Yo! articmadador here actually starting a new story instead of finishing my other one up. I know I said I'd update my last story, and I will try to, but I've got so many ideas in my head that I'm falling apart. I've finally decided to write a story involving my true three Transformers OCs. I'll explain this more in the notes at the bottom of the story, but for now I want to just get chapter one out of the way, as well as a quick summary of where this starts.

I loved TLK so much, but this story just kinda ignores that and makes it so it never really happened. Why? Cuz this is a fanfiction and I'm doin' my own thing. This takes place after DOTM, and AOE isn't really happening. I'm not sure if I'll put it in or not, I'll have to see where this goes. Basically I'm starting at the end of DOTM and making something new from there. All beloved Autobot characters that died in the movies are alive because they shouldn't have been offlined in the first place.

I'm really about to put some work into this story because frag it, I gotta get this out. Also, there may be some language and violence warnings, but I will do my best to keep it rated T. I DO NOT OWN TRANSFORMERS! Hasbro does. I only own the OCs.

So, all that being said, please do review and enjoy! :)

The Battle of Chicago had taken her father away from her. He was all the family she had left in the world, and now he was gone. They say he was killed in an explosion during the climax of the battle. They being the soldiers he had fought beside, and the explosion being more like he crashed into a building at full speed while using a wing suit. It seemed that they tried to sugar-coat his true cause of death, but she learned the truth through some papers that had been sent in. They were using wing suits to get into battle, and he hit the building while trying to avoid being shot out of the sky. The only reason he was even in Chicago was because he was a part of this military group called NEST that worked with these robotic aliens called Transformers. Apparently there were good Transformers and bad ones; the good ones being known as Autobots, and the bad ones being known as Decepticons. They had been at war for centuries, and when the war was brought to Earth, humans got involved. They paired up with the U.S. government, and together they fought to end the war and save Earth.

But she didn't care about any of that. It didn't matter to her who was good, bad, robot, or human. She didn't care because right now she hated them all. Her father was all she had, and because of some stupid war these robots brought to Earth, he was dead. She had been living with a friend of the family since he joined this NEST unit, and she hadn't seen him in person for years. She had been so excited recently, because in two more months he would have finally come home for a visit. Then there was news that the Autobots were being exiled, and that the Decepticons had not stuck to their word of taking what they needed here on Earth and leaving. She knew her father would be there fighting them, but she never expected to get a call after the battle and receive the news that he had been killed. To make things even worse, she was being forced to go to a NEST base and live there because she knew about the Autobots, as well as some classified information.

She knew all about her dad's job, because she had done some poking around their house and read papers he had hidden many years ago. She hadn't meant to learn any government intel, and only wanted to know why her father was leaving her. She had been seven at the time, and had barely even understood what she had read. She definitely hadn't understood what was happening when people from the government came and questioned her and her father, nor why they moved to Washington D.C. shortly after. Now that she was older, she understood, and though she remembered very little of what she had read all those years ago, the government wanted her to be relocated now that her father was deceased. Apparently the information she had read made her not only a target, but dangerous to NEST and to the government. It was not because the government didn't want humans to know the Autobots were here, because most humans already knew that. It was because of all the information she might know, even though she definitely forgot most of what she read from ten years ago. She didn't know anything other than what NEST and the Autobots were, but the government wasn't taking any chances.

Two days after receiving the news that her dad was gone forever, she was packed and ready to leave for the military base. She sat in silence on her bed as she held an old picture of herself and her father. It had been taken many years ago while they were a carnival, just her, her dad, and her mom. She was four years old in the picture, and she was on his shoulders with her hands up in the air. She was laughing with a expression of pure joy on her face, and her father had a wide smile on his face. Her mother had taken the picture, and now she wished she had been in it herself. Nonetheless, she loved this picture, because it was the last time she could remember her dad being so happy. He looked so young and joyous, with his deep brown eyes bright and full of life, and a smile that could definitely light up a room. Now, she would never see that smile again.

There was a knock at her door, and the girl looked up as it was slowly pushed open. Her father's friend, Alex, stood there looking at her with a solemn look. She had been a friend of her mother and father for years, and had taken good care of her in her father's absence. The girl was reluctant to leave her, because in the years they'd been together, it felt as if Alex was like family. But there was nothing either of them could do to keep the government from relocating her. With a sad look in her eyes, the blonde-haired woman stepped into the room.

"They're here, Claire."

By they she meant the people who would be taking her to the airport and flying her off to some military base. She would be taken by strangers to live with soldiers and giant robots. This is not what she wanted, and considering all that her father had done years ago to prevent this, it's not what he would have wanted either. But she had no choice, and now he had no say in the matter.

"Okay…" Claire said, her voice so quiet it was almost like a whisper.

Alex was still for a few seconds before she sat down beside Claire. "I know you don't want to do this. If it were up to me, you wouldn't be going anywhere. But unfortunately, this is how things have to be. The government is trying to protect you—"

"They're trying to protect themselves. They're sending me away just because of some papers I read when I was seven. I didn't even understand what I was reading."

There was a rustling noise from downstairs, and the sound of voices. Claire's heart clenched at the realization that the very people taking her away were sitting downstairs. Alex signed and stared at the floor. "This is the last thing your dad wanted. He didn't want you to get involved in this military stuff. He wanted you to be as far away from it as possible, because he knew how dangerous it was. He never wanted you to be scared or hurt."

Claire clenched her eyes shut as they began to sting. More tears were coming, and she had already cried so much that she felt a headache coming on. She felt a hand on her back, and turned to look at Alex. She saw redness in her brown eyes as if she were going to cry, but when she spoke her voice was strong and clear. "But you know what I think?"

Claire blinked and looked away. "What?"

"I think you'll be just fine. If you're anything like your father, as strong and brave as he was, then you'll be okay. You can take whatever they throw at you. Whatever the world throws at you. You've been through so much, Claire. So many hard times and so much pain. And I've watched you pull through everything and come out stronger in the end. You have the same determined and courageous spirit of your father. Over the years, even though he hasn't been here, even he's seen how far you've come and how hard you work to push forward when everything is trying to hold you back. What did he always tell you when you two where in a video chat, or her sent a letter? What did he always say after you finished telling him how well you've done in school, and the progress you've made with other things?"

Claire wiped the tears that were now pouring down her face and did her best to speak in a strong voice. "I'm proud of you…"

"Yes, and he meant that. He was so proud of you. I'm proud of you, and I'm sure your mother is proud of you. I know leaving home like this is hard, and it's scary. But just remember how you pulled through everything else. You can do this. I know you can, and deep down I know that you know you can do it. Being afraid is okay, because you can use it as your motivation. You can use it to make you stronger. And if you ever feel like you can't do this, just remember how proud your father always said he was of you. Remember that you have a strong, brave spirit just like he did."

Claire, her eyes still burning and her head pounding, reached over and hugged Alex. "Thank you so much."

"No, thank you. You mean so much to me, you're like my family too." They pulled out of the hug, and Alex smiled at Claire. "I know you can do this. I don't doubt it at all." Claire nodded and smiled, though the smile was weak and shaky. Alex looked over at Claire's suitcase and backpack. "Did you pack everything?"

"I think so. I checked three times."

"Good. Well…I guess we'd better get this downstairs. They're waiting." Alex stood up and grabbed the suitcase. "I'll carry this down, you get the backpack."

The two of them quietly carried everything downstairs and sat it near the door. When Claire, turned and looked in the living room, she saw three men in uniforms waiting for them. Two of them looked more like SWAT officers, but one was dressed in seemingly normal military attire, save from the strange black and white patch on his chest that had an animal skull and the word NEST on it. The man walked up and looked down at her with soft brown eyes. He was tall and looked quite muscular. However, he had a bit of a baby face, and his voice wasn't loud and harsh like Claire expected, but smooth and rather quiet when he talked.

"Are you Claire Anderson?" he asked.

"Yes," Claire replied before mentally slapping herself for how weak her voice sounded.

The man extended his hand. "I'm Burke Shehan. I was a friend of your father's."

Claire shook the man's hand, her heart feeling a bit heavier as she wondered if he had witnessed her father's death. She scolded herself mentally as she wished for a brief second that this man had went out instead her he dad. Burke turned around and motioned to the men behind him, and they walked up. "Are you ready to go?" he questioned.

Claire nodded, then turned and hugged Alex again. "Thank you so much for everything, Alex. I promise I'll try to keep in touch."

The blonde-haired woman hugged her back. "Please do. I'm going to miss you so much." As they pulled away, Alex looked Claire in the eyes. "And don't ever forget what I said. You can do this."

Claire nodded, then struggled to hold back tears as she grabbed her suitcase and opened the door. Burke said goodbye to Alex, and they exchanged a few other words, but Claire wasn't listening. Instead, she looked towards the three black, seemingly armored trucks and car parked in front of the house. Two of them appeared to be undercover police trucks, while the black car parked in the middle lacked siren lights. Burke walked up beside her, and they silently headed towards the car. He opened the car door for her, then he took her suitcase and put it in the trunk while she settled in. He didn't say anything about her keeping the backpack with her, and closed the door before getting in the passenger seat of the car. The driver waited until the police in front of them turned on their siren lights and began driving before turning on the car and following.

Claire sat quietly in the backseat and stared at the house she had lived in for almost nine years. Alex stood in the door, staring at the car. Claire wanted to wave, but instead she just stared at her as the car began to move. Claire turned her head to keep her in sight as they drove off, and even turned around in her seat as they headed further away to watch as the house became smaller and smaller. When they finally turned a corner and she could no longer see the house, she sat down and stared out of the window. She didn't want to cry anymore, and now very few thoughts went through her mind. So, she focused on the houses and buildings flying pass, and tried to memorize every last one of them. She figured she'd never see them again.

So, there you go! Chapter one of this new story. Now, on my OCs. Basically, I'm kinda reusing OCs, but I plan to make them more developed and unique. I really like my first three OCs, and I have so many ideas they fit with. This story has no links to my first one, other than the chracters may be a little similar. Also, Claire Whiting from my first story was based off a friend of mine from my school. Her name was actually Claire, and because she inspired me, I named my character after her (her first name was spelled differently, and last name was completely different). She would've had a different name, but I guess I just wanted to honor my friend. This Claire was an OC I made up myself, and I named her Claire because the name just seemed to fit her. Also their names being the same is just me being a dolt and not wanting to choose another name.

So, I hope you enjoyed chapter one. This will be able active story, so I will be making updates to it more frequently and I will do my best not to drop it. I'll probably writing Chapter 2 almost immediately after I post this, so it will be out soon. Have a good'n!