When everyone returned to base, Jack had done his best to help Agent Fowler. Being the son of a nurse had its upsides now and then. The three of them had looked around the base and had found a hospital bed stored away along with some medical equipment that had been left behind by the previous owners who use to own the silo. Jack had Bumblebee bring the medical bed to Ratchets side of the base that acted as a medbay. He laid Fowler down on the bed then placed a blanket overtop of him before hooking up an I.V.

It wasn't long after that Optimus and Ratchet had requested a groundbridge. Everyone had been shocked to see the two returning bots limping back into the base with heavy scratches and dents all over them. Ratchet was holding his arm, with a grim expression on his face. No one said a word as the two bots walked past. Only when Optimus glanced over at the humans and saw Agent Fowlers condition did he stop and brake the heavy silence, "What happened?" he asked sternly.

There was a moment of silence before everyone burst out talking, trying to explain what had transpired. Optimus held his servo up to silence them. He helped Ratchet over onto a the medical berth where a small portion of the silo was dedicated as a repair station. Optimus picked up an alien looking peace of equipment and began helping Ratchet with his arm. He looked back towards the three bots while he worked, "Arcee, tell me what happened here?" he asked with a raised optic ridge.

Arcee stepped forward, "Optimus it was my fault, I left Bulkhead alone with the children and took Bumblebee on a patrol with me." She began to explain the whole story, the two other bots adding their sides now and then, to the two who were not present.

The teens stayed quiet as they listened, occasionally trying to occupied themselves with helping Agent Fowler; unfortunately there wasn't much to do and they could only wait until the two bots where caught up. By the time the story was over, Optimus was putting the final touches on Ratchets 'cast' seeming dismayed at what had happened while they where away.

Ratchet got up and walked over to check on Agent Fowler. Miko turned around at his approach and looked up at him worriedly, "What happened to you guys anyway?"

"We engaged an army of undead Cybertronian warriors", Ratchet sighed grimly.

Miko blinked, taking in what he had just said. "Zombies? There where actually real live zombies on Earth and I miss it?" She couldn't believe that Zombies had actually happened...Well tetchily not 'Zombie' zombies because they where Cybertronian but they where as close the real thing as you could get. She didn't know if she would have wanted to be there to see that or not...Not after she had just gone though.

Optimus suddenly spoke up, stopping the conversation in its tracks. "Bulkhead, you exercised extremely poor judgment in allowing the humans to accompany you", he said sounding disappointed.

Bulkhead stood up from where he had been sitting next to the humans. A look of guilt and regret flashed across his face, "It wont happen again, Optimus...I promise" He said, glancing at Miko.

Optimus shook his head sadly, "I am uncertain about allowing you that chance again Bulkhead...We know that are young friends are much different from us when it comes to our fames. They cannot protect themselves as we can and are much more delicate. Your actions today have shown that my decision may have been to presumptuous when I asked you to be Miko's guardian..." Bulkheads eyes widened, "But Optimus!-" Optimus held up his hand and continued, "I may have forced to much responsibility onto you before you where ready and I apologies for this." Bulkhead looked away with sad optics, knowing that there was nothing he could say or do. Optimus was his Prime, he couldn't disobey his leader.

Miko eyes widened to the size of dinner plates while listing to what was happening. She gasped in shock, "But it wasn't Bulkhead's fault!" She quickly stepped forward, not believing what she was hearing. Her heart was racing in panic. Optimus couldn't separate the two of them, not after they where finally connecting! She couldn't believe that this was happening and wouldn't agree to it without putting up a fight first!

Bulkheads eyes optics widened in distress, "Miko please!" He tried to shush her, hoping she wouldn't make things worse.

She looked up at Optimus with wide pleading eyes, "I was the one who went after Bulkhead in the first place! I didn't realize how much danger I would be in or that I wouldn't be able to get back! Things got messed up all because I made a mistake..." She dropped her head, feeling miserable. "It was all my fault so please...Don't punish Bulkhead for what I caused", she begged.

A hand on her shoulder made her look up in surprise. Jack smiled sadly down at her before looking to Optimus, "Miko wasn't the only one to make a mistake. Raf and I also made a poor decision in following Miko instead of contacting Arcee and Bumblebee like we should have. We followed after her because we where both concerned." Jack glanced down at her with a look of respect, "At first I thought Miko was being a jerk but then she rescued Raf from Vince and his bullies. Then today she risked her life to save Raf. I realized that she really did care and I may have not been that fare to her because I prejudged her...She may not be that open with everyone at first but Bulkhead seems to bring out the best in her...She's beginning to change." Jack looked up at Optimus, "If you where to separate the two now I think it would do more harm that good."

Optimus listened closely to Jacks words and Miko head her breath. Optimus stood still as he thought it over, Miko's heart traced and she prayed that Optimus would change his mind. Finally he bent down to there level on the platform and looked them in the eyes, "If you truly believe that this is true Jack then I will not separate the two."

Miko's heart felt like it jumped in her throat as she let out a relived sigh. Optimus's gaze turned to her, causing her to straightened up, "I did not mean by separating the two of you, it would be a punishment to either of you. I only wanted to insure your safety while you are here with us. None of you should have had to experience what you did today and after hearing what you went though I cannot help but feel concerned. If you feel that Bulkhead is doing an acquit job of protecting you then I will allow him to remain your guardian," He said seriously.

She smiled reassuringly at him, "Its ok Optimus, you just though you where doing what you thought was best. You don't have to worry so much though; Bulkhead would never let anything happen to me just like Arcee and Bumblebee would never let anything happen to Jack and Raf."

A small smile appeared on Optimus's face as he nodded but as soon as he stood back up it was gone. His eyes shifted behind her so she turned around to see what he was looking at. Raf hesitantly stepped forward and Miko saw what appeared to be the disk NightShade had given them.

"Optimus, while we where on the Decepticon ship we ran in to a bot who gave us this", He held up the shiny pink disk to the Prime.

"Hmm", Optimus narrowed his eyes and mumbled as he took the small disk and looked it over.

"He wouldn't tell us what it was or let us leave without giving it to you guys", Raf fiddles with his glasses, "Your not mad at us for brining it here are you?"

Optimus blinked before looking down at Raf, "No Rafael, I am not...Tell me, did this Cybertronian have a name?"

"He said his name was Nightshade", Miko popped up. "Here, we even have a picture." She got out her phone and showed Optimus.

Optimus leaned down, squinting at the small screen. "He did not harm any of you after you where discovered?" He asked but it sounded as more of a fact than question.

"Nope!" Miko stated popping the p.

Optimus nodded and stood up strait, "Ratchet", he called, "Have a look." Ratchet marched over and bent down. His expression turned to confusion, "I don't understand."

Miko flipped the phone around to see that the picture had changed to her an Bulkhead from dunebashing. "Oops! Sorry, here's the real thing." She showed the picture to Ratchet. He smirked down at the photo in amusement, nodding he straitened back up. Not saying a word he walked away leaving Miko a bit confused.

Optimus handed Ratchet the disk, "I want you to uncover what is on this disk, it could be of importance to Megatron." He handed the small disk out to Ratchet who looked it over.

Jack's eyes widened, "Wow, Megatrons back?! That's really bad news right?!" Miko deadpanned and gave him a no duh look.

Bumblebee came over and Raf told her he wanted to see the picture. She held it out to him, "You should have seen this guy Bee! A con was firing at Raf and I ran out and pushed him out of the way. Then this Vehicon that the bots missed, began to come after us! Jack ran out to distract him but then got cornered himself. Just when Jack was about to bite the dust this guy cam out of nowhere and killed the Vehicon before he had a chance to do anything!"

Jack's eyes snapped to her; angrier growing inside of him the longer he listened. Finally he snapped, "Miko, Raf was almost killed! I was almost killed! This isn't a game! When are you gonna get that though your thick skull?!" He yelled angrily. He couldn't believe that Miko was actually enjoying what happened today!

"Um, we where all almost killed, Jack. You, me, Raf, even them!" She pointed at the bots, before crossing her arms in a huff. She was faced with that fear every day, not knowing if she would one day disappear and become her old personality again. True she had been scared to death for a different reason at the time but now that they where safe, she couldn't help but talk excitedly about it. What did Jack expect? That they should all just pretend nothing happened?!

Jack sighed angrily and turned away, "Well, if this is just an Average day with the Autobots!...Then I don't want to be apart of it!...Not anymore..."

"Jack", Optimus said drawing all their attention to him, "Putting you in harm's way was never our intent." He said in dismay, a hint of guilt showing in his optics. "However, it is no longer the safety of you three that is at risk but the safety of all human kind. We will respect your decision if you wish to leave."

The sound of the groundbridge powering up made the three of them flinch. They turned to see Ratchet gesturing at the portal, "No point in long goodbyes, here's the door."

Miko's eyes widened and she was about to snap at Ratchet but Bulkhead placed a finger of her mouth muffling her. Jack turned to Raf expectantly if not a bit sadly. "Come on Raf" Raf turned and looked over at Bumblebee. His doorwings dropped sadly and guilty look came over his face. Bee glanced back and away at Raf a few times with a distressed look on his face. Raf turned back to Jack looking torn, "I'll be ok Jack...See you at school."

Jack turned away with mixed emotions, "Shure thing," he replied stiffly. He began walking down the steps when light weighted metal footsteps approached him. Looking up Jack wasn't surprised to see that it was Arcee. He looked regretful as he walked passed and said, "I know you don't exist." She watched him go, a hit of regret as she replied sadly, "Don't make me hunt you down."

Miko watched in disbelief as Jack walked though the portal, leaving all of them behind. The portal closed behind him and the room was silent. This was her fault...She shouldn't have snapped at Jack like that... He had just reminded her so much of how everyone was trying to control her. She had to apologies to him later and also thank him for changing Optimus's mind about changing her guardian.

The atmosphere of the room was heavy and no one said a word. Arcee wondered off without saying anything; looking glum. Optimus sighed in disappointment, regret shown in his eyes as He walked over to Ratchet and said, "I want you to decode the disk as soon as possible. I suspect that there will soon be trouble for us all." Ratchet nodded in understanding.

"But what if there's a virus on it?" Raf worriedly asked as he followed Ratchet over to the computers.

Ratchet scoffed as he glanced down at the boy before inserting the disk into the computer. "You can be assured I'll check over the software before installing it. I'm not foolish enough to play into a cons trap that easily", He said as he brought up a program and began typing.

Raf and Miko waited as patently as they could as Ratchet went over a few things. They played a few games on Raf's laptop and watched some YouTube videos while waiting but it felt like forever as the time slowly trickled by. Ratchet mumbled now and then as the time past. Finally his eyes brightened and his expression changed. Miko noticed the difference and ran over to him, "So what dose it say?!" She eagerly asked.

He sighed and began typing some more, "I don't know yet. This data pack of information is so large and all of it is encrypted that it could take days to decipher it all..." Miko groaned in response making Ratchet smirked down at her, "But I do know though that its safe to install. There's no virus hiding in wait underneath all this mess. That means we can get started deciphering this mess."

Miko's pony tails flopped as she deflated in disappointment. Blinking tiredly she watched Raf walked away going over to Bumblebee who picked him up. Raf yawned and blinked a few times as he rubbed eyes. "Looks like someone's ready to hit the berth", Bulkhead said with a chuckle. Bumblebee beeped a few things to Raf who nodded. He turned to Miko, "Bumblebees going to take me home. See you tomorrow Miko?"

"Yeah I'll see you then", She replied. Bumblebee transformed around Raf who let out a wow before laughing when he landed in the passenger seat. The two took off and the room became silent other than Ratchet typing. The floor shook as Bulkhead wondered over to her transforming on the way. His passenger door popped open, "Allright Miko, I think I should take you home to. Its getting late and nothing important is going to happen around here for awhile."

She nodded tiredly then hoped in slumping in the seat. Bulkhead buckled her up and pulled out of the base. They began driving down the long dirt road. When they where nearing the small town Miko said, "Hay Bulkhead, can you drop me by Jack's for a sec. I want to thank him for helping us earlier...Also I want to talk to him. I don't think Jack really meant what he said before he left and is probably regretting it right about now."

"I can do that, just make sure you don't stay to late. We don't want you getting into trouble again...And give Jack my thanks too." Bulkhead replied tiredly.

It didn't take long since the town was getting ready for bed. There where no cars on the road and they quickly made it to Jacks house in no time flat. A light was on the garage when Miko and Bulkhead pulled up. She could see Jack working on a bicycle wheal from inside. Jumping out of the car she walked up to Jack while looking around, "Now I understand why you had to rush home."

"Don't you have something more exciting to do, Miko" He mumbled, hunched over and not looking at her.

She ignored him, "So, this is where you hang, huh? Seems nice. Back home in Tokyo I had to take piano lessons all the time, my parents where pretty...strict...Two years ago thins suddenly changed for me and I wasn't the same person I use to be...My parents didn't like it and began to send me to all these different therapist thinking that they could fix me. When those who where suppose to be my friends found out, they began to ignore me. I felt like I couldn't trust anyone. Even now my parents are trying to change me back to who I use to be but the girl I use to be just...isn't me." Jack paused in his work and she knew she had his attention. "I was literally on my own with no one else. When my parents sent me away to America I didn't know if it was a blessing or a curse but I jumped at the chance to get away." She laughed sadly.

"To Jasper, Nevada?" Jack scoffed as he finally turned around. "The entertainment capital of the world?" he said sarcastically waving a wrench.

Miko laughed, "Yeah, well, the brochure lied. Piano lessons where starting to look pretty good in fact. But them, the last couple of days happened."

"Do you have a point?" Jack asked, bewildered.

"You bet" She smiled at him, "After we meet the bots and what we all went though today, I realized that maybe I don't have to be on my own like I thought I had to be. Earlier today you ran out in front of that Vehicon to save Raf and I, even though you knew that you may die. Then you helped change Optimus mind about not letting Bulkhead be my guardian...That earns some serious respect in my book, Jack."

Jack turned away with a frown. Grabbing the bicycle wheel, he set it back in place on the bike and began screwing together. He seemed unimpressed by her lecture as he snapped, "I've been raised to be responsible, to my schoolwork, to my mom, my job"

"Dude, here me out." Miko said as she followed him, "You're no fry cook, your a rock star! Stop trying to pretend you're someone you're not Jack. Believed me I've tried and it never works out...I know I've pushed you away a lot because of my own fear but if you'll still let me, I would like to call you a friend..." He was quiet, thinking over what she had said. She decided to give him time as there was nothing else she could say so she headed to the door. Just before leaving she paused, "Come back to base sometime Jack...Just to hang out at least."

He gave her a silent nod not turning around and got back to his work. She hoped that Jack would have a change of heart and walked away. Hopping into Bulkhead they pulled out of the driveway, "Do you think he'll come back?" Bulkhead questioned. Miko sighed, "Who knows Bulk, we can only hope..."

Note-

Thank you to all who reviewed and favorited! Glad to see people are sill reading my story! Got to ask, what do you guys thing about the bloopers?

starlightmoonlightsunshine, yup you got me lol glad you enjoyed the last chapter.

Ohmygiddyaunt, Yup mystery character, I have plans for him. I just wonder if you all will catch on hehehe. Glad you liked that part, I always wondered what it was like when she disappeared in that seen.

Ok I know this chapter was short but I wanted to just get this chapter out first before revealing about Miko's past. I was scratching my head with this one Jack and Miko needed to patch things up between them before the next chapter. I think I pulled it off but it still didn't settle quite right with me...Oh well what's important is the next chapter where you guys find out about Miko's past! (Someone pray for me that I can fill in this gap in the story that I feel is going to mess things up if I don't think of something soon. I just need something extra to fit the peace's together better for what I'm planning. If I cant figure it out, I may have to skip a few episodes just to get where I need to get so this story can really get rolling. *cry's in the corner*)

I know his part was short in the last chapter but what did you guys think about Nightshade?
He actually inspired me some and I couldn't help but nick name one of my oc's after him in a non published story of mine. He opened up the way for the story to begin since I couldn't figure out how to start it. (P.s I'm not planning to publish it anytime soon. I just wright other stories when I'm stuck. Maybe one day you guys will see it someday. Its called To the Pit and Back. Its about a girl who gets kidnaped and taken to Cybertron before the ending of the golden age. She 'sorta' turned into a min con (More like she was just shoved into a suit) She finds herself having to fight for her life in the battle arena and is trying to find a way home because the suit is slowly killing her. Megatronus notices her skill and choses her as his 'minicon' but he has no intention of helping her since all he wants his freedom. Anyway I'm going on about a story that isn't around yet but tell me if you like the idea or not if you want.)

Just hang on a little while longer guys! Next chapter is revealing some of Miko's past and other personality! I should have it out by next Saturday or Sunday is what I'm planning on.

Bloopers -

"I was literally on my own with no one else. When my parents sent me away to America I didn't know if it was a blessing or a curse but I jumped at the chance to get away." She laughed sadly.

"To Jasper, Nevada?" Jack scoffed as he finally turned around. "The entertainment capital of the world?" he said sarcastically.

Miko laughed, "Yeah, well, the brochure lied. Piano lessons where starting to look pretty good in fact. But them, the last couple of days happened and now I can talk to animals! Its really cool! But totally secret." Jungle music begins playing and Miko runs over to Bulkhead who transforms into an rv and they drive off into the sunset leaving Jack completely confused.