New and old together

Because the last few weeks I haven't been keeping on, I've decided to give this chapter to you early as a thank you for sticking with me. :)

Making new friends shouldn't mean losing old ones ~ Unknown

The ground rumbled and shook where she crouched. Letting out an exasperated groan she looked over to see the bot's running past her on a course that they had created. Everything began to shake on their bases. She held onto the oven she was working on, but it wasn't enough and it tipped over. Glancing over toward the runners she narrowed her eyes and grumbled. She was beginning to find too many reasons why they should have never told her that they existed. They had their planet back, right? So why didn't they trot back to it?

"C'mon," She groaned, using her arms and back to lift the oven back onto its platform. It took energy, but not enough to tire her. When it was finally back, she threw her head back with another exasperated sigh. The whole side of the oven now was caked in mud and parts of it were dented in from the fall. "Are you seriously kidding me. One day we know about each other and this happens!?" She brushed her hand through her hair and leand against the far shelf. Staring at the oven she couldn't help but be angry.

Finally after five minutes of pure silent rest, she got back onto her knees and began working at the oven again. If she could fix fridges that had been sliced, then she could fix a dented oven. The ground began to shake again and this time she stood up and held her body over the oven. The bot's ran past, leaping over obstacles and making her fixed appliances fall off the shelf and need another session of fixing.

"NO!" She grabbed for the toaster, then the hand held mixer, but all of her efforts were futile. In between the scuffle she lost holding of the oven and it tipped over again, this time boucning around on its side, landing into a large mud puddle. She held the toaster and mixer close to her chest, watching as the oven partially sunk into the mud puddle. Her right eye twitched, her lips scowled, and she couldn't help but let out an unearthly growl of terrorizing anger.

But she had to go through with this, she had no choice. She couldn't show any anger to the 'Bots, lest she want to be booted out by Denny, and if that happened. . . She dared not even think of it, for the millionth time that day.

"Fine," She set the appliances down and brushed her hand through her hair. Pulling it back she put it into a small pony with her longer front strands hanging free. "I can deal with this. No biggie." She walked over to the oven and began pushing it out of the mud. "I can totally do this." She kept reassuring herself throughout the whole ordeal. "Not like I haven't dealt with things this big before. It'll be a walk in the park. I won't even notice them."

The rumbling came again, and this time it helped her push the oven out as it decided to bounce away from the mud pit. She began to smile, maybe it wouldn't be so bad if she focused on the positive instead of the negative. She saw the bots run past, the ground shaking even harder. The oven suddenly was pulled out of the mud and in that second, she was shoved in. Lifting herself up by her arms she breathed. The mud had to of been at least two feet deep, since now her whole torso was covered in it.

Crawling out of the pit she held her arms out and watched as the mud dripped sloppily from them. She looked like a creature from the black lagoon, ready to devour somebody. Shaking her arms the mud flung around, all onto the shelves, appliances, and everything else in her vacinity. She tried wiping the mud off best she could, especially from around her face. But the stuff was caking on each other and she would have to be spritzed by a hose in order to be fully cleaned.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw someone walking from behind the corner of one of the shelves. "I wanted to let you know that we're finished training, so there-" The man, more explicitely, Bumblebee, stopped mid tracks at the sight of her. He hid his laughter best he could, but she could tell he was cracking up on the inside.

"Thanks for the info, but it would have been nice if you had stopped sooner." She gave her hands one big shake and most of the mud landed on the man. "Why do you even train in here anyways, it's ruining all my hard work." Her eyes drifted to Bee when he walked over to her and held out his hand. She refused and used instead one of the shelves to help her up. "I wouldn't want to get your perfect hands dirty."

He seemed only a little offput by her vile words, almost as if he thought she didn't know what she was saying, and to who. "I'm sorry we've caused you so much trouble, guess we're so used to not having to train with someone else around."

"Ya," She wiped her arm of the mud, which streaked her skin. "I kinda figured that." She snapped. "It's not like I really care, I mean, this was your domain before I came in and ruined it," Her tone was defensive. "So maybe I'm the defect." And every word she meant.

"No one was saying that."

She glared over his way, trying to hide her boiling feelings of truth and anger. "Whatever, I could care less. All I really care about is actually getting my work done for the day and going home, Yellow Jacket, and you talking to me isn't helping."

"I'll leave then. . . And it's Bumblebee."

"Thanks, Yellow Jacket, but I think I know your name." She walked off, grumbling to herself.

Bumblebee stood, not in perplextion, but in understanding. He knew many humans wouldn't react well to this information, and he knew that the ones now and the ones from before were exceptions, he guessed he just never thought he'd actually run into a human like Amoretta. She was different, and if there was one thing he knew about her, it was that she was harboring a deep, dark secret. He'd held his own, which had weighted him down for years, so he knew that look, that walk, that attitude.

In truth, he was far from surprised from this self assertion. It wasn't uncommon that many humans held secrets; Jack about his father, June about her husband, all of the humans about the old age alien war that had raged on their planet. He had learned quite quickly that secrets among humans was far from an oblivious fact or thought. He'd come to accept that every human had them, and that each one dealt with it in their own, open or personal way.

But deep down, he coudln't shake the feeling that Ami's secret was going to backfire on all of them. Because if there was one more thing he knew about her, it was that she'd been through war. He'd seen that look in her eye in almost every other cybertronian that had fought in the war. It was such a distant, tired look of desperation. A look that pleaded for freedom from self tyranny. He had it himself, but he'd learned how to hide it, clearly she hadn't.

"Lieutenant, did you talk with the human girl?" Strongarm walked alongside him. Her enthusiasm was always amazing, but could be annoying at times.

"I did, Strongarm."

"How did it go?" He knew the answer she wanted. . . It went great, Ami will now be our new human friend. And that's how he wished it had went.

"To tell you the truth, Strongarm, it didn't go well. But it's understandable. Amoretta is different than other humans, and she doesn't take things as lightly."

"Huh," She smiled. "Well, it's not like we really know her."

Bumblbee sighed, because he felt that even when they began to 'really' know her, they would still know nothing of her.

"Frickit!" Ami's voice filled the yard along with the sound of her foot smashing into something.

"Anger issues much?" Sideswipe teased as he flew up to the group and transformed.

"Something like that," Bee retorted. He looked to Sideswipe with furrowed brows. "Why aren't you still out on your mission? I sent you out thirty minutes ago."

"I got bored, 'specially after I found a wrecked aircraft."

Bee stopped the younger mech. "Human or Cybertronian?"

"Pretty sure that thing was human, looked like one of those fighter jets." Sideswipe blew it off. "I'm sure it's nothing."

"Was there anyone inside?" Bee inquired with urgency. He didn't know the jet, but he couldn't help but have a sickening feeling churning up within his tanks.

"No, not that I saw."

Strongarm crossed her arms. "Did you even check to see if there was anyone inside?"

"I didn't get that close. I couldn've been "spotted"." He flinched his fingers.

"Sideswipe, when it comes to potentially injured humans, you need to check. In a crash like that they could be dead or unconscious, which means they wouldln't even know or realize you were there." Bee reprimanded. "Show me the crash."

Ami cleaned her greased hands on the rag. Her sleeves came in use when rubbing the smudges, the dirty rag couldn't get, off her face. She was currently walking toward the diner, as Denny had told her he was making lunch and she was not only invited, but required to come. She wondered how the man could be so nice, yet he still didn't know her all that closely.

"Denny," She threw the rag in the trash bin. "Sorry I'm late." She grasped the side of the door frame and swung herself through. "Hello?" Her brows furrowed. Not a single body was inside the diner. Turning she decided to leave. "Augh!" She stumbled back and fell flat on her butt. Glaring up she saw Denny. "Denny, sorry, I didn't see you there." She tried to play it cool, not wanting to seem too angered by accident.

"That's alright, I just walked in." He held out his hand and she took it. Brushing herself from dirt, she smiled at him. "I almost forgot to tell you that the bots and I will be going out to check on something. Russell will be here with you though. He'll probably make some Mac n' cheese, so you can join him if you want." He looked over to the counter where Russell popped up from behind it.

Taking his headphones out he nodded. "What?"

"I said you're going to make lunch for you and Ami."

"Oh, ya, I got Mac n' cheese." He smiled, sinking back under the countertop.

Ami looked back toward Denny but he was already out the door and driving away with the Bot's. And as much as she almost felt bad thinking it, she was extremly glad that they were gone. Russell walked up behind her and held out the box of cheese and noodles. She forced a smile.

"So, uh," He scratched the back of his head. "I've never really learned how to make this."

Her eyes widened. "You mean to tell me, that you, Russell Clay, have never learned how to make the iconic Macaroni and Cheese. Yeesh kid, what rock have you been living under?" Her laugh was sandpaper against her throat. "C'mon," She took the box. "I'll teach you." He laughed and she shoved her hand against his head, leading him toward the kitchen.

"Maybe after lunch we could make some cookies. My dad kinda sucks in the baking department."

"Hate to break the bad news, Squirt, but I kinda suck at that too." She looked away.

Considering you've never touched a wisk in your life.

She rolled her eyes and brushed a hand through her hair. "But, hey, there's always room for trying something new, isn't there?"

"Ya, and I can teach you. When my mom would make them she'd have me help her."

Ami paused and raised a brow. "So, you're telling me you know how to make cookies, but can't make this?" She shook the box. "Squirt, I'm beginning to wonder about you."

Russell sat himself up on the counter and swung his legs. "Eh, I'm cool like that."

"Ya, cool, that's the word I would so use."

He kicked her leg and this time she actually laughed. Getting the pan ready she set it on the oventop and glared jokingly toward him. "So, you gonna sit there the whole entire time, or actually help me?" He jumped off the counter and stood straight up next to her, his arms stiff against his side as he were a minature soldier. "At ease," She giggled. "Alright, so first you wait for the water to boil. . ."

The bots drove down the wooded path that Sideswipe had pointed out. It led through a crash path, the non-existant road bumpy and throwing everyone off their edge. Supposedly it was only a couple more miles away, but with the speed they were forced to go at, it would take at least thirty minutes. They had tried transforming, but the forest had showed to be too thick that even in the path, they couldn't without getting stuck, or at least branches in their cogs.

Everyone spent their time in silence, thinking over what could be inside the aircraft, if it were still there and alive. But their thoughts were thrown away over and over again with each bump or large rock they treaded over.

Finally, after an uncounted time, they could see traces of fire. The sun glinted off the splayed metal parts, and it was at this time that Bee was doubting anyone was alive. He had seen crashes like this before, not per-say in real life, but many times in documentaries and no one had survived. Unless of course whoever went down ejected and landed somewhere else in the forest. They all transformed upon reaching the crash made clearing, and their heights gave them a new perspective. Denny sat upon Bumblebee's shoulder and couldn't hold back a gasp. Amidst the wreckage there was one thing that stuck out, one thing all the Cybertronians thought they'd never see again. Within a small, broken open crate, rested a clumped pile of sickly glowing purple crystals.

"Dark. . . Energon?" Bee wanted to shake with anger.

"Do you think it was a Cybertronian transporting it?" Denny questioned.

Bee let it all go and leant down to pick up one of the smaller scrapped pieces. Looking at it from all sides he shook his head and stared outward. "No, there would be more sparking wires, and you would see pooled energon. This was being transported by a human." He looked at the piece again and noticed that it was part of the aircrafts name, written in bright pink letters. But by the model it was of military style, and he knew that this plane could have only belonged to one person.

"Miko."

"Who?" Everyone turned toward him and he locked optics with each and every one.

"A human allie from when I was last back on earth." His processor reeled. Why would she be transporting such vile stuff? Where was she? Was she still alive? Was she working for an opposing allie of the government?

"How would you know this plane belonged to her, Lieutenant?" Strongarm crossed her arms, her voice dripping with doubt.

Bee shook the shard he held. "No one else would paint a military styled aircraft with bright colors, especially pink, unless they were Miko." He set the shard down and narrowed his optics, hoping for a sign of the girl. She had to of been in her early twenties by now; but the question was, why was she carrying around dark energon when she knew what it had done to Earth those years ago?

Something cracked from behind them, and everyone turned around to see a girl with black and pink highlighted hair hanging down to her shoulders smiling up at them. She coddled her left arm close to her chest, but she barely seemed to notice the pain it must have given her. She was silent for a while, and no one else dared to even say a word. Although, the look that Bumblebee had on his face, told everyone that the girl was indeed Miko.

Finally her mouth cracked from the smile and she spoke. "Bee, I didn't know you were back on Earth."

And this barely scratches the tip of the iceberg.