TRANSFORMERS ANIMATED


The Grey Matter - Silver Lining sub-story (between chapters twenty-six and twenty-seven)


"At the same time as Megatron reawakening, a girl falls to earth and Sari manages to convince her Father to let the new girl - Emma - become her nanny. Emma doesn't talk much, and she's ESPECIALLY not saying she's from a different world! But, when the All-Spark is shattered, her origins are questioned, and her importance becomes key to the tides of the war...PxOCxJ"


The Month Of Celebrations

"In the month of December, Emma and the Autobots get news of more All-Spark Fragments in exciting and exotic places, and before that is Aquilla and Audrey's first Christmas! Emma will discover more about herself, and there's bound to be chaos and adventure and romance! Never before seen stories from Grey Matter - Silver Lining!"


CHAPTER TWO

Autobot Air


I was kind of hoping to take the others along, too...you know, Miko and Flora and Sari.


When Miko heard the news, she had screamed, and jumped up and down. Flora and Sari had had similar reactions. They were all excited, despite the fact that they would be away for the real Christmas - it was the first time overseas for Sari, and both Miko and Flora loved to travel. They even liked flying commercial, which confused Emma. But, her behaviour confused them!

Emma was, however, the only one of them that had been to the places they needed to go, and so took them all shopping and brought a few things that they would need. She warned them all to pack light - they would probably be doing enough shopping where they were going, as it was!

Despite her fears of flying, Emma couldn't help but feel excited, as they sat down the night before their trip to go over things one last time.

It was December nineteenth, and a week before Christmas. They had celebrated their early Christmas a few days ago, since it was the twins' first, and Sari was also trying to figure out how to get her new jet-pack past customs.

Optimus sat at the head of the table in the meetings room (which now sported tinsel and a tree). Bumblebee; Bulkhead; Sari and Miko sat at one side of the table, and Emma; Flora; Prowl and Jazz sat at the other side. Ratchet was at the other end of the table. Most of them were drinking either hot chocolate or egg-nog, and sporting very happy smiles.

"Okay," Optimus said. "So, our flight leaves at six o'clock tomorrow morning, so we have to be out at the airport at four o'clock. Which means..."

"We're probably not going to be sleeping tonight?" Miko suggested.

"Actually, it would be better if you did," Prowl informed her. "It's also best to stay awake as much as you can on the flight over there, because of the time difference when traveling from west to east." He added, correctly interpreting what she was about to say next...

Miko stuck his tongue out at him. "Yeah, well, I've only travelled east to west, so there."

Prowl rolled his eyes. Bulkhead smiled.

"Yes..." Optimus nodded. "So, then the flight takes approximately nineteen hours," (Emma shuddered). "And, we're flying Royal Dutch Airlines." He added.

Sari nodded, and then, she displayed her brilliance, by saying: "So, there's a twelve hour time difference between us and there. So, we'll be leaving here at six AM on the Sunday, to arrive in Kuala Lumpur at eleven AM on the Monday."

The others stared at her, and Miko's eyes glazed over. Sari could just imagine her thinking: 'no way...'.

Emma added, helpfully: "You may also be keen to know that it's summer over there, not winter."

"Beach time!" Sari and Flora cheered.

Optimus smiled. "You'll be staying at some place called The Intercontinental - Professor Sumdac already made all of the bookings. However, Prowl; Jazz; Emma and the twins and I will be staying at the airport, because we gave a connecting Air Asia flight at one-thirty in the afternoon." He looked like he was seriously debating whether or not to leave the others alone in a foreign city.

Jazz smiled at Emma. "It only takes three megacyles to fly from KL to Bali, doesn't it?"

Emma nodded happily, and clutched her cup of cocoa. "Now, three hours I can handle, especially after nineteen. We'll arrive in Denpasar at ten PM, and head straight to the Intercontinental Hotel in Jimbaran Bay. Although, you might have to carry me and the twins, if you know what I mean..."

Prowl chuckled. "You'll be fine. It sounds like you'll be able to relax afterwards, though, from what you've told me about the hotel..."

"It's a high-class beach-side resort with solid rooms." Jazz interrupted him.

Prowl gave him a Look, which he ignored.

Emma nodded, choosing not to comment on the brief exchange between her two cyber-ninjas. "Yeah, we upgraded using Isaac's Club Membership..." She smiled at Sari, smugly. "You didn't get to upgrade, kiddo." She teased.

Sari shrugged, and 'hmphed'. "Yeah, well, you also said that the rooms in the Intercon. in KL have jumbo king-sized beds with matching pillows!"

Emma nodded. "That's true, I did say that...oh, no balconies, though."

"Damn it! ... Is there cable-TV, at least?"

"Naturally."

"Sweet. What about pools? Is there one?"

"Sure, sure...our hotel has six, though."

"Six?!"

"Uh-huh."

"Lucky."

"I know."

Flora and Miko were giggling by this stage, and the Autobots exchanged small smiles.


Despite what Prowl had said, Emma couldn't sleep. She was too jittery. Besides, it would be easier for her to stay awake than it would be for everybody to try and wake her up in a few short hours. She knew that from experience. Emma couldn't believe that she was getting to travel again, and back to Bali, no less. Emma hung upside-down from Prowl's tree as he slept on his berth, and Jazz dozed at the base of the tree. The bat-like position was an idea she had gotten from Sari, but had no way of knowing that it was a little bit more than that...she didn't even realise she was doing it...

Emma thought about the times she had gone to Bali as a child, and wanted to make this trip just as awesome for her daughters. Making it a surprise was exactly what Lee had done for her girls when they were young, saying they were going to the doctors, and then driving to the airport. It had been just a girls holiday - Nanna and Aunty Cheryl (Lee's older sister) had joined them. According to Lee, she and her Mother had travelled to Asia a lot when they were younger, and Lee had travelled with her cousin and best friend, too. They'd gone to Phuket and Bangkok and Hong Kong and Singapore and the Philippines and Fiji and the Cook Islands...

More than anything, Emma wanted to share such experiences with her own children. Maybe after the war was over, they could travel a lot. Emma had always wanted to go to Japan...maybe Miko could take them all to her homeland...after the war...

Emma suddenly glanced at Prowl, and felt a spike of fear in her chest.

Prowl was supposed to die at the end of Endgame! Emma had almost forgotten about that, but now it was a painful reminder. What should she do?!

Emma then remembered just why they were going to Kuala Lumpur and Bali in the first place - to get more All-Spark Fragments! She relaxed immediately. Of course, she could just use the power of the All-Spark, combined with her own spirit, to ensure that Prowl's sacrifice would not be necessary. Yes, and she would ensure that Starscream would not die, either.

It was really too bad about Blurr...why had Shockwave done that? Didn't he realise that a Cybertronian's death meant the birth of a new Vampire, or had he simply forgotten about that? Or, chosen to ignore it...? As a Decepticon, he no doubt knew about this fact, so what was going on with him? Paranoia...or, something else...?

"I won't let anybody else die..." Emma whispered, just as the door to Prowl's room opened, startling her. She fell out of the tree, and was caught by Jazz. "Nice catch..." Emma muttered.

"I'll say." Jazz replied, grinning.

Emma rolled her eyes. Typical mech...

Prowl had woken up, too, and all three of them looked up as Optimus entered.

"Sorry to disturb you three," the Autobot leader said quietly. "I was wondering if I could have a word with Emma, though?"

Emma glanced at Prowl and then at Jazz, before the latter handed her over to the Prime.

Optimus left the room with Emma sitting on his shoulder, and walked out into the main room. Emma was wondering what Optimus wanted to talk to her about, and panicked briefly that he may have discovered that she was part Vampire now. So far, she thought she'd done a pretty good job of keeping it a secret, passing off her research on her other side as being knowing thy enemy, but...?

"Emma..." Optimus said, and he sounded very serious. He placed her down, and she sat at the table.

Emma panicked. He knows, he knows, he knows! She panicked.

"I wanted to talk to you about the All-Spark."

"It's not my fault!" Emma protested, and Optimus raised an optic ridge. "I mean...what?" She hadn't really heard him.

Optimus sighed, and assumed his holoform. He sat down on the opposite side of the table, and looked at her. "Emma, Cliffjumper contacted me again, today. They managed to extract some information from Ultra Magnus' processor last night."

Emma gasped. "Is that okay? I mean, isn't he..." She gulped. "On spark-support?"

Optimus nodded. "Occasionally, useful information can be obtained from a Cybertronian's processor that would not usually be recalled if they were online. One of our scientists and one of our medics..."

"Would they happened to be named Wheeljack and Red Alert?"

"How did you...? Oh, never mind." Optimus shook his head. "Emma, Ultra Magnus knows who you are."

Emma nodded vaguely. "I had a feeling he would...what does that have to do with the All-Spark, though?"

"He doesn't want you to use it."

"What?!" Emma exclaimed, shocked. "Why not?!"

"For many reasons," Optimus explained. "One being that you're not capable of wielding its full power yet."

"I managed myself just fine before!" Emma said, quietly but also defensively.

Optimus ignored her. "It also attracts both Decepticons and Vampires. Emma, it's just too dangerous. Ultra Magnus just doesn't want you and the All-Spark to get hurt."

Emma sighed. "Says the bot that got his hammer stolen by Shockwave."

Optimus gave her a Look. "Emma, promise me that you won't use the All-Spark's power anymore." He gazed intently at her.

Emma had trouble returning his gaze, until she felt overly compelled to look. And, when she did, all of her frustrations and defiances melted away, because she saw in those electric blue eyes care...and worry. Optimus was worried about her, as was Ultra Magnus. Not just about the All-Spark, but about her...

Emma nodded. "Okay, how about a deal then." She clasped her hands.

Optimus sat back. "I'm listening." He replied.

"I won't use the All-Spark's power for trivial things, like changing bots into their holoforms and stuff, but I will use it if it is absolutely necessary, like to protect somebody or myself with my shield, or if I get attacked and need to power the attacker down to their holoform so that I can handle them. Or, if I need to protect somebody or a lot of somebodies, or if I am asked to be one of our own, for the above reasons." She looked at him. "You said so yourself, that with great power comes great responsibilities."

"When did I say that?"

"You said it to Sari last week."

"Oh, right." Optimus considered this, and then said: "Just promise me one last thing, with no negotiations this time."

"Shoot."

"Promise me that you won't under any circumstances use the All-Spark to create any new Transformers."

"I...wait, what, it can do that?" Emma blinked. Like, in the movie, with the mobile phone? "Why would I create something that might attack me?"

"Just promise me that, okay, Emma?" Optimus held out his hand.

Emma glanced at it, and then shook it firmly. "Okay then, I promise. I mean, hey, I've got you guys and I'm not going anywhere - why would I need anybody else?"


The luggage was packed into the the car bots, and Ratchet had his list of things to do and what not to do when it came to taking care of Scuz-Bag (Emma threatened to rip off the other side of the appendage on his helmet if she came back and found Scuz-Bag dead). Miko left with Bulkhead; Sari left with Bumblebee and Flora left with Optimus. Now, all that was left to do was wake up the twins, and pile them into the vehicle of choice, which happened to be Jazz.

This proved to be more difficult than was expected but, seeing as how they were Emma's kids, they really should have expected it.

Aquilla tossed and turned and flailed and complained, and one time she even hissed, until they finally managed to get her up, and dressed in a pretty light blue dress with lilacs on it. She sleepily followed Prowl out of the room, and into the kitchen for some very early breakfast.

Audrey just stayed asleep, despite the combined efforts of Emma and Jazz, and so they dressed the sleeping child in a yellow dress with pink roses, and carried her out to the kitchen.

"I swear, this child could sleep through an earthquake; a tsunami; World War Three and Miko's screamo music." Emma rolled her eyes.

"When Audrey naps, she naps hard." Jazz agreed.

Audrey stayed asleep, until they were in the kitchen, that is, and the smell of energon-milk reached her senses. She was awake in an instant, and sitting beside her sister with a cup of her favourite drink, and some peanut-butter on toast.

Emma took a look at her twins. They didn't look like the four month olds that they were - they looked more like toddlers. In fact, they looked an awful lot like Emma had when she had first gone to Bali. If Lee had been here, then she would have been able to tell in an instant that the two orange-eyed kids were her Grandkids.

Emma smiled, and then realised that she was leaning on Jazz for support. Hmm, she was more tired than she'd thought. She straightened up, and checked her outfit in a conveniently nearby mirror. She wore a pair of black jeans with a white t-shirt, and a grey jacket. She had a change of clothes in her hand-luggage (that was with Bulkhead), and she would be able to get changed on the plane, somewhere over Hudson Bay, maybe...stupid flight route...

Aquilla then chose that moment to ask: "Mummy, why are we up so early?"

Emma and her two cyber-ninjas exchanged a glance, before she realised that she had no cover-story. Luckily, Prowl saved the day, by saying: "We have an early engagement that we must attend to."

"Oh..." The twins looked at each other. Audrey asked: "What's an engagement?"

Aquilla pointed at Emma. "Is it like Mummy's rings?"

Emma instinctively hid her left hand.

Prowl shook his head. "That engagement which you refer to, my young lady, is a betrothal, between two which are intended, or affianced. However, our engagement is a promise or an agreement to be at a particular place at a particular time, with prior specifications and with certain conditions. Hopefully, it shall be most engaging." He added.

"And, not a hostile encounter, or a battle." Jazz whispered to Emma, and she tried not to giggle.

"Ohhhh...okay then." The twins nodded.

"Do you understand?" Prowl wanted to know.

"No."

Prowl sighed. "Oh, never mind then..." He looked at Emma, and she shrugged.


Emma had started out riding with Prowl, but less than halfway through he (albeit somewhat reluctantly) made her ride with Jazz, instead. This was because she was tired ("Emma, don't you dare go to sleep - you'll fall off!"). So, Emma sat in the front and the twins sat in the back of Jazz's alt. mode and, to keep the girls busy (and all three of them awake) Emma taught them some songs, and sang some that she associated with Bali (like Island Home and Ryuusei). Jazz was secretly thrilled to have Emma singing like this, and even activated his holoform to get a better look at her as she sang her heart out.

My pretty lil' half Vampire, all sexy femme... Jazz was secretly thinking. You have no idea how truly amazing you are, do you? Only for her, would he allow himself to abandon the Elite guard like he had. Sure, they had given him slag for it, but it had been worth it. He got to stay on earth with Emma and, best of all, he got to give her more reason to choose his proposal. He respected Prowl, of course, and loved training with a fellow cyber-ninja, but all was fair in love and war, and right now they were at both...well, aside from the holiday...

The twins had no idea where they were really headed.

Twenty miles outside of Detroit, however, they began to grow suspicious.

"Mummy," Aquilla leaned into the front, after Hakuna Matata. "Where are we really going?"

"We have a prior engagement, darling." Emma replied. "Now, put your seatbelt back on."

Aquilla pouted, but did so.

"I'll bet it's got something to do with that." Emma heard Audrey whisper, and she pointed out the plane to a huge plane that was just taking off. "That's called a jumbo jet."

"J-jumbo jet?!" Aquilla repeated, shocked. "It's ginourmous!" She exclaimed.

Audrey giggled. "Maybe we'll get to ride on one of them...I'll bet it's not like Jetfire." She added.

"Or Jetstorm." Aquilla agreed. "Do you really think we're going to fly today? Let's find out. Hey, Mummy," she leaned forwards as far as her seatbelt would allow her to go. "Are we going on a jet?" She asked.

They passed a sign that read: Detroit Metro Wayne County Airport. A US Airways flight took off right over their heads as they passed through the gates.

"I knew it, we're going on a plane!" Audrey exclaimed.

Emma smiled. "That's right...we're going to a place called Asia." She finally told them. "It's a faraway place you've never been to but I have. It's a lot of fun, with lots of exciting things to see and do."

The twins were silent for a second, before they began exclaiming all sorts of things that Emma couldn't quite catch, and neither could Jazz. They drove through the car park, with Prowl following behind them, and up to the McNamara Terminal.

"The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading, only." A lady over the speaker system stated, sounding like she'd been doing this for about fifty years.

Oh, I pity all those suckers that have to walk this far. Emma shook her head.

Come on, cool cat, walking's healthy, right? Jazz thought to her.

I got enough of that at the train station back home, Jazz...a hundred new parking bays my aft...

Jazz tried not to laugh.

They stopped out the front of the terminal, under the bright glare of the lights.

Emma got out, and watched as Aquilla undid her own seatbelt and jumped out, taking off in...some direction.

"On it." Prowl said calmly, and followed her.

Emma, meanwhile, went to the other side of Jazz, and undid Audrey's seatbelt, lifting the little girl out and into her arms.

"Excuse me," a male airport attendant came over to them, looking superior. "You can't park here - it's a white zone!"

Emma just looked at him, and then glanced at Jazz. "I..."

"Jazz, Mummy's being harassed by an arrogant human!" Audrey said, very clearly.

Jazz transformed calmly, and then smiled. "Problem?" He asked, mildly. "'Cause, I can multiply them, dig?"

The attendant paled slightly. "M-my mistake, sir...s-sorry!" He scampered off.

"I love it when you do that." Emma told Jazz, smiling up at him.

"I get a lot of practice with Sentinel, yo." Jazz replied, grinning.

Audrey began to giggle.

Prowl, meanwhile, was walking towards them in his holoform, and holding a quivering Aquilla.

"What happened?" Emma asked immediately, concerned, as she set Audrey down and reached out a hand to touch Aquilla's forehead. She sensed fear.

"Centipede." Prowl replied, as Jazz assumed his holoform.

"Ohhhh..." Emma nodded knowingly, and sympathetically tucked a strand of stray purple hair behind Aquilla's ear. "Well, it's gone now, dear. Don't worry."

"Okay." Aquilla nodded, as Prowl put her down. She held Prowl's hand and Emma's hand. Audrey held Emma's other hand, and Jazz's hand. They entered the airport terminal together.

"There they are!" A voice called, and Miko was waving to them from over where the others and the luggage were. "Over here!"


"Flight 306NQ2 to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, first boarding call, at Gate Five."

"Mummy, is that our flight?" Audrey asked, from her Mother's arms, where they sat waiting for everybody else to check-in.

"Uh-huh." Emma hugged her youngest daughter. "Isn't this exciting?!"

"Uh-huh...what's a horrific crash?"

"...It's a country, Audrey."

After check-in and walking through a tunnel with a really spectacular light-show in it, they had to go through customs.

Sari was, noticeably, nervous, as they approached Customs 3.

"What's wrong?" Emma whispered to her. Though Sari was no longer her charge, she still felt obligated to assist the red-head.

"I've got my jet-pack on under my coat," Sari replied, explaining the bulkiness of her layers. "I think it's gonna set off the metal detectors..."

"Well, stop looking so nervous, the guards are looking at you." Emma replied, and the guards really were, but maybe it was because they knew that some of the party were Autobots.

Sari was still nervous, as she approached the metal detector of Customs 3.

Optimus went through first, followed by Bumblebee and Bulkhead, then Flora, then Miko and Jazz, then the twins skipped through, and then it was Sari's turn.

Sari sure took her sweet time asking the custom's official questions, and everybody else got bored and wandered off. Miko and Flora watched the planes taking off. Bumblebee waited for Sari, tapping his foot impatiently as he checked his non-existant watch, and Bulkhead and Optimus managed everybody's hand-luggage as it came off the conveyor-belt. The twins discovered Vending Machine Alley.

"Flight 306NQ2 to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, now boarding at Gate Five."

"Uh, Sari, like, today, maybe?" Emma asked, slowly.

"Yeah, yeah, okay then." Sari sighed. "Bossy boots..." She muttered, under her breath.

"I heard that!"

Sari rolled her eyes.

She was just about to step through, when there was a commotion that rose up quickly from somewhere further down the customs line. Emma turned, and saw her good old friend the White Zone Inspector, making a big scene over something, as multiple airport officials rushed over, including the ones at Customs 3.

Quick as a flash, Sari zipped through the metal detector, which beeped, but that couldn't be heard over the yelling, and Sari subtly disabled it with her powers.

Emma and Prowl exchanged a glance, before just walking through unnoticed.

"I think we've been a bad influence on them." Emma said, as she noticed Aquilla trying to persuade Audrey to climb into a vending machine to get the toy inside.


After Prowl won the brown bear with the red Christmas scarf for Aquilla and a white one with a green scarf one for Audrey, and said twins plasticised nearly everything in their Mother's wallet followed by Miko stocking up on Mercury Bars and then two trips to the bathroom and the placing of four mobile phones onto airplane mode by the four humans that had them, they were finally ready to board the plane - at last...

"Flight 306NQ2 to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, final boarding call at Gate Five. I say again..."

"Does she now?" Emma muttered, as she took her daughters by their hands and led them through the long walkway, and onto the plane. She could hear the engines already, and the familiar fear began to kick in. Flying...feeling so detached from the ground...not in control...

Walking behind her, Jazz and Prowl sensed this, but couldn't say anything out-loud because the twins were listening.

"See that?" Flora pointed something out to the twins. "That's the cockpit - it's where the pilot controls the plane."

"Ooh..." The twins were awed.

A flight attendant (a blonde French-Canadian one that looked like a Veela from Harry Potter) overheard them, and smiled. "You might even be able to have a look in the cockpit later on." She said, and the twins turned to her with interest. "You may even earn your wings." She added, mysteriously.

"But, right now, you're holding up traffic." Optimus said. He was already further down the plane, and searching for their seats.

"I hope all these people behind us are nice." Sari whispered to Miko.

"Why?" Miko asked her.

"Because, we'll be spending the next nineteen hours with them."

"Oh..."

The plane was a big one, not like the little ones that go three seats - aisle - three seats, like the one that had flown Emma to Bali the last time she'd been. No, this was a big plane, with three seats, and aisle, five seats, another aisle, and then three seats. It reminded Emma of the plane she'd flown to Kuala Lumpur on from Perth, except this was a nineteen hour flight instead of a five hour one. The plane was big because it was an international flight.

A familiar song was playing over the plane's audio system as they entered it. Emma recognised the song as Ironic, by Alanis Morissette.

Yeah, nice one, guys...

They had two sets of seats over the right wing, and then a row of five seats in the middle.

There was a brief and quiet squabble over whom would sit where, until Emma relented and let Audrey sit by one window, and Aquilla by the other, and everybody else was mature and agreed.

Prowl sat next to Aquilla (because she wanted him to), and Optimus sat next to Prowl.

Bumblebee sat in the first of the aisle seats, across from Optimus, and Flora sat next to him. Then Sari, and then Miko, and finally Bulkhead.

That left Audrey to sit by the other window. Jazz sat by the aisle, and Emma was quite comfortable to stay in the middle. She felt more secure there, as her Mother had correctly stated on one occasion.

They began to sort things out, like finding pillows and sorting out seat-belts (like seat-belts would really help them in a plane crash...). Then, Sari decided that she wanted to switch places with Flora, and they did, and then Miko wanted her MP3 Player from her hand-luggage - Bulkhead had to stand up and get it for her.

More people filed onto the plane. It was a full flight.

"Boy, we sure picked a popular flight." Miko commented.

"Why aren't we traveling first class?" Sari complained.

"I heard that people at the front of the plane are more likely to die in a crash." Flora stated.

"Ha! Take that, first class!" Miko mocked.

"Aww..." Emma groaned, overhearing them.

"Emma..." Sari leaned across. "Are you afraid of flying?"

"No - I'm afraid of crashing."

The teenage girls giggled.

Soon, however, the plane's engine changed slightly, and it began to move.

"We're moving!" Aquilla stated, unnecessarily, as the music that had just been playing stopped.

A voice said: "Ladies and gentlemen, good morning, and welcome aboard flight 306NQ2 to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I am Mark Petersons, and I will be your Captain for this flight. My Co-Pilot is Roy Harris. This flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, is a non-stop one, and will take approximately nineteen hours. I would like to remind you that this is a non-smoking flight. Please do not smoke in the toilets, as doing so will set off the fire alarm and sprinklers."

Audrey giggled. Emma smiled, faintly. Everything was dark outside - only the lights from the airport and runway showed.

"Please also ensure to turn off any electric devices including MP3 Players and lap tops during take-off and landing. Devices that transmit radio-active waves like walkie-talkies and cell phones are not permitted at all during the flight." Mark said. "Now, please direct your attention to the front, and the flight attendants will give their safety speech. We hope you enjoy this flight, ladies and gentlemen."

The blonde flight attendant began to make a speech about safety, as the plane maneuvered its way out onto the tarmac. She told them about life-vests and what to do if there was smoke present, and that sort of thing.

Emma gripped the arm-rests, and Jazz clasped her hand reassuringly.

"P-Over-M." He whispered to her.

She nodded.

The plane was making its way towards the main runway. It waited for a Delta flight to come in, during which time, the Captain said: "Ladies and gentlemen, for your safety, the lights will be dimmed for take-off. If you wish to read, please turn on the lights over your seats. Thank you."

Emma sighed, and tried to remember to breathe. It was no big deal, just a simple little flight...she tried to tell herself that, as the plane moved out towards the runway.

"Flight attendants, cross-check."

Emma was shaking.

Emma? Prowl thought to her. Relax, it's okay...

Easy for YOU to say...oh, why did I take my girls on this flight, what if something happens?!

Emma, relax. Prowl and Jazz thought to her in perfect unison.

Audrey and Aquilla were oblivious to their Mother's panic, as they pressed their faces to the cold glass of the window as the plane seemed to line itself up.

"Flight attendants, be seated for take-off."

Emma gripped Jazz's hand now, and tried not to let her panic show. She had fought Decepticons and Vampires before - a plane ride should be easy!

"This is it." Emma muttered.

The engine's powered up more then, as the plane began to taxi on the straight, quickly. Yes, this was certainly it. The plane shook, with whatever force was going to get it up in the air. Wait, what force?! How the Hell could something so big fly?!

Emma, Jazz thought to her. What's wrong?

How is the plane gonna get up there?! What's the point where it stops being on the ground and starts lifting up, and how does that happen?! Emma thought to him, and accidentally sent the thoughts to Prowl as well. What if we just keep going and crash into the watchtower?! What if the pilot loses control?! Why can't we just taxi like this all the way to Kuala Lumpur?! What if we take off and then just fall, like my year five teacher said happened, once?! Come to think of it, that's about the time I started being scared of flying...

Emma, the two mechs thought in unison. We love you.

"I...wait, what?" Emma said, out-loud, just as the plane lifted up into the air.

"Cool!" Aquilla and Audrey exclaimed in perfect unison, as the sensation of being airborne hit them. The pressed their faces to the windows some more, as the lights from Detroit twinkled below.

"It's like being inside a giant computer!" Aquilla added.

"Not...quite..." Emma heard Prowl tell the purple-haired girl, and heard the smile in his voice.

Emma dared to glance out the window, and then flinched, as the plane tilted a bit to get a proper angle for where it was going.

It's just the plane getting a proper angle. Prowl was reassuring.

What if it falls?

It's designed not to. Prowl replied.

Emma considered this. You know, coming from you, that's pretty reassuring...I think... She sighed. I'm being paranoid, aren't I?

Jazz and Prowl didn't answer that. But, it was true, she was, and she knew it and they did. Why was she so scared of flying, anyway? She'd been able to fly when she was Angel, apparently, so why was she so scared now?!

Emma sighed, and then flinched visibly as the plane's engines made a strange noise. What was that?!

Jazz sighed, and squeezed her hand. It's just the plane's engines doing what they're supposed to.

Will you tell me if they do something they're not supposed to? Emma wanted to know.

Yes. Jazz and Prowl replied in unison.

Promise?

Yes.

Emma sighed, and then allowed herself a small smile. Okay... "Okay." She said, out-loud.

"What's okay?" Audrey glanced over her shoulder at her Mother.

The plane shuddered and, for once, Emma didn't flinch, although her stomach knotted up slightly. But, the cyber ninjas had not said anything, so it must be okay, and Emma responded well to that.

"Everything, sweetspark, everything." Emma responded, honestly.


It happened about an hour and a half into the flight - the worst possible thing that could have happened.

Surprisingly, the twins didn't start it. Miko did.

She said: "Are we there yet?"

"Oh no, don't you dare!" Flora exclaimed. She groaned. "Didn't you bring something to do?"

"Didn't you?" Miko stuck her tongue out.

"Enough, you two." Optimus sounded tired, and they still had seventeen and a half hours left of the flight!

"Yes," Sari was all authority suddenly. "Flora, you take out your book, and Miko, you take out your I-Pod and...did you bring your DS with you?"

"Sure did." The Japanese girl grinned, holding up the pink handheld game console. "You?"

"You bet." Sari took out her yellow DS. "Purse Monsters battle?"

"You know I love Puremon!" Miko replied.

I miss Pokemon... Emma thought, sighing, and leaning her head back against her chair. And...

"Hey, Mummy?" Audrey touched her Mother's arm. "What's Asia like?"

"Yeah, Mummy!" Aquilla said, from behind them. "What's it like? Is it like Detroit? Is it?"

"Sit down, Aquilla." Prowl said, calmly.

"But, the captain said that we can walk around if we want to." Aquilla protested.

"Yes, but when you're in your seats, you should keep your seat-belts on." Optimus said.

"Why?" Aquilla wanted to know.

"Just do it, Aquilla." Emma said, without opening her eyes.

"Well...then, I want to sit next to Mummy!" Aquilla said. "Trade places with me, Jazz!"

"Please." Emma said, automatically.

"Please?" Aquilla sounded like she was using her puppy-dog eyes again.

Jazz touched the side of Emma's face. You okay, sweet-spark? He asked her.

Y-Yes...I am... Emma replied, opening her eyes and looking at him. She smiled. "I'm fine." She whispered, just as Aquilla appeared behind Jazz.

"Hurry up - please!" The little purple-haired girl nudged Jazz. "When I'm chiding you, that means hurry up!"

Jazz laughed, and undid his seat-belt. "Okay, okay, I know when I'm beat." He ruffled Aquilla's hair, as he stood up, and she immediately sat down in his place, as he went to sit in her old seat.

Aquilla looked expectantly up at her Mother. "So, what is it like?"

"Yes, what is it like, Mummy?" Audrey turned from the dark window, and looked at her Mother.

Emma took a deep breath. "Hmm...well, let's see. It's not like Detroit, really. Some places, like Kuala Lumpur, are a little bit like Detroit. Detroit is a big city, and so is KL. That's where Sari, Miko, Flora, Bumblebee and Bulkhead are going."

"Why aren't we going there?" Aquilla wanted to know.

"Because we're going to Bali." Emma explained. "Bali is a tropical island, but not a big city, like KL or Detroit. It has lots of shopping, though, and beach-side markets and rain forests and stuff."

"You've been to Bali, right, Mummy?" Audrey smiled.

Emma nodded. "Yes. Six times before. I was very little when I went the first time, but I still remember a few things. I went with my Mummy, my big sister, my Aunty and my Nanna."

"What did you do?" Aquilla wanted to know.

"Shopping!" Emma laughed. "Lots and lots of shopping. We ate at beach-side restaurants, and went to a water park and on an island cruise and, one time, my Mummy and I rode an elephant!"

"Can we do that?!" The twins asked in unison.

Emma laughed again. She was starting to get a little bit excited about this, although it was still surreal, for her. "We'll see." She shook her head. "I have to do something else, though..."

Aquilla tilted her head to one side. "Is it about the All-Spark?" She wanted to know.

Emma was surprised, but thought that perhaps her girls were very perceptive. After all, they'd been born into this world, so why shouldn't they be? She nodded. "Yes. There are Fragments on Kuala Lumpur and Bali, so we're going to Bali to find the Fragments there."

"Will Sari and the others collect the Fragments in KL and then give them to you?" Audrey asked.

Emma nodded. "Yes."

Miko overheard her. "No, we're keeping them!" She called across the aisle.

"You are not!" Aquilla shook her finger at the Japanese girl. "Those belong to Mummy!"

Miko held up her hands in surrender. "Hey, daijobou, Aquilla - I wouldn't know what to do with them, anyways!" She grinned, and went back to her Puremon Battle.

"Mummy?" Audrey seemed thoughtful. "What's the ocean like?"

Emma suddenly realised that her daughters had never been to the beach. Sure, they knew how to swim - they'd learned how to in the Sumdac's indoor, heated pool, and had surprised everybody with how fast they'd picked it up. But, Emma had informed everybody, she herself had loved the water as a child, so of course her daughters would. But, they'd never swam in an ocean before!

Emma was about to answer, when Aquilla asked: "Yeah, and what are sharks and rip-tides?"

Emma's eyes widened slightly, and the plane chose that moment to shudder a but, but Emma ignored it. "Okay, right..." She took another deep breath. "Where did you hear about them?"

"TV." The twins replied, in unison.

Emma rolled her eyes. "Of course you did." She sighed. "Well, first of all, both of those things are incredibly rare...a shark, I guess, is a big fish, that lives in the ocean. It hardly ever comes close to shore, but sometimes it might bite a human if it does." The twins' orange eyes widened. "But, that could hardly ever happen!" Emma added, quickly. "The ocean is a wonderful place to swim, and sharks are beautiful and graceful creatures! You shouldn't let that stop you, at all, okay?"

A shark attack is about as rare as a plane crash, right babe? Jazz asked from the row behind them.

Quiet, you! Emma snapped back.

Audrey was nodding. "I think you can't worry about bad stuff happening or else you won't ever have any fun..."

Emma gulped. "Audrey, that was poetic..." She smiled. "Yes, you're right, of course. We'll have fun at the beach, and not worry about sharks."

"Hmm..." Aquilla looked thoughtful. "But, what about a rip-tide?"

"Well, that's different." Emma replied. "Firstly, Australians like me call them 'rips', but, since they're not actually tides, they're really rip-currents. They're an ocean current...uh...that means...hang on a minute..." She was about to get up to get paper and a pencil from her hand-luggage, when Prowl handed them to her, already knowing why she needed them.

Emma began to draw a basic diagram, and explained: "There are waves on the ocean, and when they and the wind push towards the shore - that is, the sandy part of the beach - that water is forced sideways by the oncoming waves. Understand?" She was also using her hands to explain, along with the drawing.

The twins examined the diagram, and then nodded.

"It then looks for an exit back to the sea, so instead of going towards the beach, the water goes away from it, out to sea." Emma told them.

The twins thought about this, and then Aquilla asked: "How far does it go? Like, really far?"

Audrey added: "Is it fast? Does it pull you under?"

Emma smiled reassuringly. "It's not as scary as it sounds, girls. It doesn't go very far at all, only about the length of the Sumdac reception area, yeah?" Both girls nodded. "It's a bit faster than we can walk, but do you know how to get out of one? You swim this way," she drew a line on the diagram. "Don't swim against it...that is, don't swim back to shore, until you feel that you're not being pulled away from the shore. That's when you're out of the current. It's not very long, or very wide. It won't hurt you if you stay calm and, if you let it carry you, then it will actually push you back to shore after not very long. The trick is not to panic," she informed them. "And you will beat it."

The girls both nodded, looking reassured. Emma carefully ventured to their minds, and found that they were reassured mentally, as well.

Audrey, however, asked her other question. "Does it pull you under?"

Emma shook her head. "No. That's an undertow, and that's an entirely different, and even rarer, thing."

"Have you ever been in an undertow?" Aquilla wanted to know.

Emma looked up, and seemed to be staring at the seat back in front of her, but she was really seeing something else. "Once..." She said, faintly, and sensed that both Prowl and Jazz froze when she said this. "Just once...it was a very strong undertow, but I was okay..."

"How?" About eight voices said, and that was when Emma realised that the people in front of them, and also the people in front of Bumblebee and Sari, and also the blonde flight attendant were listening, and Emma was immediately embarrassed.

She blushed, and said: "B-because my Father was there, and he grabbed me and dragged me out of the surf...I was only little at the time!" She ducked her head. "That's all..."

The flight attendant smiled, and then looked at the twins. "Would you like to see the cockpit now?" She asked them.

The twins looked thrilled. "Yes, please!" She unbuckled their seat-belts and got up quickly, to take the flight attendant's hands and let her lead them up the plane.

Jazz and Prowl took the opportunity to come and visit their spark-partner.

"You never told us that." Prowl said, quietly.

"You never asked." Emma shrugged. "I was just lucky my Dad was there..." She closed her eyes briefly, and then said: "Just...if anything ever did happen to Aquilla or Audrey, would you...?"

"Yes." The cyber ninjas said in unison.

Emma nodded, and then yawned. "Thanks...umm...?"

Miko made a big deal of checking her watch, and then calling: "Only seventeen more hours to go!"

"Awww..." Emma groaned.


The twins came back, with little gold wings pinned to the fronts of their dresses.

"I think this means we are junior pilots now, Mummy." Audrey said, as she climbed back into her seat.

"That's very impressive." Emma said, seriously.

The blonde flight attendant, along with a really good-looking Malaysian male flight attendant, came around not long after with the breakfast cart.

Emma got cereal for her and the girls, orange juice for the girls and a coffee for herself. It was instant, and the sugar came in a little satchel labelled gula. Still, it was coffee. She skulled it, and then flagged down the blonde flight attendant for another.

Across the aisle, Sari was staring incredulously at her own breakfast, which came in a little paper bowl and the milk was in a little plastic container with a tear-off lid. "Even the spoon is plastic." She held it up. "How come?"

"I don't think they can have sharp objects on a flight." Miko shrugged. "You know, in case there's a drop in cabin pressure and the plane takes a nose-dive."

Emma nearly choked on her coffee.

"I dunno..." Flora looked up from her book. "My room-mates told me that, in first class, they get silver knives and forks on real ceramic plates, and with china glasses."

"Whoa..." Sari looked annoyed, all of a sudden. "Why didn't we fly first-class? That would have been so cool..."

"And, expensive." Miko added.

"Uh, Miko?" Sari raised an eyebrow.

Miko's eyes widened. "Oh...right...hmm...you'll have to chat to your Dad about this, Sari."

Sari nodded. "Yup...hey, Bee, verse me at Puremon?"

"You bet!" Bumblebee exclaimed, grabbing his own yellow and black DS.

"I'll verse the winner!" Miko added, and then said to Bulkhead: "Hey, Bulkster, whatcha drawing?"

Bulkhead held up the picture. "It's the sunrise." He said.

"That's beautiful." Miko was appreciative. "Where'd ya get the idea?"

Bulkhead pointed out the window, and everybody turned to see the sunrise, from 20'000 feet.

"Impressive." Prowl commented.

I knew he was going to say that. Emma thought, rolling her eyes, as she took out her book, Angel. It occurred to her that she wouldn't know how the book ended, because it was not being written in this world...not fair!


The twins - not to mention the others - were fairly tired out somewhere over Nunavut, but going to sleep was not a good idea. It would be better for them to try and stay awake on the flight, to try and get their body-clocks to eastern time.

Partway over the Atlantic Ocean, Emma and the twins fell asleep, and kept dozing in and out of sleep. Probably everybody onboard the flight did, but Emma kept waking up and waking her twins up, too, because she knew that it was for the best.

Sari stowed her jet-pack under her seat, and told a little kid that asked what it was that it was a top-secret government experiment.

The twins fidgeted, and became restless. Aquilla pressed the call flight attendant button three times (the blonde attendant smiled the first two times, but the third time she looked cross). Emma took Audrey to one of the tiny bathrooms at the front of the plane, also because she needed to get changed. There was barely enough room in there for the both of them and, for the longest time, Emma couldn't figure out how to lock the door. Then, when they were ready to leave, Emma couldn't figure out how to unlock it! She nearly had a heart attack, especially when the plane chose that moment to shudder.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the co-pilot said, from over the loud-speaker. "Due to turbulence, the pilot has turned on the seat-belt sign. Please return to your seats and fasten your seat-belts."

Emma nearly panicked - she and Audrey were going to die in a bathroom! Just then, thankfully, the door unlocked, and Emma grabbed Audrey's hand and nearly ran back to their seats.

It's fine. Prowl said from the seats behind them. Turbulence is normal.

Emma nodded, her heart-rate returning to normal. Y-Yeah... She made everybody keep their seat-belts on for the remainder of the flight, though!


Six hours or so later, they were passing over the country of Russia, and then Mongolia, China and Thailand...

Everybody was pretty bored, and Miko had asked 'are we there yet?' over a hundred times.

The twins were practically asleep.

Emma sighed, and shook them both awake, just as the pilot said: "Ladies and gentlemen, we are currently flying over the Gulf Of Thailand, about to reach the area known as Peninsular Malaysia. We will be arriving at our destination in just over an hour."

"An hour?" Miko complained.

"Ssh!" About twenty people hissed.

"So, please enjoy the rest of the flight, and I'll let you know how we're going later on." The pilot added.

"What are we supposed to do for an hour?" Sari wanted to know.

"Puremon Battle?" Emma suggested, and Miko leant Emma her DS to verse Sari. They versed each other twenty-three times, and Emma won six and Sari won the rest.


True to his word, the pilot did get back to them. "Ladies and gentlemen, we hope you have enjoyed your flight with us. On behalf of my co-pilot, and of all the flight crew, we would like to thank you for flying with us, and to welcome you to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The temperature in Kuala Lumpur is currently around thirty-five degrees Celsius. We will be beginning our descent in about half an hour. We hope you enjoy the rest of your flight."

The twins seemed wide awake after that, and Emma took the opportunity to point out a big river to them, which they followed, until the plane began its descent.

You okay, cool cat? Jazz asked Emma.

Emma replied: Sure - landing's the best part!


The plane descended onto the runway at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, bouncing onto the ground and then taxiing, until it slowed down. Emma was so relieved, she was grinning like crazy - they had made it!

The plane didn't go up to the airport - they would have to walk across to the terminal!

They decided to wait until everybody else had gotten off before getting off themselves. They were feeling the effects of jet-lag, and it was indeed eleven AM on the Monday. Emma shouldered her big backpack, and then took her twins by their hands and practically dragged them off the plane.

It was strange, and wonderful. The plane itself was cold and dry. Almost as soon as she stepped across the threshold, the hot and humid air hit her, and she said: "Ah..." A wave of nostalgia hit her.

"Is this what it's like in Bali, Emma?" Optimus wanted to know.

Emma nodded. "Yeah, pretty much. This is so much better than cold weather..."

"I agree completely." Optimus surprised her by saying, and the two of them smiled at each other.

There are All-Spark Fragments in this country...I can feel it... Emma though, feeling tingly all over...


They followed painted lines on the tarmac to avoid being run over by an airplane, and made their way into the terminal. Prowl and Jazz had to carry Aquilla and Audrey.

They went through some doors and into the airport, and up an escalator, where they reached a huge room tiled with light brown ceramic tails - customs.

All of them had to give their fingerprints to be registered on a permanent file, and then they were allowed through, to collect their bags.

"Guess that means we're not robbing banks anymore." Miko looked disappointed.

"Oh, what a shame." Flora replied, sarcastically.

Bulkhead rolled his eyes. "Hey, what does that sign say?" He asked, pointing to one.

They all looked.

"It says 'don't bring drugs into Malaysia'." Prowl replied, flatly.

"Why not?" Bumblebee asked.

"Because Malaysia carries the death penalty." Prowl replied. "By hanging." He added.

"Oh." Bumblebee and Bulkhead looked shocked.

Humans do that?

"Indonesia has it, too," Emma put in, helpfully, as she took a drink from some water they'd gotten on the plane. "Except, their's are by firing squad."

Bumblebee tugged at his neck-collar. "Humans are weird." He stated.

"You have no idea." Emma rolled her eyes.

They collected their bags, making sure to never take their eyes off of them, and then they had to go through security.

"I can't do it..." Sari stopped suddenly, and Bumblebee walked into her.

"What's wrong?" The Autobot asked her.

"They're already looking at me because of my coat..." Sari looked scared, as a few airport officials eyed her suspiciously. "This is bad..."

"Just keep walking..." Bumblebee advised her, pushing her towards the metal detector.

Emma looked worried, too. Malaysia had strict penalties for drug trafficking - the worst kinds of punishments - so what about jet-packs?

Just as Sari was about to step through, however, there was a commotion from nearby.

Somebody was yelling.

"Terdapat banyak ubat-ubatan di boogie-board ini!"

Emma's eyes widened in disbelief, but this massive commotion gave Sari the opportunity to do what she had done at the Detroit Airport, and nobody knew.

"That was very sneaky of you." Miko said, smiling, and then she yawned.

Sari just shrugged, looking uncomfortable. "Where's Flora?" She wanted to know.

"Using the bathrooms." Emma smirked. "She's about to be traumatized..."


They sat in the airport lobby, going through a number of important things, although they were all too tired to really pay much attention. Still, Emma had given the others her computer - they would use it to track All-Spark Fragments. She would track the ones in Bali by herself.

They changed some money, and Emma gave them some good advice, like which taxis were best to take, and where to shop - important details...

They said goodbye, hugging tightly and promising to stay in touch, before Sari, Miko, Flora, Bumblebee and Bulkhead left, and the others prepared to go through customs again.

"Air Asia, flight GOGGO217, Denpasar, Bali panggilan asrama pertama di pintu enam." A female's voice said over the PA system. "Mengulangi, Air Asia flight GOGGO217, to Denpasar, Bali, first boarding call at gate six." She then proceeded to repeat it in Spanish, German, Japanese, French and Italian.

"That's us." Prowl said, adjusting Aquilla in his arms. She was clutching her brown bear, and looked exhausted. Jazz had Audrey, and Emma walked with Optimus, and all their hand-luggage. It was only three hours - what could happen in three hours?


Emma was a lot calmer this time around, during take-off, and felt a vague sense of familiarity on the plane, as she recognized the red polo-shirts and blue jeans of the flight attendants.

Aquilla and Audrey, however, were not happy, and complained, until two things happened. One, was that Aquilla fell asleep, with her head resting against the window and her bear. Emma usually would have woken her up but, the second thing that happened, was that Audrey said: "Mummy...I don't feel too good..." She'd no sooner said that, when she threw up.

Luckily, Emma had predicted this, and was ready and waiting with an air-sickness bag.

Audrey was pale, and looked miserable. Tears were streaming down her face, as Emma could do nothing but held her daughter's hair back, and wipe her eyes. What else could she do, at 20'000 feet up?

Perhaps, this is why a pretty Indonesian flight attendant came along, and leaned over to Emma.

"Is it her first time flying?" She asked, sympathetically, placing a cool hand on Audrey's forehead.

Emma remembered that Indonesians adored children, and nodded. "Yeah...we've just been on a nineteen hour flight from America..."

The flight attendant's eyes widened, and she looked even more concerned. "Just wait here a minute." She said, and hurried off towards the front of the plane.

Emma glanced across the aisle at Prowl, and they both shrugged.

The flight attendant returned quickly, and said: "Miss.?" She knelt down, placing a sympathetic hand on Audrey's knee. She looked at Emma. "We have some seats spare at the front of the plane, and your daughter can lie down there." Emma's eyes widened, slightly. "You can bring her up to there, and both of you stay there for the rest of the flight, if you'd like?"

Emma nodded, and undid hers and Audrey's seat-belt, standing up. "Yes, thank you very much...uh, terima kasih..." She said, in the flight attendant's native-language. As she picked up Audrey, she glanced at Prowl, a silent question in her eyes, and the cyber ninja nodded. He'd look after Aquilla.

Emma, carrying Audrey, followed the flight attendant up to the front of the plane.

The flight attendant pushed back a blue curtain, and led Emma into the much fancier-looking first-class portion of the plane!

"Here." She gestured to the seats closest to them, on the right-hand-side of the plane, and Emma sat down in one of the massive blueish-grey seats, which was so much more comfortable than the ones in economy (aka, cattle) class.

If Miko and Sari could see me now! Emma realised, and gently placed Audrey on the seat beside her, resting her head on a nearby pillow.

"Mummy...can I sleep...?" Audrey asked.

Emma nodded. "Go on, dear. You'll feel better." She added, placing a hand on Audrey's forehead. It was hot.

The little girl nodded gratefully, and feel asleep.

The attendant came back with a damp cloth, which she placed on Audrey's forehead and cheeks. Emma wanted to hug the flight attendant.

An English flight attendant also handed Emma a menu. "Order anything you like - on the house." She added, smiling.

Emma tried hard not to grin, not wanting to take advantage of this but, then again, this was what had happened with her on her first trip over-seas - it was ironic, but Emma had slept and her Mother had sampled all the luxuries of first-class so, hey, why not?

Emma ordered a stir-fry that included baby corn, and a fine red wine and Neapolitan ice-cream for dessert. Aquilla eventually came and found them (she said that Prowl said she could) and ate some of the ice-cream before falling asleep with her head on her Mother's lap. Emma read a magazine about real-estate in Bali, and checked on Audrey. The flight attendants came by often and checked on Audrey, too. They gave both the twins free little plush elephants (a pink one for Audrey and a blue one for Aquilla) as a special gift, and Emma couldn't help but think that her daughters were impossible to dislike. The flight attendants also gave her a free book on sight-seeing in Bali.

The twins woke up as the pilot's voice came over the intercom, and Emma was busy attending to them so she didn't really hear the pilot until he said: "And, to all those returning to Bali, the island of the gods...welcome home..."

Tears sprung to Emma's eyes, and she leaned out the window. Audrey, who was feeling better, also leaned, as did Aquilla, and the three of them watched as the plane descended through the cloud cover.

"Look, we;re about to land." Emma whispered.

"But, there's no runway." Audrey protested.

"You'll see." Emma smiled, knowing that the runway for Bali's airport just jutted out randomly and, sure enough, the plane's wheels came down and, quite suddenly, they were landing in Bali.

"Touchdown!" Aquilla cried.

"Mummy, there's a lot of sparks." Audrey said, worriedly.

"That's normal, dear, it means the plane's grounded." Emma replied.

"Oh, okay...hey, there's the airport!" Audrey pointed, excitedly...

Emma blinked a lot, trying to stop the tears, as she stared out the window, looking for familiarity. She'd been going to the Bali in her world as a child and, somehow, it hadn't changed here. It was the same.

She was very, very happy.


She was also tired. Prowl, Jazz and Optimus found them, and Jazz and Prowl picked up the twins. Emma staggered behind, and Optimus placed a hand on her back as they walked through the walkway and into the airport. A male Indonesian flight attendant smiled at them, and patted the head of Audrey's toy bear, making Audrey giggle.

They walked along a long walkway with glass windows, looking at out at the runways, and at an Asian shrine as well, complete with tropical flowers and such. They got their suitcases and then went through customs, with Emma and her girls feeling very tired, but the airport staff were kind. They walked past a lot of money changers, and stopped at one to change their American dollars into Balinese Rupiah.

They walked outside, and the cyber ninjas and the twins waited with their luggage whilst Emma and Optimus went to order a taxi, and paid the man behind the counter the Rupiahs.

They then went back and presently, two men came and asked if they were the Paradiso Party, and they said yes. They took them to their taxis. Optimus, Jazz and Aquilla rode in one, and Emma, Prowl and Audrey rode in the other.

Audrey was very alert, although she was tired, and kept asking questions. Emma pointed out many landmarks, although she stated that all of her favourite shopping was in the other direction.

When the taxi driver learned that Emma had been to Bali before, he began asking many questions. He talked to all of them, a lot. That was normal.

They arrived at The Intercontinental Hotel, in Jimbaran Bay, and it was a big a beautiful hotel, with a stunning front garden. Hotel attendants came and opened their doors for them, as the two taxis (spelt taksi) arrived at the same time, and a man sounded a gong six times. This turned out to be so that, as they were waiting in the huge open foyer on very comfortable couches to check in, a man could bring out six red fruit drinks, which turned out to be delicious.

Emma hardly listened as the attendant checked everything, and then led them out of the lobby, and to the right as you looked at the hotel, which was as huge as Emma remembered it, maybe even bigger. She wasn't sure. She took her daughters' hands, and led them after the man and after the mechs. They walked quite a distance - the hotel was massive - and took an elevator up. Their luggage turned out to be waiting for them. The air-conditioning was on, which was a nice, welcomed relief from the heat outside, and it was very calm and wonderful...

Jazz, Prowl and Optimus were sharing one room, and it had an interconnecting door to the room that Emma, Aquilla and Audrey would be sharing. Emma and her twins stood silently as their butler (Mali) gave them a quick tour of the room's facilities and such, and then he left them.

The cyber ninjas and Optimus bid Mali farewell, and then turned, to see that Emma and her twins had fallen asleep on the big bed, finally succumbing to their exhaustion and not able to stay awake any longer...

However, they noticed, they were all smiling, especially Emma, whose smile was the biggest of them all...