A/N - Well, holy frag-nuggets! I wasn't expecting to get that much feedback from the first two chapters, let alone at all. You cheeky trans-fans aren't dusted out of existence after all. That's great!

Disclaimer: Transformers is owned by Hasbro. I only own my OCs.

Never has Ellie seen anything more bizarre, impossible, and inexplicably terrifying than the pair of giant, machinelike beings that now loomed menacingly over her, Raf, and Jack. And this was coming from someone who's spent the better part of her early childhood chasing after things she'd once considered bizarre and impossible.

She would've been rooted in place forever— or at least until the two anomalies did something— but then another metallic grinding sound from behind snapped her out of her daze. She, as well as the two boys, spun around to see the motorcycle Jack had ridden literally change shape and rise up. Standing before them was yet another robot-like creature, except it looked different from the former cars. It was shorter and more slender— though in fairness it was still much bigger than the average human, standing at about fifteen feet. The major difference, though, was that this one actually did have a face— one that currently held a fierce expression, its glowing blue eyes glaring intently at the other two robots.

Ellie gaped up at the blue robot. Then it spoke in a voice that sounded strangely feminine.

"This ends here, Cons!" it— no, she— snarled, as she took a defensive position, hands clenched into fists.

Ellie quickly looked back and forth between the blue robot and the two violet ones, who in turn aimed their weaponized arms at them, one of them saying in a low, male voice, "Open fire!"

Her eyes widened with comprehending horror. Oh…OH! They're going to fight!

And she and the boys happened to be standing directly in the middle of it.

Like her brain restarting into overdrive, she broke into a run and made her way back towards the wall. Thankfully, Raf and Jack had the same idea as her, running beside her. Once they were at what they assumed was a safe enough distance, they tuned back and saw the blue robot charge forward. The two dark-colored robots— did the other one call them Cons?— fired their guns at her, emitting bright red beams. Ellie flinched when they hit the ground in searing sparks. Was that…plasma fire?

The blue robot kept on sprinting at them, expertly dodging any oncoming blasts. Then, when she was close enough, she launched herself through the air at one of them and planted a hard kick into his chest, knocking him off of his feet. The other tried to shoot at her once more, but she was far too quick. With a swiftness and agility that would make an Olympic gymnast blush, she flipped out of the way, then used her momentum to spin a roundhouse kick at him.

While the three robots continued to attack one another in a flurry of kicks and punches, the three human children just stood and stared, completely transfixed by what was happening right in front of them.

"What are they?" Raf asked in a voice that was barely above a whisper.

"Talking cars that turn into robots," Jack answered uncertainly, "or the other way around?"

Ellie's face scrunched into a scrutinizing frown. "There's a difference?"

"Um, does it matter?"

Ellie closely observed the motorcycle bot as she swung a strong punch into one of the bigger robots, forcing his head to whip back. "Yeah, and on the subject of that, one of them happens to be a motorcycle, and it appears to be, well…female."

Jack looked at her in confusion. "Your point?"

Ellie paused for a brief moment, before she turned to him with her eyes narrowed, recalling him telling her about his dream vehicle earlier that day. "Did you wish really hard?"

"W—What?! No!" he sputtered incredulously. "I don't have anything to do with this— with her! I just—"

A cry of pain tore their attention back to the fight. The two Cons had opened fire onto the female robot again, and while she managed to avoid most of them by flipping back, one of them was able to get a good shot, hitting her right in the chest. She fell to the ground in a heap, not moving anymore.

Ellie, Raf, and Jack gasped, growing anxious when the Cons started to advance on the unstirring motorcycle, intent on finishing her off.

But before they could do so, yet another vehicle joined into the fray. From high above them, a yellow muscle car with black racing stripes drove over the side of the bridge. While it was freefalling, it too transformed into a bipedal robot, as big as the two purple robots.

Just how many of these are there? Ellie wondered, mystified.

The new robot landed right on top of one of the Cons, nearly flattening him to the ground. Then, straightening, he reeled his fist back and slammed it hard against the other one's face, sparks flying.

"Wow," Raf breathed as the purple robot fell from the powerful punch.

Ellie couldn't help but agree.

The yellow robot took a few steps back, until there was a loud crunch! He stiffened in surprise before he looked down, lifting up his metallic foot to reveal the crushed remains of Raf's toy car.

The yellow robot turned to face the three kids, his large, blue eyes expressively apologetic. Then, despite him not appearing to have a mouth, he produced a low buzzing sound.

Ellie tilted her head curiously. Was that him talking?

She got her answer when Raf responded in kind, "No problem, really."

Ellie glanced at the boy, wondering if he somehow understood the robot, or was just guessing by context, but she barely had time to ponder that when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the two purple robots rise back up, aiming their blasters at the yellow one.

In a panic, she shouted, "Look out!"

The yellow robot only managed to whip his head back into the fight before he was shot by a well-placed blast. He flew back several feet and landed roughly on the ground. He struggled to get up, but then one of them planted a foot on his head, pressing him forcefully to the ground. The dark robot removed his foot, and he and his partner once more aimed their weapons at the yellow robot.

Before anything else could happen, though, Raf cried out angrily, "Leave him alone!"

All three of the robots looked directly at them, and unfortunately, the two dark robots now had their guns pointed at them.

"Uh oh," Ellie whispered.

She placed a hand on Raf's shoulder, whose confidence had disappeared as he added in a much smaller voice, "Please?"

Jack bent down slightly to be level with Raf, not taking his eyes off of the robots. "Bad call," he said.

The purple robots looked at each other, one of them nodding. Then the other one started marching right toward them, each step making the ground shake.

Ellie felt her blood run cold.

"Ah, yeah, you're right, let's go!" she said frantically.

With that, all three of them turned tail and took off running as fast as they possibly could. "Come on!" Jack shouted, looking back to see their pursuer following them in a calculated stride.

Ellie winced as she ran, feeling a prickling sensation from where her prosthetic leg connected with her residual limb. Breathing heavily through her mouth and glaring straight ahead, she blocked out the feeling as she tried to keep up with the two boys. Her heart pounded against her chest.

God, I'm out of practice, she thought with some disdain.

They rounded a corner into a narrow pass, and over at the end of it was a large drain pipe, water slowly dripping out of it from its dark depths. It didn't look ideal, but it was currently the only way to evade the giant robot chasing them, especially since he was getting closer and closer.

"In there, quick!" Jack told them as they made a mad dash for it.

They scrambled into the pipe, Ellie taking up the rear. She was right behind Raf, running further inside— until something snagged her sweater from behind and forced her to an abrupt stop, arms flailing. The next thing she knew, she was being yanked back by a clawed hand. She screamed.

"Ellie!" Raf and Jack yelled in unison, eyes wide.

But right as she was getting pulled out of the pipe, there was a horrible clash of metal against metal, and the claw pinching her sweater was jerked away, tearing the cloth with a loud rrrip!

"Whoa!" Ellie yelped as she fell backwards. She shut her eyes, waiting for the painful impact of the hard pavement below, but it didn't come. Opening her eyes, she found that she didn't land on the concrete ground, but instead into the palm of a black, metallic hand. She looked up, stunned, at the yellow robot that had caught her.

With an astonishing amount of gentleness, he lifted her back up to the entrance of the drain pipe, allowing her to slide off of his hand. Legs wobbling, she stepped away, staring at him. Jack and Raf rushed over to her, each of them taking her hand.

The yellow robot lowered himself until his head was closer to their level. He emitted a short series of whirs and beeps.

"He's asking you if you're okay," Raf whispered to Ellie.

She blinked rapidly. "Um, yeah…I'm okay."

He buzzed again, this time in a more upbeat tone, his lenses spiraling outward slightly.

Raf looked up at the robot with a sincere smile. "Thank you."

Ellie nodded. "Thanks a lot."

The robot looked behind him before he turned back to them with a more firm beep, waving his hand in an urgent "move along" motion.

Ellie didn't need to understand him to know that he was telling them to get to safety while they had the chance.

"Come on, let's go!" Jack said, pulling her along. With one last look, she turned her back on the robot and hurried along with the two boys into the dark tunnel.

"What did we just see?" Raf asked breathlessly once they were far enough inside.

"Don't know," Jack replied, "and I'm not sure I really want to find out."

The deeper they ventured through the pipe, the darker it got. So Ellie took out her green-colored cell phone and activated her flashlight app, lighting the way.

"That...was…insane," Jack said as they walked, though it sounded like he was mostly talking to himself. Ellie glanced at him under the dim light of her phone; he looked like it was taking all of his effort not to have some kind of nervous breakdown.

"Yeah, about that…" Ellie spoke up quietly, getting his attention. "How exactly did that…come about?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, from where we were sitting, you just fell from the sky on that motorcycle. Care to clue us in on what happened before that?"

"Yeah, how'd you meet the bike bot?" Raf asked, equally curious.

For a long moment, Jack didn't answer, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"I don't know how it happened, it was all so fast," he started, unsure. "I got off my shift at work. I saw that motorcycle just sitting in the parking lot, and…I don't know. I thought she— it, looked cool. I got on it, but I was only gonna be a second."

Ellie side-eyed him. "You got on a motorcycle that wasn't yours?" she said flatly.

Jack threw his hands up in the air. "Well, if I'd known said motorcycle was actually some crazy ninja-bot, I would've thought twice about it, now wouldn't I?"

Ellie and Raf exchanged skeptical looks.

"Anyway," Jack said severely, "I was just…talking to a couple of classmates from school, when those two cars showed up out of nowhere and tried to run me down. Next thing I knew, I was sucked into some wild highway chase. Those things actually shot at me! Can you believe it? Shot at by car-robots!"

"Whoa, 'kay," Ellie said lowly as she leaned away from him a little, putting a placating hand up. "Right. We won't talk about it anymore, then."

"Yeah, I think we can take it from there how it turned out," Raf concurred, scratching his head, before he added falteringly, "They were pretty cool, though— the yellow and blue robots, I mean. Not the ones who attacked us."

"I guess…if you take out the fact that we nearly got killed," Jack muttered.

Not long afterwards, they were greeted by dim daylight when they finally reached a storm drain, one that was thankfully large enough for all of them to climb through. Jack and Ellie hoisted Raf up first, followed by Ellie, and then Jack was pulled out last. They looked around at the suburban street they were on, determining where exactly they were.

"Oh, hey, I live on the next block," Raf said with recognition. He looked back at the other two, readjusting his backpack over his shoulders. "I better get home before my mom wonders where I am."

"Okay, then…" Jack bid him goodbye hesitantly. He looked like he wanted to say something else, but Raf already turned and started to hurry off for home.

"See you guys later!" he called back with a wave.

Ellie waved back. When it was only her and Jack, she checked the time on her phone. It was a little after seven. Her grandmother was off her shift and was likely home by now.

"I guess I should head home, too," she mumbled, putting her phone away. She looked over at Jack, who was running a hand through his hair.

"Um, Jack?" she said, pulling him from his thoughts. "Do you know far it is from here to North Drive?"

"Oh, um, yeah. Just follow that road down there, turn right, then left, and you should see it on another left."

"Thanks. So, then…see you at school?"

Jack bit his lip, then nodded faintly. "Yeah…see you at school."

With that, they parted ways, Jack walking with an air of one who had a lot to think about and mull over.

And so did Ellie.

She followed Jack's directions down the street in silence, teeth clenching tightly with every step she took, until she finally saw her house come into view a few minutes later. Her grandmother's car was parked in the driveway. She sped up her pace and approached the house. She opened the door with a shaking hand and stepped in.

Isla was standing by the doorway, putting her bag down to take her jacket off. She glanced once at Ellie upon her granddaughter's arrival. "So there you are," she said as she hung her jacket up on the coat rack. "I didn't expect to beat you home. I was beginning to wonder."

"Yeah, sorry. I took your advice and walked around town."

A minor smirk danced across Isla's lips. "Aye, there you go," she said. She turned to properly face Ellie, and her smirk was instantly replaced with a concerned frown at the girl's wan look. "What's wrong with you?"

Ellie swallowed, her throat dry. "I might've overdid it."

Isla looked her up and down, and her face tightened even more, this time looking more exasperated than concerned as she demanded, "What on Earth did you do to your sweater?"

Ellie looked over her shoulder at mentioned clothing, which had been hanging loosely off her frame due to the tear that now ran halfway down her back.

"Ah, right. It, uh…got caught," she said, not missing the irony of that statement. Then she asked, "Where did we put the sewing kit again?"

"On the shelf, in the laundry room," her grandmother answered, still eyeing her suspiciously even as Ellie moved past her.

"Thanks. I think I'll go ahead and turn in for the night."

She stopped by the laundry room, quickly swiped the sewing kit, and headed for her bedroom.

"You won't have dinner?" she heard her grandmother call after her.

"No, thanks. Not hungry. I'm really tired. Good night, Gran," she replied bleakly, finally reaching her bedroom door and stepping in, not bothering to wait for an answer from her grandmother.

She closed the door and locked it with a soft click, walked a couple of paces toward the bed, and then stopped, carefully placing the sewing kit on the bedside table. She stood there for a whole five seconds of silence, until she let herself collapse face-down onto the bed, groaning long and loud into her pillow.

Jack's right, that was insane, she thought. She had just managed to keep it together for the most part on the journey home from her close encounter. But now that she was alone, suddenly the abundance of emotions— most particularly shock— couldn't be held in anymore.

"Okay, just calm down. No need to freak out," she told herself, her voice coming out slightly muffled through the pillow. "I mean, you only saw some giant robots fighting each other."

She grimaced. Saying it out loud only made it sound even crazier. It was especially worse when she could only see those two purple robots glaring down at her, hear the horrible sound of those weapons being fired, feel one of them grabbing her and pulling her back.

No, stop.

Slowly, she turned herself over so that she was lying on her back. She opened her eyes to stare up at the ceiling, deep in thought. What were those things? Of course, she knew that they looked like giant robots, but…were they really? Robots, by definition, were simply the assemblage of metal and other parts, and only did what they were designed to do. And she's never heard of a robot that could transform into a vehicle.

Robots also weren't known for showing emotions, but the ones she saw clearly did— the blue and yellow robots did, at least. The blue one, from Ellie's point of view, seemed more angry— even vengeful— towards the two purple robots, who didn't even have faces, though she could somehow still tell that they posed some kind of threat. After all, one of them had nearly gotten her…if she hadn't been saved by the yellow robot, who appeared to have shown genuine concern for her and the other kids, and then relief when confirmed that they were alright.

She rubbed her eyes with another groan, not having the faintest idea what to make of what she saw. The entire experience was just so confusing, frustrating, terrifying...and a bit thrilling.

She took in a deep breath through her nose and let it out through her mouth, the tension in her body gradually easing up. It wasn't easing up enough, though. Her heart was still beating faster than normal, and when she raised her hands from her face, they were still shaking. It wouldn't do to try to handle a needle and thread with an unsteady grip at the moment.

Geez, get a hold of yourself, girl. You haven't gotten this worked up since…

Ellie's face hardened, hands clenching into fists. Then, with a grunt, she pushed herself back up and stood. She took off her torn sweater and threw it on top of the bed before going over to her desk. She'd fix that up later.

Right after she's vented out the ramifications of certain events undertaken.

She pulled out her notebook underneath her pile of various supplies in the drawer and slammed it down on her desk, flipping it open to a blank page. Then she grabbed a pen and began to write, more vigorously than usual:

Dear Gene,

So you're not going to believe the day I just had…

The next day at school passed by in a blur for Ellie. Her body seemed to move to and from classes on autopilot, and she hardly listened to any of her lectures— she even managed to tune out Miko's often one-sided conversations, somehow. The only time she was completely aware of what she was doing was when she looked up and spotted a certain redheaded boy when she walked out of her last class of the day. She stopped when she saw Vince leaning casually against a wall on her usual way out. Without a word, she reversed direction, not at all in the mood to get caught in his limelight again.

She eventually exited out of a side door on the west side of the school. She started for home, humming softly to herself, but she only made it several paces until she heard someone call out, "Hey, Ellie!"

She turned to see Raf standing underneath a tree by the edge of the school grounds nearby, waving at her. She paused uncertainly. Then she straightened her posture and made her way over to him.

"Hey, Raf," she greeted evenly.

There was quiet between them for a brief moment until it was broken by Raf, speaking with barely subdued excitement, "So I can't stop thinking about what we saw last night."

And just like that, Ellie couldn't hold it in anymore. "I know, right? I—"

She quickly covered her mouth. They discreetly looked around them, waiting until the few students passing them were out of earshot, before they leaned in to where their heads were almost touching. Ellie spoke up again, in a more hushed tone, "I couldn't stop thinking about it either. It just kept playing in my head over and over like an internet video."

"I have so many questions and theories about those robots," Raf whispered eagerly. "Where did they come from? Are they some kind of advanced superweapons escaped from a lab? Why were they fighting each other? Where did they even learn to fight and turn into cars? And that's just to name a few!"

Ellie couldn't help but smile at his precociousness. She was liking this kid more and more.

"Well, I'm not sure about the superweapons part— it's still possible, though. But they definitely are something else," she said.

"Do you think we'll ever see them again?"

There was a tint of hope in the question.

Ellie's smile faded a little. She's been wondering that herself since the night before, and a part of her wondered if she even wanted to see them again. Sure, they were intriguing, and one of them did save her life, but still, taking into account that those two purple robots went after them in the first place, could anyone blame her if she had her misgivings?

"I don't know, Raf," she admitted. "But who knows? Maybe."

Raf nodded, smiling back. "Yeah, maybe." Then something caught his eye and he looked over, perking up even more. "There's Jack." He waved him over as well.

Ellie watched as Jack, who'd been standing at the foot of the steps leading into the school, walked over to meet them. He still held an uncomfortable look about him as he approached them.

"Hey, guys," he greeted, rubbing the back of his head. "Look, about last night…why don't we just forget about it and not tell anyone, okay?"

Ellie's eyebrows creased together. Not telling anyone else was one thing— who in their right mind would ever believe them? Conspiracy theorists, maybe, but that was beside the point. However, to forget about it? She highly doubted that it was ever going to leave the disarrayed archive she called her mind anytime soon.

But as it turned out, she didn't need to worry about that. Hardly two seconds after Jack made the suggestion, a car horn blared nearby, startling all three of them. Raf was the one to see it first. He gasped, "Look!"

Ellie stared, dumbfounded, as the familiar yellow-and-black muscle car pulled to a stop in front of them.

"Not again," Jack grumbled under his breath, taking a small step back.

Then the car's passenger door lifted open on its own, followed by a couple of short beeps from inside.

"It— it wants us to get in?" Jack said nervously.

"Nope. Just me and Ellie," Raf contradicted him.

Both Ellie and Jack turned to him with baffled looks.

"Really?" Ellie asked.

"How do you know that?" Jack questioned.

Raf shrugged with an untroubled smile. "He said so."

Jack did a double take. "What?!"

"Yeah, he also said your ride is over there," Raf said, gesturing him towards the lot in front of the school, where the sleek blue motorcycle was parked inconspicuously.

Has she been there the whole time? Ellie asked herself. She also wondered why she hadn't moved from that spot yet, but then she realized why when she saw Miko sitting on the steps, occasionally looking up at the bike with absolute focus while she drew in her sketchbook.

"Uh, I don't know about this," Jack was stammering, but before he could say more, Raf began to tug on Ellie's sleeve.

"Come on, Ellie!" Raf said.

Ellie's eyes flickered from the younger boy to the inviting vehicle with a second of confliction...but only a second. After all, if he truly wanted to hurt them, he would've done so the night before.

Oh, what the heck, she thought with finality. She allowed Raf to pull her along and climbed into the backseat of the car after him before she could change her mind. The next thing she knew, they were speeding away from the school, the car's powerful engine making her tremble, and they were off onto the main road.

Well, no turning back now, Ellie thought, genuinely hoping that she's made the right decision. Either way, this'll make for an interesting afternoon.

She looked warily around at the interior, taking in the smooth, black leather seating she was sitting on that had a yellow stripe running down it. It certainly felt like she was just riding in a regular car, just without a human driver. Up front, the steering wheel turned all on its own as they weaved their way through traffic, the meters outlined with a fluorescent blue, and above the radio system was a small screen that had a strange emblem on it— it almost looked like a face. There was a similar emblem that glowed at the center of the steering wheel.

Before she could ponder more on the symbol, Raf introduced them to the vehicle, "I'm Raf, and this is Ellie. What's your name?"

The car replied with a deep buzz via the radio, the crest on the steering wheel illuminating as he did so.

"He says his name is Bumblebee," Raf told Ellie.

She blinked, not expecting such a name from a transforming robot. However, she considered the noises he made to communicate, his paint job— she even remembered seeing him as a robot, with his car doors attached to his back, appearing almost similar to the wings of a bumblebee.

"Bumblebee…" she said, a small smile growing on her face. "Of course…it suits you."

"I like it too," Raf agreed.

Bumblebee chirped brightly, giving Ellie the impression that he appreciated their sentiments.

"So, um…where are we going?" Ellie asked hesitantly. She glanced out the window and saw that they were crossing the city limits; the buildings they'd passed earlier were now replaced by sand, rock formations, and desert plantation as far as they could see.

Bumblebee began a series of bleeps, Raf translating for Ellie with every pause in his speech. "He's taking us to his team's base…"

Ellie frowned. Team?

"…because we might be in danger...now that we've seen them…"

Her frown deepened. And it got better.

"…which is why…Optimus Prime?" At this, Raf couldn't help but frown in confusion as well, "…specifically asked to meet us…for our own protection."

"Who's…Optimus Prime?" Ellie enquired, making sure to pronounce the unusual name correctly.

Another sequence of clicks and buzzes emitted from Bumblebee.

"Their leader" Raf interpreted, "he's going to explain everything to us when we get there."

Ellie was at a loss for words for a long time. They had left Jasper behind entirely, hurtling along down a long stretch of road through the vast desert.

"Okay, then…" she said feebly.

They fell into silence for some time, driving down the abandoned road. It was broken, however, when Ellie heard a female voice whoop and cheer excitedly over the roar of the wind. She turned and looked out the back window. Not far behind them was Jack riding the blue motorcycle. It seemed that Jack had decided to come along after all. But then...who was the person sitting behind him? Ellie squinted, and then her eyes widened in surprise, recognizing that flamboyant hair instantly.

"Miko?" Ellie mumbled. What's she doing with Jack?

Then Raf's awed mutter of, "Whoa," brought her attention back to the front. Looking ahead, a gigantic mesa arose from the horizon as they neared it, standing tall before where the road broke off into an intersection.

Bumblebee showed no signs of slowing down even as he ran out of road to drive on. In fact, his speed seemed to increase as they headed straight for the plateau.

A surge of panic ran through Ellie. She clutched onto the strap of her bag tightly. "Um, Bumblebee?"

But before they could collide with the rock wall in front of them, it shifted down and revealed a metal door, which also split open for them.

"Oh…" Her grip lessened as she let out a breath that she'd been holding. She leaned forward in her seat as they entered a secret passageway, the light of day instantly replaced with the dim of the tunnel. They winded through the corridor until Ellie could see light coming up fast. She leaned closer to the window, Raf doing the same. Bumblebee must've sensed their curiosity, because he rolled down his window and slowed to a crawl as they finally reached the end of the tunnel.

Ellie gasped. "Wow."

"Cool," Raf whispered.

The tunnel had opened up into an enormous, chamber-like room enclosed by a blend of metal and rock, filled with things that Ellie would've been inclined to notice if she wasn't too busy gawking at the two new robots already there, waiting for them.

Standing by what looked like a large computer monitor was a robot that was a bit larger than Bumblebee, with a white and red-orange color scheme. He merely watched as they moved further inside, eyeing them with apparent suspicion.

However, he wasn't nearly as big as the green-colored robot that was more on the portly side. Ellie didn't know robots could even have that kind of physique. He walked a couple of paces before he stopped and quietly watched them park in the center of the room.

The door opened, and Raf and Ellie stepped out of the car. Jack and Miko did the same next to them, dismounting from the motorcycle. The instant that all four kids were out of their respected escorts, both vehicles transformed into their robot modes. Ellie held back a flinch, not quite used to the phenomenon yet.

"So cool!" Miko exclaimed, nearly shaking with excitement.

Ellie looked over at Miko, still rather confused as to why she was with them in the first place.

Her question was answered when the orange and white robot went to stand next to the green one. "I thought there were only three," he said with a small frown.

The blue robot threw her former passengers a brief, disgruntled glance before meeting the other one's gaze, a hand on her hip. "Haven't you heard? Humans multiply," she said sardonically.

While Miko was busy marveling at the sight before them, Ellie caught Jack's gaze and subtly pointed at the other girl, mouthing, What?

Jack rolled his eyes with an annoyed sigh. "She…may have caught us talking."

Ellie opened her mouth, but then closed it. She had nothing to say to that.

Then Raf, ever the polite one, smiled up at the robots. "Hi. I'm Raf."

"I'm Miko!" The transfer student cut in, eyes trained right onto the green robot, who was visibly taken aback as she approached him. "Who are you?"

"Bulkhead," he replied with a hint of caution in his gruff voice.

Miko's enthusiasm intensified, her grin widening. "Are you a car? I bet you're a truck— a monster truck!"

Ellie tried not to chuckle at the way Bulkhead grew more uncomfortable as Miko bombarded him relentlessly with questions. I feel you, my friend.

While Miko was going off, Ellie walked forward, only to stop, the floor feeling uneven beneath her feet. She looked down and noticed that she was standing on what looked like dark silver indents embedded into the faded pavement.

Wait…

Carefully, she stepped back until she could see that it wasn't just indents, but part of an even bigger image of the strange insignia that she's seen on Bumblebee. In fact, all of the robots had the same symbol branded somewhere on their metallic armor. Her head tilted to the side as she studied the insignia with growing inquisitiveness. What is this place? What is...ALL of this?

It wasn't until she faintly heard the older boy introduce himself with, "My name's Jack," that she finally looked up. All four of the robots' blue eyes turned to her expectantly, making her tense.

"I'm Ellie," she said with some reservation.

Jack looked up at the blue robot somewhat nervously. "You never really told me your name?"

"Call me Arcee," she replied flippantly, folding her arms over her chest.

Bumblebee bleeped, waving at them.

"That's Bumblebee," Raf informed Jack and Miko, before he moved his gaze up to the orange and white robot. "And you are…?"

"Ratchet," he answered in a curt tone.

A short pause followed the finished introductions between the occupants of the room, until it was again broken by Raf.

"So, if you guys are robots, who made you?" he asked curiously.

The answer to that question surprised Ellie: the one who called himself Ratchet rolled his eyes and scoffed, followed by an indignant, "Puh-lease!"

Ellie's eyebrows rose at the reaction. Their gestures and mannerisms were so casual, so...human-like, yet they were far from human. But, as she'd come to consider the night before, they weren't your average robots, either. They had their own characteristics and personalities. In other words: they were sentient.

There was only one other explanation for their existence that she could think of, even if it sounded far-fetched, and there was only one way to find out.

Looking up at the four of them, she asked carefully, "You're not from this world, are you?"

"That is correct, Ellie."

Ellie winced, but only briefly, at the new voice that reverberated from behind her. It was a voice that was, to put it bluntly, shockingly deep and resounding. Like whenever that voice says your name, you can't help but listen to it no matter what. At the same time, though, it wasn't exactly intimidating. It was difficult to explain; like, as powerful as it was, there was a certain warmth and reassurance to it.

And it knows my name, Ellie thought.

She turned around, and was forced to look up even further at who could only be the tallest robot in present company that approached her with thundering footsteps. He had to be least thirty feet tall; she barely reached where his ankle would be. Like most of the others, he had a gray face with a thin mouth and glowing blue eyes. His head was well protected by a blue helmet-like top. His upper body armor was red, and his legs were silver and blue.

He was so tall, even Arcee looked tiny standing next to him— only reaching where his hips were.

The body definitely matched the voice, Ellie concluded as she stared up at him in awe, and she had no doubt in her mind that whatever he transformed into, it was gigantic too.

The taller robot inclined his head and gently regarded her and the other kids, who had come to stand beside her. Then he spoke up again.

"My name is Optimus Prime, and we—" he lightly waved a hand to the rest of the robots in the room, "—are autonomous robotic organisms from a distant planet called Cybertron. You may call us Autobots. Do not be afraid, for freedom from fear and oppression is the right of all sentient beings. We will never harm humans."

So they are aliens, Ellie mused in amazement. Not only that, but they were aliens that seemed to have a pretty straight policy on interspecific relations. Before she could contemplate any more on that matter, though, Jack stepped forward.

"Why are you here?" he asked.

"To protect your planet," Optimus explained, "from the Decepticons: our enemies who only seek the conquest and destruction of those they believe are inferior to them."

"Basically, the jokers who tried to bump us off last night," Arcee simplified in her dry tone.

Jack frowned, still puzzled. "Okay? Then why are they here?"

In one surprisingly graceful move, Optimus lowered himself to one knee and bent down, his large head now a mere few feet above them, allowing them to see every single detail on his face. It took some willpower for Ellie not to take an instinctive step back from the tons of metal that now hovered right over her.

"A fair question, Jack," Optimus said. "In part, they are here because our planet is now uninhabitable, ravaged by centuries of civil war— a war that, even to this day, is still being fought."

Raf was the one to ask the next question. "Why are you fighting a war?"

"Foremost, over control of the maximum supply of energon: the fuel and lifeblood of all Cybertronians, regardless of their faction."

Ellie's brows furrowed as she took in the new information. Two opposing sides fighting over an energy source? That sounded more like a symptom of war than an actual cause of one. There was always much more to it than that. Whatever the reason, though, war was still war. And these creatures, these Autobots, lost their home to it.

"The combat between the Autobots and Decepticons on Cybertron was fierce, and endured for centuries. It all but exhausted our resources and nearly extinguished our kind," Optimus continued, his voice growing solemn. "In the beginning, I fought alongside one whom I considered a brother, but in war, ideals can be corrupted…and it was thus, that Megatron lost his way, and became the ruthless leader of the Decepticons…" Optimus's voice became even lower, "…and my greatest enemy."

Ellie's face immediately became crestfallen, staring up at Optimus with a grim understanding when he finished. It was one thing to fight against someone who didn't share the same ideals as you. But for that person to be someone you once trusted with your life? And to lose your home to said war as well? That couldn't have been easy to deal with.

Her thoughts were then interrupted by a bored-sounding yawn from beside her. She looked over at Miko, who was absently twirling her ponytail and had turned to meet her gaze.

"Is there gonna be a quiz?" Miko asked sarcastically.

The only thing Ellie did was raise an eyebrow and give her best, Seriously? look.

Way to derail the moment.

Miko, undeterred, just grinned cheekily and shrugged. Ellie just sighed quietly. She didn't understand; most people never did on matters such as this, Ellie had grown to realize a long time ago.

Jack, who had tossed a quick glare Miko's way, looked back to Optimus. "So, what does Megatron— or any of this— have to do with us?" he asked.

Optimus looked down at them firmly. "Megatron has not been seen or heard from in some time," he said with a grave undertone, "but if his return is imminent, as I fear…it could be catastrophic for your world."

A significant silence ensued as Ellie looked around at all of the Autobots. The severity of the situation that she was now involved in weighed dismally over her like an unstable platform.

Oh, Ellie, what have you gotten yourself into now?

A/N- Episode one, complete! Fair warning: Chapters from here on out won't be updated so frequently. As my schedule online, as well as my writing speed/process, is quite fickle.

Thank you for reading!