"Is this what you learned from Alpha Trion?! I highly doubt that he would condone such irresponsible behavior." Ratchet tried so hard not to strangle their new recruit. It proved to be quite difficult to hold back his urge to whack him upside the head with the wrench that was nearby.

"Blowing your cover is not okay."

Ratchet couldn't have agreed more with Arcee.

Smokescreen frowned, not really enjoying being scolded at. "Sorry, guys. I know I really messed up."

"While Ratchet and Arcee are correct," All optics were now on Optimus, "I believe we are all equally responsible for this incident."

"Us?"

"How?"

"You weren't even there."

Everyone added in disbelief.

Optimus further explained, which ultimately led them to acknowledge the fact that they had, indeed, neglected to teach Smokescreen on how to properly act accordingly since he first arrived on earth.

Ratchet wouldn't really admit this aloud, being all too prideful about himself, so he kept his thoughts to himself.

"Optimus, I'm honored to train under you and will do whatever it takes to make things right, to make you proud." Smokescreen said, with a servo on his chest.

"Perhaps the best way for you to learn about the human world - is from a human." Optimus suggested.

Arcee raises a questionable brow. "Smokescreen gets his own partner?"

"Puh-lease! Isn't having three humans here enough?" Ratchet blurts out.

The silence that followed afterwards was excruciating to endure, especially when all eyes were on him. He knew the harshness of his words that had evidently slipped right out of his tongue, and he scoffed—groaning a second later as he turned his back to them.

Afterwards, Smokescreen departed with Jack, his human instructor. Right as they left, Arcee turns to say something to Optimus but she didn't get the chance to say a single word when a familiar voice made itself known.

"What's with all the noise about?"

Their attention was drawn to the entrance that led down the many hallways of the base, and there stood Lucy, who was still in her new form.

Ratchet steps away from the consoles, passing by the others where he now stood in front of her. His hand resting on her shoulder. "Lucy, how are you feeling?"

She sends him a reassuring gaze, resting her hand on top of his. "Yeah… I'm alright, Ratchet."

"I'm pleased to see you're doing well, Lucy."

Her head perks up, looking over Ratchet's shoulder to see Optimus standing right behind him.

"I'm still getting used to this new form, it's a strangely new experience." She admitted, grabbing a strand of her flowing hair, inspecting it curiously and tracing it with her digits. "Not in a negative way, of course."

Optimus smiled down at her before walking away to listen to what Arcee had to say to him earlier.

Her eyes drifted away from Optimus to Arcee, and almost instantly she tightened her grip on Ratchet's hand. Frowning, she was still struck with guilt after what she had done to her. She wanted to apologize but she was too hesitant to approach her.

"Lucy,"

The sound of Ratchet's voice brought her back from her thoughts, meeting his concerned gaze. "I'm fine… just, a lot in my mind."

Ratchet didn't say anything as he guided her into the medical bay proceeding to do a routine check up on her. He glanced over to her while he held a data pad on his hand, she wore a downcast expression and was staring down to avoid any gazes, especially his. He knew exactly why she was acting this way and he couldn't just let it go unnoticed.

"Something seems to be bothering you."

She looks up to him giving her a side view of his entire frame. He stood right beside his workstation and watched as his digits moved in a smooth manner on the data pad. Her optics drifted back down to her legs.

"Is it that noticeable?" She murmured, and not a moment later she saw his pedes right in front of her but she didn't look up to meet his gaze.

"This is about Arcee, isn't it?" He was proven correct when she visibly stiffened and her head hung low. "You should spea—"

"—Speak to her." She finished, earning a surprised look from him, "I get it. Speak to her and everything will be better, but just seeing her or the mere thought of approaching her scares me." She exhaled deeply and was staring at the palm of her metal hands. "I'm afraid she'll look at me differently or worse..."

Ratchet didn't allow her to finish that thought as he reached down to hold both of her hands. She stared at him wide-eyed as he lowered himself to be on the same eye-level as her.

"You overthink, too much," He then squeezed her hands in reassurance. "And I understand your excessive worry. Though, I find it best if you discuss this with her, and apologize. Arcee can be stubborn but she's understanding, I don't see why she has any reason to hate you."

A smile formed on her lips. "Since when did you start to act like Optimus?" Her comment made him visibly stutter right in place which only made her smile wider. She then moves her hands and rests them on to his large palms.

"First, I would like to think over what I want to say. I'll wait for the right moment, just not right now." She assured him, earning a rare smile from him as he released her hands and stood up where she watched him walk towards the main monitors.

Lucy just sat there for a while deep in thought when her audio-receptors picked up a familiar engine coming from the tunnel. Being quick on her pedes, she flew off and hid herself just in time as Smokescreen arrived to a screeching halt. She peeks around the corner to see his door swing open where Jack steps out in a fit of laughter, with Smokescreen transforming right after and he was laughing as well.

What was so funny?

"I am posting this tonight!" Jack declared before laughing along with Smokescreen, who was down on his knees.

Their commotion didn't go unnoticed, however, grabbing Bumblebee, Ratchet, and Arcee's attention.

"Arcee, Arcee, check out Vince's car!" He held out his phone, eagerly up for Arcee to see.

"The bully."

Arcee steps forward and kneels to get a closer look at what he had to show her. There, in all its glory was Vince's car, the hood was drenched in take out, specifically hamburgers. Sauce was smeared on the windows, plastic wrappings, and empty soda cups were scattered across the hood and on the side of the driver's door.

She couldn't believe what she was seeing, a slight frown appearing for a split second before it was gone in an instant.

Jack retracts his phone, looking at the picture one more time. "Hey, Vince. Did you want fries with that?!" He and Smokescreen burst out laughing.

Arcee stood up, "Let me get this straight, so you taught Smokescreen everything he never needed to know about fast food?"

"He passed drivers ed. Work hard, play hard." Jack said as he walked away, making his way over to the "human area" as Ratchet called it.

"Yeah—uh, no humans were harmed in the making of these photos. Honest!" Smokescreen added while following right behind Jack.

Lucy remained hidden until she slowly flew past them while their backs were turned. Right as she neared the hallway is when she froze in her tracks by the sound of Smokescreens voice.

"Hey, good to see your awake, L—"

Moving at high speeds Lucy now stood before Smokescreen, their height was the same, however, when she was floating as she was now she was now towering over him. Her hand was now covering his mouth and with her other hand she had her index finger pressed against her lips, indicating him to remain silent while never breaking eye-contact. He quickly understood by nodding, to which she removed her hand.

"Right. Sorry about that."

Her optics glances over and is relieved to see Jack was occupied with his phone. As she attempted to leave, however, Smokescreen began to bombard her with all sorts of questions and praises regarding her abilities. Him bringing it up so unexpected was overwhelming and she couldn't even hear herself think. She whips around and was about to give him a piece of her mind—

PLAKIN!

Something falls next to her and looks down to see a sprinkler beside her pede. She didn't have time to even process why it was there when suddenly she was drenched from head to toe. A surprised yelped escaped her lips, feeling the strands of her abnormal hair sticking to various parts of her face. At least her hair retained it's physics in her new form, a relief that was short lived during her current predicament.

Without a second thought, she bends over and picks up the sprinkler and with a flick of her hand she screws it back from where it broke off. She could feel their stares prickling on her skin, including Jack, , she honestly didn't care if she was being stared at. So much for trying to hide herself in this form from him.

Smokescreen chuckles nervously at the situation. "I guess you aren't having a whale of a time right now." His attempt to lighten the mood failed miserably when she sent daggers at his way making him shrink from where he stood.

Without uttering a single word, she stomps out of the room and down the hallway where she had left behind a trail of water.

XXXX

Sputtering can be heard, where a green vortex appeared in the middle of the woods. The evening was approaching, with the sun already halfway down the horizon, its skies painted in orange and pink hues. Setting foot out of the vortex was Jack with Smokescreen appearing right after.

"I just pulled a Miko." He mumbled to himself, with his hand resting on his head in disappointment.

"Let's go grab a relic!"

Smokescreens takes off and hides behind a large rock, with Jack following his lead. They poked their head out on the side of the rock to get a better view, being wary as to not getting caught while doing so.

Jack blinks at the sight of what looked like a metal sword handle protruding out of the boulder. "Whoa, it's a sword!"

"Not just any sword. That looks like the Star Saber. A legendary weapon forged by Solus Prime! As lore would have it." Smokescreen stares off into the distance where the sword was. "It's rumored to wield the power of the matrix. I'm gonna make Optimus proud."

"Not a good idea." Jack argued.

"Why?"

"Because Megatron's here."

Off to the side stood none other than the overlord himself, giving orders to his troopers. It's hard to miss out since he literally stands out from the rest of the decepticons.

"The dark lord himself," Smokescreen uttered, with a smirk gracing his lips and then smacked his fist into his palm. "He won't know what hit him!"

Just as he was about to come out of his hiding spot when Jack ultimately stopped him in his tracks.

"Smokescreen wait!" Jack desperately gestured with his hands for Smokescreen to stay. "Something isn't right. Why doesn't Megatron just take the Star Saber?" He shared his concerns while looking back and forth at Smokescreen and the decepticons below.

"Germaphobe?" Smokescreen concluded.

"Seriously we need to wait for back up." The urgency in Jack's voice was evident, however, Smokescreen refused to wait and do nothing.

"You heard Ratchet. Backup is not available right now." With that, Smokescreen was gone leaving Jack behind.

The events unfolded with Smokescreen recklessly charging in to retrieve the Star Saber. Only for him to fail in pulling out the sword and getting captured by the decepticons. Jack immediately dialed on his phone.

"Ratchet, you gotta get Optimus here now! Smokescreen went for the relic, it's called the Star Sab—"

A growl was heard just behind him and he turned to see not one but two Insecticons towering over him. He seriously couldn't believe his luck, as he proceeded to sprint as fast as his legs could carry him. Attempting to avoid getting squished by the Insecticons chasing him that he didn't see what he had ultimately tripped on, where his phone flew right out of his grasp.

"Where in the name of Cybertron are you?!" Ratchet's voice yelled at the end of the line as Jack scrambled to his feet and grabbed the phone in a rush. "And did you say Star Sab? Oh my—Jack!"

Poor Jack couldn't even answer him, at all, his attention was focused on the Insecticons chasing after him. He was panting, hard, but he couldn't stop running unless he wanted to be crushed underfoot which he narrowly avoided an attack if he hadn't dodged in time.

There was a gap in between two boulders as he headed straight towards it. With enough momentum he skidded, successfully getting into the cramped space. It was enough to keep himself protected from the Insecticons, but for how long?

He could hear multiple shots off into the distance but he wasn't sure where it was coming from. That same moment, he watched in horror as the Insecticons pried open his hiding place. He wasn't safe anymore and was now exposed to the chilly night air along with the two Insecticons. The one Insecticon standing closer to him had reached out to grab him when all of a sudden, it was yanked back by an unknown force.

Jack raised his arms to cover himself from any debris, hearing loud and clear metal being ripped apart along with the Insecticons cries of pain before everything went silent.

"Thanks for the save, Arc—" However, he stopped himself when he realized that it wasn't Arcee who had saved him, in fact, it was the female autobot from earlier.

Her flowing energon hair was shifting all on its own, like a never ending stream of water. The soft glow the hair emanated in the dark was mesmerizing.

She looks down to meet his gaze, with a disappointed expression. "I thought you knew better than to wander off into the field. I swear, Miko's influence is rubbing off on you."

That voice...it sounded familiar. That's when the realization clicks almost instantly.

"L-Lucy?"

Her expression softens, a smile gracing her lips. "Hey, Jack." She kneels down where he begins to sputter.

"But...but…how?"

"I'm sorry. I wish I could've told you sooner." She knitted her brows together. "Just...not like this. I promise I'll explain everything when this is all over, alright?"

She lifts him up from the ground with both hands and flies over to where the others were. There, she placed him down, and watched with the rest of the team.

Optimus was on hot pursuit in retrieving the relic from the boulder, which was being carried away by the Warship. He successfully grabs a hold of the handle, where it emits a flowing glow and he pulls it free from the rock.

The ground shook when he landed, pulling out the sword from the ground and was staring at it intently. Behind him was the boulder, rapidly approaching him, Megatron's doing in hopes of crushing Optimus with it. All of them yelled for him to move, yet Lucy flies up front, with her arms raised in a fighting stance ready to protect the others from the incoming boulder. It wasn't needed, however. As Optimus turns around and slices the boulder in half, much to their utter shock. Then he follows up by taking a swing, unleashing a wave of energy at the Warship, destroying part of its engine array and nearly causing it to crash.

Sputtering of the ground bridge can be heard just behind them as she watched the others walk ahead. She was lost in thought before a hand rested on her shoulder and looked over to see Optimus staring down at her.

The last time she saw him was when she went berserk, she felt awful and still does. But it couldn't be helped, what's done is done. She isn't gonna let it haunt her, not this time.

She offered him a reassuring smile, seeing his gaze relax before walking ahead with her following right behind him.

On the other side, Smokescreen was marveling the fact in the way Optimus handled the sword with the utmost glee. However, Arcee was not having any of it, scolding him for endangering the life of a human by bringing Jack with him. Ultimately, telling Ratchet to send Jack home.

Jack sighs in defeat and was ready to walk through but stops and turns around where his gaze lands on Lucy

"I'll call you later and explain everything." Lucy sent him a sympathetic smile and watched him glance over to Smokescreen, who had said something to him before walking through.

The moment Jack left the room is when Arcee turned to confront Smokescreens for his actions.

"We've been in need of another autobot in our ranks. Not another child!" Arcee admitted, bluntly.

"Look, Arcee… I was wrong, and I'm sorry, again, and if you need to kick me off of Team Prime—"

However, his apology wasn't going to change the fact that he was endangering a human's life and Optimus makes it plain to the new recruit.

"Disregard for human safety, or anyone's safety will not be tolerated. Do you understand?" The anger in his tone sent shivers down her spine and she wasn't the only one that felt this way.

"Fully, sir."

"We must never lose sight of the fact that upon this earth. We are titans, and such power must be used wisely." Optimus reminded them, when suddenly the sword began to glow on its own. He turns it over, holding it with both hands, staring at it in a trance-like state.

Ratchet steps forward, "Optimus, speak to me." There was no response. "Optimus?"

"I am receiving a message."

Everyone else gathers around, except for Lucy who stood back and watched.

"From whom?" Ratchet asks.

"Alpha Trion."