Massive apologies for taking so long to update again. I have no excuse but laziness. Please keep reviewing, so I don't let myself drop the story.
The day had started off so well, he had gotten up just before sunrise to avoid the morning commotion. Settling in to work on his reports and paperwork, he gave a small sigh of satisfaction; Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were off on the investigation team, Skids and Mudflap were locked in the brig for a prank on Ironhide and weren't due for release until the evening, and everything was quiet.
Then it all went to hell.
He watched as the plane re-entered the NEST compound, far earlier than expected. Prowl nodded to the soldiers as they headed to the human rec room to relax. Noting the slight damage they had sustained, Prowl stepped forward "So, did you find out the cause of the energy reading?" he asked calmly.
Optimus nodded. "It seems there was some kind of portal phenomenon, we encountered a group of people who seem to come from a different world entirely. Allow me to introduce the Straw-hat pirates, as well as the captain and first-mate of the Kidd pirates. They will be staying with us while they try to find a way home."
Prowl was shocked as he took in the diverse appearances of their guests. 8 humans, a techno-organic, a small animal (Prowl assumed this was a pet of some sort), and a rather flamboyantly dressed skeleton? Something was very wrong here. Pushing aside the felling of foreboding he could feel, he addressed the red and green haired men, whom he guessed were the captains.
"Greetings, and welcome to Diego Garcia. I am the autobot second-in-command, Prowl, and current head of security. I would-" He paused as the green haired man snorted.
"Name's Zoro, and you're talking to the wrong guy; I ain't the captain, he is." He pointed behind him at the boy in the straw hat. "Hey Luffy, pay attention would ya?" The boy in question simply grinned and bounced over.
"My apologies for my mistake," Prowl continued smoothly "as I was saying, I would like to discuss the nature of your situation with you and your senior officers. The rest of your crews will, of course, be given proper accommodation in the meantime." When all three shrugged and agreed, Prowl had a couple soldiers show them where they'd be staying.
Later, in med-bay.
"-headed back to the plane. About halfway there, they explained how they had come to be wanted by the marines. Apparently, it is a crime to so much as display a pirate flag, let alone sail under one. The majority of their bounties seem to have come from reclaiming two captured crew-mate, who were awaiting execution." Optimus finished explaining what had happened, as Ratchet dealt with the minor injuries he and Ironhide had sustained.
"Ah man, that's messed up. How's flyin' some flag s'posed ta make ya a criminal? Ya might as well arrest 'em fer havin' a pirate fer a granddad." Jazz had been in critical condition for weeks after the mission city battle, and was still stuck on bedrest. He was looking forward to meeting the pirates, they sounded like his kind of people.
Remembering Zoro's comment, Optimus sighed "Actually, I believe they did mention something about that. It's hard to believe they could be so casual about the daily threat to their lives."
Will spoke up from a platform off to the side. "There's also the matter of the powers they showed. There is no way they're normal humans." Will wasn't sure what to make of the crew. The captain seemed honest enough, but who knew what the others were capable of.
Ratchet scowled, "What exactly, did you say they could do? Are they all able to use these abilities, or are they each different? And are they natural or somehow accomplished artificially?"
Will rolled his eyes, sometimes Ratchet could be a bit high-strung; although dealing with so many difficult patients it was understandable. "In order?" Will took a deep breath. "Luffy can stretch, Sanji has enhanced leg strength and endurance, Nami can create thunderheads in less than five minutes, Robin can somehow grow arms out of any surface and control them, I think Chopper can shapeshift, and Brook is a living skeleton. I didn't see them using anything else, but it's quite possible they can, and I have no idea how it has been accomplished." He gasped, grinning at their dumbstruck looks.
"Say that again, slowly." Will did so, and Ratchet frowned. He had never encountered something like this before, and was frustrated that he couldn't figure out how to deal with it. "You said they had a medic, perhaps I should ask if he could explain. Hopefully, we won't need to worry about the decepticons for a while. They could try to take control of this new power."
Ratchet sighed, he was sick of seeing innocents suffer because of a war that should have ended a long time ago. Poor Optimus had tried several times to negotiate a truce, but had been violently rejected each time. It seemed that as long as Megatron was in charge, he would keep fighting until he drove their race extinct.
"Either way, I do not want them to be drawn into this. It is not their war, and the sooner we can return them to their home, the better." Optimus said firmly.
During the course of their discussion, only Jazz noticed the eye and ear growing out of the wall above the door. Deciding they had every right to know what was being said about them, he simply waved slightly and said nothing.
In the barracks.
Robin smiled as she saw Jazz wave. She appreciated his discretion, as well as the Prime's wish not to get them involved. Of course, she knew this wouldn't stop Luffy from trying to help, but it was the thought that counted. Letting go of her ability as the conversation turned to more mundane matters, she looked up to find Nami watching her. "They seem to want to help us get home. The Prime does not want their war to affect us, but fears we may be targeted for our abilities." Robin chuckled slightly "Their medic, Ratchet, also plans to ask Chopper about our devil fruits. It seems such a thing is unheard of here." She didn't mention that she had been seen. She wanted to first discern the mech's intentions. If what she suspected was right, he may be a useful source of information.
Nami sighed, "Why do I get the feeling Luffy isn't going to accept that? We're going to end up involved in this, aren't we?" As the two got ready for bed, they both knew that, for better or worse, their captain would never stand by while his friends were in trouble. And he was going to make his stand, one way or another.
The boys had been given two rooms, across from the girls. They had been intended to give the captains room to themselves, but both decided to just stay with their crewmates. The strawhats took one and, after Chopper insisted on changing Kidd's bandages, He and Killer took the other. It wasn't long before all of them had fallen into a dreamless sleep, knowing they had an eventful day ahead of them.
Chapter 8 finished. A huge thank you to everyone who has liked my story enough to follow it, or take the time to make suggestions. I would love to hear how i'm doing, please tell me what you liked, and what you didn't so I can continue to improve it.