Born Again
By: Felicia Tabby
"That human Freddy Robertson is here to see you Prime." Jazz announced to his leader.
"Good. Send him in." Optimus Prime said from the desk in his office.
Soon, a serious looking younger man with a black suit and neat blond hair stepped in. The
human and Autobot leader had never talked let alone seen each other until this day. But Freddy
Robertson had an interesting notion and Optimus Prime wanted to hear more about it.
"So tell me about this idea of yours Mr. Robertson." Optimus requested.
"Well, as you know," Freddy began. "you've been on earth for about ten years now and
you have tried to remain as inconspicuous as possible to the inhabitants of this planet. But due
mainly to the efforts of your advasaries, the Decepticons, your presence has been revealed to man
kind. And though the news of your existence has outraged some, more are curious about you.
Some are even willing to accept you. Especially with the help of the media, plus all the other
Transformers propaganda that has been created and sold over the years."
Optimus nodded. He knew all about this. In fact, it was the media who came up with the
term Transformers' when referring to both Autobots and Decepticons.
"Go on." Optimus said.
"The party I am representing believes we humans have a right to know more about you
and see what you, Autobots especially, are really like. So we are proposing a convention of sorts
in which the public will be able to learn about your species first hand. Considering that there are
already many fans of yours, several whom will be attending, several kinds of Transformer
propaganda will be sold there. And we would like it if a few of your fellow robots could attend
and talk to the public as well."
Optimus Prime thought the proposition over carefully.
"This just sounds like a ploy to sell merchandise." he stated.
"Everyone's out to make a buck." Freddy shrugged. "Besides, the consumer demand is
actually quite high for this stuff."
"I suppose that if humans are ever going to accept us, they'll have to know more about
us." Prime mused. "Okay. I'll send two of my Autobots to this- what did you call this thing?"
Freddy smiled at the Autobot leader.
"We call it Botcon."
"He's going for it." Freddy said into his cellular phone as he left the Autobot base. "We'll
be having two Autobots appearing at the Botcon."
"That's great." A female voice on the other end said. "Good job Freddy. Which two are
coming?"
"Optimus Prime said he'd send whoever was available that day."
"He would." the female voice muttered. "Oh well. I've got to go, there's still a lot to
take care of before the convention starts."
"Bye." Freddy said before he turned off his phone, stepped into his car and drove off.
A week later, Freddy Robertson found himself in a more casual attire of jeans and a long
sleeved shirt as he helped to make the final preparations for the Botcon.
The large building that was used for the convention was filled with people trying to get
everything in working order and adding finishing touches to the displays. The building was
colorfully decorated with balloons, streamers, and various Transformer logos. Booths were being
set up along the walls and a wide area was cleared out as reserved space for the two Autobots
that would be joining the festivities.
Freddy stood outside and watched as a long Botcon banner was being positioned over the
front doors. He was watching so intently that he didn't even notice the yellow lamborgini
and the grey and black car pull up to the curb behind him. However, they did manage to catch his
attention when they transformed into large humanoid robots.
"You guys are two days early." Freddy told Sunstreaker and Bluestreak.
Behind him, all the workers had stopped to stare in awe at the unscheduled robots.
"We were just curious to see what this thing looks like." Bluestreak said. "Optimus doesn't
even know we're here."
"Well does he know who he's sending to the Botcon?"
"He won't say." Sunstreaker grumbled. "Sometimes I think he just likes to aggravate us."
"There's a bunch of us that are willing to come." Bluestreak added. "I guess he just wants
to make sure he's sending the right ones."
Unknown to them, a young woman of about twenty leaned against the wall inside the
building next to the door way. The doors had been propped open to allow workers to go in and
out faster and the woman could hear everything the Autobots were saying. Her long reddish
brown hair cascaded down her back and fell over her dark eyes as her lips parted into a smile at
the sight of the Autobots.
An older man with red hair came up behind her and noticed what she was watching.
"So those are Autobots." He commented. "Look at the size of them. Quite a site, aren't
they?"
"Yeah." the young woman agreed. "They're really something."
"Well, you used to know them. Why don't you go talk to them?"
"I don't know uncle." the woman shrugged. "It's been a long time. They've probably
forgotten me. Or wished they had. I sure caused them more trouble than I was worth."
"Well you'll never know until you try."
"Maybe another time."
The woman slipped on a pair of shades and stepped out into the sun. She walked calmly
passed the blond man and the chatting Autobots.
"See you later Freddy." she called as she stepped into her car.
"Bye." Freddy said as she drove off.
"Who was that?" Sunstreaker asked.
"That's Crystal Richmond. Her uncle's the one who's funding this whole thing. She's the
person who organized the Botcon."
"Crystal Richmond, eh?" Bluestreak said. "Now where have I heard that name before?"
"I'm standing outside the building in which the first ever Botcon will be held." the blond
anchor woman said to the camera. "I am now speaking with Mr. Brent Daniels, one of the city's
wealthiest businessmen and financier of the convention. Mr. Daniels, could you please tell us what
this convention is all about?"
"Well," Brent began. "it's about one thing only- Transformers. And though it seems that
Botcon has become a large parade of merchandising, the true goal of the Botcon is to further
educate the public on what these alien robots are really like."
"We have also heard that a few of the Autobots themselves will be there to talk to the
people. Is this true?"
"I think you should talk to my niece, Crystal Richmond about that."
Brent pulled a reddish brown haired woman of about twenty in front of the camera.
"Tell us about the Autobots Ms. Richmond." the anchor woman requested. "Will they be
coming?"
"Yes." Crystal confirmed. "There will be Autobots present at the Botcon."
"For those transformer fans out there, can you tell us who?"
"I don't think even they know." Crystal laughed lightly. "But from what their leader
Optimus Prime has said, we'll probably get two different Autobots for each day of the convention.
So we ask that every one come to the Botcon tomorrow. It's going to be lots of fun."
A large man sitting in a padded chair clenched his fists when he saw the broadcast. It had
been so long since he had heard that name. But he only had to hear it once to remind him of who
it was.
"It's her." he growled from his chair.
"What are you talking about boss?" a tall muscular man in a dark blue suit asked.
The man in the chair pointed to the young woman on the screen.
"That's the girl who took the energy crystal from me."
"Are you sure? It's been a long time. How can you even remember?"
"You don't easily forget someone who robbed you of the biggest cash sum of your life. I
want her dead."
"But boss, the crystal doesn't even exist any more. And that was so long ago, why does it
matter?"
"She robbed me of my fortune." he yelled at his henchman. "I don't care how long it takes.
That brat's going to pay!"
The first day of Botcon was a booming success. Crowds of Transformer fans and lesser
groups of curious passer-bys filed into the large building. All sorts of merchandise was being sold
along the walls from t-shirts to video games to comic books. Which the crowd bought eagerly
along with videos and action figures.
But at the far end of the building was where the largest crowd was gathered. The newly
arrived Autobots Jazz and Hound were surrounded with die hard Transformer fans who new them
on sight and were happily chatting with everybody. Both Autobots seemed simply delighted to be
there.
"Hey Hound, could you sign this for me?"a young boy of about twelve called to the green
robot.
"Sure thing." Hound took the comic book from the youth. "What's your name, kid?"
"Brandon."
Hound scribbled a message on the cover and signed his name. He then took the privilege
of looking through it, seeing the familiar figures of both Autobots and Decepticons inside.
"Wow, a comic book. Let me see that man." Jazz said as he snatched it from Hound. He
scanned through the pages and was impressed by the accurate likeness of the pictures.
"Not bad. Here you go dude." Jazz handed it back to the boy.
"Thanks." Brandon said as he eagerly read the message on the cover.
"Hey Jazz," another young boy called to the black and white robot. "I'm not supposed to
tell you this, but my sister thinks you're cute!"
Hound tried not to laugh as Jazz smiled broadly into the crowd.
"Well you just tell her I think she's one happening chick!"
The crowd laughed and a very embarrassed teenaged girl decided she was going to kill her
brother later.
On the other side of the room, a young woman with long reddish brown hair stepped into
the building. She wore a purple shirt with fairly tight jeans and a pair of stylish sunglasses were
perched on top of her head. She smiled as she saw the laughing pair of Autobots across the room
and walked toward them. She noticed Freddy standing behind the Autobots away from the crowd
and went to go join him.
"So are there going to be any Decepticons coming here?" a young girl asked the Autobots.
"I hope not." Hound said. "That would just ruin everything."
"You'll have to ask the person in charge about that." Jazz said as the young woman passed
through the crowds. "Right Crystal?"
Crystal stopped at the mention of her name, her back facing the Autobots. She slowly
turned around, revealing a charming smile across her delicate features.
"You remembered me." she grinned.
"How could we forget?" Jazz laughed. "Get up here girl so we can get a look at you."
The crowd parted to make way for Crystal as she joined the Autobots.
"Well look at you, all grown up." Hound smiled at her.
"Yeah, how long had it been? Eight years?" Jazz asked. "I must say, you're looking pretty
good, right folks?"
A few cheers and wolf whistles came up from the crowd.
"Knock it off you guys." Crystal smiled, showing slight embarrassment.
"So does anyone have any questions for Crystal?" Jazz asked. "She's the only one who's
gone inside Decepticon Headquarters and lived to tell about it."
"Don't even go there Jazz." Crystal warned. "That was not the highlight of my childhood."
But to her dismay, the air was filled with questions form the crowd.
"What's Megatron really like?" "Is it really cool in there?" "Is Soundwave just as fine in
person?"
Crystal sighed. It was going to be a long first day.
Late that night, after eight years, Crystal once again found herself driving towards
Autobot Headquarters. This time she was riding in Jazz. The Autobots reached the base and
transformed then the three of them walked inside. Even as an adult, Crystal never failed to be
amazed by the size of the Arc.
As they walked down the ship's corridors, a familiar yellow robot could be seen heading
toward them.
"Hey Crystal," Bumblebee called. "long time no see."
"Bumblebee!"Crystal squealed with delight and ran up to hug him the best she could.
"How did you know it was me?"
"Hound radioed us ahead of time and told us you were coming. In fact, there's a bunch of
us, including Optimus Prime, gathered in the meeting room waiting for you."
"Wow, really? Then let's go."
Bumblebee led the way to the meeting room. They stepped through the doors and a
handful of Autobots familiar and unfamiliar to Crystal greeted them. Optimus Prime approached
the female human.
"It's nice to see you again Crystal." he said.
"Yeah right." Crystal sneered. "When I left you could here the sigh of relief clear from
Boston."
Some of the Autobots chuckled at Crystal's remark. Optimus Prime gently picked her up
and set her down on a large Transformer sized table. Crystal's mind wandered back to the last
time she had faced the Autobots like this. How much different she was now from that frightened
little girl she used to be.
"So tell us what happened to you these last years." Prime requested.
"Well," Crystal began, taking a moment to recall the last eight years of her life. "I traveled
around for a while, almost a year. Going from place to place until I ran into my uncle, Brent
Daniels in Chicago. I lived with him for a while until my parents finally caught up to me. They had this big old custody battle for me and everything. But they finally decided it would be better for
me to just stay with my uncle. So now I live with him. I see my parents every now and again but
that part of my life is over and I have no desire to ever go back to it."
"But over the years my uncle's been making quite a lot of money. One of his business
meeting took him back here to Oregon. I told him about you guys and he came up with the whole
Botcon thing. He wanted me to run it and now here I am."
"We're glad everything worked out for you Crystal." Prowl said.
"Thanks." Crystal smiled. She looked down at her watch. "Shoot, it's late. I'd better get
home."
"I'll take you." Prowl offered.
He helped her off the table. Crystal said her goodbyes to every one and then the two
walked out.
"You'll have to take me back to the convention." Crystal told Prowl. "I left my car there."
"How about I just take you home and I'll send someone to pick you up tomorrow."
"Okay."
Prowl transformed and Crystal got inside. Then they drove off towards the city.
"It's been a long time since I've last ridden in a police car." Crystal commented.
"That's good to hear." Prowl said.
"Hey, have you ever tried to pull someone over?"
"No."
"You should some time. It would totally fake someone out, they'd all think it was the
cops. That would be way funny."
Prowl laughed at the idea.
"You sure have changed a lot." he told her.
"For the better I hope."
"Of course. Now which house was it?"
"Oh, this one. The one with the small yard. I've really got to talk to my uncle about getting
a place with more grass."
Prowl stopped in front of the house and opened his door.
"Here you are. I'd walk you to the door but-"
"I know." Crystal said as she got out. "Thanks for the ride. See you later."
"Bye."
Crystal patted the hood of the police car as she walked around him and up to the house.
Prowl waited until she disappeared into the house before driving away.
The next morning, Crystal arrived at the Botcon in a yellow lamborgini, fallowed by a
driverless black and white car. As Crystal stepped out onto the sidewalk, the vehicles transformed
into Sunstreaker and Bluestreak.
"So, you two got to come here after all." Freddy said to them, recognizing the duo from a
few days before.
"You bet." Bluestreak said excitedly. "I can't wait to get started."
"Good." Freddy said. "Let's go, uh. . ."
"That's Bluestreak." Crystal introduced. "And this is Sunstreaker."
"Hm, do you think the crowd would approve of us having two streakers as our guests?"
Freddy chuckled.
Crystal giggled.
"I don't get it." Bluestreak said.
"Don't worry about it." Crystal smiled. "Maybe Freddy will explain it to you later."
The second day of the Botcon was just as successful, if not more, than the first. And
Sunstreaker and Bluestreak were more than happy to talk with the hoards of fans gathered around
them.
Later that day, Spike dropped by and introduced Crystal to his wife Carley and his young
son Daniel. Carley asked Crystal if she ever planned on getting married. Crystal just laughed and
took Daniel up to see the two Autobots.
It was late at night when the convention ended for the day. Crystal, Freddy, and the
Autobots were the last ones to leave as the humans finished locking up the building.
"Need a ride home Crys?" Sunstreaker asked.
"No thanks." Crystal said as she fished her car keys out of her pocket. "I'd better take my
car home before someone steals it."
"I'll go get it for you." Freddy volunteered as he grabbed her keys and ran off across the
street to the parking lot.
The two robots and the human woman stood quietly on the side walk beneath a street
light.
"Who do you suppose. . ." Sunstreaker began as a black limo began speeding up the road
toward them. The trio watched it in curiosity until the limo's window rolled down and the thin,
shiny barrel of a gun could be seen. Crystal's eyes went wide in fear when she saw that it was
pointed at her.
Across the road, Freddy was sitting in Crystal's car with the key in the ignition. He heard
the squealing wheels of a speeding car and looked up to see what was going on. But when he
heard gun shots he jumped out of the car, unaware of the strange clicking noise the car had made
when he tried to start it.
When Bluestreak saw the gun he threw himself protectively over Crystal as it went off.
Sunstreaker was still standing and got a good view of Crystal's car as it exploded, sending
Freddy flying through the air and crashing several feet away into the pavement.
As the limo sped off, Sunstreaker ran over to help Freddy who lay lifeless on the ground.
Crystal's car was still flaming brightly a few feet away. Bluestreak lifted himself up off the ground,
revealing a stunned Crystal beneath him.
"Are you okay Crystal?" he asked.
"Yeah." Crystal said shakily.
Bluestreak frowned as he inspected the dents in his side where the bullets had hit him.
"Hey, get over here." Sunstreaker called to them.
The two ran across the street to where the yellow robot was standing over Freddy's
lifeless body.
Crystal kneeled down next to him and inspected the wounds.
"He's hurt bad. You guys watch him while I call an ambulance."
Crystal ran to the nearest pay phone. Bluestreak fallowed her just in case any other
unwanted incidents occurred. Minutes later an ambulance arrived and not long after, so did Brent
Daniels.
"Crystal!" Brent called when he saw his niece sitting between the two Autobots on the
sidewalk. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine thanks to these guys." she smiled up at the robots. "Unfortunately, Freddy wasn't
so lucky."
"What happened anyway?"
"There were a few bullets and a high explosive with your niece's name on it, Mr. Daniels."
Sunstreaker explained.
"I guess they're not Transformer fans." Crystal shrugged.
"Well that's it." Brent said. "There's obviously someone after you, though we have no idea
why. You are not going back to that convention until we can figure out what's going on."
"But Uncle," Crystal protested. "tomorrow's the last day, I have to be there."
"Even if there's some mad man out there trying to kill you? I won't let you."
"You can't tell me what to do!" Crystal yelled. "I'm not a child any more. I can make my
own decisions."
Brent was quiet. He knew there was no stopping his niece when she set her mind to
something. And she was no longer the little girl he could tell what to do.
"Look," Crystal said less forcefully. "I have to be there. People are counting on me to see
this thing through. Especially since Freddy won't be there to cover for me. But if it makes you feel
better, I'll only stay a little while and I'll have someone else lock up for me."
"And we'll make sure she gets and escort to and from the convention." Bluestreak added.
"All right Crystal." Brent surrendered. "Just promise me you'll be careful."
Crystal smiled her thanks.
"I promise."
The next morning, Crystal was escorted to the Botcon by Sideswipe and Wheeljack. The
rest of the day went on like clock work. A news station even stopped by to cover the last day of
the Botcon and even ask the Autobots a few questions. Luckily, they hadn't yet heard of last
night's assault.
Later on, Brent stopped by and informed her of Freddy's condition. He had suffered a
broken arm, a cracked rib, and some scrapes and burns but was wide awake now and wishing he
could be there. But other than that, everything seemed to be going just fine.
In the building which held the Botcon was a second story which was composed of a few
rooms and a balcony. One could only reach it from the stairs or the roof exit. And since it was not
being used, the large man wearing the dark blue suit was not noticed as he stepped into the
building from the roof.
There were no lights on in the second floor which made the man's dark clothes even
harder to see. The man calmly knelt down behind the balcony railing and pulled a gun from his
coat. He steadied the weapon on his shoulder and looked through the view finder for his victim
among the crowds.
Crystal stood in a corner of the building where she could be left alone. She quietly
surveyed the scene before her and smiled . She was proud of the things she was able to
accomplish. However, she never became aware from the attention she had just received from a
certain armed assassin.
Wheeljack was happily chatting with some children when Sideswipe tapped him on the
shoulder to get his attention.
"Who do you suppose is up there?" the red robot asked, pointing to a dark figure
crouched on the second floor.
"I don't know." Wheeljack replied. "But it looks like he's holding a- uh, oh."
The Autobots looked in the direction the gun was aimed and saw Crystal standing in full
view, unaware of the danger she was in. The Autobots jumped to their feet, but the large crowd
gathered around them prevented them from doing anything else.
"Crystal!" they both cried out frantically to her.
The gun's silencer prevented any sound the gun might have made as the trigger was pulled.
As the bullet ripped through her chest, Crystal barely felt it as she immediately lost all
consciousness.
Everyone in the convention stared in horror at the limp body laying on the floor, seeping
blood from the gaping hole in her chest. The Autobots glanced up at her killer but the man had
disappeared. Brent Daniels appeared from the crowd and knelt down and hugged Crystal's lifeless
form.
"Someone call an ambulance!" he cried in grief and urgency.
Wheeljack bent down beside him and inspected the body.
"It's no use." he said sadly. "She'll be dead by the time the ambulance arrives."
"No!" Brent cried in sorrow and outrage. "Can't you do anything for her? You have all
that technology, there has to be something you can do."
"Like what?" Sideswipe asked.
"Anything!"
"But there's nothin. . ."
Sideswipe was interrupted by Wheeljack.
"There might be one thing. But we'll have to hurry."
"I just got a call from Wheeljack." Prowl told Optimus Prime as he sat in front of
Teletran's view screen.
"Isn't he supposed to be at the Botcon?" Optimus asked.
"He says it's urgent. He wants us to get Ratchet and ready the repair bay for him."
"This doesn't sound good." Prime stated. "Go get Ratchet and meet me in the repair bay."
Prowl stood and went to comply.
It was soon after that Wheeljack arrived followed by Sideswipe, which was unusual since
the red robot was usually the one to speed. Wheeljack didn't stop as he entered the Arc nor did he
even slow down until he reached the repair room.
"Well, we're all here man." Jazz said. "What's the big emergency?"
"This." Wheeljack opened his back door.
Bumblebee looked in on the motionless bleeding body inside.
"Primus, it's Crystal." he gasped. "What happened?"
"I'll explain later." Wheeljack promised. "Hurry and get her onto that table, we're loosing
precious time."
The other Autobots gasped as Bumblebee brought out the bloodied body and placed her
on the small table. Wheeljack transformed into his robot mode and immediately went to work.
"Ratchet, help me hook her up to this machine. Someone please clear off that table over
there, I'm going to need it. The rest of you guys- out, I need some space here. Oh, and I'll need
two bots to get something out of my work shop for me in just a minute."
All the Autobots hurried to obey Wheeljack's orders. Optimus Prime approached
Sideswipe.
"Where's Crystal's uncle." he asked.
"He's back at the convention talking to the police."
"When he shows up, keep him out." Wheeljack said. "I don't want him even near this room
until I'm finished."
"I still can't believe Crystal could die." Mirage told Cliffjumper as they picked through all
the gadgets and boxes in Wheeljack's workshop. "You'd think that poor girl's been through
enough already."
"I know." Cliffjumper agreed. "Just thinking about some jerk wanting to kill her makes my
energon boil."
"Hey, do you think this is what Wheeljack was wanting?" Mirage asked as he uncovered a
big long box from the piles of junk.
He opened it up and the two Autobots looked in to see a humanoid prototype robot body
laying inside. It was mostly grey in color and the simple appearance of it suggested that it had no
transforming abilities and that it contained the simplest circuitry.
"Yeah, I think this is it." Cliffjumper confirmed. He closed the box and picked up one end.
"Let's get this back to Wheeljack, he said he wanted to work a little on this before he uses it."
"I just hope he knows what he's doing." was all Mirage had to say.
Crystal found herself in what could best be described as an empty void of nothingness. It
had no color or shape. It was neither black nor white. And in it she was neither standing or
floating, she was just there. No sound could be heard or word could be thought as she simply
existed in this nothingness. Then suddenly, as if she was hit by a great force, she was some where.
Where exactly, she did not know. The effects from the place she was before still rendered
her thoughts, hindering them enough that she couldn't even comprehend the darkness that now
surrounded her. Then came another something. Sound. She could hear someone speaking . She
did not know where it was coming from or what it meant. And then light and color slowly spilled
into her dark world. Lots of excited chattering came as a result of the light and the blurry shapes
she could now see in front of her moved about excitedly. One blob moved close to her and
seemed to be talking to her.
What was she seeing in front of her? Red. That's what it was. She remembered red.
Thinking started to become easier as random thoughts started to process through Crystal's head.
Now only if she could see as clearly as her mind was thinking.
Crystal suddenly become aware of more than just her thoughts, sight, and hearing. Her
arm suddenly came to life and reached up weakly to touch the red blob above her. She then felt
strong but gentle hands grasp hers. She could sense worry and anxiousness from the red blob
though she couldn't understand why. She tried to squeeze the hand back to comfort it but she was
too weak.
Crystal then became aware of another blob standing on the other side of her. This one was
mostly white.
"Crystal, can you hear me?" the white blob asked.
Blue lights blinked every time this one talked. Crystal was delighted that she could finally
understand. But she still could not manage an answer.
"What's wrong with her Wheeljack?" another voice asked.
"She's fine. It will just take a while for her to get used to it."
"Wheeljack?" Crystal recognized the name and was finally able to speak it.
"Right here." he said, squeezing her other hand comfortingly.
"What? Where?" Crystal was beginning to feel the rest of her body and was starting to
move it around. She looked over at the red blob and could now clearly see who was holding her
other hand.
"Optimus? What happened?"
"We'll tell you later." Prime said soothingly. "You should rest."
"No." Crystal protested weakly. "I've. . got to. . get up."
Using her elbows, she tried to prop herself up into a sitting position but her arms were
weak and they wobbled under her. Optimus Prime and Wheeljack gently eased her into a sitting
position.
"Wheeljack, did you shrink?" Crystal asked as she looked the white robot over. He
seemed a lot smaller than she remembered.
"No Crystal, I didn't shrink." though Wheeljack's featureless face was unable to show
emotion he could not hide the amusement in his voice.
Crystal placed a hand on her forehead. "What happened to me? Where am I?"
"You're at Autobot headquarters." Wheeljack explained. "You were shot at the
convention. We brought you here and saved your life."
"Saved my life?" Crystal looked down at her body. It didn't look the same at all. "What did
you do to me?"
"Your body was no longer able to function so we put your mind in a robot body."
"A robot? You turned me into a robot?"
"It was the only way to save your life." Wheeljack explained.
"But I can't be robot." Crystal protested. "I've got things I have to do."
Crystal eased herself off the table she had been sitting on and tried to stand. She slowly
got to her feet and wobbled to the door. Not yet used to her new body, she soon lost her balance
and fell over. Prowl rushed over to catch her.
Crystal stood weakly in the Autobot's arms. For the first time ever she was tall enough to
look him in the face. How strange it was to be the same size of these robots she'd thought of as
giants all her life.
"Does my uncle know about this?" Crystal asked.
"Not yet." Prowl answered. "He's waiting outside for you."
"I hope I don't give him a heart attack." Crystal sighed.
Crystal started slowly out the door, leaning on Prowl for support as she went. They
stepped out and saw a red haired man waiting in the hallway with Brawn and Bumblebee. Crystal
was surprised by how small the three of them now seemed. Brent stood as they approached.
"Where's my niece?" Brent demanded.
"Right here." Optimus Prime motioned toward the female robot leaning slightly on Prowl's
shoulder. Brent stared at her in complete bafflement. Bumblebee and Brawn's expressions weren't
much different.
"Crystal?" Brent managed to croak.
"Hi uncle." Crystal smiled weakly.
"How- what did they do to you?"
"They saved my life."
"I assume this is only temporary. You will get your old body back right?"
"I'm sorry Mr. Daniels." Wheeljack apologized. "Her real body was destroyed beyond
repair when she was shot."
"How can this be?" Brent said quietly, anger slowly rising. "How can you tell me that you
saved her? How can you say this metal monstrosity is my niece? That thing can't be Crystal." He
pointed an accusing finger at the female robot
"But it is me." Crystal insisted. "No matter what I look like on the inside, it's still me."
"No!" Brent insisted. "You are an abomination. No human could ever exist inside a robot
body. You cannot be Crystal. As far as I'm concerned, my niece died of a bullet wound the instant
she was shot."
With that cold statement, Brent turned on his heels and walked out of the Arc without
even looking back. Crystal took a few steps after him then stopped and silently watched as he
drove away.
"Crystal, I'm sorry, I. ." Wheeljack started to say.
"It's okay." Crystal tried hard not to show the hurt in her voice. "Who would have ever
thought he'd react that way. You saved my life. There's no need for apologies. The only question
is what do I do now?"
"Stay with us." Optimus Prime offered. "It would be the least we could do."
"It appears I don't really have another choice." Crystal said with a small smile. "I'd love to
stay with you guys."
Optimus nodded in approval and Wheeljack led Crystal back into the repair bay where she
could be alone and get some rest.
It was late in the evening when Prowl decided to drop in and check on Crystal. He stepped
into the repair bay to find her missing. He searched around the Arc for her and finally found her
outside, sitting on a ledge of the mountain by herself and watching the sun set.
"How are you doing?" Prowl asked as he sat down beside her.
"Fine." Crystal didn't even look at him as she answered his question. Prowl placed as
worried hand on her shoulder.
"Are you sure you're okay? Is there anything you want to talk about?"
"I don't know." Crystal sighed heavily. "Everything came so sudden and unexpected I'm
not sure what to think about all this. It's going to be a lot different than my life when I was
human, but it won't be the first time I've started over." Crystal smiled to herself. "It's almost like
being born all over again or reincarnated. I had one life, I'm still in the same world, yet I can't go
back to it."
Prowl was filled with pity and regret for her. Crystal saw the emotion in his face.
"But you know what Prowl?" she asked. "I may have lost a lot, but now that I think about
it, I've probably gained just as much. And I think I'm ready to start this new life. But one thing's
for sure."
"What's that?" Prowl asked.
"This is sure going to take some getting used to."
"The thrill is in the journey." -Topspin