The first few hours of school went by quite well for Azura. She did get questioned about her absence on Monday, but she found out Fowler had actually sent a letter to the school Monday afternoon with an alibi for her absence. And even though the school accepted it, the teachers still asked her about it and Azura just stated that her father had a good reason and that the explanation was already sent to the school, so she wasn't going to answer any other questions.

She didn't miss much in terms of what was being studied in class anyway, and she handed in the homework that needed to be handed in. She caught up fairly quickly, and Azura did pay attention to the class. Most of the time. She still ended up being distracted by what had been said that morning. Not so much about what Ratchet said about her body, but rather what Megatron could be doing. It worried her.

She tried to not let it worry her, but she couldn't help it. Visualizing zombie bots invading this planet with zero thought or mercy was rather terrifying. Forget human zombies, Cybertronian zombies would be harder to kill, and from what she saw how the dark energon affected Optimus and Ratchet the day before, it also could affect humans.

When it was lunch, Azura met up with Miko on her way to the cafeteria. It was nice to be able to get some food, even though she was already missing the low-grade energon that she had gotten used to from Optimus. The school was serving a bland lunch today. It was Mexican today, but there wasn't a good amount of flavor in the food. It would get eaten anyway.

Azura and Miko sat at a table away from the other kids and they talk to each other until Raf and Jack walk over to sit at the table. "How is Fowler, by the way?" Jack asked Azura suddenly.

She was surprised by the question, but it was something she could answer. "He's recovering. He was still unconscious when Optimus and I left the base this morning."

"The poor man must have went through some horrible stuff," Jack said softly as he took a bite of his taco. He grimaced and looked at the meat in the taco. "Blah, the lunch ladies always forget to add flavor."

"Sometimes I hate lunch from the school," Miko said in an agreeing tone. "I was looking forward to it, and I'm disappointed. But I'm hungry, so we got to eat."

"Begrudgingly," Raf grimaced as he took a bite of his taco. "You know the room that got broken into is still closed off to the students. I was able to see inside it, and that window definitely looked like something big got in."

"We already know that, Raf," Jack said, though he looked at the boy curiously. "Is there any other evidence around the room?"

"Just at the door. Seems like whatever it was tried to get into the hallway, but left the way it came. Still…it's kind of scary." He rubbed the back of his head as he spoke. "I have to say though, all the stories the other kids are making up about the incident has been kind of amusing. I know they're wrong, but hearing what they think happened is pretty funny to listen to."

"I overheard a few too," Miko said with a giggle. "One the most ridiculous stories included a wannabe, outlaw looking for gang members." Azura, Jack and Raf stare at the girl in surprise. "I'm not joking. I literally heard it in my last class and I almost lost all composure."

"That's actually pretty funny," Azura chuckled softly, shaking her head in disbelief. "The imagination is always fun to overhear."

"I agree. So…uh…" Jack paused and looked at Azura. "How are things at home? I know you can't tell me specifics anymore, but I hope things are okay at home for you."

Azura grimaced a little. "Uh…I am not sure how to respond to that, Jack. I know this is going to be awkward…but all I'll say is things will keep going as they are."

"I don't like the sound of that." Jack took another bite from his taco and grimaced. "It can't be any worse than this flavorless taco."

"No, I think the taco is worse," Azura said with a smirk. "I prefer to have good food making me happy, so bad food is just bad." The four them chuckle in agreement and Azura glanced up briefly as she noticed Vince glaring at them. "Ugh…why can't Vince give it a rest?"

"Is he staring at us?" Rafael asked nervously with a gulp. She nodded. "Oh…I hope he will leave us alone. He almost broke my glasses when I bumped into him accidentally."

"He's been chasing Azura ever since she showed up at this school," Jack said bluntly, not bothering to look over his shoulder to see the boy. He could already feel the glare on his body. "She's rejected him so much, I don't get why he won't take a hint."

"And he doesn't seem to get why she spends time with us, and not him. What a loser!" Miko shakes her head is disbelief. "He can't take a no for an answer." She looked at Azura. "I noticed Optimus stuck around and he might have taken notice."

"You know he won't do anything to a human," Azura responded bluntly. "You know that." Even though a part of Azura knew that Optimus would despise anyone who would try to harm her. "Vince is a jerk. I won't see him after this year."

"And we have to put up with his nonsense when you go," Raf said nervously as he focused eating his taco. "But…I already deal with it."

"Vince isn't tough, he only acts tough. Put him in a corner, and he will squeal like a little girl." Azura was really tired of Vince trying to flirt with her too, so she hoped he will back off someday. She noticed he began stalking towards them. "And here comes trouble."

Rafael just kept eating his taco while Miko glared at Vince and Jack just sat silently. Vince stopped at the end of the table as he looked at them "I still don't get why you hang with these losers."

"Because they are far nicer than you are, Vince," Azura responded bluntly, narrowing her eyes at him. "When are you going to realize that you are just talking to a wall?"

"When will you realize you are going to miss out on a good thing?" The boy responded in a snarky tone.

"Oh? You think that this…" Azura waved her hand around as she gestured at Vince. "This is a good thing?" Vince smirked arrogantly. "You really have a thick skull if you think that I am missing out on something. What exactly am I missing out on? A little boy with big muscles and a car to match his ego?" The boy's smirk faded as he realized that she was insulting him. "I really don't see what you are trying to say, Vince. All I see is a boy who can't take no for an answer. I've been telling you no for over three years."

Vince glanced at Jack briefly with a frown and looked back at her. "So do I take it that Jack is your boyfriend?" Jack was quick to spit out water from his mouth just as he was taking a sip, Raf froze mid bit into a nacho chip and Miko began coughing as she swallowed some water the wrong way. Azura just rolled her eyes at Vince. "Is he? I'll prove that I am better than him?"

He clenched his fist and punched it into his open palm, and Azura rolled her eyes again. "Real mature, Vince. I would have thought that fighting to get the female's approval only happens among animals. Last I checked, we are human, not elk."

"Real funny." Vince clenched his jaw and cracked his knuckles. "And you still have not answered my question."

"We are not boyfriend and girlfriend. However, if I had to pick between the two of you if you were hanging on the side of a cliff, I know who I am going to save. And it won't be you." Miko giggled as she listened and watched as Vince's pride and ego seemed to get taken down a notch. "You really need to leave me alone. Just ignore us, and things will go smoothly. I know you'd love to meet Fowler again."

That made the boy huff and step back. "Using your military dad to scare me won't save you forever, Azura. You'll fall for me, they all do." He turned and stomped away from the table.

Azura sighed in relief that he had walked away. "I thought he would never leave. Why do we have to have him in our school?"

"Every school has that one jerk who thinks he's better than everyone else," Miko said while she was still giggling. "But…let's be real, girls are worse."

"Thankfully, we don't have any of that drama here, but there's always the potential for some girl to walk in and act like she's the prettiest in the school." Azura finished off her taco as the girl gave her a smirk. "What? Wait, do you think because I have gold hair that I would act like that?"

"Maybe, because you are the prettiest here," Miko said with a shrug, making Azura raise an eyebrow at her. "I am not kidding, Azura. You are very pretty. I could almost see you as Rapunzel with that shade of hair color."

"It isn't that special. It's just an odd color." She could not help but chuckle a little. "But…I know it is partly the reason why Vince keeps coming after me. I think he has some kind of crush on me or something, so he just won't leave me alone because of it."

"He's just being a creep." Jack leaned back in his chair and sipped his water. "However, I agree with Miko. You are very pretty." Azura smiled at the boy for his compliment. "Is wrong to admit that was partly the reason why I spoke to you three years ago? I was very happy a pretty girl would even acknowledge my presence. And yet, I learned you had gone through bullying at your previous school…and that you are an orphan…I was glad that you were not like the others and we could be friends." He paused as he thought on his words for a moment. "But it wasn't enough for you to trust me."

Azura felt hurt from those words. She knew that Jack wanted to know what was going on between her and the autobots, and she well and truly wanted to tell him, but she couldn't. She knew she could not. "So…you think our friendship is fractured?" The boy did not respond, and she looked away from him. "I am sorry for making you feel that way. It wasn't the intention. I just…have things to sort out for myself before I tell you."

"I could help you."

"You can't now. Not unless you change your mind." He sighed with a slight frown and Azura smiled at him. "But I am not going to force you. Just spending time with you is enough. I'll be heading straight back to the base after school. I had wanted to go to the aquarium, but there's no time for that today."

"And I don't get to see the new tanks…" Jack knew that he would get to be involved with things that Azura had or was interested in at the base, but he did choose to leave. "Do you think that I can come with you to the aquarium when you have time?"

"Sure, I think that is okay. You can always meet me there when I tell you when it is a good." Azura knew it wouldn't change the fact he could not come back to the base, but at least he could have some involvement. "And maybe we can go and see a movie, like we had planned to do."

"That sounds good to me." Jack smiled at her before they all flinch as the bell rang. "Ugh…Vince stole our enjoyment of lunch."

"Yeah…but not much we can do." Azura stood up from her chair, took her tray to take the tray to the dirt tray stand. "I hope to see you at the end of the day before I head back home."

Jack just shrugged. "I have work after school, so it will only be brief."

Azura felt sad as she did not know if she would see him after school or not, but she would hope to. She made her way to her class to finish off the rest of the day, but she did have a hard time focusing on her work because her mind was distracted with other thoughts. It was not about Megatron, but rather how she would ask Jack about coming back to the base, even though he could say no.

She also had to think on his she could answer him about her identity without fully revealing it. She knew he wanted answers, but she was afraid of telling him due to not accepting it fully herself. This was a hard situation for her, but she had no choice but to get creative with her words, even though it might not come out the way she would want in the end.

When school finally ended, Azura made her way to the front of the school as fast as she could. She wanted to make sure she could catch Jack before she left. She walked out of the front door quickly and spotted Optimus waiting for her, along with Bumblebee and Bulkhead. She looked over to the bike rack and she saw Jack's bike still parked there. She couldn't help but sigh in relief.

She walked down the stairs and turned, smiling as she saw Raf walk out. He smiled with a gasp and ran towards Bumblebee after giving her a nod. Miko quickly followed him before Jack walked out. He looked at Azura and sighed. "I am surprised that you didn't go to Optimus straight away."

"Because I wanted to talk to you," Azura said softly as the boy walked over to his bike. She followed his as she held her hands together in front of her. "I know you made a decision last night…but I hope will reconsider it."

"Miko already tried, Azura. Plus…" He glanced at her with a frown. "You are hiding something."

She stared at him as he looked back at his bike to untie from the rack. "Well…I want you to know it isn't because I don't trust you. It's because…it is knowledge that I am still coming to terms with myself." He didn't respond and rolled the bike away from the rack. "Three years ago, when I met Optimus…I learned about other things that I had no idea about. And I thought that I was just a normal orphan back then." He looked at her as she spoke to him. "And…the reason I lived in that unit was because I ran away from the base. But not for the same reason as you. It was for something else."

Jack stared at her as he thought over about what she had said to him. "You found out about your birth parents, didn't you?"

"Parent actually…I only have one." She bit her lip nervously and sighed. "But…I haven't accepted the information…not yet." She rubbed her neck, feeling the necklace string around her neck. "I will tell you the full truth eventually…but only when I accept who I am."

The boy's frown softened and he glanced in Optimus's direction for a moment before looking at Azura. "But you can't tell me the truth since I'm not at the base." She looked away from him and he sighed deeply. "Look, I thank you for telling me. I have some idea of what you're trying to imply, but I'll keep that to myself for the moment. But you are not going to change my mind about my decision, Azura. I want to be safe. I hope you understand."

Azura turned her head to look back at him and smiled. "I do understand. Have a good day at work, I'll see you tomorrow." He nodded and began to pedal away. "And keep thinking about your decision."

Jack didn't respond and Azura walked over to the truck. She opened the passenger door and climbed into the seat. "How was your day, Azura?" Optimus asked gently as he started his engine and rolled away from the school. "Were you and Jack able to talk?"

"It was fine. Pretty normal. I got some more homework to do though." She shrugged as she stared out the window. "And I was able to speak with Jack. But I could not convince him to come back. I guess he is very set on his decision."

"We cannot force change, Azura. Jack has to come to a decision on his own. I personally would have preferred to not have humans tangled up in our war, but coming to Earth has brought humans into it regardless. Though the children have proven they can be helpful since we learned about the space bridge because of it, so I am grateful for their efforts." Azura smiled a little as Optimus spoke of her friends. "While Jack may have seen the reality of our war and has been frightened of it, I assume another reason why he left was because of his mother. He is an only child, and I think he would not want to have news given to her should an untimely passing occur. So I sympathize with that feeling." She glanced at the dash as she listened to Optimus. "I would think you would feel the same way if the rolls were reversed."

She was silent as she thought about it and nodded in agreement after a few minutes. "I suppose you are right…I wasn't really thinking about that. I understand his fear too…but I don't have the same luxury of leaving. Especially since I tried that, and the decepticons still found me…but…I don't want to leave now. Not anymore."

"I definitely would have preferred that the decepticons were not involved when you returned to the base, but we do not get a decision when things happen. And I hope you don't feel like you are forced to stay with us because of it." She shakes her head quickly and Optimus was happy to know that. "Good. I would hate for you to feel that way. It would make me think that I have done something wrong again."

She smiled as she knew that he would genuinely feel that way. "Yeah…I should have listened to Cliff when he spoke to me…but I do know that I won't be alone again. That's my biggest fear is loneliness, but I know that I won't be alone again because I have you and the autobots."

"And I promise to ensure that you'll never be alone," Optimus said gently. "I do wish I could take you to the aquarium this afternoon. It would have been nice for you to see what kind of fish you wanted to buy. I look forward to hearing you tell me all about it."

She chuckled softly. "Well, you will get to hear me talk about the Amazon. I hope to make a 3D model of the different parts of the Amazon. From the treetops to the rivers of the forest, since it is such a unique and beautiful part of the world." She glanced out the window again as Optimus drove by KO Burger. "I will probably start it tomorrow though…since you have to deal with Megatron."

"I hope that has not been bothering you all day."

"It wasn't. I had other things on my mind." She lifts her hand to her necklace and pulled the crystal out to play with. "I'll be honest though, a lot of the work we are being taught is just stuff we learned last year, but it is just a review with additional stuff. I'll definitely breeze through the school year."

"You are lucky Ratchet is not here to hear that." She raised an eyebrow at the comment as she was curious as to why. "He actually intends to start teaching you Cybertronian soon. And he does not take any kind of slacking off lightly."

"Even from an infant sparkling?" Azura asked curiously.

Optimus chuckled gently at her question. "While you are still an infant, you are old enough to know that slacking is not good. I know human teachers do not like it either, and that is why they grade students as such. It is no different to Cybertron." She giggled in amusement as she listened to him. "However, you won't be loaded with a heap of information, Azura. You'll simply get to learn how to read Cybertronian. He won't be harsh on you, and nor will I."

"Good to know." She was actually looking forward to it. "Aside from learning to read Cybertronian, could I ever learn about the history of Cybertron? Before the war began of course. I find myself a bit more interested in that."

"I see you have taken that after me too," Optimus said in a proud tone, making Azura shy all of a sudden as she huddled into the seat. "There's no need to feel bashful about it, Azura. It makes me happy to see you and I share interests. Even when I was a youngling, I was intrigued by the history of Cybertron too, and I wanted to delve deeper into the archives and Alpha Trion guided me to many historical facts that I never knew about the planet."

"That sounds exciting."

"It was. But now I am long past that time. Being a Prime in a war is very different. At least I get to experience what it is like to be a father." She looked out the window again as she felt emotions welling inside her. "And…while I have experience raising Bumblebee, he isn't my own. And I already feel like I have failed to an extent. Pieces are being put back together, and I do not know if the cracks will ever mend."

Azura felt her throat tighten and she did not want to cry. She knew that Optimus felt awful about what happened three years ago, and also when he had to let her go in order to save her life, but she always felt guilty herself when she hears him speak about it. Not because he saved her from Megatron many years ago, but rather how she fled the base. She knew it was an overreaction, and now that she knew what her actual age is in comparison to humans, it makes sense. Still…she feels guilty for how she reacted.

She took a deep breath to calm herself down and looked at the dash with a smile. "It has only been a short time, Optimus. I don't…rushing is not something we should."

"I agree…I apologize if that is how it sounded. I definitely do not want to rush this. I am just glad to spend time with you, and be the ear you need. I am curious about something. That Vince…" She grimaced visibly as Optimus mentioned his name. "He seemed to be making unkind comments about Jack, Miko and Raf regarding your friendship with them. Is that something I need to be concerned about?"

She rolled her eyes with a groan. "Vince is a jerk. He's the…uh…he thinks he's hot and popular at that school. He thinks because he has a muscular body and a car that girls would fall in love with him. Plus, I think he has liked me when I first arrived at that school." Optimus hummed a little as he listened to her. "But you shouldn't worry about me, I do not like him. He's a jerk. But he has bullied Jack and Raf before. He doesn't care much about Miko, so he will ignore her, but Raf and Jack will be targeted."

"A little delinquent." She nodded as Optimus spoke. "Unfortunately, I cannot interfere with human conflict. While I distaste someone acting superior to others for the sake of appearance, I am afraid I cannot interfere. But I do hope he will not try anything with you."

"So far, no. He thinks Fowler is my father, because I have mentioned that he adopted me. He's backed off because he's more of a little boy than a man, despite all that muscle." She looked ahead as she spotted the silo and smiled, looking up at the rocky face. "I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all. Fowler did look after you, and if that young human needs to have his ego put into check, I am fine with Fowler stepping in when needed. And he might be needed when he has recovered." She immediately wondered how the man was doing. "Unfortunately, Fowler has not woken up, but Ratchet has found he has been recovering well. He should wake up sometime tonight."

"That is good. I hope nothing is permanently damaged…I don't know what happened on that ship. And I doubt you even know what was done to him." She could not up but glance upward at the sky, wondering what the cons were doing. "Do you think you might be too late discovering the space bridge?"

"It does not matter about when we discovered it, Azura. What matters is what we will do. Unfortunately, it could mean destroying the only means we have of returning to Cybertron." She didn't know how she felt about that right now. She knew that she didn't feel ready to leave this planet, so she wasn't sure how she should feel, other that she was sad for the autobots. "I do not wish this planet to fall because of us and our war. I will always put others before my own life to ensure survival."

She could not help but feel a bit nervous as soon as he said that. "Um…e-even if it meant you wouldn't see me again?"

He was silent as he realized the choice of his words. She jumped when she heard the sound of an exhaust hissing loudly. "It would depend on the situation, Azura. That was the wrong choice of words…I guess I did not think before speaking. But of course I'll make sure to return to you. You are the most important thing to me."

She didn't know how to respond to that. She knew that being a leader, Optimus had to put others first. But she couldn't help but feel nervous to the fact that it could mean losing him. She shuddered and looked ahead as the door opened to let Optimus through. She suddenly did not feel like talking and she sat there, wondering how the rest of the day was going to proceed. She only knew that the end of the day was going to be able figuring out how to stop Megatron.

Optimus realized he had hurt Azura unintentionally, and she likely was going to be worried about him dying. He hadn't meant to make her afraid of losing him, but he was honest as well about making sure others get to safety before him. Optimus would never forgive himself if he ran and left others behind. That is not who he is, and he will never be like that. But he would definitely make sure to return home to Azura, even if he make sure others are safe.

He rolled into the lobby and came to a stop, opening the passenger door for Azura to climb out. She jumped to the ground and looked up at Ratchet. He smiled at her. "Afternoon, Azura. I hope you are well." She smiled back at him as she walked towards the platform. She heard Optimus transform behind her and Ratchet looked at him. "I wish I could detect the location of the warship, Optimus. We at least would know where the decepticons are."

"I am afraid we need to anticipate all possibilities right now, Ratchet," Optimus said as he gazed at the monitors. "We cannot allow Megatron to send dark energon through his space bridge. If we fail, the dead of Cybertron will rise. Swarm through its vortex and invade Earth. Bending humankind to Megatron's twisted rule."

"That would kind of make a cool movie," Miko commented as she listened to Optimus, while Azura gave the girl a surprised frown. "What? I'm just saying it would be cool for a movie. I am definitely not implying it would be cool to see for real."

"It would not." Azura looked over at Fowler, seeing he was still unconscious and looked around, noticing they were missing someone. "Where's Arcee?"

"She went for a drive," Ratchet responded without looking at Azura. "She was feeling down and she decided to spin her wheels for a little while. Although…" He turned his head slightly to look at her. "I have a feeling she might try to convince Jack to return. I don't know if she'll succeed, but we need to figure out a plan and she needs to be here to help."

Having Jack back today would be great, but Azura did not think he would be back. She glanced at the monitors as she wondered how the autobots were going to stop the cons. She did not want to see this world fall into an apocalyptic ruin as she knew it would be worse than what is often seen in movies and TV shows. She glanced at Bee as Raf was sitting on the bot's shoulder. The boy seemed to be taking everything in seriously. The lobby was tense, but Azura couldn't help but think the ground bridge was the only way to reach the bridge. After all, they had no other means of getting to the space bridge, even if it meant pushing the ground bridge to its limit.