. "How...h-how w-w-would there h-have been scraplets in there in the f-f-first place?"
Ratchet intakes heavily as he observed the pod while he listened to Azura's question. "It's a trap. A scraplet trap."
"Uhh, an empty scraplet trap," Bulkhead said nervously as he held his fingers together nervously, staring into the empty pod with fear filled optics.
"Most likely ejected into space eons ago," Ratchet explained calmly, though his calm voice was something Azura didn't pay attention to. She could hear his spark pulse rate, and it was fast, and it was clear he was nervous. "Only to wind up in the Arctic where the temperature kept them in stasis."
"Until we brought the thaw," Jack commented worryingly, gazing at the pod as he wondered just how many scraplets there were in the base.
"Now they're wide awake and ready to brunch," Miko said softly, at least the reality of the situation with the scraplets seemed to have made her focus on the situation. Especially after seeing Bee being munched on.
"So how many are we talking about?" Rafael asked nervously, worried about the potential number.
Azura was worried too, and she looked up at the medic worryingly. "A thousand." A thousand! Azura whimpered and chewed the tip of her fingernails nervously. "And the power malfunctions and ground bridge damage are sure signs that their infestation is well under way." He transformed his hand back to normal from the torch and rubbed Azura's back gently to comfort her. "We need to alert Optimus of our situation. I fear that he and Arcee will need to take shelter while we deal with the issue."
Ratchet turned and walked out of the room quickly with the other bots and humans behind him. Azura was worried about Optimus. She hoped to Primus that they could get the ground bridge fixed in time. She didn't even want to think what would happen to Optimus should they fail. But she also didn't want to think about what would happen to her and the other bots if they fail too. She did not want to be lunch to a bunch of metal piranhas. And she already disliked that she was the most vulnerable, and the tastiest, to the scraplets.
She didn't say anything to Ratchet as she didn't know what to say to him. She was simply too terrified to really want to speak. Ratchet himself knew how terrified Azura was, but she also wasn't aware just how bad the scraplets were. He has been in unfortunate situations where he's witnessed sparklings swarmed by these things, and it is traumatizing. Especially as there were times he wasn't able to save the sparklings. And Ratchet knew he had to make sure that Azura stayed alive. These scraplets will not show her mercy, even if she looked like a human, they would only see the metal in her body.
Upon reaching the lobby, Ratchet made his way over to the console. He did not let Azura go, not that he could. She was clinging to him, and she likely wouldn't let go unless she had a good reason to. He used his right hand to open the com link in the hope of reaching Optimus and Arcee. "Ratchet to Optimus, do you read me? We have a situation!" As he spoke, the screens suddenly turn to static, scaring Azura even further. "The scraplets have gotten into the com link system!" He turned to face the two bots with a stern expression. Jack, Miko and Raf had climbed the stairs to the platform, all worried about the situation. "If we don't eradicate these creatures immediately, they will reduce the entire base to a scrapheap!"
"Well, I say we bug out of here and let them keep it!" Bulkhead responded hastily, shocking Azura that he would do that.
Bumblebee nodded in agreement. "I agree, we should scram!"
Ratchet narrowed his optics at the two bots. "Evacuation is not an option. If we don't get the ground bridge back online stat, Optimus and Arcee will perish." Azura grimaced and whimpered softly. "And while you seem okay to make Azura truly an orphan, I am not willing to allow that to happen."
Jack and Raf were immediately worried about the fact that Optimus and Arcee could die from the cold. Miko frowned as she was disappointed by Bulkhead's response and she walked over to him with her hands clenched. "Bulkhead, you never run!"
Bulkhead frowned back at the girl, knowing that she didn't understand the danger. "Miko, you haven't seen a swarm of these things devour a bot, I have." He glanced at Azura knowing she was about to hear this, but it had to be said. "They pick you apart from the inside out. Going for the small, juicy bits first. Fuse by fuse, circuit by circuit. Till there's nothing left, and I mean nothing!" Azura's bottom lip trembled as she listened to Bulkhead explain how scraplets eat. "Not even your optics..."
The three kids glance at each other with full understanding of what was before them now that Bulkhead told them how the scraplets eat. Jack frowned confidently, tightening his grip on the metal pipe in his hand. "You have to let us help."
Rafael nodded in agreement with a smile. "We're not made of metal.
"Yeah, the scraplets can't hurt us!" Miko added confidently as she gestured to herself.
"Typically, I find your fleshiness to be your least engaging quality." Azura scoffed a little as she wasn't surprised that Ratchet took a jab at the humans, even though it seemed unwarranted to her. "But it would appear to provide an advantage under these extremes."
"Okay, good." Jack glanced at Azura, giving her a sympathetic expression as he could still see how frightened that she was currently, and he didn't blame her. Plus she was likely upset that it had been revealed that she's Optimus's daughter. "So we pair off. One bot, one human. I'll watch your back while you repair the ground bridge."
"And we go on a bug hunt!" Miko said enthusiastically with a big grin, holding up her crowbar ready to help. Bumblebee and Bulkhead look at each other and shudder with fear at the very thought of hunting down the scraplets.
"Very well." Ratchet intakes heavily and looked at Azura kindly. "I am going to need both of my hands free, Azura. You can stay right by me if you wish, but you can't cling to my chassis."
"Can't she go inside your chassis?" Jack asked curiously with a worried expression. Ratchet's expression softened to sadness and shook his head. "Why not? It seems like the safest place."
"I thought that one before as well, Jack. However...scraplets will know she's within me, and become unrelenting to the point where they will tear of anything to get to her." Azura shuddered as Ratchet walked over to the open panel. "She's safer to remain outside as the scraplets can be distracted by us."
Azura did not like that at all. Ratchet dropped to one knee by the panel and placed her down. She was quick to hug his leg fearfully. This Ratchet allowed. She was terrified and she let out some sobs as she didn't know what was going to happen. She saw Miko, Raf, Bumblebee and Bulkhead walk out of the lobby to try and track down the scraplets. She felt as though it was a bad idea, but it had to be done.
"Here..." Azura jumped and turned when she heard Jack. She widened her eyes when she saw he was holding a hammer and another metal pipe out to her. "Since the scraplets are weak to being hit by these things, you might need these."
Azura stared at the two tools before she took them, she was still trembling, but she knew she needed something to defend herself with. "Th-Thanks."
The boy smiled at her kindly. "And I am sorry." She frowned at him in confusion. "You weren't ready to say the truth, and I am sorry this situation forced it out."
Azura looked away from Jack for a moment before looking back at him with a smile. "It's okay...it was bound to come out in a way I didn't want I guess." She stepped away from Ratchet and hugged Jack, careful of the tools in her hand. "And I'm sorry too...I shouldn't have lied."
"No, no, I completely understand." He rubbed her back gently before pushing her away gently. "Still...why were you in that unit by yourself for three years?" She tensed and looked away. "Just the short story."
"Uh...I ran away...after finding out I'm Optimus's daughter." That surprised Jack, though he didn't say anything. "I...I am still struggling to be honest, but it is better this time. Things just happened, and the autobots didn't tell me the truth until I overheard them. It...I'll tell you more later."
"I hope that you do." He pats her arm gently before turning and walking away, looking around cautiously for any sign of scraplets. "I'll keep watch. You stay with Ratchet, Azura. And don't worry, Optimus will come home safely. You will see."
Azura still could not help but look at the ground bridge, worried about her father. She really, really wanted him to be here now. She wished they had just gone to the tropical island instead, but they had to deal with vermin instead. She hated it, especially when she was vulnerable to the scraplets. She leaned against Ratchet's leg as he worked on fixing the ground bridge, letting tears fall from her eyes.
Optimus...I hope you do come home. I...I don't want to become an orphan for real. I would never forgive myself. I hope Ratchet can bring you home safely.