"Alexis, time to get up," a voice cooed gently in her ear. For a moment, she was back on Xylia with Celeste trying to coax her out of bed. But the sound was wrong. It was way too deep to be Celeste's. She forced a single optic opened to find herself looking into the face of the youngest Prime. She shot upright, accidentally banging her head off of Optimus' helmet. She clutched her head until the pain began to fade.

"I'm up," she groaned. Optimus chuckled softly and sat down slightly beside her.

"Ironhide is on his way here. I thought I'd wake you myself, rather than giving that pleasure to him. He's not very kind when anyone trys to get extra rest," Optimus said. Both shared a quick laugh before there was a knock on the door. Optimus stood and opened the door. Without exchanging a word, Ironhide swept into the room, not quite knocking Optimus over since the Prime had expected Ironhide to do just that.

"Looks like you're both up," Ironhide said, dipping his chassis a little to give them both a bow. His optics never left Alexis' though, as if he was trying to figure her out and she was on display. "Ready to go?"

"I'd like to get dressed if that's alright with both of you," was Alexis' polite reply. Ironhide was literally dragged from the room seconds later by Optimus who shut the door behind them. All Alexis could do was laugh until her sides were sore.

When the door opened to reveal Alexis again, she was dressed in a brand new outfit. It was green in colour, with sleeves that reached her lower arm, ending before her wrists. The skirt of the dress only reached about mid-thigh. Green flats, small stud earrings, and a ponytail finished the outfit.

"You look... wonderful," Optimus said, pushing off of the wall that he had been leaning against. Ironhide moved away from the door to get a better look. He gave her an approving nod. "We should get going. I want to get there before Megatron figures out where we've gone."

"'Where we've gone'?" Alexis repeated. "He doesn't know we're leaving?"

"Nah, Megatron's a bit strict with that. Leave him be, girlie. You're with me and Prime anyways," Ironhide replied. Optimus offered her his arm which she gladly took while Ironhide spoke. "As long as we're with you, you'll be fine. Don't try wandering off. No point in that." He received a nod, but any words that she had planned on saying was torn away as soon as they stepped outside. The streets were buzzing with activity. Everywhere you looked, bots of all sizes were milling around. Suddenly she felt small, tiny even, in a sea of moving parts.

Optimus looked at her when her loose, friendly grip on his arm become a tight, frightened one. "You're alright, Alexis. Everything is fine."

"There are so many of them around here," she whispered. She glanced at Ironhide when he placed a servo on her shoulder.

"What did you expect? A planet with no one on it?" Ironhide asked. Alexis shook her head.

"No... but I'm not good with crowds," she replied. Optimus gently placed his free servo on top of her smaller hand.

"Ironhide, do you think we could find a way to get there while avoiding large crowds?" Optimus questioned. Ironhide motioned for them to stay where they were and walked off. Alexis, still almost terrified, moved in closer to Optimus. She took a deep breath that turned into a shriek when a new bot grabbed her arm. She nearly jumped into the Prime's arms while digging her nails into the gaps between his armor.

"Take it easy, femme. I ain't gonna hurt ya," the bot said kindly. At that point, Alexis scurried away from Optimus as if he'd burnt her. She turned to face the new bot to avoid looking at the Prime.

"And you are?"

"Where are meh manners. Name's Jazz. And you?"

"My name is Alexis," she replied, dipping in a curtsy. Jazz's sudden laugh startled her, and Optimus reached out to steady the blue female. "What?"

"You ain't from 'round 'ere, are ya?" Jazz asked. Alexis gave him a look of confusion, while Optimus glared at the silver mech. "Ya don't need ta be so fancy. Relax, femme."

"Jazz, meet the princess of Xylia, Alexis Lovell. I would appreciate it if you stopped making fun of her," Optimus broke in with a pointed look. Jazz straightened, looking Alexis over.

"Well. My apologies, m'lady. Nice ta meet ya all the same," Jazz responded. This time he offered her a brief bow that was over in a beat of a spark. His attention then turned to Optimus. "Glad to see ya out and about, Prime. You're always so busy." He secretly smiled when Alexis looked slightly concerned. "Where are ya headed?"

"Don't go ruining the surprise," Ironhide answered as he walked up. He practically pushed Jazz over as he approached Alexis' side. "Come on. If ya follow me, I'll get us outta the crowds."

"Oh? A princess that doesn't like crowds. Interestin'," Jazz said. His comment went unheard as the two other mechs escorted her around a building that lead to a lesser used path. They passed a few bots here and there, but few turned and stared. Something Alexis was glad for. She kept her head down and allowed Optimus to pull her where he wanted her to go.

They had been walking for quite some time until they arrived at a station where they boarded a shuttle. She'd nearly fallen asleep leaning against Ironhide when the shuttle came to a stop and the three mechs led her off it. Her optics widened upon seeing her surroundings. Amid towering building so tall it hurt her neck to look up at them, were gigantic crystal looming over their heads in a brilliant display. The light caused them to sparkle and cast shadows of blue, green, and pink. Some appeared to float above the ground. She let go of Optimus' arm and took a few steps forward; enchanted by the beauty of the area before her. "What... is this place?" Alexis asked as she spun to face them so fast her hair whipped through the air creating a whipping sound and they feared she'd give herself whiplash.

"The Crystal Gardens," Optimus replied. A full smile bloomed on her face that transformed her optics into something endearing to gaze upon. She surprised him by rushing forwards and hugging him tightly. He hesitated briefly and glanced at Jazz and Ironhide for what to do. Jazz only mimed hugging someone, while Ironhide simply smirked. Slowly, Optimus wrapped his arms around Alexis and received a giggle in response. Alexis then wiggled out of his grasp and ran out further into the garden. The three mechs followed her quickly to avoid losing sight of her. She reminded Jazz of a sparkling who had just learned to walk. Or run, in Alexis' case. She hardly stopped for more than a few moments. And when she did, it was only to grab onto a railing to either lean or to peer down the hole that the crystal filled, or to nearly dump herself over by leaning back to try and see the top. At one point, she did lose her balance, and Ironhide swept her up into his arms, making her squeal in surprise. She laughed happily and went limp in his arms, staring into Optimus' optics upside down. She was really acting like a youngling, rather than a princess. Something Jazz liked about her.

"And Prime said you're a princess?" Jazz joked. Alexis grinned at him.

"I'm dizzy," was her playful reply. Ironhide righted her and she pouted. "Aw, that was fun."

"You're heavy femmeling," Ironhide said. Alexis bristled and glared at him, though her optics still sparkled in happiness.

"I'm not a femmeling! I'm a young woman!" she snapped. A few bots did look her way, and she blushed but continued to meet Ironhide's stare.

"You're a youngling. Admit it."

"Never!"

"Ironhide, stop baiting her," Optimus ordered. Ironhide huffed causing Alexis to give him a fake innocent smile while walking back to Optimus' side. Her optics wandered over the crystals as a true smile forced its way back onto her face. "Alexis, I have something for you," Optimus' voice drew Alexis' attention once more. Her smile faded into a look of confusion.

"Oh?" she asked. Optimus procedded to hand her a small delicately engraved metal box. It was rather light and was the length of her entire hand. She studied Optimus' optics for a brief time before feeling the side of the box. Her fingers felt a tiny, or tiny to her anyways, lock and she slipped a clawed nail into it and the top popped open, startling her. She reached inside and pulled out an object roughly the size of her fist. It looked almost like a snowglobe, with a dark ball on a base which had her name ingraved in Cybertronian and Xylian. Flowers decorated the base which gave it a unique flare. The details in the design were beyond words. Optimus gently reached forward and gently pressed a button on the bottom, when she gave it to him that is, that made the ball light up to reveal its secret. Within the glass, were crystals, matching their larger counterparts. She gasped softly and looked up at him with awe in her optics.

"I had it made for you upon learning your name just before you arrived. The crystals are from here, to help you remeber that not all of your new home is bad," Optimus told her.

"Thank you. Who made it?" she inquired. Optimus gave her a slight smile.

"Wheeljack the inventor. I'll take you to meet him when I know he's working on something that is highly unlikely to explode," Alexis laughed at Optimus' words.

"Did he engrave it too?"

"Nah, one of the terror twins did," Ironhide replied before Optimus had a chance to.

"Terror twins?"

"Yeah, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker. Sunny's the artist," Jazz informed her. Alexis stepped over to Ironhide and handed the gift to him with the polite request that he hold it. Once it was safe with him, she embraced Optimus. This time, she was gentle rather than excited. She then stood on her tippy-toes and kissed him on the panels of his cheek. The gift was returned to her afterwards, and she happily held it to her chest.

Jazz went his own way once they arrived back at their dwellings. He mocked her, playfully, by bowing to her as he left. Ironhide followed Optimus and Alexis into their quarters. He sat down with Alexis on her berth while Optimus got three Energon cubes ready. The black mech bumped her shoulder with a grin. "What do you want, 'Hide?" Alexis asked on a slight sigh.

"Nothin'," Ironhide replied. He watched Optimus who was at the Energon dispenser beside his berth on the other side of the room. He nudged her again, and motioned with his helm towards Optimus. Her optics followed his movements to Optimus. She then looked anywhere but at the Prime. Which made Ironhide believe that there were feelings there after all.