[Arianna's diary- 4 months later]
It's almost time for school to begin in Chicago. A lot of the other kids in the foster home are pretty worried about going through the gang territory to get to school. But I told them not to worry. Chromia, Ironhide, Prima and Onyx have been teaching me a lot of combat.
I did also manage to find a place to practice with my powers and learn some new ones. It's this tall, abandoned white building with a lot of angel statues on the corners. I always practice on the bottom floor- the angel statues remind me of Doctor Who. I never liked The Weeping Angels.
Anyway, I gotta wake up early tomorrow. Till next time.
()
[Next day]
Arianna looked at the kids that were swarming around the alleyway. It was the quickest way to get to school for them. But it was also the entrance to one of the 'major' gang territories- The Purple Dragon. Must've been started by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fans.
The group looked at her as she came forward. Her long white hair was now tied back into a ponytail, and she wore a dark blue vest over a white short-sleeved shirt. The edges of her long black pants were stuffed into her dull gray combat boots. And her blue stone necklace was in its usual place around her neck. "I'll handle this," she said to the group.
Their eyes widened. "You sure?" asked a 16 year old boy, "Purple Dragons are nasty."
"I've seen nastier," she told him. Then, she walked into the alley.
"Ya sure 'bout this kid?" asked Ironhide. A slight note of worry was in his voice, though she could hear the undercurrent of pride.
"Ironhide," she replied, "I've seen my parents die, nearly got killed twice by the same people, and plus, you wouldn't believe what Prima and Onyx put me through to train me. Honestly, they can be pretty brutal sometimes."
"Sorry," said Prima, "Comes with the job. And have you noticed that you're being watched?"
"Yup. Dragons?"
"Dragons."
Arianna stopped and said, "You might as well come out. I know you're out there."
Four young adults appeared from behind trash cans and corners. Three boys and a girl. The girl- a pale-skinned, purple-haired Japanese looking sixteen year-old- stepped up to her and said, "Well, what do we have here? A little ghost out for a walk?"
"Oh boy," came a cheeky sounding voice that she recognized as Sideswipe, "She's a button pusher. She likes pushing buttons. You offlined your self-destruct button, right?"
"No," she responded. Ironhide and Chromia gave dark chuckles. She turned to the girl and said, "You don't look that living yourself."
"So she has been paying attention to snarking back class! I was wondering," said Sideswipe's brother, Sunstreaker.
"Of course I pay attention," she told him, then realized that the girl was saying, "Are you even paying attention to me? You don't ignore Purple Dragons, you little Casper!"
"Alert! Alert! Alert! Self-destruct button has just been unlocked! Violet Lizard lady's finger is preparing to push! Permission granted for her to press?" That was Amalgamos. The Terror Twins were laughing their helms off at that.
Aria's light smile made the Purple Dragon girl stop her rant and say, "Are you mocking me?!"
"Tell you what," said Aria, "If you let all the kids that need to go to school come through here, I won't hurt any of you."
"Only if they join," said the girl with an evil smile, "You too. And if you hurt me, the rest of my Purple Dragons will attack you until you're done."
"And how many Purple Dragons are there?"
"About a hundred."
"She's lying," said Mirage, "I saw the meeting. There's only six more besides these four."
So to drive the point home, Aria said, "I can take on all ten of you."
The Purple Dragon's leader's eyes widened, then she punched forward with an angry yell. Aria simply stepped to the side, grabbed her wrist, and flipped her over her back, slamming her into the pavement.
The three boys looked on in shock, then one of them rushed forward with a yell. Aria turned, fast as a cheetah, (she was slightly using her powers. Sue her) and slammed her fist into his middle. When the other two charged her, she kicked underneath one, knocking his legs out from under him, and grabbed the other boy's arm, slamming his clenched fist into his face, giving him a healthy black eye.
The girl charged her again, but she flipped over her and slammed her feet into her back. Aria leaned down a bit and asked, "Are we good?" The girl quickly nodded, fear in her eyes. Aria let her go, and she and the other boys scrambled to their feet, she added, "And if you send anyone after me, I'm coming for you."
The four teens rushed away, and Aria looked behind her. "Safe!" she yelled.
The group of teens and kids at the start of the alley came cautiously forward, but when they saw Aria perfectly alright, they rushed though the pass, heading for school. The elder boy stayed behind, talking with her as well as an older Hispanic girl. "What did you do?" asked the boy.
"Taught the leader of the Purple Dragons a lesson," replied Aria, smiling slightly.
"A lesson?" asked Hound, "She's still running!"
The Hispanic girl chuckled and said, "I'm Reyna, by the way. What exactly did you do, amigo? I heard a fight."
"What do you think?" asked Aria, "I'm Aria."
"Issac," said the boy, "C'mon. We'll be late for school."
The three of them took off running, catching up to the other kids as they rushed o school.
()
[Arianna's diary- that night]
First day of school was certainly eventful. I fought off the Purple Dragons and made the alley-way to school safe. I even saw that Japanese girl at school. Have to wonder if the purple hair was a wig. Her hair was actually black. She looked pretty scared when she saw me. Have to wonder why?
Speaking of other kids, I met two older kids at the alley. Issac and Reyna. They're brother and sister, actually, although I couldn't tell. They're pretty nice to me, even though they're in a different grade then me. I'm not sure if I should tell them my story. I don't really know.
Everyone in the Allspark is pretty happy that I've found some new friends. I try not to miss Michel and Melody, but I do. They were like siblings to me.
My foster parents are knocking. Time for bed.
()
[Reyna's house- 5 months later]
"So, what are we doing?" asked Aria as Reyna sat her down on a chair in her mother's bedroom. Said mother was currently in the kitchen getting some lunch ready.
"Dying your hair," replied Reyna, pulling out various hair dyes. "My mother loves coloring her hair. But she uses so many dyes that she has them all on a shelf. I was thinking about you and how fun it would be to color your hair. You really don't want it white all the time, do you?"
"Well..." Aria paused. She wasn't really sure.
"Oh c'mon kid!" said Amalgamos, "I think it would do ya some good!"
"Well, okay," she finally said, "What colors are there?"
"Every single one you can think of," said Reyna, motioning to the bottles on the table in front of them. "I'll let you pick the color. But my mama only has wild colors, so you can't have black or brown. So, what color do you want?"
The voices in her head instantly started piping up. "Red! Do red!"
"No, yellow! Go for yellow!"
"Yellow wouldn't even show up. Do green!"
"Blue is the color to go. It would match your eyes."
"Purple! Actually, nah. Purple wouldn't suit you."
"Can you guys be quiet?" Aria finally asked. The voices fell silent as she viewed the colors in front of her. Finally, she said, "Blue. Slightly light blue."
"Perfecto!" said Reyna, picking up the bottle, "Any particular reason why?"
"Blue means hope," said Aria, "I think I oughta have some hope in my life."
()
[2 hours later]
"Reyna! Are you two done yet?" Issac yelled at the master bathroom door, "Mom says lunch is ready!"
"We're coming!" came the reply. Issac nodded and headed to the small kitchen. His mother looked up at him and asked, "Are they coming?"
"Reyna said that she was," said Issac, "Should be soon. I thought I heard a hair drier when I was at the door. They must be finishing up."
"Ta-da!"
The two of them turned around and gasped when they saw Aria. Her previously snow-white hair was now streaked with blue highlights. Her hair was parted on her right side, and her bangs were now a brilliant blue. They nearly fell into her eyes, but she had braided it up and pinned the braid on the left side of her head. The rest of her hair was pulled into a ponytail, the now blue and white hair falling over her right shoulder. "Well?" she asked in a nervous voice, "What do you think?"
After a few silent seconds, Issac's mom said, "It's magnifico! Just look at you! You're vibrant and alive! Just wonderful!"
Aria gave a nervous chuckle as Issac said, "Yeah! You're so pretty! Wait, what did I just say?"
"That you like it!" said Reyna, "Now c'mon! Lunch is ready!"
()
[Arianna's diary- 2 years and 3 month later]
I was just reading the entry where Reyna had me change my hair. I gotta admit, I felt really good about doing that. And I'm not being called 'Ghost' anymore, so that's a plus.
It's almost time for me to leave. I'm really gonna miss Issac and Reyna. They're like an older brother and sister to me. I love them so much. But they did decide to do something for me- a birthday party! Since I'm gonna be leaving on my birthday, they've decided to have a party for me the night before I leave! I've never even had a birthday party before.
They've been so kind to me, and I've decided. I'm gonna tell them. Tell them about my parents. Why I'm on the run. I just hope that they understand.
()
[Party night- 1 day before departure]
"And your last present!" declared Reyna. She pulled over a small box from the end of the table. Aria- almost 17 now- was smiling happily with the fun time that she was having. She had already gotten a new MP3 player with all of her favorite songs on it, a new set of clothes, and a bit of jewelry. She had to wonder what this last present was.
Aria tore off the wrapping paper and opened the box. She looked at the colorful binder in front of her. It already had something in it. "Open it," urged Issac.
Aria opened the binder and stared in shock at what was in it. They were pictures! She recognized some of them too. One was of the three of them standing in front of the school gym. Aria was standing between Reyna and Issac, who had their arms around her. Another was when they were swimming together. Aria and Reyna were in the pool while Issac was jumping in mid-air from the diving board. Then, there they were at a school dance. Issac had pulled her into a dance and Reyna laughing from the side of the camera at the uncomfortable look on Aria's face. If she remembered, the femmes- Solus Prime, Chromia, Nauticia, Moonracer and a few others- were cheering her on. That was why she was blushing in the picture.
"There's a little bit more," said Reyna, turning the book past some blank pages and opening a marked section. Aria's jaw dropped at the pictures that were there.
They were her parents! Her mom and dad's wedding photos, a whole family photo at the wedding, and a couple of date pictures. She turned the page. A couple more date photos. Obviously from when they were already married. They were often holding up their hands to display their wedding rings. A few in army uniforms, a few where her mother was pregnant. Where her mother was pregnant...
She wasn't usually so emotional, but when she turned the page again, tears came to her eyes when she saw the few pictures that were there. Her mother, or her father, were holding a young baby with a few wisps of black hair on her small head. She was often sleeping, and her parents were always smiling.
The last two pages had a self-portrait of her mom and another self-portrait of her dad. And the last portrait had a picture of her mom and dad in a kiss, underneath a full moon.
Aria stared frozen at the last picture in shock. Then, she turned to her friends and asked, "How did you-?"
"Asked Agent Fowler if there were any pictures of your parents," explained Issac. "Your step-uncle had an awful lot of them. Apparently he went on a few dates with them with his wife whenever they were able too. Do you... like it?"
Aria closed the book and held it to her chest, smiling. "I do," she finally said, "I love it. Thank you." Tears were streaming down her face and she smiled as Reyna and Issac pulled her into a hug.
Finally, Aria said, "Could we go to the roof?"
When they were up there, Aria said, "There's something I need to tell you. About why I need to leave tomorrow."
She told them about what had happened to her parents, and the three friends cried together under the stars.
()
When the morning came, Reyna and Issac went with her to the airport to see her off. "Where's Agent Fowler?" asked Issac as they walked through the airport.
"Don't know," said Aria, "I haven't heard from him for a few days. He said someone else was gonna be taking me to my new place."
"Who?" asked Reyna.
Before Aria could answer her, a voice called out, "Hey, Aria!"
The three friends turned. A tall man with brown hair, green eyes and wearing a suit jacket was heading towards them. "You... are Aria, right?"
"Yes," she said warily. "It's okay kid," said Ironhide, "You can trust him."
"Where's Agent Fowler?" asked Reyna.
"He has a new assignment," replied the man, "I'm Captain Lennox. I'm good friends with Agent Fowler. He asked me if I could take you to your new foster home. Plane's leaving in twenty minutes."
Aria nodded and turned towards Reyna and Issac. "I'm gonna miss you guys," she said, her throat tight.
"Don't be sad," said Reyna as the two friends pulled her into a hug, "Maybe we'll see each other again."
Aria thought about her powers and gave a small smile. "Yeah," she said, "I think we will."
"Oh!" said Issac, suddenly remembering something. He pulled out one of those instant photo cameras and said, "Captain Lennox. Do you think you could take a picture of us together? Just take two."
"Can do." The three friends got together against the wall and Lennox took two photos. "We'll take the second photo," said Reyna, "There's materials to put your photo in."
"Thanks you guys," said Aria. The three of them hugged again and then Aria and Lennox set off. She looked back and waved to her friends one last time.
"So," she asked Lennox, "Where am I going this time?"
"We'll be landing in Vegas," he replied, "then we'll take a car to Jasper."
"Jasper, Nevada?" she said incredulously.
"Heard of it?" he asked her.
"Brochure," she said. But she had actually heard it from the friends inside her head. Jasper, Nevada was the town that was closest to the Autobot base. She'd finally be meeting Team Prime!