Meanwhile back at the base unaware of what was happening in the shadow zone, everyone was busy fixing the ground bridge to get operational again and to get their friends back.
"Rafael, how are the systems?" Ratchet asked the 12 year old who was monitoring the systems via his laptop.
"They look good. Nothing out of the ordinary." Raf said as he gave a thumbs up as Ratchet nodded.
"Very well. How are you guys going with the control panels?" Ratchet then turns to where the two wreckers are.
"We're done here. It looks intact. Oh wait. Hmm, looks like the energy overload burnt some cables. No wonder the control panels got fried." Wheeljack said as he spotted the damage.
"Think you can fix it?" Bulkhead asked but Ratchet quickly spoke up.
"Ah, ep, ep, ep! Nobody touches anything. I'll do it." Ratchet said as Wheeljack just rolled his optics at him.
"Chill out, doc. I can handle it. I had a life once." Wheeljack said as he got some tools to start repairing the cables.
"Wreckers don't rust easily." Bulkhead said.
"Right on." Wheeljack nodded as he got what was needed and started to fix the cables.
"Oh for Primus' sake. Fine, just be careful. Especially you, Bulkhead." Ratchet said but gave Bulkhead a stern look who looked at him in surprise.
"Why me?" He looked at him like he got his Energon sweet taken.
"Need I remind you of your incident?" Ratchet said as Bulkhead laughed nervously as he remembered.
"Wasn't my fault." He defended himself.
"Just try and stay focused." Ratchet said.
"Sure thing, doc." Wheeljack continues to fix the cables.
"Rafael, can you check on the others?" Ratchet asked him as he nodded and took out his phone.
"Already on it." Raf said as he comm linked the others.
Meanwhile, Arcee, Cliffjumper, Smokescreen, Jack and Miko were on their way to check the Energon fuel line. Suddenly Jack receives a call from Raf through the comm-link and he quickly takes his phone out and answers it.
"What's up, Raf?" Jack asks.
"We just wanted to check what was going on with the Energon fuel line." Raf said.
"We're almost there." Jack said.
"There it is." Miko pointed as Arcee nodded as they arrived.
"Good. Let's go check on it." Arcee said before getting down on her back to get a better look on the energon fuel line.
"Give me the flashlight." Arcee said as Cliffjumper nodded and searched for the device and gave it to her.
"Here you go." He said as Arcee thanked him while taking the flashlight from him and turned it on.
She then checks the energon fuel line and luckily there was no major damage, only some loose screws. Nothing that they can fix as Cliffjumper gave her the right tools.
"Good news: no major damage on the Energon fuel line. Just some few loose screws." Arcee said as she started to twist the screws back into place.
"Good news. The Energon fuel line has no major damage." Jack repeated as Ratchet sighed on the other side of the phone.
"Good news. We found the cause of the malfunction and we're fixing it." Raf said.
"That's good. We should call Emily telling her that the ground bridge will be fixed soon." Jack said as Raf worked on the computers and contacted her right away.
"I'm calling her right away." Raf said.
Meanwhile back at the shadow zone, Optimus was still holding Emily in his servos since she got seriously hurt. Luckily they escaped from the dark creatures and were able to find a place to hide for now.
"We'll be safe here for a while. Those creatures will find us soon enough." Skyquake said as he looked out slightly from their hiding spot.
Optimus nodded slowly and let Emily get down on the ground as she winced in pain as she grabbed her leg.
"You okay?" Optimus asked softly in concern.
"Ugh... a little. I'd stopped the bleeding but it still hurts and I can barely move it." Emily got into a comfortable position to sit.
"Don't worry you'll be fine. You disobeyed my direct orders." Optimus reassured her but gave her a stern look.
"I know but I had to do something. I'll be fine." Emily said as she reassured him before feeling her phone vibrate and fish it out and check the caller ID. It was Raf.
"Raf." Emily smiled in relief as she answered it.
"Hey, Ems, you okay?" Raf asked in concern.
Back at the base, Raf heard a small cringe of pain in Emily's voice and couldn't help but ask in concern.
"I've been better. Is Ratchet there?" She said as Ratchet came up when he heard his name being called.
"I'm here, Emily. What is it?" Ratchet asked as he was relieved to hear that she was okay with Optimus.
"Yeah, well, I know it will sound weird but we just had a fight with some strange creatures. They look like spirits. Some sort of wraiths. One of them hurt my leg. I'm okay but we need a ground bridge ASAP." Emily explained to them as this made Ratchet worried.
"We're still working on it." Raf said as Ratchet became confused and alarmed. Emily, Optimus and possibly an alive Skyquake were attacked by some creatures?!
"Hold on a minute. Did you say you were attacked by some wraiths?" Ratchet asked to be sure as he heard a small snort of amusement and sarcasm.
"Yeah. Thanks for the tip." She said sarcastically as Raf became confused. How come he, Jack and Miko never encountered those creatures when they got stuck there?
"Well, when we got stuck there we weren't attacked by any wraiths." Raf said as he looked at Ratchet who was confused as well.
"That may be because you didn't spend that much time in the shadow zone." Ratchet said.
"Hmm... Or maybe it was because we were running really fast to get away from a zombie." Raf said. That could be the only explanation.
"Yeah you might be right. If we move too slow, the wraiths will try to attack us again." Emily sighed softly as Wheeljack spoke up without looking from his work.
"Doc, we're almost done here." Wheeljack said as Arcee, Cliffjumper, Smokescreen, Jack and Miko came back in with good news.
"Ratchet, we're done with the Energon fuel line." Miko said as she put her hands on her hips.
"Good. The conductors and the central conduits are intact." Ratchet nodded as he checked the systems and smiled.
"And we're finally done here. We just need to put back all the panels." Wheeljack smiled as he finished his work.
"Let's get to work." Bulkhead smiled.
"Good news, Emily. The ground bridge will soon be operational. All systems are in check." Raf said as they could clearly tell that Emily was smiling in relief.
"Good to hear. Send out the ground bridge." She said with a relieved sigh.
"We can't. The ground bridge has to be rebooted. If we use it after we get it all fixed up, it might fry the systems again."
"How long before you're done?" Emily asked.
"A few minutes. Try to be careful with those mysterious creatures." Ratchet told her as he was typing away with Raf to get everything ready for the reboot. Miko blinked at what Ratchet said.
"What mysterious creatures?" She looks at Raf as Jack looks confused as well.
"Emily said that they got attacked earlier by some strange creatures that looked like wraiths. One of them hurt Emily." Raf explained as his voice held concern for their friend who needs medical attention.
"Oh no. This is bad." Jack said as he became concerned for Emily.
"Really bad. We must find a name for these creatures. How about the Shadow Wraiths?" Miko suggested not getting the hint that one of their friends is injured.
Everyone looks at Miko with a weird look in their eyes as Arcee just sighed in frustration at this.
"You know since they're in the shadow zone." Miko tried to make her point clear as Jack just facepalm.
"Are you serious, Miko? Emily and Optimus are stuck in the shadow zone and the only thing you can think of is the name of some mysterious creatures." Jack told her matter of fact as she huffed and crossed her arms.
"My bad." She muttered in annoyance.
"It's okay, Miko. I think that name suits them." Emily agreed with Miko in the shadow wraiths' name that she came up.
"The controls panels are back in place." Wheeljack said as Ratchet nodded.
"Rafael, I'm initiating the rebooting process." Ratchet told him as he pressed one final key.
"Initiating on 3. 2. 1." Raf pressed a final key as Ratchet re-initiates the ground bridge as the loading bar on the computer showed up.
"It's working. The ground bridge is rebooting." Ratchet told them as they were all happy that the ground bridge was rebooting successfully.
"Great, how long before the ground bridge starts working again?" Emily asked.
"A few minutes. If Rafael's theory about the Shadow Wraiths is true, you must keep moving until I'm able to open a ground bridge." Ratchet told her as.
"Easier said than done. Ugh..." Emily told them sarcastically before groaning in pain as they became concerned.
"You okay?" Jack asked worriedly as he could tell that she was in a lot of pain right now.
Back in the shadow zone, Emily was wincing as her leg throbs with pain again.
"Not really. My wound hurts. That Shadow Wraith hit me good." Emily explained as she leaned against the rock she was sitting against.
"You need to put some pressure in the wound to avoid further blood loss." Jack told her as he knew some basics if there aren't medical kits available around.
"Okay let me see." She said as she then tried to find something that could help her to cover her wound for the time being. She then has the idea of using her jacket to tie it around her leg.
"I got it. I can use my jacket to cover my wound and put some pressure on it. Wait a second." She said as she put her phone down.
She then takes her jacket off and starts tying it around her leg. She ties it tight enough to maintain pressure while biting down a small yelp of pain at that.
"There." She muttered quietly before grabbing her phone again.
"It's done. I've tied my jacket around my leg. I think I can move now." Emily told them as she got up slowly.
She starts walking slowly. At first the wound hurts but thankfully she can move, just as long as she walks slowly but with a limp.
"Good news. I can walk again but it still hurts." Emily said as she didn't put too much of her weight on her injured leg.
"That's good. Try not to overdo it." Jack told her.
"Don't worry I won't." Emily smiled.
"Remember, Emily, you must stay on the move." Ratchet tells her as she checks on both Skyquake and Optimus and they don't look like they seem to have any remaining strength left to fight off against the shadow wraiths as this concerns her.
"Easier said than done. Both Optimus and Skyquake are almost out of it." She told them through the phone.
"You'll have to do something before those shadow wraiths return." Jack said.
"I will. Just give me a moment." She said before covering her phone so she can talk to Optimus and Skyquake.
"Guys, you okay?" She asked them in concern while noticing their injuries and winced internally.
"Never been better. But my pride took a great hit. Retreating from a battle was a cowardice act." Skyquake said before directing the last parts to Optimus with a glare who just looked at him calmly but there was slight annoyance in his optics.
"It was the right choice. We do not know what those creatures are. I will never risk someone's life to win a battle that has already been lost." Optimus explained to him as Skyquake just scoffed.
"You're such a coward, Prime. This is why you always lose." Skyquake said before Emily cleared her throat and got both of their attention while giving them a stern look especially Skyquake.
"Stop it, guys. Look, I know you're both on different sides. Those creatures are out there and they're trying to kill us. The only way to get out of here is that we stick together. Autobots and Decepticons might be sworn enemies but today that doesn't matter. If we don't work together, we'll be stuck here forever." Emily told them as Skyquake was impressed. She acts like a leader and knows what she's doing and he might do something to repay her in the near future.
"This human child might be right. Staying here is no option. Old rivalries don't matter for now." Skyquake agrees with Emily as he looks at Optimus who nodded.
"Autobots and Decepticons can finally work together." Optimus agreed as well as he was feeling proud that Emily got some sense knocked into Skyquake and how she handled the situation well.
"For now." Skyquake crossed his arms over his chest plate as Optimus agreed to that.
"I wouldn't have it in any other way." Optimus said as Emily sighed in relief as she was able to stop a fight from breaking out between the two mech before speaking to the others again.
"Ratchet, be sure to tell me when to get ready for the portal." Emily said before they all tense up when they suddenly hear the screeches coming from the shadow wraiths. They were coming back for them as both Skyquake and Optimus got ready to fight them while they ran.
"Those things are back. What's our plan?" Skyquake growled as he gripped his gun ready to shoot down the shadow wraiths.
"We must keep running. If we stop, they'll attack us." Emily told him.
"Too late. Those things are coming now." Skyquake said as the horde of shadow wraiths came to their views.
The shadow wraiths were about to attack them but Skyquake took out his gun and started shooting at them as he brought down some but more kept coming.
"Whatever your plan is, we must act fast." Skyquake said as he shot down one that got way too close for comfort.
"My leg still hurts." She said. She can't possibly run in her condition right now.
Optimus kneels down and lends his servo towards Emily so that she can jump on it so he could carry her.
"Hop on. Quickly." He told her.
Emily nodded and hopped onto Optimus' servo. When she's on, he settles her on his shoulder plates as she sits down.
"Hold on tight." Optimus told her before he moved while firing ones that tried to block his path.
"WHOA!" Emily let out a loud yelp and held on quickly.
Optimus starts running with Skyquake following him as the shadow wraiths start running and flying after them.
The others at the base heard the whole noise and asked what's going on as they were getting worried about them.
"What on Cybertron is going back there?" Ratchet asked in concern and worry as they could hear screeches, running and shooting.
Back in the shadow zone, Emily looks back and her eyes widened as the shadow wraiths were coming in hot even though Skyquake tries to shoot down most of them for three of them to get away. She nearly screamed in her phone out of panic and fear.
"SHADOW WRAITHS... AFTER US... NEED GROUND BRIDGE!!!!" She yelled loudly over the commotion.
Back at the base, the others winced at that and could clearly tell that they were in trouble.
"Ratchet, can this rebooting go any faster?" Arcee asked the medic as he glanced at the loading bar and saw that it was almost done.
"It's almost done." Ratchet told her.
"Hang in there, Emily." Bulkhead said.
"You can do it." Wheeljack added.
Back in the shadow zone, Emily was glad that they were wishing her luck and to hang on but she was still worried about her and the two mechs' safety.
"Well, thank you for the vote of confidence, guys." She retorted sarcastically.
A shadow wraith tries to attack Optimus from behind but Emily quickly switches her hand to her plasma cannon and shoots it down with her plasma shots. She turns around then starts shooting at the other shadow wraiths with plasma shots.
"Optimus, keep running. I'll cover you. Ratchet, how long now?" She told Optimus who nodded as she used her phone again for the status on the ground bridge.
Back at the base, they were getting anxious as the loading bar was almost done getting filled up.
"Almost there. Just a few more minutes. Arcee, go to the control panel and enter the earlier coordinates. We must open the ground bridge at the exact moment it's done with the rebooting." Ratchet said before telling Arcee what to do who nodded quickly.
"On it." Arcee said as she quickly went over to the control panel.
"Entering the coordinates." She said as she put in the coordinates that Ratchet put.
Back at the shadow zone, Emily yelped when a shadow tried to snap its jaws at her but she quickly shot it down.
"Can't this thing go any faster?" Emily asked anxiously through the phone.
"I'm afraid not." Ratchet replied.
"Don't worry, Emily, we're almost there." Smokescreen told her.
"Easy for you to say. You're not stuck with a bunch of shadow wraiths chasing you." Emily told him sarcastically.
Just like that, both Optimus and Skyquake stop running as they had stumbled upon a dead end. Not good.
"What are you doing?" Optimus looked at her as she looked at why they stopped and gulped.
"Dead end." He said as he turned around.
"There's no way out." Skyquake said as the shadow wraiths have surrounded Optimus, Emily and Skyquake.
"If this is how it's gonna end again, so be it." Skyquake said as he charged up his gun.
"Despite being on opposite sides. I'm glad we were able to work together. Let us meet our fate." Optimus said as he let Emily climb on his servo and put her down behind him.
"Emily, I want you to stay back and wait for Ratchet to send out the ground bridge." Optimus told her as he looked at her as if telling her not to disobey his order as she nodded.
"You got it." She nodded as both Optimus and Skyquake started fighting the shadow wraiths while Ratchet was getting ready to send out a ground bridge portal.
"Emily, what's your status?" Ratchet asked in concern.
Back at the base, they were hearing lots of shooting and screeches and we're getting worried.
"We're surrounded." Emily said as this sent red flags in them.
"Hang in there. We're almost done. Arcee, stand by. When I tell you to activate the ground bridge, you must do it at once." Ratchet said before turning to Arcee who was ready to pull the lever.
"Got it." She nodded.
Back in the shadow zone, Optimus and Skyquake were fighting side by side. Some shadow wraiths try to attack Emily and despite her wound she fights back against them.
"Ratchet, anytime now!" She yelled as she shot down another one.
Back at the base, everyone could clearly tell that time is running out quickly.
"Almost there. Wait for it." Ratchet said.
Everyone stands by for Ratchet to give the signal but they were all getting anxious and nervous.
"Wait for it." Ratchet said as he watched the loading bar on the computer. Almost there.
The ground bridge rebooting was almost over. When suddenly a beep can be heard, meaning that it is over and that the ground bridge could be opened again as Ratchet turns to Arcee.
"NOW! DO IT NOW!" He yelled as she pulled the lever and finally activated the ground bridge.
Back at the shadow zone, a portal appeared as Optimus, Skyquake and Emily saw it and saw that it was their chance to try and get out.
"Get out first, Skyquake. I'll cover you." Optimus told him as he nodded.
"Very well." He said as he ran to it and made it out safely on the other side.
Optimus and Emily were next but there were too many shadow wraiths surrounding them.
"The shadow wraiths have surrounded us. We can't get out." Emily said as she shot one down.
"Go, Emily. Save yourself." Optimus told her but Emily didn't want to leave him alone and get even more hurt.
"Listen to what Optimus tells you. Go through the ground bridge, now." Ratchet agrees to what Optimus said.
Emily was quiet for a moment and thought about it before coming to a decision.
"No. I won't let you fight alone. That's not my style." She said to Optimus who looked at her as she took out the dark energon shard that she grabbed earlier from their first encounter with the shadow wraiths.
"Get ready for it. We only have one chance." She told him as he saw that she had a plan and nodded.
Optimus lends his servo down towards Emily so that she can get on. When she got on, she quickly threw the Dark Energon shard in the air as Optimus was about to enter the ground bridge with her. With a quick shot, she was able to create an explosion that was big enough to destroy the shadow wraiths who let out a screech of pain as they disintegrated in the explosion. Luckily both Emily and Optimus got through the portal before the explosion hit them and they were finally back to where they belonged as they both caught their breath as Optimus looked at Emily.
"Are you okay, Emily?" He asked her and noticed that her clothes were a little burnt but not much.
"I'm good." Emily laughed slightly at the experience they faced.
"Emily, do you read me? Were you able to get through the ground bridge?" Ratchet asked.
Back at the base, they heard what looked like an explosion before Emily was heard and they could tell that she was a little breathless.
"We were. Optimus and I are back." She told them and everyone was happy to hear the news as they cheered happily.
"Thank Primus." Ratchet sighed in relief as Raf smiled happily.
"Way to go you, guys." Wheeljack smiled at everyone.
"Alright!" Smokescreen fist bumps the air with a smile.
"Whoo-hoo!" Miko cheered.
"Yeah!" Raf cheered happily.
"We did it, Raf!" Jack gave him a noogie as Bolty was jumping in the air happily.
"I knew it would work." Bulkhead patted Bumblebee on his back who whirred in joy and delight.
They have their two friends back. Safe and sound.