Author's Note: Apologies for that untimely update. My excuse: the chapter had been completed months ago, but then the last chapters took a slightly different direction than originally planned, so chapter 20 no longer fit and therefore had to be rewritten. And that took longer than expected. But better late than never, right? That's also the reason why I haven't replied to the last reviews yet. That'll change again.

I'll apologize in advance for any missing space characters. Either my new computer or my word program don't like them so they ate them. I hope I caught all the missing ones, but one never knows. Let me know if you catch any missing space characters please.

To cut a long story short: have fun reading! :)

– chapter twenty –

Disclosure (1)

The robot took a step toward me and leaned forward, reaching out. It may have intended to be consoling; I wouldn't know.

I quickly staggered back in fear but didn't get far. I bumped against something – or someone, I couldn't care less. I'd never been more afraid than right now, not even when kidnapped. Panic seeped through me, clenching my heart in a tight grip. It was cold. It was dark. But the shadows were moving. Sometimes, they shrank in size. But often they grew. They were coming closer. And I could see the gleaming red eyes looking menacingly down on me. I screamed again, both at the unbidden memory as well as the present.

Strong hands suddenly grabbed my upper arms and quickly hurled me out of the room. The large door shut behind us with a thunderous clang. But even with a wall now between me and the robot I couldn't calm down. It was still on the loose. It could attack us any time. It would kill us.

The hands on my upper arms tightened their grip before shaking me. "Chloe, snap out of it!" the voice of Colonel Lennox said loudly over my panic-induced hysteria.

Tears began running down my face and I started to hiccup. I was shivering and tried to wrap my arms around me for warmth, but the hands wouldn't let me. At first. However, the colonel quickly realized what I intended. But instead of simply letting go of me, he wrapped me in a tight hug. "Shhhh, Chloe, it's okay," he said, one hand gently cupping the back of my head, burying my face against his chest. "There's nothing to be afraid of. He's not going to hurt you. In fact, no one will harm you. You have my word." His other hand soothingly stroked my back.

We stood like that for a long time; it felt like eternity. The colonel's embrace and his continued reassurances gave me the illusion of a cocoon protecting me from anything dangerous so that I could slowly calm down again. The voice in the back of my head insisted I be careful though. There was only a wall between the robot and me after all. Even with the colonel at my side I wasn't safe. But I decided to ignore the voice for now. I currently felt safe – that was all that mattered.

When my heartbeat had slowed down to a regular pace and the hiccup turned to sniffling, Colonel Lennox eased the embrace until I could move freely enough to look up at him. "Better?" he asked softly.

I gulped down the lump in my throat. "A little," I allowed quietly.

He gave me a smile and fully let go of me.

That was the wrong thing to do; it was too early. The ground shifted under my feet and I swayed, my knees shaking. Colonel Lennox quickly grabbed my arms before I could keel over and then gently helped me sit down on the floor. "Someone bring a bag in case she throws up," he ordered. I heard hasty footsteps retreat, but they returned a moment later. The bag rustled when the colonel crouched down to hand it over. "You all right?"

The world was still spinning. In addition, my head hurt so I pressed my palms against my temples while hiding my face between my knees which I pulled up.

"Chloe?" Colonel Lennox inquired, sounding worried.

I carefully glanced up and noticed that we were watched by a few of the colonel's co-workers. "I think so," I mumbled, not taking the bag. I wouldn't throw up, not in front of the men looking at me intently.

For a moment, no one spoke, then Aaron Hyde asked surprisingly gently, "And you really repaired the engine all on yourself? Didn't get zapped?" I noticed him throwing a long glance at Colonel Lennox.

It took a second for me to remember what we had been talking about before I panicked. Once I did, I slowly shook my head. "Yes, I did, and no. I took care of not getting shot by electricity."

Mr. Hyde gave me a quick look over, then he and Jack stared at each other, each of their eyes distant. As soon as Mr. Hyde refocused, he addressed Colonel Lennox. "If Firebrand can know, why can't this youngling? The girls are friends. From what Jack has shown me she really is capable, and we've seen her bring Ratchet back online."

I frowned in confusion. Who was Firebrand? And shown? When had Jack shown Mr. Hyde anything?

Colonel Lennox frowned. "Giving her clearance when she should never have known to begin with? Jack has been ignoring the explicit rules, and I'm sure as soon as Prime and Prowl know, they'll deal with him."

Mr. Hyde pressed, "We should do it, Will. Chloe saved Arcee and the twins. That has to be taken into consideration."

"But it's not my place to decide that." Colonel Lennox looked at me for a long time, pensive, then, with a sigh, he turned toward the woman standing aside. "Tomaczech, let the Roberts's know that Chloe is at the base and that she will be brought home in a bit."

"Yes, sir!"

Before she could sprint off, however, Mr. Hyde said, "That's not necessary. I took the liberty and called them while Chloe… calmed down."

"Okay…" the colonel allowed, seeming a little bit baffled. He caught himself quickly again and firmly added in Mr. Hyde's direction, "You should probably notify Prime and Prowl too."

"They already know," Mr. Hyde stated gruffly with a pointed side-glance to Jack who just shrugged.

The colonel turned toward me again. "All right, Chloe, listen carefully now. Jack's behavior did not only break several rules of this base but got you in great danger. However, he and Hyde are right. You did help us save three lives. You have my thanks – all our thanks."

Wondering what I repairing a robot had to do with saving three lives, I looked around the assembled people, my gaze eventually coming to rest on the huge door. My mind drifted off. Was the robot still on the loose? And why was everyone so calm about it?

Colonel Lennox caught my attention again. "However, everything you've seen is top secret and only allowed to those with clearance. If Prime agrees, I will try to get it for you once the more pressing mess has been dealt with, but I can't promise you anything. However, you will have to sign an NDA."

My eyes widened. Did he really just announce that I would have to sign away my life in a non-disclosure agreement? Just because I repaired a robot that could speak? What the hell was going on here?

To everyone's surprise, Mom suddenly burst through a door on the opposite side of the corridor. When she saw me, her features momentarily softened in obvious relief before showing displeasure. "Chloe, what are you doing here?" she asked sternly, taking a step forward. She halted again when she noticed by whom I was surrounded. Hesitating, she asked, "What's going on?" Her eyes then fell on Jack. Her expression hardened even more, and I saw the soldier in her come through. She swiftly walked up to me and rounded on Jack. "What did you do?"

I wondered how Mom could have known Jack had brought me here, but maybe it was typical for him to be at fault when something unpleasant happened. Jack had the decency to at least look a little bit bashful.

Colonel Lennox held up a hand. "We can discuss that later, Private. It's crucial now that Chloe knows that she has to never tell anyone of what she learned today – or will still learn."

Mom frowned. "Why are you standing in the corridor then?" she asked, then hastily added a "Sir."

"We are waiting for Prime." He turned back to me. "Swear that you'll never utter even the smallest sound."

Mr. Hyde crossed his arms and huffed. "That's ridiculous, Will. Firebrand didn't need to swear."

"Chloe?" Colonel Lennox pressed, ignoring Mr. Hyde.

I turned to Mom, asking for her help with my eyes. She only shrugged, though, giving me a reassuring smile and leaving me to make my own decision. No help from her side.

Not knowing what I had gotten myself into but very much wanting to make sense of all the riddles, I nodded. "I swear that I'll take everything to my grave. My lips are sealed." And like having seen in cartoons, I made as if I were zipping up my mouth and then threw the key over my shoulder.

Colonel Lennox frowned, then sighed. "All right. Can't be helped anymore anyway."

The sound of a vehicle approaching reached our ears and we all turned toward the door leading outside. It opened automatically and revealed a semi heading for us. I thought the truck would stop outside the hangar, but it drove up close before coming to a halt inside the corridor. Dad got out, as did the driver, a man around Dad's age. Mr. Prime. So far I had gotten the impression of him always having a level temperament, but the expression he now wore was one of hardly contained anger. My eyes wandered over to Dad. He faltered in his steps for a moment when seeing the assembled people, then quickly saluted to Colonel Lennox.

"At ease, Lieutenant."

"Sir. May I inquire what the matter is about?"

"I would like to know the same," Mr. Prime said, glaring at Jack and Mr. Hyde.

I bit my lip while Colonel Lennox briefly explained the situation. At the end, Dad gave me a long glance and sighed. "Well, happened sooner than we expected I guess." Colonel Lennox grunted what seemed to be an agreement, albeit an unhappy one.

All eyes now turned toward Mr. Prime. He looked pensive, mulling things over for a long time in which no one dared to speak. His anger seemed to have lessened considerably, though not yet fully gone. Eventually, he slowly said, "Usually, we would clear it with the JCS first, but because she already saw Ratchet…" After giving me a calculative look, he turned toward the colonel. "We should do proper introductions."

Colonel Lennox raised both his eyebrows. "Are you absolutely certain?"

"I am." Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Mom and Dad exchange a look, but I kept my gaze on Mr. Prime.

However, it was Colonel Lennox who spoke again. "In that case… Prime, before we introduce anyone to her, I suggest she signs the NDA and gets some… explanations." He glanced in my direction before adding, "Firebrand's suggestion, to ease people into it."

Mr. Prime pondered that for a moment. "Agreed. Especially after how she reacted so far, it would be wise to proceed cautiously." He paused for a moment before adding, "I will speak to the JCS while Chloe signs the NDA."

Colonel Lennox nodded and ushered me and my parents over to another part of the hangar. Here, everything was normal-sized. Guiding us to an empty room that looked suitable for conferences, he asked us to sit down and wait while he retrieved a non-disclosure agreement.

When he was gone, I sank into a chair, lounging, but the happenings of the last twenty-four hours kept coming back to my mind and I grew dizzy again. Sitting up straight, I then bent down and put my head between my knees. Dad was at my side instantly.

"You're still really pale, sweetheart. Do you want anything, water, food…?" he asked, crouching down before me. I didn't see Mom, but knew she was close by.

I softly shook my head and mumbled, "Don't worry, I'm okay… I think. Just… a bit dizzy. This is so much to take in…"

Mom grabbed a chair and sat down next to me while Dad plopped down onto the floor, sitting cross-legged. "It really is. I remember when I first saw an Autobot from up close."

Letting go of my head, I sat up a bit and looked at him. "Autobot?"

Mom put a hand on my shoulder before moving it over my back in soothing circles. "Let's start at the beginning, James," she said. "Chloe's confused enough as it is."

Dad nodded. "All right…" Toward me, he then said, "Several years ago, aliens landed on Earth, searching for an object of great power to their race. But they were not the only ones. Another group of the same species followed, and it came to a confrontation."

I shook my head. "Dad, that's… not really explaining anything."

"Okay," he said with a little sigh, "let's try another approach: Alien life exists. One of the possibly billions of life forms out there come from the planet Cybertron. The Cybertronians are a very old species. Their race has divided into two factions who are at war against each other."

I remembered what Jack had told me. "They're fighting for dominion, right?"

"Yes and no." We looked up to Colonel Lennox returning. He closed the door, grabbed a chair and joined us at the table. Dad got off the ground and sat down properly as well. There was a moment of tense silence, then Colonel Lennox said, "Before we answer any more questions, I must ask you to sign this." He handed me a piece of paper. On top was written 'Non-Disclosure Agreement.' When I looked back at the colonel, he said, "Take your time with reading this, then please sign it. As you're not yet of age, your legal guardians –" he pointed at Mom and Dad "– will have to sign as well."

At first I read the NDA in quiet. Not to sound arrogant or anything, but I believed myself to understand quite a lot of difficult texts, may they be scientific or prose. But I didn't even understand half of what was written on this one piece of paper. I needed help in translating the stuff into common English.

Both Colonel Lennox and my parents proved to be very patient, answering all my questions until I fully understood everything. After scribbling down my name at the bottom of the page, I handed it over to first Mom then Dad who gave the agreement back to Colonel Lennox.

Putting the NDA away and then leaning back in his chair, the colonel said, "So, I guess you're having a few questions."

I snorted. "Understatement of the year."

He smiled. "I take it your parents already told you that there are aliens among us."

Nodding, I summarized, "An old species that's divided into two factions."

"Yes. The factions' names are Decepticons and Autobots. The former do fight for dominion, to answer your question of earlier. They want to rule as they please. The Autobots, however, fight for freedom. As they say, freedom is the right of every sentient species."

"Okay… And where does the robot in the… uh, other room count in?"

"Med bay," Mom corrected me.

"He's an Autobot. He's on our side," the colonel answered.

I frowned. "Didn't look freedom-loving to me," I mumbled. Everyone started chuckling.

"His name is Ratchet," the colonel said, his eyes sparkling with humor. "Admittedly, he has quite a temper, but he does love peace."

"Especially from the twins," Mom mumbled.

The colonel had heard her, tipping his head in her direction in acknowledgement. Then he continued, "And he's brilliant in what he does. The Autobots wouldn't exchange him for anything."

Ratchet. I silently repeated the name several times until I remembered where I had heard it before. "Mr. Hatchett's nickname is Ratchet."

Dad nodded. "The one and the same. Only Mr. Hatchett doesn't really exist."

"Huh?" He had seemed pretty real to me.

"Ron Hatchett is his holoform's name, Chloe," the colonel explained. "The real Ratchet is a twenty foot tall robot, the one you've repaired. The holoform you've got to know as Mr. Hatchett is just an extension of Ratchet."

That was getting more and more confusing, just like with Jack's 'explanation.' "Okay, back up. To get things straight: There are aliens on our planet. They're from one race, but two different factions. The Decepticons are presumably the bad guys, and the good guys are the Autobots."

The colonel nodded. "Correct."

"And the Autobots can make human-looking holograms."

"Holoform," the colonel corrected.

On my blank look, Dad explained, "Just another word for hologram."

Colonel Lennox continued, "To my knowledge, every Cybertronian can make holoforms, but I doubt the Decepticons even bother with them."

"Okay…" I nodded pensively, not really caring about too much details right now. Major points first. "So… why 'Autobots'? What kind of a name is that anyway?"

They chuckled again. "It's short for Autonomous Robotic Organism," Mom explained after a moment. "But that's just what Optimus says. Personally, I think the name has more to do with the fact that their alt-forms are automobiles."

Sighing in frustration that they kept throwing unfamiliar terms in my direction, I asked her, "Alt-forms?"

Dad put a hand over mine and I looked toward him. "The general term for the Cybertronians is Transformers. They can transform themselves from robot to vehicle. The latter is called alt-form. It serves them well to hide in plain view. If you didn't know it was an alien, you'd perceive it as a normal car."

I stared at Dad. If what he said was true, the possibilities were endless. Had I already met one of them and not known their true nature? Eventually, I stammered, "But… how… I mean…" unable to voice what I wanted to say.

Misinterpreting my stammer, Colonel Lennox added, "No one really knows how they do it, but I've seen many who wanted to learn the secret. However, it'll remain a secret. They don't share their technology with us."

Latching onto that for now, I asked, "Why not? Didn't you say they were our friends?"

Dad nodded. "They are, but in regards to technology, they are so much more advanced than we are, and they've seen our wars. They fear that by handing one nation advanced weaponry, the other nations will be easily killed off."

"The Autobots lost their home world due to their war with the Decepticons," Mom continued. "There have been innocents, too, Neutrals, but they've all been killed mercilessly by the 'cons. With them not sharing their technology, they make sure we don't end up like they did, with a destroyed planet and no place to go to."

"I see…" I said, pondering the information. It seemed their story was a very sad one, with no happy end. They had lost everything; this people was literally homeless. And yet they continued fighting. That brought me back to what happened last night. "So the… robots coming out of the ocean were Decepticons?"

The colonel nodded. "And the ones fighting them were the Autobots."

I mentally reviewed my 'memories' of last night. I counted the giants I had seen several times, but always ended up with different numbers. No wonder, I thought, everything had happened so fast it was a miracle I could remember anything at all. "So how many are there?" I eventually asked.

"Quite a few," the colonel said.

"You've already met most of them at the New Year's Eve party at the Lennox's house," Dad added.

My eyes widened. All those people were actually alien robots?

Before I could ask anything else – like if my friend was really who I always thought she was – the door opened and Mr. Prime entered. "Excuse the interruption," he said.

Colonel Lennox gestured invitingly. "No problem at all. Come in, please."

Mr. Prime nodded gratefully and followed the colonel's invitation. Once he sat in a chair, he said, "I spoke to General Morshower. He's not brimming over with enthusiasm that Jack let the cat out of the bag just like that, without asking anyone beforehand, but at the end of our conversation, he seemed a little calmer about it." He turned to me. "He's sending someone to meet you in person, Chloe. Then the JCS will decide what to do with you."

I gulped, various images of a bunch of black-clad people trying to get rid of me as a witness swarming my head. One was especially sharp: them dropping me into the ocean with hands and feet bound. I shook my head slightly to shove away the wild imaginations. Mr. Prime's blue eyes were still hefted on me, making me nervous.

"That doesn't make sense to me," Dad said, interrupting my train of thought. I glanced at him; he frowned. "They can't change what happened."

Mr. Prime nodded. "I concur. Besides, there is no alternative in Chloe's case."

My case? What exactly did he mean by that?

"Even if," the colonel jumped in, "the JCS has command over NEST, and they want to be informed about everything. They can make life difficult for us if we're not adhering to their orders and requests."

Silence settled for a moment, but before I could ask 'What now?' Dad inquired, "Was that all?"

The blue eyes turned to him, finally away from me. "More or less. The general asked that she sign the NDA. Everything else is up to me."

"The JCS gave in that easily?" Mom blurted out, sounding surprised.

"I wouldn't call it 'easy,' but after I explained everything to General Morshower, he had no other choice but to consent to my authority in these regards."

When no one spoke for several moments, I asked, "So now… what's going to happen?"

Mr. Prime looked at me again. "Whatever you want."

That was so not answering my question. Seeking help, I looked at Dad. He smiled. "What Prime's trying to say is: if you want to meet them – their real selves – they will introduce themselves to you. If not, they won't force themselves on you."

I glanced back at Mr. Prime. His blue eyes were open, as if promising me honesty if I asked for it. The only question left for now was whether or not I really wanted to know. Last night had been horrific. Seeing the robot I repaired reach out for me was terrible. The memories of my abduction still haunted me in my dreams. But wouldn't it be better if I really knew what was going on? Would it be easier to understand what was happening? Louisa's words came back to me; blessed ignorance is your best friend right now. You do not want to know. To a degree, I agreed with her, but another part of me, my curiosity, wanted to make sense of all the riddles. I finally had the chance to completely understand. Did I want to take it?

I looked at everyone present; my eyes swept from my Mom to Dad, over to Colonel Lennox – before coming to rest on Mr. Prime. Gulping down the bitter taste of fear that formed in my mouth, I said, "I want to know."

Mr. Prime's expression was unreadable. His eyes brightened slightly, but that was all the reaction I got at first. However, after a long moment, he smoothly stood. "Then follow me please."

We returned to the corridor, where Mr. Hyde and Jack were still waiting as we had left them. Johnston was gone, but the men were now joined by Mr. Prowl. All three men were looking in our direction. I slowed down until Dad was at my side. I grabbed his arm for support because despite my decision to learn the full truth, I was nervous and scared as hell.

We stopped in front of them. Mr. Prowl hefted his eyes on me, making me shrink back against Dad even more. He then frowned and asked, "Is that really wise, Prime?"

"You know the answer better than any of us," Mr. Prime replied. He then turned to me, smiling. "Before we continue, Chloe, I want to apologize. We never intended to frighten you." I nodded slowly in acknowledgement. Nodding once himself, Mr. Prime then said to Jack, "As you brought her in, you get the honors. But let me make this clear: Right now, she's relatively calm. If she panics again, you'll get to hear from me personally – after Ratchet and her father hauled you to the Pit and back for endangering her health."

Jack flinched at the admonitory tone – as did I, inwardly. "Understood," he mumbled and then gave me a nervous, apologetic smile before vanishing. Like, really vanishing. From one second to the next, he flickered out of existence.

I think my jaw hit the floor in shock while I backed away, taking Dad with me. I heard Mr. Hyde chuckle and looked at him but he only nodded toward Johnston's car that was parked close to the semi. I followed his direction and took another step backward when the car began to unfold and grow until it resembled a somewhat human figure.

A robot. Sergeant Johnston's car was a robot!

"Oh my God," I whispered when I realized that everything I had seen last night was truly real and not just a dream. Hearing that there were aliens on our planet was one story, seeing them first-hand a completely different one! The robot took a step toward me, reaching out. A new wave of hysteria rose, terror running through me, while images flashed by my inner eye; a large shadow loomed over me, the red eyes glinting in the darkness of the factory. It slowly leaned closer and I could hear its thunderous voice: "So weak…"

The memory blended with reality, but before I could scream, Dad stepped in front of me, blocking my view on the giant. I started to back away, but he grabbed my wrists before pulling me forward, against him. I struggled, wanting to get away. Had I overrated myself with wanting to know the full truth? "Chloe, calm down please," Dad said. "Wheeljack's not going to hurt you." I continued struggling for another moment before going limp, sagging against him. I was shaking from head to toe – but at least I wasn't crying.

Dad let go of my wrists and wrapped his arms around myself. "Shhhh, it's all right, honey. He won't harm you. This is still the Jack you've known for the last months. He just has another form than the one you're used to," he told me soothingly while I fought against the fear. "He's on our side. He won't harm you – especially not after you fixed his zapped electronics."

I snorted, Dad having managed to momentarily take my mind of the panic.

I could literally hear the smile in his next words. "You've ridden in his alt-form. What does that tell you?"

Alt-form… the vehicle he'd been until a moment ago. Slowly freeing myself from Dad's hug, I glanced up at him. "Johnston's car?"

Dad nodded. "Wheeljack, yes."

"That he's as maniac as he drives?"

Behind Dad I could hear the others burst out with laughter while the robot mumbled something I didn't catch. I glanced over Dad's shoulder in time to see him scratch the back of his head like Jack used to do it so often when he was embarrassed or teased by his co-workers. The expression in the metallic face looked kinda sheepish, and I was shocked how human the mimic seemed.

Mr. Prime then caught my eyes, but as soon as he had my attention, he blinked out of existence as well. My breath whooshed out of my lungs. Dad moved us a little around until he stood directly behind me, his arms around me for support. I could now clearly see the semi with which Dad and Mr. Prime had arrived earlier. It rolled a few inches forward before transforming into another robot, this one especially large.

I wanted to back away, but Dad held me tightly to himself the entire time. He radiated calm and imperturbation, making it easier for me to relax again. To my immense surprise, the full-blown panic I expected didn't come. I still felt afraid that I was now surrounded by not one but two metallic giants, but I was oddly… fine with it.

The robot then knelt down, its moves designed to not scare me too much. "My designation is Optimus Prime," it said with Mr. Prime's voice once it was on all four. "I am the leader of the Autobots." It— he slowly reached out, holding a single finger in my direction.

I tried backing away again. Did he want to poke me?

"He's offering his hand for you to shake it, Chloe," Dad said gently, as if he had read my thoughts.

My head whipped around at him. "Shake it?" I squeaked.

The robot rumbled; it sounded like chuckling. "I do not take offense if you do not want to touch me, Chloe." He stood again, taking obvious extra care to not step on anybody.

I followed his movement, staring up at him; I thought I recognized him. A memory of last night fought its way into my mind. "Are you the one who fought against Mechadron?" I asked.

He looked down at me. "His designation is Megatron, but yes, that was me battling him."

"Oh…" More memories resurfaced. "So who fought the one robot that had captured me?"

Prime pointed to his co-workers. "That would be Ironhide." I followed the direction of the hand, and gasped when Mr. Hyde too blinked out of existence. Immediately, the Lennox's black pick-up rolled forward, only to have its hood split down in the middle. Unlike the other robots standing up though, it was on all four once the transformation was complete, its face close to mine. I took a step back, pressing myself firmly into Dad, and gulped.

"Thank you," the robot rumbled gently. His voice was as gruffly as Aaron Hyde always sounded, no matter how softly he intended to speak. "We owe you for bringing Ratchet back online."

Everyone threw me expectant glances. "I-It's… fine," I stammered, my voice wavering, several octaves higher than it was supposed to be. "No… need to… to owe me." I tried to smile, but I felt the grimace and earned a confused look from the Hyde-robot.

"Back up, 'Hide," Colonel Lennox said. He walked past me and patted the arm of the black robot. "You're scaring her."

The robot glanced at me, then huffed. "Apparently." He moved and quickly stood to his impressive height. He was somewhat bulkier than Wheeljack, and I didn't know if I saw that correctly, but I thought I detected cannons on his arms, both of them. Was that why he was the weapons specialist with their unit? What did I get myself into? I wondered.

Mom walked up to my side and nudged me. "Focus, sweetheart. You can stare at Ironhide's cannons all you want later." I craned my head to look at her and saw the amused grin on her face. Above us, the black robot harrumphed; it sounded like he was insulted. Suddenly I could see Aaron Hyde in this robot and I had to fight a grin, slowly relaxing.

Prime addressed me again. "And that is Prowl, my second-in-command." Mr. Prowl vanished, and his police car stood up to form a fourth robot. After three transformations, I no longer panicked – at least not too much. The Prowl-robot looked different to the others but interesting; he had sort of wings on the back.

I tugged on Dad's arm. "Just how many are there?" I asked in a whisper, looking around the corridor if there were any other vehicles that could transform.

He laughed quietly. "Quite a few more than the ones you met today. But their introduction can wait for another day."

Glancing back up to the robots, I fully agreed with that assessment. Four giants were enough for one day.

Prime looked toward the – how had Mom called it? – med bay. "It looks like everyone is out of the worst," he told me quietly after another moment, "so we might be able to disturb Ratchet for a minute. He still owes you his thanks after all."

It was only now that I realized how calm I had been the entire time, but the outlook of going back into the med bay let the panic return. I fought it down though. If I had survived the last minutes, I would survive returning into the med bay. Besides, the robot I repaired was just like Prime and his… colleagues.

Dad felt my inner battle and its outcome. "I'm proud of you, hon," he whispered into my ear. I looked up at his gentle brown eyes. "They may be dangerous, but only to their enemies. Some people, like Colonel Lennox, have worked with them ever since they arrived on Earth, making them friends."

"Have you?"

He shook his head. "No. I'm stationed at the hospital and don't have any immediate contact. I only sometimes work with Ratchet. But your mother had contact on a daily basis. She can tell you that they may be giants to our eyes, but they are gentle giants."

There were footsteps behind Dad and I looked up to see the robot with Jack's voice bend down to us. A piece of his eyes – or optics? – winked, while saying, "And we depend on you to fix our engines when Ratchet's not around to do it."

I think I squeaked in surprise. "Not helping, Wheeljack," Mom scolded and hugged me so that I was sandwiched between her and Dad. My eyes never left the Jack-robot.

"Sorry," it— he mumbled, scratching the back of his head again while straightening up.

Colonel Lennox said, "Chloe, if you don't want to go in there, you don't have to, you know?"

His words did it. I may be a chicken on so many levels, but I had my pride. And I trusted my parents when they said they wouldn't harm us. If Mom could work with them, then I would be able to talk to one for just a minute. So jutting out my chin defiantly, I stepped out of my parents' embrace and said to the robot – Wheeljack, "Show me." I tried to give my voice a strong enough ring, but I noticed that it nonetheless wavered.

The light in his eyes… eh optics brightened and he quickly strode toward the opposite wall. The door to the med bay opened. I followed him much slower, Mom and Dad at my sides for moral support. Curiosity rose, and expectantly, I once again stepped into the room where I'd repaired Ratchet.

They led me back to the ladder and made me climb up again. I wondered why as there was no robot up on the platform. But once we arrived above, with the Hyde-robot next to us (we were on waist-level with him now), I saw the robot I had repaired coming toward me, its bearing menacing. I tried to take a step backward, but as we were at the edge of the platform, another step would mean falling down. So I was forced to stay with Mom and fight the once again rising panic. After several breaths, I somewhat relaxed and could finally take a moment to compare the menacing robot to the Hyde-robot and Wheeljack. I noticed it was around the same height but leaner in built.

It bent low until the face was only inches away from me. I could have reached out and touched what appeared to be its nose, but I didn't dare, freezing. The blue optics were tightened in a glare. "So you are the youngling that crawled into my chassis and fumbled around with tools you've never even seen before?" he demanded in Mr. Hatchett's voice.

"… yeah…" I squeaked.

"Ratchet," Prime's voice sounded from the door. I didn't dare look away though. "She saved the lives of Arcee and the twins. We weren't able to bring you back online but she was. So cut the menace and give her some credit."

The robot – Ratchet – harrumphed angrily and rounded toward Johnston who I noticed stood on another platform on the other side of the med bay. "And you let her?"

Johnston didn't back away. "If you'll look, she's wearing protective gear. And we told her to stay clear of your spark chamber."

I turned to look at Mom, but instead, it was Colonel Lennox standing to my right side. "Be nice, Ratch, okay?" he called. "You wouldn't be here if it weren't for her."

I found Mom on my other side. "What's this about?" I asked her in a whisper.

In her stead, Colonel Lennox explained, "Ratchet's very adamant about protective gear and whatnot, not wanting to risk his repair team's health or lives. He's mad because they had you, a teenager, crawl into his chest."

I frowned. "Doesn't protective gear look different though? White and thick with helmet?"

"A hazmat suit? We do have one of these too, but they only need it when working on radioactive materials – which is thank God rarely the case."

"But a jumpsuit?" I tugged at the brown-gray material.

I didn't notice Ratchet having turned its attention back to us until I suddenly found myself being lifted up when something grabbed the back of the suit I was still wearing. I let out a scream of surprise and fear, trying to grasp at something – anything – to hold onto. Below me, the others laughed.

"Ratchet's only demonstrating why we have this special protective gear, Chloe," Johnston called over to me.

"What?" I squeaked, alarmed. It's for being grabbed? I refrained from looking down; imagining the height I would fall down if the robot let go of me let me get dizzy already.

"No need to panic," Johnston hurried to say. "They're very gentle whenever they have to grab us. But that's why we have the protective gear. It's not only to protect our skin from the circuits and gears, but also to allow them a safe handling of ourselves."

Ratchet brought his other hand up and carefully set me down on the palm before letting go of the back of my jumpsuit. With my legs feeling like jello, I weakly sank down to a somewhat sitting position. "He is right," he said when he had lifted me to his eye— optic-level. "Squishing you while grabbing you is less likely than you being squished while crawling around in my insides. How would you like it if I crawled through your organs?" He wriggled the fingers of his unoccupied hand demonstratively.

I gulped, shaking. "I-I hardly d-doubt y-you'd f-fit into m-my b-body," I retorted. There was laughter again from the people on the platform.

"Mhmm," the robot made and it reminded me of the sounds Mr. Hatchett was making now and then, especially when he was flustered. "Feisty, are we?"

"N-no?" I squeaked.

His metallic face's expression suddenly morphed to a grin. "It's rare that a youngling like you can do what I in my position as medical officer can't. So I owe you my thanks and an apology for frightening you."

Baffled about the abrupt mood change, I asked, "Medical officer? Why would robots need a medical officer?"

He chuckled; it sounded like light thunder rumbling through the sky. "If you scrap your knee badly, where do you go? Not to a mechanic, do you? No, you go to a doctor. And when they scrap their knee badly, they go see a doctor as well, only that in their case, I don't just stitch them back up but swap out the knee plate."

I blinked, trying to imagine what he told me, then nodded thoughtfully. "Guess that makes sense." And only now I noticed that I had stopped shaking in panic.

"Glad you see it that way." He carefully set me back down onto the platform. Putting his hands on his hips, he then declared, "And now everyone get out. I need to work here."

…

We rode back home in silence, me staring out of the window. I was deep in thought, trying to come to terms with what I had learned today. My biggest concern was what this person coming to check on me would be like. But I also asked myself several times if I really wanted to have anything to do with these Autobots. Wouldn't life be much calmer if there weren't any alien robots around?