Disclaimer: Hey guys. I hope all of you are well in these uncertain times. I know I've been absent for a while. As many of you probably know, senior year is stressful. College apps are stressful. Scholarships ... let's not even go there. And then ... COVID-19. As I begin to gather my bearings again, I hope I can get back to my stories full swing. For real this time. We'll see how this goes. I bring you a new update filled with Shayla and Nexus!

Nexus: Because she hasn't said it in a while, Authoress does not own Transformers Prime. She merely owns her OC's and any plot changes that may occur.

"But..!"

"No!"

"Nexus!"

"NO SHAY! That's final!"

I huffed and glared at Nexus. He simply raised an eyebrow, daring me to challenge him. Currently we were deep inside base where nobody could hear us. What were we arguing about, you ask? Today was the day MECH made their debut. I wanted to go with Fowler and the 'Bots to make sure everything stayed on track. Nexus immediately shut me down, saying it was too dangerous and that he would go while I stayed with the kids.

The kids would be ground bridged on to a moving train and he thought that was safer than being with the 'Bots?!

"You can't be serious." I rolled my eyes.

"But I am." Nexus retorted. "The kids won't interact with MECH much in this episode. This is real life, not the show. We don't know how ruthless they really are and we're changing enough here as it is."

I sighed. "Fine."

Nexus stared at me for a second before his face softened and he said, "You can't go everywhere with him Shay. Cliff's going to be fine, I promise."

"I know he will." I mumbled before I started to walk back towards the main room. Nexus opened his mouth to speak but he chose to stay silent and follow me.

We made it back to the main room where everyone was doing their own thing. I knew I shouldn't be mad at Nexus. After all, he was just trying to protect me. Lately, I've just been really protective of Cliff. Paranoia sets in pretty quick when you save a dead guy.

Speaking of Cliff, the red mech smiled at me as I walked towards him. He gave me a boost and soon I found myself in my familiar spot on his shoulder. He turned to me and asked, "So Shay, what misadventures are we scheduled to go on today?" He made sure to keep his voice down since the other members of Team Prime didn't know about Nexus and I yet.

"You'll see." I crossed my arms.

My guardian frowned at me. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." I shook my head quickly, not wanting him worrying about me. "I just don't like what's about to happen today."

Cliff opened his mouth to question me further, but he was interrupted by a shout of, "PRIMEEEE!"

"Special Agent Fowler, to what do we owe..." Optimus began to respond as he walked forward with Arcee behind him.

"What else? 'Cons!" Fowler cut him off angrily. "I chased them off with some hard ordinance but not before they blew me out of the sky!"

"Us out of the sky you mean." Ice drawled.

I raised an eyebrow. Both of them were delivering the D.N.G.S? This was going to be interesting.

"Again?" Miko snickered from her place by the railing with Jack and Raf.

"They tried to make a smash and grab for the D.N.G.S." Fowler continued to explain.

"The whatsit?" Arcee titled her helm.

"Dynamic Nuclear Generation System, aka D.N.G.S." Fowler sighed as he showed us a picture of said device. "It's a prototype energy source I'm porting to the coast for testing."

"That's absurd. Why would Starscream bother with such primitive technology?" Ratchet scoffed.

"I'm guessing to make a big fat primitive weapon of mass destruction Doc." Ice shot back sarcastically. "If this baby were to melt down, it would irradiate this state and the four next door."

"Um, did Agent Fowler say what state he was currently in?" Raf asked us nervously.

"No Raf, I don't think he did." Nexus said nervously.

"I'm a sitting duck here, Prime." Fowler stated. "I need you to spin up your bridge and send the D.N.G.S. to its destination before the 'Cons come back for it."

"That's why you called them?! Fowler, are you insane?!" Ice yelled.

"I'm afraid that sending such a volatile device through a ground bridge is out of the question. If there were to be an accident during its transmission, the radiation of which you speak could propagate through the ground bridge vortex and harm all 50 states ... and beyond." Optimus immediately shot down that idea.

"You got any better ideas?" Fowler immediately threw his idea away.

"If I may..." Nexus trailed off as all eyes and optics went to him. I sighed. Here we go again.

Nexus 3rd P.O.V

"Road trip!" Cliff cheered as the Prime climbed inside of him.

"Calm down Cliff." Nexus rolled his eyes as he sat in the driver's seat.

Fowler walked up to the window and raised an eyebrow. "Why are you here again?"

"This was my idea." Nexus said as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

Fowler made to retort, but Ice cut him off. "Boss, just let it be. Just this once won't hurt anybody."

Fowler merely sighed before walking over to Optimus. Ice nodded at Nexus before following him. Nexus still couldn't figure out why Shay's OC's were popping up in the Prime universe. He was expecting some changes, but for made up characters to suddenly come to life before his eyes? That threw him for a loop and he wasn't sure if he liked it.

"Earth to Nexus." Cliff's voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he turned to the dashboard. "Slag, first Shayla and now you're zoning out on me? What's with you two today?"

"I may have had something to do with Shay." Nexus rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

Before Cliff could respond, Optimus' voice came over the com-link. "Autobots, roll out!"

Cliffjumper started his engine and soon Team Prime was on the road. Nexus hoped he would forget the previous conversation, but his hope vanished when Cliff shut off his com-link and said, "Talk. Now."

Nexus winced at the fierce protectiveness oozing from the mech's voice. Even though he technically was guarding both of them, Cliff was really Shayla's guardian and anyone with eyes, or optics, could see how close the two were. The bond they shared had become more than guardian and charge. You could say they had a brother and sister bond.

If this was the case, Nexus was on the end of a very fragged off brother.

"She wanted to come with and I wouldn't let her." The Prime quickly defended himself. "What's happening today is too dangerous."

"And here you are." Cliff couldn't help but remark. "But I get why you thought she should stay behind. We are transporting a highly volatile device after all."

"I'm the adult. It's kind of my job to do the hard stuff." Nexus shrugged. "But the device isn't what I meant."

"Cons?" Cliff asked in surprise.

"Not exactly." Nexus debated over whether or not he should say anything. "If I told you what's going to happen, it might not happen."

"Stupid timeline. Stupid potential disastrous events. " Cliffjumper grumbled. "Wait who are these punks?"

Nexus checked the rearview mirrors and saw the MECH ground units. He sighed. "And let the show begin."

"That's him! The 'Con that shot me down! Who is he? Wingnut? Dingbat? Skyguy?" Fowler yelled over the com-link.

"I sincerely feel sorry for any Cybertronian with those names." Ice snickered.

"Watch your rearviews." Bulkhead advised.

Nexus glanced out of the window to see the MECH cars start to surround Bulkhead. He quickly leaned back inside of Cliff's vehicle mode, not wanting to draw attention to himself.

"Feeling a little constricted without the use of my fist here, boss." Bulkhead said warily.

"Remain in vehicular mode unless absolutely necessary." Optimus ordered.

The MECH soldiers formed a box around Bulkhead, inhibiting him from trying to pass them. As of now, there seemed to be a total of four cars. Nexus noted that the helicopter with Silas hadn't appeared yet.

"A whole team of 'Cons." Fowler commented.

"Boss, I hate to say it, but they don't look like Decepticons." Ice observed.

"What?! I'm not picking up anything." Ratchet said from back at base. "They must be utilizing a cloaking technology."

Nexus felt Cliff tighten the seat-belt around him. One of the MECH vehicles had passed them to jump in front of Bumblebee. 'Bee tried switching lanes, but he couldn't shake the guy. The sound of helicopter blades drew Nexus' attention. He glanced in the rearview mirror to see Silas staring down at them from the chopper. Another car suddenly sped past him, making him duck. He looked up again to see the driver trying to align with Optimus' trailer.

The sunroof of the car slid back, and a MECH soldier appeared with a gun. "Pull over!"

"Here we go." Nexus muttered.

"Well, I'll be dipped!" Fowler shouted.

"What's happening?" Shayla asked.

"Our assailants are not Decepticon," Optimus began. "They are human."

"Humans?!" Jack and Raf chorused in shock.

"Oh please," Miko scoffed. "Taking on our 'Bots? They're roadkill!"

Nexus looked up to see the gunman getting ready to fire. "Optimus, look out!"

Optimus quickly swerved and bumped the MECH vehicle. While their car was swerving, he took the opportunity to try and get ahead. Nexus decided to steal a line or two. "Who are these guys?"

"Wouldn't you like to know." Cliff couldn't help but turn his com-link off to make the remark. He then turned it back on while Nexus glared at his dashboard.

"Autobots, maintain your cover and apply minimal force. Disarmament only." Optimus commanded.

A MECH operative drove on the right side of Optimus' trailer. He held what Nexus assumed couldn't be more than a stun gun, since it appeared they wanted to get inside the trailer. The older Prime smirked when Bumblebee suddenly backed up and rammed the car off the highway. The MECH vehicle bounced off the cliff face before flipping over a few times. They were down for the count and were probably sporting concussions. Ice cackled over the com-link.

"You're sick." Fowler deadpanned.

"Don't I know it." Ice quipped before continuing to laugh.

Nexus watched as another car pulled up beside Optimus. A MECH soldier jumped out of the car and on to Optimus' trailer to begin trying to unhitch it. Nexus opened his mouth to say something, but, surprisingly, Cliff beat him to the punch.

"Bossbot! Bear right!" Cliff yelled.

Optimus did just that. The MECH car was out of commission but the soldier managed to stay on the trailer. Fowler opened the drivers door and began to inch his way down the side of the truck. Nexus hoped things would stay on course and that the government agent would be okay.

"I see why you didn't want Shay here." Cliff grunted.

"You're telling me." Nexus scoffed.

Just like in the show, Fowler didn't get much out of the soldier before he was snatched away by a tree branch. Fowler stared at the hand that held the soldier for a moment before sighing and climbing back inside of Optimus. Nexus became a bit worried though. He knew of a particular OC that Shay created who was involved with MECH, and he hoped to Primus that this universe hadn't flipped the script and put that OC against them.

Nexus jumped when the back of Optimus' trailer was blown off. The MECH soldier stood shakily on top of the car, preparing to jump. Cliff chuckled. "They won't know what hit them."

Arcee zoomed out the trailer and on top of the car, making the MECH soldiers cause the car to swerve out of control. She slid off the car and turned around to drive away. Behind her, the car flipped a few times before blowing up.

"Nice Arcee." Nexus couldn't help but compliment.

"I try." Arcee sounded like she would be shrugging.

"Optimus," Ratchet called. "Prepare to initiate phase two. Five miles ahead to the south, you will reach the rendezvous point."

The MECH cars were just following at a distance now. Nexus couldn't shake his unease though. The sound of the com-link switching off made him look up at the dashboard.

"So, what happens now?" Cliff asked.

"You keep asking me things I can't tell you." The Prime pointed out.

"Not even a hint?"

"What part of drastically changing the future did you not understand, Cliffjumper?"

"No need to bring out full names." Cliff chided. "It just sucks, you know? You and Shay are holding this big weight on your shoulders, and you can't share it with me. Her especially." Nexus raised an eyebrow. "Come on. I'm not blind. She's becoming more protective of me. Of us."

"Us?" Nexus questioned."

"Are you dense?" Cliff asked in surprise. "You can notice she's being protective of me, which I guess is why you two were arguing earlier, but you can't notice she's more protective of you t00? Besides Team Prime and the kids, Nex, you're all she's got in this world. You should think about that when you become quick to leave her behind."

Nexus grew silent at that. He really hadn't noticed Shayla was becoming more protective of him as well. It caused this weird feeling in his chest that he wasn't so sure he liked. It reminded him of an old ache from his past. This was one of those times he really hated his creator. Shayla was a teenager and somehow, someway, Primus had chosen her to save Cybertron.

Nexus still didn't know how they were suppose to do that.

"There's our destination point." Ice's voice broke him of his thoughts.

"Autobots, keep a tight formation." Optimus ordered.

Nexus gripped the seats tight as Cliff drove off-road. They followed the train into the tunnel with Bulkhead quickly shooting down the rocks to block the entrance. It was at that point Nexus realized Cliff was going to have to transform.

"Oh scrap." He muttered.

"You signed up for this. I'll try not to bounce you around too much." Cliffjumper chuckled.

"No you're not." Nexus deadpanned. He yelped as Cliff transformed around him and he gagged when he found himself sitting in his chest compartment.

Cliff ran to help out while Nexus sat and waited. His headlights, for some reason, did not become apart of his chest, so Nexus couldn't see what was going on. Where the headlights went was beyond him,and he's not sure he even wants to know. He grunted as Cliff was weighed down by something heavy; probably the D.N.G.S. He was relieved when Cliffjumper finally transformed again, and he was once more secure in the drivers seat.

"Now, was that so bad?" Cliff asked mockingly. Team Prime drove out of the tunnel and back on to the highway.

"Shove it." Nexus scowled, to which Cliffjumper laughed. Jet engines were heard. "Slag, I always forget the bad things."

"Air support? Ours or theirs?!" Fowler yelled.

"Cons?!" Cliff asked.

"Optimus, you have company." Ratchet confirmed.

"Missles!" Nexus warned.

The eradicons had fired on them. He yelped as Cliffjumper swerved to avoid getting hit. Optimus' trailer was lost and took the hit for them. The trailer went up in flames, and Nexus knew that Silas was about to get wise to the plan. The eradicons had cornered them in a clearing with Silas' helicopter hovering above them.

"Agent Fowler, I'm afraid if you and we are to survive, it has become absolutely necessary to drop our cover." Optimus said.

"Not again." Nexus groaned as Cliffjumper transformed around him. He took in a deep breath of air as he sat in Cliff's hand.

"Up and at 'em." Cliff sat the Prime beside Fowler on a nearby cliff.

"Both of you remain here." Optimus said firmly.

"No arguments here." Nexus raised his hands.

"After a long road trip," Bulkhead began to walk towards the drones. "It feels good to get out the car, stretch my legs, and kick some tailpipe!" The ex-wrecker brought out his wrecking ball and led the charge.

Nexus knew the rest of the day was about to be in the kids' hands. He just hoped Shay would be okay.

Shayla 1st P.O.V

So, I'd calmed down considerably since earlier.

I knew Nexus was just trying to protect me. But, after listening to everything that's been happening over the com-link all day, I was still positive he's been in a lot more danger than me. Can't he see that being one of the original thirteen Primes didn't make him invincible? If something happened to him and I was stuck figuring out this whole "saving Cybertron" slag on my own, I would ...

BOOM! I jumped and came back to reality. "Prime? PRIME!"

You have got to be kidding me. We were on this part already?

"Optimus is down!" Miko exclaimed.

"MECH's gonna grab the D.N.G.S." Jack realized. "We need to think of something quick!"

"You mean ... like a phase three?!" Raf panicked.

"Okay," I said, gaining everyone's attention. "If MECH wants the D.N.G.S, they have to get on the train."

"What if we get on board first? Run some human on human interference?" Miko punched at the air.

"Absolutely not." Ratchet immediately shut that idea down.

"Yeah, that would be suicide." Jack agreed.

"Surprisingly, I'm with Miko on this one." I shook my head, gaining surprised stares from Ratchet and Jack.

"Thank you, Shay." Miko threw her hands up. "Hellooooo, United States of meltdown! Lives are at stake!"

"Yes, yours!" Ratchet snapped. "You want me to not only bridge you into a confined space, but one travelling at ninety miles per hour?! I can't even count the number of ways that could go wrong. Mass-displacement trauma, twisted limbs, metal burn..."

We all gave him a blank look.

"Well, maybe not the last one." Ratchet grumbled. "Regardless, it is nearly impossible to fix ground bridge coordinates on something moving at that speed."

"Would it help if we had access to the train's coordinates?" Raf pulled up said coordinates on the monitor. I smirked at Ratchet, who scowled in return.

"Well..." He relented.

"Raf, you man the computers." Jack went into leader mode. "Miko, Shay, and I will go on the train."

"Hand me your phone right quick." Raf requested. At Jack's confused look, he elaborated, "I wanna try to put a com-link patch on there."

Jack handed our youngest his cell phone. Raf worked quick because after a few button pressing and a loading screen on his computer, he handed Jack's phone back to him. He said, "It should work. I guess we'll see when you go through the bridge."

Ratchet opened the ground bridge. "Do try not to get yourselves killed on my watch."

"We can only try." Miko couldn't help but comment. The medic scowled.

The three of us ran through the bridge and jumped out the other side. I yelped as I fell flat on my butt. I looked over to see that Miko and Jack shared similar positions of pain. We all shakily stood up.

"We're in." Jack tested the cell phone com-link.

"I read you Jack. The cellphone - com-link patch works!" Raf replied.

I stepped over the soldier who I knew had been electrocuted. I pushed open the train car door and looked up. I felt Jack and Miko come up behind me.

"Raf, MECH's trying to land on top of the train." I warned.

"In about twenty seconds, you're gonna come to a fork. Brace yourself." Raf advised.

We all gripped the walls of the train. I grunted when the train suddenly switched directions, and the helicopter was thrown off of the roof. However, I knew that Raf had been shut down by the pilot. The helicopter landed successfully this time, and we soon saw sparks fly as a hole started to form in the roof.

"What did that buy us? Ten seconds?" Jack sighed.

"Raf is losing his touch." Miko gulped.

The hole was almost finished. Miko grabbed a nearby ax, Jack grabbed the fire extinguisher, and I grabbed a taser Nexus had conjured up for times I couldn't use the laser gun. I will never understand "prime magic". Is it even magic? I shook myself out of my thoughts. Not the time Shay, not the time.

Three MECH soldiers stared down at us when the piece of the roof landed at our feet. We glared at them. Miko raised her ax. "You want of piece of this? Well, do ya?!"

"What she said." Jack quickly added.

"You feelin' lucky punks?" I channeled my inner Ironhide.

The soldiers stared at us before retreating, just like in the show. I relaxed. That meant Optimus was okay and following us. I looked at Jack and Miko before smiling. "We're pretty fierce."

"Couldn't have said it better myself." Miko looked quite proud of herself. Jack, on the other hand, rubbed his head sheepishly.

BANG!

I raced to the door and looked outside. I swore under my breath. Jack and Miko ran up beside me to look at what had caused me to look alarmed.

"WOAH!" Jack yelled before hurriedly taking his phone out. "Ratchet, MECH blew the train tracks. You have to bridge us out of here now! The soldiers too."

"We've lost access to the train data. I can't bridge you back without your coordinates!" Ratchet cried.

We all glanced at each other. Miko shrugged and asked, "Maybe we should jump?"

"At ninety mines per hour?!" Jack and I screamed in unison.

"It's the impact or the meltdown. Take your pick." Miko retorted.

"What were we thinking volunteering for this?" Jack groaned.

"Next time, you need to do a better job of talking us out of these situations." Miko rolled her eyes.

"Next time." Jack murmured dejectedly.

"We can buy ourselves another few seconds if we're in the back of the train, right?" I piped in nervously.

"Miko, Shayla," Jack took a deep breath. "At least, we're in this together."

Miko then proceeded to snatch his phone. "Raf, this is important!" Then, tearfully, "Make sure Bulkhead gets my guitar."

I glanced outside and perked up at the familiar sight of a red and blue semi. "Guys!"

Optimus sped past us, and we grinned at each other. Jack said, "Don't read the will just yet."

Optimus transformed and started trying to push back the train. Jack, Miko, and I quickly grabbed on to the door handles. The train screeched with the force Optimus was applying. For a moment, I thought this was it. I wasn't the one Primus was looking for. However, just before the track ended, Optimus made the train come to a halt and he stood up. He quickly looked back at us.

"All good here bossbot." I smiled gratefully, sighing in relief.

We hopped out of the car and landed on the ground at his feet. Silas was flying away when I looked up again. I narrowed my eyes behind my glasses; it was a long ways off, but this wasn't the last time we would be hearing from them.

"So, how was your day?" Nexus asked.

I looked up from my phone. He was standing in my bedroom door with a t-shirt and jogging pants while barefoot. His brown hair was wet, indicating he'd just gotten out the shower. I cleared my throat, realizing I was staring. I said, "Eventful, as I'm pretty sure yours was. Almost dying on a train can't possibly beat a road chase with MECH though."

"Can't say it does." Nexus admitted, coming to sit beside me. "Reading wattpad, I assume?"

I shrugged. "Fanfiction doesn't exist here. It's all I have left to read besides actual books."

Nexus winced, making me raise an eyebrow. He sighed, "It still bothers me sometimes. The fact that you were ripped from your old life."

"Hey," I said softly, making him stare me right in the eye. If I looked closely enough, I could see that his eyes held the faint glow of his Cybertronian form. "I chose to come with you, okay? Don't beat yourself up about it."

"How can I not?" He chuckled without humor. "You know, I was reminded today that it's both of our jobs to be protective of one another. Not just me trying to hover around you."

"We're learning." I gave him a wry smile, mentally reminding myself to thank Cliff for playing peacemaker. "We're in this together." I held out my fist.

"Together." Nexus agreed and returned my fist bump. He gave me that winning smile of his.

I had this weird feeling in my stomach. I ignored it and returned his smile before introducing him to the world of Wattpad. We curled up in my bed for the night, and I didn't think twice when he wrapped an arm around my shoulder.

That concludes this chapter of Opposites Attract. Shayla and Nexus are growing closer and navigating the road ahead. The next update will, hopefully, be sometime in the near future. Until next time, Shadow out!