Chapter 6: Mall Shopping

At the base Jack, Raf, and Miko were planning on going to the mall and just hang out and buy stuff. As soon as they were about to hop inside of Smokescreen, since he insisted on driving them, Miko went to her room where Arcee was reading a cook book.

"Hey Mom, I'm going to the mall with Jack and Raf," she said.

Arcee smiled at her daughter. "Okay, sweetie, just let me get you some money. I think sixty dollars should do," she said.

Arcee went to her side of the room and open up a small safe, pulling out some money and counting it before giving it to Miko, who was curious as she knew Cybertronians usually didn't carry human currency.

"Hey Mom, since when did you have money?" She asked curiously.

"Well, pumpkin, Agent Fowler told me that the government is going to provide me with money, so I can provide you with anything you need," Arcee said with a smile as she gently nudged her daughter towards Smokescreen. "Now go on and have fun. And be safe."

"Okay Mom, bye!" Miko said as she ran out the room and joined the others.

Smokescreen chose the best route with the least amount of traffic to get them to the mall. "Have fun, guys, and stick together," he said, a note of caution in his voice.

"We will, Smokescreen, thanks," Jack said.

Later on inside the mall, Miko, Jack, and Raf were at the game store, putting their money together to buy the new Halo game before they went to the food court to eat. "So Miko are ready for that History test?" Raf asked as he ate his sandwich.

"I'm so ready to ace that test. It's going to be so easy thanks to you, buddy," Miko said while eating her nachos. Raf had been helping her with studying and her grades were improving in school, something that pleased Arcee and made Miko begin to like school a little bit more, especially since Raf had been helping her when she struggled a bit.

"History class is so easy. But besides from that, I can't wait to play some Halo," Jack said while eating his noodles. "And I can't wait for Thanksgiving break."

Miko perked up. "Maybe our families can get together for Thanksgiving," she said. "We could make it like...what do you call it when people bring food to a party or celebration?"

"A potluck?" Raf supplied gently.

"Yeah, that," Miko said, smiling.

Jack smiled. "That's a great idea," he said. "I've been saving some money on the side to help Mom buy a turkey and stuffing."

"I could ask Mom to make her special cranberry sauce and rolls," Raf said. "She makes the best."

"Maybe I can ask Mom to teach me how to make mashed potatoes and gravy," Miko said. "Oh! And a pie too. Which one is it again?"

"Usually pumpkin, but it can be any kind really," Jack said with a smile.

Meanwhile in the parking lot, Smokescreen, who was in his race car mode, was listening to music on the radio, singing along with the song "Bad" by Michael Jackson. He was enjoying himself until he looked up at his view mirror, and saw four Cons in car mode. "Scrap. The Cons are here," he said to himself as he turned off the radio, quickly sending a text message to the kids.

Jack felt his phone vibrate and he answered it to find a text message. Miko and Raf also checked their phones as they had also received a text message. All three looked curious at the message from Smokescreen.

Guys, we need to head back. Pronto.

"Wonder what's up," Raf said.

"Let's go find out," Jack said as they grabbed their purchases and headed for the door. As soon as they got into Smokescreen, he hit the gas and took off.

"Hey, Screen, what's the rush?" Miko asked.

"Let me guess, the Cons are on our tails," Jack said, having a feeling they were being chased as he looked out the back window.

"Correct, amigo. I going to call for backup," Smokescreen said. "Buckle up and hold on tight."

Back at the base, Arcee was at the main part of the base with Ratchet until Smokescreen's comm link came up on the screen. "What is it Smokescreen?" Ratchet asked.

"I got four Cons on my back. I need back up. The kids are with me and they're safe," Smokescreen said.

"Ratchet, send me to where Smokescreen is," Arcee said immediately, getting her game face on.

Nodding, Ratchet activated and opened the ground bridge while Arcee transformed and took off the moment the bridge opened.

Back on the dirt road, Smokescreen found a place far away from civilians and nodded to himself, stopping. "Okay, kids, hop out and find a place to hide," he said.

Quickly getting out, the three ran and found some rocks to hide behind, ducking down but peeking out to watch their friend take on the 'Cons.

"Alright Cons, let do this," Smokescreen said as he got ready to fight. The ground bridge suddenly appeared and out came Arcee, transforming back into her bot form and drop kicking one of the Cons in the process.

"Alright Mom!" Miko said happily, eager to see her mom fight.

It only took a few moments for Smokescreen and Arcee to scrap the Cons, which was easy for once, and they headed back to the base with the kids to relax. When Arcee came out from the storage room drinking some oil in a can, she saw the kids playing the game they brought together.

"Hey Mom, thanks for giving me some money. And helping Smokescreen fight the Cons off," Miko said. "You guys totally kicked their butts!"

Arcee smiled. "It's no problem, honey. Did you kids had fun at the mall?" She asked.

"Yeah, we did. It was great and we bought this new Halo game," Raf said, grinning as he continued playing.

"Well, you kids have fun, I'm going to my room and sleep," the blue femme said.

When Miko heard that, she got off the couch and headed to her room so she can give her mom a gift that she brought. She returned moments later. "Hey Mom, I brought you something from mall. Here," she said as she pull out a Universe's Best Mom mug.

Arcee smiled again. "Oh pumpkin, I love it. Thank you so much. I'm going to use it everyday," she said, putting the mug in the cabinent. "You know, if we were on Cybertron, this gift would make most moms jealous," she said, bending down and kissing her daughter in the cheek.

"I knew you would love it, Mom! I'm going to let you sleep and I hope you have sweet dreams. Bye," Miko said as she ran back to her friends to keep playing with them.

"Bye, my little sparkling," Arcee said with a smile before heading for her room. "Universe's best mom," she said to herself. "I love it because it's true. Thank you All Spark for letting me have her as my sparkling. I going to spoil her rotten first thing in the morning by making her breakfast and then taking her to that rock band concert when I see her report card. What band did she like? Oh yes, KISS."

Smiling, Arcee drank the last bit of oil, smiling again as she remembered one of the songs that she liked from them the band KISS. She then went to bed, looking forward to spoiling her sparkling in the morning.

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GoldGuardian2418