Saphira remained in her corner of the room, writing stuff down for her Math assignment, nobody has really noticed she had walked away and she preferred it that way for the moment. She did glance up as she was curious about this person arriving. She overheard Optimus telling Jack about Special Agent Fowler, and she wondered what issues the autobots might have caused for him to be there. She wasn't about to ask though, it wasn't really her problem to try and fix. However, the man's voice was loud enough for her to hear, and she heard all of it.
"Seven wrecks, thirty-four fender benders, a three-hour traffic jam, and a particular note, numerous reports of a speeding motorcycle of unknown make, and a black and yellow custom muscle car," The slightly overweight man spewed out as he stomped towards the railing of the balcony that allowed him to look Optimus eye-to-eye without the bot dropping down to one knee. Optimus stepped forward as the man continued to speak. "So, anything you care to get off your tin chest, Prime?"
Saphira grimaced a little at the disrespect dripping from this man. She barely knew Fowler, but she already disliked his attitude towards the autobots. "We have the situation under control, Agent Fowler," Optimus reassured the man with a stern expression.
It seemed the man did not buy it though. "They're back, aren't they?"
"If you are referring to the decepticons, I have doubts that they ever left," Optimus said in a calm tone, he still had his stern expression. He had not appreciated the man's tone either, though he kept calm about it. "Your planet is much too valuable."
"Then it's time to wake up the Pentagon," Fowler said, Saphira widened her eyes slightly at the seriousness of this and she felt a little nervous that she fell into a war unintentionally.
"Hear me, Agent Fowler," Optimus implored sternly. "We are your best, possibly your only, defence against the decepticon threat."
The man did not seem to buy it as well, his frown only deepened at Prime. "Says you."
"Hey fleshy!" Bulkhead snapped at the man in frustration. "Did anyone get splattered on that freeway?" He grabbed something that was on the desk and yanked it off, Saphira winced when she heard a spark, and it was clearly something that was needed. "Team Prime knows when to use force, and how much to use."
He squeezes the equipment until the claw pops off it. "Bulkhead I needed that!" Ratchet shouted at him in disbelief.
"Enough!" Optimus said sternly, slightly annoyed by the autobots' actions and turned to look at Fowler. "Military involvement will only result in catastrophe. Perhaps you can condone widespread human casualties, Agent Fowler. I, however, cannot."
"Then do us both a favour and handle this Prime under the radar." Fowler turned around, walking back to the elevator angrily and stepped inside it. "Or I will."
The door closed and Saphira heard the elevator going up top. At least there was a place to go to get out of this place for fresh air. Saphira looked back at her textbook to keep writing her assignment, after all she needed to get it done and no one was currently bothering her.
"Pretty big bearings for a human," Bulkhead comments, glaring at the elevator as though the man was still there.
Optimus looked at Bulkhead, acknowledging his words. "Agent Fowler is concerned for his world, Bulkhead. As he should be."
"He sounds so annoying, though!" Miko comments loudly as she and the others step out of their hiding place. "How can you let that man talk down to you?"
"I am not concerned by the words and tone Fowler throws at me, Miko, as he only is concerned about your world. You are still young, you have much to learn about this world and the threats that lay within it." The girl shrugged and rolled her eyes before she walked up the stairs. He looked down at Jack and Raf as they follow her. "I trust you now know what we are dealing with."
"Sort of, we only got a taste of it last night," Jack said with a shrug. He took a deep breath and looked at Optimus. "I have a gut feeling that we will feel the brunt of it sometime soon."
"I hope that will not be the case. I fear that will happen as well. We will do everything in our power to ensure your safety." Optimus glanced at the screen when another alert came on, getting everyone's attention.
"Blast earth tech!" Ratchet hissed as he glared at the screen and turned to face the other autobots. "Cliffjumper's signal popped back online."
"Who's Cliffjumper?" Miko asked curiously, glancing at the screen to see what was happening.
"How is that possible?" Optimus seemed to be in disbelief, and hopeful at the same time. It seemed Cliffjumper was part of the team, and they lost him recently.
"It isn't." Ratchet glanced at the screen in irritation. "Another bug! The system's chock full of them."
Saphira guessed that could be true, but that seemed like something out of the blue. She doubted it was a glitch in the system, otherwise any other autobot signals would show up if they had been living here before being killed. Saphira gazed at the bots curiously. The kids were wrong about them just being robots, she was seeing emotion, thought and pain from them. She sighed, glancing at her book and saw she was almost finished, which was exciting. Though she kept listening to the bots regardless.
"If there's any chance Cliff's still alive," The female bot said, glancing up at Optimus.
Saphira wished she knew her name, though she likely would hear it soon enough. "Ratchet! Prepare sickbay," Optimus said to the orange and white bot sternly. "We may need it." She raised an eyebrow when a mask covered his face, she shrugged at she guessed it was added protection.
"Hey!" Miko called out to Optimus, getting his attention. "What can we do?"
That girl seriously thinks we can be of help to these autobots. She's brave, but stupid.
"Remain with Ratchet," Optimus ordered, turning around and approaching a long, large tunnel.
She heard Miko whine, followed by Ratchet who was just as displeased about having humans around as Miko remaining behind. Saphira giggled a little in amusement, thankfully she wasn't being annoying. At least, she hoped she wasn't being annoying, even though she sat in the corner quietly listening. She did look up when she heard the sound of something being turned on and widened her eyes when the tunnel lit up with a bright green, yellow and white colour, the vortex swirled gently and it appeared to be like a transportation device.
"Autobots, roll out!" Optimus yelled, running towards the vortex and transformed into a Peterbilt truck. Saphira blinked as the other three bots transform as well, and Miko was right, Bulkhead is a truck. Not quite a monster truck though.
"What just happened?!" Jack asked in disbelief as he and the other kids stare at the vortex.
"I transported them to the designated coordinates via the ground bridge," Ratchet explained bluntly to the kids.
"What's a ground bridge?" Raf asked in a curious, slow tone.
Ratchet rolled his eyes and scoffed, already irritated by the questions from the kids. He turned to the monitor while he explained what it was to them. "A scaled-down version of space bridge technology. Since we don't currently possess the means or the energon required for intergalactic travel."
"You're stuck here…" Jack realized that meant that the autobots couldn't leave if they wanted to. That realization struck Saphira too, and it made her sad as she didn't know how the bots felt living here. Though it was clear of their disdain for humans. "On Earth…"
"With the likes of you, yes," Ratchet spat with a frown. He glanced at the ground bridge as he kept speaking about it. "But I constructed the ground bridge to enable travel from here to anywhere on your planet."
Saphira was rather impressed with that kind of technology. If it were in human hands, it probably would be used for bad purposes rather than good. It was unfortunately the nature of humans, especially the government and military. She sighed deeply and focused on finishing her assignment. She ignored the conversation for the time being, at least until Ratchet said something to Miko.
"Within moments, in fact allow me to send you there immediately, all three of you." Saphira glanced up, Ratchet had already forgotten she was there. She felt a little sad, but unsurprised, she was good at being invisible.
"Um…don't you mean four of us?" Jack frowned at the bot, surprising Ratchet before he glanced around. "Hang on…Saphira? Where are you?"
"For the love of Primus, I am a fool," Ratchet grumbled, hitting the side of his helm in frustration. "How could I forget there was four humans instead of three? Where did she go?"
Jack glanced around and spotted her, Saphira was attempting to hide herself with her book. "What are you doing sitting over there, Saphira?" He walked down the stairs quickly and jogged over to her. "You missed out on what just happened."
"Not really, I heard and saw everything," Saphira said with a shrug, lowering her textbook with a sigh. "Do you mind? I'm trying to finish my assignment."
"Ew, you're doing homework?" Miko makes a disgusted face and folded her arms. "I could not be bothered doing that right now, not while there is so much to learn and see right here."
Saphira rolled her eyes at Miko's words. "For your information, I care deeply about my education. This is my last year of high school, and I intend to finish with high grades. So spare me the wisdom of a kid like yourself."
"Come on, Saphira. When did you sneak over here anyway?" Jack extends his hand out to her. "I know you said you were invisible to other people, but you don't have to go out of your way to be like that."
She swats his hand away with a frown. "Leave me alone, Jack. I want to finish my assignment. A few more equations and I am done."
"Maybe I can get your attention." She glanced up as Ratchet approached with his hands on his hips. "The fact I didn't see you there means you could have gotten yourself squished if Jack had not seen you. I would advise that you do not sit in a corner like this. I don't know if this is some kind of game humans play, but please for the like of Primus, don't be where we can step on you."
Saphira sighed a little. "You can see me now." She looked back at her book. "I won't be long, anyway. Just five more minutes, you should be focusing on Prime."
Ratchet scoffs loudly and turned to walk away. "I can't believe Prime left me to babysit a bunch of human children. What has my purpose come to?"
Jack looked at Saphira with a kind expression. "Seriously, Saphira, you really shouldn't sit here. Ratchet isn't kidding about them accidentally stepping on us. Get onto a higher level, you might be safer there."
She shrugged, writing down some of the equation formula that was needed. "I am quite comfortable here, Jack. Please, leave me alone. I haven't exactly had a great day."
He sighed deeply, giving up trying to get her to move. "Alright, fine. Don't say I didn't warn you."
Jack walked away, he glanced back at her with a worried expression, her defensiveness wasn't there when he first spoke to her. And she seemed to be really friendly. Something was bothering her, and he could tell. But he knew not to push it. He rejoined Miko as she was being scolded for attempting to touch something and watched Raf help Ratchet fix an error issue with the computer system, which was rather impressive. Raf seemed to be very smart for someone his age, and it seemed to impress Ratchet as well.
Ratchet glanced down at Jack and frowned when he noticed Saphira was still sitting where she was. He groaned loudly and looked at him. "You couldn't get her to move?"
"I am sorry. I tried, but…she isn't acting like she was earlier and I don't think forcing her to move is a good idea." Jack glanced over to Saphira for a moment and looked back at Ratchet. "Listen, I know you are less than pleased with our presence, though Saphira is just sitting quietly over there and doing nothing but working on her school assignment. Is that really such a big problem?"
Ratchet was silent for a moment before exhaling loudly. "I guess it is not. I just do not want to be responsible if I happen to step on her."
"Well, you know where she is now, I doubt it is that big of a problem." Jack walked to the stairs to climb them to the next platform. "I think Saphira is also not used to having this much attention. At least, that is what I know of the short time I've known her."
Ratchet did not quite understand what that means, though he accepted the answer. He just hoped that the girl would not be more difficult in the future. The last thing they all needed, was another difficult human among them. Saphira did not hear the conversation at all, she was focused on her assignment. She sighed out in relief when she finished it and closed the book, happy she would get to hand it in. She grabbed out her next textbook to do homework with, which was biochemistry that she needed to do. She did not mind that she was not involved with everything right now, she was just slowly getting used to being around this many people. And she counted the autobots as company as well.
However, while she was working on her assignment, she did look towards the ground bridge. She wondered how the other autobots were doing. If there was a fight, were they okay? It seemed like Cliffjumper was well loved around here. Something a real family had. She sighed sadly, she missed what that felt like when her mother was alive. She wished she could go back in time to stop her mother from dying, but it was unfortunately inevitable no matter what she would have done.
"Ratchet! Bridge us back!" Optimus's demanding voice orders, he sounded like he was in a hurry by that tone. "Use the arrival coordinates, now!"
Saphira sat up as she watched ground bridge being opened and the autobots speeding through. Behind them was a blast of blue and white flame, she widened her eyes as they were cutting it close. As Ratchet closed the bridge, Optimus transformed and leaped forward, placing his hand on the ground and landing on his feet thanks to his cartwheel. As he relaxed, Saphira glanced between the commander and the bridge, what she saw was a glimpse of what to expect. The kids seemed to be rather impressed by it and were curious about what had happened. Mostly Miko was curious.
"Cutting it a bit close," Ratchet comments calmly. "How about Cliffjumper?"
The bots all glance down, sending a clear sign they were not able to rescue him. Saphira sensed the sadness in the room, she felt sorry for the autobots. Whatever happened, it seemed to really upset them all.
"What was that explosion?" Miko suddenly asked, pointing towards the ground bridge. Saphira groaned, that girl's lack of awareness was so annoying. "Was there a fight? Can I come with next time?"
The female bot growled at the girl and gestured at the other bots, clearly also annoyed by Miko's lack of awareness and empathy. Jack managed to steer Miko away from them to prevent her from asking more questions. Saphira seriously questioned why the bots brought that girl here in the first place.
"Arcee, what did you see?" Optimus asked, looking down at the female bot and Saphira was glad to finally know her name.
Arcee shakes her head and folded her arms, she was clearly disturbed by what she had seen. "Not Cliff. At least, not anymore." She wondered what Arcee meant by that, in fact, it sent shivers down Saphira's spine. "He was mutated, butchered like something from those con experiments during the war." Saphira widened her eyes when the bot suddenly seemed to feel faint as she collapsed, holding herself up with her arm on a metal piece of equipment. Bee whirled in concern as the bots were all surprised by her sudden collapse. "I'm fine, just dizzy."
The kids who were watching nearby seemed to be surprised by this. "Robots who get dizzy?" Miko questioned curiously.
"Robots with emotions," Raf added softly.
"Robots, who can die."
Saphira rolled her eyes at them. "The fact it took you three that long to figure it out, means you shouldn't have been here."
Jack turned and frowned at her. "Like you figured it out."
"Come on, Jack. Artificial intelligence will never be like these bots. They are sentient, it was pretty easy to tell the moment I met them." Saphira sighed and looked back at her textbook and kept writing.
"Sheesh, what is her problem?" Miko asked, looking at Jack with a frown. "I can't believe there are girls in the school who are jealous of her."
"Of her looks, not personality, Miko." Jack shakes his head and looks up at the bots. "Let's just focus on what is happening here."
Saphira and the kids watch as Ratchet scans Arcee's body for anything unusual. It seems he came across some kind of liquid on the back of her hand, Ratchet did not recognize the substance and Arcee told him that it was something Cliff was covered and leaking. It was concerning that the substance was able to somehow cause Arcee to become dizzy very quickly.
Ratchet scrapped off the substance, looking at it on the scalpel. "Go take a decontamination bath, now," He ordered gently as he gazed at the liquid.
Bumblebee helped Arcee to her feet and to the bath. Saphira was curious about what they used for the bath, but she wasn't about to ask. That felt a little too intrusive. She hoped that Arcee would be okay, and she hoped that substance couldn't affect humans as well. Nonetheless, she noticed Jack holding his cell phone out. She checked her phone and shrugged, it was after ten and she could go to sleep, but not quite yet.
"Optimus, I hate to bug, but no bars," Jack said gently, holding up his phone to show Optimus.
"A security precaution," Optimus explained, which seemed to shock the kids and make them worry a little. "The silo walls isolate all radio waves."
"Well, if I don't call my mom, like, now I'm pretty sure the cops will be out looking for me." Jack pressed some buttons on his phone while checking for a signal, even though he got none.
Optimus leaned in curiously. "Have you broken the law?"
Jack widened his eyes in surprise and shakes his head. "Oh, no, just curfew. It's after ten pm."
Raf glanced at his watch and widened his eyes in shock, realizing he too needed to get home. "I better get home too, or I'll be grounded for a year."
Optimus took their words into consideration. "Earth customs, I hadn't considered." Saphira smirked slightly, even though she was somewhat already jealous that the kids had parents to go back to. "But the issue of your safety remains." He turned to look at the other bots. "Bulkhead, accompany Miko home."
"Awesome!" Miko exclaimed excitedly with a big grin. "My host parents will freak!"
She has host parents?
Saphira almost wanted to cover her ears upon hearing that. She knew she shouldn't be jealous, but she missed her mother terribly. If it wasn't for the terrible illness that took her life, she may not be here. If she was, at least she would have a home to go back to. She barely heard Optimus reaffirming that Bulkhead is to remain in vehicle mode, which seemed to disappoint Miko of course.
"Bumblebee, you'll watch over Raf," Optimus instructs. Both bot and human seemed to happy with that, probably because Raf could understand Bee. He turned his head towards Ratchet and Arcee. "Ratchet."
"Busy," Ratchet said, raising his hand as he stared at the screen he was at.
"Arcee, you'll accompany Jack." Jack seemed to be uncomfortable by that idea, even though it was likely necessary under Prime's orders.
"Oh, still dizzy," Arcee sighed out loud, clearly trying to get out of the duty of protecting Jack.
"You're fine," Ratchet said calmly, still not looking from his work. "Says your physician."
Arcee groaned loudly and walked towards the group. Optimus looked around for Saphira and spotted her in the corner. "I will accompany you home." Saphira looked up at him in surprise. "Ratchet will takeover for me if I am not available."
Ratchet groaned loudly in response and Saphira shakes her head. "That won't be necessary, Optimus. I…I don't…" She glanced away from them and took a deep breath. "I have no where to return to."
"Yes you do. You told me you were having financial troubles at home, Saphira." Jack placed his hands on the railing with a frown. "You sitting there makes me think you don't want to be here anyway."
Saphira glared at him for a moment before softening her face. "I wasn't entirely honest with you, Jack. My financial issues have nothing to do with my…" She grimaced at thought of her father and stepmother. "Family…but…for me."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Jack grumbled out loud and walked down the stairs from the platform. "Surely you have a home."
"Not like yours, you have a nice, cosy house to return to. I don't." Saphira braced herself against the wall and stood up slowly, trying her hardest not to grimace at the pain of her body. "I used to have one. I did. My tattered clothes are not because I had no money…"
"You're homeless," Raf interrupts, which received surprised expressions from everyone, including the autobots. Saphira looked down when he said that. "I'm right, aren't I?"
Saphira nodded. "I've had to fend for myself for a long, long time. I am not used to…" She looked up at the autobots and looked back down again. "Family."
She rubbed her arms gently, swallowing nervously as the room was silent. "Arcee, Bulkhead, Bumblebee, take the children home." She glanced up at Optimus when he gave the order. "Saphira will remain here."
"Optimus…" Ratchet began, the commander raised his hand to silence him.
"I will not allow her to return to no shelter, Ratchet. If she is homeless, which it seems she is, we can provide her the shelter she needs." Optimus looked down at Saphira, smiling at her kindly. "You are welcome to stay here. We will…figure out how to house you properly."
"Thank you." Saphira smiled at him with a small smile. "I will still need to go to school."
"Understood."
"Let's go, Jack. I don't want to keep waiting." Arcee revved her engine impatiently, waiting for the teenager in her alt mode.
Jack ran over to Saphira with a kind expression. "I am sorry for saying bad things about you, Saphira." She shrugged, not really caring about it. "I'll make sure to bring you food. I doubt you have had proper food for a while."
She shrugged again. "I have water."
"That isn't enough. Though it will have to be things that does not need a fridge or microwave until we can get one here for you. And I will make sure you get a job, though if you need new clothes, let me know." Jack placed a hand on her shoulder, making her almost flinch away from his touch. "You are going to be okay."
"Thanks, Jack. You'd better get going." Saphira gestured over to Arcee with a smile. "Don't waste too much more time."
Jack nodded and turned away, running over to Arcee to get on the bike. He looked ahead when Arcee sped away to take him home. Saphira looked down at the floor, not knowing what to do now. She glanced up as Optimus walked over to the monitors and began typing.
"What are you doing, Optimus?" Ratchet asked curiously with a frown.
"Researching the living conditions humans need." Saphira was surprised, she figured since this was an abandoned silo, she could probably find somewhere. "This silo was practically empty when we arrived. We need to ensure she can live comfortably."
"Um…I can look around…there still might be some of facilities," Saphira said shyly, holding her hands together nervously as she spoke. "At least a bathroom."
Ratchet shrugged and huffed loudly. "Fine. At least you can do that. I hope you know what you are doing Optimus, allowing a human to live here full time was never our intention."
"It was not mine either, Ratchet, but we will not turn away someone who needs our assistance. She came into contact with Arcee by accident, and the decepticons could do terrible things to her." Optimus kept his focus on the monitor as he began his research. "Saphira, you are free to find what you deem as comfortable. Just understand we have done extensive renovations to the facility to accommodate our size."
Saphira gathered her bag and walked towards the tunnel. She was not surprised by Optimus's words. Obviously, the bots needed to renovate for them. Though, she did not know if they slept at all. It seemed to be implied that they sleep, though she would need to see it to confirm it. And as she walked through the facility, she realized just how big it was. The first room she found shocked her when she saw a massive bed inside. She did not realize at first it was a berth for the bots to recharge on. She quickly left the room as it felt like it wasn't meant for her at all. She kept looking until she found a large, empty room that appeared to be an old testing facility. It was still large for the autobots to step in, but she saw a small, kitchenette with a fridge and microwave. She walked over and found they were still working; they needed a good clean out though. And there was a bathroom, showers and a small room she could use as a bedroom. She smiled, all she really needed was a proper bed, hygiene products and food. Still, she walked over to the couch by the fridge, and sat down on it, yawning loudly and laying on her side. It was much more comfortable than the cardboard, and she quickly fell asleep, not knowing what the next day would bring.
