Author's Note

Do what you want because a pirate is free, you are a pirate!

Round Up

We now return to the Transformers...

Back at the small base, Sour Sweet was pacing back and forth, with a cross look on her face. What was she going to do now? They had gotten her to spill all of the beans, but what were they going to do? What were they going to do with her?

"Sour, you've been pacing for almost an hour, please stop!" Lemon pleaded.

"I don't know what to do with her Lemon! What am I going to do?"

"Sour!" Sunny interrupted.

Sour stopped pacing back and forth and she turned around to look at Sunny.

"Don't you think that maybe we should talk to her some more? Maybe we can get some more information out of her. If she was willing to give herself up just from being held down, then we should find out all we know about her," Sunny Flare said.

Sour groaned, "Fine. But don't expect me to nice to her."

"You weren't nice to her at all," Sugarcoat replied.

The five girls came back into the room where Road Rage was still tied down to a table, patiently waiting for them.

"Okay Road Rage, we're back."

"And?"

Sour sighed before scrunching her face, "Okay, so if I can understand everything you've told us... you never wanted to hurt Smallfoot, you had no intention of hurting her, and the only reason you are here is to hunt down a fugitive?"

Road Rage nodded, "Believe me, hurting Smallfoot is my last intention. I never wanted to hurt her. And if I could apologize to her for everything I did, I would. But... even after what I did, I don't think she'll ever forgive me."

"Well... maybe you can apologize," Sour said. "I don't know where she ran off to, but maybe if I can call her and get her to come back to you, maybe you can apologize."

"Can you?" Road Rage asked.

Sour nodded and she pulled out her phone, "Alright, lets see if she hasn't gone far."

Sour dialed in the number, and she held it to her ear, waiting for the phone to pick up.

"Okay... hold on its ringing."

After a few more moments, the phone finally picked up.

"Hey, uh, Smallfoot? Is there any chance I can talk to you for a second?

"Fhhr! Plmhfm! Hmlp!"

Sour's eyes bulged out of her skull when she listened to her cry.

"Uh..."

But just as she was about to respond, the phone hung up on her, making a dial tone noise. Sour put the phone away, back into her pocket and she looked to the others.

"Something's wrong...", Sour said worryingly.

"What do you mean?" Sunny asked.

"Well-"

At that moment, one of the computer monitors in the base began to make a loud ringing noise. Was someone calling them? Sugarcoat walked over to one of them and she squinted her eyes as she looked on the monitor.

"We're picking up a strange signal. Can't tell if its Autobot or Decepticon," Sugarcoat said.

"Set it into audio only, I don't need them finding out who we are just yet. Safety, you know."

Sugarcoat did just that, and the call was answered.

"Hello? Can anyone hear me? Anyone who can help!?"

"Overload?", Sour asked.

"Wait... I recognize that voice. You're Sour Sweet, aren't you?"

"Yeah... why?"

"Listen, I need to talk to you and your friends. This is important! Smallfoot is in danger and you are the only people I can talk to right now," Overload replied with urgency.

"What? Why!?"

"I'll explain everything, but I need to talk to all of you, and I'm hurt! I'm leaking lots of Energon and I won't be going very far unless I find someone who can repair me!"

"Okay, okay... just give us a moment!"

Sour and the girls looked at each other with confused faces.

"What do you think girls?"

"I say let him suffer. He's with those pirates!", Indigo said.

"But what if he's telling the truth, have you considered that a possibility?" Sunny Flare asked.

"Sunny, out of every situation like this, isn't letting the company in by themselves a bad idea?"

"Look! If someone can open up a Groundbridge, I'll cross through it to take a look if he's by himself. If he is, we'll let him through. Okay?"

Everyone nodded.

"Okay. Sugarcoat, can you open up a Groundbridge?"

"Already on it," Sugarcoat replied.

Sugarcoat whipped her hands onto the keyboard and she began typing into the main computer. This was the only way for her gain access control over the Groundbridge portal.

With a quick type into the keyboard, a Groundbridge portal began to spawn in the gateway that was built into the lab. Then, as soon as it was open, Sour Sweet slowly walked towards it with a weapon at the ready, and she poked her head through the portal to look to the other side.

After a few moments, she pulled her head back in and she stepped aside. Slowly driving through the portal was a black sports car which was leaking blue fluids behind it as it drove through the portal. The portal closed, and everyone set their eyes on the sports car.

"Overload, is it?" Sour asked, "Mind if you transform?"

"Uh... I'll try," Overload said.

The sports car slowly began to change its shape into the Cybertronian it disguised, but the whirring sounds sounded a little like it was malfunctioning. Like the car was in need of maintenance, but the car still managed to pull through its full transformation.

The back end of the car turned itself into a pair of legs, two arms sprouted from under the car, the front grille and hood of the car began to transform into the chest, the doors began to slide on top of the car, forming into wings, and a head pulled itself out from the socket, finishing the transformation.

Overload slowly pulled himself up, but he only managed to work enough strength to take a knee out to keep himself up. He his left hand clamped his side as Energon continued to bleed.

"Life on Earth hasn't been kind to you, has it?" Sugarcoat asked.

Overload's eyes glared at Sugarcoat for a brief moment before wincing in pain, "Agh... ow..."

"Overload, what happened?"

Overload turned himself around to look at Sour with a serious look.

"Shadelock and his crew have your girl. They believe Road Rage wants her dead, and so they're keeping her as a hostage in exchange for her in return," Overload replied.

"They took my girl!?"

"Wait, what!?" Road Rage shouted from the table, slowly moving up as best as she could to Overload, "I never said I wanted her dead!"

"I tried telling them that, but they wouldn't listen. When I defied order, I got this," Overload said, removing his hand and exposing his wounds.

"Is there anything else they plan on doing that we don't know?" Sour growled.

"Yes. They plan on double-crossing you all at the right moment. As soon as Road Rage is returned, they plan on executing Smallfoot. And as much as I despise the Autobots... she's no Autobot, and as far as I'm concerned, she's innocent."

"What do we do?" Indigo asked.

"We have to... wait. Why are you coming to us about this? Why are you not wanting to kill my girlfriend?" Sour asked.

Overload bent down a little closer to Sour Sweet, and looked her dead in the eye.

"I made a promise for Road Rage that as long as we both live, neither one of us will hurt her. She didn't want me to make the same mistake she did, so I made a promise that I would never hurt your girl."

"But... why?"

Overload looked back to Road Rage who was still tied to the table and offered her a friendly smile.

"Because friends are family. And I'm happy to say that Road Rage is my best friend."

Road Rage felt a few tears nipping at the sides of her eyes and a smile graced her face.

"That's the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me...", Road Rage said.

"Ahem? Mind if we get back on track here?"

Everyone turned their attention back to Sour Sweet who looked at each and every one of them.

"Well... what are we going to do?" Sunny asked.

"I'll tell you what we're not doing. We're not letting them win, and I am not going to let them hurt my Big Rig. They mess with my girlfriend, they mess with me... And we're going to take them down. Overload, can I ask you to help us? I know we just beat the living scrap out of you several hours ago, but we could use your help," Sour asked.

Overload smirked, "Well, since a fellow human such as yourself needs assistance, I'll gladly help you."

"Perfect. Oh, and Overload? You like to be ruthless don't you? Well... be ruthless all you want on those guys," Sour giggled.

Overload gave Sour a big smile on his face, flashing a sparkle in his teeth.

"You read my mind. But, there's just one problem... I cannot go far unless I'm repaired. I'm not particularly useful when wounded."

"I get you repaired. I just need an Apex Armor suit to be at your height," Sugarcoat said.

"Perfect..."

Roughly half an hour later, Overload had his repairs finished, and he was able to move on his own. Gathering with the girls, along with Road Rage who was let out of her restraints, they all gathered round to hear Sour's plans.

"Okay everyone, I know those guys may have an upper hand, but this means we will too. I want Lemon, Indigo, and Overload to distract Shadelock and his crew and keep them away from the building, while I go inside and get Smallfoot free. In the case we are followed, I would like Sunny Flare and Sugarcoat to come with me. More hands make less work," Sour replied.

"Wait, what about me?" Road Rage asked.

"What about you?"

"Don't you want me to have something to do?" Road Rage asked.

"... Oh yeah, I do. Get out."

"What?"

"I want you out of here. You're free, go, get out of here."

"Sour, you're just bumping her off like that?" Sunny asked.

"Yes, I am."

"Sour, listen."

Road Rage kneed down and looked at the yellow-skinned girl in the eye.

"Its my fault for what I did to Smallfoot, I won't deny that. And I won't deny that she doesn't deserve any of this. But I want to help. I want to help you save her. She deserves an apology from me, and I'll do whatever it takes to get her back to you safely. Even if it means I have to die."

The girls looked to one another with some shocked faces, including Overload. None of them had heard her talk like this. This girl that abandoned Sour's girlfriend in the battlefield was willing to pay the ultimate price for the crime she had done. And she was willing to help them.

"Whoa... heavy," Lemon said.

Sour thought long and hard about Road Rage's request. Should she, or should she not? The somber look in her eyes looked sincere, and she sounded like she meant every word.

Sighing, she looked at the bounty hunter, "You mean every word?"

Road Rage nodded.

"I'll do whatever it takes to get her back. I mean it."

Sour took a deep breath and looked to the bounty hunter, this time with a more friendly look.

"Okay, I suppose you come with us. Some extra hands could be nice."

"Then its settled then. We're all in this together now," Sunny replied.

"Yes, but there's one more thing I'd like us to do... you two said your group were pirates, right?"

Overload and Road Rage nodded.

"And you two occasionally go looting and search for buried treasure, correct?"

"Nothing finer than hunting for buried treasure," Overload said.

"Hm... you don't look like pirates. But I think this can be something we can use. I think its time we gave your former mates a taste of Earth culture. Sunny, can I ask you to grab some of your makeup supplies from your house?"

"Um, I suppose I can. Why?"

Sour gave a wink, "Trust me, you're going to find out just what I've got planned."

Elsewhere, Smallfoot remained bound to her binds. She was still stuck on the top floor, on the ground, with her wrists tied behind her back and her mouth clamped. She had been struggling to get free ever since her captors had brought her up to the top floor.

There wasn't anything she could do to get herself free. Nothing for her to try and grab, no tools to kick to herself, but wait. Her feet were still free, and they didn't remove the chip from her that would give her powers. The headlights on her chest could fire laser beams. She could still break out of here!

Desperately, she looked to see what she could do. Maybe there was some way she could bounce the laser beams off and hit her restraints, she could melt them down and get out. But how? Only something with a reflective surface could possibly bounce lasers off.

She turned her head to the left and she paused when she saw something. A mirror that was on the wall. And there were a few broken shards that were next to it. Big shards in fact. These were just the size she needed...

The Transformers will return after these messages...