บท 18: The Hunt Begins Part 2
The Autobots crept silently, using the abundance of vegetation to hide their size. They all stopped when they saw a familiar Decepticon guarding the entrance to a cave. Making them point their weapons, ready to start a shootout, especially Bulkhead who gritted his teeth out of reflex.
"Breakdown." Bulkhead whispered, trying his best not to fire and jeopardise his teammates' position.
"If he's here, that means Knock Out must be here too." Optimus suggested, scanning the area for any sign of Decepticons. "Looks like some kind of stealth mission."
Bumblebee gave his classic beep, suggesting that they should go after the Decepticon and make a scrap of him.
"I agree with Bee." Bulkhead agreed.
"We won't attack until we know exactly what the Decepticons came here to do." Optimus said, ready to fight at any moment. "Let's observe for now."
As the Autobots waited patiently for the Decepticons to move, Breakdown, who was already getting a little tired of waiting, noticed that the music coming from inside the cave was getting louder. He looked back to see his combat partner approaching with a less than happy face, holding a small object between his fingers.
"What's that in your hand?" Breakdown asked, seeing the small object emitting a strangely pleasant sound to his audio receptors.
"That, my friend, is a mobile phone, a primitive tool used by humans to communicate." Knock Out replied with regret.
It took Breakdown a few seconds to understand what was happening. "Now I get it, the human tricked us."
"Ahhhh you swear?! Damn it! Now we're back to square one! Now he must be on the other side of the forest, that scoundrel tricked us because he knew he could be tracked by the phone." Knock Out said angrily, but his expression softened when he saw Lux's phone. "Since the car was powered by this energy, maybe this phone was too, so I think I'd better check it out in the lab later."
As the Decepticons argued, the Autobots were in a mix of emotions, but the one who was most worried was Optimus Prime, now his greatest fears were coming true, now he knew for sure that the Decepticons were involving humans in their evil schemes, and one human in particular was being hunted by his enemies.
Arcee, Bumblebee and Bulkhead became much more serious as they remembered the human friends they cherished as part of their family. Although Jack, Raf and Miko cannot fight the Decepticons like the Autobots, each of them proved their worth and their courage in protecting this planet, no matter who it was, a courage the Autobots respected and shared.
"(Sigh) As miserable as my situation is, I can't deny that I'm becoming more and more impressed. Hahahahahaha..." Knockout didn't hide his frustration and his impression of the only human who impressed him.
"To be honest, I'm surprised by your reaction, are you laughing nervously?" Breakdown asked, worried for his comrade's sanity, as anyone could go mad knowing Megatron intended to crush his head.
"No, no... This day has been quite hectic, Lux literally dodged all the Decepticons on the Nemesis ship and managed to escape in an escape pod, now he has officially managed to masterfully escape from us." Knockout slumped his metallic shoulders in exhaustion. "I'm going to have to come up with a good excuse to keep my head from separating from my body."
Optimus' eyes widened in concern as he overheard the last part of the conversation between the two Decepticons; were it not for his battle mask, his shock and disbelief would be visible to his companions.
"They're after Lux." Arcee whispered, nervous and uncomfortable with the situation.
"Now the Decepticons want to find the boy, this is very bad, very bad indeed." Bulkhead whispered, imagining the possibility of Miko suffering the same unpleasant fate.
Bumblebee emitted his beep, commenting specifically on the part where Lux was on the Decepticon ship and had escaped, coinciding with the situation they were in at that moment.
Optimus closed his eyes for a moment, remembering the conversation he had had with Jack, Miko and Raf about their safety, not wanting to put them in any danger. Of all of them, the most mysterious was Lux, who had little direct involvement in the events against the Decepticons, but whose knowledge of Cybertron and the war attracted the most attention.
Optimus understood that it was naive of him to believe that the Decepticons had no interest in Lux, given his lack of involvement in recent events, and now it was clear that he was in danger and in desperate need of protection.
"Autobots, our investigative mission has become a rescue mission. We must find Lux before the Decepticons do." Optimus whispered, drawing the attention of his comrades. "Lux must have been captured earlier, but his proven knowledge of Cybertron must have helped him escape the Nemesis ship. Unfortunately, that must have put a permanent target on his head."
"Well, if my instincts are right, maybe he's still in the forest." Arcee suggested, keeping an eye on the chatting Decepticons.
"But how are we going to find him? The forest is huge, and compared to us, he can move around more easily and hide his tracks from us." Bulkhead commented.
"Lux should find some transportation first, or head to the nearest town to their position." Optimus commented, hoping Lux would head towards civilisation. [[Ratchet, what is the nearest city to our position?]]
Ratchet, who was talking to Raf, quickly scanned and looked at the map of the place upon hearing his friend's request, and found the answers easily. [[Optimus, the nearest town is 12 kilometres south of your position.]]
Hearing his friend's answer, Optimus looked at Arcee silently, but enough for her to understand what she had to do. Discreetly moving away from her hiding place, she switched to her vehicle mode and headed for the location Ratchet had indicated.
Breakdown stood with his arms crossed, trying to think of a workable solution for his friend, and remembered something that might help. "Knock Out, I have an idea."
Knock Out raised an eyebrow in disbelief, well aware of his companion's intellectual limitations. No disrespect to Breakdown, but he was the brains of the duo and Breakdown was the muscle.
"This is a stalking and tracking situation, so let's ask an expert for help." Breakdown suggested, knowing exactly who to ask for help. "Let's ask Soundwave to summon the best Decepticon for this situation, Barricade."
"Barricade!!! That idiot? You're crazy, Breakdown!" Knock Out complained, having bad memories. "That idiot scratched my paint!"
"I'm trying to help you, you idiot." Breakdown snapped, losing patience.
"Him and that demonic Minicon Frenzy are bastards! I have nightmares about that little devil, how can a Minicon with such a small body be so crazy? It's like all of Megatron's hatred for Optimus Prime is stored inside a little pet." Knock Out shivered.
"I can't stand your painting problem sometimes, but it's also been a long time since you two have worked together." Breakdown crossed his arms and rolled his eyes at his teammate's antics.
"Well, you know I never forgot, he will pay for using me as a shield, I was severely traumatised!" Knock Out complained even louder, completely unaware that he was being heard by the Autobots. "But... maybe he's the solution. He may be an idiot of the worst kind, but he's good at what he does."
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