GOODBYE IS NOT FOREVER

I've missed writing about Melly and the Autobots, and I've struggled to come up with new ideas for stories. So, when this story came to mind, I couldn't resist. It took longer to write out the first chapter than I'd thought, but it's turned out great. At least I think so. This is where you read more about Melly's personal life; it discusses her background in further detail, and I'm sure you'll find it rather interesting. For the record, this takes place after the series has ended, so that means Sari is in her teenage form, and Prowl and Blurr are back.

Also, Megatron and the Decepticons will not be involved here. This is where the characters deal with something a little more personal, closer to home.

Characters (with exceptions) © Hasbro and Entertainment Rights

Story © unicorn-skydancer08

All rights reserved.

Chapter 1

The last day Melly Manchester saw her father alive started off like any other day.

The morning was clear and crisp. Melly was in the Tuscan-style kitchen of her house, putting breakfast together. Presently, her brother Matthew breezed into the room.

Though Matthew was older than Melly by two years, anyone would have taken the two for twins. They were roughly the same height; they both had the same bright blue eyes, the same reddish-blonde hair, the same winning smile, even the same sprinkle of freckles. However, Melly wore a set of wire-rimmed glasses, while Matthew had never had the need for glasses in his life. Also, their taste in clothes varied. While Melly preferred casual, comfortable clothes, Matthew was much trendier. That day, for instance, he was garbed in black, close-fitting jeans, black ankle boots, a black motorcycle vest over a white T-shirt, and black wristbands, with a jaunty black cap to top it all off.

Judging from Matthew's style, you would hardly have guessed that the guy was a professional ballet dancer. It sounded crazy to a lot of people, but it was true. As a kid, Matthew attended a certified dance school for boys, and he'd performed in several shows. To this day, he still gave live performances here and there. Matthew didn't know why, but there was something about the world of dancing that really enticed him. When he danced, he felt free, untethered to the rest of the world, and he was able to express himself in a way that he couldn't with words.

Needless to say, his friends gave him a lot of grief about it, especially in his early youth. For the longest time, his own father attempted to get him involved in more "manly" things, like football, or cars. But Matthew was no sports buff. He could barely even hold a football without dropping it, and he didn't understand half the rules and terminology.

As for cars, that was more of Melly's specialty.

Melly, while she was no dancer (she was forever saying she was born with two left feet), was a genius when it came to cars and technology. She knew every component of a car by heart, and she could fix one all by herself with no trouble. With computers, she once put together one of her very own, with her own two hands, purely from scratch, and it actually worked, too.

Beyond that, the girl was a whiz at science and math. At school, her grades had always been practically flawless. While Matthew resented his sister for being so outrageously smart, he would have given anything to have her brains. When they were very small kids, Melly once took a bunch of colored markers and scribbled math equations all over the living room walls. Matthew ended up being the one to get the licking for that, because no one would believe that a three-year-old could have done the math.

Ultimately, Melly wound up graduating with top marks from one of the country's most prestigious colleges, and today, she held a well-paying job at Sumdac Systems.

She really stood out in that company, because she was the youngest to ever be recruited there.

This morning, Melly was very anxious to leave for work—not just for the sake of a paycheck, but also because she was looking forward to meeting up with Sari Sumdac, the daughter of her boss and her best friend in the whole, wide world, as well as all her Autobot pals. She especially hoped to get a glimpse today of her love, Blurr.

As an Autobot Intelligence Officer, Blurr was often extremely busy, but he made sure to visit Melly whenever he could. Some would have deemed it crazy, even downright unnatural, for a mere human and a titanic robot to be involved in a romantic relationship. But neither Blurr nor Melly cared. It made no difference to Melly who Blurr was, or what he was; she loved him nevertheless, and she was sure he felt the same way for her. She found him a thousand times more interesting than any human guy she'd ever met.

"Hey, sis," Matthew greeted her as he entered the kitchen. "What's cooking?"

"Ah, nothing too fancy," Melly replied nonchalantly. "Just sausages and scrambled eggs, with a bit of French toast on the side."

"Are you sure it's edible?" he half-teased, as he strode up to her and stood by her side.

She lifted an eyebrow to him. "Do you doubt my culinary skills, buster?"

"Well, I certainly haven't forgotten what had happened the last time you were on breakfast duty, unsupervised. Even roadkill tasted better."

Melly took a swing at her brother with the spatula, but of course he dodged her just in time.

"Hey, hey, you two," a deep voice cut in just then. "I don't want to have to serve as adjudicator for you again."

Both siblings simultaneously turned their heads, to see their father standing in the doorway of the kitchen, watching them intently. Marc Manchester, a tall, well-built man in his early forties, with a bright orange hairline of his own that was only beginning to recede, was more than just their father. Since Melly and Matthew's mom walked out on them, when Melly was only four, that left Marc alone with the responsibility of caring for two kids. In a way, he was both their father and their mother, as well as their cook, maid, coach, chauffeur, and their referee.

But most of all, he was their best friend. They did almost everything together, and Melly had always looked up to him and admired him.

As Marc sauntered into the room himself, he declared to his children, "Honestly, Melly, Matthew—can't you ever get along? Even now, as grown-ups?"

"Of course, we get along, Dad," said Melly sweetly. "We get along perfectly! Right, Matthew?"

"We're like a pair of angels," Matthew added, putting his hands together and lifting his eyes to the ceiling in mock innocence.

Marc shook his head, but he couldn't repress a small smile. "I swear," the older man murmured, "sometimes I think you're kids all over again."

Then he shifted his attention to the food. "Mmm…that looks wonderful, Melly! You're becoming quite the cook."

"Well, I learned from the best." Melly smiled at her father.

She'd learned just about everything she knew from him. Marc was the one who taught her all about the world, especially the world of cars and machinery. He was the one who taught her how to change a tire, replace a battery, maintain the proper fluid levels, and how the overall car was put together. Melly had spent most of her childhood with him in the little auto shop not far from their house, where he worked. Even though Marc now held a much higher-paying job at the steel mills on the other side of town, he still liked to tinker with cars in his spare time.

Cars were essentially in his blood, and now they were in Melly's blood, too.

"How much would you like, Dad?" Melly asked as she picked up the pan that held the first completed batch of eggs.

"I got a big day ahead of me, so load me up." Marc took his seat at the table, and Melly made sure to fill his plate well.

"Aren't you going to save any for me?" Matthew asked as he sat down himself on the other side.

"It's every man for himself, son," Marc said, before he picked up his fork and knife and dug eagerly into the food.

"Don't worry, Matthew," Melly teased, now pouring their father some freshly brewed coffee, "I'll see if I can save you at least a few crusts, and maybe half a sausage, if you're lucky." But she made sure her brother got a decent serving of everything, too. Matthew slugged her playfully in the arm as she was leaving, and naturally, she slugged him back.

Despite their almost constant squabbles, they really did care very much about each other; one could hardly imagine living without the other.

The three of them had a good time eating and chatting with one another, their chairs snug around the table. Melly felt a sense of warmth and security. She loved it when they were together like this, the way a real family should be. The only thing missing was her mother. Melly thought of her, for no less than the hundred-millionth time, and wondered where she was now.

She was too young to remember her mother, the way Matthew and Marc did, but every now and again a memory would come to mind.

Melly recalled that her mother had some very bad habits, her habit of drinking being her worst. Matthew would tell her that their mom would sometimes go for days, weeks, even months without touching a drop; but then, all at once, she would break loose and get drunk out of her mind. Melly remembered how her parents would sometimes argue loudly with each other, and her mom would scream and smash up everything in sight. During those times, Melly would try to hide under her bed, or else she would seek refuge in Matthew's room.

Then, one day, without warning, their mom took off and never came back. She never even left a note, or anything of the sort. She simply walked out on her family, taking only a handful of her belongings with her, and that was the end of it. Marc eventually petitioned the courts for full custody of his kids, and it had been just Melly, her brother, and her dad ever since.

Melly tried to shrug off the bad feeling, tried to focus on more pleasant things—like Sari, and Blurr—and she began shoveling her eggs down a little faster.

When breakfast was over, and the table had been cleared up, the family started to head off in their individual directions.

Matthew was the first to leave the house. He bade Marc a rather hasty goodbye before the door banged shut behind him; for some reason, Matthew never seemed able to close a door quietly. But Melly, even though she didn't have much time to spare herself, took time to embrace her father, give him a kiss on his cheek, and tell him, "I love you, Dad."

"Take care, sweetheart," Marc answered warmly.

As Melly was heading down the street, she paused briefly to give her father one final wave, as he stood in the open doorway, and he waved back.

That was the last they ever saw of one another.