A/N: Well, I decided to rewrite some of chapter 2 because some of the parts in the original version kind of made me cringe many times. This is what I originally planned for this chapter, but I went with a second version, which made me doubt it even more, so I went to my original idea and like it so much more.
Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Transformers: Prime or any of the characters. I only own the plot.
Hope you all enjoy!
As soon as Arcee's tires touched the pavement, the groundbridge closed behind her. She slowly rolled out of the alleyway and when it was clear, turned onto the road and made their way towards the concert.
The femme felt Miko quiver and grip her handlebars tightly with obvious excitement. She has been talking about the concert for the last hour, and though she also complained (Or should she say whine?) about Bulkhead not being able to come, she quickly moved on from it as the time became closer for departure.
"Come on, Arcee! Can't you go any faster?"
Arcee moved her mirror to see Miko. She was wearing a regular bike helmet, which was black with a slime green mohawk and covered with skull and rock band logo stickers. Her tank top and t-shirt was replaced with a Slash Monkey crop top and a leather jacket. She was wearing tight black jeans and her usual boots. Two thin silver bracelets were perched on her right wrist and an electric guitar swinging from a chain rested below her throat.
The motorcycle nearly scoffed. "Miko, I'm going over the speed limit, and besides, the concert doesn't begin for another 2 hours."
"Do you remember what I said earlier?"
"Yes-"
"I've been waiting for this night forever! I will not miss my first Slash Monkey concert!"
Arcee sighed, which wasn't heard by the girl as she continued her rambling before she went quiet. Apparently, Miko was bored with her temporary guardian's silence, so she turned on the radio, blasting the rock music and dancing to the song as best as she could, even letting go of the handlebars.
"MIKO! Do not let go like that again!" Arcee ordered harshly before the girl groaned and grasped her handlebars.
"As if you can't get any more boring…" Miko mumbled under her breath.
It was then that Arcee turned off the music.
"Hey!"
"We need to remain inconspicuous. We have already gained the attention of many people, mainly by the music. You turn it up any louder, even the Decepticons will hear it. We will be at the stadium in less than five minutes, so just sit there and be quiet."
"Hmph…" Miko mumbled, but obeyed nonetheless. Arcee thanked Primus that Miko actually listened. The sound of the wind blowing and her engine helped make her feel more calm. For the entire remaining five minutes, it was gracefully silent. It wasn't until they pulled into the stadium's parking lot that Miko started to squeal in excitement, but Arcee didn't seem to care, as long as she didn't have to put up with Miko's arguments or whining.
Many people pointed and stared with awe at Arcee as she rolled by. It wasn't unusual, as she had a unique and rare alternate mode. It was uncomfortable at first, but the longer the Autobots were on Earth, the more she got used to it.
They rolled past a group of men who were smoking their remaining cigarettes. One of them spotted them and wolf-whistled as they passed, and another shouted out a compliment.
"Thanks! It's a very expensive model, only one in a few ever made!" Miko responded. If there weren't so many people around, Arcee would've brought the hammer down on Miko for calling her an 'it'.
They eventually found the motorcycle parking. As soon as Arcee parked herself, Miko placed her helmet on the ground, jumped off Arcee and started running towards the building.
"Miko," Arcee's voice brought her to a screeching halt. "Make sure you behave yourself, and don't do any drinking."
"Yeah, yeah. I've been to many concerts. I know how this works."
"I know. But I'm just reminding you as I can't go inside with you and Jack or your parents aren't here."
"Thanks Arcee. I'll see you in a few hours." Miko said before resuming her journey.
"And don't go off with any strangers!" Arcee shouted to Miko just before she disappeared within the crowd.
"I'll have the wings, with extra buffalo; and a pepsi please." Miko said to the vendor at a fastfood truck as she handed him a $20.00 bill.
"Here's your wings," He said as he handed her the small box. "And your pepsi." He handed her the plastic bottle along with her change. She thanked him as she walked away and sat at one of the many picnic benches, setting down her food and starting to eat.
The buffalo quickly set fire to her mouth. Taking quick, rapid bites until only the bone was left, Miko took a giant sip from the pepsi. The fire quickly began to extinguish until it became tolerable embers. She set the drink down before grabbing another wing and repeating the same steps.
"Excuse me?" Miko turned to see a young man. He had light brown hair that was in a scissor fade and was wearing a red t-shirt and jeans. He also had a leather jacket. Behind him were two men who looked about his age. One had blond hair and a journey shirt with black jeans and the other was mixed-race, he was wearing a C.O.D. long-sleeved shirt and ripped blue jeans.
"Is it alright if we sit here? All of the other tables are full." The man asked.
"Sure!"
The men thanked her as they sat down and started eating their own food. Not paying attention to them, Miko resumed eating her wing as she pulled out her phone and opened her Some Social account, writing a new post about her at her first Slash Monkey concert.
"Never thought someone could handle something extra spicy." A voice next to her said. She turned to see the three boys looking at her, the boy who spoke was staring at her with interest. "I thought I was the only one who liked extra buffalo." Miko was confused by what he meant before looking down at his food as realization dawned on her. He had the exact same food she did.
"As some would say, you only order spicy food if you can take it."
The men laughed at her comment. "That's true. What's your name?" The supposed leader asked.
"Miko."
"I'm Nic Niles. This is Jason," He raised a hand towards the mixed-race boy in reference. "And Parker." Parker's blond hair blew in the slight breeze as he waved and greeted her.
"You guys from here?"
"No, we're from the U.S.. We met each other at college. We're hoping to become pro football players. In about a year, we should be drafted." Nic answered her.
"We're seniors at Ohio State." Parker told her. "Best University around! Especially if you want to enter the sports field."
"I'm from Tokyo. I took an english class at my local school and was given the opportunity to be an exchange student here."
"How long are you staying here for?" Nic asked.
"As long as I can! My life at home is pretty boring, even if it's Tokyo. So you guys came up here to see Slash Monkey too?"
"Actually, we don't know much about the band. We just needed a day to get away from studies and just rewind and have fun, and there's no place better for that than a concert. You must really seem to be a fan." He said, motioning to her clothing.
"Never thought a girl would like heavy metal." Jason muttered.
"Dude, that was sexist." Nic stated. "You say girls can't like heavy metal? What? Are boys not supposed to like country?"
"That's different."
"Like when you hid your Luke Bryan, Tim McGraw, and other country posters from us for the entire freshman year?" Parker brought up.
Jason glared at them. "You leave Bryan and McGraw out of this."
Everyone else laughed as Jason defended himself and cussed his friends out. Miko found out that some of the words college students use to each other aren't that friendly, but she didn't mind as some of the songs she listened to use those words themselves.
"Hey, Miko, we have seats near the front of the stage, why don't you join us?"
"Really?! Front row seats? Count. Me. In!" She said as she pumped a fist into the air.
"Great! Let's get going." Nic said as he and the boys threw away their scraps, though they still had much food and drink left, and started to walk away. Miko looked down at her food, seeing at least 4 wings left and her bottle was half full. Guilt tugged at her heart, but she shoved it to the side with a shrug and threw the box and bottle in the trash can before running to catch up with her new friends.
Miko was rocking out to one of Slash Monkey's songs. The loud music was blasting in her ears along with the crowd. The song that was playing Bulkhead's favorite. What Miko wouldn't give to have him there with her…
But, she was having a great time with Nic, Jason, and Parker. All were dancing and talking to each other. Well, it was mainly them asking questions about the band, and asking Miko about her personal life. Which she didn't mind, and she gladly answered their questions, with the deal that they would tell her more about themselves.
Nic sighed. "Hey, Miko, why don't we take a small break from the concert? Get something to drink and talk where it's quieter? The guys and I need it anyway."
Miko looked at them. "Why? It's only their seventh song. I thought you guys would actually try to stay a little longer."
Nic shrugged. "Well, there are many things to do at a concert. Plus we don't know the songs or the band that much, so we figured it might be more fun for you if you talk about the band with people who actually know about it."
Miko frowned. She wanted to stay for the remainder of the concert. "Alright. I guess."
"Great!" He grabbed her arm and began dragging her out of the crowd, following Jason and Parker. "You'll love what we have planned."
Miko looked at him in confusion as she followed them out of the crowd and up a flight of stairs leading to an exit. Miko followed the boys out of the stadium. Well, it was more like she was dragged, but even if it was, she went willingly. They walked for about a block, Miko shivered from Canada's chilly night winds, and after a few more steps, she finally looked at Nic.
"Nic, where exactly are we going?"
Nic didn't even respond. The fact that he didn't answer, kind of made Miko more worried the farther they got from the concert. She sort of wished that Jack was with her, but she trusted these boys; they wouldn't hurt her… right?
Nic finally stopped in front of a building, which Miko looked at. The old, brick building looked like it hadn't been cleaned in years and the paint was starting to peel. The black lights shone brightly as the name spelled itself out letter by letter before the entire name flashed and did the process all over again. The entrance doors muffled the sound of rock music, and multiple logos of beer and alcohol brands covered the windows.
"A bar?"
"Hell yeah! We go to these places all the time!"
"Am I even allowed to go in there?"
"Yeah, but to make sure we don't get labeled as pedophiles, I'll just go in a buy us some drinks and we can just hang out outside. Any preferences?"
Jason asked for an applejack, Parker asked for wine, and Miko just asked for some water.
Now, the three were sitting at a picnic table at a park across from the bar. Nic entered the building about five minutes ago and they were still waiting for their drinks. The sound of a door opening got their attention. They turned their heads to see Nic walking across the street, carrying a box of drinks, glasses, and cups.
"Phew! This shit cost almost thirty dollars. Of course, the water was a lot cheaper." He said as he started placing the items on the table. Nic started to pour water into a highball glass. Miko turned to look at Jason practically ripped off his cap, the scent of the cider was so strong, it burned Miko's olfactory sensory neurons. Parker poured his wine into a red wine glass and took a sip before holding it in the palm of his hand, swirling it like a bachelor.
"So Miko, if I may ask, why did you decide to come to America?" Parker asked her.
"I grew up in Tokyo. Two loving parents, two cats, and piano lessons are the signs of a perfectly normal life… a boring life. I jumped at the opportunity to come to America and finally experience something interesting. Problem though: the brochure lied about Jasper being "The Entertainment Capital of the World". Bright side: I've actually had fun in America so far."
"You mean Jasper, Nevada? How were you able to get to Canada for the concert?"
Miko froze. How the hell was she supposed to answer that? She obviously couldn't explain that her temporary alien guardian - who could transform into a motorcycle - took her through a portal that could transport anyone anywhere within a matter of seconds.
"Uhh… lots of persuasion..."
The boys laughed as they clinked their glasses together in cheers, Miko nervously laughing as she did the same with hers.
"Hey Miko, what are your parents like?" Nic asked.
"You know, my parents always wanted the best for me. But for them, that means having a 'professional' career, marrying a man who's either a doctor or a lawyer, and having as many kids as I can. But they don't understand that that's not the life I want to live. I want to do something with music and go on adventures. I want to travel the world! My dreams don't have room for marriage and motherhood. I wish my parents would see that."
Jason cringed. "That sucks! My parents first said the exact same thing to me when I started playing football in high school. They actually tried to ground me from practice and get me cut from the team because they wanted me to go to medical school. It took a lot of persuasion and we made a deal that I could play football if I got A's in all of my classes. They then saw how much professional players earn and they kept convincing me to continue to play. Sometimes, it seems that they care more about money than me."
"Well fuck your parents!" Miko said.
"Exactly! You know, if I get drafted, I'm not even going to give 5% of my earnings to them. I'm going to save it, spend it, and pay taxes with it."
Miko turned to Parker and Nic. "What about your parents?" She asked.
Parker shrugged. "My parents were always pretty supportive of my choice, as long as I got a part-time job and did well in my other studies."
She turned towards Nic. "And you?"
Nic's eyes darted left and right and locked eyes with his friends before answering. "My parents are fine with it, they only wanted me to do good in school and serve the community... A+ student, made honor roll several times, and volunteered at the local shelters and living centers. I got accepted into Harvard and studied biomedical engineering. Harvard is actually where I met Jason and Parker." He said, raising a hand to them in reference. Miko nodded as she had another sip.
"But, we then made some choices that screwed everything up… We hung out with our other friends and went to a few parties, like many college kids do… it's where we made some… certain choices. We started to drop in our classes and we eventually got found out and expelled. We couldn't return back home and only managed to get into Ohio State. But we still have much debt from Harvard and we have to pay off some people. We had to work overtime and we are trying to find other ways to pay off our debt."
"What exactly did you guys do?"
Jason looked around before beckoning her to lean closer. "...We were involved in drugs."
"DRUGS?!" Miko shouted before the boys shushed her. She said the same word again, more quietly.
"Yes, and it was a stupid thing we did." Parker told her. "We were more immature and we have to find out how to pay one of our old dealers off who's coming after us."
Nic smiled. "Actually, there's a way we can pay both off." He said, locking eyes with his friends before they all looked at Miko sadly.
Miko looked at them confused. "What do you mean…?" The sound of a car engine was heard right after she said that.
Looking over her shoulder, she saw a black 2011 Lexus IS pull up across the street. Two men came out from the driver and passenger seats. The driver was in his 50's, he had little to no hair on his head and was a little overweight. His companion was in his 40's, with short, dark brown hair. The younger man opened the backdoor on his side and pulled out a briefcase before both men started making their way towards the students.
Nic got up and shook hands with both men, before they all turned around to face Miko. "So, this is her?" The older man asked.
Miko's heart started to race as Nic chuckled nervously, rubbing his hands together before answering. "Yeah… she's young and very healthy. She also comes from Tokyo so it will take longer for a missing person report to be made, as she's not from here."
The older man walked to Miko, taking the girl's chin in a tight grip and forcing her to look at him. "Hmmm…. She's pretty… She'll do." Miko's eyes shifted to the other man, who walked towards Nic, opening the briefcase. Inside were stacks of $100.00 bills.
Miko wrenched her head free of the man's grip and prepared to run away, but as soon as she stood up, she felt like she either couldn't move her legs or she would topple over. The older man quickly grabbed her arm, pulling her to his chest with little resistance.
"Wha-what did you do to me?" She asked, looking at Nic, Jason, and Parker, who in turn, were looking at her in sadness. They then turned their attention back towards the middle-aged man, never even answering her question. It was then she realized that Nic must have drugged her drink when she wasn't looking.
"Help! Help! Someone hel-" The man covered her mouth with his hands, smothering all other cries that she tried to release. She tried to kick and punch her attackers, but both boys had her held tightly against them, and being drugged didn't help either. He started dragging her to the black Lexus, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't escape. Tears began to run down her cheeks as the car came closer and closer...
"LET. HER. GO!" Someone commanded. The man shrieked before dropping Miko and running to the car, along with his friend. They hopped in and quickly drove off, tires squealing. Nic, Jason, and Parker looked to where the voice came from, their eyes boggled before they ran off as fast as their legs could carry them, Nic clutching the briefcase of money to his chest. Miko saw them run across the street and around a corner before something blocked her vision of the boys...
When Miko and the three boys left the concert, they didn't notice a woman riding a motorcycle following them. Only, the woman was unable to see them, as she wasn't there at all. Arcee followed them a few blocks before they finally stopped at a park, one of the boys entering a bar and exiting with a box. She parked on the other side of the park, deactivated Sadie, and kept an optic on them. Mostly, they were drinking and talking, which Arcee didn't worry about much, until two older men arrived.
When one of the older men grabbed Miko started to drag her to his car, was when Arcee activated Sadie and rushed over. She revved her engine harshly, doing a wheelie to get more momentum as she closed more distance between herself and the humans.
"LET. HER. GO!" She yelled, causing the man dragging Miko to quickly let her go and run to his car, his companion quickly joining him. The three younger men ran in a random direction as the car drove off.
Arcee skidded around Miko, coming to a stop in front of her. "Get on!" Miko struggled to get to her feet and walk. She moved with less stability, stumbling with every few steps and barely managed to get her leg over Arcee's saddle as she climbed on the robot in disguise.
Arcee quickly, but smoothly, drove out of the park and back onto the roads. Whenever Miko would feel like she was falling, Arcee would slow down or pull over and stop for her to rearrange herself. After driving for sometime, she steered into an abandoned warehouse, after looking around for any people, she told the girl to get off her before she transformed.
"Miko, are you okay?" She asked, gently cupping her servos around the shaking girl.
Miko nodded sluggly. "Yeah…" Her lip quivered and tears came to her eyes. "...T-Thank you!" She yelled, hugging the femme's servo and wrist as best as she could in her state.
"Who were those boys? What were they planning to do with you?"
Miko cried for about thirty more seconds before wiping tears from her eyes and answering. "T-They were some c-c-college kids that I met at the concert. We talked for a little while before they decided to leave, inviting me with them. W-We went to the park and Nic went in for some drinks. He and the other two had alcoholic d-d-drinks while I just asked for water. Nic drugged my drink when I wasn't looking and they told me that they were involved in drug dealing and were expelled from Harvard. They had some debts to pay off so they contacted some men who came to kidnap me and…. And-s..sell me-" She broke herself off before she bursted in tears again.
Arcee raised a metal brow. "Who is this 'Nic'? And can you tell me more about them?"
"I-I didn't get the older men's names. But the others were Nic Niles, Jason, and Parker. They used to go to Harvard before he was expelled. They told me that they all are seniors at Ohio State University and are football players."
Arcee made a mental note to tell Agent Fowler about this 'Nic Niles' and have him do some research on him and his friends. "Miko… why did you go with them? I told you not to go off with any strangers."
"I know… it was just… I never felt so connected and accepted into a group. They were also really cool and I wanted to be like them. They seemed to understand me… I don't know if it was all a lie." She said, before sobbing hysterically.
Arcee looked at her sadly before placing a metal digit under the girl's chin and raising it to have her look into the femme's optics. "Miko, you are connected to many people, and you already are accepted into a group: Team Prime. You play a vital role in, like when you helped with the scraplet infestation and saved me and Optimus. You don't need to be cool to have friends, because you already got many just the way you are." She said, gently wiping a stray tear away with her thumb. "If anything happened to you on my watch… I would never forgive myself…. I'm just glad that you're okay."
Miko smiled, placing her face in the palm of Arcee's servo, able to actually stand on her feet without swaying. "Thank you, Arcee."
Arcee smiled before lifting her other servo up to her comm. "Ratchet, requesting groundbridge."
Author's note:
Guys, this story is going to be hinting or about some really sensitive topics. Like human trafficking here. I did much research on it for this chapter and was disgusted by it. Some ways people are kidnapped is that they are either drunk, drugged, or just taken off the street. It's a really serious matter and needs to be taken seriously.
I also did much research on alcohol and drugging. Since Miko is a young girl, she most likely weighs less than 100lbs, so it would be easier for her to either get drunk or drugged faster, but then again, it defers from person to person.
But besides all of this, I hope you all enjoyed!
Rate and review!
