7 ~Chapter 7~

As the green-blue groundbridge closed behind the trio, Firespark looked around this strange, new environment. It was smaller than the Nemesis, but it was warm and inviting rather than cold and unwelcoming. The walls were a fusion of metal and rock structures. Concrete made the floor beneath their pedes, decorated with a symbol in the center. It was almost similar to sire's, which adorned his shoulder plating.

Three new presences were in the room as well. One was a tall red and blue mech with a character of wisdom and gentleness. The bot beside him was shorter with red and white colors. Another mech was bulker and green. Who were these bots?

"I see you brought another life to defend," the red and white mech exclaimed.

"Sir, we found this sparkling aboard the Deception warship. We feared that she was in the wrong servos," the blue femme addressed the tall mech.

"I see; however, what are your proofs that she was indeed in harm's way?" he responded.

She was silent for a few moments, "There are none, sir,"

He nodded and gazed at the mech beside him, "Ratchet, could you give our guest a scan?"

He sighed, "Bring her back here with me Bumblebee,"

The yellow mech, Bumblebee, followed Ratchet into another room filled with different equipment, a lot similar to Knockout's medical bay. He set her down on a metal table and stepped back as the medic did his thing.

"Well, she seems in good condition. What's your name, young one?"

"Firespark," the femme whispered.

He hummed and continued his medical procedures, "Do you have anyone who cares for you?"

She nodded her helm slightly.

"You don't talk much, do you? Reminds me of someone," he mumbled.

The tall mech entered the room, "How is she, old friend?"

"Well, Optimus, she in good health, just shaken from recent events," Ratchet answered, as he placed the scanner away. "Do you think she was in any danger? I mean, I know that Decepticons would never go that low."

"I have my suspicions, but we should keep the sparkling in our care until we have a solid conclusion," Optimus returned while picking up the sparkling.

Firespark wasn't sure what they were talking about, but it sounded like they weren't going to hurt her. The mech's hold was secure and reminded her of sire. Wasn't he looking for her? Undoubtedly, Soundwave would be troubled by her absence; however, these mechs didn't understand that concept.

They walked back out into the open area with a large terminal and where the other bots were.

"Autobots, Firespark will be apart of the Autobots until we know for sure that she is in harm's way." the Prime announced.

"Welcome to the team, little Firespark," Bumblebee whirled happily, his door wings fluttering.

"Hello," she greeted shyly.

"If you don't mind, could you inform us of why you were on the Deception's warship?" Optimus asked the femme nuzzled in his arms.

"What do you mean? I was with my sire,"

Her words caught everyone's attention as they gazed at her.

"And just who is your sire?" Bulkhead inquired wearily.

"Soundwave,"

Dead silence fell across the entire team. Arcee and Bumblebee gave each other a look of dread. They hadn't saved her, they kidnapped her. The only ones who were calm about this new finding were Optimus and Ratchet.

"Thank you, Firespark," Ratchet whispered to the sparkling.

She looked at him, "When will I go home?"

The prime and medic looked at each other than at her, "Soon, we promise."

Optimus and Ratchet worked on patching a message through to Soundwave, while the rest was with the pink femme.

"What do you do up there? Don't you ever get bored?" Bee asked her.

She nodded, "Sometimes but I either have Lazerbeak for company, or I explore,"

Acree smiled at her, "By explore do you mean to escape?"

The sparkling nodded, "Yes, it's all fun until you get caught,"

Bulkhead gave out a hearty laugh, "Oh Jackie would just love you,"

The trio gave him a look of horror, and Arcee scooped Firespark up, "Don't you let him get anywhere near this pure innocent."

Ratchet walked over to the group, "Sorry to break the fun but there are humans who need to be picked up,"

The three Autobots wandered toward the center, and transformed into their alt-mode, driving off down the tunnel.

"Where are they going?" Firespark questioned the mech.

"To get the terrors," he responded, "Also, we talked to your sire. You're going home pretty soon."

"Thank you, Uncle Ratchet!"

Three humans made their way over to the sleeping pink femme, in interest to what their guardians brought to the base.

"Aww, just look how precious she looks," Miko awed as she was practically bouncing on her heels.

"She doesn't look like Soundwave at all, I mean, she has a face," Raf observed the structure of her pink frame.

"Speaking of which, are they looking for her?" Jack turned toward the aliens behind them.

"Psh, you think they care for their own?" Miko retorted, "If they do leave her, can we keep her?" she asked Bulkhead eagerly.

"No, Miko, Soundwave's already coming for her," he replied shortly.

The teenaged girl deflated, "Aww, but we just met her,"

Everyone looked at the sleeping sparkling. "It's hard to believe that such a sweet thing belongs to such a brute force,"

"It's time for our departure. Arcee, Ratchet, I want you to come with us," Optimus requested.

Acree gently picked her up, pausing when she shifted in discomfort. Ratchet set the ground bridge to the location they promised Soundwave. Firespark's orange optics fluttered open, "Hmm, where are we going?"

"To you sire," Arcee murmured.