A story I did for cecebeec, who owns AK-18 and Selena and helped me out with this story. Here you go, Amiga! Enjoy! :)

Ben 10 belongs to Cartoon Network and Man of Action. Transformers Animated belongs to Hasbro. I only own Rachel and Vampiro.

Searching For The Perfect Gifts In Another World

Rachel, Whampire, and Vampiro were in the living room putting wrapped presents under the large tree and smiling as they looked at their handiwork. "This is going to be an amazing Christmas this year," Rachel said. "We've got two trees up and decorations everywhere and best of all, our whole family is here too."

"Very true," Whampire said with a smile, placing another gift under the tree. "And I'm eager to see the looks on the children's faces on Christmas Day, especially those who have been adopted earlier this year."

"I agree," Vampiro said. "No doubt we'll hear them waking up and running all over the house waking us all up early in the morning."

They all chuckled at that. "The older kids have been helping the younger kids not wake us up so early though," Rachel said with a smile. "Although they love getting us up to go open presents on Christmas Day and to enjoy being around family."

As they continued putting presents under the tree, Chromastone came into the room and he smiled. "Makes me think of Christmas at your uncles' place long time back, Rachel," he said.

She smiled. "I do vaguely remember that," she said. "Didn't I tell you we had to sneak downstairs so we wouldn't alert Santa and it had to be very late?"

"Ah, yes," he said with a chuckle. "It was the time you had a special Christmas wish. You didn't want anything except for your little sister to be happy and had written to Santa asking him to give her all the presents, as seeing her happy was all you wanted."

Whampire smiled. "I do remember my angel telling me that story," he said. "And in the morning, there were so many presents under the tree that they were like mountains, yes?"

Rachel giggled as she fondly recalled. "Yes," she said. "Well, at least to a four-year-old they were like mountains."

Vampiro smiled. "Your selflessness was rewarded that day," he said.

"And the best reward was seeing my little sister smile."

A knock on the door surprised them and Rachel got up to answer the door and found Selena, one of her good friends, on the doorstep and in tears. "Selena?" She asked. "What happened, hon?"

"Please tell me you've seen AK," the young woman begged her.

"No, I haven't, hon," Rachel answered. "What happened?"

Selena's shoulders slumped and she looked ready to break down crying again. "He's been gone for two days," she replied before her voice broke. Instantly, Rachel gently pulled her inside the house and to the living room, guiding her to sit on the couch. Chromastone instantly went to make some tea for their guest and Whampire draped a blanket over Selena's shoulders while Vampiro placed a comforting hand on her back and she managed to get herself a bit calmer to explain.

"A couple days ago, a Plumber transport beam went haywire and AK got caught up in it and disappeared, but he didn't show up at Plumber HQ," she said. "I've been looking all over for him, but haven't found anything. Even the rest of my family is watching the news closely, but nothing's come up for two days."

Rachel gently placed her hands over Selena's in comfort, knowing how close her friend was to the robot who had long ago been her protector before being lost to her and finally returning after so many years. Selena was fearful that she had lost him again and it hurt deeper now because the robot was a huge part of her family. "Do you want me to call my friends and ask them to search?" She asked the young woman.

Selena looked hopeful. "Would you do that? Please?" She asked.

Nodding, the owner of the Grant Mansion went to make the calls while Chromastone came in with the cup of tea for Selena and handed it to her. She gave him a grateful nod and sipped the tea while they gathered in the living room to wait and see if maybe any of their friends had seen the young woman's bodyguard.

AK-18 glanced around, his sensors working hard as he saw he landed in a place where robots were everywhere and seemed to match the population of humans in the town he was currently in. After a moment, he decided he'd have no trouble blending in if he just walked down the street, although many did stop and stare for a bit as he was a different-looking robot than they had seen before.

He noticed the holiday decorations and quickly looked in his database to match them and found it, his computer telling him the town was decorated for Christmas, a holiday he recognized from his own family celebrating it. Speaking of which, he had been thinking about buying Christmas presents for his family and so set about to look at the shops and street vendors. A few looked a bit nervous about having an unfamiliar robot looking at their displays, but noted how he gave a friendly wave before moving on, making them assume he was simply shopping for his owner perhaps.

AK walked on until he found a ninja play set that he knew Selena's daughter would love. "Inquiry: How much?" He asked the young man who looked slightly nervous, but answered.

"$1.00, sir," he replied with a small stutter.

The robot paid the amount. "Acknowledged. AK-18: wish you a good day."

He continued shopping and found the rest of the family gifts, storing them safely inside some of his compartments until he heard screams and turned to find a young girl running away from what looked like a robot like himself, but who was darker and had red eyes.

While AK wasn't one to judge someone by appearance, his scanners got to work and identified the robot as a threat, especially with how he was taking aim at a young defenseless girl that reminded him of Selena's daughter. Activating his weapons, he waited until the girl was near him before he scooped her up and fired rapidly at the evil robot, who cried out in shock.

"Who dares to fire upon Starscream, leader of the Decepticons?!" The robot asked.

"Answer: I dare. Evil robot: Have big mouth," the misplaced robot answered. The young girl in his other arm giggled at that, seemingly not afraid of him, but rather holding onto him.

"You tell him, big guy," she said to him. "Kick his over-sized tin can!"

"AK-18: Plans to do just that. Little girl: Hold on tight."

One would think that AK was at a disadvantage because he had never faced an enemy like this one before, but that didn't make him flinch. His scanners kept working to find weak spots and avoid enemy blasts effectively, landing an effective hit on Starscream a moment later, one that actually surprised the seeker and made him afraid. "I must retreat!" He cried out before glaring at his enemy. "But I'll be back!"

"AK-18: Will blast you out of sky if you return," was the response.

Just then, six other vehicles came racing up and transformed, surprising AK, who instantly turned to face them, keeping the young girl shielded at the same time. "Wait, it's okay," she said to him. "They're not in league with that creep you just fought."

He turned to her. "Inquiry: You know who these robots are?" He asked.

She nodded. "They're my best friends."

Sensing her to be truthful, AK gently set her down and she ran to a yellow robot, who picked her up. "Sari, are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine, Bumblebee," she said and indicated to her new friend. "He saved me from Starscream."

Hearing that, Optimus Prime stepped forward. Sensing he wasn't a threat, AK powered down his weapons. "Don't know who you are, but thank you for saving Sari," he said. "I'm Optimus Prime."

"Designation: AK-18," the misplaced robot replied. "AK-18: Following programming to protect innocent lives."

Prowl narrowed his optics, but nodded. "He's not Cybertronian, but he is sentient like us," he said.

"Wonder where he came from?" Jazz asked curiously.

Later on, back at base, as Sari was showing AK the Christmas decorations and the two were telling each other plans about how to spend the holiday with their family, Jazz felt his comm ring and he answered it, recognizing the number to be Rachel's. "Well, hello, Miss Rachel. Merry Christmas," he replied.

"Merry Christmas, Jazz," she said with a smile before her voice grew serious. "Jazz, can you and the Autobots do me a huge favor for a friend?"

"Of course," he said. "What's up?"

"I have a friend here who has a family that's similar to mine and a dear friend of hers has gone missing. He's a robot that goes by the name AK-18," Rachel explained.

Jazz perked up. "AK-18?" He repeated and then looked at the robot talking to Sari and caught another name in the conversation. "His friend wouldn't happen to be someone named Selena, would it?"

The blonde woman instantly perked up, gripping the phone in her hand. "Yes!" She replied urgently. "You've seen him?"

"He's here at our base. He rescued Sari from Starscream," the white ninja explained. "But he's looking to get back home, from the sounds of it. He told us he had a family waiting for him."

Rachel could have touched the sky as relief coursed through her. "Selena will be so happy to know he's alright," she said. "Could you bring him by the Mansion later?"

"We'll be there shortly."

Signing off, the young woman raced to the living room and went up to Selena. "Honey, I've got great news," she said to her.

The young woman looked at her hopefully. "You've found AK?" She asked, hope rising in her voice.

"Some friends of mine did," Rachel explained. "AK got transported to their world and saved their human charge from their enemy. One of them is going to bring him back here soon."

Selena's eyes lit up and tears of relief fell down her face. "He's okay?" She asked.

The owner of the Grant Mansion nodded. "He's okay," she said. She then heard a car engine and looked out the window and smiled. "In fact, he's outside right now."

Hearing that, Selena jumped up and raced for the door, opening the door and bursting out into the somewhat cold air, but she didn't care for that. "AK!" She cried out in relief.

The large robot kneeled down and opened his arms, catching her as she jumped up at him to hug him. He returned the hug, holding her to his warm armor. "AK-18: Happy to see Selena again too," he said, the joy obvious in his voice.

Rachel hugged Jazz, who returned her hug. "Thank you so much, Jazz," she said. "I was really worried when Selena told me he was missing."

The white ninja smiled. "He was worried too about getting back to his family," he said, watching as Selena was practically glued to AK, whose arms engulfed the young woman gently, holding her as if she was his daughter. "He's really fond of her."

"He's her bodyguard and closest friend," the young woman responded. "They were separated a long time ago for many years until finding each other again a little over a year ago."

The other two came over and AK extended his hand to Jazz. "AK-18: Grateful to new friends. Objective: Completed," he said.

Selena looked up at him. "What objective?" She asked.

"Mission: Find perfect gifts for family in new world. Impromptu trip: Not planned, but worked out. AK-18: Back home with family in time for Christmas."

"Speaking of which, I've got to get back to my mate and daughter," Jazz said with a smile. "Merry Christmas to you all."

"Merry Christmas, Jazz," Rachel responded and Selena echoed the statement as the Autobot headed back for home and AK turned to Rachel.

"AK-18: Grateful to Rachel Jocklin for helping Selena," he said to her.

"You're welcome, big guy," she said. "You guys take care and Merry Christmas."

They wished her the same and the robot carried Selena back home and she hugged him again. "You had me worried, big guy," she said to him.

"AK-18: Will never abandon family. Promise," he said, hugging her back.

"I know you won't," she said with a smile. "Come on, let's go get those gifts wrapped before the others see us. Can't let them see their Christmas presents yet."

Agreeing, they were soon home and AK learned how to wrap presents and soon added them to the tree, a new emotion filling him.

He couldn't wait to see his family's faces when they opened the gifts on Christmas Day.

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GoldGuardian2418