Hello everyone! Are you ready to meet this mysterious team of Alestia's?


(A-POV)

I dug around in my bag for the key to my apartment. There was now only a locked door between me and my bed. I was so close to sleeping. If I could just find my damn keys.

Ah, there.

As I slid the correct key into the lock and twisted it, my phone began buzzing. He just had to always have the perfect timing, didn't he? I answered on the second ring.

"Yes, I'm alive, Alex."

"Do you know how long I've been trying to reach you?" Alex's voice boomed from the phone's speaker, causing me to wince. I briefly used my shoulder to hold the phone in place as I opened the front door and removed the key from the lock, tossing them and my bag on the small round table in the corner of the room.

"Stop shouting. You're hurting my eardrum."

"Six days, Alestia. Six days. That's a long time to go MIA."

"I wasn't MIA, drama queen," I responded as I pulled out one of the chairs surrounding the table, grunting softly at the tension that blossomed in my side when I sat.

He dutifully ignored me, pretending as if I hadn't spoken at all. "And after all that time, you send us a measly text only just earlier today? I was seconds away from dispatching the whole team!"

"The whole-" I stopped short and rested my elbow on the table, using my opposite hand to rub my burning eyes.

I needed sleep, not everyone at my doorstep.

"Alex, it's fine. I'm fine. Everything is fine."

"Bullshit."

"Listen, there was an unexpected-"

"An unexpected incursion. Yeah, I know."

I was too tired for this. I silently pleaded for Alex to realize how exhausted I truly was. There was a reason I had practically disappeared for six days, why couldn't he see that? My side had steadily throbbed since I stepped foot off the temporary base, and Ratchet's reminder flitted through my mind.

Painkillers. Yes, those sounded nice right about now.

As I hunted for some Advil, I could do nothing but listen to Alex continue. His words slowly blended together until a specific sentence snapped me back to the conversation.

"Do you remember what happened the last time we had an 'unexpected incursion', Barone?" His voice was hard, judgemental. Almost... disappointed. White-hot anger speared through me.

"Don't you dare use the loss of my own family to ridicule me, Othonos." I snapped, letting that anger seep into my tone. "I made a mistake, and I'm sorry. Now can we please move on?"

Alex was silent save for his labored breathing. I took the opportunity to swallow the pills, using a stale cup of water to help get them down.

"You were hurt? In this..." He hesitated, "whatever you were doing?"

"Yes."

"What happened?"

I turned around to lean against the counter, now facing the rest of the room which was adorned with a worn couch and matching chair, coffee table, television, and a wooden shelf covered in books, plants, and knickknacks. A family picture, an engraved bottle opener, a matchbox car; all of them painful reminders of what I no longer had, yet I treasured them all the same.

I lightly touched my injury. Unlike the knickknacks I had resting on my shelf, this was the only physical reminder I had of the friends I'd said goodbye to today. I hope it scars, I thought. At least I'll have something other than memories to remember them by.

"Received a wound to my left side."

"Left side of what? Your arm, your leg, your head? You know being vague doesn't work with me."

I grunted in annoyance. "How could I ever forget? You constantly remind me."

"Damn straight I do. Now answer the question."

Alex was in no mood for elusions. That made two of us.

"Left side of my stomach."

"Upper or lower?"

"Lower." I heard him suck in another breath as if preparing to release yet another snarky comment, so I swiftly persisted. "And before you say anything else, I'm stitched up and on my way to being good as new."

"You really expect me to believe that?"

"You know how my body is," I muttered.

"How could I forget, dear Alestia." Alex echoed my earlier statement, his previously flat tone melting into something more lilting, more suggestive. I was drained, yes, but grateful for the humor. So I only rolled my eyes in response, the corner of my mouth lifting slightly.

"You know the terms. One and done, Othonos."

"We were sixteen!"

"We were even younger when we agreed on said terms. We're adults now, and we work together."

"That never stopped anyone before."

I huffed a laugh and murmured. "You're the crudest person I've ever met."

"You wouldn't have it any other way." Alex shot back teasingly.

I wasn't going to win this round. Alex was clever, and sometimes aggravating, like that.

I pushed off the counter. "You should be pleased to know I'm finally back in my own home. Now, if you don't mind," I ushered, beginning to pull the phone away from my ear. "I've had a very long past few days."

"You're right. Rest up, and do me a favor. Text when you wake up so I know you haven't died in your sleep, yeah? I'm not keen on the idea of finding your body when we come and visit."

My smile faltered, and my hand stopped moving. I hurriedly pressed the phone back to my ear. "What do you mean?"

A beat of silence. "Remember when I said I was ready to dispatch the whole team?"

"Alex," I warned.

"Well, I was so ready, that I actually did it. So, we'll be knocking on your front door in a few days."

I groaned, exasperated. "Of course you did."

"Now that we've gotten that out of the way, pop some painkillers and go to sleep."

"I was planning on it."

"Alestia?"

"What, Alex?"

"I'm glad you're okay."

I exhaled softly. "I know. See you soon."

-0-0-0-

I did as I was told to do. I rested, slept like the dead, and ate anything that I had in my kitchen with vigor. As the days passed, I tried not to think about the Autobots or school. In terms of the latter, I'd claimed a family emergency pulled me out of the state, and I wasn't sure when I'd be back. Luckily, my teachers believed me.

I'd worry about the work I had to make up later, when my mind wasn't racing at twenty miles a minute, and preferably when I could consistently move my upper half without flinching.

Five knocks sounded throughout the apartment, and I raced to the door. When I opened it, I was met with four grinning faces.

"Told you we'd see you in a few days." Alex piped up from behind the twins.

"I never doubted you." I laughed and invited them in, Alex pecking me on the cheek as he waltzed by.

Lavenia and Lucas, the twins, were each carrying a box of pizza. "We brought food!" The blonde squealed.

"It's 11 am, Nia. Isn't it a bit early for pizza?"

She looked at me seriously as she set both hers and her brother's boxes on the table. "I'm offended you said that. Besides, I'm willing to bet you have no food in this place." Nia opened the fridge. "See? What did I tell you," she said as she motioned to the near-empty shelves.

"I was going to make a shopping trip after you visited," I grumbled.

"Hence the food." Lucas piped up. He had already jumped on the couch with Alex, who had turned on the tv. "Hey, do you know if there are any sports on?"

"You have the remote, dumbass, why don't you check?" Alex snipped. A yelp sounded seconds after when Lucas had cuffed him upside the head.

Gabriel, who had been silently standing beside me, met my eyes. I smiled when he offered the liter bottle of soda he'd been holding and prepped five glasses for each of us.

"If you couldn't tell, we missed you." Gabriel lifted his chin towards Alex, Lucas, and Nia, who had joined them. From her place on the chair, I watched her roll her eyes at something one of the boys said.

"Golf, really?" She waved her hand at the screen. "It's practically not even a sport!"

Lucas bolted upright, seemingly offended by her words. "It's extremely competitive and takes a lot of mental capacity. Don't even get me started on the focus you need-"

Nia cut him off with a snort. "Since when have you ever been interested in it?"

"Since there's nothing else on." They began to bicker back and forth, and I turned my attention back to Gabriel, murmuring, "I missed you, too."

"How have the past few months been?" I asked nonchalantly as I began to plate the food.

"You can ask the question, you know. There's no need for small talk."

I glanced sideways. "Answer the question, Costa. Your wellbeing comes first."

He sighed, running a hand through his dark curls. "Good. Busy, but good."

"Good," I echoed.

"There's no sign of him."

I paused. "You're sure?"

"I said there's no trace of him. But the syndicate has been... antsy lately. We've tried to keep a low profile while we research, but it's been hard. We can't do as much when we're spread out as we've been."

I figured that would be a challenge. Since we were young, the five of us had always been in the same place, as much for my protection as theirs. The main concern was my safety, yes, but when it came down to Salem and his organization, all of our lives were put at risk. It was something their guardians knew and agreed to when my parents asked for help.

Under the protection my parents provided due to their previous government positions, it was easy for my team's guardians to be convinced. They would be professionally trained, cared for, and safeguarded until we were all of age.

It was a dangerous road, wondering what would have happened if our lives had followed that plan. It was one I never allowed myself to dwell on too long. Nothing good ever came from it, anyway.

Now, we were on our own, protected only by our own decisions and connections.

"What do we do about it?"

Gabriel shrugged. "Wait. There's nothing we can do without exposing our positions. We stay low, and we stay quiet."

I nodded slowly, turning around to announce that the food was ready, but was halted by Gabriel's soft voice. "Just what kind of 'incursion' did you get yourself involved in?"

"I'm afraid I can't share details."

"Alestia."

I looked at him. His jaw was clenched, hands curled into fists at his sides. I sighed. "Legally, I can't tell you. It was necessary. That's all."

"You know how I feel about you jumping into missions without telling us."

I felt my shoulders tense. "A bit of trust would be nice."

Gabriel opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by a feminine voice originating from behind me. "He does trust you, 'Lest. We all do. That's just his way of saying he worries."

I swiveled to face Nia, who was now standing with her arms crossed. "I thought you didn't freelance missions."

"This wasn't freelance."

"Then what was it?"

I briefly closed my eyes. My team was adamant about finding answers. I had no choice but to answer to the best of my ability. Nia especially could sniff lies from a mile away; she was my very own lie detector. I found that I didn't like being on the opposite end of her questions.

"I was called on by the government." It was true enough. "And you know how they feel about not responding. Besides, doing the government a favor now and then never hurt anybody."

"If you stay alive," Lucas added.

"Well, here I am, alive and whole."

"Barely," Alex said from his position on the couch. "You needed stitches, remember?"

"Guys, come on. It's just a small bit of medical attention, that's all!"

"Oh, so no comments about your white blood cell count, then?" Nia raised an eyebrow. She took my silence as an answer. "You're lucky it was hidden by your injury. Salem may be dead, Alestia. But there will be more." Nia said gravely. I glanced at the remaining three, all of whom looked away.

This was going nowhere, as I figured it would.

"Alright, fine." I raised my hands in defeat. "No more missions for a while."

"Good. Now," Nia clapped her hands together, "I'm starving."

From the couch, the boys rushed over to the plated food, scrambling over each other like children. I smiled in amusement, content to simply watch them talk.

It's a funny thing, the concept of found family. How you could consciously decide to be in each others' lives, no matter what. To see each other through everything. How my family could be dead but I could still have them sitting at my dinner table.

These four were all I had left.

Salem had only wanted me, thinking my team expendable if it meant he got what he wanted. How wrong he'd been.

To have them here today was special in itself. In the months leading up to school, I'd stationed them in neighboring states, far away enough to keep them safe, but close enough to meet in case of an emergency. Not only did separating us serve to protect me, it doubled as their own individual protection.

My family had already died, their's had not. I intended to keep it that way. They mattered too much to so many people, their parents and grandparents and siblings who had said goodbye, all in answer to my parents' desperate pleas for aid.

If one of us was exposed in some way, separation would ensure none of the others would be taken down as well. If that day ever came, I only hoped that I was the one found first and that they all had enough sense to leave it be.

They were here because of my parents, who were dust in the wind because of me.

I was the final puzzle piece that made you pick up your finished work in excitement, only for it to all fall apart right after, pieces scattering under furniture, unable to be found again.

Of course, they'd disagree.

I could imagine Alex's response in my mind: All of it for nothing if you're gone.

A crisp voice startled me from my thoughts. I blinked a few times to find Lucas standing before me, an arm outstretched holding a filled plate. "Eat," He said. "You need your strength."

I silently accepted it, moving to join my family at the table.

And for the first time since saying goodbye to the Autobots, I laughed alongside them.


Hope you enjoyed, dear readers! This chapter served as a foundational introduction to Alestia's team and their personalities. You'll be learning more about them in later chapters, but I hope this covered basic information about how the team came to be.