*sighs* I seriously need to stop making promises for upcoming chapters, because more often than not they don't follow throw even when I intend the to. *stands against back wall of small room and stands with arms outstretched* Go ahead and fire away for not coming through on the action in this chapter that I said would happen. I won't even make any excuses as to why it didn't happen. From now on, no more promising things in future chapters until the chapter is actually posted up! *slaps self*

We do get to meet a few new and significant people in this chapter though. Points there. Wolfie, you'll probably recognize some startlingly familiar characteristics in one.

WolfAssassin396—Greasy, care to answer?

Greasy: They will find out in due time.

Oh-kay then.

Alice Gone Madd—*whistles* There are lots of Hybrid weapons out there—lots I don't even know about yet. We'll probably never see them all.

AllSpark Princess—I guess we'll just have to see.

SunnySides—Yes I have seen the Iron Giant a few times. It was cute but I can't say I like it enough to actually write fanfiction for it. Sorry.

And I'm pretty sure that's the first time I've ever heard of somebody referring to Starscream as an anorexic bunny. Huh.

Gabby M—Mmm, I'm gonna give 'Screamer enough credit to say that he has learned something from this encounter, but I don't think it's to approach Hunter differently. I think it's a lesson of "don't screw with the Fuser's family".

I do not own Transformers or anything in relation. I only own Hunter, the Hybrid race, and any other character that you may not recognize.

"Change… open your eyes to the light…" Evanesence; My Heart is Broken

7

Ω Abeo Ω

(Changes)

Greasy sprinted as fast as his short legs could carry him down the long corridor, not taking the time to stop and open the several sets of large doors that stood in the way and simply teleporting past them to the other side. Whatever the council had called him here for it had better be for a good reason for waking him up in the dead of night. Especially when he had to teach tomorrow! Then again of course the council never did this without a good reason, so whatever he was here for had to be pretty important. Coming up on the last door the old Hybrid teleported past it and into the large council room on the other side. Apart from two guards standing on either side of the door, there six people there: Councilmen Genesis, Nebula, and Ananias, and Councilwomen Delta, Eden, and Rose, the heads of the Hybrid Council. Panting heavily, Greasy nearly collapsed to the floor. He was getting too old to be running around like that! "I…" he wheezed, "… was summoned?" He doubled over, puffing hard, trying to get his breath back.

"Yes, Greasy," Councilwoman Rose replied, coming over to the elderly man. "Would you like to sit down? Have something to drink?" Rose was always like that; kindhearted and motherly—always thinking of others.

"Yes," Greasy managed to get out. "And water, please."

Councilman Ananias, President of the six council members, turned and nodded to one of the guards. The guard nodded back and turned away, exiting the room to go retrieve a glass of water. In the meantime, Rose helped Greasy to a chair. A minute or two later, Greasy was sipping at a glass of water and his sparkbeat was coming back to normal, his breath returning. "Now," he sighed after a moment, "can someone please tell me what all the hullabaloo is about?"

"Greasy," Councilwoman Eden replied, face grave and long, "you know that we would never summon you at this hour if it weren't for dire circumstances."

"What's happened?" Greasy questioned, his mind suddenly leaving the water.

"The crew at Epsilon outpost was supposed to call for their annual report two days ago," Councilman Genesis answered, folding his hands behind his back. "They never made the call."

Greasy froze, his stomach twisting around in anxiousness. That wasn't good. That wasn't good at all. First Hunter not being able to control the Primus-state and now Epsilon not checking in—the bad news just loved to come in waves. "Have we tried contacting them?" he inquired.

"We have," Concilwoman Delta replied. "Many times in fact, but all we've received so far is static. At first we thought that maybe they were having some technical issues that they were trying to fix and then they would call in. That hasn't happened."

"Are you saying something's happened out there?" Greasy prodded.

"It's possible," Councilman Nebula nodded. "It's also possible that they're having trouble fixing whatever technical issue they're having. We don't know."

"You don't think it's…" Greasy's voice dropped off as he was unable to finish what he was about to say. It was too terrifying to even think about.

He didn't need to finish. The others all understood completely what he was trying to say and they all exchanged uncertain looks. "At this point," Genesis sighed, "we're not ruling anything out. Hopefully it isn't. But if it is we can undoubtedly expect to have a world-class battle on our hands. And soon."

"Mmm," Ananias, who had kept quiet and been stroking his beard the hold time, hummed with an agreeing nod. "It's a good thing we have a realized Fuser on our side now."

"Yes," Greasy agreed a bit glumly. "A realized and greatly unprepared Fuser." Standing up from his chair he walked over to one of the large windows and gazed out it into the distance. "At this point in her training Hunter would never be able to even hope to survive an encounter with Luna. The only way Huntress would be able to defeat Luna now is if she were to have control of the Primus-state and she doesn't have that." The old Hybrid hung his head sadly and shook it. "She wasn't ready the first time," he murmured, "and I refuse to allow her to lock horns with Luna unprepared a second go round."

"Greasy," Ananias stated, voice hard and cold as ever, "if it is Luna we're dealing with here, we don't have a choice." Just as Rose was kindhearted, Ananias was harsh, cold, and calculating. That was part of the reason he'd been voted as the President of the council; he wasn't afraid to make the tough choices. He also rarely stopped to think of the repercussions his choices could possess. Throwing Hunter into a battle against a sorceress who very nearly rivaled her power was one of those choices.

"For Hunter's sake," Greasy said, almost to himself, "I hope it isn't Luna we're going up against here."

"Greasy," Nebula cut back in, "due to all of the uncertainty clouding this issue we were planning on sending someone out to Mars to see exactly what's going on. We were wondering, since you were the head of the outpost project, if you would like to take on the task."

"I don't know how to fly a ship," Greasy responded, turning around to face the council member's again, "and I don't have one either."

"That wouldn't be an issue," Delta assured him. "The Epsilon crew was up for shift change in two weeks. We'll send you out with the next crew and then you can return on that ship when you've discovered the problem."

"How much time do I have before I leave?"

"Not much," Eden replied. "You'll have to leave today. You have just enough time to pack whatever belongings you think you'll need."

"Right then," Greasy sighed. "I'd better get started. I have a few calls to make as well."

With that the group all bid farewell. Rose knelt down to Greasy's height and clasped his hands between hers, smiling encouragingly into the old, shining eyes. "Good luck, Greasy," she said. "Safe travels and Godspeed."

Greasy smiled back and nodded before turning around and exiting through the opened doors. Once they had closed behind him his shoulders slumped and he sighed heavily. This was going to be a long day.

Watkins Mountain Range—Greenland;

It was a strange sight to behold. The New Moon was descending the sky through a blizzard, coming upon a valley between the mountain peaks. There was nothing but snow beneath them; endless white expanses of snow and ice that were only broken by the mountain ridges. And then without warning a pocket seemed to open up, revealing acres of emerald green grass, trees, and several buildings, the biggest of them being the castle of a mansion located in the center of the compound that everything faced and converged at. The Celestial Estate. Slowly the ship descended down into the green oasis and touched down, resting on the surface of the Earth for the first time in five long years. As soon as it had settle the dome was immediately raised again, shielding the estate from the harsh elements. The balmy, 80˚ climate of the dome set in once again, quickly melting the snow that had accumulated.

After a moment the ramp at the underbelly of the New Moon hissed open and lowered to rest on the ground. Hybrids, at least 800 of them, came filing out of the buildings and lined up on either side of the ramp, three deep, forming ranks of color and dress. They all stood at attention, waiting. Finally there was movement up on the ramp and down it came the inhabitants of the New Moon; Luna and Ray at the head of it, followed closely by an attractive but very grim-faced golden-haired young man, Luna's inner circle of acolytes—a dozen strong—and then the rest of the crew, some 200 of them. Arm-in-arm, Luna and Ray emerged with beaming smiles happy to finally be home. Luna waved as a roar of applause rose up from the crowd below them, her grin growing even larger, if that was even possible. A little over half-way down the ramp, she and Ray paused, still arm-in-arm and she addressed the crowd in person for the first time in years, some of them for the first time ever. "My loyal subjects," she announced amicably and triumphantly at once, "this is a day of celebration! You're mistress has finally returned." A huge round of applause went up from the 800. Luna raised a hand to stop it, producing results almost instantly, and went on to say, "However, as much as I would love to spend the day becoming reacquainted with Earth and all of you…"

"And natural gravity," Ray added, ever the jokester in these situation.

A chuckle went through the crowd.

"Yes," Luna laughed smiling at her husband, "and natural gravity, we don't have time for such luxuries. There is much work that has to be done, and the sooner we finish it the sooner we can achieve our goal. Who is with me?"

The crowd cheered.

Letting go of his wife, Ray put his hands up and cupped them around his ears. "I can't hear you!" he bellowed.

The crowd cheered again.

"What?!" Ray shouted.

A deafening roar went up from the crowd that time.

Laughing, Luna and Ray linked their arms again and the procession continued on down the ramp continuing to be cheered on. When they reached the bottom, they walked up to a tall woman dressed in armor. "Dusk," Luna addressed her with a nod.

"My lady," Dusk replied with a bow.

"The prisoner," Luna said, "how is he?"

"Miserable," Dusk answered, "but very much alive. He hasn't attempted an escape in the last three years."

"Good," Luna said with a dark smile. "That means he's been broken. Perhaps he'll talk now."

"We've interrogated him every day," Dusk assured her mistress, "he still refuses to speak."

Luna chuckled. "Well, that's because you're you, Darling," she purred a bit patronizingly. "And you use force. Situations such as this require a bit more of a… delicate touch." With that the woman called, "Steel."

The young man standing quietly behind them came forward. "Yes, Grandmother?"

Luna put a hand on Steel's shoulder and smiled at him. "Would you be so kind as to go with Commander Dusk here and help prepare the prisoner for my arrival?"

Face as straight and grim as ever, ice blue eyes distant. "Yes, Grandmother," he replied almost monotonously.

Luna smiled lovingly and stroked his cheek. "My darling boy," he cooed, "I can count on you for anything."

A smile curled Steel's lips but it was strained, fake as can be. With that he turned away and followed after Dusk.

Luna then turned towards the closest group of acolytes on her right, all of them garbed in armor as well. "Nox," she said.

A large man stepped out from the group and knelt before her. "Yes, my Lady?"

"Have you discovered the information I've requested?"

"Yes, my Lady."

"And?"

"The girl will be attending Olympus High today. Very few of the students and—surprisingly—the staff there possess adequate knowledge in terms of battle, so she will be unguarded and virtually without backup."

"Excellent," Luna replied. "Assemble your team; take everyone; head out as soon as possible. The sooner we have her in our possession the sooner our plans can be carried out."

Autobot Outpost Omega One;

Bree! Bree! Bree! Bree!

Hunter lifted a fist and slammed it down atop her Autobot-sized alarm clock, successfully shutting it up. Sighing, she slipped back under her thermal tarp, pulling it up over her hood. She'd barely relaxed again when she felt something gently grabbing her shoulder and shaking her. She moaned.

"Hunter…."

The teen pulled her warm tarp closer, refusing to come out.

"Hunter…."

She made a growl.

"Hunter, Sweet-spark…."

"Hunter isn't here," the femmling mumbled. "This is Filbert."

"Hmm. Well that certainly is peculiar. If you don't mind my saying so, Filbert, you sound an awful lot like my spark-daughter Hunter."

"Yeah. I get that a lot."

Optimus chuckled and seated himself on the edge of the berth, pulling back the edge of the tarp so that he could see he's daughter's faceplate. "You look much like her as well," he commented.

"Thank you," Hunter replied, not opening her optics but a small smile creasing her lips. "I'll take that as a compliment."

Snorting, the Prime rolled his optics and pulled the tarp back a bit more so that Hunter whined and shrunk away to keep underneath it. "Hunter," he sighed, "Love, it is time to rise."

"But it's not 7:30 yet," the young Hybrid pouted. Grabbing her tarp she pulled it back up over her head to form her cocoon once again. School started at 8:15—she didn't have to get up until 7:30; that was the deal. Heck, if it wasn't for the fact that she loved long showers, she probably could sleep in till eight if she wanted to!

"I know," Optimus replied, pulling the tarp back again, "but I just received a call from Greasy a few minutes ago. He would like you to be there early; he wants to talk to you."

"What about?" Hunter muttered.

"He didn't say."

"It can't wait till lunch?"

"Evidently not," Optimus replied shaking his head. "He wants to see you before classes start—there is no other time for you do see him. It sounded fairly urgent."

Hunter took a deep vent and let it go in a soft sob, knowing that she couldn't win. Nobody told Greasy 'no' and nobody kept him waiting. The femmling hugged her stuffed wolf closer. "I'm sorry, Blue," she whimpered to him. "I don't wanna leave you, but I have to."

Chuckling, Optimus pulled the blue tarp all the way back and rubbed his child's backplate, trying to stimulate her to finally make the transition from laying down to getting up for the day. "Come on, little one," he encouraged her. "Up."

Half groaning, half growling, Hunter slowly sat up, optics still screwed shut with sleep. Yawning, she rubbed them, finally getting them to open. "Remind me to kill Greasy for this later," she grumbled.

The Prime chuckled and stood, kissing her head. "Shower, dress, breakfast," he laid out the morning routine for her, exiting the room. "Roll out."

Hunter glared blearily after him. "You just killed your one catchphrase," she called after him, voice croaking, "ya know that, right?"

It was a quarter to eight by the time Hunter exited the ground-bridge at the bottom of the steps of Olympus High, or at least it was in the Nevada time-zone. Here in Greece it was a quarter to three in the morning, but you would never be able to tell. Shielded and hidden the world by an invisible dome, the school and its grounds were always lit to the point of mid-day, making it possible for school to carry on like any other normal school. "Normal school"—'normal' wasn't even in the vocabulary at Olympus High. When your entire student body and staff were made up of alien beings with superpowers that were half organic and half machine how the heck could you possibly be considered a "normal school"?

For a moment Hunter stood staring up at the towering mountain, unable to stop herself from being amazed. The fact that the Hybrids had carved out a school into this monolith as an impressive feat, no matter how much she hated coming here. Sighing, the teen began to climb the steps towards the front doors just as some of the others students were doing. If Greasy wanted to talk to her, she'd better get there. Just then Hunter froze with a small gasp, remembering something important. Her Greek paper! She hadn't finished her Greek paper! And there was no possible way she could finish it by the time class came around! "Scrud!" The facepalmed. Well, that settled it—she was in trouble. And the Greek teacher wasn't one of the teachers she could flash her title in front of to get some leniency. Not that she ever did that… much…..

Coming up on the history room door, Hunter found it already slightly opened. The sixteen-year-old's stomach slightly flip-flopped in anxiousness, wondering what all of this was about. It wasn't normal of Greasy to call her in to see him early. Usually if he needed to speak to her he caught her when she came to school or during or lunch of sometimes even after school for a few minutes, but he never called her in for it. Taking a deep breath and releasing it, the girl pulled the door open a bit more and stuck her head into the room. Two people were there; Greasy along with another man. The other man was a lot younger than Greasy was, almost looking to be the same age as Optimus was, though much less weathered and battle-worn, and a lot taller—about her height—with more muscle. This guy looked like he could be handy in a battle if you needed him. Not that Greasy wasn't handy it was just that… well… he usually tried to stay out of fights at his age… and height.

Both men were up by Greasy's desk, discussing something quietly. Ears pricking to the sound of the slight creak of the door hinges, the old Hybrid looked around the man towards the door and smiled. "Ah, Huntress!" he exclaimed. "Come on in—close the door on the way will you?"

Hunter did just that, looking between her Hybrid mentor and this new gentlemen with some confusion. What was going on here? "Uh… you wanted to see me, Prof. Coggs?" she asked, slipping into the school formalities."

"Yes," Greasy replied with a nod. "I did. My dear, I would like to introduce you to Dr. Atlas Bartholomew. Doctor, I would like you to meet Huntress Starstreaker James, the Fuser."

Hunter smiled up at the tall man and extended her hand towards him. "Pleased to meet you, Dr. Bartholomew," she greeted him.

Smiling back in such a way that even his hazel eyes sparkled with friendliness behind his glasses. "Well, hello, Hunter," he greeted her back with a voice that seemed to race a mile a minute. Even his hand-shake was face and forceful. "I must say it is a great pleasure to meet you—a great pleasure." His grin only seemed to grow larger in his clean-shaven face.

"Uh…" Hunter stuttered, trying to absorb and understand all of those words, "… thanks." Letting go of the Doctor's hand she turned to look at Greasy. "What is this about?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Well," Greasy sighed, smile dropping, "you see, Hunter, the Hybrid Council has given me a mission."

"You?!" Hunter laughed in amazement.

"Yes," Greasy said, crossing his arms over his chest and giving her a scolding look, suddenly becoming defensive, "is it so hard to believe something like that?"

"Like, nearly impossible," Hunter replied, with a smirk, resting a hand on a cocked hip.

"You're a riot," Greasy grumbled causing the girl to giggle. "Yes, I am going on a mission, and I will not be back for several weeks. In that time Dr. Bartholomew here will be teaching my class as well as taking over out training sessions."

Hunter froze. Had she heard that right? Greasy was handing over her Hybrid training to some motor-mouthed stranger that she'd only just met? She had to have misheard that! "Say what now?"

"Dr. Bartholomew will institute your training while I am gone," Greasy repeated a bit more slowly this time just to make sure she understood.

Everything seemed to come to a screeching halt as terror began to sink into Hunter's systems. This wasn't good. This wasn't good! Greasy was her Hybrid mentor—not this guy! Up to this point Greasy had taught her almost everything about being a Hybrid and being the Fuser. Plus he was the last connection she had to her parents! What if he went on this mission and something happened and he didn't come back? Where would she be then? Not only was he her Hybrid mentor and last connection to her parents but he was part of her family; someone she loved dearly and would fight to the death for if she had to. The girl couldn't bear the thought of losing him—she'd be completely lost without him! Lost in more ways than one. And this… Bartholomew dude, what the heck did he know about her and her life and her family and… just who the heck was he anyway?! Hunter internally screamed. "You're kiddin' me," she said, "right?"

"No, Huntress," Greasy responded, straight-faced as ever and shaking his head, "I'm not."

"But… but… but you have to be!" Hunter blurted before she could stop herself. "Greasy you're my mentor! You've been my Hybrid mentor from day one! I want you to train me not this… random, doctor dude—no offense," she added, turning to smile sheepishly at Atlas.

"None taken," the man quickly assured her with a nod.

"Hunter, I don't exactly have a choice," Greasy said, trying to keep calm and keep from losing his patience. Yelling at the girl would only make her even more upset and cause things to escalate. "Believe me, if I could say 'no' to this, I would, but I can't. My hands are tied; this is how it has to be."

"But… but… ugh!" Hunter crossed her arms over her chest and turned her back on the men, biting her lip to keep herself from saying something she'd regret. A few tears stung at her eyes but she blinked them back. She'd never felt so betrayed before and it was stupid to feel so. If Greasy said he couldn't do anything about it then he couldn't do anything about it—he wouldn't just leave her hanging if he could help it. Still it hurt. It hurt worse than she'd ever imagined it could.

"Ms. James," Dr. Bartholomew said quietly, causing the girl to glance at him over her shoulder, "I understand that you are upset by this," his voice was a bit slower now, "and I don't blame you in the least, but for what it's worth, I have been studying and training for this for a long time—even under Greasy for much of it. I know I won't be quite like Greasy when it comes to certain aspects in your training, but I am more than willing to help you in whatever way that I can. I want to help you reach your full potential, even if it is only for a short while. I'm willing to give this a shot if you are."

Hunter was quiet for a long time, just staring up into the face that was so full of heartfelt sincerity it almost broke her spark. His quirkiness aside, Bartholomew seemed to be a decent guy—even she in all her anger could see that. The situation before them couldn't be helped and was awkward enough for all of them as it was. Wasn't not only the right thing, but fair thing to do and just give this guy a shot? It wasn't like it was forever, right? Finally the teen closed her eyes and sighed heavily, nodding her head. "All right," she finally conceded. "I don't like this, but all right—I'll give it a shot." With that she extended her hand once again and the two of them shook on it.

With five minutes to the first bell, Hunter headed in the direction of her locker still feeling the slightest bit betrayed by Greasy. She tried to stop herself, telling herself it was ridiculous and petty to feel that way, but she just couldn't seem to help it. Greasy was leaving her without almost no heads up at all. And he was leaving her with some stranger to help carry on her training as he did so. "Whatever mission the Council's got him on," the girl muttered to herself as she sulked down the hallway to her locker, "it had better be pretty friggin' important." Coming up on her locker Hunter slipped her bag off and set it on the floor before turning the dial for her combination. 20… 13… 48—the black door opened. Sighing, the sixteen-year-old set to work at loading up her bag for the morning, since this would be the only time she visited her locker before lunch again. With classes spaced out on all levels of the school she wouldn't have time to be running back and forth to her locker all the time. Not even hyperspeed would be able to get her to class on time with a system like that.

"Where you think you're goin', small fry?"

Hunter froze and straightened up, attention immediately grabbed by the jeer. Turning away from her locker, the redhead looked farther down the hall to see two guys crowding in on someone who was significantly smaller than they were. The hair on the back of her neck stood up, a growl rumbling quietly in her chest. Bullies! She absolutely hated bullies! Leaving her locker, the Fuser strode on down the hall towards the confrontation.

As Hunter got closer she got a better look at the boys' victim; it was a girl, a little bit taller than 5' with a slim build and caramel skin. Hunter could only catch glimpses of the girl's face as she kept her head down and only every now and again peeked up from underneath a mass of curly, poofy, shoulder-length black hair, but from those glimpses, Hunter could see fear and pain. Her spark went out to the girl. This couldn't be more than thirteen-years-old. (It wasn't uncommon for Olympus High to accept students that young if they were advanced enough.) She had to be terrified; these guys were huge, at least four inches taller than Hunter was! Poor kid.

"Please just leave me alone," the child pleaded meekly, a Canadian accent in her voice.

"Well maybe we would if you hadn't crossed us," one of the boys replied sparklessly.

"But I didn't do anything," the girl retorted.

"You callin' us a liar, small fry?" the other boy challenged.

"N-no," the girl squeaked.

"N-no," the boy who made the accusation mocked her and both he and his buddy laughed. "You got a speech impediment or somethin', small fry?"

"N-no."

"Yo, Max, I think she does," the boy on the left commented, nudging his buddy in the side with an elbow.

"Yeah, I think you're right, Levi," Max laughed with a nod. "Aren't you a little young to be here, small fry?"

"I-I-I…" "Small Fry" stuttered, but she was too scared to get anything else out.

Once again Max and Levi laughed and mocked her, poking at her as they did so and going so far as to tug on her hair. They even smacked the books she was carrying out of her arms and onto the floor. "Hey," Levi laughed after a moment, "what's the weather like up der in, uh, Canada eh?" His voice had slipped into a heavily stereotypical Canadian accent now.

"Yeah!" Max joined in. "And, uh, what aboot all dem mooses, eh? You got a lotta mooses up der, eh?"

"It's 'moose', lame-brain, plural or singular," a strong voice with a biting tone broke into the conversation.

Both boys stopped what they were doing and slowly turned around to see a seriously ticked off looking Hunter standing there, arms crossed over her chest. "Small Fry" peeked out between them, too. Her eyes slightly widened and she released a small gasp. "Excuse me?" Max asked, sounding rather indignant.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Hunter replied, putting a hand on her chest and feigning an apologetic look and innocent tone, "for a second there I forgot I was in the presence of two block-headed morons who clearly don't understand the English language." Her voice had dropped back to an angry, forceful tone now. "I mean, seriously, come on, guys—I know I don't speak proper English all the time but at least I make a conscious effort!"

Both boys turned on her, arms crossed and their own ticked off expressions shadowing their faces. "Look, Red," Levi growled, "I don't care if you're the Fuser or not—we ain't about to get lectured by some punk-ass little ginger like you."

"Yeah, well, I didn't come here to give an English lecture in the hallway either," Hunter retorted. "So it looks like we're all up a creek without a paddle."

"Small Fry" smiled ever so slightly and giggled.

Max stood there with a blank face, looking like he was trying to figure something out. "Okay, hold up, I'm confused," he confessed after a minute. "Are… are we talkin' 'bout lectures here or some type of creek?"

Hunter snorted and rolled her sapphire blue eyes. "Okay, wow," she chuckled, "and I thought Eradicons were brainless." Seriously, these two made the Steves look like rocket-scientists! Laughing, Hunter pointed at the boys and remarked, "You two: seriously not Hybrid kind's best example! Am I right?"

Levi was fuming—face red, veins popping out on his forehead and neck, and steam very nearly coming out his ears. "Okay, that's it," he growled. "I've had it." He started to shuck off his black cardigan.

"Ooh!" Hunter exclaimed, brows furrowing. "Takin' off the cardigan—we are definitely getting serious now." Smiling coyly, the sixteen-year-old rested a hand on a cocked hip made cutesy cross of her legs, the toe of her right flat perched on the floor. She didn't look the least bit concerned.

Ripping his sweater off his wrists, Levi threw it on the ground, looking like he was about ready to tear her head off.

Hunter laughed, eyes on his bared teeth. "Dude, what, are you gonna lunge for my throat like a wolf or something?" Oh, this just kept getting better and better!

With that Levi released an animalistic roar and charged her. "Rrrraaaahhhh!"

Hunter didn't even flinch, a smirk curling her lips the only movement she made. All she had to do was wait until he was close enough and…. Suddenly Levi wasn't on the ground anymore. He was suspended in mid-air, being held up well off the floor by the front of his silver dress-shirt. His enraged expression quickly changed to one of confusion, then to bemusement. He stared down at the girl who held him in his grasp. Smiling, Hunter winked up at him, before turning away and carrying him down the hall a bit. Choosing a locker a fair distance away, the redhead changed her grip on her captive so that she was holding him by the back of his shirt and the back belt loop of his pants. With that she threw him forward like a battering ram. She threw him with such force that his head actually went through the locker door and he was stuck there.

Screaming, Levi started trying to pull himself out and banging on the lockers with his hands to try and gain somebody's attention. He was really stuck!

With Levi taken care of, the redhead turned away and came walking back towards Max, brushing her palms together and giving him a challenging glare. "You want your head shoved through a locker, too?" she growled. Looking terrified, Max shook his head. "Then get outta here," Hunter ordered, pointing down the hall. Frantically nodding, the boy sprinted off as fast as he could in that direction, leaving his buddy behind.

Chuckling to herself, Hunter turned back to see the girl kneeling down on the floor now, picking up her books. The redhead knelt down as well and picked up a couple, stacking them before handing them over to the girl. "Here," she said.

Tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear, the swarthy girl took the books and looked shyly up at her with a slight smile. "Thanks," she whispered.

Hunter just smiled back and nodded. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I mean, I am now, thanks to you."

"Hey, don't mention it. Those knuckleheads had it comin' to 'em. That the first time they've picked on you."

The girl nodded. "Yeah," she sighed, "but I've been feeling their eyes on me for a while."

"Scoped you out," Hunter grumbled tsking her tongue. "Yep, see, they totally had it coming." With that she stood back up and extended her hand to the girl, helping her to her feet. "Now, maybe it's just me, but I'm willing to guess your name isn't 'Small Fry'," she remarked with a smirk as she helped the girl straighten out her dress.

"No," the girl shook her head, "my name's 'Stardance'."

Hunter smiled. "'Stardance'," she repeated the girl's name, "that's a really pretty name."

"Well, most people call me 'Star'."

Hunter nodded thoughtfully. "'Star' is pretty, too." She giggled along with Star. "So, Star, are you new here? I mean, I only come to school two days out of the week, but I don't remember ever seeing you here."

"I just started this week," Star answered. "My first day was Tuesday."

"Ah, that would explain it," Hunter nodded. "I come Mondays and Fridays to school."

"I've been here for a while, though," Star went on. "At least in the dormitory section." A large section of the school consisted of dormitories where many students stayed during the year. It wasn't required, but if you didn't have a ground-bridge at your immediate disposal it was a lot more convenient. I live with my brother and I just now got accepted by the school to attend."

"You must be pretty smart then."

"I help my brother with his Calculus."

"Yep, most definitely smart." Hunter was quiet for a minute, thinking something over then she asked, "You said you live with your brother in the dorms?"

"Have the last three years."

"What about your parents? They must miss you."

Star's face grew sad. "I don't have parents," she remarked quietly, looking down at the floor. "They died when I was really little."

Hunter's spark broke for Star, hearing the pain in the girl's voice and knowing exactly how it felt. "I lost mine when I was little, too," she sympathized, putting a friendly, comforting hand on Star's shoulder to let her know she understood. "Hey, listen, Star, if you ever need or want to talk about it, feel free to come to me okay."

Star looked up with a small, grateful smile and nodded. Then, as if someone had flipped a switch, her entire demeanor changed and she lit up like… well… a star. "Now about you!" she chirped.

Hunter laughed and rolled her eyes a bit, already knowing where this was going. "I get the sense you already know the answer," she remarked, "but go ahead and ask me anyway."

"You're the Fuser, right?" Star was more than eager to voice the inquiry.

Scratching the back of her neck awkwardly, Hunter shrugged and blushed slightly. "Uh… guilty as charged," she muttered. Then she extended her hand. "Hi, I'm Hunter."

Star shook her hand, looking rather starstruck. "Wow!" she exclaimed. "I can't believe I'm actually meeting the Fuser—the Fuser!"

Hunter laughed and held up her hands. "Easy, easy," she said. "I get that I'm more or less a celebrity here…"

"You're the savior of our breed and Cybertron!" Star interrupted.

"… and I'm well aware of that," Hunter assured her with a smirk, "but I'm no different than you or anyone else. I'm just a regular kid who likes to have fun and goof off and spend time with her family and friends… and occasionally kick serious aft when the need arises."

"Eee!" Star squealed, jumping up and down and fanning her hands back and forth in a shameless display of fangirl-ism. "I can't believe it! I have so many questions!"

"Well, I'll only answer them if you promise to calm down and start treating me like a semi-normal teenager, okay?" Hunter chuckled. Usually she got annoyed when people fangirl/boyed over her, but Star… there was just something about her that made it seem different. She was so sweet and innocent that Hunter found it nearly impossible to be miffed.

"Sure," Star panted, stopping jumping around but still looking at Hunter with wide, awestruck, wondering eyes.

Just then the school bell ring, signaling the start of classes.

"Hold that thought," Hunter said.

"Aww!" Star exclaimed, unmistakably disappointed. The thirteen-year-old stomped her foot and crossed her arms. Her first chance to pick the mind of a living legend and classes had to go and interrupt it.

Hunter couldn't help but laugh. "Relax, Star," she suggested teasingly, "it's not the end of the world, okay? Tell ya what—what period is your lunch hour?"

"Fifth."

"Same here. So let's meet up then and you can interview me during that, okay?"

"Okay!" Star eagerly agreed. All at once and rather surprisingly, the younger girl held up her hand, hawked, and spit into her palm before holding it out again.

Hunter stared in shock for a moment, trying to comprehend what had just happened. It finally clicked. Spit-shake; Star wanted to seal the deal and what better way to do that than with a spit-shake? Nobody would risk germs if they really didn't mean something. Hunter chuckled and rolled her eyes, amused by the turn of events and this girl's audacity. Star was certainly a little spit-fire if ever there was one. With that, Hunter held up her own hand, hawked and spat into her palm as well before reaching out firmly clasping Star's hand. Deal sealed.

"What happened here?!"

Both Hunter and Star turned and looked down the hall to see Principal Darkholm down the hall, standing over a still trapped, struggling, and screeching Levi. So far Darkholm didn't seem to have locked any suspects in his sight yet considering he was still staring in disbelief at the boy's current situation. But it probably wouldn't be long before he did get someone on his radar to either charge with suspicion or question. The girls exchanged quick, fearful look. It would be best for them if neither of them got caught on Darkholm's radar considering they both knew how Levi got to where he currently was. "Uh, no idea, Principal Darkholm," Hunter said, folding her hands behind her back and side-stepping back over to her yet open locker and book bag.

"Yeah," Star agreed starting to back away. "He was like that when he found him."

"Mm-hm," Hunter agreed nodding. "Yep. In fact we were just about ready to pull him out of there, right, Star?"

"Huh? O-oh, yeah! Yeah, we were just getting ready to do that."

"But, uh, seeing as how you're here, Principal Darkholm, we'll just, uh, leave it you." Hunter laughed awkwardly. "Okay? Okay." With that she bent down, picked up her bag and then zipped off down the hall after Star, turning to the right as the younger girl went left. Too close! Way too close! Now if only Darkholm's adoration for her was enough to keep him from believing a word of what Levi said…. "Maybe now's a good time to cash in on the photo op he's always asking for…."

Confession #21:

Ananias is actually the name of an extremely corrupt high priest who lived in the day Apostle Paul. While my Ananias is not the same guy, what I told you about biblical Ananias should shed some light on our Hybrid Council President in the future….

Confession #22:

The Hybrid Council is actually fairly extensive. There are three levels: the King (a completely ceremonial position anymore—the King doesn't even have to sit in on meetings and is only called in to be the deciding vote in disputes that can't be settled; six Councilmen (they are really the heads of the whole thing, making all the final decisions); and then there are 196 senators beneath them (represent the Hybrids of all the countries across the globe and relay information and opinions of those Hybrids to their continents designated Councilmen). The six are really the only ones who ever meet for meetings unless something huge is occurring. Will we ever get to meet everyone in the council? Probably not. WAY too big….

Confession #23:

Dr. Atlas Bartholomew is actually modeled after Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck on the anime RWBY though he's a bit more robust than Oobleck is. (Atlas is played by Hugh Jackman so duh!) His character was so annoyingly charming that I couldn't help but create a character after him!

Confession #24:

For those of you wondering, no. Nothing bad will happen to Greasy in this book. The ol' codger's gonna be with us for a while.

Confession #25:

Points to anyone who can tell me what Max's and Levi's full Hybrid names are.

REMEMBER TO SUBMIT YOUR HYBRID QUESTIONS!