Chapter Text
CHIEF: { Dani, Kade, what’s your twenty? }
DANI: { Just about there, dad! }
KADE: { Yeesh, it looks like Captain Wild lost control of the boat! }
WAVE: { Thanks, Captain Obvious. What gave it away? }
KADE: { Hey! }
DANI: { Guys… }
CHIEF: { Kade, Heatwave, save the argument for later. }
KADE: { But he… }
DANI: { Guys! Are you seeing this? }
CHIEF: { What is it, Dani? }
DANI: { The boat, it just stopped moving. }
KADE: { How did it go from crazy to calm in a second? }
CHIEF: { We’ll worry about that later. Right now, I need you to check on Captain Wild and bring him back to the Island. }
DANI: { Copy that. }
The Burns siblings and their Rescue Bot partners arrive at the fishing boat. Dani and Kade jump out of their vehicles. Blades transforms and joins the humans, while Heatwave remains floating in his watercraft form. A pudgy man with white hair and wearing fisherman's attire appears.
“Captain Wild, we got your call. Are you okay?” Dani asked.
“Yes, yes, I’m fine! Just a little dizzy,” Captain Wild reassured.
“What happened, exactly?” Kade asked, crossing his arms.
“I don’t know. I dropped anchor, and before I knew it, my boat was going crazy! I panicked and called you. I was going to call back when the ruckus stopped, but then it started up again. I’ve been waiting in my cabin until you all arrived.”
“That’s certainly strange,” Heatwave mumbled.
“Do you think it’s a sea monster?” Blades whimpered.
“Blades, we’ve talked about this!” Dani chastised. “There are no sea monsters!”
“How do you know? According to some of the nature documentaries I’ve watched…”
“Any sea monsters that do exist won’t hurt you, and none of us will ever encounter one. None of us are deep sea divers, Blades.”
As discussions continue, Heatwave thinks about what Captain Wild said, trying to piece it all together. One thing is obvious, at least to him. Whatever is going on, it has nothing to do with the boat’s functionality.
WAVE: { Chief, are you still there? }
CHIEF: { Yes, Heatwave, go ahead. }
WAVE: { I have a hunch. I’m going under to check out the scene. }
CHIEF: { Okay. Keep communications open, and be careful! }
WAVE: { Will do! }
Heatwave then addressed his partner.
“Are you going to stay up here where it’s safe?”
“Not a chance!” Kade scoffed.
“Figured as much.”
With Kade sealed back inside, Heatwave submerged and followed the anchor’s chain. It didn’t take long to come to the end of the line, but once they did, they couldn’t believe what they saw.
“Is that another bot?” Kade gasped.
“I… I guess so,” Heatwave stammered. “I don’t recognize him, though.”
“Well, what do we do?”
Heatwave didn’t immediately answer. Something about this wasn’t sitting right with him. He knows he shouldn’t approach a stranger who looks bigger and stronger than him by himself, but he doesn’t want anyone else getting close, either.
“ Primus, this has to be one of the dumbest ideas I have ever considered, ” Heatwave muttered.
“What was that?” Kade asked.
“Nothing.”
Heatwave silently prays to Primus and cautiously approaches the stranger. Sensing that they have company, the bot lifts their helm slightly, revealing a pair of glistening red optics.
“Hey, look down there!” Kade said.
“Kade, I can’t see where you’re pointing,” Heatwave deadpanned.
“Of course you can’t. Look at his legs! I think he’s stuck.”
Indeed, Kade was right. After angling himself a bit, Heatwave saw the stranger’s leg, trapped in a jagged crack in the seabed.
“Call the others,” Heatwave ordered.
“Way ahead of you,” Kade said, activating communications. “Hey, guys, we found the problem.”
CHIEF: { Are you two alright? }
KADE: { I’m fine, dad, though Heatwave’s a little spooked. }
WAVE: { I am not spooked! I’m just surprised by the appearance of another Cybertronian. }
BLADES: { What did you say? }
WAVE: { A mech I don’t recognize is down here. The anchor fell on top of them and the chain got all tangled up in their antlers. }
DANI: { Antlers? You mean like a deer? }
KADE: { More like a moose, but yeah, same thing. }
WAVE: { They may be injured, but we can’t do much without removing the anchor first, and I’m not risking Kade’s safety all the way down here. }
BLADES: { Do you want me to come down there? }
WAVE: { Affirmative. }
Blades soon appeared. The stranger tilted their helm to get a better look at the new arrival.
CHIEF: { Kade, Heatwave, Blades, what’s going on down there? }
BLADES: { Whoever this is, Chief, they… Oh dear. }
CHIEF: { What is it? }
BLADES: { The water around them feels unusually hot. Boiling hot. }
CHIEF: { That sounds like a hydrothermal vent… Okay, we have to make this quick! Blades, untangle the bot. Once you get the all clear, Dani, you and Captain Wild head back to shore. Heatwave and Kade, stay there and try to get in contact with High Tide, see if he can’t come over and help out. We’ll all rendezvous at the cove. }
KADE: { Why the cove? }
CHIEF: { Because I don’t want to have to explain this new bot to the townsfolk without knowing what’s going on first. }
A good point. No one argued against it. While Blades worked on removing the anchor and chain from the trapped mech’s antlers, Heatwave begrudgingly put in a call to High Tide. Surprisingly, a response immediately came through.
TIDE: { This is High Tide. What’s the problem? }
WAVE: { We responded to a distress call from a fisherman and discovered a new Cybertronian. The human is fine, but the bot is trapped, and they’re pretty big… }
TIDE: { You need me to get ‘em out for you. }
WAVE: { Yes. }
TIDE: { Sure, why not? Send the coordinates and I’ll be over in a couple kliks. }
“Ah, fresh air!” Kade happily took a deep breath out on deck.
High Tide arrived not that long ago, about five minutes after Dani left. He assessed the situation and said that he’ll handle it on his own. He sent the remaining three Rescue Team members up to his ship to wait while he took care of things. Blades wasn’t too keen on leaving him alone, but the older mech reassured him that he will be fine.
“It was starting to get a little too cozy down there for my liking,” Kade continued.
“It’s not exactly pleasant being stuck with you, either,” Heatwave grumbled.
“Get over it, grumpy! Now, what do you suppose a random bot would be doing at the bottom of the ocean?”
“How am I supposed to know?”
“What if they aren’t an Autobot?” Blades panicked.
“What are you talking about?” Kade asked, an irritated edge to his voice.
“Think about it! If they were an Autobot, they would’ve sent out a distress signal! So, why didn’t they?”
“That doesn’t mean anything, Blades,” Heatwave brushed off. “They’re probably disoriented and didn't think about it, or they didn’t know that bots were living nearby.”
“But what if I’m right? What if…”
They were interrupted by High Tide jumping out of the water and landing on deck with the stranger in a wounded soldier-type hold.
“Good news, I got him out for you,” High Tide said, but his faceplate was pinched in contempt.
“And the bad news?” Blades squeaked.
High Tide released the stranger and rolled him onto his backplate. What Heatwave and Blades saw made them gasp and back away.
“ A Decepticon, ” Blades whimpered. In full panic mode, he grabbed Heatwave by the shoulders and started shaking him. “What are we going to do? We can’t bring him back to the Island! No, I mean, yes, we’ll have to. He still needs medical attention, but what then? He could take us all on no problem! Do you think we should call Bumblebee? Or Optimus Prime? We’re going to need all hands on deck here, right? Heatwave, say something!”
“Be quiet, Blades! I can’t think straight!” Heatwave snapped, pushing his team-mate away.
“Sorry! I’m just really scared!”
“I know you are!”
Heatwave vented and shook his helm.
“Just… Give me a few minutes.”
He turned to High Tide.
“We’re going to meet the rest of the team at the cove on the far side of the Island. Do you mind taking us there?”
“Not at all,” High Tide said, a bit gruff, before heading inside.
.
.
.
.
.
“Hey, those symbols you guys have?” Kade mentioned.
“Our insignias? What about…” Heatwave stopped and gaped at his partner, who was sitting on the Ex-Con’s chassis. “KADE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? GET OFF OF HIM!”
“Calm down, Heatwave. What are they gonna do? They’re unconscious, remember?”
“THAT'S BESIDE THE POINT!”
“Everybody, settle down! Yelling at each other isn’t helping!” Blades mediated.
Heatwave was furious, but he knew Blades’ was right.
“What about our insignias?” He growled, fists clenching at his sides.
“Come over here and see for yourself!” Kade said.
Heatwave walked over to his partner and the unconscious Decepticon. He kneeled down by the frame to get a closer look. What looked like the iconic, sharp-edged purple mark of the Decepticon brand on the mech’s chassis appeared a bit different up close and personal.
“Is it supposed to be cut through like this?” Kade asked.
“No, it’s not…” Heatwave trailed, genuinely confused and wholly curious.
“You think they got these in a fight?”
“I highly doubt it. It’s too clean a mark. They could have been ambushed, taken by surprise, but even then, it doesn’t look like whoever did this wanted to hurt them.”
“Why bother going through all that trouble?”
Heatwave didn’t answer. He doesn’t know, but he cannot wait to find out.