(This chapter might be odd, I don't think its my best but I just cant seem to get this scene right in my head, so I apologize profusely. I don't feel very well today, and while I'm trying to put out one or two chapters a day, and occasionally every other day, I find it just a bit hard to write today. My head is so muggy… ugh. So again, I apologize, and hope you forgive me, and I hope you review if you have the time.)

They found Prime dealing with something or other, and talked him into calling a meeting. So all bots were present in the main hanger.

In all honesty, I think the way Sam was rambling on and on like some sort of frightened thing confused the living hell out of Optimus. I was currently seated in Bumblebee's palm while Optimus held Sam and Mikaela. Ironhide had Lennox on his shoulder, and Ratchet was standing next to Prime. I held the pad of paper and was scrawling small designs on it with my claws as I kept one ear to the conversations going on.

"Calm down Sam." I heard Optimus rumble. "My scanners state that your body is going into a panic." Sam always seems to overreact. It wouldn't surprise me if he pittled himself a bit.

Sam gave a frustrated sound and began pacing across Optimus's palm. "I'm serious here Optimus! She's smart! Like you guys! Its freaky, children, even alien babies, shouldn't know how to write in perfect English."

"Our race is advanced, need I remind you this, though it is odd that a sparkling of her age to know this when we haven't taught her." There was a pause. "It is possible that she was created to be an advanced sparkling."

I heard some shifting noises, and looked up to see Mikaela searching her pockets, "Damn I don't have a pen to have her show you." I blinked at her. Damn, that's right, she didn't grab the crayons and I put the green one away. "Hey Will, do you have a pen?" She called to him.

I glanced at him. He was searching his pockets. He searched for a bit, before he held one up, "Yeah." Lennox was moved to Ironhide's hand for a brief moment as the big metal behemoth moved his hand over to Optimus's. Lennox handed his pen to Mikaela, whispered something I couldn't hear, and then was whisked away back to his perch. Kinda reminded me of a parrot.

Sam was handed to Bumblebee in exchange for me. I was set next to Mikaela. She handed me the pen with a studying look before she smiled slightly, "Try and answer to the best of your ability NightStrider." She was whisked away to Bee's shoulder so the rest of the bots could have a fairly clear sight of the tablet in my lap.

I cracked a grin at her from where she sat on Bumblebee's shoulder. At least they know my name now. Optimus made a sound like clearing his throat. I looked up at him. "So, your name is Nightstrider?"

I clicked the top of the pen and scrawled on the paper. "Yes."

I wanted to write more things down, like how I was actually a human and all that, but as soon as it crossed my mind, it seemed like everything froze. Literally. Optimus had been in the middle of asking something and then his face froze.

"You cannot tell them Nightstrider." Came the irate voice of Primus. I turned my head, and there the old mech stood in all his robo-glory. "It is not their place to know, nor yours to tell. This was between you and me."

"Its hard though!" I exclaimed. "Not being able to talk in English, its not natural!"

"Give it time." He rumbled. Give it time my ass! I can't explain these things on paper!

"I mean, come on, this isn't fair! I finally found a way to communicate and now your not going to let me! What happened to freedom of speech?" I stated. "Imagine you're in my position. You go from being capable to expressing anything through speech and writing, and then you die and come back, and can't talk and you're forbidden from writing."

The old robot seemed to stare through my very being. It was creepy, but I got the feeling he was thinking. He thought for a bit. "Your right." He boomed. "It isn't fair. Very Well. I will not remove the fact that you may not talk about this, any of this that was before, but you will have your words, though simple they will be until your voice modulator is fully formed. You will still need to act like the sparkling they see you as, let them take care of you, lest I need to visit you again." He paused in his talking to lower himself so his face was as close to mine as he could get. "The more you resist the instincts, the more they're going to push. Accept them, and everything will be as it should for you."

And then he was gone in the blink of an optic and I found myself facing Optimus again. I felt an itching feeling, like there was something changing in my throat. Something beginning to form. It made me want to scratch it, but I didn't even know what I would need to scratch. And what the hell did he mean by 'accept them and everything will be as it should' thing? My god, he was worse then that crazy baboon from the Lion King movies my cousins watched all the time.

"So you understand us?" Prime rumbled.

"Little." I wrote back. That will keep them from asking questions.

"Hey, can she, like talk?" I heard Sam ask.

Ratchet shook his head, "She is young, her voice modulator is still developing, and she would only be able to speak in her sparkling garble."

I scrunched up my face. Might as well try. "Little." I stated. My voice surprised me. Instead of my normal human voice that had been kind of deep, my voice now was soft. New sounding. "Little." I repeated again. "Not lot." I said. My voice faded to clicks and chirps for a moment. The bots and humans turned their attention to me. "Comes. Goes." I faded to chirps and twitters again.

Holy shit! I was speaking! Yes! As little as it was, I was still forming words! I set down the pen and pad. Sure I couldn't walk, but now I could communicate a bit! I let out a happy warble.

Optimus frowned and let out a series of clicks and warbles to the others, and got responded to in the same language. I was handed to Mikaela and the pad and pen to Sam as Bee put them down. There seemed to be a silent conversation that happened between the humans and the bots, but it only lasted for a few seconds. I was then snatched up by Lennox, who had been set down by Ironhide, and was settled on his hip as we four strode from the hanger.

They were silent as they took me back across the lot, and back to the tent with air conditioning. I was gently set down, and then surrounded. The three humans studied me for a minute or so, and I just twitched my door wings and stared back at them.

Sam was the first to speak. "I'm sure you've heard our names somewhere, but just in case, my name is Sam." He said and shifted slightly.

Lennox followed, "I've already told you my name, but incase you don't remember, I'm called William, Will for short."

"I'm Mikaela, but you can call me Kaela or Mikky for short." Mikaela said. She leaned her head thoughtfully in her palm, "So, how old do you think you are?" she asked.

"You don't look too much older then my Annie, that's my daughter. I think you're the robot equivalent of a toddler." Lennox said.

I thought about it. I guess I was in body and soul, but my mind wasn't. The military woman in me didn't want to agree, it said that I was fully grown in my mind and my body should be too. "Little." I motioned to my body. "Not." I laid a hand on my head.

"Mature in mind but not in body huh?" Sam quipped. I nodded to him.

Mikaela blinked slowly at me and reached over to run her hand over my little antenna things again. I purred. "Nightstrider, is there anything you'd like to be called for a nickname?"

Well, my name I guess was a bit of a mouth full. Since I'm going with my military nickname for my name, I might as well go for the shortened version as well. I nodded to her when she withdrew her hand and wiggled my door wings again. Maybe this might be the start of a small friendship. Yes, Epps too even though he's not here. In the short time I've interacted with him today, earlier with I flipped him off not included; he's grown on me. Like mold. You really only get a lot of screen time from in the third movie, it had the most, and I don't think it did him justice.

Yep. I'm starting to like the people here. The bots, those are gonna take time to like.

"Strider." I finally said.