"So what will you do now?" Hot Shot asked and Armonie looked up at Hot Rod who looked back down at her.

"I don't know." She admitted. "I guess I'll pack my bags and head to America. Hot Rod was saying before the Combaticons attacked that he wanted to look for Optimus, so I guess I'll go with him. After all," she murmured, looking at her destroyed house. "I don't have anything else here."

"What about you guys? Are you coming or staying?"

For a moment the Protectobots looked at each other, silently conferring. "We'll stay for a little while, learn a few languages and life saving techniques, then head over." Hot Spot said at last. "Tell Optimus and the others we said 'hi', okay?"

Hot Rod smiled as Armonie walked into her destroyed home, finding a bag somewhere and beginning to find things to salvage. "Thanks, guys. For everything. I think she'll be okay now."

First Aid frowned slightly and clasped his now-enormous shoulder. "Yes, she should be fine but when Smokescreen gets here, have him talk to her. Or if Optimus or the others have guardians, have her talk to them. She'll need the moral support."

Hot Rod nodded seriously. "Will do. Anything else?"

Streetwise smiled, watching the human bustle around what was left of her home. Her children and spouse's body had been removed by the proper authorities and buried in a nearby graveyard. "I may be crazy for suggesting this, but I do believe she has come to think of us as her family."

Groove snorted, but saw the truth in the way she acted. "All the more incentive to get to the rest of the Autobots intact; she's dealt with the loss of one family very well, but I don't think she'll handle it very well if something were to happen to us."

"Forge her a passport." Blades suggested. "Just in case. I think she can find somewhere to exchange her Euros for American dollars, and I don't think she'll have a hard time finding a job in America, but do keep an eye on her. Don't let her slip into depression."

Hot Rod looked at Blades with a raised optic ridge. "I thought you didn't like her."

Blades snorted and looked away, neither accepting nor rejecting the observation. "Regardless, it won't be good for her to become depressed."

Hot Spot chuckled, whacking his brother on the back. "We knew you'd come around, bro."

Blades made a face and turned his back on them sulkily. "How will you get there?" Groove wanted to know.

Hot Rod shrugged. "I think we'll drive or fly to England, and then I'll scan one of those big planes that can fly from Europe to America. From New York, we can drive or if she wants to, we can fly. Either way it'll take a while."

Hot Spot nodded. "We'll keep in touch."

Hot Rod smirked. "Stay together, now."

Groove shuddered. "I hate to think what would happen if she ever got angry at us."

First Aid smiled and placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "I've come to understand her a bit. If you want to stay on her good graces, don't do anything stupid."

Streetwise snorted good-naturedly. "There's a common saying on Earth. It changes from context to context and language to language, but the basic gist of it is that males will never understand females. Not fully at least."

Hot Spot smiled. "That's certainly true. Nevertheless, I'll go with First Aid's advice."

"Is this goodbye?" they all looked down to find Armonie standing in the middle of their little circle, her bags packed. She wore what they assumed was her father's old uniform.

Hot Spot and First Aid knelt down. "For now, yes." First Aid said as Armonie turned to look at them. "We'll stay for a little while and come after you guys. After all, I have to complete my training as a medic." He added with a smile.

"I'll miss you, Dottore." Armonie said quietly, hugging his face.

First Aid smiled. "I'll miss you too, Army, but it won't be for very long. Promise."

Blades, standing next to First Aid knelt as she walked over to him. "As much as I hate to admit it, I'll miss you, Elicottero."

Blades made a face at the nickname, but the others – including Armonie – knew he didn't hate it as much as he acted it. Groove was next, then Streetwise and lastly Hot Spot. Each of them got a hug before she backed up to stand near Hot Rod.

As she had said good-bye to Hot Spot, her voice had cracked, and now they could see she was fighting back sorrow. "If I find you guys did something stupid I'm personally gonna come back and kick your asses." She told them, trying to regain her usual grumpy-mother attitude

Hot Spot smiled, straightening. "We'll keep that in mind, Army." With a nod to the other Protectobots, they transformed and drove away without another word.

"Shall we go, then?" Hot Rod asked, transforming and opening his hatch. If he noticed the slight waver to her pursed lips, he said nothing as she packed her bags and went to sit in the cockpit.

"Farewell, mi Italia. Amalia, Romhild, Antonio." She whispered to herself, watching first the house then the landscape shrink as Hot Rod gained altitude. She looked forward to the horizon. "Benaccetto mi nuovo casa. Mi nuovo famiglia."

'dottore' - doctor, doc
'elicottero' - helicopter
'mi Italia' - my Italy
'benaccetto mi nuovo casa. Mi nuovo famiglia' - welcome my new home. my new family.

There is a high chance that the above sentences are grammatically incorrect; I only looked them up word by word in an English-Italian dictionary, so don't try to say any of this to someone who speaks Italian. At best they'll be like huh?! O.o

Whooo. ((weak chear)) finished. FINALLY! Now I can get to work on 'Alone Again'.