I intend to upload the first three chapters in one go. Give it one more chapter to set the story up then we are ready to roll!

Enjoy!

Warnings: I do NOT own Transformers Prime or its characters, I only own my OCs! Sorry for bad grammar and misspells.

Chapter 2: Autobot base

...

Mercy POV

The excitement in the base spread like wildfire. This week has been almost uneventful, save for our small interactions with each other within the walls of the base, but ever since that call from the previous day, the Autobots have been in a frenzy.

"Do we know anything about this Wheeljack?" I turned my head in Halo's direction, who only shrugged (well, as much as she could in her position).

"He is a mech, he is an Autobot. Bulkhead knows him," she mumbled and I waved her off with a chuckle.

"As if I haven't figured that out yet myself."

Crossflare walked up to us with her arms crossed over her chestplates and sized us up with a serious expression.

"Be ready for anything. We still can't trust anyone here. Newcomers shouldn't be treated any better," she said slowly, making optic-contact with me first, then Halo, "Not even the Autobots are sure he is one of theirs. So be on alert when he arrives. I'm not going to risk any of your lives, got it?"

We both nodded quickly and her features softened a bit in relief. When she wanted to sound and look serious she got a bit scary. Although I learned she only does it to emphasize the weight of the situation.

"Wheeljack's ship is approaching the landing zone," Arcee's voice turned our attention towards the screens which everybody was staring at. The kids could barely hide their excitement, Miko didn't even try.

"You think he's here to visit?" Raf turned towards his friends.

"Maybe he'll stay!" Miko balled her hands into fists cheerfully, then a thoughtful frown crept onto her face, "Hmm...have to find his own human, though."

"Ground bridge cycling up," Ratchet was already by the ground-bridge control, typing in the coordinates. Suddenly an electric shock ran through the equipment, and the screen showed static. The medic had to punch the machine in order to continue working properly. The medic cursed under his breath as a side-comment, "Blasted scraplets! Equipment hasn't been the same since the infestation."

Infestation? Scraplets? It seems they haven't told us some things that might be of interest to us. I had no idea there were scraplets on Earth too!

"So, Wheeljack's gonna land halfway around the world and then you'll bridge him here?" Jack finally put up the question which also bugged me. Optimus stepped closer to explain patiently:

"We can't risk revealing the location of our base just in case the Decepticons are tracking Wheeljack's ship."

Miko dashed to Bulkhead's side mid-sentence. The mech was walking up and down like a caged turbofox, anxiously waiting.

"Dude, I've never seen you so stoked!"

"Oh, you're gonna love Wheeljack! We were like brothers! And tonight we are gonna party!" Bulkhead could barely mask his excitement.

"Sweet!"

The moment of joy was suddenly cut short when a loud beeping noise gained our attention.

"Cons are closing on fast on Wheeljack's position," Arcee immediately read the signs.

Halo and I exchanged troubled looks. This didn't sound good. Crossflare's serious expression only darkened upon hearing the bad news. As if things weren't complicated enough, now Decepticons were involved.

"Con scum!" Bulkhead stomped up to the screens with a quick mood-switch, already balling his fists like he was about to smash someone.

"Calm down Bulkhead, if you destroy our computers there won't be much you can do to help," Ratchet led him away before he could lay a fist on anything and Bulkhead changed course towards the ground-bridge with a newfound idea. Arcee and Bumblebee followed him almost immediately.

"Open the bridge Ratchet! We're missing all the action!"

Ratchet did as told without hesitation.

"I'll prepare sick-bay."

"Who for? The Cons?" Bulkhead scoffed in amusement, "This is Wheeljack we're talking about!"

With that the three of them ran through the swirling portal, out of our sight. To be honest I felt like it's not fair to just sit around passively and watch them do...well, what they had to do. I fiddled with my digits anxiously in my lap, folding and unfolding them, drumming on my thighs, then got an encouraging smile from Crossflare when she noticed. It meant everything will be fine. Will it really? Just like always, I put my faith in her encouragement and remained still.

Crossflare POV

Within minutes, four bots dashed in through the ground-bridge and the controller went crazy once again, but this time it shut completely behind the newcomers, much to Ratchet's annoyance. The new mech beside Bulkhead wasn't familiar at all and he was shorter than what I expected. His mainly white paintjob was highlighted with red and green decor. He seemed like an older model, average Cybertronian.

I narrowed my optics, running a curious scan over him as he took in the sights, his attention more on the base than the Bots in it which was a highly suspicious act on arrival.

"Jackie, come here! Meet my other best buddy, Miko! She can wreck with the best of us!" Bulkhead's excitement returned and he proudly gestured towards the small child who ran down the stairs and stopped mid-way to be in level with the two. She waved a hand with a big smile on her face.

"Hiya!"

"Ya keepin' Bulkhead out of trouble?" Wheeljack pointed back at Bulk.

"I try but trouble finds us anyway," Miko grinned and shrugged with a mischievous look.

"We're gonna get along just fine," the white mech concluded in amusement before he turned around to face the approaching Prime.

"Optimus Prime, it's a privilege," he said, having to look up to the much taller bot.

"Likewise, soldier. What do you have to report from your long journey?" Optimus was friendly like always, but I could hear caution in his voice.

"Been bouncin' from rock to rock searchin' for signs of friend or foe. Now I find both," Wheeljack sent a meaningful glance towards his friend and Optimus' expression softened a bit.

"We are few, but strong. We have suffered losses. But we have grown. And we would relish welcoming a new member into our fold."

I couldn't ignore how the Prime's gaze swept over everyone, including the three of us. We weren't additions of his team, he shouldn't forget that. We were merely guests who will take their leave once our friend is taken care of. Then our paths separate and hopefully never cross again.

"I would be honored," our newcomer however didn't seem against joining the team. Not like my friends or I had anything to do about that.

"Then let's get this party started!" Bulkhead and Wheeljack smashed their chests together with a loud yell, earning a very annoyed sigh from a not so enthusiastic Ratchet:

"Oh, joy..."

I could share the sarcasm in his voice. After some quick introductions everybody fell back to routine mode, minding their own business. Glancing sideways at my friends, I saw Mercy leaning close to Halo, both of them whispering quietly. Their gossip topic was probably the new mech and I had no interest in talking him out so I headed to Ratchet to check if he needed help. The controller's failure has already pissed him off enough.

Miko showed off her guitar-talent - which was in need of improvement in my opinion - while the two wreckers gathered a ball of scrap from somewhere and started tossing it around. A bit of nostalgia again. Lobbing was a very common game back on Cybertron. Sidewire wasn't a fan of it, but he participated once or twice when his friends invited him.

"What's the problem?" I asked quietly and Ratchet shook his head with a grunt, "Malfunction. Quite the headache."

"Can I help with anything?"

"Hhhh...bring me those tools from over there," the medic pointed away towards the counter at the other side of the platform and I walked over to get the requested items for him. At least I'm making myself useful while I'm here.

Then the sound of a loud crash almost made me drop the tools as I looked back over my shoulder to see an angry Ratchet lecturing the wreckers. They accidentally dropped the ball on the controller. Great. If the damage was bad, then it's surely catastrophic now. I was aware that we needed the bridge in order to get back to New Mexico. We can't drive all the way back home after all. It has to be fixed.

"Sorry, doc. Guess we're a little charged up," Wheeljack gathered the ball, stopping beside the medic to take a look at the ground-bridge, "You built this bridge from scratch, huh?"

"I did," Ratchet turned back to the controller proudly.

"That's quite a feat of engineering."

"Yes, it is."

"Something wrong with it?"

"I didn't like the way it sounded on this last jump. I put it in shut-down."

"What if you need to use it?" Wheeljack inquired and I listened in as I returned, placing the tools beside the controller one by one.

"Ohh, I can't disrupt the defrag process without causing irreparable damage."

"So, uh, how long will the defrag take?"

"A few hours if we are lucky. Maybe longer," Ratchet looked back at Wheeljack before focusing his attention on the work before him.

I shot a suspicious frown in the white mech's way as he passed by us with that strange smirk of his. I didn't like the way he talked, but I was unable to find out why I felt that way. Maybe my caution towards strangers is getting the better of me. But no one can be careful enough, so I will stay alert for the time being.

Oh and how right I was.

"Um...Crossflare," Mercy came to poke my side an hour later and I curiously left Ratchet's side to hear her out.

"What is it?"

"It's Wheeljack. Or more precisely, the thing that Bulkhead said just a moment ago," she whispered, sending a worried glance behind her back.

I followed the direction with my gaze, only to find no trace of the mentioned newcomer.

"He said there is something off with Wheeljack. Don't know what he meant but I guessed you might want to know."

I nodded with a serious expression and I glanced over to Halo who was staring in our direction with an annoyed glare. Yes, she had an idea of what was coming.

"Ratchet," I called back and the medic grunted in response, "I'm taking Halo back to the med-bay."

"What for?"

"She had enough excitement for today. And I intend to do some check-ups."

"Please use the scanner only. I'm not sure you are familiar with other equipment."

"As you wish," I walked around the berth and got a hold of it from behind. With Mercy's aid from the right side we turned the berth around and rolled it back towards the med-bay.

"What is this for?" Halo hissed, disapproving, "The new mech seems okay, I don't think there is any trouble in sight."

"Don't argue with me."

I might be harsh, but I know my instincts have never betrayed me. And like most of the time, I was right. It turned out the Autobots let a fraud into the base.

Mercy and I were peeking out at the corner of the corridor during Bulkhead and Wheeljack's confrontation. The way Bulkhead's mood shifted from suspicious to furious actually surprised me. When Mercy mentioned that something was off with Wheeljack, I didn't think that his friend would doubt the newcomer enough to start investigating him. But now it seems things have turned serious.

The air was filled with tension and I calculated the amount of time needed for us to get to the exit. But even if things run rampant here, I can't risk hurting Halo by forcing her to get up before she is completely healed. Scrap. We were in a tight situation. And the situation just only got worse when what we have feared happened: the cornered Wheeljack suddenly sprung into action, snatching Miko off the ground in a strong grip as he broke out of the circle and went right for the ground-bridge controller.

"Stay back or I'll squeeze her into pulp!" his voice completely changed, now an unknown, malicious tone replacing it as he held Miko out, ready to crush her bones with just a simple move.

"Wheeljack, what are you doing?" Miko had no idea what was going on but things were evident to everyone else in the room.

Wheeljack wasn't here, but instead: they let a Decepticon in and let him deceive everybody. I cursed under my breath and scolded the Autobots for being so welcoming to strangers. If this mech escapes, he will report everything to his superior, including the fact that Autobot numbers have increased with three unknown femmes. They might even know who we are.

We are in great trouble.

"Decepticon coward! Let the girl go and face me!" Bulkhead smashed his fists together, ready to charge against the enemy who casually answered with a big malevolent grin on his face:

"Don't fret. Plenty of fighting to come."

"Is there a real Wheeljack?" Jack worriedly asked from the ground in the protective presence of his and Raphael's guardian.

"Oh, indeed, and I expect Lord Starscream is making sport of him," the fraud boasted with mock confidence. The only thing preventing him from making a run was the bridge controller which was at the verge of coming back online.

The tension in the room grew by every second, all Autobots were aware that waiting around was only serving the enemy's advantage and not theirs but making a move might lead to Miko's death. Neither outcomes were in their favor. At this point I was glad I didn't have to be part of this pointless war.

"What do we do?" Mercy whispered from behind me, her voice clearly shaking.

I shot a glare over my shoulder, just enough to tell her we are not participating in this. Let them solve their problem alone and as soon as this ends, we are making our leave. We have been away from home long enough.

The fraud typed in the coordinates and the ground-bridge whirred to life. There was nothing to do, but only watch as the Decepticon did as he pleased. He held all the cards in this situation. With nothing to lose anymore, he retreated into the entrance of the portal.

Anyone could have come through from behind him, even a whole battalion, but instead a lone figure jumped through from the other end, kicking the Decepticon out of the way, right against the platform. Miko flew over the air with a silent scream, but fortunately right into Bulkhead's servos.

Wait a second. Both Mercy and I stared in confusion from one bot to the other, seeing two of the same white mech.

"Am I the only one seeing double Wheeljacks?" Mercy rubbed her optics in disbelief.

"I should've known there is only trouble here," I mumbled, watching the two engage in a spectacular sword fight. I quickly lost track of which one is the real and the fraud one. At least I hoped the others would know and the real one wins.

From behind, I could faintly hear Halo's yelling, demanding to see what's going on but I ignored her demands for now. It's best she stays away for now.

When I glanced back, one Wheeljack was already on the ground, beaten. Okay, but which one is that?

"That's my Jackie!" Bulkhead proudly announced as he stepped to his friend's side.

"Time to take out the trash," Wheeljack withdrew his swords and gestured towards the fraud with a disgusted grimace, "All yours, buddy."

He didn't have to tell twice, Bulkhead lifted the weakened Decepticon like it was a microfiber pillow, spun him around and threw him into the freshly opened ground-bridge portal flawlessly.

"Huh," I finally let out that breath I've been withholding and finally stepped around the corner with a similarly relieved Mercy on my side.

"Nice job," Wheeljack turned towards his friend in amusement, then to the others, "Sorry for that. It took me a while to get out of their ship."

"Haha, but you're finally here! The real you!" Bulkhead strangled the mech in a bear-hug, earning a forced chuckle from him.

"Uhuh, careful ya big lug."

Once Wheeljack was put down, he finally had time to get to know the others.

"I guess second time's charm's better?" he shook hands with Ratchet, who nodded cautiously in return.

"Ratchet, the team's medic."

"Arcee."

"Beep, beep, boop."

"Oh and they are our Neutral friends," Bulkhead gestured towards us with a big smile and I forced a small smile.

"I'm Crossflare and she is Mercy. Nice to meet you."

"Same, ladies. But what brings two Neutrals to an Autobot base?" he inquired, curiously measuring us with his optics.

"It's complicated. We are not staying for long," I answered flatly, which earned me a surprised raise of his optic ridge in return.

Halo POV

I missed all the action and the fact that Mercy told everything afterwards didn't help my disappointment. Finally something interesting happened, and where was I? Lying on a medical berth alone in the med-bay and nobody heard my yells. Great, my luck. The new guy turned out to be a fraud and now the real Wheeljack has arrived. I didn't notice too much difference but it wasn't the first thing on my mind at the moment.

Ratchet released me with a disapproving sigh and I slowly sat up, rubbing my itching wrists. Oh, finally! Freedom.

"Are you sure you want to go now?" he asked once again and Crossflare nodded firmly from the doorway where she stood.

"After everything that happened it's best we are not in your way. We've been living on your supplies long enough anyway. It's only fair we leave now."

"It's not like I'm stopping you," Ratchet held his servos up, signing that he had no intention to stand in our way. Then he grabbed a few smaller bottles from the counter and put them into Crossflare's servo carefully.

"Must be injected once a day. She shouldn't transform for three more days and even after she feels completely healthy, she must move carefully."

"I will see it done," my friend sent a knowing smile in my direction, making me shudder. It seems my ultimate freedom was still far from reach. But at least I'm not tied to a berth anymore.

With my friends' help I limped out into the command center and Ratchet passed by us to continue his repair work on Wheeljack's ship, which was small enough to fit inside the base. Miko's guitar solo filled the air again and I smiled at the sight of the kids and Bumblebee dancing together. When was the last time the three of us had fun like they do now? I can't even remember. We truly need to change our lives once we get home.

Before I could have joined in - or at least try - the kids suddenly dashed in the Prime's and Wheeljack's direction and we heard Miko ask:

"Wait, you are leaving? Why?"

The question was meant towards Wheeljack which confused me greatly. Why would he go away? He is an Autobot and he would surely want to stay with his friend, right?

"Because some bots never change," Bulkhead answered with a disappointed sigh.

"Wheeljack, know that you'll always have a haven here," Optimus assured the mech, not intent to change Wheeljack's mind which I found strange. The Autobot leader could keep his soldiers here by order, couldn't he?

"Jackie never stays, but he always comes back," Bulkhead hit his friend in the back and they bumped their fists together like good friends would.

Naah, I wish I could do such things with CF or Mercy. But neither of them were types like that.

"Anyway, heard ya plan to leave as well," Wheeljack turned towards us, "Wanna join? I could take ya home with my Jackhammer."

Just before Mercy and I could have yelled a loud 'Yes, it would be awesome!', Crossflare kindly rejected the offer, making both of us pout in disappointment.

"Thank you, but the shortest way for us is just a ground-bridge away," she said and sent a meaningful glance towards Ratchet who understood the request and quickly went over to the controller.

"Hmph," the mech chuckled and raised his servos in an innocent manner, "That's too bad, miss. I was just tryin' to be nice."

The portal opened for us, coordinates set on a small town's suburbs in New Mexico, our current home.

"Crossflare, what I've said to Wheeljack also includes you. We will always be here to aid you in any need," Optimus called after us and we glanced back, nodding, accepting his kind promise with an appreciative but reserved smile.

Before turning around to leave once and for all, my gaze fell on the kids. The disappointment was evident on their faces. Poor children, they lose four new friends on the same day. I waved a hand in Miko's direction which she sadly returned, then I lost them from sight.

The portal closed behind our backs once our pedes stepped onto the dusty road on the other side. The sun already set near a large wooden house beside an even larger hangar.

"Home, sweet home," Crossflare smiled in satisfaction and helped me limp to the automatically opening gate of the hangar. Our stations were waiting clean and ready for us to recharge, our human-made but Cybertronian-sized computers quietly hummed at the other end of the wide room next to our almost empty containers which housed our energon supplies. Just as we left it a week ago.

"Did we really have to come back sooner?" Mercy finally put up the question that my mouth itched to ask.

Crossflare sat me down on the small platform beside my station and sighed as she straightened back to her full height.

"You know well why I chose to return now," she said, trying to avoid a possible quarrel between us.

"Yes, we know. Because a small misunderstanding happened and you thought it's not safe to stay anymore. But CF, come on! They solved the problem!"

"Halo is right, just a few days more and..." Mercy continued but Crossflare had enough.

"And what? A few more and a few more again? Then stay there forever?" she snapped, angrily glaring at us as if we've committed a crime, "I should've known it's a bad idea to even accept their help."

"But without Ratchet's medical help Halo wouldn't have healed," Mercy pointed out and I nodded in agreement.

"And a little change can't hurt sometimes. Look at us, we have been starving for some social interaction!" I continued.

Crossflare fell into silence, her expression dark and disappointed. She didn't need to say anything for us to understand what was going through her head. I could see the reason she would act like this but I wanted her to see things from our perspective. We can't hide and close on ourselves like a shell forever.

"Who am I trying to convince?" she shook her head, turning away, "You are both grown up. I can't force anything on you. But we chose not to involve ourselves in their war. We chose neutrality. We must keep ourselves to our promises."

Mercy and I exchanged looks. She had a point. She just wanted to keep us safe. But was it so bad to wish we were part of a bigger community? Not related to the war, only to people...others of our own kind. Was that so much to ask?

The uncomfortable silence was broken when the small human-sized door opened and a tall man entered, with his familiar messy brown hair and green eyes. One of his legs was replaced by a prosthetic one and he slightly limped, but otherwise he had a sporty figure and was at the top of his health. The relief in his expression could be clearly seen even in the evening environment.

"Alright girls, what brings you home? You've been away for how long? A full week!" he threw his arms up in frustration, almost in a scolding manner.

"Sorry James," I sent him an innocent grin and showed a thumbs-up, "We came back in one piece!"

"One piece, my ass. What is that?," James pointed towards my back with a you can't deceive me look.

"Just a scratch," I waved a servo casually.

He shook his head in a disapproving manner and passed by us to catch up with Crossflare who wasn't in the mood to face us and occupied herself in the back off the room by the blue screens of our computers.

"So what happened, big girl?" he patted the side of her ped, looking up at her with a curious expression.

"Ask them. They will surely entertain you with stories," she mumbled quietly and continued typing as if our human companion wasn't even there.

"What's her problem?" he came back to us. Even he learned that it's best to leave CF alone when she was pissed off. There is nothing scarier than an angry Crossflare. Seriously.

"We like our new friends when we shouldn't," I dropped my chin in my palm and Mercy shared a helpless smile with me.

"Uh-uh. Be careful girls, I can't shield you from your war once you join it," he pointed out, his expression getting serious.

"We know. That's why we...have to forget what happened," Mercy lowered her head, sadly looking away.

"Yeah. It's not like we have a choice," I mumbled sourly.

Or do we?

Mercy POV

The chirping of birds outside was always a nice sound to wake up to. Transforming back to my bipedal mode, I stretched my limbs and went outside to see the sun rise slowly over the mountains. I liked these quiet, peaceful mornings but somehow I missed coming online within the walls of the Autobot base where friends welcomed me in the command center.

Funny how a one week long experience can burn into your memory bank and make you feel out of place in your own home. But we were back and we had to concentrate on our next mission.

Poor Halo awakened grumpily. She complained about having to sleep on her back in bipedal mode because she is not allowed to transform yet. I chuckled while listening to her bickering with Crossflare who tried to inject the medicine Ratchet has given her into Halo's energon line.

"Ouch!" she bit into her lower lip when Crossflare finally caught her arm.

"If you continue to act like a little sparkling, nobody will take you seriously," CF gently injected the medicine, then patted Halo's shoulder and put the syringe away.

Halo stuck her tongue out when CF wasn't looking and I covered my mouth with a servo to hide my quiet laugh. Yeah, things seemed to fall back into normal routine.

Halo was left in James' care until Crossflare and I returned. I rarely left our base in my alt-mode which was a black and white windowless jet*. I was smaller than the actual model I borrowed my form from. It was a private jet and not built for military purposes. I had amorphous solar panels and my exterior was designed to give a panoramic view from the inside but it was useless since no human has ever traveled inside me yet. I've kept the black and white color scheme and added some extra jade green decor on my horns, the matching color of my optics and biolights which were a natural part of my black protoform from my neck down to my pelvis.

Crossflare said white wasn't the best choice of color but I wouldn't change it for now. Compared to me, her plum purple exterior stood out more. She was more rounder than any of us, being a humble Volvo S90 to fit into the average picture of our surroundings. She didn't have as many biolights as I did, but hers had a soft pink color like her optics.

When it comes to choosing good disguise colors, Halo wins. She was almost completely grey, save from the few black parts of her Ford XR6 Turbo Sprint alt-mode. She was also very thin in bipedal mode, even for a car. Halo often mentioned how she wishes to see things from my perspective, from above the clouds. They were both grounders from creation, only I was created airborne, but it seems Halo wasn't satisfied with her given form. I could see why she would want to travel the skies...it's a completely different world.

Focusing back on the task in hand, I descended slightly in the air to stay out of radar and see Crossflare's car form underneath. She drew a nice line of dust behind her as she stormed through the dirt with a small trailer tied to her.

Just a little bit longer and we can refill our supplies. Hopefully.

Crossflare POV

The coordinates Ratchet has provided us with fell far from our home but in the end it was worth the effort to drive farther than what we were used to. The first mine in ages which had more than two small tunnels full of crystals. How can Decepticons do such shallow work? Even if their drillers don't fit in, they shouldn't just leave such treasure behind! Not like we minded right now. We were happy to find something at last.

After inspecting the place a bit more thoroughly, I realized that they left these rooms alone because the support of the stone pillars weren't stable enough. Good reason. I warned Mercy to be careful as well. We don't need a mine collapse on us in the middle of our digging work.

We packed our trailer full, which was a relief, then we headed back at the brink of exhaustion. In the next few days this became a daily routine. Drive, mine, drive home. Nothing disturbed us and I was grateful for the good fortune.

Up until our peaceful days came to end the next week.

"What do you mean she just left?!" I turned the whole yard upside down and ordered Mercy to search from the sky.

"She jogged out not long after you two had left and just drove off! I couldn't even ask where she was going!" James threw his hands up helplessly while trying to keep up with me as I ran around worriedly.

"I thought she only goes for a drive and returns but I haven't seen her since then," he continued and my spark only pulsed faster with each second. How long was Halo out there then? Eight hours? Or more? Something must have happened to her.

Just yesterday she performed a flawless transformation without pain and I finally let her walk around and she was relieved of medical monitoring. She was healthy and good as new. I shouldn't have left her behind today. I should've known she will take the opportunity to go on a ride of her own.

The sound of an approaching car's engine drew our attention to the road. It led here from town. I let out a big sigh once I recognized the car in the sunset. Halo rolled into the yard and happily beeped. Her front door opened and a familiar female human stepped out, throwing a backpack on one shoulder casually.

"Thanks for the ride, girl," Amy patted Halo's hood and walked over to a similarly relieved James. Amy has been living here ever since James and her got engaged. They were basically sparkmates, but not bondmates yet, if we understood correctly. So it was natural that she also learned the big secret: sentient alien mechanical beings from Cybertron live in the backyard of her fiancé. But she took the news surprisingly well, better than we initially expected and she turned out to be trustworthy when it came to keeping secrets.

"What's with your car?" after a quick kiss on the lips James looked over to the transforming Halo in confusion who stretched her limbs with a tired yawn.

"Defect. I called Halo to give me a lift. I thought she would be happy to help out," Amy winked an eye in said troublemaker's direction who winked in response cheekily.

"Where have you been all day?" I stepped forward with my arms folded over my chest, causing Halo to drop the casual attitude.

"Sorry, sorry...I erm...I was out for a drive."

"All day?" I repeated impatiently.

"I stopped here and there...visited a drive-in-theater, watched a movie...it was good to move out," she lowered her gaze penitently, then she looked up with big puppy optics, "Can't I? After all the confinement and everything I totally deserved it!"

I couldn't keep a straight face for long. My expression softened admitting that she was right, so I nodded with a sigh.

"Okay, but next time don't leave without a word."

"Thank you!" she hugged me with newfound enthusiasm, then ran away towards the wash racks. Mercy, who just returned from the search, watched her go with a confused expression, then both of us shrugged and followed her, leaving our human companions alone.

The following day Halo was the first to wake up. She left early just like yesterday but she at least informed us first before she went on her own adventures. Then she made a routine of this for the rest of the week. Mercy and I were aware that there would be days when she would roam alone, undisturbed and would then return with a clear mind but she never repeated this routine for days long.

I started to get worried about her. What was on her mind? Why wouldn't she tell us? Usually, if something was on her spark, the first person she shared it with was me. Maybe I've been too strict about the Autobots. But what should have I done?

A week later I decided to go after her. Mercy and I returned sooner than we previously did and I drove down the road where Halo usually disappeared. We might meet on her way back. As I wondered, lost in my own thoughts, I failed to react immediately when a flash of light blinded me for a second and I pressed my brakes just in time, watching as a whirling portal opened right in front of my nose.

"What on Cybertron...?" I murmured, alarmed, wondering who was at the other end of the portal and why would anyone open a bridge for me.

Then my spark stopped when I recognized Halo's form hopping through casually. The portal closed behind her and I could only stare at her in shock and horror.

"Ooh scrap..." she muttered, realizing who was right in front of her just a few meters away.

*Mercy's alt-mode: IXION windowless jet

Uhuh, I know what you think. That's it for now. Those who know the first version may be surprised to see Wheeljack introduced at the beginning, but after considering the plot changes later, I found it more appropriate to introduce him here.

Thanks for reading and see y'all later!