5:30 hit and I slung my bag over my shoulder, making sure my jacket was zipped up. Jessica held out a helmet and I gratefully took it, holding it under my arm for the moment. Arcee was propped on her kickstand next to me, and I could practically feel her excited energy. Other than taking Jessica to school and back, there weren't many other times she could drive off base. Now she was going to be driving a few states over in a single evening.

"Gotta hit the blacktop while it's dark. Don't want to scare your little law enforcers after all." She had joked. Not that they could have caught her with their greatest efforts. She could easily pass 200 mph from what she had told me. Thankfully though, she was only willing to use that speed when she wasn't packing an amateur like me on her back.

I looked up at Renegade, who was standing with us at the gate of the base. Galloway was in a meeting, and we figured it was the best time for me to dip out.

"Thanks for the save back on the mountain, by the way. I would have definitely died back there." He dipped his head.

"And thank you for giving me the chance I needed to join the Autobots."

"Least I could do." I said as I rocked up onto my toes for a second. "I uh… I guess see you when I see you?" He nodded and I shook myself out of the silence before it got any more awkward. I turned and shook Jessica's outstretched hand. "Good to meet you Jessica."

"You too. You keep out of the Deceptifreaks' grubby claws, got it?" I could only shake my head with a smile.

"With that Soundwave guy no longer watching my every move, I doubt they'll be taking much of an interest in me."

"One can only hope." I turned as Optimus walked over, his calm, regal steps still shaking the earth.

"Hey Optimus. Thanks for giving Renegade a chance." He dipped his head and I mentally sighed.

'Everyone is way too formal here…'

"Of course, Neal." I nodded back to him and swung my leg over Arcee's Alt form.

"Ready Arcee?"

"Road trip? Born ready." I could hear the smile.

"Oh, Neal." Jessica stepped back up. I turned to her.

"Yeah?"

"That helmet has a commlink built in so you can talk to Arcee while riding." She quickly explained the controls on the side of it and I nodded before slipping it on and popping up the visor.

"Sweet, thanks Jessica." I faced the small group of people had met in the past few days. Some of them had become friends, though I think associates was a more appropriate term for the relationship between Optimus and myself. "Alright Arcee, let's get going."

"Finally." She quipped as she revved her engine. I pulled my legs up onto the foot pedals, allowing her to balance herself out. I was a little shaky as she got rolling, but we soon found our balance together and she started picking up speed. I sat up and looked over my shoulder, raising my arm and waving at my friends as we headed out.

They soon left my line of sight and I slowly turned to face forward again. Arcee was quiet for a while before speaking up, her voice crackling through the helmet's com.

"Is everything alright, Neal?" I sucked in a slow breath before pushing through my teeth.

"…I think it will be." I said after a moment of gathering my thoughts. "I just hope Renegade will be okay."

"He will be just fine. He is a strong, experienced warrior who has outlived all of our kind."

"That's what I'm worried about." The mirror on the right side angled itself to reflect my helmet visor back at me.

"Care to elaborate?"

"According to a conversation I heard between Optimus Prime and Ratchet, he's not only the only one of his kind, but they have no records of these 'Mythicons' or whatever he is." She was silent for a minute.

"Really? Nothing, at all?"

"Apparently not even kids stories, uh, sparkling stories, as you call them."

"I am familiar with human terminology. After all, I am Jessica's guardian." I flushed in embarrassment.

"Right. Sorry."

"Accepted," She said, brushing off my embarrassment herself. "Our kinds understand next to nothing about each other, it only makes sense that you don't know what we understand." I nodded.

"Yeah, that's true. Wait, can you guys connect to our internet?"

"Yes?" She dragged the word out just a little longer than normal.

"So you know way more than I first thought."

"It depends on the bot, really. Now, you ready for some real speed?" She asked as she turned onto an on ramp and revved her engines. I hunkered down in the seat before nodding. We quickly picked up speed and were flying down the freeway. I felt myself slowly relaxing against her roaring frame. It was going to be a long ride, even with her speed.

««{{¤}}»»

"Sorry Arcee. Let's go." I said after slipping back on the helmet.

"It's fine Neal," She replied as I hopped back onto her seat, "I'm not expected back until early tomorrow." She pulled out of the shop parking lot, having stopped to allow me to eat.

"Still, I'd rather not hold us up longer than necessary."

"Oh?" There was a teasing tone in her voice, "Trying to get rid of me, are you?"

"Are you going to kidnap me like Renegade did?" I quipped back. She slowed to a roll, pulling into a back alley, drawing a confused look on my face. Her whole frame shifted and I yelped as I slid off her seat. Her hand wrapped around my waist, saving me from hitting the ground. She brought me up close to her face, a small smirk on her metallic lips.

"Not like anyone could stop me." Something about her tone, combined with her talon like fingers, made thoughts of Megatron come up. I froze for a second before I turned away and pushed against her fingers.

"Stop."

"What? Realizing you're powerless against even a smaller Bot like me?"

"Arcee, please." She paused, unsure why I had lost my jovialness.

"Neal?" I had gone quiet, and while she couldn't see my face due to my helmet, she could see my shoulders had hunched up in a protective manner. Her scans, while not as detailed as Ratchet's, showed an increase heart rate. "Neal, what's wrong?"

"Can we, can we just go? Please?" I mumbled, though she heard my voice shaking through the comms. She set me down gently, all playfulness gone. She transformed and tilted her front wheel towards me. I got on and she wordlessly rolled off, quickly getting back on the freeway and up to speed.

I mentally berated myself for not keeping a tighter wrap on my fear. We were silent for close to 5 minutes before I felt myself calm down. She must have felt it too because my comms quietly crackled to life.

"I apologize if I overstepped my boundaries…"

"…It was…" I tried to think of what to say, "You reminded me of something. You couldn't have known."

"Even so, I am supposed to protect you on this trip, and I put you in distress." I nodded, acknowledging her before sinking back into my own thoughts.

'Stupid dreams. I better be done with them once I get away from all of this. I can't even get a good night's sleep. At this rate, I'll be a walking zombie.'

««{{Hours Later}}»»

After Arcee had apologized we had let her engine and the rushing wind fill the silence. Even though I had drilled it into her that it wasn't her fault, she kept quiet, not wanting to upset me anymore. I was a little saddened, as she was good company, but the silence did help me to sort through my thoughts.

We pulled off the freeway as the sun began to set and soon, we rolled into my town.

"Wow. We got here sooner than I thought. How far above the speed limit were we going?"

"Far enough." She said cockily. I snorted and rolled my eyes at that. I confirmed my address and she pulled into my driveway. I stepped off and set the helmet in her carrying case attached to the back of the seat. "Stay here until it's clear, we don't need you scaring someone who drives by."

"No problem. I'll still be back before daybreak." I internally sighed and stepped over to my front door, knocking on it. After a minute I knocked again. The door swung open and my mom peaked out.

"Hey mom."

"Neal!"

"Oof!" I took a step back as she just about tackled me.

"Oh I was so worried! Your father nearly called in the search and rescue party, and then I got your calls!" She pulled back and shook my shoulders a little. "Don't you ever scare us like that again!" I allowed my head to loll around as she shook me before straightening up.

"Yeah, sorry." We stepped inside and shut the door. But not before I shot a grateful look at Arcee, who turned her front wheel just enough for me to see. Thankfully my mom was a little too distracted to even notice her. "I would have called earlier but I lost my phone while snowboarding."

"They didn't have one at the lodge?" I grimaced internally. Lying through my teeth, I explained.

"It died due to the snow. You would think they would have been prepared for something like that, but." I shrugged in a 'what are you gonna do' gesture. "I'm just glad I got back in one piece."

"I am too. Oh, I need to call your father, let him know you're home!" I nodded and she stepped into the other room. I sighed as I looked over the living room. Leather furniture faced a flat screen TV. I sat down and rubbed my face with my hands. The stress, the fear, everything that had been weighing on me the last few days nearly bubbled over. I shook my head and gently slapped my own cheek a few times.

'Get it together Neal! You can cry when you're alone! You don't need to make her worry any more than she already has been.' I sniffed once before taking a steadying breath, forcing myself to push away those thoughts. I pulled back my sleeve and opened the messaging app on the device strapped to my arm.

[Neal:Just letting you know Arcee dropped me off at my house_]

[Rgade:I am glad_] I swear, if he was anyone else there would have been a frowning emoji tacked to the end of that sentence. I could practically feel his sadness. I didn't blame him of course, I was his first friend in who knows how long.

[Neal:Don't sound so down Renegade, I'm sure you could sneak off of base occasionally so we could hang out in the future!_]

[Rgade:Hang out what? That sounds painful_] I snorted before responding.

[Neal:Renegade, it's a phrase_] There was a longer pause than normal.

[Rgade:Ah, I see. Yes, maybe I will leave base in the future_]

[Neal:…You had to have Optimus show you what it meant, didn't you?_]

[Rgade:Don't act like a sparkling_]

[Neal:HAH! Called it!_]

[Rgade:And you are only proving my point_]

[Neal:XP I'll text you later. My mom's coming back into the room_]

[Rgade:You are a confusing little human_] I nearly shot a response back about the 'little' comment, but quickly pulled my sleeve down, not wanting my mom to see the piece of tech strapped to my arm. She would have questions, for good reason, and I didn't know how to answer them yet.

"Your father is relieved you're safe. We both are."

"Oh believe me, I am too." I pretended to stifle a yawn. Which ended up turning into a real one. "Why don't you go get some rest? I'm sure the past few days have been very stressful." I nodded, stood up, and shared a quick hug with her before heading into my bedroom. As soon as the door shut, I fell onto my bed and let out a pain filled whisper.

"You have no idea, mom…"