Sorry, its been a minute! But I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 3: Change

Autobot Academy Medical Bay; Iaacon City 2:34pm

Captain Geode watches from afar as his cadet is rambling happily to the strange protoform.

Moments after he had ended the comm chat between himself and Hot Rod, the channel reopens by Hot Rod's request for assistance. Worried, Geode came straight to the plaza and was taken aback from the strange situation. He escorted the femme to the Academy's Health Ward. Hot Rod tagged along much to Geode's own dismay, but the cadet seems to be able to distract the new stranger…

"Captain?" A chipper voice interrupts Geode's thoughts. He faces the talented medical student, First Aid. He has a standard medical paint, his frame is mostly red with arms and lower legs being white, he has red crosses on each shoulder. A gleam from his visor shines with curiosity.

" What do you think of the situation Captain? It is quite a strange situation. I mean a protoform forming so far away from the Well. I mean it happens but only once in a blue moon as the hum-"

"Relax, cadet. My receptors can't keep up with you…Did the proto- I mean Snowsteel, are her scans finished? Is she-"

"Snowsteels scans came back with flying colors. And scans revealed that her frame is ready to take on alternate mode, " First Aid replies, turning his attention to the new arrival in question.

Geode thinks for a moment. He then walks away from the front desk to the berth where Snowsteels is sitting with Hot Rod hovering over her.

Hot Rod perks his head upon seeing his Captain," Heya Cap! Is Steelie in the clear?"

"Yes, she is...Steelie?" Geode winces at the nickname.

"She doesn't mind! Right?" Hot Rod says, with Snowsteel nodding in agreement.

Geode just gruffs," Well…How about you take Snowsteel here to Shiner's and help her pick out an alt mode."

The Cadet's optics pop with excitement," Thats a wicked idea Cap! Come on Steelie, we are off to Shiner's!"

Hot Rod drags Snowsteel out of her berth, so fast that she doesn't have time to react, pulling her towards the exit.

"Wait!" Geode calls to them, stopping the two in the tracks. Geode looks straight into Snowsteels optics, "Snowsteel, I want you to think about joining the Academy or choosing to go somewhere else while you are away. There are many opportunities in Iacon and life experience is beneficial, but Autobot Academy is definitely a good place to start in finding your interests. As well as developing and learning to master skills. There are both pros and cons to staying, but the choice is still yours's to make."

Geode watches as Snowsteel takes a moment and then clicks something together in her mind. She responds," I can do that…Thank you…Captain."

With that, the eager Hot Rods lead Snowsteel away. When the door slides shut, Geode opens up a private comm channel and whispers every word.

: Hey, are you busy at the moment? I would like to speak with you in private."

It takes a moment before the bot at the other end of the line responds.

: Apologies for the pause, I was focused on something. But yes, I have no more appointments for the day so feel free to drop in whenever."

: I'll be there shortly," Geode responses, cutting off the line. He makes his way out of med bay, heading towards the office of the school's psychiatrist. Geode hopes that the doctor will put his uneasiness to rest.

Downtown Iaacon 4:02 pm

The rails of the monorail sputtered to a halt. The whistle blew and the doors slid open. Bots of all kinds step out onto the platform. Roseanne follows closely behind Hot Rod, who hasn't stopped explaining everything he thought she needed to know since they left the academy. Since she didn't have an alt mode yet, Hot Rod suggested that they take another way to Shiner's.

Since leaving the medical bay, Roseanne has had questions rattling around in her head. She thought she asked all the right questions when she was on team prime, but apparently, she has a lot more to learn. But she doesn't fully process what has happened to her and she doesn't know where to start. It was like walking amongst the titans in a dream.

'I still can't believe I'm here…on Cybertron,' Roseanne tries and stops her mind from wandering. She doesn't want to frighten herself, especially in public.

Leaving the station, Roseanne steps into what Hot Rod called the downtown area of Iacon. She follows him past brilliant lights and attractions. She became lost in thoughts, not realizing that Hot Rod had stopped talking. She catches him staring at her while walking forward.

"Hot Rod? Are you okay?" Roseanne asks.

"Mm? Oh!" Hot Rod stops in his tracks, causing Roseanne to almost bump into him.

"Sorry! Again! I'm..," Hot Rod turns around to face her, " I just realized I was talking the entire time and I haven't really asked how you've been really handlin' all of this. I haven't let you ask any questions…I just feel guilty I guess."

Roseanne blinks in surprise. She says "Actually, I think you are doing great…I don't know if it means a lot coming from me seeing as I have just been forged."

"It does make me feel a bit better," Hot Rod smiles, "Do you have any questions?"

"Uh…"

Not knowing what to ask first, Roseanne starts with, "Why did you join the Academy?"

"You want to know about me?" Hot Rod questions. The young femme nods.

"Well…" Hot Rod begins, excitement in his voice, "I want to be a captain of my very own starship and crew. I want to explore all four corners of the universe! I even have a name picked out!

"What is it?" Roseanne asks, his enthusiasm interesting her.

"Nope! Ain't tellin'! It's a surprise!" the cadet proudly states, " I'm telling nobody till I get the keys to the ship!"

"That is quite the inspiration, I hope I can find something just as good, to reach for I mean," Roseanne comments.

"Heh thanks, that means a lot." Hot Rod then slumps back down into a sullen voice, " I don't know how long it will take, if I keep getting in trouble, I might get kicked out of the academy."

Seeing her new friend in dismay, Roseanne wanted to say it'll be okay, but she knows she can't guarantee that. "Do you want to change the topic?" She asks.

"Hm? Oh yeah…Shiner's not far from here, we better get back on track," Hot Rod picks the pace back up. He leads Roseanne past a couple of streets. There is complete silence between the two, making Roseanne a bit uneasy. Trying to break said silence, she asks, "Have you been to Shiner's before?"

"Oh yeah!" Hot respond, he stops again and poses in the light dramatically, " Shiner helped me with finding and adjusting my alternate mode. He also helped me with the colors I wanted to use for my frame! He's a real artist!"

Hot Rod does another dramatic pose, showing off his flame-inspired armor motif on his chest plate. Roseanne giggles as Hot Rod continues to show-off.

"What is your alt mode? If you don't mind me asking," Roseanne asks, still chuckling.

"Oh, it's a super rad sports car from Earth, I think Shiner called it a Lambo? I'll show you when get there, Shiner has an area specifically adjusting to alt-modes-"

"Earth?"

"Oh, Earth is an ally planet. It's run by another race that are called humans…," Hot Rod continues to talk as they are walking, but Roseanne is no longer listening. Surprised that he mentioned it, and even more shocked that the two planets were even commuting with each other. From complete radio silence to trading, something must have occurred during her time away. Tuning back into reality, Roseanne interrupts, "Have you been there? To Earth?"

"-Oh yeah I've been there! Only once though! I managed to go on a trip before the bridges went dark. It was so cool! It is so much different from Cybertron. Oh! Oh! When we get back I will show you the stuff I caught when I won a 'fishing' tournament!"

"You better! But the bridges…going dark…what does that mean?"

"That? Well to be honest I don't know the whole story but…" Hot Rod looks and points his hand up to the sky. Roseanne is confused by this, but she lets him continue talking.

"Earth being naturally lightyears away, we have to use space bridges to travel to and from turning years of travel into seconds. Super convenient!" Hot Rod lowers his arm back down and recounts the details he could remember, " Going to Earth, there was no issue. But when I came back after I stepped out, the bridge sort of, um, how do I put this…"

Hot Rod then proceeds to make a series of sound effects ranging from 'zzz' to 'boom'.

"It…became unstable?" Roseanne answers.

"Yeah! Sooner or later all the space bridges went down and all are still under maintenance."

"Huh…weird."

"Mmm yeah, but the big bots will take care of it eventually. Hey! Look!" Pointing vigorously, Hot Rod presents a large, obnoxious bright neon sign that reads 'SHINERS' underneath some cybertronian dialect.

Hot Rod grabs Roseanne's hand once more. "Come on Steelie!"

Autobot Academy Entrance 7:31pm

Geode paces in front of the academy doors, anxiously. Hot Rod messaged him 45 minutes ago, saying that the pair were heading back from Shiners. He has been waiting outside for the two to get back since. He then hears the roar of engines. Turning to the source, Geode sees dust clouds heading his way at neck breaking speeds. One of the clouds out speeds the other, picking up the pace and reaching Geode. A triumphant laugh emerges as the victor's clouds disperse.

Hot Rod changes out of his alt mode and waits. The second cloud slowly dissipates as it slows down. An earth-based vehicle comes to a halt at Hot Rod and Geodes pedes.

"You remember how to do it Steelie?" Hot Rod asks.

The sounds of gears grinding and her engine hissing, Snowsteel changes from her alt-mode to standing on two feet. Snowsteel spins around in a circle, "Did I do it right?"

"Yep! You are a Bonafide natural!" Hot Rot pats her on the back.

Geodes studies Snowsteel. She had gained shining, white armor decorated with pale greens and blues speckled across her arms and legs. But, she has a mask and a green visor that now fully covers her faceplate. He takes note of this but states, " Seeing as you are here, I guess that means you come to decide to join us. Yes?"

With an eagerness Snowsteel responds, "Yes! And I'm ready to start."

"Well then, we should begin by meeting your teachers, come along then. And welcome to the Autobots."

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! See you next time!