She didn't turn the Bugatti in.

The more Aiko looked at the poor thing, the more she felt that she couldn't. There was something terribly wrong with sending a helpless, injured creature to its death, one which fought to save the planet no less.

But it was an Autobot that started the battle in Chicago, she kept telling herself. She remembered seeing that headline and had a feeling she'd be seeing a lot of accusations on the so-called 'good-guys' for years to come.

Still, there was being righteous and there was being cruel. Besides, the idea of taking care of something that desperately needed help gave her a sense of purpose in her life.

If only she knew how to take care of an alien car.

Aiko had stood there looking dumbly at the unconscious thing before coming to the conclusion that she had no fucking clue how to fix it. She wasn't sure if that little fact made her feel sadder for the transformer or for herself. Eventually, she figured that the best way for her to go about this was to leave it be and wait for it to wake up.

At least she knew it wasn't dead. It felt alive. Barely, probably, but it was.

That was a whole other field that she was more than a little unsettled by. She knew she had some… unique traits but having the unconventional ability to sense the faint presence of these things was definitely the icing on the metaphorical cake. It got easier and over time, but that didn't make her any less wary of whatever the fuck else she was capable of.

For the most part, Aiko had done nothing much more than wander the warehouse and sit somewhere staring at the transformer for hours. She didn't get much of a response out of it until she was going on day three of babysitting a half-dead alien.

She was jogging back to the warehouse after stealing some supplies from a gas station when she paused just before the door. It was very early in the morning, and so the building was a bit dark. But she didn't need to see in order to know what was going on inside when a long, drawn out sound rumbled deep within. Any normal human being might not have been able to hear it from her distance, but Aiko stood stiff for a moment and continued to listen to the unsettling noises.

She hid on the side of the hole in the garage door, listening closely. It was silent for a good five minutes, and Aiko was beginning to think she was just imagining things when she heard it again; a low, strained groan.

Very, very slowly, she pressed her ear against the door and held, waiting for something more to confirm her suspicions.

Another groan.

And then, she nearly jumped ten feet in the air when the warehouse erupted with all kinds of noises. Metal shifting and grinding, hydraulics whirring and hissing, parts clicking and clinging together… and a raspy grunt followed by yet another deep groan. It sounded… painful.

Aiko peered into the gaping hole and had to slap a hand over her mouth to avoid uttering a sound. She could see the outline of a massive figure in the dark, illuminated by the rising sun's light peeking through the holes and crevices of the old building. It was on its hands and knees, the entire form shaking and straining to keep itself upright. The teenager narrowed her eyes, trying to get a clearer view of the alien but to no avail. She wanted so badly to shine her flashlight on it and see the magnificent creature, but held herself back. The last thing she wanted, or needed, was to startle it.

The alien's head was drooping between shivering shoulders, that much she could make out. Two bright blue lights that she figured functioned as the eyes were trained downward. All was silent, except for the occasional grind of metal and the shaky vents escaping the alien. Aiko frowned and felt her heart drop despite herself. Humans… humans had done this to it. From what she had heard, these things were seen as highly dangerous, but at the same time they were marveled by the public as powerful, prideful, and magnificent titans. Also, ground-breaking proof of the existence of mechanical lifeforms.

Yet here one was now, head down, vulnerable and looking utterly helpless.

This is what her horrible race had done to beings far more intelligent and powerful than they will ever be. It made her sick, and as she gazed wondrously at the struggling creature before her, it was then that she decided to be the only one to make a difference. Her heart reached out to it, and she wanted desperately to help it. In the back of her mind, a voice nagged at her, reminding her of the little fact that not all of these things were innocent, if what happened in Chicago was any indication. Her mind bounced, like she was going back and forth between two sides of the situation.

That thing could hurt you. It could kill you. It's dangerous. It's massive. It's going to die anyways. It's an alien.

But… it's shaking, and it's scared. It's hiding. It's being hunted, like an animal. It's in danger. It's helpless, and vulnerable. It's alone, and in pain. It's…

Me. It's just like me.

She had gotten so caught up in her troubled thoughts that it didn't register to her that her bag was slowly sliding off of her one shoulder until it was too late. Aiko was jerked back into the present when the strap slid off of her shoulder, and the bag accidentally dropped, landing with a thunk that echoed around the deathly silent area. The girl's hair stood on end and her jaw clenched as she snatched her bag up while sharply turning to look inside. The creature snapped its head up in an instant and Aiko whirled around quickly, hoping that it didn't see her.

Metal grinded again briefly… and then silence. Moments later, she heard those same noises as before; the whirring and shifting and clicking until everything went silent again. Slowly, the teenager twisted her head around in time to see the alien fold down into the same Bugatti Veyron she had been watching over for the past couple days. Blue light flickered underneath the hood for a split second before it fell dark.

Aiko gripped her bag, tense and unsure of what to do. She remained frozen for another agonizing minute before coming to a decision, taking a deep breath and coming in. Every step caused her heart to beat faster and her mind went over the many scenarios that could happen at any moment as she approached the Transformer. It was one of the dumbest things she could do after having alerted it, but something deep down inside was pulling her to it. She didn't want it to be afraid of her. She wanted to let it know that it didn't have to hide from her, that it was safe with her.

She wanted to show it that they were one and the same, in some ways.

It felt like she had walked two miles before she got remotely close to it, halting a yard or two away. She opened her mouth, but Aiko in all honestly had no idea what to say. She had no idea if it could even understand her, but she had to try. So she decided to blurt out the first thing that came to mind, "You moved."

It sat there quietly, just like any other vehicle would have.

"I-I saw you." She hissed, swiftly reaching into her bag and tugging out her flashlight, "You… transformed."

With a small click, yellow light engulfed the front of the exotic car. Suspicious and suddenly brave, Aiko stepped forward and stopped in front of the driver's door. Everything in her head was screaming for her to get away before it could harm her if it decided to. She had just admitted to seeing its true identity, after all. Logically, there was nothing stopping it from killing her so that she couldn't turn it in.

Still, she felt that pull, and it was strong enough for her to ignore her own mind. It almost felt like some sort of… connection. A sense of relatability towards this creature that she couldn't even begin to describe or understand herself. It felt surreal, and it was what pushed her farther along as she reached out to touch.

Out of curiosity, she wrapped her fingers around the handle but did not pull… testing it. The metallic composition of the Transformer's surface felt cool and smooth. It felt like a normal, nonliving car. However, on impulse, the thing made the mistake of assuming she was going to open it and swung the door open for her… just what Aiko had expected. She removed her hand and crossed her arms at the empty interior.

"I knew it." She said lowly, "You did change. You're one of them, aren't you? A Transformer?"

The Bugatti's hydraulics whined as it sank down lower, a sign that it finally knew it was caught. Aiko found herself fascinated that it could make such telltale motions as a car, that it could express emotion in the form of a vehicle. Slowly, she reached out to touch the open door, but it snapped shut before she could, causing her to squeak at the quick reaction. The car shuddered and rolled backwards –or tried to. Its rear end hit a shelf, and it jumped.

A car just jumped in front of her. That had to be on her list of some of the weirdest things she'd seen in the last week.

The teenager stood back, watching the alien really only succeed in knocking stuff onto itself.

"Hey, easy..." Aiko held her hands up, and was surprised when the motion seemed to startle the thing as it stopped and sat there, trembling.

Trembling. She never in her life thought it was possible for a car to look so scared.

It seemed to draw in on itself, sinking low enough that the undercarriage was almost touching the ground. The tires twitched slightly, she assumed from either fear or the extra weight it was putting on itself.

"It's okay. I'm not going to report you, if that's what you're worried about." She murmured. Again, she didn't have the slightest clue if it could understand her, but she had to say something.

The trembling eased down very slowly.

She bit her lip, stepping back in attempt to make it feel a little better. The headlights flickered briefly, making her flinch. But nothing else happened. It never attempted to attack her. It never chose transform. It just sat there, crouched like a cornered animal and visibly leaning away from her. It was just pitiful, what this once incredible being had been degraded into.

"It's all right. I know you're hurt." Aiko said carefully, her gaze lowering to the bullet shells still scattered around and the holes and scratches marring the car, "You're all alone and you're hurt…"

And scared. You're very scared.

Aiko's mind began to race. She could still report this… and the reward could very well be worth it. It could be all she needed to get herself back together. On the other hand… the alien never once tried to harm her in any way, even if it was likely unconscious up until now. It was sitting there staring at her with evident fear, helplessly awaiting its fate. It was at her mercy; she could do anything to it right now, and it would be too weak and in too much pain to do anything about it.

No, it wasn't right. It was a frightened and injured creature, and turning it in to people who would kill it was just wrong. Even if she wanted to, Aiko wasn't heartless enough to do such a thing. It wasn't like she could approach the authorities anyways. She was essentially just as much of a fugitive as the transformer was. Chances were, they'd both get captured, or worse.

The teenager gripped the flashlight a little tighter, then she moved forward a little. The Bugatti didn't move, so she took another step. When it jerked, she stopped. She turned off the flashlight –the warehouse was bright enough now– and set it down on the floor.

"Can I help you?" she asked. Pretty stupid thing to ask a creature that clearly didn't trust her, but she had to start somewhere. She eyed the tools and parts that had spilled over its hood.

A long pause followed, one long enough that Aiko thought it might not understand English (which was plausible, considering it was an alien). She began to feel foolish for even attempting communication, Then, it inched forward. Maybe only a foot forward, but progress. Aiko took that a sign of acceptance and slowly approached.

She decided it probably wasn't smart to stand in front of it, so she went to one side of it –though she had a feeling that it really didn't matter where she approached if there was a giant alien robot packed inside this multimillion dollar car. The thought crossed her mind a number of times of how it even acquired such a disguise and why it thought being a rare, expensive car was a good idea for cover.

Aiko carefully stood at its right side. Curiously, she decided to toy with her… sensing ability and reach out to it. But the thing was wound tight as a spring, ready to snap back or break completely. Its aura was so tight and unreadable that it unnerved her enough to stop trying to feel it. She figured it was kind of rude –she wouldn't want to be poked and prodded at if she were this distressed either.

Her fingers trembled while she cautiously plucked tools off of it. She tried to avoid actually touching the thing –not because she didn't want to, but because it probably didn't want to be touched. She wasn't about to risk losing an arm or maybe even her life because an alien felt threatened enough to defend itself against her.

The bullet holes looked gnarly. They probably hurt, too. She found herself looking at each of them that punctured through its hood and fenders. She almost touched one, but her fingertips fell short of contact when she remembered the situation. Aiko frowned, realizing this meant there were probably a lot of bullet heads lodged inside this poor thing, and she bet it didn't feel good either.

It did something she didn't expect. It inched forward again, into her quivering fingers.

She almost snatched her hand away, but on second thought of the transformer's gesture, she let her palm fall flat onto it. The metal felt unnaturally warm.

"I want to help you," she whispered, "But I don't know how."

Its hood popped open. Aiko jumped. It took her a moment to catch on and she huffed a half-amused noise. Damn thing was full of surprises, it seemed. She took her arm and, after a slight hesitation, swept off the rest of the items over its hood with one clean swipe. Then, with the care of touching something glass, she gingerly lifted its hood.

Aiko was no mechanic, but she was smart enough to know that what was going on under the hood certainly wasn't healthy. Wires were frayed. Something was slightly steaming. Tubes looked crooked and damaged. Some parts looked completely scorched. She coughed from the thick scent of leaking oils and fluids.

"Man," Aiko had to step back with a wrinkled nose, "You sure got messed up, didn't you?"

The transformer blew out musty air. Was that a huff? She couldn't tell.

"Listen –I'm not… skilled at this kind of stuff," she gestured weakly at the mess under its hood, "I can't fix any of that for you. I'm sorry… I know it must hurt."

The transformer shifted on its wheels, but didn't say anything. Aiko suddenly had an idea. Kind of a dumb one, but she really couldn't think of much else. She gently lowered its hood, and awkwardly patted it.

"I've got to go somewhere real quick," she said quietly, "I'll be back soon. Just... don't go anywhere, okay? I'm going to find out how I can help you."

Silently gathering her bag, Aiko whispered a few more comforting words to the creature before she slipped out of the warehouse.

"I definitely wouldn't have expected to see you in an auto shop."

Aiko froze and almost comically turned around to the voice, a vehicle manual open in her palms. Dino was looking at her with an amused tilt of his head and sparkling blue eyes.

She narrowed her eyes at him, "What are you doing in an auto shop? Are you following me?"

Dino laughed lightly, "No. I was here first."

"What part of 'get lost' did you not understand?"

He tilted his head, amused, "Are you always this hostile to people?"

"Only those who are stalking me," she retorted, but as usual, her words just seemed to bounce off this guy's impeccable personality. Dino maintained a friendly smile and shook his head, "I'm not following you, Aiko. I promise. There's such thing as coincidence."

Aiko turned to her manual with a snort, "Whatever."

He pointed at her with a challenging look, "So. What are you doing here?"

"Uh." she looked around, "I was just... looking."

"Looking."

"Y-ep."

"Well, what exactly are you looking at?" Dino nodded at the manual she had. His smiles were just those types of smiles that were so easygoing and collected that she honestly wanted to punch him in the face.

"Just... thought I'd at least try to educate myself in case I -uh, find some old car to mess with," Aiko babbled out. Dino gave her a canny look and snatched the manual from her.

"Hey-!"

"If you're going for old cars," he thumbed through the pages and turned it over to present it on some random pages, "I wouldn't be looking in a sports car manual."

"Give me credit, okay?" she protested, speaking her next words a little carefully, "You... never know what you might find around here."

She frowned at the pages he was showing her. One of them was advertising a white Ferrari.

Suddenly curious, she snatched it back. Dino didn't say anything; he watched her while she flipped through pages like a woman on a mission. Aiko was beginning to think the book didn't have what she was looking for until she caught sight of a certain car and scrambled to turn back to it.

Bugatti Veyron.

Dino hummed, "Somehow I doubt you'll find one of those laying around."

"Do you know how to fix cars?" Aiko asked, both to change the subject and because she was legitimately curious. Dino looked a little apologetic when he answered, "It's not really my specialty..."

"Then what is your..." Aiko began, but trailed off when she saw that Dino's eyes were focused elsewhere. Specifically, above her. Intensely.

She followed his gaze. He was staring at a flat screen that was placed on the wall behind the counter. The news was broadcasting on it, sharing news that Aiko really didn't need or want to know. Dino didn't seem all that thrilled about it either.

"... Witnesses reported an unregistered NASCAR vehicle at the Indy 500... revealed to have been a transformer... taken down just outside of the track..."

Aiko looked away at the footage of the transformer being shot down. She wondered how her blue and black friend back at the warehouse had managed to get away. It must have gotten incredibly lucky.

"What do you think of them?" she asked, slowly looking at Dino.

"Them?" he repeated, clearly not having heard her all the way. His eyes were uncharacteristically serious when he met her own.

"Yeah. The transformers."

"What do you think of them?"

"I asked you first."

Dino wasn't all smiles anymore. This was evidently a topic he took very seriously. He licked his lips and seemed to choose his words carefully, "I feel bad for them. I... I think that what's being done to them is unjust, and morally wrong."

"Really?" Aiko was surprised. That wasn't a response she was expecting. Then again, with Dino, she didn't know what to expect.

"Yes," he glanced at the screen again, frowning. Aiko decided to pull another answer out of him.

"So... let's say you found one. And it was damaged really badly. What would you do?"

"Help it, of course," Dino immediately said, like it was the most obvious answer in the world, "Would you help an injured dog you found on the side of the road? Would you turn a hurt, stray cat in to the humane society where you know it'd only be euthanized?"

Aiko made a face, "They're not animals."

"Fair enough," Dino shifted his weight, "Would you help an injured soldier? One who, at one point, fought for your freedom?"

"Yeah, I would," she answered after a moment. Then she added, "I like that comparison better."

Dino smiled a little, but it didn't reach his eyes, "Me too. They are soldiers, in their own right. And this –this isn't how we treat our human veterans. It shouldn't be how we treat them, either."

Aiko arched a brow, "You seem pretty passionate about this kind of thing."

"Well, consider me an advocate for rights for everyone. Human or otherwise," Dino grabbed a magazine and looked at it with zero interest, "I don't find us all that different..."

"What makes you say that?"

"We have emotions. Thoughts and feelings," he placed the magazine back, "The only difference is what we're made of."

Aiko frowned, confused, "Are you talking about us or them?"

Dino froze. He fumbled over words a little, "I –them, I mean. I was talking about them. The transformers."

"Then why did you say 'we'?"

"Ah –I guess I wasn't really thinking about what I was saying," Dino smirked, but if Aiko didn't know any better, she'd say he was almost nervous. "I do that sometimes."

"Right..." she blinked at him and then closed the manual. She folded a corner of the page with the composition of a Bugatti before she did and stuffed it in her bag. "Well, it's been fun but I've got things to do."

"All right," he breathed out. She could have sworn that it was a sigh of relief. He gave her one of his unique smiles, "Maybe we'll run into each other again."

Aiko offered him a small smile in return and threw the bag strap over her shoulder, "I'm sure we will. See you around, Dino."

"Goodbye, Aiko," Dino nodded once and then turned around, disappearing behind an aisle. She stared after him with an estranged expression.

Weird guy...

But confident in his views, she had to give him that. Dino was the only person she'd run into who didn't think of the transformers in a negative way. Not many people wanted to consider them much more than giant killing machines that needed to be put down after what had happened in Chicago. She thought about that, and then thought about her interaction with the Bugatti in the warehouse. She remembered how scared it was of her –her, a little human girl.

She couldn't envision such a timid creature to be any sort of killing machine, personally.

She went to the front counter. A heavy set man sat on the other side. "Hi. Do you have any more of those vehicle manuals?"

"Yeah."

"Do you charge for them?"

"No. We got too many of them."

"Good," Aiko said, pointing at them beside her, "Because I'm going to need a copy of every one you have."

And every copy she got. Once she had a bag full of books and manuals on vehicle maintenance and various other similar subjects, she hauled her bag over her shoulder and made her way out of the shop. Here she was hoping that she could learn a thing or two, maybe enough to at least try to make some repairs on the Bugatti. If it let her, that is.

Aiko only managed a few steps forward before she looked up and caught sight of something that left her rooted where she was.

Her eyes widened and her heart began to pound. The bright red paint glistened in the sun and its sleek frame stood out in the parking lot against the more common cars. Aiko could practically feel the damn thing staring at her, even if it was far away enough that she wasn't experiencing that traumatizing press of its presence.

That Ferrari. That fucking Ferrari.

"Dino," Aiko called out, the only person she could think of who could stand next to her and tell her what she was seeing wasn't some sort of insane hallucination. The girl dropped her bag and went running back into the store in search of him.

But Aiko cleared the inside of that shop five times over. She searched every aisle, every corner, even snuck into the men's bathroom to look. She circled around until the cashier told her to either buy something or get out. Dino was gone. He was nowhere to be found.

Aiko didn't remember hearing him leave. And the door had a bell; she would have noticed.

"Hey, kid!" the big man behind the desk waved at her as she passed by for the umpteenth time, "I ain't telling you again. Get something or get out!"

Aiko turned to him, "Did you see that guy leave?"

"What guy?"

"The one I was talking to."

"No, but if you can't find him in here then he obviously left," the man snorted.

"And you didn't hear him leave?"

"Nah, kid. I don't pay attention."

She made a frustrated noise and threw her arms up. Huffing a sigh, she looked around one last time. Her eyes flew past the window in front of the parking lot. She noticed something and leaned back to get a better look. Her blood chilled under her skin.

"That's not possible," she said out loud.

"What ain't possible?"

Aiko looked at the man incredulously before murmuring a curt "nothing" and rushing back outside. She looked everywhere and felt a large wave of uneasiness seize her down to her core. She stared until she gathered enough strength to grab her bag once again and take off running.

Only once did she look back at the empty space where that bright red Ferrari had sat.

She didn't stop running until she made it back to the warehouse property. She felt like she was being watched the entire way back, her skin breaking out in goosebumps. Aiko slowed down only a little to check for anyone before she darted inside. Tossing her bag to the side, she frantically looked for something big –anything she could use. The first thing that fit that description for her was a huge metal storage shelf.

Running to one side of it, Aiko pressed her palms to it, took a deep breath, and pushed. The shelf was easily at least twice as tall as her, and was probably incredibly heavy, but with the adrenaline coursing through her, Aiko managed to move it like it was feather-light. Her breathing came out in panicked pants as she pushed the shelf in front of the door's hole, blocking it completely. She gasped a little and collapsed, sliding down until she was sitting.

It felt like she'd sat there for hours before she could get herself to calm down. Her mind was racing with all the possibilities she could make up regarding what she had just seen. That Ferrari –that thing was following her. Or… was it? Was it ever even there, or was she going crazy?

She sighed and buried her face in her palms, and then ran her hands up and through her hair, ruffling it. Something suddenly flashed –headlights, it looked like. Aiko jumped a little and looked at where it came from.

Slowly rolling from behind a steel shelf, the Bugatti crept from its hiding spot and silently approached. It stopped a few feet away.

"You stayed here…" she whispered, genuinely surprised. She had been half-expecting it to be gone when she came back.

Carefully getting up, Aiko went and grabbed her bag. She paused mid-reach when she felt the tiniest touch of something similar to what she'd experienced before. A presence, so light and gentle that it was almost undetectable. This wasn't like before, not like the Ferrari. She didn't feel violated by this presence –rather, it almost felt like it was waiting for permission, waiting for her to respond to it.

Aiko gripped her bag and turned to the Bugatti. The transformer held still, but she could feel that the presence she was sensing was that of this shy, cautious creature. Though initially reluctant and still more than a little mortified at this ability, Aiko closed her eyes and tried to focus on what she was sensing. The transformer was feeling… nervous, on edge, but at the same time it was releasing underlying tints of curiosity in its aura.

She opened her eyes, staring at it disbelievingly. She was –she was able to sense its emotions. And she didn't doubt that it could detect hers, as well.

Can they all do this? And… am I the only one who can feel them?

The thought made her nervous. People could be walking right by Decepticons and not even know it. In fact, the transformers as a whole, no matter what faction could very well be hiding in plain sight, and apparently she was the only one who could detect them. Considering her recent experience with a certain red supercar, she promptly decided that she wasn't very appreciative of this gift of hers, either. At least the Bugatti wasn't shoving itself onto her. The Ferrari did, and left her petrified as a result.

It could be one of the bad ones, she thought. It knows I can sense it… maybe it's trying to mess with me.

With narrowed eyes, Aiko caught sight of the bright red Autobot insignia on the Bugatti's grille. She never got close enough to see what the other one had, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to if the damn thing liked to follow her. And if it was a Decepticon… what would happen if it followed her here? What would she do if that potential Decepticon found her weakened, vulnerable Autobot?

"Do you have a friend around here, by any chance?" she asked. The transformer didn't answer which she was already fully expecting, but it did shift on its wheels. Aiko huffed, "I'll take that as a no."

She decided to shove all of her worries to the side for now. There were more important things that needed her attention, like tending to the Bugatti. Besides, she already had the beginnings of a plan formulating in the back of her head regarding the mystery of that other transformer lurking around the city. She'd deal with that one later; this one needed her now.

"All right, big guy," Aiko reached into her bag and pulled out a bunch of the manuals she'd gotten from the shop, dropping them onto the floor. They scattered around as she did, "I have good news and bad news. Good news is, I might be able to fix you up. Maybe."

Once she pulled them all out, she sat down and began to sort through them until she found the first one she'd looked at with Dino. Biting her lip in concentration, she pried her fingers between pages and opened it to where she had folded a page corner –the page with information on a Bugatti Veyron. "Bad news is –well, it might take me a while. I'll have to teach myself."

The Bugatti ended up rolling even closer to her, the closest it ever had come to her on its own accord. She tensed initially, not sure what it was doing, but it carefully rolled within one or two feet from her side and parked itself there. It sank on its tires, like it was making itself comfortable. Despite herself, Aiko couldn't suppress the urge to reach out and touch. Her fingers tenderly skimmed over a particularly ugly-looking bullet wound on its passenger door.

"I'm sorry this happened to you," she murmured sadly, "None of you deserve it."

Something rumbled softly deep within the transformer. Its metal surface vibrated softly, like some sort of purr or deep groan. Smiling a little, Aiko took her hand back and turned her attention to the books and manuals spread out in front of her. She spent the next hour looking through each of them carefully, trying to study what she could even if there were terms in them which she didn't really understand. She decided to start with a manual which featured images and descriptions of general car parts and functions, the basic information. After that, she planned on moving on to a book for beginners on making simple repairs and so forth.

The Bugatti sat peacefully at her side while she studied the information vigorously. Every now and then she would make a comment out loud, or read to it a little. Sometimes she even turned to the transformer and shared her thoughts and questions aloud with it, even if she knew she wouldn't get much of a response out of it –not by voice, at least. But she could feel it perk up through its presence, which washed over her rather comfortably and softly, never forcefully to make her feel aurally violated or threatened. She found she didn't mind it, and allowed herself to accept the unusual emanation in favor of sensing the amused emotions it gave out in response to whatever witty complaint she had about vehicle mechanics.

Aiko sat there long until it began to grow dark. Eventually she tore herself away from her studies to look around, frowning when the sunlight she had used for reading was gradually growing dimmer. By now, she normally went back to the homeless shelter to sleep but she found it a bit unnerving to leave ever since her encounters with that elusive Ferrari and its tendencies to vanish into thin air. On top of that, her most recent encounter with the authorities revealed to her that they were still looking for her, even after a year since what had happened to her.

Her Bugatti had been out cold in the days she'd left it as well; now, it felt a bit wrong for her to leave it all by itself at night now. Poor thing had been lonely enough.

Begrudgingly, the girl stood up and packed everything away in her bag. The odds were against her, but she needed sleep, and she wasn't going to get much of it in a big, cold warehouse. She dreaded leaving, if only because she really didn't want to run into her bright red admirer somewhere out there. Or be found by the police. The latter wasn't too much of a problem, though –keeping her face down in public generally did the trick for them.

The Ferrari was different. She couldn't hide from that.

Aiko had said her reluctant reasoning for leaving and goodnights to her Bugatti –who sent out waves of forlorn understanding– and had just began to push at the shelf she'd used to block the garage hole when her ears picked up a noise outside. It was an odd, high pitched hum that she didn't realize was a car engine until she'd heard it again. She never heard a vehicle that sounded like it before. Having only pushed the shelf enough to leave a quarter of the hole open, Aiko peaked through it.

The containment trailers blocked out most of her view, but she managed to catch a glimpse of red on the road in front of the warehouse property and felt herself stiffen. The vehicle slithered down the road, braked for a minute, and then took a turn and drove the opposite way, disappearing.

Aiko scrambled to shove the shelf back as fast as she could.

Clearly sensing her panic, the Bugatti came rolling out from its established hidey-hole in between some much bigger, bolted shelves. The girl took a few deep breaths, acknowledging it was there but not looking at it, only waving dismissively, "It's –I'm fine."

Once she settled down, she turned to it hopelessly, "Uh… let's just say I can't leave, after all."

She didn't want to mention what she had just seen. She herself wasn't even sure, but even if it was what she thought it was, she didn't want to risk scaring the Bugatti if she let it know there was another one of it snooping around and it didn't happen to be a friend. She'd rather not risk accidentally introducing an Autobot to a Decepticon. Both sides were fugitives, but she highly doubted that meant their own personal war was over.

If there was one thing she appreciated about this blessed creature, it was that it didn't push on anything. The Bugatti probably knew she wasn't telling it everything –could feel it on her too, she'd bet– but it didn't utter a sound of protest, just accepted that she didn't want to leave for some reason. Aiko glanced back at the shelf, took a wide look around the ever darkening warehouse, and then jokingly asked the transformer, "So… you don't happen to know of any comfortable places for a human to sleep around here, do you?"

She wasn't expecting an answer, so she was completely surprised when it did. The Bugatti sat there as quietly as it always did until it opened a door wide open.

Aiko gaped at it for a long moment. Then, she smiled.

I figured one more update this week wouldn't hurt, but don't expect it often. A lot of you may have already noticed, but this story will still retain some scenes from its previous version, albeit integrated differently into the flow of the story. Also, for the most part everything that happened in the previous version will still happen... only it all will (mostly) be gone about in different, more flushed out ways. :)

Also, feel free to send me some of your favorite songs and/or ones which you think may relate to this story. I'd certainly write them all down and save them for future chapters. :)