I hope you guys are enjoying this story.

Transformers © to Hasbro.

My OCs © to me.

Chapter 15: Marissa

"You're doing great, Silk." Marissa sat in the training room with Elita and Saber, watching the youngling train with Kup.

The human couldn't help but admire the speed at which the youngling moved and how proficiently she used those extra legs on her back for offensive and defensive maneuvers, sometimes simultaneously.

But-

"Silk, when you attack," she called as the sparring paused, "don't aim for the same spot. And use weak points to your advantage, like joints. Take out a shoulder or knee joint and you can debilitate an opponent."

The youngling looked back at her with a smile. "Alright."

"She reminds me of myself." The human sighed. "Though I don't think I was as skittish as she was."

"No, but she did inherit one particular quirk, if the stories I heard were true."

"Shut up, Saber! And who told you!? Was it Hound? I'm gonna kill him!"

The mech laughed. "The others passed that story around base a lot when you weren't around."

"I'm sure they did." The human huffed, her mind drifting back to old memories.

It all felt so long ago.

Sixteen-year-old Marissa Faireborn thought a camping trip would be great.

A week out with her single dad in the woods, far away from people.

It sounded great!

A great idea after her mom died.

A time to build new bonds between them.

But their third night into the trip, an explosion rocked the campsite.

Marissa, just leaving the tent, fell to her knees as the ground shuddered. Her hands and feet dragging her through the dirt and fallen leaves as a tree crashed into the tent behind her.

In a panic, she crawled back to the tree, huddling as close to it as she could, hoping it would shield her from whatever seemed to be doing this.

It couldn't be an earthquake.

Was it an attack!?

Her dad was a military officer. Did he make someone angry!?

"Dad!"

Her father, who'd been down by the river, not twenty feet away, stumbled into view, his forehead bloody as he looked around.

Their eyes met.

Before a red blast of light hit him, and his body evaporated in the searing heat.

"DADDY!"

Scurrying out of her spot, she ran.

Ran to the spot of ash on the ground.

"Bullseye!"

"Look, another one!"

The girl looked up as the ground shuddered. Through her teary gaze, she saw two giant robots closing in. One of them had something on his back that looked like a gun.

Did-

Did he shoot her dad!?

"Megatron will want us back to defend the mine, Snow Cat."

"Can it, Demolisher! I'm just having a bit of fun! One more shot and I'll head back." The guns moved to Snow Cat's shoulders before a red light began to form on the ends.

Marissa screamed, her legs trying to move, but slipped in the ashes of her own father before she crashed to the ground.

Snow Cat cackled.

But that burst of heat and then nothing never came.

Instead, Marissa felt cold metal lift her off the ground. Someone grunted as if in pain overhead.

Looking up, she saw a giant metallic face with a blue visor over where eyes should be. His face twisted as if slightly in pain, but he smiled still. "Hold on, kid." Gently cupping his hand around her, he ran, sliding behind a cluster of trees. "You're gonna be alright." He put a hand on his temple. "Could use a little backup over here. I'm a bit pinned."

"Did someone call for a rescue?" A small red plane swooped down, maneuvering expertly through the trees it fired upon Snow Cat and Demolisher.

"Thanks a ton, Powerglide."

"Not a problem!"

The robot looked down at the tiny human in his hand. "I'll keep you safe. Don't worry."

Marissa, far too shocked to truly process the fact that she sat in a robot's hand, just nodded.

The robot kept her in his hand until distant sounds of explosions and what she could only describe as laser blasts finally died away.

"Everything good?" The robot asked, nodding as if he got a response. "Well, I've got a bit of a surprise." He looked down at her. "And a casualty report."

The girl blinked at those words.

Her father-

The robot carried her a ways to where a group of about 8 robots stood near a cave entrance.

One, a large red robot, approached. "Jazz, what did you mean by 'casualty report'?"

"There were some humans in the area, boss bot." The robot, apparently called Jazz, sighed. "I saw one get blasted by Snow Cat. But, I managed to save the other one." Slowly holding out his hand, the giant fingers unfurled to reveal Marissa to the group. "I'm pretty sure the one who got blasted was her sire, and she's just a youngling."

The red robot leaned down slightly, his blue eyes filled with sorrow. "I am sorry you were caught up in our battle, little one."

"What do we do now?" A smaller red robot that sounded like the plane called Powerglide asked.

"We can't just leave her here. There're no human settlements for miles."

"Not to mention, she's seen us now." A large blue robot looked over at the girl. "Optimus?"

The large red robot, who seemed to be in charge, stared down at the girl. "We will take her back to base and let her rest and recover. Then we will decide what to do." He put a finger to his temple. "Ratchet, we need a bridge."

The girl watched as a swirling portal appeared before them and the robots began walking inside. "Hang on kid, this might feel weird."

The girl clutched one of the giant fingers as they stepped through.

Her body stretched, her bones vibrated, and her stomach knotted as they passed through the portal.

Feeling woozy as well as emotionally exhausted, the girl leaned against the finger she clutched, barely noticing the metallic room she'd entered.

"What's this about a casualty report?" A grumpy voice huffed. "Everyone is here."

"A human nearby was killed." Optimus said. The girl looked up to see him talking to a red and white robot. "And we brought a human youngling back with us. She watched the other human perish and was nearly killed herself."

Jazz unfurled his fingers. "Where should I put her?"

"Perhaps the medical quarters would be best." Another robot, this one red with a large… cannon, scope, telescope, or something on his shoulder, walked closer, inspecting her.

"Perceptor is right." Another red robot nodded. "We need to figure out what to do with her anyway."

Those words hit her ears and the girl immediately pulled back, curling up slightly.

"Hey, don't worry." Jazz piped up. "We're not going to hurt you. Don't be scared of us." He began walking toward a door which opened on its own. A short hallway with other rooms opened up before them. Going into one of the rooms, he set her down on what appeared to be a large bed. "Get some rest, kid. We'll come check on you in a bit." He knelt down, his visor level with her eyes. "I know this is all a little scary, but you can trust us. Some of the others are a bit grumpy, but no one will hurt you here."

What about those that hurt my dad?

She wanted to say, but the words wouldn't come.

So, she just nodded.

This robot DID save her life and protect her.

Jazz stood up, leaving the room.

Marissa curled up on the bed, which was just a metal slab and not that comfortable, but right now she didn't care as much.

There, alone, the truth crashed down on her.

She'd just lost her mother to cancer, and now her father-

In that small room, her cries echoed off the metal as she sobbed.

Alone.

A few hours later, Marissa awoke, having cried herself to sleep as heavy footsteps came toward her. She sat up to see a different robot, this one green with a large weapon on his shoulder, come into the room, smiling.

"Hey, you're up."

She rubbed her eyes, softly saying. "Where am I… who are you? What are you?"

"You can talk!" He walked over, kneeling down by the bed. "That's good. To answer your questions, my name is Hound. It's nice to meet you."

"Hound-"

"You're in our ship, which is kinda hidden underground at the moment. It's a bit of a mess right now, but it's home. And as for what I am, I'm from the planet Cybertron, so you'd probably call us 'aliens'."

Blinking, Marissa looked into his blue eyes. "You're an alien?"

"Yep. Now it's your turn. What's your name?"

"Marissa."

"Marissa?" He seemed to test the name out. "Humans have such interesting naming conventions."

Despite her feelings, this made the girl giggle a little.

"You can laugh too. That's good." He held out a finger toward her. "Nice to meet you, Marissa." Reaching up, she shook the giant finger. "Now, Jazz told us what he saw, but if you're up for it, could you tell me what happened?"

Oh…

Blinking, her eyes drifted to the floor. "Dad and I were out camping… we just wanted some time together after… after mom died. And then there were explosions. A tree fell down. And then… then…" She looked up at him, the tears coming again. "Why did they kill my dad!? We didn't do anything to them!" She fell back into a sobbing mess again.

Hound didn't really know how to handle the weeping human before him.

He'd watched some television and movies, so maybe-

Picking her up gently, which she didn't protest to, he held her close to his spark.

After a minute or so, Marissa realized what he'd done.

He'd given her a hug-

Or tried to.

She leaned against his metallic chest, feeling what almost felt like a heartbeat.

He felt warm.

Alive.

Her sobs died away as she focused on the "heartbeat" inside him until he pulled her back.

"I'm sorry. We try our best to keep humans out of danger, but it doesn't always work. I'm sorry." He set her back down. "And Snow Cat is a bit of a psycho anyways."

"Is he the one who shot my dad?"

"Yeah."

Snow Cat.

He smiled softly at her. "Would you like some more time alone, or would you like to meet the rest of the gang?"

"I…"

"They won't hurt you. Actually, we're trying to find a way to get you back with some humans. Though… what you said about your mom. Do you have any family?" She shook her head. "Ok, well I'll tell Perceptor that."

"Can I meet them?"

"Sure." Scooping her up, he gently set the girl on his shoulder, waiting for her to find a place to sit down where she could hold on. "Let's go." They walked back into the main area she'd barely noticed before, but now she could see, Marissa noticed the massive computers and technology beyond anything she'd ever seen before. "Hey guys, look who's up!"

All eyes turned to her.

"Great!" The one who saved her pumped his fist in the air.

The robots began approaching, the girl's grip on Hound's shoulder plating growing like the nerves inside her.

"Guys, this is Marissa." Hound gestured to the human before pointing around him, starting with the big red robot. "This is our boss, Optimus Prime. And the guy who saved you is his number two, Jazz."

Jazz grinned. "I'm glad you're doing better. And, I'm sorry I couldn't save your dad."

The girl smiled gratefully before Hound gestured to the large blue robot, the grumpy red one, and a teal robot. "This is Ultra Magnus, Ironhide, and Chromia. They're strict, but you'll like them. And that's Kup; don't let his grumpiness fool you, he's a nice guy." He pointed to a gray robot who stood with their back to them.

"I may be old, but my audio processors are still firing on all cylinders!"

"See what I mean? And that's Ratchet; he's our doctor." A red and white robot, not really paying attention to them, raised a hand in acknowledgement. "Next to him is Perceptor." The red robot with the giant scope on his shoulder glanced over from the computer, nodding slightly.

"The tech heads take a bit to get warmed up to others." A smaller yellow bot grinned. "Name's Bumblebee, and this is my buddy Powerglide."

The smaller red robot next to him waved. "She already knows me. I helped rescue her after all."

The girl smiled a little. They all seemed nice.

"Perceptor is currently trying to find somewhere for you to stay or any family you might have." Chromia walked over. Oh, she sounded like a girl and the others did not.

Hound glanced over at her. "Do you mind if I tell them?"

"I can… I don't have any family left."

"Oh."

Hound looked to Optimus. "Boss, if she wants, could she just stay here with us?"

"Stay here!?" Ironhide huffed. "We have no idea how to take care of a human!"

"We can figure it out." Kup chuckled. "We've done harder things than watch a human youngling."

The girl blinked, looking around.

Stay here?

Stay with giant robots?

Optimus stood silent for a moment, thinking. "Marissa, if we send you back to the humans, you can not tell them about us, but I do not see the harm in you staying here. However, you should know that we are currently in a war, and if you stay here, we will do our best to keep you safe."

"Those other robots are the ones that you're fighting?"

"They are."

If she stayed, maybe she could find that robot who killed her father.

What could she do as a human though?

She'd figure it out.

"I'll stay. I can take care of myself mostly."

Optimus smiled softly. "Hound, you will be in charge of her safety."

"Yes sir."

Marissa sat on the large computer, watching the screen as the bots battled against the Decepticons.

She'd lived here now for about four months.

Watching as they fought over an energon mine, the girl could see the Decepticons using some sort of drill, and they turned it against her friends.

And then she saw him… Snow Cat. He stood near a bunch of other drills.

Jumping up, she ran to the edge of the console, sliding down a pole the bots installed for her to get down quickly.

Her feet carried her toward the groundbridge where she opened a portal to the battlefield.

No one noticed, not yet at least.

A tiny human moving around the outside of the battlefield, hurried toward another one of the drills she spotted by the mine shaft.

Climbing onto the console, she looked around.

Of course she couldn't read anything, but some controls are universal. Stepping on a button, the drill whirled to life before she shoved a large handle forward.

"What in the name of Primus!?"

There he was!

Shoving another handle, the drill turned, causing the girl to grab the handle so as to not go flying off.

Snow Cat leapt out of the way, but the drill did manage to graze his side, sending energon splattering across the drill and some across the girl herself.

Her drill slammed into another drill which sent others flying. The only thing keeping her from flying forward was her arms wrapped around the handle, the energon on her causing her to slide down.

A line of drills slammed into each other, a fire starting on one of them as her drill finally stopped.

The girl took a deep breath before she moved to the side to climb down the side.

"You!?"

Snow Cat, clutching a gaping wound on his side, dragged himself up, staring at the girl, utter shock in his eyes.

"That," she huffed, "was for my dad."

He stared at her in silence for a moment. "Then, I'll send you to join him!"

The girl started the climb as Snow Cat stumbled toward her, bleeding out.

"Marissa!" A large hand wrapped around her. Hound pulled her to him before aiming his weapon at Snow Cat. "You ok, kid?"

"Is SHE ok!? She slammed a drill into me!"

Hound glared at him. "You killed her dad, so I don't blame her." Backing up, he fled as the fire spread across the few drills Marissa had crashed into. "And YOU are going home!"

Hound opened a groundbridge and pulled the girl back through.

"What were you thinking!?" He set her down, finding a large cloth to drape over the girl, gently wiping off as much of the energon as he could without pushing her over or hurting her. "You could've been killed!"

The girl collapsed to a sitting position. "I don't know. I saw him, and I saw the drills. I just… wanted to avenge my father."

Hound knelt down. "Next time, don't just charge into battle. Though, you did get rid of their mining equipment, and you may have killed Snow Cat or at least hurt him a lot."

"I don't know. I wasn't thinking."

"It's ok. We've all done things out of vengeance and without thinking. Just, don't do it again."

"She had a better reason than I did to charge into battle." Marissa looked up at Elita. "I was a reckless kid."

"YOU? I don't believe it." The pink femme smirked.

The human turned back to watch Silk. And for a moment, saw herself, watching her old friends train.

And things felt normal.

"Slipstream," Shadow Striker turned around, "What should we do?"

Team Stream watched on the monitor as Dr. Arkeville was apprehended.

Slipstream watched the four humans they'd seen on the battlefield standing beside the holoforms of the Autobots.

"Where was this located?"

"Wick, Scotland."

Wick… The same city she'd visited when confronting Silk.

"Keep an eye on this location. I have a feeling their base is not far from this location."

VAs:

Dashiell R. Faireborn- Brian Dobson (Flint, The Thing/Ben Grimm, Skeletor, Red Alert)

Snow Cat- Don Brown (Snow Cat/Cyclonus, Jaken, Garlic Jr., Vitalstatistix, Mohsen, Tsukikage)

Demolisher- Alvin Sanders (Demolisher, Puppet Master, King Sombra, Mr. Popo, Manten)

Powerglide- Todd Haberkorn (Natsu Dragneel, Death the Kid, Hikaru Hitachiin, Razor)

Ultra Magnus- Michael Ironside (Ultra Magnus, Darkseid, Sam Fisher, Emperor Zanmoran)

Ratchet- Jeffrey Combs (Ratchet, Question, Scarecrow/Jonathan Crane, Brainiac, Kirk Langstrom)

Ironhide- Keith Szarabajka (Ironhide, The Didact, Ronan the Accuser, Joshua Graham)

Chromia- Tiana Camacho (Ermes Costello, Nessa, Bea, Lily, Frenzy, Yawaragi, Glynda, Dahlia)

Perceptor- Taliesin Jaffe (Percival de Rolo III, Flash/Barry Allen, Eizen, Thomas Lysander)