Standing before her was the man who was once her boss, and who she thought was her friend. Saphira never thought that she would see him again. In fact, she hoped she would never see him again. But despite how big New York is, it is still small enough for people to run into each other. And it seemed to be the case now. But Saphira saw that Arthur looked different. His brown hair was messy, there was darkness under his eyes, his clothes seemed to not be washed or ironed and he was holding a bottle in his hand. She could smell the alcohol from him, but she hoped he was not blackout drunk, as she did not need him to do anything physically to her.

"Arthur…um…" Saphira looked over his body curiously as she observed his pitiful state. "I see you have been doing it quite tough. Um…look…" She could see the man was looking at her with an angry and sad expression. "I don't know why you came over to me, but…"

"You look horrible." She blinked in surprise, but then she remembered that she was underweight. "I had no idea this would have affected you this way too. And it's all Claudia's fault." He shook his head and frowned at Saphira. "Can't you see that my life is falling apart? You sued me! My ex was able to almost squeeze everything out of me. I hope you are happy."

She frowned at him as he began ranting at her about how his life is falling apart. "Are you seriously going to blame me for how your life is right now?" He grimaced and he looked away from her. "None of this is my fault, Arthur. You made your choice, and these are the consequences. And what about me?" He looked back at her as she gestured to myself. "I haven't been sleeping or eating properly for the last few weeks. I am almost all skin and bones right now. It's a struggle to force myself to eat, and I have no one to support me."

Arthur softened his expression as he listened to her as he knew she was right. "I'm sorry, Saphira. You are right, it was my choice. Claudia had been on thin ice regarding her employment at the company, and then she came to me on the Monday telling me what you did to her." She frowned deeper at him as he told her what happened. "I didn't believe her at first, as you called Nicholas and me first. But…she was rather convincing. I should have realized it was all an act."

"Yes, you should have!" Saphira snapped at him. "You have always known Claudia to be that way, Arthur. It was no secret in the office she was always a drama queen and an actress. And you decided to believe her fake tears over my real pain."

"I'm sorry, Saphira. But I come to you because I need your help." She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Ever since the news got involved with what happened with Claudia and you, the international connections backed out of the deal. The business clients that we worked with for years all pulled away." And none of that is her business anymore. "Look, business improved after I hired you. Taking in a runaway actually made my business boom and…"

"Woah, woah, woah!" Saphira interrupted abruptly. "What the hell does that mean, Arthur?" The man widened his eyes for a moment and looked away. "Wait…did you hire me because you knew it would make your company look good? Was I nothing more than a business tool to you?"

Arthur did not respond to her as he realized he had said too much. "Listen, you got millions from me in the court settlement. I'm not asking you to give it back. I am asking you to come back. I have already lost most of my employees, and I am on the verge of losing it all. I need your help."

Saphira was glaring at the man. She was hurt that she now knew the truth. "You have some nerve to come up to me like this, and beg me to help you, Arthur. After everything you did to me, and now the truth finally comes out about why you wanted to help me. You didn't do it because you wanted to. You did it for yourself. I can't believe I wasted the last few years working for such a vile human like you."

Arthur rolled his eyes at her and frowned. "Oh, come on. Are you seriously going to show how ungrateful you are, you little brat?!" She stepped back from him as his growing anger was making her nervous. "I gave you a job, a home and I even allowed you to graduate high school in the middle of all that. And you were about to become a manager in my company. You would have been doing something important for the company, and you would have been rich. Are you seriously going to tell me that was a waste?"

Saphira nodded as she clenched her eyes shut for a moment before reopening them and glaring at Arthur. "I joined your company because I thought you were a good, kind person. I believed you wouldn't hurt me, Arthur. I told you everything about my life. I trusted that you wouldn't let me down." His glare softened again as he listened to her response. "But you chose to believe Claudia over me. So yes, yes, I am calling the last few years working at your company a waste. It would have been better for me to live on the street than to work for someone like you."

The man clenched his hand and he took a sip from his bottle, making Saphira a little more nervous. "I'm sorry, alright?" She didn't believe or want his apologies right now, as they meant nothing to her. "If you come back to the company, I promise that everything will be different. I did not mean for things to happen the way they did, and all I was doing was trying to do what was right for my company…"

"And all I hear from you right now is that you only care about yourself and your precious company," Saphira interrupts the man bluntly. He glared at her again for the interruption. "And I don't care what you meant, I care what you did. All of this…" She gestured to the state Arthur was in right now. "Is your fault. Be an adult and solve it yourself, Arthur. If you were half decent like Nicholas, maybe I could forgive you. He was the only one who actually cared for me." She took a deep breath and stepped away from him. "I don't want to see you again, Arthur. Forget that I ever existed."

Arthur stared at Saphira in disbelief as she began to walk away. He narrowed his eyes and followed her. "And do you seriously think that you can just brush me off like that?" Saphira glanced over her shoulder with wide eyes. "Look at you! You're pathetic, right now! You are skinny, and ugly, I might add, and you are turning me down?! You have to help me…" He reached to grab her shoulder when Saphira turned and backhands him in the cheek hard. Because of the alcohol in his system, Arthur fell to the ground in surprise and looked at her with wide eyes. "You bitch! Why the hell would you hit me for?!"

Saphira backed away from him as she glared at him. "You clearly have had too much to drink, Arthur. It is clouding your judgement. But it is not an excuse!" She could feel tears threatening to well in her eyes as she watched him stand back up. "Do you really want to have an assault charge on your record, Arthur? Just…leave me alone. I will not allow you to use me as your business venture anymore. You are on your own."

Arthur was huffing as he glared at her. "And what about you? You are as skinny as a stick! You need to put on some weight to even look pretty again!" She ignored his comments about her appearance as he had no business in speaking to her anyway. "And I could help you."

"Save your breath!" Saphira turned her head when she saw a couple police officers running over. It seemed they had seen Arthur try and grab her, and that she had to protect herself from him. "Ah, well, at least karma is being very generous right now."

Arthur turned his head and widened his eyes when he saw the police approaching him. "Put your hands behind your back, sir," One of the officers ordered the man. "We just witnessed what you did to this young lady here." Arthur groaned as he turned, putting his arms around his back. He grumbled as the bottle was taken from him while he was handcuffed by the police. The officer looked at Saphira to make sure she was okay. "Are you okay, young lady? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

She shook her head. "Not physically. Um…" She looked at Arthur who was still glaring at her. "He's just upset he lost a court case to me, officer. He's losing the business he's built, and he's decided to blame me." The officer raised an eyebrow as he seemed surprised. "And now he tried to assault me. I think that warrants him at least getting arrested."

"It does." The officer gestured for his colleague to take Arthur to their car. "It will be easy to charge him for attempted assault. I can take your details so we can reach out to you if we need to."

She shook her head. "No, you won't be able to. I have no home right now, officer. I'm just sleeping in my car." The officer softened his expression when he realized she was homeless. "At least until I am able to find another place. So…sorry…I don't have an address or phone number for you." She smiled at him as she was grateful they were there. "But thank you for being here at the right time, officer. I have to go and get something from inside."

The man understood as Saphira began to walk away. "Well, we know who he is anyway. So it will make things easier. Take it easy, ma'am. Have a nice rest of your day."

Saphira just nodded politely as she continued to walk towards Walmart. She took a deep breath and let out a loud sigh of irritation. She was shaking, and she knew she was probably going to be unsettled for most of the day now that she had that interaction with Arthur. And she felt more pain as now she knew that Arthur did not actually have any kind of kindness towards her at all. He saw her as nothing more than a piece of property for business. And that disturbed her. That was how her father saw her too. And that made her more scared.

She still wanted to get the portable gas top, so she didn't allow this incident to stop her from doing just that. She didn't actually know how she managed to get through Walmart without breaking down in tears. She was on autopilot mode, so to speak. She walked through the store while being very tense in her body. She did get a few people looking at her weird for that, probably because they thought she was acting suspicious. But Saphira ignored them.

She found what she was looking for, and she also bought some cooking utensils along with a long-neck lighter. Some of the employees asked her if she was okay, and Saphira just responded that she will be okay once she left. They weren't aware of what happened outside, so Saphira couldn't expect them to understand what she was feeling. But she did appreciate that the other people around her seemed to be aware and wanted to try and help.

When Saphira walked out of the store, she walked over to Mirage instead of returning to Optimus. She opened the door and placed the bags inside. She was feeling her chest tightening as it threatened to make her have an anxiety attack. "Are you okay?" Mirage asked in concern as she sat down and closed the door. "You are pale…and sweating…"

"I just need to get out of here," Saphira responded to him, swallowing saliva as she let the tears fall from her eyes. "I really just need to get out of here…can you take me back to the factory? You guys can keep going around the city looking for Transit. I just need time to be alone."

"Alright, alright." Mirage started his engine and left the parking space to leave the lot. The other three autobots follow him quickly. "So…we all heard what you and Arthur were saying to each other." She grimaced and sniffled, not really wanting to discuss it. "I am very sorry that, that man took advantage of your situation. I am very sorry." She made no response as she kept crying softly to herself. "I can see why Optimus is not a fan of humans. Especially if this is how you treat each other."

Saphira nodded as she could agree. "At least…it isn't always like this…" She sniffled loudly and covered her face with her hands as she sobbed softly. "I really don't want to discuss it, Mirage. Just…please give me a moment…" She was taking deep breaths as she tried to keep herself from having an anxiety attack. "I feel like I'm going to have an anxiety attack at any moment. So let me concentrate."

Mirage had no idea what an anxiety attack would look like, but that did not sound good. He sent a warning to Optimus, Arcee and Bumblebee that Saphira might have the anxiety attack, even though he did not know what it was. But he figured it was going to be some kind of a medical thing, so he figured the others should be prewarned in case it would happen. And Mirage guessed it could. She was shaking uncontrollably, her breathing sounded different, she was pale and she was sweating profusely. Mirage knew this was Arthur's fault, and it also was due to the lack of good nutrition in her body.

Saphira tried her best to keep herself as calm as possible. She could not stop the tears from flowing, and she concentrated so hard on keeping her breathing as calm as possible, but it was getting harder. Mirage was also driving through the city rather quickly too. He was extremely worried, and he was thinking that she might need to go to a human hospital. It would be the only way he could think of that would be good for her. But he did not know if Optimus would allow it, even if it would be what she needed.

Saphira tensed as she felt the feeling of her throat tightening from the anxiety, and she tried to hide it, but Mirage heard her starting to gasp. "Saphira?!" Mirage was extremely worried for her right now. "Should I take you to a hospital?" She shook her head quickly. "But you're gasping! You are gasping for air! We autobots may not need to breath oxygen like you do, but we aren't monsters."

"I…I…I…am having…an…anxiety…attack…" Saphira managed to say between gasps. "I need…to…be alone…" Mirage did not fully understand as he was prepared to take her to a hospital. They were near the factory though, and he didn't want Optimus to get upset. "Once…I…calm down…this will…stop…"

"Hmm…if you say so." Mirage did not buy it at all, and Saphira could see that he was concerned. It felt weird to her that he was concerned about her well being. "But I don't intend on leaving you alone, if that is what you are hoping for. Um…uh, how do I help you? Just take deep breaths. Slow and deep, and exhale just as slow."

Saphira listened just rolled her eyes a little, even though it was extremely sweet of Mirage to even try to offer her some guidance on what she should do. However, she was already trying to do what he was telling her to do. She was a mix of emotions, and right now, she was mostly focused on getting the anxiety attack under control. She disliked the feeling that she could not breath, and she was in a lot of discomfort at the moment.

Mirage did not waste any time returning to the factory. Saphira tried to push the door open, though he transformed before she could get out. She shrieked in surprise as he transformed around her, and she was soon in Mirage's hands. He was looking at her worryingly as she was still gasping, trying to take deep breaths to calm herself down. Mirage did not know what he should do, but he sat on the ground of the factory and laid her against his knees.

"Alright, come on, focus, Saphira," Mirage ordered gently as she looked at him. "We might not breath oxygen, but we do intake." She frowned as she did not know what that meant. However, she saw him take a deep intake. "Follow my lead, Saphira. That air inside the factory here is cool, it should be pretty pleasant on your skin right now. Focus on the cool air, and watch me."

Saphira could not help but focus on Mirage, watching as he intakes and exhales slowly. The motion of what he was doing right now was certainly something she had not expected him to do. However, she thought it was very nice. And she was able to focus on him, and it allowed her brain to focus and relax slowly while she focused on Mirage. Bumblebee and Arcee arrived quickly, and Bumblebee ran over to join Mirage with worried optics.

Arcee scanned Saphira's body to see what exactly was happening while Optimus drove in and transformed. He eyed off Saphira as Mirage held her on his knees as hearing her gasping and trembling the way she was stirred concern in him. He wanted to make sure she was okay, but it seemed that Mirage was handling it. And she was slowly calming down, though it was taking a bit of time while Mirage focused. Bumblebee even joined in. He insisted on also having her watch him while Bee also intakes and exhales slowly. Saphira seemed to appreciate that and she was calming down.

Arcee looked at Optimus. "Seems like the high stress from that conversation with that Arthur caused her body to react badly, Optimus. It seems she ended up in a flight or fight mode, and her body is simply responding. She's not dying, but she will need time to rest."

Optimus looked at Saphira as he processed what Arcee had found about her. He hummed for a moment and looked at Arcee. "Will she need the attention of human doctors?" Arcee shook her head. "Good. We don't need the human to get so bad. But if she must go there, we will ensure she will be cared for."

"I am glad that you won't keep her from medical professionals," Arcee said with a smile. She looked at Saphira for a moment and looked at Optimus. "I don't know about you, but…I was kind of shocked about what Arthur said to Saphira." Optimus did not react to Arcee's comment, though he listened. "She was used. She was used so someone else could earn wealth. That is what I got from the conversation, and he's angry that he's losing because of a bad choice."

"And he is blaming her." Optimus himself had not expected such a conversation. But Saphira actually handled the conversation rather well. He had thought she would react differently, but she held her own and responded to Arthur without being rash. "That Arthur has given me even more reason to dislike humans."

"We aren't all that different, Optimus. Look at what Megatron has done." Optimus flinched and frowned when Arcee brought up the leader of the decepticons. "He was once your friend, and you thought you could trust him. But he betrayed you, and so many who were close to him." He agreed with her as he thought back to it. "You might dislike humans, but you can't dismiss the fact that we are similar. We have gone through similar experiences to humans, and Saphira's experience proves that. I think you should relax around her. She hasn't even tried to run since the day we first met her."

Optimus thought more about that and he knew that Arcee was right. But he also did not know how much he could trust Saphira. She has indeed shown that she will not run, and she wants to find a way to help them. He was definitely growing to trust the girl, and she was obviously happy to stay with them now. It has taken a few weeks for her to be comfortable enough with them, and she seems happy enough to speak more. After all, she was singing and dancing by the river and she only stopped when she saw him. She was coming out of her shell.

Optimus intakes heavily and sighed. "It would seem you would be right, Arcee. The human has gone through much. And it seems now we know more about her job with that man's company. While we don't know what the company did, it would not be worth working for anymore. Especially after what has happened." Arcee nodded as she agreed. "And you are right. I guess…because of the fact Bumblebee was attacked by humans, I don't trust them."

"But Saphira isn't going to go and tell anyone about us. I am sure you have realized that by now." Optimus did not react to Arcee's comment, even though he was confident about that. "Saphira's had countless opportunity to run. She doesn't. And I can bet that I can guess I know why." He gave the femme a curious expression. "She no longer feels like she can trust or be normal among humans. I mean, I can't say I blame her. We are most definitely out of the ordinary to her, and she probably feels like she would be safer and happier with us than with humans."

Optimus had not considered why she was content to stay with them. He had thought she was staying because she was afraid. But she still could be afraid, and yet, she also did not want to leave because she felt like she trusted them. And Optimus could see that. He looked at Mirage as Saphira's anxiety attack had passed, and she was now sobbing uncontrollably. Mirage was hugging the girl and she seemed to be appreciating the hug too.

Mirage looked at Optimus as he saw Optimus was observing Saphira. "I hope you can see she is better of with us as her friends than she is with humans," He said bluntly with a sad expression. "I feel for Saphira…if only we became friends sooner."

Optimus did not respond to Mirage, though he looked at the girl before he spoke. "I deeply sympathise with your situation, human. I was betrayed by Megatron many years ago." She turned her head to look at him as he spoke to her. "It is not a good feeling. I saw him as a brother once, and he turned his back on me. Which has resulted us eventually being forced to flee to this world. I am truly sorry about Arthur. You trusted him, and the truth now comes out about why he really hired you. At least you know the truth."

She nodded as she was glad to know the truth. She sniffled and looked down. "It…It just…he made me feel like…I am worth nothing…but a tool. A means to make everyone else better…" She sniffled again and let out a loud sob. "At least with you guys, I am willing to help." She smiled a little and looked away from Optimus. "And don't apologize for a man who I don't see as a human. I see him as nothing…nothing but ash."

Optimus pondered on how the future might proceed as well. "I do want you to know that we do not intend to use you. I am sure you know that." She nodded as she did know that. "If we do require human assistance for something, we will ask if you want to do it. I don't see the need for using a human without their consent. I may not like humans, and what we heard only further strengthened my feelings, but I…I wish not harm to you." She looked at him and wiped her tears, seemingly curious that he was saying that. "I wish no harm because you have not shown any desire to harm us, or have us harmed by other humans. I suppose I have been foolish into believing you will do that. And when you were by the river without the tracking device, I am trusting you more now because of that."

She smiled a little at him as she was glad. "Thank you, Optimus." She sniffled as she wiped more of her tears. She looked up at Mirage as he was still hugging her. "Thank you, Mirage. You were…I guess I needed a rock more than I though." The autobot smiled at her as he was glad to help her. "Thank you for not listening to me. I guess I really needed the company. You guys are the best thing that has happened to me."

"We are?" Optimus had not expected her to say that. "But…you don't have a home…"

She shrugged and looked at him with a smile. "Maybe not, but I don't need an apartment, Optimus. You have provided the shelter I need. You ensure that I have access to water, a toilet and showers, and now, you allowed me to get something so I can cook food with. And you even let me use a laundromat the other day. So I don't need an apartment."

Mirage was very surprised to hear that. "I am surprised you feel that way." She shrugged and wiped her cheeks, releasing him of her hug while she relaxed. "Wow…you really don't take something like that for granted, do you?"

She shook her head. "No, no. I am grateful for shelter. I have to be. I am grateful for food, and water. I grew up in a home where I wasn't wanted. I was almost sold off by my parents. I grew up knowing that the little things were better than something big and fancy. That is what I learned to believe as I became a teenager. So I don't need a big apartment. I am just happy to have somewhere warm to sleep. And I know I will need a warm place to sleep tonight, and probably quite early."

"And all the humans I've seen seem to take what they have for granted," Arcee said as she had a raised eyebrow. "This is fascinating. I think you would be considered rare among humans. Though we haven't seen the whole world, we're only basing on what we know."

Saphira chuckled a little as she found that amusing. "At least you know." She looked at Optimus as she saw his expression was full of curiosity. "Would you mind passing me one of the water bottles you have in your cab?" Optimus flinched before he opened his chassis and reached inside to grab one of the bottles with his fingers. He gently passed the bottle to her and she took it from him. "Thank you, Optimus." She opened the bottle with a smile on her face. "I appreciate your sympathy as well. And your understanding. Thank you."

Optimus certainly had not expected that kind of humbleness from a human. Arcee was right in saying that the humans they've seen take what they have for granted. But Saphira has been completely different from all humans they have seen. Sure, it was also true, they haven't actually met many humans. And Bumblebee also only knew a few humans to go by. So they might still not be wise to how the rest of the humans are. And now Optimus's processor was having to change his perspective of Saphira. She was not like the other humans. And she was just happy to have somewhere to sleep. Which said a lot. She felt safe with him. Optimus knew that he could not place the girl in the same boat as other humans. Not anymore.