"Freedom is the right of all sentient beings." Optimus Prime

Pacific Wastes:

A vast desert was laid bare for as far as the eye could see. There was nothing to be found but sand, rock, and the occasional reminder of a long-dead civilization. Blazing a trail through this waste was an armored vehicle clad in green and yellow. This car drove on and on never ceasing in its objective, whatever that may be. If any were around to witness the vehicle, they would notice something rather strange about it; there was no driver.

Plantation 13 "Cerasus"- Birdcage:

Resting amongst a forest of green was a sullen young boy with dark hair named Hiro. The chirping of the birds and fluttering of the insect wings were not enough to stir him from his sleep. What was though, was the vibrating phone in his pocket. His sapphire eyes gazed upon a message from a friend of his who was wondering where he was. Hiro chose not to answer, and instead investigated a noise he heard a small distance away. He made his way over to the exterior wall of the birdcage area of his home plantation. This lush area was encased in a large glass dome that sat atop an even larger metal dome. Through the glass, he was able to see both the vast desert that was the outside world and a large bloodstain. A quick scan of his surroundings yielded a grounded bird. The poor creature was chirping in pain while covered in its own blood. Hiro took a moment to take in the horrible image and felt a weird sort of kinship with the injured animal. He felt as though they were both cut down in their prime, a bird who never got to fly. Once his moment of introspection ended, he reached down to help the poor creature only to have it stumble away.

Chasing after the wounded animal, Hiro soon found himself at the edge of a small lake that he'd never seen before. The strange discoveries didn't stop there, he soon found a pile of clothes resting on a nearby tree. It appeared to be some sort of military uniform that was a dull red in color, and it looked similar to the uniform the boy was currently wearing. Hiro wondered just who was walking around in the nude until a splashing sound turned his attention towards the lake, and swimming in the water was a humanoid figure. Upon closer inspection, the figure appeared to be female, and naked. For a brief instant, Hiro had averted his eyes, but when he looked back the figure was gone. It didn't take much time for him to jump to the conclusion that she must be drowning, and it took even less time for the girl to jump out of the water right in front of his face. Now that he was getting a good look at her, he could see that she was a teenage girl with flowing pink hair and deep green eyes accented with red eyeliner. However, the most unusual feature was a pair of bright red horns poking out of her forehead. She was also holding a fish in her mouth for some reason. The two stood there in silence for a moment, staring intently at one another. The horned girl then spat the fish out of her mouth and moved closer to examine Hiro's face. "Y-y-y-you're naked!" A very flustered Hiro exclaimed, "I-I'm sorry!"

"Wow, and here I thought you were dead." the girl replied as she walked onto dry land.

"Hey," Hiro called out, "Are you a parasite? And what are you doing bathing out here?"

"It's weird, I thought ocean water was supposed to be salty," the girl stated, almost as if she didn't hear what Hiro asked her.

"Uh… this isn't an ocean…"

"Yeah, I'm aware of that. But this puddle's the closest thing I can find to an ocean so here we are. So did you come here to swim too?"

"Um… no. I'm good."

"Really? I thought that with the way you were staring you wanted to take a dip too."

"I wasn't staring okay," Hiro made his way to the shore, "I thought you were drowning so I jumped in to save you and…" Hero paused for a moment and turned away with his face almost completely red, "Would you mind putting some clothes on please?" The girl thought for a moment before responding.

"Oh I get it, you're some kind of pervert!" she accused. Hiro was taken aback a bit by this accusation, but then the girl directed his attention to his closed hand. When Hiro opened his fist, he found a pair of pink panties that he must've picked up from the pile of clothes. This is when his panic instincts really kicked into overdrive as he stumbled all over himself trying to return the undergarments to their owner. The girl couldn't contain her laughter.

"You should've seen the look on your face!" she said in between giggles. She carried on like that for a bit before finally calming down a bit. "Still," she began, "You really tried to save me? I appreciate that, so thank you." She gave the dark-haired boy a smile that could melt even the coldest of hearts, and he stood there only now really taking in how beautiful this mystery girl was. Her skin was absolutely flawless, smooth as silk, her hair also maintained a similar smooth texture even though it was wet, and her eyes had an almost mirror-like sheen to them.

The mystery girl managed to get dressed fairly quickly and, and as she finished putting on her shirt, she asked the sullen boy a question. "So are you a parasite too? You're wearing the uniform."

Hiro's mood immediately soured as he replied, "No…"

"So you don't pilot?" the girl continued.

"I can't pilot…" Hiro admitted, "I no longer have the ability… And what's worse is that I dragged my partner down with me." He angrily threw a rock into the lake. "I no longer have a place here…"

"Huh, So you're just like me. I'm always alone too, thanks to these horns." The girl then placed a headband onto her head which snapped onto her horns. "If you don't belong here, build a place where you do. If you don't have a partner find one. And if you can't, take one!" In one swift motion, the mystery girl tackled Hiro into the shallow end of the lake and licked a bead of sweat off of his cheek. Needless to say, this caught the former parasite off guard. Even in spite of the cold water enveloping most of his head, his face was burning up. His heart was beating so hard it was creating ripples in the calm water. His mind became hazy and his breathing became heavy. He had no idea what this sensation was, and he wasn't sure if he enjoyed it or not.

"Mmmm…" the horned parasite moaned in a low seductive voice, "Your taste is making my heart race. It has a bite and lingers on the tongue… The taste of danger," She licked her lips, "You know, I think I've taken a liking to you. How would you like to be my Darling?"

"Darling? Is that like a partner?" Hiro managed to squeak out.

"Something like that," the girl coyly smiled.

"But, I don't even know your name,"

"Do we parasites even have names?" Hiro hung his head, he honestly should've known better. The girl took pity on him and decided to answer as best she could. "My code is 002, but everyone calls me Zero-Two for short."

Plantation 13 "Cerasus"- Amphitheater… The Next Day:

Several large panels on the side of the plantation opened up to reveal a large open seating area, not too dissimilar to the colosseums of ancient Earth. The seats were filled with people in concealing white robes. Seven similar figures sat in the center of the theater. These seven wore similar robes to those in the crowd, except theirs were trimmed with gold. The robes that covered these seven were also paired with matching gold masks. One of the seven sat above the other six and was currently giving a speech in a deep booming voice that echoed across the wasteland.

At the far end of the theater were a group of eight young teenagers who were split up into four male/female pairs. These children displayed a wide spectrum of emotions on their faces. Excitement, apprehensiveness, cold apathy, but only one seemed to be distracted. This child was a blue-haired girl with sparkling emerald eyes. While the sounds of the ceremony surrounded her, her mind couldn't help but wander to her friend, Hiro. He had disappeared for most of the previous day and when he finally did return home, he looked very distraught. He wouldn't even leave his room that morning either.

"Ichigo," spoke a voice next to her. That voice was from her blonde partner Goro. His hazel eyes stared through the frames of his glasses, focusing intently at the ceremony before him. "Focus on the ceremony, Papa's watching." he calmly stated. Reluctantly, Ichigo did as he said.

"After today, you will no longer be mere cadets!" the masked man shouted, "Instead you will be our chosen heroes. Warriors dedicated to defending the future of mankind from that which seeks to destroy us! I pray that you will become a shining ray of hope for all humanity!" The eight children then bowed as the crowd let out a muted cheer. They were then directed out of the theater and back inside the iron walls of the plantation. The girls then found themselves in a locker room where they exchanged their ceremonial clothes for their pilot suits. Said suits were mostly white in color and rather form-fitting. Ichigo's, in particular, had various blue accents. The girls eventually met up with the boys as they made their way to the second part of the ceremony. The pilot suits the boys wore were quite different from their female counterparts, being almost all black in color.

"So I guess Hiro never showed up huh?" a chubby brown-haired boy observed.

"Oh forget that crybaby," A shorter boy snapped back

"Right up to the very end we could never figure out what was going through his head," A pigtailed redhead continued.

"I just hope they'll make it back alright, both him and Naomi," A timid blonde girl said.

"Their ship probably isn't going back to the garden though," A purple-haired girl with glasses chimed in, "I've never heard of a parasite returning home before." Silence washed over the group as all of them contemplated the ultimate fate of their friends. Ichigo hung her head and tried to choke back the cry in her throat. Even after all this she still couldn't believe she would never see Hiro again. If only she told him how she felt before it was too late.

Plantation 13 "Cerasus"- Outer Wall:

Hiro stood on a dock on the outer wall of the plantation, staring out over the expansive wastes, waiting for his ride back to his original home. He couldn't help but think back to the offer the girl named Zero-Two gave him, and how it instantly fell apart when an injured man came to take her away. He couldn't help but wonder what he meant when he said, "She's not the kind of pistil that just anyone can handle."

As uncomfortable as thinking back on this event was, it wasn't quite as uncomfortable as his present situation. Standing beside him at that moment was a cute brown-haired girl holding a suitcase named Naomi, and she was the partner who he failed to work with. There was no doubt in the former parasite's mind that it was his fault the both of them were being sent away. Naomi was a nice girl, she didn't' deserve to get dragged down with him.

"You can stay Hiro," Naomi told him, "So why aren't you? Is it because of me?" While it was true that Hiro had been told that he could stay if he wanted to, he refused.

"That's not it," the boy informed her, "If I did stay, it's not like I'll be of use to anyone…"

"How typical of you to think like that," Hiro's former partner replied, "In the end, you're just running away." Naomi gripped the handle of her suitcase tighter, "Do you even remember how many of our friends dissapeared from the orphanage? We could end up just like them," She slammed the suitcase onto the metal scaffolding, a loud clang echoed out through the foggy desert. "So stop playing the martyr! Who cares about the reason, you're lucky you get the chance to stay at all!" Naomi couldn't hold it back anymore and began to cry into her hands. Inbetween her choking sobs Hiro could hear her ask "Why? Why did you have to be my partner?" The former parasite felt himself start to tear up as the guilt began to strangle him.

Several more minutes passed before the spherical transports finally showed up. Naomi boarded first, but before Hiro could follow her, she suddenly stopped and turned around. "Well, take care Hiro," she said, "I doubt we'll see each other again." Hiro was confused, weren't they going on the same transport? "My opportunity has passed, but you still have a chance. You don't need to worry about me anymore."

"Naomi wait!" Hiro interjected as he rushed forward. Naomi's suitcase collided with his face before he got too far though.

"I don't need those things anymore, so share them with the others." She choked back a sob before continuing. "You probably didn't know this, but I really like the name you gave me. Hiro, I hope you find a new partner." The doors to the transport suddenly closed and the transport itself began to move away from the scaffolding. As the transport made its way toward the horizon, Hiro contemplated what Naomi said. He was useless without a partner, that much was certain, but was there really no place left for him? As he was contemplating this a loud bang echoed from the wastes. The boy looked out to see Naomi's transport surrounded by blue spikes that he was certain weren't there before. The earth began to shake as something erupted from the ground. Naomi's transport was knocked around by the debris until it was eventually crushed beneath the rocks.

"NAOMI!" Hiro screamed. Another rumble almost knocked him off his feet. Whatever destroyed Naomi's transport finally broke through to the surface. It was a massive bipedal black and blue creature with a large square jaw. The former parasite recognized it immediately as a Klaxosaur, monsters that have been menacing humanity for as long as he could remember. The plantation's automated defenses acted fast and fired a deafening volley of cannon fire at the beast. Fortunately, This was enough to knock the monster off balance. Unfortunately, it was now falling in Hiro's direction. The beast's impact on the side of the plantation knocked the boy off of the scaffolding and onto the desert sand. Hiro then looked up to see the Klaxosaur's tail coming right for him. He slammed his eyes shut, expecting death to take him. A small explosion soon sounded and when Hiro opened his eyes to locate the source, he saw a large burn wound on the tail. As he contemplated where that wound came from a large green car zoomed up next to him. The car's doors opened and stayed like that for a while Hiro sat dumbfounded by what just happened.

"What are you waiting for, a formal invitation? Get in!" a male voice ordered. Hiro obeyed and hastily vaulted into the vehicle. As soon as the doors closed, the car bolted away from the plantation at top speed. Once Hiro got his bearings, he noticed something strange about this vehicle, namely that it didn't seem to have a driver.

"Who's driving this thing?" the boy wondered out loud.

"I am," The same voice from before. Hiro looked around but still couldn't see anyone. He looked at the other seat, behind him, in the glove compartments, and under the dashboard, and still nothing. "Oh for the love of Primus, I'm the car!" Hiro was stunned by this revelation. A vehicle that could talk on its own was unheard of. The former parasite really didn't know how to react to this.

"Y… y… you can t… talk?" he managed to squeak out.

"Judging by how shocked you are I guess this planet isn't a colony… And to answer your question, yes I can talk" The voice said, "And would you relax already. If I wanted to hurt you, I wouldn't have saved you."

"Why did you save me?" Hiro asked.

"You were in trouble, simple as that. So, kid, you got a name?"

"I'm code 016."

"Hey, I asked for your name, not your model number." Hiro was shocked by this no one outside his group of friends cared about his name, but it was nice to meet someone else who cared.

"My name is Hiro," He said.

"Hiro? That's an interesting name. They call me Springer. So you want to give me the name of that thing that almost killed you?"

"That was a Klaxosaur."

"Klaxo-what now?"

"They're monsters that have been menacing the world for centuries. And that one's heading straight for the Plantation!"

"Is that your home?"

"Yes. I just hope my friends are alright."

"Well, we're about to make sure, hold on to something!" Springer then made a sharp turn and bolted directly toward the plantation. "There somewhere safe I can drop you off, Hiro?" The boy pulled himself out of the seat and frantically looked around. He managed to find a relatively undamaged walkway on the plantation's outer wall. He directed Springer's attention to it. Just then the Klaxosaur crashed down in front of them. The car screeched to a halt and both it and the boy inside managed to spot a brightly colored creature tearing into the black beast's stomach. This newcomer was a mechanical lion that was mostly white with accents of red and orange. Bright blue blood oozed out of the Klaxosaur's bite wounds.

"That's funny," Springer chimed in, "I don't remember seeing a beast on the Ark."

"A beast on the what?" Hiro questioned. Springer wasn't even given a chance to answer the question as the Klaxosaur shook the lion off and slammed its massive tail on the ground. The resulting shockwave catapulted the car high into the air. Hiro braced himself for the inevitable impact. When that impact didn't come, the boy opened his eyes to see that Springer was somehow suspended in midair.

"How are we flying?" Hiro wondered. The boy then looked up to see a pair of blades spinning above him. "How are you a helicopter?" he shouted. Springer didn't answer, instead, he simply hovered over to the walkway and opened his cockpit. Hiro climbed out, relieved to be on solid ground again.

"Get to safety, I'll handle that thing," the green helicopter suggested.

"You want to fight the Klaxosaur, how?" Hiro questioned, "You're just a car… helicopter… thing."

"Don't worry about me kid," Springer reassured, "There's more to me than meets the eye." The copter then flew off into battle. Hiro watched intently as two guns sprouted from the front of the vehicle and blast several bolts of red energy at the Klaxosaur. The black beast's attention was drawn to the copter. "Hey, tall dark and ugly!" Springer shouted, "Why don't you pick on someone your own size!" The helicopter's form began to shift, metal panels folded in on themselves, and the blades combined into what appeared to be a sword. An arm erupted out of the mass of metal, grabbed the sword, and brought it down on the Klaxosaur's head with a mighty vertical slash. The metal mass hit the ground with a loud thud, and the monster howled in pain as blood spilled from its wound. When the dust settled, Hiro could see that the copter had completed its transformation. What stood in front of the wounded monster was a large humanoid robot. It was mostly green in color with accents of yellow. The only other noticeable color on him was a red symbol on his chest.

Springer pointed his sword at the Klaxosaur in a taunting manner, and the beast responded by charging at him. The green robot blocked this charge with the flat of his blade. With his free hand, he reached for what appeared to be some sort of rifle. He held the barrel of the gun up to the beast's eye and let loose several shots. Flashes of bright red engulfed the target before it managed to shake Springer off. The robot tucked and rolled when he landed and fired off another flurry of bolts when he got to his feet. Each shot left a burned hole on the Klaxosaur's hide. In retaliation, the beast swung its hefty tail at its opponent. Springer managed to duck out of the way. He began charging the beast with his gun blazing, and once he got close enough, he delivered two quick slashes to the creature's body. The Klaxosaur then swung its massive skull at the robot and knocked him back several dozen feet.

Just as Springer recovered a familiar white lion leaped out of nowhere and began chowing down on the beast's scalp. The Klaxosaur then flung the lion off of its back and right in front of its gaping maw, a bright blue light shining within it. The beast then discharged a large energy blast at the lion. Reacting quickly, the lion intercepted the blast with the tip of its tail. The resulting explosion catapulted the lion into the plantation wall. Instinctively, Hiro rushed over to the downed beast as Springer continued to engage the klaxosaur. A panel on the lion's body opened up and a man fell out of it, a man Hiro recognized as the one who took Zero-Two away. He was motionless and coated in his own blood. Hiro attempted to shake him back to life, but there was no response.

"Forget about him… he's a goner," a feminine voice told him. Hiro looked to the source and found it to be Zero-Two. She was leaning against the opening in the lion's stomach, half of her face covered in blood.

"What are you doing in there?" he asked.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm going monster hunting," the pink-haired girl coyly responded, "Although it looks like that green guy is trying to steal my thunder." She motioned back towards the battle. Springer now appeared to be riding on top of the Klaxosaur with his sword plunged into its skull. "Well, I gotta go…" Zero two said.

"Wait, you can't pilot this thing by yourself, let alone in your condition," Hiro reasoned as he grabbed onto her shoulder.

"Get off me!" the horned girl ordered as she slapped his hand away, "I'm always by myself, it's been like forever… I'm used to it…"

"Don't go!" Hiro pleaded, "You'll die out there!"

"So what? I'm not afraid of death. That green guy can't hold that thing off forever, and when that thing starts moving again, everyone's gonna die. And even if I was afraid of death, I still have a job to do. Now if you'll excuse me…" Zero-Two stumbled back into her machine's cockpit, leaving Hiro to stew in his thoughts. Never before in his short life had he felt this powerless. His friends were in danger and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He turned his attention back to the battle. There were several cuts and burn wounds on the Klaxosaur, but it didn't look like it was in pain at all. As for springer, he was now on the ground with wounds of his own. A bright blue liquid was leaking out of various holes in his body and there was a very noticeable dent in his chest. Although clearly injured, he still stood tall and ready to fight. Hiro looked at this mechanical warrior and the horned girl in front of him. He had no idea what, but something deep inside him possessed him to speak out.

"Wait!" he shouted at the girl, "I'll pilot that robot with you." She paused for a moment.

"And are you prepared to die?" Zero-Two asked. Hiro looked over the fresh corpse at his feet, knowing that if he were to ride with her, he could end up just like this poor man.

"I don't know that," He answered, "But what I do know is, right now I don't belong anywhere. Which means I might as well be dead. So please, take me with you!" Tears were burning in his eyes at this point. Zero-Two paused for a moment and then turned around, that same coy smile on her bloody face.

"You really are just like me," She told him, "I haven't seen a human cry in quite a long time." She reached out and wiped a tear out of the boy's eye, "I like the look in your eyes, It makes my heart race. Now, come to me…" She grabbed his hand and pulled him into the cockpit, "Let me get a taste of you. After all… you are now my Darling." Zero-Two then pulled the former parasite in for a deep passionate kiss. Hiro was stunned, he had no idea what she was doing to him, no how he should react to it. After a moment the entire cockpit roared to life. He could practically feel the energy flowing through the lion's veins. It was then that the Klaxosaur noticed the downed lion and charged at it. Once the dust from the impact settled, the lion seemed to have shifted form. What stood on the walkway was a large femininely shaped robot, mostly white in color with various red accents and a large blue horn in the middle of its forehead. This robot gripped the Klaxosaur's head and with all her might threw it as far as she could from the plantation. As the beast landed, the robot's face began to morph until it resembled Zero-Two's own face, a look of pure determination upon it.

The Klaxosaur returned to its feet and began charging up another beam attack. At that moment Springer transformed back into his car mode and charged at the monster. He slammed into the side of its massive body, transformed into robot mode, and in one swift slice, cut its tail clean off. This left the creature reeling long enough for Zero-Two's robot to make her move. She produced a massive spear from seemingly nowhere and hurled it into the creature's gaping maw. She then rushed forward, gripped the haft of the spear, and pushed a button located on it. The tube that connected the weapon to the robot glowed a bright orange as the energy flowed through it, finally reaching the tip, and discharging with enough force to blow the klaxosaur to bits. All that was left was a glassy blue orb impaled on the end of the spear.

"Well I'd say that's a mission accomplished," Springer announced as he walked up to the white robot, "You did good work out there soldier, but you mind telling me whose unit you're with?" Before she had a chance to respond several more robots surrounded them. They were also feminine robots about as tall as the white one (though all of them were still shorter than Springer). The main difference between them was that they were mostly black in color and carried smaller spears. The green robot readied his weapons, sensing much hostility coming from the group that surrounded him. "Friends of yours?" He asked the white robot.

"Not exactly," She responded, "They're Dr. Franxx's escort."

"They Autobot or Decepticon?" Springer continued. The white bot only shot him a confused look.

"Step away from Strelitzia and step out of your machine!" One of the black robots commanded. Now it was Springer's turn to wear a confused look. The black robots responded by shrinking their circle around him with their spears pointed at his throat. Springer took a fighting stance with sword and rifle in hand, ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. But just as suddenly as he readied himself, he quickly sheathed his blade and put his now free hand up to his head.

"This better be important!" He angrily shouted. His eyes then widened as panic shot through his face, "I'm sorry sir, I didn't realize it was you… Listen you kind of caught me at a bad time. I'm currently being held at spearpoint by a squad of unknown fembots… I don't think so, I think they might be the guards at this giant fortress I found… Yeah, it appears to be populated by minicon sized organics… Surrender? But sir… I understand." The green bot then put away his rifle and stood with his hands in the air. "I'm not here to hurt you, but my boss wants to talk to your boss, you think you can make that happen?"

The black robots looked at each other before one of them responded with, "We'll see what we can do."

Plantation 13 "Cerasus"- Outer Wall… Two Hours Later:

Things were finally starting to calm down after the Klaxosaur attack. Crews were out repairing the damage to the plantation, and a medical team was escorting an unconscious Hiro to the infirmary. They found the boy inside the white robot, Strelitzia along with Zero-Two. As for Springer, he was still being held at spearpoint. Two of the black robots cornered him as he sat against the plantation wall, just to make sure he didn't try anything funny. He had orders not to resist, so he reluctantly agreed with their demands. Soon after his guards made themselves comfortable, the green robot was approached by two people. One was a young red-haired woman in a black dress. The other was an old man in a long white coat, most of his face covered in metal prosthetics. The old man drew in closer despite the woman's objections.

"Fascinating…" the man pondered, "I've never seen technology like this before."

"So you didn't build this robot Dr. Franxx?" the woman asked.

"I think I would remember building a transforming robot," the doctor answered, "I am still curious as to why its pilot chose not to disembark."

"I still have no idea what you people mean by that," Springer chimed in, "This is my body, no one is 'piloting' it."

"So you're a fully autonomous machine? Fascinating…" Dr. Franxx mused, "Would you mind if I opened you up to figure out how you work?"

"Yes, yes I would mind!" Springer interjected. Before the doctor could push the issue any further, a horn blared in the distance. Everyone turned to see a bright red, flat-nosed truck speeding towards them through the dusty wastes. "Oh thank Primus, my boss is here," Springer said as he stood up. As the truck pulled up toward the wall, it began to shift form much like Springer did. The bed morphed into a pair of blue legs, and a pair of arms sprouted out of the main cab. A blue head popped out as well, with what appeared to be a metal mask covering its face. Springer faced this new robot and saluted it.

"At ease soldier," the truck robot told him. His voice was deep and commanding, yet somehow also gentle and kind, "Which one of you is named 'Papa'?"

"That would be me," another, harsher commanding voice announced. A small hologram of the man in question appeared at the truck robot's eye level. He was the same large man in a white robe and gold mask that was speaking at the earlier ceremony. The black robots had told Springer that they would allow his boss to talk to this "Papa", so long as said boss came alone and unarmed.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Papa," The red robot continued, "My name is Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots."

"Well then Optimus Prime," Papa responded, "I see you share your subordinate's disrespectful refusal to meet me face to face."

"You seem to misunderstand just what exactly we are," Optimus pointed out, "We are not piloted robots, we are fully autonomous mechanical life forms from a planet far away from here called Cybertron."

"I see, so tell me this Optimus Prime; why are you here on our planet." A look of sorrow crept across Optimus' eyes, and a similar look found its way onto Springer's face as well. The green bot knew what was coming next, and he didn't like thinking about it any more than Optimus did.

"To put it simply, myself and my fellow Autobots are refugees. A horrible disaster had befallen our homeworld and left it uninhabitable. All we seek is asylum and peaceful cooperation between our races." Everything was silent for a moment. Springer could feel himself shaking in a mixture of anticipation and fear. What Optimus said was true, their homeworld was dead. For millions of years, he and the rest of the Autobots had wandered the galaxy looking for safe harbor. And if they couldn't secure sanctuary here, who knows how long it will take to find another planet willing to take them.

"I am willing to grant you the asylum you and your kind seek, Optimus Prime," Papa finally said. Relief washed over the two robots. "But in return, you must offer your services to this plantation," the robed man continued.

"What kind of services?" Optimus asked.

"Our civilization has been under attack for centuries by vile creatures we call Klaxosaurs. These monsters have reduced the entire human race down to a handful of scattered plantations, much like the one you see here."

"He's talking about that monster I fought, sir," Springer chimed in.

"I see," Optimus stated, "Verry well Papa, the Autobots will assist you in fighting back the Klaxosaur menace."

"Excellent. For now, you will be assigned to guard this plantation, but be aware that we may call upon you to assist others. Now if that is all, I bid you farewell." The robed hologram then dissapeared. The two black robots that were guarding Springer lowered their spears, allowing the green robot to run up to his commanding officer.

"We did it, I can't believe we did it," he said.

"Me neither Springer me neither," Optimus responded as he looked up at the plantation, his beaming optics betraying the stoic tone of his voice, "Call the Ark, and tell them we've found a new home base."

Plantation 13 "Cerasus"- Outer Wall… The Next Morning:

Ichigo stood on the outer walkway of her home plantation, observing the green robot from yesterday's attempt to direct a massive flying machine to a safe place to land. She had heard from her caretaker, Nana that these "Autobots" were going to be working with her squad until further notice, and the blue-haired parasite wasn't exactly thrilled. Sure these giant alien robots claim to be refugees, but was that really true? What were they plotting? What was their endgame? These thoughts and more raced through her mind as she continued to watch Springer.

"You're good… you're good… you're good…" she heard him shout, "Alright now set her down gently." The Autobot ship slammed down onto the ground, causing the very earth to shake beneath the impact. "I said gently!"

"You okay Ichigo?" a voice from behind her asked. She turned and saw her partner, Goro approaching her, "It's almost time for our ceremony, what are you doing out here?"

"Observing our new 'teammates'," Ichigo replied.

"So you're suspicious of them too huh," Goro agreed.

"These alien robots come out of nowhere and all they want is asylum? What part of that doesn't sound suspicious?"

"Trust me I get it, but we're stuck with them now so I think we should at least pretend to get along with them for the time being." Ichigo shrank and let out a soft groan. She didn't want to admit it, but Goro did have a point. Aliens or not, they all had a job to do. "And besides," her partner continued, "At least we only have to deal with two of them."

"Excuse me," a voice from beyond the railing called out. The parasites turned and found themselves at eye level with the red and blue Autobot leader. Ichigo heard Nana call him "Optimus Prime" or something like that. "I am looking for one named Ichigo, do you know where they are?"

"I'm Ichigo," the blue-haired parasite answered, "What do you want?"

"I was told by a man named Hachi that you are the leader of this plantation's defense force, and I thought it appropriate to formally introduce you to my troops." Springer walked up the red and blue robot, and several cars drove out of the ship to join them. Each vehicle then shifted form until a colorful cast of robots stood before the two parasites. "I am Optimus Prime, Autobot leader."

"They call me Springer, I'm basically second in command in this squad," The green robot from before stated.

"I'm Ratchet, chief medical officer," a mostly white robot with red accents and elderly features stated.

"I'm Bulkhead, heavy weapons specialist," said a bulky dark green robot with a very pronounced chin.

"The name's Hot Shot, expert marksman," this robot was mostly blue in color with accents of dark red and bright yellow.

"You can call me Arcee, intelligence operative," this robot was colored pink and white and was more femininely shaped than the rest of the group.

"And my name's Bumblebee, I'm the scout," the final robot was yellow in color and much smaller than the rest of the squad, "I look forward to working with you." Bumblebee smiled up at the elevated walkway.

"What was that you were saying about there only being two of them?" Ichigo muttered under her breath.

"I stand thoroughly corrected," Goro rebutted.

Author's note:

I'd like to clarify a few things before I finish this chapter. First off, this isn't going to be based on one single Transformers continuity, but I will be using various elements from the cartoons and comics as inspiration. And if you're wondering why I chose Springer as the first Transformer the characters meet, it's because he's one of my favorite Autobots and I hate the fact that he never gets to appear in anything. With that being said, Let the reviews flow fourth