After Saphira had picked up her camping supplies from the apartment, she had opted to sit in the driver seat of the peterbilt as Optimus drove through the city towards the park. Behind him was Sentinel, Bumblebee, Sideswipe, Ironhide, Ratchet, Dino, Wheeljack and Barricade. She was rather excited to be able to spend quality time with the autobots again. It felt like years since she actually spent time with them. It was too bad that they could not show Sentinel the emerald field that she and Optimus had made many memories in. She had no doubt he would have liked it.

"How are you feeling now that you have met Sentinel, Saphira?" Optimus asked curiously, making her flinch in surprise. "He did not seem like he had any plan with the decepticons."

"Well…him attacking you as soon as he woke up is something I won't soon forget. But…he seems to be nice. But I haven't really introduced myself to him properly. He only knows me as your sparkmate, but we have not actually spoken to each other properly." She glanced at the side view mirror to see Sentinel behind them. "So I guess I can't really say much until I actually get to know him."

"I suppose that is fair. Taking my word for it isn't necessarily what you want. It is best to find out for yourself. And I am honestly glad we are heading out to a place where we can be in nature again. I am definitely looking forward to it." She nodded in agreement. Both she and Optimus had that in common. Spending time in nature really felt so much better, as it felt like there was no one but them on this world. "I honestly am looking forward to showing Sentinel the beautiful side of this planet."

"Sounds like a great idea. Since now I am under autobot protection, I am wondering what we will be able to do. I know Mearing intends on keeping you here for now until, I guess, Sentinel gains the trust of the humans. Though…" She let out a light chuckle, thinking back to Mearing's attitude regarding the pillars that Sentinel had with him. "I am surprised she basically accused you of bringing something dangerous to this planet. Is the space bridge vortex meant to be good?"

"It is."

"You it would have won the war on Cybertron. I am curious about how it would have done that. Seems strange to me…but I guess Sentinel must have been searching for more energon or something." She couldn't be sure, bit she still found it suspicious that Sentinel somehow ended up on the Moon. It seemed he intended on coming to Earth. "Though I guess he has no use of the pillars in that sense."

Optimus let out a low hum as he thought about what she had said. "That might be true. But the decepticons could still make use of them…so keeping them lock away is wise. As for winning the war…I believe Sentinel told me he found a place where we could find a way to save Cybertron and win the war. He did not go into detail I am afraid."

Saphira drummed her fingers on the seat lightly as she thought about it. "Regardless, I kind of want to get past the idea that he might have made a deal with Megatron. He's your mentor, and I want him to feel welcomed on this world. So I am going to make an effort."

"I am very pleased to hear that from you, Saphira. I know Barricade could be right, but I do believe he does not know the full story and he might be wrong." That was also true. Because it did seem Barricade only overheard things from other decepticons, and not directly from Megatron. "Sentinel is likely in a state of shock. I know he never expected me to find a sparkmate after Elita, let alone a human for a sparkmate."

"I can imagine. He is probably wondering what the hell you were thinking. Hopefully I can convince him that I am a good sparkmate." She looked down at the dash and turned on the radio to go through the channels to find something to listen to. Just smiled when she landed on a channel playing an Abba playlist. "Oh, yeah! I love these songs!"

Optimus was amused at Saphira's enthusiasm regarding the music that played through his radio. Mamma Mia was playing, and Saphira was happily singing along to the song. And dancing a little in her seat. It was extremely endearing to him and he too enjoyed the music. Mostly because Saphira was happy, so it made him happy. She sang and danced along to the music all the way until they reached the campground.

Upon arrival at the car park, all the autobots pull into a parking space and Saphira climbed out of the truck once Optimus came to a stop. She waited on the ground, and blushed as she saw Optimus's holoform climb out with her camping supplies. She eyed off his muscular, broad body that she could see. The clothes he had on his holoform seemed to be deliberately created so she could see the muscles. His strong jawline was too tempting to kiss right now, but Saphira kept herself controlled.

"I believe we shouldn't be too far from the campsite. Up that path right?" Optimus gestured towards the path and she nodded. He kept the bag on his back and held a duffle bag in the other hand, looking at Saphira with a smile. "I have to say, it has been too long since we have done this. Way too long."

"I know." Saphira wrapped her arms around Optimus's waste and pressed herself against his strong body, looking up into his eyes. "And I am so very happy that we can share our favorite outing with Sentinel." She kissed Optimus gently and he hummed gently, and she even heard a low rumble from the truck, which made her chuckle a little. "Once we set up the tent, we should do some hiking."

"Sounds like a good idea to me." Optimus kissed her again before the two of them move to the front of the truck to look at the other autobots. "Are you all going to just sit there for the whole time we are here? We might end up spending a couple days here."

"I would not miss it for the world!" Bumblebee's young, man holoform formed by the vehicle wearing a bright yellow tank top and black pants. His black hair was slightly ruffled, and it made Saphira giggle a little. "It feels nice to smell the fresh air out here. It has been a while."

"I am in agreement with you." Ratchet's holoform still appeared to look like a man in his early forties with silver hair and a lightly shaven beard. He walked over to Saphira and Optimus with a smile. "I must admit, I have been cooped up in my lab for such a long time, I have been starting to miss being outside."

"At least we can spend the time in nature with our favorite human." Ironhide's large holoform turned to Barricade and tapped his fist on the bonnet. "Come on, Barricade! Stop sulking! Come and join us!" Saphira still found it curious that Ironhide's holoform is of a very large, muscular man with a bold head. His holoform was wearing a tight, black singlet.

Barricade's holoform formed by the challenger, his navy, blue hair was tied back into a ponytail and his red eyes narrow at Ironhide. "I was not going to let everyone go in without me." He glanced at Sideswipe who smirked at him, running his fingers through his silver hair. Dino also seemed to be tearing him and the former decepticon rolled his eyes. "Just don't annoy me, I want to enjoy today with the rest of you."

"So this is what you enjoy the most, huh?" Saphira looked at Sentinel and she saw his holoform. His holoform is of a man in his early sixties with a clean, groomed grey beard, grey hair and a very muscular body. Saphira couldn't help but think his holoform was quite attractive, but she still thought Optimus was more handsome. Sentinel was looking around at the pine trees curiously and he looked at Optimus. "I must say, this world certainly is something. We do not have any kind of plants on our world."

"You at least can enjoy them." Sentinel glanced at Saphira when she spoke to him. "You know, I haven't really been able to introduce myself properly. You only know me by name and that I am Optimus's sparkmate." She walked over to him with a smile. "You wouldn't mind if I walk with you, would you?"

Barricade was immediately concerned that Saphira was stepping into dangerous territory, but he did not do or say anything at the moment. Sentinel just smiled at Saphira and nodded. "I would not mind at all. I think that if you became his sparkmate, you must be something extraordinary to have taken a place in his spark. It has been a long time since Optimus even had an interest in a sparkmate."

"You could say that." Optimus had a proud smile on his face as they all proceed towards the path to make their way to the campsite. "When we first arrived on Earth, I had honestly thought she was a reincarnation of Elita." Saphira gave him a surprised expression and snorted in amusement. "I am not kidding Saphira. You look like her holoform, so I thought I was seeing things."

"I dare hope it wasn't because of that you made her your sparkmate. That seems like an awfully bad reason to do that." Optimus quickly shook his head, a long with the other autobots. Sentinel sighed in relief. "Good. It would be extremely unfair to the young human otherwise." Sentinel looked at the girl with curiosity. "Young lady, I am surprised that you have allowed yourself to be involved in our world."

"It wasn't like I had a choice. I had unintentionally became involved because of my grandfather, Everett Dawn. He is the reason I ended up with information regarding the All Spark. So…I kind of inherited it…plus he knew a wise decepticon, Jetfire, who he became friends with." Sentinel seemed intrigued already, and that made Saphira happy. "But as for my feelings for Optimus…they didn't really start developing until after destroying the All Spark. And I think it was the same for him. Aside from his obvious infatuation with my appearance."

"I admit that it is true, Saphira. After learning how much you had to learn due to the lack of care from your parents, and witnessing your bravery made me interested. And especially when I learned you used to race cars for a living." Sentinel glanced at Saphira curiously when Optimus spoke about the past. "And then…when you left for college, I was not sure how things would go. And when Megatron tried to do…what he did to you, and I protected you by giving my life…I guess all of that helped to build upon my feelings for you. Especially when you managed to find the Matrix."

"You were the one who found the Matrix of Leadership?" Sentinel asked in surprise and Saphira nodded affirmatively. "Normally the Matrix needs to be earned in order to retrieve it…because you were able to get the Matrix and revive Optimus…and me, essentially…"

"And the Primes too, I met them." The surprises kept on coming. "When Megatron shot me, and almost killed me, I saw the original Primes. They spoke to me, and it has been my destiny…they even told me it was my destiny to be his sparkmate." Saphira felt her cheeks heat up as she still felt a little embarrassed to admit that, and she also loved it at the same time. "They were comforting, and I wish I could have known them. If it weren't for the Fallen, they would still be here. And maybe defeated Megatron."

Both Optimus and Sentinel nod in agreement with Saphira. Sentinel himself was processing everything that has been said currently. He had been greatly intrigued by this girl, and the more information she spoke, the more he understood. It definitely seemed as though she had been destined to meet the autobots, and become the sparkmate of a Prime. Sentinel's expression was full of intrigue as he pondered on what she had said.

"Enough about the past. I think we should focus on now." Saphira skipped ahead of Sentinel and brushed by Optimus, winking at him playfully. "Come and set up the tent. I want to enjoy the wilderness before the sun goes down. And we should gather some wood for the fire."

Sentinel smiled at her, and he flinched as Bee, Sideswipe and Dino run past him to chase after her. "So this is a race, huh?" Bee asked and Saphira nodded. "Well, well, I guess we should make a start." He turned to Sentinel with a daring expression. "How about you show us how it's done, old man."

"Old man?" Sentinel grinned as he walked ahead of Optimus quickly to get in line. "You are going to regret that, young autobot. I maybe old, but I am just as fast as a scout like you."

"I guess are about to see if that is true," Wheeljack chuckled softly. "On your mark…" He glances at Ironhide as the bot decided to join in on the race too. "Get set…" He glanced at Barricade as he half expected him to join in, but he did not seem like he wanted to. "Go!"

And they were off. Sentinel, Saphira, Bumblebee, Ironhide, Sideswipe and Dino run ahead along the path as fast as they could. Saphira chuckled as the autobots run by her quickly. She was not entirely surprised, though she glanced at Sentinel and noticed he seemed to be holding back deliberations. She was curious, but he suddenly scooped her up onto his shoulders, making her squeal in surprise and grabbed the top of his head roughly.

"Woah!" She took deep breaths and ducked as a few branches almost hit her in the face. "That was unexpected."

"I think it is only fair so you can keep up with the others. Let's show them!" Sentinel smirked as he began to widen his stride and run towards the other bots. Saphira grinned as she saw he was catching up quickly, and they seemed surprised. "Not bad for an old man, right?"

Saphira let out giggles and ducked some more to keep herself from being hit in the face. She lightly waved at the bots as Sentinel overtakes them quickly. She looked ahead and she saw the opening beneath the trees with the metal fire pits ahead. She was super happy that they were already almost there. And Sentinel beat all of the autobots. She couldn't help but laugh gently and he crouched on the ground to let her slide off.

"Wow! That was such a rush!" Saphira jumped up and down excitedly. "That was fun. Thanks for the lift, Sentinel." He smiled at her as he stood back up. "Oh, and about what that woman said before. I would like to apologize for her. Mearing kind of seemed…seemed accusing you of something that might not be true."

"I appreciate the apology, Saphira. But it was not you who behaved that way. I can see that woman is a leader, and she is concerned for your world, that I fully understand." He placed his hand on her shoulder gently. "Just know that I am more than willing to keep you safe, Saphira. You being Optimus's sparkmate means a lot. In our culture, harming another's sparkmate is unforgivable. I don't know you well enough yet, but I do know that I already like you. You seem very young, but mature for someone your age."

"Well I did have to grow up fast…it was just myself to rely upon, not my parents, so that had a lot to do with it." She shrugged a little as she spoke to him, thinking back to her past. "I don't even think I truly knew what love was until I met Optimus. Before we even became sparkmates, I gave him my heart." She turned to Optimus curiously as he approached with a smirk on his face. "Do you still have the emerald in your glove compartment?"

Optimus nodded. "I do…oh, you must be telling Sentinel about the large emerald you found in the field." She nodded and Optimus looked at Sentinel with a proud smile. "I will show it to you later, but Saphira found a large, unpolished emerald in the lake of the abandoned emerald field that I had discovered. We both love that field, but we haven't been to it for sometime. But she found the emerald in the lake, and because her eyes closely resemble the color of emeralds, she gave it to me."

"That sounds wonderful. You definitely have to show it to me, Optimus. I would definitely love seeing it. I assume it is shaped in some way for her to refer to it as though she were giving her heart to you." Saphira and Optimus both nod to Sentinel's assumption, and the Prime simply smiled in amusement. "I guess I am pretty smart. Now…" He looked down at the bags that Optimus was carrying. "You are going to have to show me how to set up a tent. I assume it is not something that sets itself up for you."

"It would not be very fun if it set up it," Saphira commented with a chuckle as she walked towards the fire pit. "Hmmm…" She looked around the area curiously for a moment before settling on a spot under a tree with strong, healthy branches. "We can set the tent up here, Optimus. This tree seems to be the healthiest, so there is less chance of any pesky branches snapping and landing on it."

Optimus nodded in understanding as he approached the place that Saphira had pointed out before he placed the duffle bag down and opened the tent bag to begin grabbing out the parts to begin setting up the tent. Sentinel was extremely intrigued by the tent building progress, and Saphira made sure that Sentinel would enjoy joining in on the process. It was a lot of fun watching him help set up the tent, and he picked it up extremely quickly too.

Barricade remained standing off as he watched Saphira interact with Sentinel. He had been very worried when Sentinel had lifted the girl onto his shoulders, but when the Prime did not do anything, Barricade was relieved. Still, Barricade did know that he had to remain cautious. Sentinel did seem to be genuinely enjoying his time, so that probably wasn't fake. But Barricade still felt nervous about all of this. And Saphira was allowing herself to get close to Sentinel. He hoped that would not bite her.

Once the tent was up, Sentinel watched as Saphira grabbed out the sleeping bag and unrolled it in preparation for later, along with pulling out a pillow to sleep on. She threw the duffle bag into the tent once she was finished and she was pretty much done. There was a camping chair to set up, but there were plenty of logs to sit on, so that made things easier.

Saphira grabbed out a pair of hiking shoes to put on, as the current shoes she had on were not suitable for long walks. She hummed softly to herself as she tied the laces before she got out of the tent with a smile. "Shall we go hiking? We still have a few hours left before sundown."

"Of course." Optimus took Saphira's hand into his gently, feeling her shudder a little upon contact as the warmth of his body was pleasant. He looked at Sentinel who was smiling as he waited. "I hope you will enjoy it, Sentinel. With no plants on our world, it is nice to look around and see the different trees around us."

"I must say that I agree with you, Optimus." Sentinel glanced up as a few birds flew over them and he followed Optimus and Saphira towards the start of the trail. "And the different animals I have seen already…I had not realized just how full this planet was with life."

"Oh yeah, it most certainly is. We are still getting used to it, despite being here on this planet for several years already." Optimus blinked in surprise as a butterfly fluttered by him and he watched as it flew among trees. "We are lucky that we have come to a world where we are accepted on this planet."

Sentinel nodded in agreement with a light hum. Upon reaching the trail, Saphira and the autobots picked the shortest trail to walk along due to the time of day. It was still very pretty. While they were surrounded by pine trees, it was extremely peaceful as they walk along the trail. The wind gently blew by them and rustled the leaves of the trees. Birds chirped and squawked loudly as they sang their songs in the branches. It was extremely peaceful.

Saphira breathed in the fresh air and glanced at Sentinel. She noticed that he seemed to be thinking deeply. And she had no doubt it was about Cybertron. She looked at Optimus before she leaned in and whispered to him. "I think Sentinel is still having thoughts about the past. I hope you don't mind, but I think I might speak to him."

Optimus did not seem surprised as he knew that Sentinel would be thinking about the past. "You should understand the reasoning, Saphira. Sentinel has just been woken up. He now knows the war is lost, and so is our home world. It will take a lot of time before Sentinel will be truly smiling. I know he has enjoyed today mostly, but give him a chance."

Saphira guessed that he was right. Sentinel has not been awake on this planet for more than ten hours. She wanted to speak with Sentinel some more, but now may not be the best time. It was great that he would get to be surrounded by nature though. He seemed to be enjoying it a lot. At least she hoped that having him around the wonderful nature of this world would allow him to see this world wasn't so bad, and it could be home if he allowed himself to open up to it.

But it wasn't just that either. She wanted this camping trip to be a way to start bonding with Sentinel. It was clear that he already respected her at least. She had not expected him to lift her onto his shoulders, and she found that extremely endearing if she was honest. It showed how much he wanted to get along with her, or at least, she hoped for that. She could tell he had a lot on his mind, and all she wanted to do was to make him feel like he was part of the family.

She glanced at Barricade and saw that he was worried. He has not stopped worrying since Sentinel was awakened, and he has not been repremanded for possible threats against this world. She fully understood why Barricade still believes he is a threat. Saphira was not sure how the camping trip was going to end, but as she intended this to go on for a few days, there was plenty of time for them to bond with Sentinel and fish out any ill intentions.

And if there are any red flags, Saphira intended to do some more research. Even though Mearing had told her to basically stand down, she didn't intend to. Even if Sentinel showed zero red flags, she did feel that at least finding out the plans the decepticons might have will be very important. Especially if the decepticons decided to go after Sentinel himself to retrieve his technology, or force him to do what they want. Although Saphira doubted that the cons would be able to kill Sentinel as she was sure he was a very experienced warrior. But it seemed that as of right now, it was just a matter of time to learn more about Sentinel Prime.