Sorry for taking so long to get this up. My parents can be such pains in the aft, ya know? I'm not giving up on this story. My parents tend to make me drop off the face of the planet sometimes…

I remember the first time I picked up a real bow and arrow. It was at camp. The counselors pretended we were elves (from The Lord of the Rings) and that Gandalf was having us practice on real orcs. But the orcs couldn't see us because Gandalf covered us with a thick wall of mist that allowed us to see the orcs, but kept the orcs from seeing us. Ah, good times.

Thanks SJSGirl, Fanfickisara, Kaitlyn Thorne, IBrokeTheForthWall, Naughtia, confused derpy, and zrexheartz for reviewing! You guys are awesome!

confused derpy: This Blitzwing is from the Animated 'verse, that's why he has a German accent. :D Hoped that helped!

3 ~ Decepticons Unleashed ~ 3

I sat on the swing in the backyard and swung back and forth as I thought. How was I going to get the Decepticons to not tear the house apart when I let them out? Maybe I should allow only one out at a time, and dismantle the ones with wings. Yeah, that would work. But who first? The Kreons? They were still stuck in my side table drawer, and I was needing to retrieve stuff from that drawer. Maybe that was a useful first step. I sighed as I prepared to get up and return to my room.

But I was stopped by someone calling my name.

"Ashley!"

I looked up to see Optimus running through the grass. The grass was so long that it went up to his shoulders, so he had to do some kind of hopping-stride in order to make it through. When he reached my feet, he stopped and looked up at me. Something inside me told me that he wanted to be picked up, so reached down and gently picked him up. When I set him down on the swing beside me, he muttered a small "thank you". I studied him.

"So…what's up?" I asked.

Optimus looked up before he looked at me. "The sky?"

I giggled at his apparent innocence towards the question. "I didn't mean it that way, Optimus," I smiled. "I meant, what is on your mind?"

"Oh," he nodded in understanding. "Well, I came to speak to you because we would like to know if you have figured out what you're going to do with the Decepticons. They're becoming restless and quite loud. They might gain your grandcarriers' attention unintentionally."

"Hmm…" I narrowed my eyes and looked at a blade of grass absentmindedly. "Hey, you said Wheeljack's an inventor, right?"

When the Autobot leader nodded, I hummed again. "Maybe he could create a sound-proofing barrier? Or…I could just trap them under a thick, plastic tub…" I got up from the swing and allowed the toy to slide into the deep pockets of my jean jacket. I walked quickly back to the house, worrying about the risk of my grandparents hearing my little…um…prisoners.

As soon as my shoes were off, I rushed up to the second floor and darted into my room. After letting Optimus out of my pocket, I hung my jacket up, and quickly glanced up in Blitzwing's direction. I could tell he was holed up on that shelf somewhere, since I could see the tip of one of his wings poking up from behind one of the small boxes I had sitting on that shelf.

I turned around and watched as Smokescreen attempted to climb up onto my desk. Eventually, he figured out how to, and when he reached the desktop, he stood proudly for a few seconds before he went to explore what was on my cluttered desk. As I observed the toys, I thought about how I met them. I had only known them for a day, and I wondered why this burden had landed on my shoulders… Why me?

I got down on my hands and knees and peered under my bed. There had been this question that had been nagging me for the longest time: How did they come to life? I had a feeling that the 'Bot known as Wheeljack might have some answers.

My eyes scanned every inch of the open space under the bed. I quickly located the toy I was looking for, and saw that he was tinkering with my ancient iPod, which I had broken when I was ten after I had picked it up at a Deal or No Deal thrift shop. It hadn't been working great when I got it, so when it died, I hadn't been really that sad. Though, I wondered how the Autobot scientist got his little hands on it. "Hey, Wheeljack," I said.

Wheeljack looked at me and his fins lit up in a happy blue. "Oh, hello, Ashley!" he greeted. "What can I help you with?" I watched as he removed the screen from the iPod.

"Um…" I glanced away from him for a second before I returned my gaze to him. "You…never really answered my question as to why you came to life… How?"

The scientist shifted slightly and his fins glowed a pink colour. It looked like he was embarrassed. "I…was…experimenting with space-bridge technology when a portal opened up and sucked us through, but it did something to our bodies…" I watched as his fins winked with every word he spoke. The poor guy. "Because we're not tall anymore…we're tiny." He seemed sad, like he was blaming himself for everything he did. Well, it was sort of his fault, but he was working on something that could have helped the Autobots win the war.

What I remembered from the G1 TV show was not much, but I remembered a tiny bit about Wheeljack. He wasn't supposed to be disturbed by his scientific failures.

I reached under the bed and picked up the scientist. He let out a squeak of surprise and dropped my iPod. I giggled slightly as I turned him so that he was facing me before I pressed him into my shoulder in some kind of hug. "You were just trying to help," I soothed.

So the reason they were in my room was because Wheeljack was trying to pull the war more into the Autobot's favour. And when they had been sucked through the space-bridge, they had taken some Decepticons with them. I was confused by all this, but I was intrigued as well. I wondered if Wheeljack would be able to repeat what he had done with the tech that I possessed—though I wouldn't be too pleased if he used my laptop. I would have to grab a dead one from the recycling depot and see if he could fix it and use it.

I positioned myself in front of the target that I had set up in the backyard. Ironhide was standing on the foldable table that my quiver was resting on, while Mirage was content to stand on my shoulder, where he could experience my target practice from my point of view. The two had followed me out to where I practiced after I made Wheeljack feel better. I picked up my bow, and gripped it in my left hand before I picked up an arrow and slid it into place. I pulled the bowstring back, slowed my breathing, aimed, held my breath, aimed again, then let the string go. I launched the arrow, and I watched with satisfaction when it pierced the target on the ring that encircled the bulls-eye.

"Aim was a little off," Ironhide commented. "But if that had been a bullet, you could have either killed or severely wounded a 'Con."

"I'll take that as a complement," I grinned before I picked up another arrow.

I heard Mirage hum. "Your skill is satisfactory, but yet, you're not moving. How well would you defeat your foes if you were moving?" the sniper inquired.

My eyebrows rose. "Um…I don't know, actually."

"You told us about that tournament you went to before you met us on the way out here," Ironhide said, drawing my attention back to the black toy that stood by my gear. "You're self-taught. Maybe you need a trainer?"

I shrugged my right shoulder, the one Mirage wasn't on (so I wouldn't accidentally knock him off), in reply. "Who would teach me? There aren't any professional archers in town." My mind was still on Wheeljack. Even after comforting him, the little guy still looked upset. Maybe a trash laptop would make him happy…

"We'll teach you," Ironhide said.

A sigh escaped me as I drew back my bow and fired the arrow at the target. This time, it was a bulls-eye, and I allowed myself to grin slightly. But then I continued to practice. I took what the two Autobots had said to thought and tried to shoot the target while running. That didn't go too well. The arrows ended up going wide and I ended up spearing a few of the trees that grew at the back of the back yard (where I had been practicing). It was a pain in the butt to get them out of the trees once I ran out of arrows.

"Your skill is fine, though it needs a tune-up," Ironhide commented as I placed all of my arrows back into my quiver. I slung the quiver over my shoulder and I picked up my bow from the table as Mirage positioned himself in a comfortable stance on my shoulder. I held out my hand and allowed Ironhide to scramble up onto my other shoulder before I trudged back into the house. I quickly made my way back up to my room where I dumped my gear in my closet, and lowered the blue and white sniper and the black Weapons Specialist down onto the floor.

I lowered myself down onto my stomach and army-crawled over to my bed. I looked under and saw that Wheeljack was fiddling with my iPod again, though he didn't look so down in the dumps. I grinned; glad to see him feeling better. "So…" I said, wishing to have a nice conversation with the inventor. "What're you going to do with that iPod?"

"This? Oh, maybe I could use it to help me construct another space-bridge! I have been…contemplating that recently."

"Really?" I asked softly. These…toys…were growing on me. I could consider them friends…the first friends I had for a while. If they went, I would be on my own once again. I let out a soft sigh as Wheeljack put the iPod off to the side and got to his feet. He took a few steps forward before he reached down and picked up an old SD card that had been hidden amongst the dust bunnies for a few years. "When do you think it'll be done?"

Wheeljack sighed. "Not for a while." His fins glowed a dark blue to show he was still a bit glum. "There isn't really anything here that I could use to start creating another space-bridge…"

"I know where to get some tech and wires. Though, are you up to going to a recycling depot and a hardware store with me?"

Wheeljack's fins glowed a bright blue. I grinned, knowing that he was getting excited. "Well, what're you waiting for? Let's go!" he exclaimed.

The trip was…interesting to say the least. I had to bike to the recycle depot and the hardware store after getting permission to go out from my grandparents. Then I had to make sure my phone had charge and that I kept it away from my technology-needy friend that rode in my messenger bag. I wasn't out for too long, though it felt like forever after I found a dead laptop at the depot and was standing within the hardware store.

I set the Autobot down on the shelf by some wires as I scanned the other side of the aisle for something. I needed a new string for my bow because I noticed it was beginning to wear and unravel. I looked through the rope they had until I came across the string I needed. I unraveled some from its spool before I cut it with the provided cutter. Behind me, I heard Wheeljack rummage through the smaller rolls of wires. I knew he was probably looking through the selection of green, blue, yellow, and red wires.

As I studied the bowstring I was going to purchase closely, I heard Wheeljack mutter a quiet "Eureka!" and turned around.

"Found what you needed, Wheeljack?" I asked.

The little robot emerged from behind the rolls of wires, and held up several different wires that he had already separated from their rolls. Mentally, I rolled my eyes. Even though the price for each wire was relatively light, when the prices were added together, it would weigh heavy on my bank account. I seriously needed to go get a job. "I have found the necessary wires that I need for the moment, Ashley. With the computer you managed to get me, I should be able to start building the space-bridge."

"That's great," I said as I took the wires from him and helped him back into my messenger bag. "You know, I won't be able to financially afford too much of this, alright? I don't have a job and my allowance won't be able to support your need for electrical and mechanical parts."

Wheeljack cheekily saluted me before he disappeared into my messenger bag. I closed the bag up before I made my way to the front of the store, and got in line. When it came my turn to buy the wires and my bowstring, I looked at the cashier calmly. The cashier quickly scanned the items and put them in a bag before I brought out my debit card and paid. After the transaction was completed, I took the bag and left the store.

Getting back on my bike, I slipped the bag containing the wires and my bowstring into my messenger bag before I began to pedal home. It was quiet, and the autumn sun shone down on me. I glanced over at the dark clouds that were gathering on the eastern horizon and briefly wondered when it would begin to snow.

After pedalling up several steep hills, I finally managed to reach my grandparents' house. I parked my bike in the backyard before I entered the house and went up to my room. As soon as I was in my room, I emptied my messenger bag of its contents. The dead laptop was set on my desk after I put my working laptop away (so a certain white, red, and green Autobot wouldn't get them mixed up), and I placed Wheeljack's wires next to it. Then I laid down on my bed, closing my eyes so I could think about what had just happened.

I had majorly suspected Wheeljack to run off while I had my back turned to him at the hardware store. Or that he was going to see something in the parking lot and jump from my bag. I had been preparing myself the whole time to drop everything and dive for him before someone would see him. But he had acted like a good bot the whole time. Something in me told me that that wasn't normal.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder, so I opened my eyes and turned my head to look at the owner of the hand. I was surprised to see that it was Mirage. He hadn't really spoken to me other than when I was practicing my archery since they toys had come to life. I blinked a few times at him before I asked, "What is it, Mirage?"

"I was scouting the hallway when I overheard your grandcarriers speaking of a journey to another abode on a place called a 'ranch'. They're coming up the staircase now. I believe they wish to speak to you," he explained.

At that, I sat up abruptly. I could hear their footsteps coming down the hall now. My eyes widened, and I looked around the room to see that the Autobots were scattered around the room, and that most of them wouldn't be able to rush back under the bed. "Hide!" I hissed to them. The Autobots paused in what they were doing, and looked at me. But then I watched as they all found places to hide, since I knew that they could hear my grandparents' approaching footsteps, and that they knew I didn't want them to see them.

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker dove into my laundry basket as Wheeljack pulled one of my discarded t-shirts over the dead laptop and wires before he hid himself in one of the desk drawers. Optimus, Smokescreen, Ironhide, and Prowl were close enough to my bed, so they ran under it as Jazz and Ratchet hid behind the curtains on my window. Mirage locked his joints and went rigid before he fell onto his back and pretended to be an action figure, while Bumblebee posed himself in a standing position where he stood on my side table.

They did all of this just in time, and I couldn't help but sigh silently in relief as my bedroom door opened and my grandparents walked into my room. "Hey, Grandma, Grandpa! What's up?" I greeted. I crossed my legs and smiled at them.

"Hello, dear," Grandma said as she sat down on the end of my bed and Grandfather sat down on my desk chair. "We're here to tell you that Grandpa and I will be going out to our ranch for about a week. We want to get it ready so we can stay there for the winter."

"Because when Christmas rolls around, we would like you to experience some of the traditional things that kids your age do not experience anymore," Grandpa added.

"Okay…" I said slowly. "That'd be cool." I blinked a few times. "So…when you're done at the ranch…you'll come back to get me?"

At their nods, I relaxed. "Great," I sighed.

Knock Out grunted as he picked at the lock of the cage he and the other Decepticons were stuffed into. He was feeling cramped, and every time one of the Decepticons that was touching him moved, they risked damaging his paint. He needed to get out, but his actions of picking the lock were carefully covered with a thin excuse of 'freeing his fellow Decepticons'. He was elbow-deep in the lock as he used his pinky digit to hold open one of the tumblers while he searched for the other tumbler. Once he would find it, the cage door would open and the Decepticons would be free.

A wicked smirk came across his faceplates when his thumb digit found the other tumbler. The cage door popped open with a satisfying click. With a small laugh, he pushed it open and stepped out.

Once the other Decepticons realized that the door was open, they rushed out and ended up knocking Knock Out to the side. He cried out when he rolled and crashed into something hidden within the large organic femme's closet.

Blitzwing, from up where he was relaxing behind a box on the top shelf of the bookshelf, was startled when Ashley's closet door swung open wildly. He watched with wide optics as Decepticons began to rush out of the closet and swarm around the room. He checked to see if he was seeing things, but when the total chaos didn't go away, he knew his processor wasn't making this up. As the Autobots rushed out from under the berth to counter-attack the Decepticons, he knew at least some of the femme's stuff was going to get broken. And he knew Ashley hated it when the Decepticons got rowdy and tried to break something. That's why she had locked them up in the first place.

He heard the leader of the Autobots call out to the Autobot known as Bumblebee before the little yellow Cybertronian transformed and drove out of the room. Blitzwing blinked again, before he leapt off of the bookshelf and followed the Autobot out of the room. Someone had to tell the organic that the Decepticons had escaped!

So, yeah.

Here's a guy to help you know which type of toy each Autobot and Decepticon is, because Ashley isn't an avid fan of Transformers like she was when she was little. Here you go:

Autobots:

Optimus = Live-action movies, aka Bayverse
Prowl = Kreon
Jazz = Bayverse
Ratchet = Prime
Smokescreen = Prime
Sideswipe = Bayverse
Sunstreaker = G1
Wheeljack = G1
Ironhide = Bayverse
Mirage = G1
Bumblebee = G1

Decepticons:

Megatron = Cyberverse (Prime)
Starscream = Kreon
Thundercracker = Kreon
Skywarp = Kreon
Blitzwing = Animated
Knock Out = Prime
Dreadwing aka "Goldie-face" = Prime

Not all of the Decepticons have been introduced yet, since they have been locked up. But I think I introduced all of the Autobots…

Heh, heh, you can tell I like the character design from the movies, G1, Kreon, and Prime more than any of the other shows, eh? On to the next chapter!