"Ummm, Miko? Wh-what are you doing…?"

Bamboozled, Raf found himself reeling after Miko's unexpected objection to the wedding. Only scant seconds had passed since his bride-to-be had done so, but to Raf it felt like 308 days, 23 hours and 59 minutes!

The response from the congregation was immediate. Automatically assuming that Miko had once again thrown a monkey wrench into the grand scheme of things, Raf's family reacted just about every way in the book, ranging from nervous murmuring to infuriated shouting to outright swooning in the aisles.

"¡Que Dios nos ayude!" Especially traumatized by Miko's newest stunt, Mrs. Esquivel crossed herself frantically and cried, "I knew it! I knew something like this would happen! It is the engagement party all over again!"

"No, no, wait! This isn't what it looks like, I swear!"

Miko desperately tried to explain her actions. Unfortunately, either no one could hear her over the loud din or no one cared to.

She turned to her fiancé for help and gasped with dismay, aghast to see an all-too familiar look of hurt on Raf's bespectacled countenance. It was the exact same look he had barely a day ago at the aforementioned engagement party when she had broken things off with him.

"R-Raf…!"

He didn't say a word.

Horrified that she had so carelessly hurt him yet again, Miko attempted to make things right and stammered, "Raf, y-you've got to believe me…I-I'm not objecting to our wedding, I promise!"

Frowning, he broke his silence and snorted, "Well, it sure looks like it to me."

Miko began to tear up, never having intended any of this. Was this always going to happen, her acting without ever bothering to think about the consequences? She prayed not.

"I'm begging you, Raf…y-you have to trust me, please…please!"

Conflicted, Raf gazed deeply into Miko's pleading eyes.

Years almost seemed to pass by as he slowly debated whether or not to believe her. After a moment more of nerve-wracking indecision, he finally squared his jaw and made his choice.

Miko held her breath.

Raf fished around in his shirt pocket for a minute and produced a small tissue. Reaching out, he dabbed gently at Miko's eyes and dried her tears.

"Don't cry, bella."

Terrified to hope, she sniffed, "R-Raf-kun…!"

Tenderly caressing her cheek, he smiled reassuringly, "I do trust you, Miko. I trust you with my life."

And just like that, all was right with the world again.

"Oh God, Raf…I'm so sorry! I-I really didn't think this through, did I?"

He shook his head and grinned, "What, this is something new? Just try and warn a guy beforehand next time." Adjusting his glasses, Raf said, "Okay, then. So what is going on? Why did you hit the pause button on the ceremony?"

Miko struggled to answer.

"I-I just…I've got something I really, really need to say to everyone. Y'know, before we go any further with our wedding."

Sounding almost disappointed, Raf chuckled, "Oh, is that all? Why didn't you say so in the first place, Miko?"

Turning to face the crowd, Raf raised his hands to get everyone's attention. When that didn't work, he huffed and glanced over his shoulder back at Miko.

Raf smirked, "Assert yourself, huh?"

He cleared his throat before inhaling deeply and letting fly with an impressive, "¡OYE!"

Stunned, everyone present did a double-take at witnessing quiet, unassuming little Rafael transform into a regular tipo duro.

Now that he had his entire family's undivided attention, Raf made certain he kept it and shouted, "Listen to me, everyone! I want you to be quiet for a minute! Miko has something she wants to say!"

"¿Te has vuelto loco?!" Mrs. Esquivel wagged her finger at her son and cautioned, "Rafael, that girl is going to break your heart if you don't - "

He fixed his stern gaze onto his mother and interrupted, rumbling a clear and distinct warning.

"MAMA…"

She blinked rapidly and sighed with reluctant acquiescence.

"You heard my son. Everybody be quiet and sit down."

When they hesitated, she stamped her foot and yelled, "¿Estás sorda? ¡QUE TE SIENTES!"

Everybody instantly sat down.

Raf smiled, "It's your show, Miko."

Everyone focused on Miko as she nervously stepped forward.

"Um, l-listen…I understand why you guys wouldn't want to believe me, but I actually have a very good reason for all this."

One of Raf's rowdier cousins seated near the front loudly demanded, "¿Por qué íbamos a creerte ahora?"

Mrs. Esquivel moved like a flash and whacked him with an impressive smack on the back of their head. With a snarl she answered, "Because my son says so. If he believes her, then so do I."

Miko beamed gratefully at Raf's mom and resumed her explanation.

"I guess the first thing I need to clear up is this: no, I am not objecting to the wedding. Seriously, I'd have to get my head examined if I didn't want to spend the rest of my life with Raf!"

"Then why did you stop the wedding in the first place?!"

Miko cried, "Because! I just can't stand by any longer while one of my best friends…someone that I look up to as a sister…"

Her almond eyes darted to her side and locked with Arcee's.

For the first time Arcee realized exactly how much importance Miko placed upon their friendship. She felt both honored and humbled at the same time.

Miko went on, "…a sister who's been feeling so miserable on a day that should be filled with nothing but joy!"

To Miko's other side, Pilar confusedly said, "B-but, I feel fine, amiga…!"

Miko impatiently hissed, "NOT YOU!" She then calmly turned to face Arcee directly so there was no longer any room for doubt or uncertainty. "My other sister."

Arcee murmured, "Miko, what are you talking about? I'm not feeling miserable, either."

Miko rolled her eyes and huffed, "Look, I saw how much it was bothering you whenever you heard somebody say how we were all human here…"

Arcee's eyes widened, knowing she had been caught.

"Trust me, I know what it's like to feel left out, like you're all alone in a world full of strangers." Miko smiled and continued, "The thing is, you don't have to feel that way. It's like what you told me, Arcee. No secrets…remember? Not anymore."

In the midst of the crowd Agent Fowler began to sweat, mumbling, "What is that crazy girl DOING?!"

Arcee gaped with utter disbelief, fully comprehending what Miko was suggesting.

"M-Miko…if you're saying what I think you're saying…"

The bride-to-be smiled innocently back, "And what if I was?"

Arcee violently shook her head, "Miko…! W-we can't! Optimus' number one rule…!"

Miko interrupted, "Doesn't apply today."

"But…!"

Miko sighed, "Arcee, don't you know by now that you and Jack mean the world to us? You're my Onēsan…my big sister. I love you. We're all family, all of us…and family should never have to hide things from the ones they care about most, no matter what their outward differences. RIGHT…?" She shot an impatient glare out towards the confused congregation, who hurriedly nodded their heads in agreement.

"Besides, Arcee…Jack is the Prime now. I'd say it's his call, wouldn't you?"

Feeling powerless in the face of such an overwhelming opponent, Arcee looked to her Sparkmate for support.

Jack's face grew grave as he whispered, "Miko, this is supposed to be your day. Aren't you worried about - ?"

Miko exploded with giggles, saying, "What, are you kidding?! C'mon, Jackrabbit! Nothing's gonna upstage me at my own wedding! And you're right…it is my day! Don't worry, you two! This is what I want…" Miko quickly reached out and grabbed Raf's hand. "It's what we want…isn't that right, Mr. Esquivel?"

Raf chuckled, "Couldn't have said it better myself, Mrs. soon-to-be-an-Esquivel!"

Arcee leaned close to Jack and asked, "Wh-what do you think?"

Jack pondered the question for a moment, quietly answering, "It'd be a big change, that's for sure…" A knowing smile slowly appeared on his face as he added, "…but a wise woman once told me that change was the one constant on her planet."

Arcee smirked, "Hmp. Sounds like a femme you should never let go of."

Jack smiled back, saying, "Wasn't planning on it. Good thing I followed her lead and hunted her down."

Arcee stifled an unseemly snort, hoping that nobody noticed.

Miko scanned the congregation until she found Fowler, who by now was sweating bullets. She smiled hopefully at him and motioned towards everyone seated in the courtyard.

"Well, Agent Fowler? Whaddya say? D'you think Unit: E can afford about a hundred more agents on the payroll?"

Frustrated beyond the ken of mortal man, he loudly retorted, "Don't you mean CONSULTANTS?!"

Miko said nothing in reply, continuing to smile that same hopeful, disarming smile. It relentlessly tore at Fowler's defenses, wearing them down until he sighed resignedly and groaned, "Who am I to say no to the bride to be? It's your wedding, Miko."

Miko beamed delightedly and chirped, "Darn straight it is." She bowed elegantly before him and winked, "Thanks, boss. You rock."

Fowler sighed again and reluctantly returned her smile, resigning himself with the knowledge that when all of this was over, he was going to have to make a very important phone call to General Bryce. He was not looking forward to it in the least.

Miko turned back to Arcee and grinned expectantly.

Arcee glanced apprehensively at the crowd of people staring back at her.

Miko, barely able to contain her excitement, coaxed Arcee along that last little bit.

"Well, Arcee? We're waiting."

Arcee huffed and said, "Miko Nakadai, you are without a doubt the most Dromedonian Shrikebat-scrap crazy human I have ever met!" She reached out suddenly and hugged Miko tight before whispering, "…and I love you too, little sister."

Arcee let go of Miko and turned to the mystified congregation. She took a very deep breath before she closed her eyes and deactivated her Holocloak.

There was a flash of white light, so intense that it forced everyone to shield their eyes from the glare. It slowly faded and revealed Arcee's true silver and sapphire Cybertronian form.

The congregation gasped in shock at the sight of an autonomous robotic organism suddenly standing in their midst.

Opening her optics, Arcee attempted a smile and anxiously hoped for the best.

For a heartbeat there was confusion as the crowd of onlookers attempted to process what couldn't possibly be real.

Mr. Nakadai glared at his daughter and demanded, "Miko, wh-what is this, some kind of joke?"

Mr. Gonzales put in his two cents as well, saying, "Rafael, you better have a good explanation for this!"

Miko smiled and said, "I don't think they're buying into it yet, Arcee. You might want to take it up a notch."

Arcee nodded, her glowing pink microfilament hair swaying subtly in time with the slight movement. She concentrated and her T-Cog did the rest, transforming her smaller technorganic form into her much larger default body.

As she loomed over everyone in her towering fifteen feet of glory, Arcee did her utmost to look as non-threatening as possible.

However, when it became painfully apparent that this was not an elaborate prank, mass hysteria erupted.

All too quickly that transformed into absolute pandemonium.

"Th-th-this is for REAL!"

"Madre de Dios!"

"Alien robots! We're being invaded!"

"¡Corre por tu vida!"

"S-somebody call the police!"

And that was precisely when little Orion freed himself from June Darby's arms and ran giggling towards Arcee.

Everyone stopped in their tracks as they saw what was happening. As one they gasped, thinking that an innocent little baby boy was in terrible danger.

They held their collective breath as Arcee began to reach for the child.

Protective motherly instincts instantly kicked in and overrode any sense of fear as both Mrs. Esquivel and Mrs. Nakadai rushed headlong towards them. Reaching Arcee and Orion, they screamed, "NO, DON'T!"

Mrs. Nakadai stuttered, "P-please…don't hurt him."

Mrs. Esquivel added, "He is just a baby!"

For an instant Arcee was speechless. Then the moment passed and she found she couldn't contain herself. She threw her head back and began to laugh, her giggling snorts loudly resounding throughout the entire courtyard. It continued to echo across the considerable expanse of the surrounding desert, causing several packs of frightened wolves to howl in fear.

Still snorting after almost a full minute of laughter, Arcee wiped a luminous tear from her optic and managed to ask, "Wh-why in Primus' name would I hurt my own child?"

The mothers of the bride and groom glanced uncertainly at one another and began to stammer, "Y-y-your…?"

They were even more confused when Arcee gently picked up Orion and cooed, "You little scamp! You were supposed to wait for your cue, remember? It's not time for you to bring the wedding rings!"

"Sorry, Mama! C'n we do it again?"

Jack slowly made his way over and stood alongside Arcee. In a blur she transformed again, reverting back to her smaller technorganic form. He slid his arm around her slender waist and fondly kissed her silver cheek.

The fathers cautiously joined the huddled group, looking at Jack and Arcee together with utter puzzlement.

Mr. Nakadai nervously scratched the back of his neck and said, "I-I am afraid I do not understand any of this…"

Mr. Gonzales sputtered, "B-but…but you're a human, and sh-she's a-a-a-!"

Jack smiled, "It's okay, sir…you can say it. Arcee is an alien. Oh, and as far as my being human…?" He removed his shades, revealing his glowing eyes.

He grinned, "…welllll, more or less anyway."

"Ay caramba…"

Somewhere in the crowd somebody cried, "Th-this is crazy!"

Jack chuckled and replied, "You know, a long time ago I said that exact same thing! You get used to it, after a while."

Mrs. Nakadai inclined her head towards Orion and nervously asked, "S-so…what, did you…adopt him?"

Noticeably blushing, Arcee smiled and replied, "Not exactly."

Jack nudged Arcee's shoulder and saucily remarked, "We preferred the old-fashioned method, to be honest."

Arcee's blush flared like a supernova and she scolded, "Jack!"

Sensing that he was somehow at the heart of everyone's conversation, Orion began to giggle expectantly. Jack chuckled at his son's look of barely-restrained anticipation.

Orion eagerly inquired, "Now, Daddy? C'n I do it now…?"

Jack pretended to ponder the request for a lengthy moment before finally relenting and saying, "Okay, okay…you've waited long enough, I guess. Now, little guy."

Orion squealed with excitement before he squeezed his eyes shut and concentrated.

His body began to glow as he shed his own disguise and transformed. His light brown appearance shimmered as the plating of his metal skin reverted back to gleaming silver. His dark eyes also changed, now glowing with a brilliant azure hue.

The transformation complete, Orion happily cried, "TALLAWHUN!"

June smiled smugly and reminded the congregation, "I told you that we were more alike than you realized!"

Miko asked, "Whoa, whoa…hang on a sec! You guys are acting like you had this thing planned out in advance! How'd you - "

Jack explained, "C'mon, Miko…after years of having to chase you through all those Space Bridges, we learned to expect the unexpected with you! We thought you might do something like this, so we wanted to be ready for it!"

Even though Orion was definitely not completely human, his mere presence seemed to calm everyone in the congregation almost immediately. It was almost as if the strange word he had uttered created peace amidst the chaos.

Still, someone couldn't help but ask, "Are-are there more of…of them?"

Miko giggled at the question, saying "Funny you should mention that." She looked over at the parked cars facing the courtyard and shouted, "GUYS? That means you, too!"

When nothing happened, Jack sighed and took charge.

"Autobots…transform, and reveal yourselves!"

Much to the surprise of the congregation, they did. The sudden appearance of five additional giant robots nearly caused another panic. Fortunately Agent Fowler leapt to his feet and quickly managed to convince everyone to remain calm, offering to clarify the nuts and bolts of the Autobots' presence on Earth.

Several minutes of extremely abridged explanations passed before Fowler began to run out of breath.

"…so you see, there's nothing to worry about from our Autobot friends. Even Knockout here saw the error of his ways, choosing to leave the Decepticons so he could join the winning team."

A sinister grin split the aforementioned Knockout's highly polished faceplate as he deadpanned, "Then again, this may all be part of my master plan to destroy you all when you least expect it!"

Nervously clearing his throat, Raf took over and said, "A-anyway, when my friends and I discovered the existence of the Autobots, the Decepticons targeted us and our loved ones. The Bots protected us, along with the whole human race. They did this without asking for anything in return, saving the Earth more times than I can remember…sometimes at the sacrifice of their own lives."

Arcee's face grew sad at the tragic memory of Cliffjumper. Jack squeezed her hand, knowing the loss still hurt.

Raf smiled, "We consider the Autobots our friends and family, and we hope and pray that you will come to love them as much as we do!"

The impassioned speech helped calm the families but they were still slightly uncertain.

Raf pressed his advantage and went on to say, "Miko and I were wracking our brains for weeks trying to decide what kind of wedding we wanted…" He looked at Jack and Arcee and smiled, "…but it was actually Jack and Arcee who gave us the idea to combine our respective cultures' core traditions for the ceremony."

Jack blinked, "Us?"

Equally surprised, Arcee added, "Really?"

Raf nodded in reply and said, "We couldn't help but learn from their example, how they put aside their differences and found true love. When it all came down to it, even though they appeared have nothing in common, they found they had a lot in common. This is how I see it: by ourselves, humans and Cybertronians are capable of doing some pretty awesome things…" He indicated Orion and grinned, "…but when you put us together, something miraculous is born."

Raf and Miko's parents formed a loose circle around them, gazing upon Orion. Arcee gently set down her tiny son so that everybody could see him better.

Inquisitively, he edged towards Raf and Miko's mothers. They both knelt so that they all were more at eye level. Hesitantly they smiled at him.

Without warning Orion shrieked happily as he reached out with his pudgy arms and hugged them both at the same time. Tears filled their eyes and their hearts simultaneously melted into puddles of goo as they returned his embrace.

Wiping away a stray tear of his own, Mr. Gonzales took that as his cue, facing the congregation and once more assuming his 'Big Papa' role.

"I think it is long overdue that we all welcome Arcee and the Autobots into our family."

He looked over at Miko's dad and they smiled at one another, nodding in silent agreement. He grinned and added, "Correction: both our families."

Mr. Nakadai grunted happily with his approval.

Both men shook hands and everybody cheered.

Arcee whispered, "Th-thank you all."

When the joyous furor finally died down, there was the unmistakable sound of someone loudly clearing their throat.

Everyone turned to see a very impatient Miko with her hands on her hips, tapping her foot expectantly.

"Okay, okay…now that that's finally outta the way, let's get this party started! I told you guys…nobody's gonna upstage me at my own wedding! C'mon, get on with the ceremony!"

Knockout snorted, shaking his head as he muttered, "Ceremony, Miko? This is bad comedy!"

Miko grinned excitedly and said, "Okay, one last time. Let's do this."

YEP, YOU GUESSED IT! TO BE CONTINUED!

This chapter is humbly dedicated to Airreon Princess for getting me back in the game! Thanks, Princess!