imaginethat96's Notes: HOOAH! I am excited about this chapter so make sure you tell me what you think of it! Just a hint in the form of a quote from Dr. House (which I do not own and for the Pit's sake am only mentioning this once!) "Everybody lies" and another reminder (not that you have probably even considered it) that I do not own Transformers, Dragon Ball Z and/or Moonlight, their respective owners do.

Chapter 3: Timing not Fate

Last time on Defining Life, Starscream attacks N.E.S.T HQ only to be beaten by SJ. Meanwhile the Saiyan-hybrid's medical anomalies not only raise interests among the Autobots, but from the president of the United States of America along with a secret organization known as Division Zero. During a meeting with the Autobots, Division Zero demands for the girl to put under their care, claiming that she is a vampire.

N.E.S.T Residential Area: Diego Garcia, IO 0420 IOT

SJ thanked Optimus Prime before entering the guest room. It was a decent size with a double bed, desk and bathroom, but the sterility made it seem much larger. She sat on the end of the bed, her head in her hands, waiting until the sound of giant footsteps faded away. 'What did I get myself into?' she mused while rubbing her temples then looked up, distracting herself by checking for cameras. When she failed to find any, she continued to search the room for anything that might be useful. A landline phone, a change of clothes with a note and an assortment of toiletries were all she could find. She read the note before putting on the yellow t-shirt, "It's a lot hotter here than it is in L.A. I hope they fit you –M." SJ took a pen from the desk and scribbled on the other side of the note before placing it and the pair of unfitting shorts back on the desk. "Time to get out of here," she muttered as she headed towards the door, but stopped before her fingers reached the handle. It dawned on her. She was on an island and not just any island, but a military base in the middle of the Indian Ocean. She couldn't just waltz out the front door, and even if she managed to get outside and onto Nimbus, equatorial Sun would just about kill her. SJ had to talk to Optimus again. He seemed reasonable, but if he did not let her go… that was not an option. Remembering the equator, she turned around, went into the bathroom and pulled out a small bottle of Wheeljack Inc. Sunscreen. 'Hm, SPF 150! Stronger stuff than what Mick has,' she smirked to herself at the thought and rubbing it onto her exposed skin. Finally, she was ready to see the alien leader. The door shut behind her with a small rattle causing her to turn. There was a red lanyard with stern faces attached to a visitor's pass around the handle. SJ sighed inwardly, 'If I didn't know any better I'd think that this could end well.'

The huge hallways were quiet and only a few soldiers on the night shift were seen on the high deck that wrapped around the walls. SJ relaxed, knowing that they would not notice her. In good time, she came into an opening the size of an airplane hangar, two more hallways on the left and right extended on an angle into more base from the back wall. On that stretch of wall, a larger deck looked out an enormous bay window on to the water.

"Greetings!" A cheery robotic voice greeted, coming out from behind the stairs that lead up to the platform.

SJ watched as the tools in his hands vanished. He had colour changing horns that came out of the sides of his head and a strip of curved metal that covered his mouth.

After a small smile and wave from the girl, the Autobot again began to talk, "Eh! You are that hybrid kid right? That light show you put on was very similar to an EMP! It blew out the ground bridge! I did not know fleshies could do that!" The mech beamed with enthusiasm.

"Sorry," SJ replied absently.

"It's fine, it gives me something to tinker with," his horns turned an embarrassed coral pink, "since I'm not allowed in my lab after dark."

She cocked her head slightly to the side. It was almost endearing how his sidebars changed colour with his emotions. SJ looked down to conceal a light smile. If it was not so dire that she leaves right away maybe, she could have afforded a chat with the Autobot. She was broken out of her dreaming when the mech started talking again.

"It's night. What are you doing up?" He said, finally catching on to the oddness of their meeting.

"I am going to see Optimus Prime. He has not retired for the night, has he?" SJ hoped that he would simply answer no and then let her go on her way.

He thought for a moment then shook his head, "No, he has a meeting, but you might be able to catch him before it starts. Humans are always late," He froze while his sidebars flashed white, "I am so sorry I did not mean to offend you!"

SJ smiled innocently, "Trust me, you didn't at all."

His horns turned a cheery yellow, "If you want I can take you to my leader…"

"No! That is not necessary," she jumped and quickly recovered, "But could you point me in the right direction…"

"Wheeljack," the Autobot said with light blue horns. He pointed to the hallway to the left of him, and then got back to his work.

SJ sighed to herself as she started to move, 'Good job! Way to hurt the giant advanced alien robot's feeling!' Before rounding the corner, she turned and faced him, "Wheeljack? Thank you," she said with a polite smile. He nodded, his sidebars turning to content vermillion.

"Wait! I didn't catch your personal designation… er name," Wheeljack called out as SJ rounded the corner. 'For being the most advance species on this planet, humans have the worst hearing,' he thought before re-immersing himself in his work.

"Sarah-Jehanne," the girl whispered soberly. Only a hand-full of people knew her real name, a name that frankly she liked. Even though it was foolishly close to her alias, the lives lived under each name bore their own demons, that would surely kill her in the process if the ever met. The longer she stayed the more risk, but it was too complicated now for her to just disappear. SJ needed Optimus Prime's help or else things were going to get a lot more complicated.

The part of base SJ now entered was different from the rest. It did not have the structures on the walls that allowed smaller beings to move around without being stepped on. This made the hallway seem very wide and as alien as those who needed the great size. The towering doors looked cold and uninviting. However, the lack markings on the doors would not impede her search, as she could literally smell what Optimus called energon. Any of the N.E.S.T soldiers would have been proud to have such a sense, but not her. She thought of how her grandfather would have ridiculed her for not being able to find them with an energy search. She closed her eyes and shook her head to get rid of the thought, refusing any thoughts of the past. That is when she recognized it. Not only was there energon close by, but there was blood. Humans were near and judging from the amount of cortisol in the air, whatever was going on was getting tense. SJ tried to listen to what they were talking about, but the walls were impossibly thick. After cursing under her breath, she calmed herself, 'I can still make it there before anything is said.' The muffled voices grew clearer and louder as she approached.

"We?" a robotic voiced asked, but it was not Optimus'. 'How many Autobots are in there?' SJ asked in turn to herself, not liking the way things were unraveling,

'Wait! Is that Optimus' voice?'

"… the child…"

'Dammit, they're talking about me,' On this rare occasion, she allowed herself an ounce of panic. SJ ran for the closed door. The unimaginable was happening just at the end of the hallway.

"…vampire," the man said a fraction of a second before SJ made it to the last door in the corridor.

N.E.S.T Office of Optimus Prime: Diego Garcia, IO 0500 IOT

The room was silent and all Ironhide could do was stare at the man. 'Glitch of a human,' he thought. He turned his gaze to Optimus seeing that, as always, he had kept his composure. Elita-1 on the other servo had a look of confusion as she obviously searched the World Wide Web. Prowl however, looked a strange version of shocked. Out of all the Autobots, Optimus and Prowl had taken the most time to understand the strangeness of Earth's culture and languages (as the Autobots struggled with sarcasm and the like). Yet even the the ninja-bot could not decode the sanity of the human who patiently waited for a response. Ironhide thought about stepping in and saying something until he remembered that the silence better than the chattering of the fleshling. To his disappointment, Optimus would not let the silence live.

"Mr. Garrison do you mean to tell me that the child who goes by the name Sarah-Jane Kostan is a supposed ghost or reanimated corpse that sucks the blood of a sleeping person?" Optimus questioned stone-faced.

The man smiled slightly, "It's something along those lines, yes." The smile seemed non-threatening and genuine, but it did nothing to reassure the present Autobots. Garrison's face then turned serious, "The bottom line is that it is our predator and is a threat to all the humans on base."

A glare took over everyone's face. "It" had become the most derogatory term for a being on base. They all had heard that word used by hostile humans too many times. Most of the time the two-letter word came from Theodore Galloway's mouth. How he still had his job, no one knew especially since none of the Autobots took well to hearing that word as a pronoun for a sentient being.

*Click*

"Optimus…" Ironhide growled,

Elita interrupted and continued the weapons specialist thought, "The humans, they surround us with weapons." In her little time on Earth, she had not yet logically processed the primitive organic life forms. She wanted to believe that they had a simple but deep wisdom in all of their 'souls', but actions like this pointed to simple insanity.

"You have three seconds to explain Garrison," Lennox threatened without losing his cool.

The massive door opened showing an impressive number of soldiers in a uniform unlike any usually seen on the N.E.S.T's base. They created a large circle just to the left of the Prime's office, sniper-like guns out and trained on a single spot in the middle of the enclose they had made with their bodies. Richard Garrison had made quick work getting down the stairs to admire his loyal soldiers and what they had caught. "It appears we have a spy," the Division Zero top agent darkly chuckled addressing all whom were present. He looked at the thing in the centre of the ring as an animal, a monster that had been trapped. Optimus mentally shuttered in seeing the way the man looked at the childhe had known as SJ. She stood with her eyes glued forward and fingers interlocked behind her head. Although in size she still looked as young as she did when he had seen her less than an hour ago, her eyes betrayed a deeper maturity. Her newly shown focus and calmness was not that of a child. The hardened look she wore shared only a vague familiarity with girl that had entered the base.

With red laser targeting dots decorating her body, there was not much the kid could do, or so Lennox thought. A sudden burst of impressive, skill and power brought a Division Zero soldier disarmed, kneeling and restrained in front of Saiyan descendent. To the N.E.S.T Major, Garrison's case for her being a vampire started to seem more plausible in her act of acquiring a hostage.

She had not spoken. The humans would see it as defiance, but the Autobots she worried, would really see that she was not making up her mind. A distraction was necessary to escape without having to do anything serious and somehow, staying in the aliens' good books was a major decision-making factor. Using a single hand, she grabbed the jaw of the man with just enough force so that he could not move. As she started to speak her grasp tightened in a display of dominance, "Now…"

The present Autobots were surprised to see her wince and even more so when she collapsed moments later.

Garrison returned his gun to the holster on the inside of his jacket as Lennox grabbed him by the lapel. "You just shot a child," he said though grit teeth. Prowl had already picked up the limp girl gently in his palms. "She is not dead Major Lennox, only tranquilized," he stated.

Master Sergeant Epps approached seeing the tenseness of his old friend, "We got these guys disarmed. What do you want to do with him?"

Lennox looked at Optimus Prime to receive a nod steadying him, "The rest of them in the cell blocks, but he is to be escorted and confined to his guest quarters."

In perfect timing, Garrison entered the scene and retorted in his banana pajamas, "Ah! Not on my watch!"

To be continued…