Hey, guys!

I'm sorry I wasn't around.

I've been quite busy while I was gone.

I've been noticing my previous chapters were messy.

I'll be continuously editing them until I'm satisfied.

Anyway, I've completed this chapter.

I hope you all enjoy. ;)


"What have we gotten ourselves into?" Ratchet asked, tiredly, on the bottom bunk.

I was too sore, but I managed to reply. "We chose to do this. It's just that we didn't realize how difficult the exercise is."

"You bunch of screws and pipes never done any physical training." One of the mechs said. "If you run a yard or two, this would've been a breeze."

Ratchet picked up his head and glared at him. "I'm sorry, Ironhide, for not being a muscled brute like you."

Ironhide is one of few bots who went through the training flawlessly. He looked to be a rugged individual with many scars and a mean scowl. I was told he lived in the outer rings of Iacon, one of those poor neighborhoods. I could tell straight away that he had it tough. In the boot camp, he excelled in all physical activities including shooting blasters; however, the educational stuff like military history and tactics is a struggle. Ratchet and I had to help him, considering we were smart middle class citizens (he would say). In turn, he tried to support us when the training is hard. But Ratchet seem to think he isn't helping at all.

Ironhide grinned playfully. "I think you have a bad temper there, Ratchet. I wonder why you haven't blew up on the sergeant yet."

"Do you think I'm an idiot?!" Ratchet said. "Sergeant would've handed my aft a long time ago. He made it clear the first time."

"I can agree with you on that one, doc."

"Please don't call me doc."

"Can we just go to sleep?" I interrupted. "We have to wake up five in the morning. I want to be awake instead of being tired."

"I agree with Optimus." Ratchet said. "It's really hard to adjust to this type of living. Mind the tasteless food."

"I think the food is the only thing to be really upset about." Ironhide laughed.

"I don't care about the food, the training, or the scrap we go through." I said. "I just want to finish the basics and hit the battlefield."

"And that's the whole point to this pit."

Ratchet suddenly sat up on his bed. "How long have we been here?"

"Almost a month." I answered.

"Slag! That fast?!" Ironhide shouted. "Did you guys still remember the first day?

I groaned. "It was terrifying."

"Yeah, I thought it was the pit itself."


"Welcome, maggots, to boot camp." Our sergeant introduced. "Today will be the day you all learn how everything goes here. You all better listen up, because there will be no messing around. Our future as a society depends on us, the Autobots, to defeat this rising threat we like to call the Decepticons."

While he was talking, there were a few bots who don't look intimidated by him. With no disrespect intended, he was quite shorter than the rest of us. But something was telling me I should think twice. When I looked a bit closer, he had a massive bulk for a short mech. His optics were trained on us, and I saw toughness and strength. He was up to our faces (despite his height), making me feel uncomfortable under his gaze.

Unexpectedly, our sergeant jumped and hanged onto a monkey bar with just one arm. He was still talking while he was hanging. I was completely dumbstruck by him. I was so distracted that I barely listened to what he had to say. He was doing this for a good twenty minutes maybe longer.

I snapped myself awake and tried to pay attention. "If one of you continuously get out of line, me and you would go behind a building away from public view. Give me an answer what the outcome will be."

Nobody gave him an answer. Somehow, we knew this bot can take us on. It was either the hunch or how he's still hanging there.

The entire day was full of yelling and shouting. It was difficult when they were up to our faces screaming orders from here to there. There were a few mean comments added in there. How did I even focus? There were a couple of mechs who would draw attention to themselves and have sergeants all over them. Quietly, I followed directions and went through the procedures. Now, I remembered it was Ironhide who got the sergeants mad. It had taken him a while to finally get it.

Within a week, I've discovered our sergeant was awake before us and fell asleep after us. No wonder they're all so pissed at us during the day. The way they wake us up in the morning is awful. You got horns blowing in your ear, ice cold water soaking us, not to mention this certain incident. One of the bots in our barracks couldn't wake up not matter how loud the noises were. He slept on the top bunk; suddenly, our sergeants had an idea. They flipped the bunk over and he fell along with it. He was now wide awake and got a mouthful afterwards. I made certain I would wake up straight away. It was tough, but as the days flew away, things gotten more easier.

There were moments where I had doubted myself. I kept thinking that I wasn't made to do this. But I gained more confidence than I ever thought possible. It gave me a new perspective. Now, I can go through the courses efficiently and be able to take problems head on. All of this gave me a tougher skin.

So, I'll answer the question.

Is this a good or bad change for me?

In all honesty, it made me a better bot.


"By the Allspark, it was horrible the first few days." I mentioned. "But we went through it."

Ratchet nodded. "I have to admit it was harsh. Nothing like our civilian life."

"Well, this life was sure was better than the life I use to live." Ironhide said.

"You never told us anything about you." I pointed.

"Let's just say I'm not comfortable telling you smarties about my life." He said. "You see I'm not proud of what I did or what I done. And that sometimes I have to live with it to move on. It had been a real struggle out there. I was surprise that I've made friends with simple bots like you two who get tired easily after a workout."

"Hey, for a bunch of simple bots, me and Optimus here can catch up to you easily." Ratchet said, proudly.

"Our talents and skills don't really matter in the battlefield." I said. "We all have to work together in order to survive and win. It's all about the teamwork."

Ratchet smiled. "Well said, Optimus, never really expect something like that from you."

"How come?"

He scratched his head. "Maybe because you're always quiet."

Ironhide snorted. "He's wiser than he looks."

"Hmm."

"HEY, YOU THREE!" Sergeant yelled. I nearly jumped off my bed. Ironhide became quiet, and Ratchet had his hand over his heart. "YOU ALL ARE SUPPOSE TO BE ASLEEP MINTUES AGO! YOU ALL BETTER GO TO GED AND SHUT UP!"

Sergeant went back to wherever he came from.

"Are guys going to sleep now?" I asked.

"Like Unicron I will." Ironhide said, pulling the covers over his head.