Author's note: Usual stuff, I don't own these characters, etc.

Finally some movement towards the actual plot. Not much to say this time around. Thanks for those of you who are reading. 3

The remainder of that day passed with little incident, as Allison spent the rest of her time with Wheeljack around the laboratory. After they'd finished organizing the various piles of scrap metal, they'd taken to playing a game of Twenty Questions, where Allison was granted the opportunity to point at random things in the room and ask Wheeljack what exactly they were for. She didn't understand most of what he said, but it was a nice exercise in verbal discourse where they could talk about things other than Starscream or dying.

Allison made a point to ask Wheeljack what the one piece of equipment covered by a cloth was, but that was the one item he became uncharacteristically mute about. When she pointed at it, he'd turned, gaze lingering on it for an extra moment before turning back to her.

"That is...a work in progress. Junk, really," Wheeljack said evasively, but Allison immediately knew he was lying. It didn't seem appropriate to force it out of him as she noted the dimming of his eyes. "It's not finished yet and might not be for a long time." Wheeljack seemed to be thinking his response over, almost as if he were selecting his words carefully. "Think of it as an unfinished painting. One I'm a little embarrassed to leave exposed. Maybe one day I'll go back to it." Wheeljack sounded almost wistful at the notion, but Allison had a hard time understanding why it was something he'd be embarrassed about.

"Why not now?" Allison asked. Wheeljack shook his head at this.

"Not ready. Not yet. I need to feel ready, otherwise it won't come out right."

"I think that's how all artists feel." Allison nodded in response, and Wheeljack leaned against his elbow on the worktable with a wry smile apparent in his eyes.

"I wouldn't call myself an artist. But I guess the perspective is the same."

Allison had let it rest after that, knowing that if it was something important to him, he would tell her when he was ready. Although, she had her doubts that it was junk at all, given the way he had first looked at it. There had been a ghost of regret that passed over his eyes, like a sadness that was possibly long forgotten, perhaps rooted in the time the project had been started. After speaking of his creators and what had happened to Praxus in his past, Allison wondered if they were anchored in the same experience; one that very well might have still been lingering in Wheeljack's mind. She wanted to know more, her heart reaching out to him, but she couldn't find a way to appropriately ask him to share. He had already divulged enough painful memories to her that day, so perhaps it was something that needed to wait for another time.

One thing was clear though. Whatever this was, it was something of great sentimental value. Wheeljack was either stalling, not ready to close that chapter just yet, or he truly did not know what to do with it. Perhaps it wasn't so much of a stretch to think that the vastly intelligent Autobot was actually stumped. Even the greatest artists ran out of steam from time to time. But Allison got the impression it was more than simple artist's block. If the object was something that was very dear to him, it would make sense that it needed to be perfect, and that would come in time.

Since Wheeljack was meant to be back on the duty rotation in the morning, he'd been especially insistent on spending time with Allison until Sari returned from school to begin work on her little project. It wasn't something that she minded, because she knew she'd have plenty of time to be alone with her own thoughts while he was away. After he'd spent more time showing her around, which mainly included more storage rooms too small for Autobot use, what was apparently Sari's room, a rec room (this consisted of one giant space with an area sectioned off seemingly meant for humans, presumably Sari, that included a very large TV and just about every video game console one could imagine) and a mess hall. The Autobots didn't actually eat anything, but they "refueled" with processed energon that was stored in large tanks at the end of this particular room.

When Sari had returned, she had been without Bumblebee who had left with an apology that he was due for patrol duty that evening, so once again Allison was left with only seeing him in passing. Sari had pouted at this, but had quickly forgotten about it as she turned to the excitement of the task at hand. One thing Allison did find interesting was the change in her behavior without Bumblebee around, and she seemed to tip-toe with hesitation around Wheeljack as if she was shy.

Allison found that she could sympathize with this, because for one thing Wheeljack was a great deal bigger than Bumblebee was, but she wondered if Sari was like this around the other Autobots or if Wheeljack was just an anomaly. Allison remembered feeling awkward, and somewhat fearful around Wheeljack when they had first met, but his eccentricities and surprising tenderness had made it easy to become comfortable around him. Sari clearly hadn't spent the same one-on-one time with Wheeljack like she had, which meant she was probably with Bumblebee all the time.

Allison found herself supervising of sorts, even though she had no idea what Wheeljack was doing. She wouldn't have been able to stop him if he'd decided to add a little "extra something" because she wouldn't have been able to recognize the signs anyway. It wasn't exactly what Allison would have expected to make in terms of a model volcano, as she was used to the paper mache and painted kind. This one was welded together with what scraps of metal Wheeljack had salvaged from items in the immediate vicinity, and she'd simply watched him strip apart various things in the room.

This appeared to fuel Sari's excitement, as she seemed to take enjoyment in his careless destruction. He'd lined it with tubing and tanks for the different chemicals to mix, and it was fitted with a simple push-button mechanism which left Allison wondering if it was too complex for a simple elementary school science project. There wasn't really anything she could provide, so she'd let them carry on, and simply trusted that Wheeljack knew what he was doing. After all, she imagined that he could have made it more extravagant if he'd wanted to, and to Allison's untrained eye, while it looked detailed and intricate, it was still remarkably simple.

There was a certain thrill to watching Wheeljack work, which admittedly wasn't something Allison had much of a chance to do up until that point, because there had simply never been time. It was a hard feeling to place, but Allison imagined it was almost like she was watching Leonardo DaVinci himself create the Mona Lisa: Watching brilliance and expertise in motion.

Sari had tried to jump in on more than one occasion to help with the volcano or further examine Wheeljack's handiwork, but he had playfully shooed her away. "Watch the master at work" he'd said. He'd launch into complex, heavily technically explanations of what he was doing as if he was trying to teach them, but his jargon was unfamiliar and too scientific for the humans to understand. Sari had given him a wide-eyed look of fright, and Allison simply frowned, but Wheeljack would take the hint and halt his rantings to back-track in layman's terms. It hardly helped, because he talked so quickly and in such a disorganized, chaotic fashion that there was no actual structure to the directions. If it helped him work, Allison would let him continue despite Sari's complaints. If anything, she enjoyed listening to Wheeljack's jaunty, accented method of speaking because it made the heavily technical words almost sound like poetry.

Sari spent more time with Bumblebee then Allison had previously thought. With a father that practically lived and breathed work, the girl basically lived there save for a few days out of the week here and there where she returned home. While Allison had doubts about her own sanity living with a small armada of alien robots at war, she couldn't imagine a child being in this kind of environment. However, in just the few short moments that she'd met the girl, she'd seemed more than capable of dealing with living there. Despite her initial discomfort around Wheeljack, she had adapted quickly, and was soon trying to climb over the Autobot's working arms in an attempt to feel involved. Wheeljack would softly, and quickly move her aside, and showed remarkable patience when she continued until the message finally hit home and the girl would stop.

There was a sweet, childish naivety to her that Allison almost envied, but she knew that Sari had likely been more sheltered around the base then taken into combat situations. Sari clearly had not encountered the Decepticons like Allison had, and she hoped that the girl never would. Starscream being in the remote vicinity was probably the closest the girl had ever come and as far as Allison was concerned that was enough.

The volcano had worked, remarkably well, and that ended the evening.

Oddly enough, Allison didn't dream of Starscream all night. After seeing him in her mind nightly for the past two weeks, having uninterrupted sleep was almost abnormal, but a welcome change. Perhaps facing him, and confirming to herself with her own eyes that the Decepticon was indeed real, and locked away in a cell had allowed her mind to give her some peace.

The next morning Allison had left her room thoroughly not expecting anything unusual to happen. The room was just about what she would have expected, and was comfortable enough, but there wasn't really anything more she could have asked for. Nearly devoid of personal effects at the moment, there would be time to fill it with the various odds and ends that she was sure she would acquire in due time. It was one of the many smaller rooms that had been sectioned off from the recreational area, and it was a dual-level block of what might have been offices at one time. A single walkway with a stairwell and guardrail sectioned off the top level, and each room had windows that looked out onto the main floor. Thankfully the windows had venetian blinds leftover from the previous occupants which afforded a bit of privacy. It was clean, and that was enough.

What Allison hadn't expected was to see Prowl in the main hall when she emerged, and it almost looked like he had been waiting for her. As Wheeljack had been scheduled to be busy, she hadn't planned for anything in particular, but after what had happened yesterday with Starscream, Prowl was the last person she expected to see. When she saw him, her first instinct was to apologize for what she thought had been a failure at properly interrogating the Decepticon, but before she was able to speak Prowl held up a hand as if to stop her.

"Before you say anything, I believe that what we learned from Starscream may be of some use," Prowl said, and it took Allison a moment to process that in a very subtle way, he was commending her. It was certainly hard to tell from the expression on his face, because there was none. "It means that Megatron may be losing control. It is no surprise that Starscream would have been the first to go, but others may soon follow. Megatron may be out of options if he needs to contact Cybertron as direly as we do, and desperation leads to mistakes."

"I'm glad I could help then," Allison said, silently questioning her own success and wondering if Prowl had been goaded to say that to her by Optimus Prime, but she didn't dare question it. When Prowl didn't actually leave, as she would have expected, she waited for him to say something further. "Is there something else?"

"You managed to elicit a response from the Decepticon that I was not able to, and that may prove to be useful if you are receptive to helping," Prowl said calmly. He began to walk away towards the main hallway, but paused. "I am not entirely comfortable with you speaking with the Decepticon, but Optimus Prime feels that if you are willing, Starscream may yet be reasoned with."

"What do you mean, reason with him? Isn't he your prisoner?" Allison took a step forward, still messing with her hair to make it presentable, but paused when her fingers combed through a snag. Prowl missed the wince that passed over her face as he had his back turned to her, and he appeared to be taking time to consider his response. After a moment he turned just slightly in her direction and regarded her with carefully trained eyes.

"Optimus Prime is of the mind that they can be saved." The lack of enthusiasm in Prowl's voice was not lost on Allison.

"You don't think they can?"

Prowl watched her carefully, but his expression did nothing to show what he might have been thinking.

"It hardly matters what I think," Prowl said, and there was a slight twitch on his brow, betraying his true lack of faith. "Although rational discourse with the Decepticon may prove to be a strategic advantage if we can gather useful information from him. You might be the only person who can do that at this point."

Allison could read the signs to see where this was headed, as it was clear that they thought Starscream's unusual fascination with her would entice him to relax and speak freely. Despite the fears that still plagued her, and her memories of what had happened between her and Starscream before, the more rational part of her brain thought that perhaps facing the source of her fear would help ground it back in reality. Facing Starscream with prison bars and shackles between them seemed like a good enough spring-board to conquer those fears. Her lack of dreaming, after re-living her last moments over and over again for what felt like an eternity, was evidence enough.

"You sure know how to sweet-talk a girl, but I think I can manage that," Allison said with some sarcasm and a smile, not at all expecting the resulting smirk from the Autobot as he nodded. It was so quick it nearly vanished before Allison had a chance to witness it.

"Of course, that is up to you."

"No, I... may be scared of him, but I think I can deal with it when he's locked up if you're there with me."

Prowl's silence was taken as an affirmation as he turned to go, but he stopped once more. This time, he did not look back at her.

"Bumblebee is looking for you." This was added almost as a complete after-thought, so much so that it left Allison momentarily confused as she tried to process this drastic change in tone.

"He is? What does he want?" Allison asked in wonderment, having only met Bumblebee for 10 minutes the day before. She could hardly imagine what he'd want with her now, but Prowl didn't seem to know any more than she did as he continued to stalk off down the hallway. The dialogue between them was clearly over.

"That I do not know." Prowl said over his shoulder.

Allison watched him walk away, feeling a little cold. There was a certain chill about Prowl she couldn't put her finger on. It was probably the severity of his nature. He wasn't like the others; emotionally impassive and about as warm as a brick sitting in the middle of the arctic. Allison got the impression that Prowl dealt with his personal feelings on his own, in his own time. And it was clear that his job and the safety of those around him were his first priority. It was admirable, but it was difficult to get as close to someone like that. That was probably what Prowl intended.

Once Allison was alone, she turned to the task at hand, which included finding Bumblebee and seeing what exactly he wanted. She felt some exhilaration at the unknown, and wanting to get the chance to talk to Bumblebee some more she was eager to find him. After having only spoken to him briefly the day before, she'd gotten the sense that the Autobot was very approachable. Knowing what she had guessed about him and Sari, it was also possible that they had something in common, and it was something of a relief to maybe have someone else other than Wheeljack around that she could have more personal discourse with.

As Bumblebee was clearly not in the main room, she thought the first place she would check would be outside. There was a large garage-like door that led to a covered entryway that was only protected from the elements by a steel awning. It was closed during the night, but opened at daylight so that the Autobots could move about freely. They were in a remote enough area surrounded by forest that seeing other humans was a rarity, but proximity detectors gave ample warning if anything happened to stray into the area, human or Decepticon. Somehow they'd modified certain human signatures, those who were trusted, to not trip the alarms which seemed a useful tool, and meant that Allison wouldn't inadvertently raise any alerts should she decide to explore outside.

Allison walked to the open doorway, and as she hadn't been necessarily watching where she was going she nearly ran straight into a large yellow leg. Unfortunately, this leg did not belong to Bumblebee, but to Sunstreaker.

Yelping as she had to dance out of the way to avoid being inadvertently kicked, she recovered and turned to see not only Sunstreaker, but Sideswipe looking in her direction as they stopped in the doorway. Sideswipe looked thrilled, but as she hadn't seen an expression other than childish giddiness on his face since she met him, she wasn't sure it was possible for the Autobot to have something on his face other than exaggerated excitement. Sunstreaker was again a glaring contrast as he glowered down at her with distaste, which made her wonder if he would have kicked her anyway even if he'd seen her coming.

"Watch where you're going fleshbag!" Sunstreaker barked staring down the plates of his chest at her like she was a bug. Allison huffed, feeling slightly insulted at such an endearment, but stayed her ground despite his threatening posture.

"Charming," Allison muttered to herself. She hadn't seen Sunstreaker for a long while, and the first words out of his mouth that were directed at her were unsurprisingly dismissive and hate-filled. She hadn't thought on it much before, but thinking back, she really hadn't seen much of Sunstreaker at all since she'd woken at the rest stop on the highway. Biting back what was really on her mind, she managed to give Sunstreaker a mild scowl. Sideswipe gave her a sloppy wave.

"Hi, Allison. Where are you going?"

"Hello Sideswipe." Allison felt like she was talking to a child. "I'm looking for Bumblebee, have you seen him?"

"I've seen Bumblebee, yeah," Sideswipe said, impishly "He's yellow and small and-"

"I mean have you seen him recently- as in, do you know where he is physically standing right now?" Allison rolled her eyes, feeling as if she had walked right into that one.

"Yeah, he's outside." Sideswipe jerked a thumb over his shoulder. Meanwhile, Sunstreaker's unmoving face was still pointed in her general direction, which Allison thoroughly ignored. His abrasiveness unfortunately left her unsure if trying to engage him in conversation was even worth the trouble. She was also slowly starting to feel intimidated by him as his glare continued, so ignoring him seemed like the better course of action. "But don't approach him from behind, he's skittish. You don't need to get squished twice in one day..."

"I'm sorry, I'm just not used to having to dodge freakishly tall robots on a day to day basis," Allison said dourly, but she offered a subtle smile to indicate that she was joking. While Sideswipe seemed pleased, Sunstreaker had an awful twitch that passed over his face that made it appear as if he'd just been stung.

"She just called you freakish Sunny. You're charming and freakish, all in one day!"

"I didn't mean that!" Allison said, raising her hands and feeling the need to explain her actions after seeing a particularly ugly sneer pass over the yellow Autobot's face. It was starting to make her feel uncomfortable the way he was leaning forward like he was daring her to say more. She wasn't about to put it past him to intentionally instigate a physical altercation, one-sided as it might be, and getting hit by a wrecking ball wasn't something she'd planned for. Sideswipe was actually laughing at his brother as if his offense was funny, which was making things even more awkward. "...I should go..."

"Bye!" Sideswipe called after her as she turned and rushed past Sunstreaker, only offering a wave over her shoulder. Sideswipe's overall indifference had only accentuated Sunstreaker's drastically different, aggressive demeanor, which had left Allison feeling it best to remove herself from that situation before Sunstreaker punched her into the wall. That would have only caused pandemonium.

It was almost a relief when she saw Bumblebee outside. He was kneeling on the ground propped up against a pile of stones, but his back was turned to her. This called to mind Sideswipe's warning, and Allison hesitated with no real notion if Bumblebee actually was skittish. It seemed... weird, but she supposed that any person could have those sorts of ticks, and since for all intents an purposes the Autobots were very human it didn't seem to be a far-off possibility. Allison stood there for a beat in silence and waited for some kind of opening. Bumblebee didn't appear to be doing anything dangerous, but with all the concealed weapons they had hiding within their plating sneaking up on a skittish robot seemed like a very stupid idea.

"They're just teasing you," Bumblebee said unmoving. His voice was muffled as if he was speaking into something, and it wasn't until Allison heard the intensely loud crack of gunfire that she realized what the Autobot was doing. Something exploded far off on the edge of the field a millisecond later, and with some measure of horror she realized that she was interrupting target practice.

"Ah, so Sideswipe made that up, did he?" Allison said, swallowing as she strained her eyes to try and make out what had exploded, but it was so far away she couldn't tell. Bumblebee stood and turned, swinging a very large rifle over his shoulder as he looked at her with soft, amused eyes.

"You'll learn very quickly not to take anything 'Sides says seriously... although, the two of them will be the first to fish your aft out of trouble if needed..." Bumblebee paused, turning to follow Allison's line of vision out onto the field. He turned back, grinning. "Bottles. Nice and small to practice accuracy. There's nothing alive around here for miles. The wildlife doesn't like to hang around here, and we can scan for humans easily." Bumblebee jabbed a thumb out onto the field to emphasize the point. "Besides, I don't miss."

"That's... impressive..." Allison said, somewhat in awe. She'd never so much as touched a gun in her life and hoped she never had to, but she could appreciate what went in to learning how to use one safely and accurately. "Are you a sniper or something?"

"Sniper? Nah, that's Bluestreak's expertise, although I trained with him for a while," he paused, perhaps reading Allison's confused expression. "Ah, Blue's on extended patrol, down the eastern coast monitoring for any 'Con activity out of their main base. He's out there with Cliffjumper, but they won't be back for another month or so. They actually left while you were still with Ratchet... " Bumblebee had a cheeky smile on his face, and Allison returned it in kind. "That's why the place is so quiet. They're not here."

"Prowl said you were looking for me." Allison said, her smile fading just slightly as she relaxed.

Bumblebee lowered the rifle and rested the handle on the ground. He almost appeared to be leaning on it as it dug into the soil, expression thoughtful.

"Walk with me, will you?" Bumblebee turned slinging the rifle over his shoulder as it telescoped into itself with a whir of moving parts and shifting plates. Allison watched as it melded seamlessly into the plating between the panels of his "wings," which fluttered as the Autobot moved. Allison followed him, having to jog to catch up to him as he walked towards the outer perimeter of the base where the tree line began.

They walked through the trees for a small while, stepping over a small brook along the way. Allison hopped from one stepping stone to the next, but Bumblebee was able to cover the distance in one stride.

"So is that all your doing out here? Shooting targets?" Allison asked, wanting to make idle conversation. She still didn't know why Bumblebee had asked for her.

"No. I check the perimeter manually every now and then, though it's mostly just a precaution. We have Teletraan 1 and our other sensors constantly checking for any signs of hostility, though if there were, we'd know about it long before we ever lay our optics on them." Bumblebee stopped, kneeling down to play with a few loose twigs on the ground, shifting them around with a finger. "Still, with Decepticons, you can never be too careful."

Allison brushed away some leaves that were sticking to her sweater. It had been a while since she had smelled dirt and grass (not mixed with stale water and sewage), so it was a nice reminder that there was a calmer, more organic world around her. It was a pleasant reminder of her childhood. The thought of youthful days reminded her of Sari, and she wondered if there was a tactful way to ask Bumblebee about her.

"So... Sari is sweet..."

Bumblebee looked at her with a slight turn of his head as they walked and he seemed to be smirking, like he wasn't fooled.

"You're very perceptive, aren't you?"

"I wouldn't say that... maybe I'm just used to it? Wheeljack has a certain look about him, so maybe I just learned to recognize a bond when I see one" Allison shrugged rolling up the sleeves of her sweater. It was new; a marled pink color made of soft yarn. She'd been fond of the color, but the sleeves were too long, and she didn't want to get them dirtied on the ground as she knelt to pick up a loose stone. "Oh, and none of you are very subtle about it. Your faces are practically like an open book when it comes to your emotions, which admittedly is something not many would suspect I guess."

"You know, Fowler doesn't seem to be able to read us very well so I guess I thought that humans weren't able to understand... but it seems like you don't have that problem." Bumblebee said, standing.

"Wheeljack told me about him..."

"He thinks we're too unresponsive... but maybe that's just Prime, then when you get Prowl with him it only exaggerates the situation. Prime always seems very neutral about everything but I think the boss bot is just putting up a barrier on purpose to be a symbol of stability, you know? But get enough high-grade in him and you'll get him talking..." Bumblebee laughed, and it was an altogether pleasant sound, much like Sideswipe's youthful candor except even younger. Allison liked hearing them laugh. It helped her forget how big they were and made them less daunting to deal with, but she was quickly getting used to it. "Prowl is just... well, that's just him. He's always been like that."

"I think Optimus is sweet..." Allison said fondly. "Although Prowl could be a bit more... lively." She looked up and noticed that Bumblebee was looking at her with the expression of someone who'd gotten lost mid-discussion, because he looked completely confused.

"You keep saying sweet, do humans judge another person's character through taste?"

"Ah, n-no..." Oh dear, Allison thought, flabbergasted. "You mean to tell me Sari has never said anything like that before? Children have all sorts of creative ways of describing things that you can't always take literally. It's... slang I guess. When something is sweet.. it's nice. It's someone who's kind and thoughtful. I would dare say that you're sweet. Wheeljack is sweet. Ratchet is sw-" Allison paused. "Well, Ratchet is nice when he wants to be, but I think he's sweet, even though I know others may not share that opinion," Allison said impishly, waving her hand dismissively. "I had to explain the reasons behind different song lyrics to Wheeljack and that got a little bit awkward."

"Oh, so that's why Sari keeps saying things are heavy. She wondered why I kept picking them up for her..."

"Admittedly, that's a little bit funny, Bumblebee" Allison laughed, blushing as Bumblebee chuckled with her, gesturing with his arm for her to follow him.

"You can just call me 'Bee. Everyone else does. It's up to you." Bumblebee said, turning to walk deeper into the trees. Allison followed him, looking back to faintly see the compound in the distance. Faint splotches of grey broke up the gaps between the trees, and she could just barely make out the blob that marked the pile of stones Bumblebee had been kneeling behind before.

"I wasn't expecting her to be so young, to be honest," Allison said as she turned to follow. Bumblebee didn't stop, but she heard him huff as if he was sighing. This was probably a conversation he'd had to endure multiple times, making Allison regret saying it. It wasn't her intention to scold anyone or make any accusations... she was merely curious as to how a 12-year old girl had gotten into such a situation in the first place.

"She's smart for her age, though that's no surprise given her pedigree. And she's funny too." Bumblebee finally said, and he seemed to be choosing his words carefully. "And she can kick my aft at just about any Earth video game I throw at her."

"That doesn't make her necessarily capable of dealing with this kind of danger," Allison said, immediately regretting it. Bumblebee suddenly stopped in front her, making Allison stumble as she had to avoid colliding with his lower leg. Backing up, she was surprised to see an ugly scowl ruining Bumblebee's otherwise youthful features. He looked at her briefly before turning his attention back to the path he was following.

"I'm sorry... I'm not trying to interrogate you... I'm just curious. It isn't my place to judge, really because I can't really say I'm all that older than Sari if you compare me to Wheeljack," Allison said, raising her arms, hoping she hadn't offended the yellow Autobot. Thankfully his face softened.

"It's okay... I can't say that I blame you actually. I guess it's expected that you'd be concerned. Maternal instincts, you call it?" Bumblebee said, giving her a forced smile. Allison had to think about that one for a moment.

"Uhm... yes," Allison lied, partially, having to think hard on whether or not that was the real reason for her curiosity (and concern) or if it was something else. She'd never really liked kids, but Sari had seemed a little different. Regardless, if that made sense to the Autobot then that was good enough for her. "Maybe thinking back on what I went through, I guess it's just hard to imagine a child in that same situation... but I trust Wheeljack, and I would bet that Sari trusts you. I would."

"Thanks, that's... sweet," Bumblebee hesitated, and Allison nodded to indicate that he was using it correctly. She couldn't help but smile as Bumblebee continued, but he had a small frown on his face. "I don't take her out into danger with me. I make sure she doesn't follow us, and she doesn't go on patrol with me... I don't know that I could stomach the idea of her having to face that." Bumblebee paused and looked at her with some trepidation. Allison knew what he was thinking.

"It... wasn't pleasant no. I'm surprised I got out of it like I did. Granted, I died, but Ratchet practically reanimated me. I don't think many people are that lucky. The point I'm getting at is that any near-death experience is traumatic enough for anyone, let alone a young child. Just... please be careful with her, is all I'm saying."

"Trust me, I will..." Bumblebee said softly, but there was no less weight in his words. His face was passive, but the words were deep as if they were coming from within him; from his own spark. Bumblebee would never intentionally put her in harm's way. "I've already had this little chat with Optimus a long time ago. And Ratchet's already given me a hard enough time over it."

Allison had to laugh. "That's what Ratchet does. He gives everyone a bad time." Despite this, she felt a little bad for Bumblebee. From what she could gather, they had no real control over who their sparks bonded too - It just sort of happened, with no warning. It seemed unfair to give Bumblebee a hard time about it when he really was more or less an innocent party.

"Tell me about it." Bumblebee grunted as a memory came to his mind. "Imagine trying to explain this to a little girl in terms she would understand... I apparently didn't do it very well, because the doc bot made it very obvious. Said that I was explaining it all wrong."

"I think maybe he was just trying to help, in his own grumpy way." Allison said, jumping onto a fallen tree stump and tested her balance. Her back hadn't been hurting where Starscream's null ray had hit her, but it felt stiff, like someone had grafted a burlap sack over her skin in that spot.

"But it's the way he did it, Allison. He didn't just raise his hand or clear his throat. He did it by snapping an inscription stylus. Just to get my attention!" Bumblebee had his hands raised towards her ready to catch as if he half-expected her to fall off. "And don't do that. If I break you, Wheeljack will have my head on a dissecting tray... I'm not kidding."

Allison laughed loudly at this, but graciously took Bumblebee's offered hand as she hopped back down onto the ground.. "I'm not a ceramic bowl, but okay. I'd protect you anyway." They continued on for a few more moments, and it was at this point it became clear that Bumblebee had simply wanted to talk. Allison was perfectly okay with that, and even walking in silence through the trees with the Autobot was surprisingly peaceful.

Bumblebee stopped suddenly, reaching out with a hand in front of Allison to halt her, cutting her reverie short as she once again had to stop herself from smacking into his palm. His other hand was at his back in the next instant, and the rifle was silently pulled around to his front as it elongated to full size. He brought his other hand to his mouth to signal her into silence and Allison immediately obliged, feeling her heart rate climb as Bumblebee's expression turned severe. She'd learned very quickly that if an Autobot detected something, it was probably not a good thing.

They both quickly hunkered down in the grass behind a fallen tree after a quick signal from Bumblebee caused Allison to drop nearly flat on the ground. There was enough of a gradient on the slope in front of them for Bumblebee's large frame to stay mostly hidden. It didn't however allow him much movement, and he seemed to tuck his body inward, propped against his elbows and door wings pulled tightly against his back. He was remarkably silent as the rifle was slid forward, pointing just over the rise of the slope.

"What is it?" Allison dared a whisper, but Bumblebee didn't respond. His gaze was fixed on something up ahead. He remained firmly entrenched, looking through the scope of his rifle at something over the crest of the hill. Allison risked a glance over the edge of the log, but couldn't see anything over the top of the hill due to her smaller stature.

Finally after a moment, Bumblebee visibly relaxed, allowing Allison to exhale the breath she'd been holding.

It's ok," Bumblebee said. "It's just another human."

"A human... I thought you said you knew when someone was around?" Allison hissed, mostly out of fright knowing that they could have blundered into a human at any time without knowing. It didn't help that Bumblebee had been shooting into the woods not minutes before.

Allison lifted her body with some hesitation to peer over the meager slope, wanting to see for herself who they'd nearly run into. At first she didn't see anything of note, until she spotted a brightly-clothed figure walking between the trees. It looked male, in what looked like a red jacket and black slacks-surprisingly overdressed for someone wandering around in the forest. His dark hair was neatly groomed, and he held something in his hand that wasn't immediately discernible to Allison at first glance. It could have been a rifle of some kind, or a long metal pole - a prod - but he held it poised in front of him like a weapon ready to strike. Something about this image was just very, very wrong, and Allison felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Instinctively repulsed, she ducked back down, finding herself naturally gravitate towards Bumblebee's tense frame.

"What's he doing out here?" Allison whispered, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation as to why such a sharply dressed man was wandering out in the sticks.

"Hard to say," Bumblebee offered, voice low. Allison risked another glance towards the man, mostly out of sheer curiosity to see what he was doing. He was walking purposefully through the trees in a straight line, eyes trained on the ground as if he was searching for something, but he didn't make any effort to kick or brush away anything at his feet. He was just simply staring, but the concentration that she could make out in his expression was clear. Allison was about to relay that thought when the man suddenly looked up. His eyes locked directly with Allison's, and in her startled panic she made no effort to conceal herself, but was only able to stare back.

Then the man smiled at her. It was a creepy, slanted grin, like someone catching a child doing something rotten. Allison got the distinct impression that she'd been caught, but doing what she couldn't put her finger on; It was simply a vibe. She felt her spine tingle as the man remained motionless, almost lifeless in his deliberate stillness and it made her heart race. She could barely hear Bumblebee hiss at her to get down over her beating heart.

Something strange happened then. The man started to flicker, the way a broken video image might if the computer file was damaged. The man's expression didn't change as he simply fizzled out and vanished. He was just gone.

There was a pregnant silence before Allison found that she could speak. She'd so far seen a great deal of unusual, even terrifying things... but this was like staring down a nightmare in the flesh.

"What... what did I just see?"

"That was a Decepticon hologram." Bumblebee growled, voice dangerously low. Bumblebee shifted, suddenly alert but his posture was still crouched, wings flat against his frame. Allison watched him with muted horror, realizing how thoroughly useless she was if there truly was a Decepticon lurking through the brush. "It also means whoever it is, they're close... but I'm not detecting anything which is odd. They don't send in their holograms unless they think they're closing in on their quarry."

"He looked... so real..." It was all Allison could manage, as the sudden sensation that all the trees had eyes took a firm hold on her imagination. Great, they had holograms now. What the hell couldn't the Decepticons do? The realization that they truly were engines of death and destruction, and that they could do it stealthily, suddenly made her really eager to leave.

"That's why they're so dangerous. They're not easily detected even on normal occasions, but I'm not picking up a single thing... and they're rare. Not every Cybertronian has them," Bumblebee whispered. He stood up and started making his way over to where the figure had stood. He moved slowly and deliberately, motioning with his hand for Allison to stay behind, which she was only too happy to oblige. She was too intent on keeping sight of Bumblebee that she didn't notice the figure behind her until it caught her eye far too late.

It was a mere flutter of sensation at the edge of her awareness, like seeing something out of the corner of your eye and hearing only a faint sensation of movement to accompany it. With a gasp she spun around, only to come face-to-face with the same man from moments before.

The figure rushed forward in a blur like a ghost, and Allison only saw the impression of red eyes as she fell back, stumbling over the fallen tree that had previously served as her hiding place. She threw up her arms simultaneously on instinct, yelping when she hit the ground with a wet thunk as her body harmlessly hit soft grass. She was stunned with the surprise of being jumped so quickly and ferociously that she couldn't completely grip the moment and react. It was only once the man was upon her did she notice that he was swinging the long metal prod like a dangerous baton in a clear display of threat. It crackled with angry blue light like an electric coil, and it was only when the figure jumped onto the fallen tree to stand over as if to attack, did she finally find her voice.

"Bumblebee do something!"

"It's no good, it's just a hologram!" She heard Bumblebee's startled voice behind her, but the uncertainty clear in his voice was not uplifting. Allison crawled backwards on her hands, dragging her body through fallen leaves and grass as she tried to back up onto the slope. "I... ah... FRAG!"

"He has a cattle prod! He's going to hit me with it!" The stupid words left Allison's mouth in a blur as she finally realized what the man - the Decepticon hologram - was swinging, lifted above his head as he prepared to force it downwards. For simply a hologram, it certainly looked like it was about to stab her, and she had no desire to test the tangibility of said weapon anytime soon. It looked real enough, and dangerous enough, and solid enough to convince her that this was not just a very well-done fake. A calm, serene, almost amused grin remained on the facsimile's face as he jumped forward to bring the electrified prod down onto her chest.

Allison had covered her head at that moment, so she didn't see the shot slice through the hologram once Bumblebee had finally spurred to action and fired. In his confusion he had hesitated, firing just seconds before it had been about to overtake her. Thankfully it had done something, because the image of the man seemed to explode and fizzle out as the bullet passed through the living picture, only to blink out of existence completely.

"What... what the hell..." Allison scrambled up, partially flailing as she was hoisted up by a panicked yellow Autobot. Bumblebee was yanking her in every directing as if expecting her to be disemboweled and bleeding her entrails all over the forest floor. Allison half ignored him, still trying to process what she'd seen with limbs that were numb and a head that was buzzing. "I thought that was a hologram... what kind of hologram can run up to someone and attack them?"

"A good one. Really that's just the quickest way to explain it in terms you'd understand." Bumblebee stopped his impromptu examination and seized Allison off the ground in one swift motion, causing her to gasp as all her senses were thrown for a loop. "Slag... Wheeljack is going to kill me for sure... we gotta go." In the next instant Allison was on Bumblebee's shoulder, clinging for dear life to whatever she could grab as Bumblebee took off through the trees towards the building of the base. "Hang on. I don't want to radio this in and risk having it intercepted. We need to get back quickly." Bumblebee put emphasis on that last word, as his pace seemed to quicken once they broke the trees.

Author's note: I'm not entirely into the whole hologram/holoform thing, but there will be small reference to it here and there, so it only has a small role in the actual plot. I'm guessing it's fairly obvious as to who it is, but it's going to be mentioned soon.