Two Weeks Later…

The two weeks Optimus and Saphira spent together pass by rather quickly for them. They spent several days at Wildberry lodge, and Saphira was indulged with delightful experiences that Optimus ensured she enjoyed. Including another picnic, one that had the view of mountains and rolling hills at sundown. It was very beautiful and amazing. He made Saphira feel like she was the most beautiful person in the world. They returned to the emerald field afterwards to spend the remainder of their time together. Optimus ensured that Saphira would not be bored, she was thrilled when he brought along things they could do together. He could finally play Chess with her, she taught him how to skip stones on the water, she even bought a simple paint kit to teach him how to paint and Optimus gladly told Saphira more stories about his time as Orion Pax. She was amused by the times Optimus had actually been drunk on a version of energon that resembled alcohol for transformers. It seemed he was a heavy drinker when he was young, even Megatron. It was just a great time for them both to have together.

They were currently on their way back to NEST, Saphira was feeling less than thrilled about it. She knew she would have a few weeks to practice her driving skills before officially becoming an instructor. Plus, she would be taught basic self defence skills that she could use if needed. She also had not yet seen the house she would call home either. She knew this was going to happen, but she wished for more time with Optimus. Though, she did know she would be constantly feeling that way regardless of how much time they spent together.

She stared out the window as the world goes by as Optimus drives back to the base. "At least it will be good to see the others again," Saphira said with a slight smile. She did miss spending time with Bee, she wondered how he was doing. "I hope they haven't been chomping at the bit since we have left."

"They might have been. Though I have no doubt they will be thrilled to see us again, Saphira. I got a message earlier from Bee telling me to return sooner so he could see you and make sure you are okay. I don't really get why he feels that way though." She giggled a little, Bee being protective of her is rather cute. "Though, I guess it is how it is when you have a sibling. Even if you are not related by species."

"I think it is cute. I just hope it does not get to a point of being overprotective though. After all, he knows you won't hurt me. I think it is just his way of saying he misses me without telling the whole thing." Saphira looked ahead, she could see the NEST base coming into view and sighed a little. "Still…I wouldn't mind another week…"

"You and I would be saying that if we did have another week together, Saphira. I too am a little sad that we have to return and start our work again. However, there is still decepticons out there, and Megatron is cowering somewhere on this planet. We need to deal with them."

"I know…in another world where they are completely extinguished, we might not be working with NEST right now. Oh well…still, I am still excited to see what a Peterbilt can do. Of course, within reason." She chuckled a little as she thought about the practice, she would have driving the truck. Optimus chuckled with her as well, he too was curious to see how her skills with a car would translate to a truck. "And the house I will be staying in. I'm kind of nervous if I am honest."

"I doubt there is anything to be afraid of, Saphira. We have faced far worse than any of those."

"I know. I guess it's just me being nervous for no reason." Optimus turned off the road towards the gates into NEST. The soldiers watching salute Optimus and open the gates for him. "Still…it is probably just the transition into a life I am not familiar with yet. Once it becomes a daily thing, I will be fine. If anything, I am more nervous about my birthday and inheriting what my grandfather had than this."

"I have no doubt that Everett would be beside you right now and encouraging you if he were still here. What would he say if he were here with you now?" Optimus was genuinely curious, and Saphira thought about what her grandfather would say.

She smiled a little and put on a slightly deeper voice as she spoke. "Saphira, when times get tough and you think there is no way out, never think it is how it ends. Look ahead and consider all your options in your hand, and use your wisdom to choose the safest path. Hopelessness only falls when there is truly no way out. So give it your all and show the world who you are."

Optimus listened to her and hummed gently in amusement. "Wise words from a man I only know through you and those who knew him. I wish I knew him myself."

"Me too, I know you and him would have been great friends. Speaking of…" Her eyes widen when she spotted the autobots ahead of them outside a hangar. "Bumblebee!" She winds the window down to peer outside. "Hey! We're back!"

"Look at what the Prime dragged in," Skids said joking with a grin as Optimus came to a stop. "It's about fraggin' time ya showed up. We was getting' bored without ya."

"Speak for yourself!" Mudflap snapped at his brother, punching his shoulder as he did so. "Ya have been bustin' me up everyday. Optimus, the wreckers have been causin' a lot of problems. Worse than me and me brother."

"Wreckers?" Saphira raised an eyebrow and opened the door to climb down from the cab. "Who or what are wreckers?"

"That is just a reference to three autobots who arrived when you and Optimus were having your time away," Ratchet explained, frowning at the twins as Skids tackled Mudflap to fight him for punching his shoulder. "Oh, will you both cut it out!" Ironhide grabbed both twins and slammed them into the ground to shut them up. "Thank you Ironhide."

Ironhide huffed and glared at the two bots. "If you punks don't cool it, you will be sent to join the wreckers without any hesitation."

"We sorry!" Skids pouts, putting his hands together to ask for forgiveness. "We don't mean no harm, we was just playin'."

"Yer, we sorry," Mudflap responded in a begging voice too. "Don't send us with them."

"Lame…" Ironhide threw the twins away and Optimus transformed, he was curious about the situation too. "Sorry about the twins. It is true Leadfoot, Topspin and Roadbuster have caused an issue. When they arrived, they saw fit to destroy an entire gas station as a prank."

Optimus groaned and rubbed his face, seemingly embarrassed by their behaviour. "Why would they do such a thing? Were there any lives lost?"

"Sadly…yes…" Ratchet shakes his head in shame. "Forgive us Optimus, we did not contain those fraggers like we should have. They did not tell us they were going to do that, they just went and did it. Right now, there is a plan to have them be moved to another facility. Their expertise in space travel is of interest to the humans, so they may build a ship."

Optimus shakes his head and looked at Saphira who had a shocked expression on her face. "I am sorry, Saphira. I knew these autobots were arriving soon as they had sent a transmission. However, if I had known they would be the cause to human life lost, I would never have allowed them to set foot on this planet."

"Don't apologize for them, Prime. It was their fault." Saphira looked at the other autobots standing around with sad expressions on their faces. "Really, it is their fault."

"It is our fault for reassuring the leaders that they would not cause any trouble. And the wreckers went and did this almost immediately upon arrival." Optimus exhaled deeply before reaching into his chassis to pull out the suitcases, handing them to Bumblebee. "It seems I need to attend to this immediately." Saphira frowned a little knowing that Optimus had to go deal with something right now, though she understood. He looked down at Saphira. "I am sorry I will not be able to escort you to your new residence, however this is a matter I must see to Saphira. Bee, I am sure she wants to meet our new additions. Make sure the wreckers behave."

"Huh?" Saphira wasn't sure if she wanted to meet the wreckers, though she figured she should because they probably knew of her existence. "They better behave, or I won't apologize for the words that may come from my mouth."

Ironhide chuckled lightly. "I don't think what you will say would bother them. They have their own filth that come from their mouths. Don't worry about hurting their feelings, they will laugh it off."

"And don't worry, the wreckers are not the only bots who arrived in your absence," Ratchet said with a smile. "I think you will love them."

"Love me? Oh, how kind of you." She looked up when she heard a new voice and saw a tall, red bot approaching with a smirk on his face. He winked at her and looked at Prime. "How in Primus name did you find such a nice gal, huh Prime?"

Optimus smiled at the bot. "It is good to see you again, Dino. It has been too long, old friend."

"Long enough for you to go and get yourself a human lass," Dino responded in a sarcastic tone. He turned and dropped to one knew in front of Saphira. She smiled at him slightly as his accent and playful nature seemed to amuse her. "Where are my manners, I am Dino. I also go by the name Mirage, so either names will do just fine. I have heard so many good things about you."

Saphira chuckled softly at him. "A real pleasure to meet you."

Optimus smiled and turned to walk away. "I will go and find Lennox, I am sure he will guide me who to talk to about the mess the wreckers created."

Saphira watched Optimus leave, she felt bad that he had to clean up a mess for the autobots almost as soon as he had to return. She huffed a little. "You would think he is going to apologize for a bunch of children."

Dino chuckles lightly at her. "I suppose, in a way, the wreckers haven't really really grown out of their rebellious phase. I think this time they have understood their actions, but it is hard to say."

Saphira sighed and turned to Bumblebee with a smile. She ran over to him and hugged him, Bumblebee held her with one arm and she shifts to sit on his palm. "Did anything else happen while we were away?"

"Not really, no. But there is someone else you should meet, he's currently busy." Bee lifts Saphira to his shoulder and she quickly moved to sit there happily. "He's a very good, old friend of ours."

"I can see why Optimus fell for her," Dino said as he followed behind Bee. Saphira glanced over her shoulder curiously. "There's something about female humans that seems to get my spark pumping."

"Oh please, Dino, her appearance was only part of the reason Optimus and Saphira grew closer. There has been a lot of moments where both have had to show courage and determination, and if it were not for Saphira, Optimus would still be dead." Ratchet exhaled deeply and frowned at Dino. "I would advise you to not speak of Saphira in such a manner. Humans are fragile creatures, you might find yourself interested in them, but your recklessness will get others into trouble."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I have only been here a few days, so I know nothing about humans. I've seen mostly the soldiers around here. And I have just been so eager to see the human who saved Optimus's life." He smirked at Saphira as he could see she was listening to them. "I hope you don't take offence to this Saphira, after all, I think your appearance is quite lovely."

Saphira turned away to look ahead, feeling a slight blush from the compliment. "Um…thanks…"

Bumblebee rolled his eyes. "Pathetic."

She looked at Bee in surprise before smirking slightly. "Hey, no need to say that. I think he is still just getting used to seeing humans."

"Of course I am. I have only been here a few days after all. Still…I have heard you're a mean driver. Have you ever driven one of these?" She heard him transform and turned when she heard the sound of a Ferrari engine. She widened her eyes seeing a Ferrari 458. "Oh, I see I got your attention."

"I have not driven a Ferrari. But…I planned asking NEST about getting a couple." Saphira looked away and Dino drove ahead of Bee, turning around and reversing at Bee walked. She frowned at him. "Don't tell you're trying to me to drive you."

"Why not? At least you won't crash, and I'll let you have full control of the wheel. I would find it very educational." Dino moved to the side slightly to avoid a couple people who were moving out of the way of the autobots. "I am sure Bumblebee is a fantastic racer thanks to you."

"He already is," Saphira responded with a smile. "Actually, I kind of scared him the first time I took the wheel to use it the way I wanted to." Bee rolled his eyes and shrugged, making her giggle slightly. "I have to admit though, scaring a bot with just my driving skills is kind of funny."

"It is indeed," Dino said with a light chuckle. "Though you are free to give my wheels a spin at anytime."

She shrugged and leaned into Bee slightly to whisper. "Is he flirting with me?"

Bee huffed and nods slightly. "He thinks he's a stud."

She snorts out a laugh at the response she got from Bee and began to laugh uncontrollably. Bumblebee smirked a little, glad he had made her laugh. Saphira had to keep herself gripping onto Bumblebee's shoulder pad to keep her from slipping off, though she was laughing hard enough that she began to cry.

Ratchet walked briskly to catch up to Bee as he listened to Saphira's laughter slowly become higher pitched. "Easy, Saphira. You seem to not be breathing properly."

"I know, I but I can't stop laughing!" She responded through her laughter. She curled slightly and wiped tears from her eyes. "Ow, my stomach hurts from laughing so hard."

Ratchet shakes his head a little. He frowned at Dino who was still driving backwards in front of them. "Do you mind, Dino? Your little show-off is over. Get into bipedal mode so we can introduce Saphira to Wheeljack and the wreckers."

Saphira took deep breaths as she slowly calmed herself down. Dino huffed loudly and transformed, shrugging his arms. "Alright, alright, I was just playing."

Saphira finally was able to calm down, she wiped her cheeks clean as the autobots enter the hanger. She was able to get comfortable on Bee's shoulder again and she saw a blue bot who appeared to be older than the other bots. He had a bold head and he was focused on working on something. Barricade was standing by him with an excited expression.

He turned his head and gasped when he saw Saphira. "Oh, I am so sorry." The older bot looked up in surprise and watched Barricade walking towards Bee with a smile. "I forgot you were coming back today. Welcome back, Saphira."

"It is nice to see you again, Barricade," Saphira responded with a smile. "At least you're causing the least trouble around here."

The bot chuckled lightly. "Indeed I am."

Dino walked up beside Bee with a smirk. "At least she got to meet me." He looked at Saphira, giving her a wink. "And she might get to spin my wheels at some point in the future."

Barricade blinked in surprise before frowning. "I wouldn't count on it, Dino." He shakes his head and steps aside. "I believe you have someone to meet, Wheeljack."

The bot approached with a warm smile on his face. "This has been a lucky week of mine. How do you do, Saphira?" He stopped a few feet in front of Bee as he spoke. "It has been a real pleasure to hear so much about you from the other autobots. It has been so long since Prime has found someone he could find room in his spark for since Elita. And from what I hear, there is no one out there better for him."

"It is a pleasure to meet you. Are you a weapon specialist like Ironhide?" Saphira leans slightly as she was curious on what he was working on. "Barricade seemed excited before. What were you working on?"

"Old Wheeljack is a fantastic warrior and scientist," Ironhide said in a proud tone. "I owe a lot of my expertise to him." He walked over to Wheeljack with a big grin on his face. "And the reason why Barricade was so happy is because Wheeljack has been working on synthetic energon."

"Synthetic energon?" Saphira was surprised that it was possible. "Really? That sounds pretty cool. Is it going to be a substitute to real energon?"

"It has to be. With less and less energon across the universe, it will only be a matter of time before we run out of it and rust forever. Unlike your planet where you can grow the food that you need, energon is harvested by different forms. You already know of one of them, harvesting suns." Wheeljack stepped back and turned to walk back to his project. "And for this reason, I had been researching the possibility of creating synthetic energon. It may not be the same as what we know already, but it will give us the strength we need to survive and potentially increase the population of our species as well."

"That is truly awesome, Wheeljack. No wonder you were excited…does that mean you are close to finishing it?" Saphira was very curious about it and smiled when she saw several large glass cylinders with liquid in them. "Or is it just a prototype?"

"Oh no, these are finished. Barricade offered to try some of the first synthetic energon." He picked up one of the cylinders and hands it to Barricade. "Now remember, only a small amount. I still don't know if what affects it might have."

"You said they were finished, Wheeljack," Ironhide said with a frown.

"They are. But…this is the first time a transformer will consume it. I have tested it on many things, and it has been successful. But, on a transformer, that I have not done yet." Wheeljack looked at Ratchet with a smile. "Because of that, you should be on standby. Just in case."

"If you had told us it was never tested on a transformer, I would have been better prepared," Ratchet grumbled as he walked towards Barricade. "Do as he says, Barricade. A small sip is all you should need. I can run a scan of your body after."

Barricade nodded and opened the cylinder. Saphira felt nervous, however…she was suddenly interested in something. She looked at Ratchet thoughtfully before she would ask him about it a bit later. She watched Barricade sip some of the synthetic energon, seeing them drinking the energon was sometimes strange and easy to forget they did need it. Optimus had a few cubes when they were on their trip, and it still was strange to Saphira. She often felt stupid for feeling that way, though she was sure it would get better watching them drink the fuel they needed.

"Hmm…" Barricade smacked his lips a little. "Tastes a little strange. I like the energon with the purply, zing flare in it."

"Flavours will have to come later, Barricade. The first thing we need to do is ensure that it is safe for our consumption." Ratchet observed Barricade closely, he grabbed out a scanner to begin scanning for any anomalies. "I still think it was reckless to not inform me of this, Wheeljack."

Wheeljack shrugged a little and seemed to be satisfied. "Barricade seems fine anyway."

"Hmm…on the outside…" Ratchet read the readings of the scanner. "So far, nothing is amiss. But your system appears to be responding strangely to the new energon."

"I admit…I feel a little warmer than normal." Barricade glared at the energon and placed the cylinder down. "If a small sip can do that, I don't anymore of it. Maybe I should purge it."

"If your system decides to purge it, that is fine. But I won't force you to purge it for the moment." Ratchet looked at Wheeljack with a frown. "You need to work on the synthetic energon some more, old friend. It is a good thing you're working on, but next time a bot tries it, we do it with proper medical equipment. Now I have to monitor Barricade for any affects."

"I hope you will be okay, Barricade," Saphira said softly, getting the former decepticon's attention. "This isn't really what I wanted to see when we got back. You better not get sick. Though, at least I know who to blame for that."

"I'll be fine, Saphira. You go and meet the wreckers." Barricade glanced at Bee with a stern expression. "Just make sure those assholes don't do anything more stupid. They already have made it hard for us."

"Of course I will." Bee turned to walk out of the hangar. "They will not do anything to her."

"I'll make sure of it too." Ironhide glanced at the twins who had been following behind them quietly. "What are you two doing cowering like that? If you want to make yourselves useful, you punks better stay away. You already angered Roadbuster."

"We won't do nothin', we promise!" Skids responded quickly, stepping away from the larger bot.

"Good. If I see you lagging behind us, I will make sure your afts hurt for a while." Ironhide stomped away from the twins as he followed Bee and Dino.

Saphira smirked at Ironhide. "I guess they kind of deserve it."

The large bot huffed with a nod of his head. "Of course. It is the same for those wreckers. If we don't keep them in line, no one else will."

"By the way, where is Chromia?" Saphira asked curiously. "And is Wheelie still around too?"

"Oh, Wheelie is helping Chromia with something. Another scrap bot sent a signal to us, I think he was a decepticon as well, but he wants to leave the decepticons." Ironhide grumbled a little bit as he thought about that. "At least the little bots cause much less problems than the wreckers. You should have seen the chaos when that happened. We were just sad Optimus was not here to deal with it."

"At least he is dealing with it now. I am sure those three are going to be feeling a tad embarrassed when they get scolded by the Prime." Dino chuckled a little as they reach another hangar. "And here they are, Saphira. Not the most pretty bunch here."

Saphira blinked as she saw the three wreckers. They were talking among themselves when Bee, Dino and Ironhide arrive, the wreckers turn their heads to look at them. She saw they all had sunglasses on their faces, or it seemed like glasses because of the shape of the lenses. One of the bots appeared to look overweight, he had red colourings and it seemed like he had a facial beard with the loose design of the metal plates on his cheeks. The blue wrecker and green wrecker appeared to be leaner and had sharper facial designs than the red one.

"Leadfoot, Topspin, Roadbuster, I would like to introduce you to Saphira," Ironhide announced, gesturing to Saphira on Bee's shoulder. "Please show her some respect."

The red bot walked closer and grinned. "Blimey! Now this is a fine beauty!" He laughed gently as he spoke. "The name's Leadfoot, a pleasure to meet the Prime's chosen, little human."

"A real pleasure, indeed." Saphira looked at the blue bot who was grinning at her. "I'm Topspin, don't ever forget that."

"A little hard when you cause havoc when you arrive," Saphira responded bluntly, folding her arms as she frowned at that. "I have no idea what you were thinking, but…gas stations are needed for us to fuel our vehicles." She looked at the green bot curiously next. "And you must be Roadbuster."

"Lass, we apologize profusely about our actions," Roadbuster said in a calm tone. "We merely wanted to have some fun. We will make sure it won't happen again."

"No, it won't." Saphira flinched hearing the deep, angry tone of Optimus as he walked into the hangar. "You three are lucky we are not forcing you to leave this planet. It seems you may not be able to survive in this world unless you agree to not cause any further trouble."

"We won't! We promise, Prime! We will make sure your little lady is safe." Topspin gestured to Saphira, Optimus did not glance at her and only narrowed his eyes. "You know our specialty is causing destruction. Sure, we did it for the wrong thing, but we will redirect that energy towards decepticons. Just let us know the time and place." He clenched his fist and punched it into his other hand. "I promise you, we will behave."

"I will believe it when it happens. Come with me, their leaders wish to speak with you." The wreckers nod and walk past Optimus and the autobots to go with Optimus. He glanced at Saphira and smiled slightly at her and walked out of the hangar. "Your new assignments will start very soon, I hope you stick with them wreckers."

Saphira watch them leave and sighed. That wasn't very long, she could see Optimus was very mad at the wreckers. Whatever was said to Optimus and what the wreckers have done must have been really bad.

"I guess we should go back to Wheeljack, I want to know if Barricade is okay," Saphira said gently, glancing at Bee. "I can see why you guys don't really enjoy being around them. Those bots seem to be full of energy and disregard."

"At least they are useful when we need them. The wreckers are assholes, but we wouldn't get through some battles without them." Dino shrugged and glanced at Saphira curiously. "I would have figured you would want to see your new house."

"That can wait." Saphira was not interested in her house just yet. "I just want to see what the synthetic energon does to you, that is all. I'll have to go see Lennox soon as well."

Dino accepted the answer as they return to the hangar. Saphira saw that Ratchet seemed happy and as did Barricade, whatever had happened was a good thing and she was happy about it. Barricade spotted Saphira and gave her a thumb's up.

"Can you put me down Bee?" Saphira asked the yellow bot curiously. "I need to stretch my legs." Bee complied quickly and helped her to the ground. Saphira walked up to Ratchet with a smile. "You seem happy."

"I can say that Barricade will not fall victim to anything of the energon. In large quantities, it would do damage." Ratchet looked at Wheeljack, placing a hand on his hip. "I am going to go back to my lab, if you want to test that on another bot, let me know."

Ratchet began to walk out of the hangar and Saphira ran after him. "Can I come with you?"

The medic looked down at her in surprise. "Sure, you can. I am not sure you would find it interesting."

"Actually…that is what I wanted to talk to you about." He tilts his head slightly and reached down to pick her up, holding her carefully in his palm. "Would you mind teaching me about transformer medical stuff? I know how to fix cars, so…I would assume it's similar to bots."

Ratchet widened his eyes in surprise, no human has actually asked this of him yet. He has asked doctors about human medicine, and he has learned a lot about that. "Are you certain? You already have a lot on your plate Saphira."

"I am dead certain." Saphira was thinking a little about her nightmare she had couple weeks ago. She didn't know why, but know how to help an autobot felt suddenly important to her. "If, for whatever reason, I need to stop an energon leak and I can't do it, I would feel guilty for not knowing. So please, do you mind teaching me?"

Ratchet smiled kindly at her. "I don't mind at all. I suppose we should get started on some basic stuff. I'll go over it in my lab."

Saphira was thrilled by Ratchet's response. She had not really thought about helping an injured autobot before, but she now wanted to know. After all, if Optimus needed help and no one could get to him in time but her, she needed to know how to help him. And Ratchet was the only autobot medic who could teach her. She was really looking forward to learning about it as well.