A/N: Holy moly. Chapter one of the sequel is here. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO STUMBLED ONTO THIS: THIS STORY IS A SEQUEL. SEQUEL, SEQUEL, SEQUEL. Do NOT read this unless you have read Small Fry first. I mean, I guess you could since I can't physically stop you, but if you did literally none of this would make any sort of sense. Kay? Tell me what y'all think ;D

Chapter One:

Waking Up

"She was half a human and half a hurricane, a half that's living to destroy and a half that's trying to survive." –Vazaki Nada

The first thing that came to me was pain. Mind-numbing, nausea inducing, excruciating pain. My eyes snapped open, greeted by dim, warm colors, and I sucked in a lungful of dry, hot air. With the air came a handful of dust and I found myself trying to hack it all out. With every cough, my body moved creating aching waves to crash over me. Worse than that, with every movement jolting pain rocketed up my leg from my knee. What the fuck had happened? What the fuck was happening? Where the fuck was I?

With gritted teeth, I forced myself to sit up. This wouldn't be my first time waking up in pain in an unknown place. I had to get up, and I had to be ready. Someone from the ring could come back. They could come looking for more blood.

There was nothing around though. I was seated in the middle of an abandoned road. Weeds grew through the asphalt cracks, the ground on either side of the ground was dry cracked land with random patches of dead grass and more weeds, and as far as I could see in front of me was open sky and this single road traveling to nowhere. I let out a cry of pain as my knee ached again and slowly my mind started to catch up to my body.

I wasn't at the ring. I was far, far beyond the ring.

Boss was long dead and I was debt-free. I had been in Alabama. I had been… The memory of seeing the kids, the mechs, my sister, and her husband walking through the portal flashed through my mind. Arguing with two obviously powerful strangers, one man and one woman, followed after it. Finally, I remembered Morgan. The Reaper. I remembered him jumping on me, I remembered the explosion, and then I remembered…falling. I had been falling. Falling where though?

I glanced over my shoulder to see that I wasn't entirely in the middle of nowhere. About fifty feet behind me, off on the right side of the road, was a small gas station. Even from here I could see the shattered windows and dusty remains. It was abandoned, just like this road. It was an empty shell.

With a steadying breath, I tried to push myself up, but it was to no avail. The moment my knee moved even the slightest, pain hit me head on like a semi truck. My vision went black for a moment and I saw stars. It took a couple minutes to regain my head, but I realized that I wasn't going anywhere, anytime soon. I lifted one hand to probe at my knee, but I could only barely brush my fingertips over the area without wincing. My knee was clearly swollen. My right leg looked like someone had shoved an orange in my jeans. I groaned and let my eyes glance around until they landed on the dull orange sun that was fading behind the horizon.

This didn't make any sense.

Where the hell was I? What had happened?

"Hel-Help!" I screamed as loudly as I could, but my dry throat made my words crack and I winced again. I was parched. As parched as this strange, random desert I had fallen into.

I clenched my hands, and the flare of more pain made me remember my knee wasn't the only thing fucked up at the moment. My left hand still had a dark green sleeve wrapped around it, but the cloth was a dark red color now and stiff as a board. It had soaked up all that I bled and hardened. With a groan of frustration, I began to pull the useless cloth away from my wound. I cringed as it pulled at my sensitive skin, but I hurriedly ripped it off all the way with only a slight cry of pain.

The horizontal cut on my palm wasn't deep or large, but it'd sting for another week or so without a doubt. It was also the least of my worries. Somehow I had ended up in this desert and now somehow I had to get out of it.

I took in a handful of steadying breaths before using my hands to slowly pull myself back towards the gas station. It was agonizing to do it and after moving only a couple feet at the most I was tempted to just lie on my back and let the desert buzzards have me. Unluckily for me, I wasn't smart enough to just give up. I was just stubborn enough to force myself to keep going. Yay.

"Slag…" I groaned, dragging myself another couple inches, "I could be- pit… I could be grilling burgers with Josh but- fuck, shit… but no. Noooo, I had to be… a good…fragging…sister."

Muttering under my breath about how unfair the world and my life was truly made this entire experience even worse, but when had I ever been good at shutting the fuck up?

I had gotten halfway to the gas station when I had to stop. Panting for breath, I fell back onto the asphalt and just stared up at the sky, watching as the warm colors were slowing fading and giving way to the night sky. Sweat poured from my face and when I used my forearm to swipe it away it came back bloody. For the briefest second, I thought I was sweating blood and was going to add that to the list of 'huge fragging problems' I was dealing with. However, I remembered getting hit in the face and blood dripping down my nose. The sweat must have smeared with the dried blood I had on my face. Perfect. Just in case I didn't look enough like the walking dead.

The sound of thunder made me flinch. It sounded odd though. It was short rather than long and rumbling. There wasn't a cloud in the sky either so it wasn't going to storm. The odd sound of thunder had come out of nowhere. Was I hearing things or just losing my mind? Honestly, it could be either option at this point.

More noise came, a low rumbling and the whistling of air. It grew louder and the noise was finally recognizable. It was a jet. I gritted my teeth and forced myself to sit up again just in time to see a jet in the distance growing larger as it grew closer. Just as it looked like I was going to flattened by said jet, it began to shift mid-air. A slow smile graced my tired features as I recognized that shifting. It was one thing to see it happen in a small house, but to see it happen in grand scale? Metal twisted and turned faster than I could see and a familiar light blue seeker towered above me.

"Fuck." I breathed in relief as glowing maroon eyes stared down at me. He had to be a couple feet over 20 feet tall now. If I could stand I'd only barely reach over his knees. That's when it really hit me. Not watching him fly over or transform, but right now in this moment. If he was here, if I was in the same breathing space as Thundercracker, it meant somehow I was in the right universe. Somehow, I had crossed over. "TC…Oh God, TC, is it you? Is it actually you because I'm…I don't know…"

Thundercracker didn't move. He just stood there, staring at me, and I wondered if I was wrong. Maybe I wasn't in the right universe. Maybe, and with my garbage luck this was entirely possible, maybe I had crossed over to a universe where the mechs existed, but they didn't know me.

"Aj?"

Relief flooded my body and I began to laugh. With every heave of my chest, my body cried out in soreness, but I didn't give a damn. I laughed until tears streaked my cheeks. Thundercracker shifted, he knelt down in front of me, and I just stared at him in wonder. He was so fragging big. His wings stretched out on his back, the purple Decepticon insignia evident on both of them, and I could see my reflection faintly on the glass cockpit on his chest. His eyes were beginning to glow brighter, but that was probably only because the sun had disappeared a while ago and now the light was fading as well.

"How did you come here? We thought…"

"I don't have a fragging clue." I laughed again, "I woke up here maybe fifteen minutes ago-"

"Twenty-one minutes and forty-three seconds ago."

I nodded once, "Uh, yeah, that sounds right, I guess."

Thundercracker cracked a small smile, "That's when I could feel you over the bond again. I nearly fell out of the sky. It…startled me." His smile faltered as if he just thought of something, "Pain. I felt your pain. What happened?"

"I got kneecapped by this asshole the day after y'all left." I sighed and cringed as my happiness gave way for the pain to return. "I can't walk, TC. I don't even think I can stand."

"I can-" He began, but his words stopped as he suddenly stiffened. I watched as his wings slightly shifted up. His lips pressed together, "It's close. It must have caught your sight of your unguarded energy signature."

I shook my head, "What's close?"

"I have to pick you up, do not scream." Thundercracker ignored my question. I gave him a nod and braced myself as he quickly scooped me up off the ground. It was obvious that he was trying not to cause me pain, but the movement couldn't be helped and my vision went black again. When it returned I was gasping for air as Thundercracker's large hand was carefully setting me inside the gas station through a broken window. He put me down behind the counter, it was the only spot he could reach. "You must stay here."

"Wha-What? You can't leave me, TC!" I cried.

"I can't fight the drone while you're with me." He replied, "I will lead it away and come back. My coming back may not even be necessary…if I felt you then everyone else did too."

"TC-!"

The light was gone now and only his eyes stood out. He moved outside and suddenly he was holding something in his hand. It was blinking; bright blue, and he pressed it against the interior wall above my head. The blinking increased in speed until stopping entirely.

"It will hide your signature. Don't make any noise whatsoever." He paused and hesitantly spoke again, "It is…very good to see you again, Aj. You have… You have been missed."

"Thundercracker." I started again, but he walked away out of sight. I tried to lift myself up to see out the window, but it was too high up on the wall. The only way I'd see out of it was if I stood and that wasn't happening soon. I could suddenly hear the rumbling of an engine. It was a car, an expensive, powerful one by the sound of it, and it was approaching fast. The engine noise briefly stopped only to be replaced by the sound of metal hitting metal, hard. I slapped my hand over my mouth to bite back the squeal of surprise that threatened to spring out. The clashing of metal told me a fight was occurring, but then I could hear the telltale sound of the seeker transforming again.

Thundercracker took off, the loud jets gave it away, and then the sound of an engine returned. This time it was speeding away, growing quieter and quieter. The sound of Thundercracker's jets were beginning to fade away too. Soon, all I could hear was the sound of my own breathing.

I slunk back against the counter Thundercracker had set me against and tried to calm my swirling thoughts. What the hell had just happened? Thundercracker wasn't fighting an Autobot, I could take comfort in that, but what did he mean when he called it a drone? Drone sounded lifeless. It sounded robotic and soulless. So what exactly was happening?

The pain was catching up to me, the exhaustion too, and so I tiredly slumped to the ground with only a small flinch. From where I lay, I could see out the top of the window and the night sky came into my view. The lack of artificial light made every star in the sky fully visible. With slow breaths, I stared into the clusters and clouds of stars until my eyelids drooped shut.

This time it wasn't pain that woke me up, but instead it was light. My eyes flickered open only to quickly squeeze shut again as sunlight blinded me. I groaned and pushed myself up to the sunlight was no longer directly pouring into my eyes. It took a minute to gather my bearings because it felt like my head was filled with fog.

My body was far from happy. Everywhere was sore, every muscle down to every bone, and my throat was screaming for water. I could feel a headache forming right behind my eyes and the pain of that almost distracted me from the pain in my knee. Almost.

I glanced around in hopes to find something that could be used. The gas station was as abandoned as it had been last night only now it was filled with morning light. Every inch of the place was covered in a thick layer of dust and I couldn't help but cringe at the many spider webs I was surrounded by. I lifted my gaze upwards to spot the hunk of metal Thundercracker had pressed into the wall. The drywall around it was cracked from the force, but the strange metal dome had started blinking again.

Thundercracker.

He wasn't back. He said he would come back, but he wasn't here. The entire night had passed and that left me with a sickening worry in my gut. Was he ok? Did the fight end badly for him? It was silly, but I still felt responsible for his safety. Back home, it was my job to keep them safe and keep them undiscovered. The urge to protect him was still at the forefront of my mind which was ridiculous considering he was as big as a small building now.

I spent five minutes just sitting there ignoring my discomforts and hoping my jet friend would land right outside. That was as long as I could do that though. By the end of those five minutes, I was near tearing my hair out. I couldn't just sit here and do nothing. With a grunt, I pushed myself forward so I could open the cabinets under the front counter that I sat behind. The first was filled with empty boxes, a torn kitchen rag of sorts, and trash. The second had more of the same. The third cabinet, which was the longest, required me to shift over to the left more but it was well worth the effort. Inside was a wooden crate filled with old boxes. The boxes, like all the others, were useless to me, but the panels of wood that made up the crate could be used.

Bracing myself, I used my left leg to kick the crate. It took a few tries before the wood broke apart. I grabbed two medium sized pieces and set them in my lap before pulling myself back to the first cabinet for the kitchen towel. Carefully, I placed the wooden planks on either side of my knee. Then I took the kitchen towel and tied it around my calf and the wood. My teeth clenched together to bite back a cry of pain as I made it tight as possible. I pulled my belt off and did the same thing but this time I did it right above my knee, around my thigh.

The makeshift brace would keep me from bending my knee when I attempted the next part of the stupidest plan in the universe.

I took a shaky breath and raised my arms to grasp at the edge of the counter. Then, slowly, I pulled myself up to a standing position. I wasn't dumb enough to try and set weight on my right leg, so I kept one arm on the counter to use as a crutch of sorts.

The main area of the gas station looked like any other I had seen. The entire back wall was made of glass doors that used to store refrigerated drinks, but now it was empty and some of the doors were broken or missing. In the space between here and the back wall were four white aisle dividers that I assumed used to be filled with items. Now, however, the dividers were fallen and the only items I could see were more trash.

To my right was the front of the building. The front door was boarded shut, but the windows on either side were shattered open. To my left was the back of the station. It was a blank wall with a door that either led to bathrooms or outside.

With an irritated sigh, I began to limp forward following the shape of the counter. I got about four steps down when my eyes landed on a bottle of water lying on the floor. It looked about half empty, but half empty was more than I had at this point. Eager, I began to limp faster when a glint of light made me stop in my tracks. The glint was light blue and it flashed in front of me again. I took a hesitant step forward and tilted my head. It was then that I noticed the thin bubble of light in front of me. It traveled up from the floor and over my head. I turned, following the light, and noticed it went all the way back to the machine Thundercracker had pressed against the wall.

He said it'd block my energy signature… was that what this bubble was? Like a strange shield that kept people from reading the signature I gave off? If that were the case, did that mean when I walked through it my signature would turn into a beacon again?

The answer to that last question was probably yes. That meant I probably shouldn't leave the safety of my little bubble, but that water was screaming at me now. I had never been so thirsty in my entire life. It felt like my throat was made of paper and my mouth felt like it was filled with sand. Seeing the water only a few feet away made everything 100 times worse too.

"I can make it." I whispered in a rough, dry voice. It was only about five more steps away from me. I could grab it and come rushing back. I'd only be out of the bubble for a couple seconds, no longer than a minute.

I went back and forth with myself, weighing pros and cons, but finally I couldn't stand it any longer. I rushed forward, at my current pathetic pace, and hurried toward the bottle. It took a bit longer to bend over and scoop it up with jostling my leg to much, but I had it in hand. I turned around and went back to the safety of my bubble, but it took longer going back than it did going toward because the counter was now on the same side as my good leg.

When I finally re-entered the bubble, I immediately sat back down with a groan and unscrewed the bottle. Quickly, I smelled the contents, making sure it was indeed water, and then gorged on its contents. Warm, stale water had never tasted so good before. Of course, the bottle was empty way too soon and I already craved more. Frustrated, I threw the bottle over the counter and listened to it hit the floor and roll away.

Honestly, I wasn't sure how much longer I sat there. This was mostly because every once in a while I would find myself jolting awake with no memory of passing out. The times that I was conscious were spent trying to figure out how I got into this universe. Granted, I was extremely pleased that I did, but by all accounts it made no damn sense whatsoever. Had the explosion had something to do with it? Or maybe the symbol I briefly saw appear on the shed before it blew up? The questions, and lack of answers, made my head hurt so I'd give up thinking about it only to involuntarily come back to it in a few minutes.

I was tightening the kitchen towel around my leg when the sound of an engine made me freeze. The longer I listened the more I realized that it was the engine of a car and not a jet, like I had hoped. Then just when I thought my worries couldn't grow anymore, the engine stalled outside the gas station.

Maybe it was an Autobot. Maybe it was someone I would be more than happy to see. What if it were Barricade though? Would he help me or get back at me for all the times I threw him into the dryer? Even if it were Barricade, I'd still be happy to see him. To some degree, at least.

There was a shifting in the air that I recognized, but it wasn't the telltale sound of one of my mechs transforming. It was the same sound I had heard last night before Thundercracker started fighting.

Loud steps grew closer to the gas station and from where I sat I could see a shiny, bright red leg. The leg was replaced with a face as they bent down and peeked into the window. This couldn't have been a drone, could it? It sounded like the one last night, but it looked like an actual mech. This mech vaguely reminded me of Bumblebee, especially with the battle mask it wore. Except this battle mask was red and black with jagged, neon green glass over where his eyes should be.

"Um. Hi." I breathed and tried to find an Autobot or Decepticon insignia somewhere on his body. All I could spot though were the white letters 'KSI' written in small letters on his left chest plate. He didn't reply and slowly tilted his head as if examining me. His gaze filled me with skepticism. The mech began to reach his arm through the window toward me and suddenly the skepticism turned to panic. Was this all because I went for the damn water bottle? I was seriously regretting it now.

The air was suddenly filled with new noise. Another car, this engine deeper and louder, and the easily recognizable sound of a helicopter approaching. The mech crouched down at the window turned his head to look to his left. He yanked his arm back, trying to move, but something hit him in the side and exploded. The force of it sent me sprawling back and my head cracked against the tile floors.

There was a fight happening outside. I could hear the sound of metal on metal, but it was hard to focus on. My vision was blurring and sounds were beginning to fade. Everything was beginning to sound like I was submerged under water.

Shouting. I could make out shouting.

Human shouting? My eyes fluttered as the ceiling tiles above me spun in circles. I had to stay conscious. I had to…my eyes fluttered again and my thoughts swam away. Something loud crashed. It was close. The front of the store?

Then suddenly there was whining in my ear, low whining. It was the only sound I could still make out. Something warm and wet painted the top of my forehead and side of my face. Even through my blurry vision I could make out the shape of a black, tan, and white dog. A dog with one light blue eye and one warm, golden brown eye.

"Bear." I croaked and lifted my hand toward him, but I couldn't hold on any longer. My hand fell off to the side and my eyes rolled into the back of my head.

I woke up in comfort. There was softness under me and around me, I felt clean and fresh, and best of all, there was no pain. I warily opened my eyes, and felt beyond relieved to not see a gutted gas station or vast desert.

Right now, I was in a bed. My right leg was raised up and there was an ace bandage wrapped around it with an even larger brace on top of it that went from mid thigh down to about mid calf. I pushed aside the blanket that covered my left leg and torso so I could see the top of the brace. It was the kind that would prevent me from bending my knee. Glancing around, I recognized my room to be one that belonged in a hospital. There were monitors by my bedside and I had an IV stuck into my left arm. With a sigh, I leaned back into my pillow. The bed was raised up so I was half sitting, half lying back.

Next to the bed, on the right side, was a chair and a bedside table. On the table was a cup. I reached for it, finding water, and immediately downed it all. The IV had rehydrated me to some degree, but boy did the cool water feel amazing going down.

I took in more of my room then. The walls were plain and there were no windows to show the outside. The wall to my left had a clock that read '3:10', but I had no idea if that meant AM or PM. The wall to my right had nothing except a door that I expected lead to a bathroom, and the wall ahead was made of glass with an open archway that showed a plain hallway.

"Hey!" I yelled out, hoping someone would hear me. A nurse or something. I tried to remember the last thing that had happened before I ended up here. All I could recall was an explosion and pain when my head bounced off a tile floor. I reached toward the back of my head to feel the tender skin where I had fallen. It didn't feel broken open, which was a good sign. I did black out though, which meant concussion and that was not a good sign. I had way too many of those. My brain probably hated me.

Movement in front of me made me lift my gaze. Ratchet's holoform rushed down the hallway, but stopped in the archway. He just stood there and stared at me with wide eyes.

"Who would've thought I'd be so happy to see you, Hatchet." I joked with a grin. Ratchet chuckled and rubbed at his face in the way he did whenever he was tired or worried. I motioned toward my leg, "What's with all the gear?" Ratchet walked over to my bedside and leaned against the railing; his eyes didn't leave my face. I shook my head, "What? Is there something on my face?" I felt my face with my hand and shrugged, "Oh, cool. You got rid of the dried blood."

His eyes flashed, as if he was finally coming to, and he narrowed his eyes at me, "What the pit happened to you?!"

"There's the Ratchet I know and love." I chuckled.

"Blood all over your face, servo sliced open-" He barked and I lifted my left hand to see a white, gauze bandage wrapped around it, "And a broken patella? Your kneecap was broken into four pieces, youngling. Four."

My eyes widened, "Damn. Guess that explains the sound of grinding bone whenever I moved it."

"Aimee Jane Bradshaw, this is serious-"

I laughed, "Sorry, Ratchet. I'm just so happy to see you."

Ratchet's features softened and he let out a small sigh, "I'm happy to see you as well, Aj. I…I missed you very much."

"Aw, getting all soft on me." I replied, "So what's the prognosis, doc?"

"I'm sorry?"

I motioned toward my leg, "When can I get up?"

Ratchet's eyes widened and he scoffed, "Get up? Did you not hear me? Your patella was broken into-"

"Four pieces."

"Four pieces!" Ratchet repeated, "You had to go into surgery, youngling. Wires and screws were used to force your patella into one whole shape again. You got out of surgery only two hours ago."

My jaw fell open, "Surgery? Well slag…"

"You're on medicine right now which is why you don't feel anything, but when that fades you'll be very sore." Ratchet shook his head and moved to look at the machines, "As for getting up? You won't be walking for at least six weeks."

"Six weeks!?" I cried and Ratchet shot me a glare. I groaned and sank into my bed. It was silent for a moment as Ratchet glanced over a printout from one of the machines. "So what happened? How did I-"

Ratchet interrupted me, "How did you sustain this injury? Did it appear upon your arrival to this universe?"

"What?" I twisted my face in confusion, "No, I…" I paused, "When I didn't go through the portal, I stuck around the house." Ratchet narrowed his eyes at me and I sighed, "What was I supposed to do? Anyways, I stuck around and…." I made the quick decision to leave out the bit about the mysterious visitors I had, "Boss' brother showed up the next day. One of his guys kneecapped me with a baseball bat."

Ratchet's features crumpled slightly and he looked crestfallen at my words, "How did you get here, Aj?"

I blinked, "Me? I thought…Well, I thought you guys did something."

He shook his head, "We didn't- couldn't. We tried so many different things, but…nothing would work."

"Huh." I breathed then shrugged, "We can figure that out later. Hopefully. What I want to know is what happened? How did I get here, specifically?"

Ratchet nodded, "What do you remember? Start from when you first appeared in this universe."

"Ok, so-"

"Wait", Ratchet sat down, "Can I send your account of what happened to others? Optimus and the other officers?"

I shrugged, "Sure, I don't care. It saves me from having to tell it all again, right?" Ratchet nodded and I continued, "Anyways, Boss's brother, his name was Morgan, showed up and I fought back obviously. I used his gun to shoot the chemical shed and it exploded. I thought I was dead, but I woke up on this random ass road in the middle of nowhere. There was a gas station nearby that I tried to get to. That's when…" My eyes widened, "Thundercracker!"

"What about him?"

"He showed up!" I cried. "He carried me to the gas station and left me there because…because he said a drone was coming."

Ratchet hummed, "That explains the energy shield we found."

I assumed he was talking about the magic bubble, "Yeah, he left that there and led the drone away, but I haven't seen him since. Is he ok?"

Ratchet shrugged, "I would have no way of knowing, Aj." Right. Autobots and Decepticons don't mingle in this universe. I frowned and Ratchet must have noticed my distress, "I'm sorry."

"That's ok." I mumbled, "Well, I passed out around that time and the next morning some red and black mech showed up for me. That's when something shot him and I cracked my skull against the ground. It's a blur from there."

"Did you leave the safety of the energy shield at any point?"

I scratched the back of my neck sheepishly, "Uh, well yeah. Once. To get water, but I went right back!"

"We couldn't find you. We drove through that area at night, but the energy shield blocked everything. We didn't see your signature and assumed you had ended up somewhere else." Ratchet said, "When you exited the shielded area, your signature popped up for us, but also for the drone."

"So it was a drone." I replied, "It looked so… it looked like you guys."

Ratchet shook his head, "Only in features. What you saw was man made. It had no spark."

"Man made?" I replied in surprise.

"They had plenty of years to perfect their methods. Plus, once they established 'transformium' as they call it", Ratchet scoffed, "It was quite easy to produce the drones."

I took in his words and slowly shook my head, "…Years? You guys never mentioned having to deal with drones back home." Ratchet's eyes locked onto mind and he looked regretful. I blinked, "Ratchet, what aren't you telling me?"

"It isn't import…" He paused to rethink his words, "You should focus on healing, Aj."

The wheels in my head were spinning so fast, I probably had smoke coming out of my ears. I shook my head, "You guys went through the portal yesterday. I followed a day after."

Ratchet sighed, "That isn't entirely true… It is for you. However, it differs for us."

There was a time lapse. He didn't outwardly say it, but I could hear it in his tone. I could read between the lines. I closed my eyes and tried to piece my thoughts together. A memory drifted toward me. A dog licking my face as I tried to cling to consciousness. It had been Bear. I recognized those eyes. The dog licking me though hadn't been a puppy. It had been a very large dog. For Bear to be that big, years had to have passed. At least, four or five.

"How many?" I asked quietly.

"Aj…"

"Four years?" I pressed, my eyes snapping open, "Five?"

Ratchet stared at me a bit longer, "The current date is May 2, 2035. We all crossed through the portal a little over twenty years ago, Aj."

I shook my head and tried to bite back the bile that rose from my stomach, "No, no. No." The room was starting to tilt. "That's…That's not funny, Ratchet. I don't know if this is some sort of prank- like a, 'welcome to the universe' prank, but it's not funny. It's not funny, Ratchet."

The serious, downcast look on his face didn't change or shift. Twenty years. Twenty years. I swallowed the lump in my throat, "Bear was… He was there! I remember him. He wasn't twenty years old, Ratchet! Dogs don't live that long!"

Ratchet sighed, "Going through the portal had some…strange effects. Us, Cybertronians, weren't affected, but everything organic was. For Bear, the effect was positive. His life expectancy grew. We didn't truly realize this until he turned 11 years old and still behaved and had the health of a puppy. Though he is actually 20 years old now, he has the body and mind of a four year old dog."

Suddenly, the twenty-year thing didn't matter to me. Sure, I would panic more about it later, but Ratchet's words had flipped my stomach. He made it sound like Bear was the only one with a positive effect. There were other organics that went through the portal.

"Ratchet…" I said in a broken voice.

He shook his head, "I have duties I need to check up on and you have visitors that will be kicking down my door if I wait any longer. I'm only allowing one in for now. She can answer your questions. I'll be back." Ratchet turned to leave, but paused and came back toward me. He set one hand on my shoulder, squeezing it comfortingly, and leaned toward me, "I know this is a lot to take in, youngling, but everything will work out. I am…I am so relieved to see you here."

I couldn't bring myself to reply. He gave me one last nod and squeeze before walking back out the way he came in. There were so many questions hanging off the end of my tongue. I pitied whoever would have to come and deal with me now and I didn't blame Ratchet for bowing out.

Every question was shoved to the back of my mind when I heard a bark and nails on the tile floor. My eyes widened as Bear skidded past the archway, tongue hanging out. A second passed before he sprinted into the room and jumped onto the bed, landing on my stomach. I let out a breath of air followed by a laugh as the large dog curled up on me. Bear looked like a small bear now with how big he was. Obviously, his muzzle had grown out and he looked older, but his eyes were still as bright and playful as they had always been. He soaked my face with kisses as I rubbed his sides.

"Bear!" I laughed and let him bury his head against my chest, "I missed you too, buddy."

I was so distracted by Bear, that I didn't notice two people standing in the doorway staring at me. My gaze lifted to them after a moment and at the sight of them any question that had been shoved to the back of mind were completely forgotten now.

One was a young woman, maybe around my age, her long, dirty blonde hair was tied up in a high, messy ponytail. She was slim and petite, maybe just a little taller than me. She wore a white tank top, with a leather jacket over it and black skinny jeans. She had a light skin tone with a slightly oval face. Her dark blue eyes looked watery, but her lips were upturned into a pretty smile.

The guy next to her was very tall with muscled shoulders and a strong physique. He also had an oval face with brown scruff along his jawline and around his mouth. His hair was short and messy, a very light shade of brown. He wore camouflage army pants with white t-shirt tucked into them and tan boots. Around his neck was a pair of dog tags. His dark blue eyes were twinkling in amusement and he had a bright grin on his face.

"You're gonna drown her, Bear." The man called out with a chuckle.

"Oh my God." The woman breathed and hastily wiped at her eyes, "Oh my God, it really is you."

The man glanced down at her, "I told you it was her. I went out and got her and you still doubted me?"

"Shut up, just shut up." She replied then sniffled.

He rolled his eyes, "Are you really gonna cry? You're embarrassing me, sis."

She turned and punched him in the chest making him stumble back with a laugh. I just sat there and stared at the two very familiar, yet unfamiliar, people. They were siblings. More than that, they were twins.

"No fucking way." I mumbled in disbelief.

The guy smirked and pointed at me, "Language, Auntie Aj. You don't want to poison our young minds do you?"

The woman rushed forward and stood hesitantly by my bedside. She bit down on her bottom lip and shook her head, "I know this is so weird and I don't blame you if you need some space, but I really, really want to hug you right now."

"Taylor?" I asked quietly. She bobbed her head quickly and clasped her hands together tightly. A disbelieving chuckle slipped from my lips, "When have you ever had to ask to hug me, kiddo?"

She let out a strangled, happy sob and flung her arms around me tightly. Bear whined unhappily, now having to share me, but shifted to make room for her. I pat her back and hugged her as best as I could. It was hard with a huge dog in my lap, a broken knee, and being on a bed, but I made do.

"Is that your fucking twin brother?" I asked while staring at Tyler in shock.

He strolled over to the other side of my bed, "You know it. Hi again."

Taylor pulled away and Tyler bent over to give me a tight hug of his own. I clung him to as best I could as well until he pulled away. I let my gaze travel from him back to her then back to him.

"I think I'm having a seizure."

They both laughed, but Taylor was the one who spoke up, "You're telling us. I nearly had a heart attack when Ratchet told me the portal in Oregon opened up again."

"Oregon? Wait, where are we?"

"Nevada." Tyler answered, "Military base."

I nodded, "I hope you realize that was question one of two billion."

Taylor nodded, "I'm going to stay and answer as many as I can. While, of course, asking my own. I have just as many."

"And I have a meeting that I should probably go to." Tyler replied, "If I miss another, Prowl might just step on me. Hell, he might just step on me for being late again."

Taylor rolled her eyes, "I told you to just go."

"And miss greeting my long lost aunt? I think not."

"Kid, you're leaving already?" My eyebrows furrowed together. I didn't want to lose sight of him again. The last time I did, he aged fucking twenty years.

Tyler smiled at me, "Don't worry, I'll be back later. Also, you can't really call us kids anymore. You missed our birthday last week." Their birthday was on April 26. I had been looking forward to celebrating with them on their 7th birthday. I wanted to do the job an aunt was supposed to do and spoil them rotten. "We're twenty six now."

My mind blanked, "What?"

"That's right", Tyler sang and backpedaled toward the archway, "We're the same age now. How nuts is that?" It was nuts enough that I thought my head was going to start spinning on top of my neck. Tyler whistled, "Come on, Bear."

The dog didn't even move an inch. Tyler whistled again and I rubbed the back of his neck, "Go on, Bear."

Bear licked my face a few more times before hoping down off the bed. I watched him walk toward Tyler before shaking my head, "Wait, I have one question for you before you go."

"Sure. Anything."

"Why is your hair brown?" I pressed.

Tyler blinked before bursting into laughter, "That's what you want to ask me? After twenty years?" I nodded and he grinned and shrugged, "As we got older, Taylor and I's hair just got darker." I glanced at Taylor's dirty blonde hair in question. Tyler's smirk widened and spoke in a stage whisper, "Taylor dyes her hair blonde."

"Shut up!" Taylor stuck out her bottom lip, "Tyler, will you just go to your damn meeting?"

"Later, Aj." Tyler lifted is hand in a wave, "Missed you bunches."

I watched him walk away with Bear bouncing at his steps. Taylor sat on the edge of bed, kicking off her boots and sitting criss cross facing me, on the left side away from my leg. She just smiled and stared at me and I couldn't help but stare back. With a chuckle, I shook my head, "Taylor, you're gorgeous."

Her cheeks flushed red and she glanced down at her lap with a smile, "Oh, please."

"No, I mean, you were a pretty little girl and I always knew you'd grow up to be as pretty as your mom, but…" I smiled warmly. She had grown up. My little Taylor was honest to God grown up now and I couldn't really wrap my head around that entirely. This was the little girl who less than 72 hours ago had tried to shove a full sized Barbie play house into her school bag, the little girl who chopped all her hair off with play scissors to look like me, the one who bravely held her brother's hand and walked through a portal without a single glance back.

"Thanks, Aj." She replied softly, "I know you have questions, but can I ask you a few first?" I nodded and she leaned on her knees with her elbows, "What happened?"

I spent the next few minutes telling her exactly what I told Ratchet. She didn't seem surprised to hear that her Aunt had a Vegas mob boss going after her so I figured it was something someone had told her over the last twenty years. I sure as hell didn't let her know that information as a six year old.

Tyler must have told her about my rescue from the gas station of hell too because she didn't seem surprised at that. She hummed thoughtfully, "I thought maybe your knee was because of the portal, but I guess it kind of makes sense that it wasn't. It supports Jackie's theory at least."

My eyes widened, "What happened? When you guys went through the portal? Ratchet said- and Bear! Bear's apparently going to live forever."

Taylor giggled, "The Bear thing was a shock that's for sure." She sighed and her smile faltered, "They don't think it was the portal itself that caused the damage, they think it was the act of crossing universes and the length of our energy signatures. Tyler, Pete, and I…our effects weren't immediate. They developed over time." She shrugged, "For me, I had some pretty extensive nerve damage. Gradually, starting at my neck and going down, I was losing my sense of touch. I could move just fine, but I couldn't feel things. We didn't notice it until basically my entire left arm was numb from all touch." She shrugged out of her olive green leather jacket and set it aside. Taylor turned slightly so I could see the flat metal plate across the resting at the back of her neck. The skin around it and faint, purple techno lines that went up her neck, but they weren't overly noticeable. The plate itself was though. "Ratchet, Jackie, and Percy- oh, sorry, um Perceptor. He's a mech I'm sure you'll meet eventually. They built this to interact with my nervous system. It allows me to use my sense of touch, but it only lasts a couple months. After about two months the numbness starts to creep up again and they have to replace it."

"Oh my God." I breathed and reached forward to brush my fingers against he cool, metal plate. "Does it hurt?"

Taylor turned around and shook her head, "Not a bit."

"What about your brothers?"

"Pete started losing his sight." Taylor answered, "Like mine, it was gradual, and his vision had always been bad so nobody panicked about it until he lost all sight in his right eye." Taylor's fingers played with the edge of the hospital gown by my thigh, "They couldn't save his vision in his right eye, but they were able to fix his left eye. If you look close enough you can see this ring around his iris. They implanted it to keep his sight."

"And Tyler?" I was almost afraid to ask. He looked healthy when he came in.

Taylor nodded, "His was the slowest actually. Tyler started to lose his hearing. He still has severe hearing loss, about an 80-decibel loss. They made him these special hearing aids to wear that really help him out, but when he doesn't have them he mostly relies on lip reading. He turned out to be a natural." She grinned, "He also knows sign language. Sideswipe helped him learn."

She spoke so nonchalant about all of it. It made sense this was something they had lived with for two decades now, but hearing it for the first time still put a pit of fear in my gut. I couldn't help but worry. It's what I did.

"I mean, the damage was pretty bad overall, but we were taken care of. Besides, it wasn't like the mechs knew any of that was going to happen." Taylor added. "Jackie blamed himself for a long time. I think he blamed himself on you not coming through the portal too."

I shook my head, "None of that was his fault."

Taylor shrugged, "I know that, everyone knows that, all but Wheeljack that is. Sometimes I still catch him looking at us and I can just tell he hasn't completely let it go. Usually it's around the time I have to have my plate changed or if Tyler needs new aids."

"I'll kick his giant metal aft if he even tries to apologize for me getting left behind." I scoffed and Taylor laughed, "What?"

She continued laughing, "It took Ironhide and Smokescreen to keep him from coming to see you. Finally, Ratchet had to threaten to weld him to his lab bench to keep him away. Ratchet was adamant about you adjusting before being exposed to everyone. He only let me in because I'm such a charmer." I chuckled as she batted her eyelashes jokingly. "If the medic had caught sight of Tyler sneaking in he would've lost it."

The two of us chuckled over the shared thought of Ratchet losing his processors over who did or didn't visit me and at what time. When the chuckles had died down I tried to get back on track to what I needed to know.

"What about Wes and- your mom and dad?" I corrected myself and nervously cleared my throat.

The smile she had fell off her face completely and I felt my heart stop. She noticed this and shook her head, "Mom is fine. 100% fine, actually. Nothing happened to her going through the portal. She was at Annabelle, Lex, and Eli's school for Annabelle's cheer competition, but she's on her way back now." Half of that sentence meant nothing to me considering I didn't know who those names belonged to, but I waited for her to continue, "When Dad went through the portal, the effect was immediate for him. He was paralyzed from waist down. He couldn't walk."

"What?" I squeaked.

"He never let that beat him though." Taylor added warmly, "He was still good ol' Dad. But… About 14 years ago, he- he died." I could feel the blood leave my face, Taylor kept talking, "There was an attack on the base. A lot of people died actually."

Wes was dead? I spent years wishing the guy was dead, but now that I sat here hearing those words all I felt was sadness. Wes was a good guy. He cared about his family and he didn't deserve the hate I used to have toward him. I quickly did the math and realized the kids had only been 13 when it happened.

"I'm so sorry, Tay." I said softly. She shrugged with a small smile and I shook my head, "God, I should've been here. For all of you…"

"That wasn't your fault. It couldn't be helped." Taylor reached forward and set her hand on mine, "Besides, you're here now, and we're all really happy about that. We all worried that you were by yourself for twenty years, but look at you. Only a day passed."

I still wasn't entirely sure if that was a curse or a blessing. With a forced smile, I spoke, "So, tell me everything that happened on your end."

"What do you want to know?" Taylor pressed.

I wanted to know everything, but I knew she probably wouldn't be able to give me every detail I wanted. A lot of the stuff that happened probably went over her head since she was so young. It would be better if I asked a mech, or Aubrey. However, there was still I wanted to know.

"Tell me about you, silly." I replied with a grin, "What are you doing now? How was your childhood living with the mechs? Do you have a family of your own? I want all the details."

Taylor chuckled, "Growing up with the mechs was amazing. We could count on them for everything and we got to meet so many more mechs and femmes. I can't wait until you meet Arcee or Flare-up. They're going to love you." She crossed her arms, "I just wish you had been here with us. Everything would've been better.."

I scoffed, "Oh come on, Tay. I was around you and your brothers for like three months. How much do you even really remember me?"

Taylor's smile fell and her eyebrows scrunched together in distress, "Don't say that!" My eyes widened and her lips pressed together. She sighed, "You're right, you weren't around for long, but… You meant the world to us. I think I cried every night for a year after we got here." I licked my bottom lip and glanced away, but she continued, "Those three months were so important to us. You have no idea the impact you left on us."

I smiled and glanced back at her. To me it sounded like a bit of an exaggeration, but I didn't push further, "Thanks, Taylor."

She returned the smile, "Anyways, um… I graduated high school a year early and went to college in Arizona. Bumblebee came with me, he's still my guardian, obviously." She paused in thought, "I graduated with honors and went on to get my Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering."

"No shit?" I beamed in pride, "That's amazing, Taylor!"

Her face lit up at my praise, "Yeah, that was about four years ago now. After getting my degree I came here to work with Ratchet. He's been teaching me Cybertronian anatomy since then so I can help him in the medbay."

"Seriously?" I asked in worry, "What about energon poisoning? Isn't dangerous to be in their medbay?"

She nodded, "Yes, but we take precautions. I have this suit I have to wear at all times. Did you really think worry-wart Ratchet would let me near energon otherwise?"

That was a solid point. I let out a breath of relief.

She readjusted her position and continued, "And as for a family, I'm not even dating anyone right now so that's a big no."

"Good." I replied, "You're too young."

Taylor laughed, "We're the same age."

I groaned, "Uh, don't say that. It's so weird… What about Tyler? He was wearing dog tags."

"Oh yeah." She nodded, "After high school, he joined the ARMY. He's a Sergeant Major now and works with NEST. It's the military division here." I easily recognized the acronym, but didn't comment on it. "He mostly works with Special Operations under Jazz." Taylor must have noticed my worry because she grinned, "And before you ask, the mechs made him a special suit for all his missions since he's the only human to take orders directly under a mech rather than the Colonel in charge of NEST. He's the most protected soldier out there."

I nodded, "And Pete?"

"He works with Prowl in Intelligence and Strategy. He has since…2025?" Taylor glanced away in thought then quickly shook her head, "Wait, no. 2026. He started the same year I graduated high school."

I nestled into the bed and cringed when my leg started to ache a bit, but Taylor didn't notice. I smiled, "Tell me more about y'all's life. I want as many details as you can stand to give me."

Taylor grinned and began retelling as many memories as she could recall.

Las Vegas High School wasn't an overly large school. In total, it had around 3,000 students, which compared to other schools in the system was rather small. However, the building for the school was more than accommodating for all the students with room for more. In fact, right now, the large gymnasium was filled with a good portion of the LVHS school population, plus many students from other high schools who were eager to see the State Championships for Cheerleading.

LVHS had an amazing cheer team and their chances of making it to Nationals looked really good, but to do so they needed to perform well today and earn a substantial score. This would come easy if Chelsea Scott didn't lose her balance in the final twist and if Emily Tipp actually showed up despite missing the past two practices.

Eli Epps knew all the details of the cheer squad. In fact, in his opinion he felt like he knew too much. However, one of his closest friends was the cheer squad captain and as her friend he'd give up more than a few hours listening to her rant about her troubles worries whether it be about schoolwork, cheerleading, or soccer. It went both ways though, she probably felt like she knew too much about the school's marching band too.

"It's going take nine years just to find a seat in here." Lex Witwicky groaned from beside him, while standing at the entrance for the gymnasium. She was another student who knew the inner workings of the soccer team, cheer squad, and marching band just by association. Like Eli, her freshman year in high school had been rather successful, but she was more than happy about the fact that the school year ended in a month. "Do you see Aubrey and Hide anywhere? They said they'd save us seats."

Eli, who had been absorbed in his phone, glanced up at the short girl beside him. The light brown skinned freshman turned her head to stare at him with quizzical dark gray eyes. He gave his friend of many years a sheepish smile and shrugged, "I didn't hear a word of what you just said, L."

Lex groaned and hung her head back in exasperation, "What's so important on your phone? Who are you messaging?" Her eyes brightened as she quickly looked back to Eli making her thick, dark brown braid whip around her. "Is it Ashley? Are you finally talking to Ashley?"

Eli could feel his cheeks burn in embarrassment, as he quickly shook his head, "No!" Despite his dark skin, he felt like the entire gym would be able to see the shade of embarrassment he probably wore. "I told you, I don't like her like that."

"Well she is in love with you." Lex replied with a smile and shake of her head.

Eli sighed, "I was texting Blaster. He's heading this way. He said he's gonna pick us up today."

"Really? I thought Hide was here. To watch Annabelle's competition." Lex motioned toward the gym floor where teams were setting up and warming up. Eli shrugged in response. Blaster had just said he'd explain later.

The two of them moved away from the door to try and look for a familiar face in the sea of people. When Eli caught sight of a blonde wearing the red and black LVHS cheer uniform coming their way, he grabbed Lex's hand forcing her to come to a stop. The cheerleader wore the same uniform and hairstyle as all the others in her squad. A black, long sleeve top with red accents and the letters LVHS printed across her chest in white. Her lightly tanned navel was showing and her black skirt matched her top. Her long, light blond hair was tied into a high ponytail with the ends curled loosely and there was a giant white bow at the base of her ponytail. Annabelle Lennox was a junior in high school and the current captain of the cheer team. Eli and Lex had spent the entire past weekend listening to how excited she was about today, but as she hurried over to them all they could see in her grayish blue eyes were worry.

"Hey, AB. What's wrong?" Lex asked first with wide eyes.

Annabelle shook her head, "Aubrey and Hide just left."

"What? Why?" Eli asked curiously. He couldn't help but wonder if this had something to do with Blaster coming to pick them up.

"Hide got a call from base." Annabelle replied quietly. The loud gym made it impossible for anyone around them to hear, but they remained cautious anyways. "They said Aubrey needed to be there ASAP."

Worry filled all three of them, but Lex was the one to speak up again, "Do you think it's an attack?"

Annabelle shook her head, "I don't think so. Do you… Do you guys remember the story of how Aubrey, Taylor, and Tyler came through a portal forever ago?"

"Vaguely." Eli replied.

"I heard Hide tell Aubrey that the portal opened again." She continued, "I think someone came through."

Lex scoffed, "Like a whole person this time?"

Annabelle shrugged and the three remained quiet for a moment as this new information was rolled around in their minds. Eli shook his head and gave the slightly older girl a smile, "Hey, I'm sure everything is fine. You just focus on today."

Lex noticed the worry remained on her face and jumped in, "Yeah, Eli's gonna record your whole routine on his xScreen." At her words, Eli pulled out his phone from his pocket and held up the thin, see-through screen. "Then this weekend we can all watch it together."

"Thanks, guys." Annabelle stepped forward and pulled both of them into a tight hug, "I don't know what I'd do without you two."

"Um, Blaster is coming to pick us up afterward and is probably gonna take us to base." Eli said, "Do you need a lift?"

Annabelle shook her head with a smile, "I'm going to stay to help clean up. Hide said he'd swing back to pick me up anyway. He said he'd bring my Dad along too, if he was done with meetings for the day."

Lex and Eli said their farewells and 'good luck' one final time before finding seats high up on the stadium styled seats. Eli watched as Lex shrugged out of her thing jacket revealing a simple, t-shirt. He pointed to her braid, "Hey, your braid is falling apart."

"Hm?" Lex glanced at him then felt her loose braid. She smiled and resorted to the old nicknames they had grown up using, "Oh, thanks, E."

Growing up on and off a secret military base was definitely something that shaped all of their lives. Overall, Eli loved growing up with his Dad being in the Air Force. If it weren't for his family's military ties, he never would have met Lex or Annabelle and they were his best friends without a doubt.

'See you soon, Eli buddy!' The text from Blaster flashed across his xScreen. Without his family's military ties, he wouldn't know his guardian Blaster either. He wouldn't know any of the Cybertronians he had grown so close to.

"How does it look?" Lex questioned to show him the braid she had quickly redone. The streak of light blue, usually on the underside of her hair, was more visible now. Eli could still mentally picture the look on her father's face when he first saw it a few months back.

"It looks good." He replied as the cheer tournament was slowly beginning. He activated the video recorder on his xScreen and lifted it up, ready to record.

My eyes cracked open revealing a blurry world around me. Taylor had been telling me about Tyler's senior year in high school and how he almost got expelled for filling the third floor with livestock as a senior prank. Why was I sleeping?

"She's waking up." A familiar voice breathed, but I couldn't keep my eyes open.

"Give it a moment for the medicine to kick in."

There was warmth at the crook of my left elbow that traveled down then up my arm. It seemed to fill my entire body and slowly the world around me became clearer. The ache in my knee subsided again and the first thing I saw was Ratchet standing on the left side of my bed toying with my IV.

"What happened?" I groaned.

I looked to my right to see one very familiar holoform. Like Ratchet, Optimus Prime looked the same. The only difference was he wore a dark green, ARMY uniform with the sleeves rolled up. My eyes drifted down to the chair he stood behind and my mind came to a stand still.

It was Aubrey. She still looked as stunning as ever, wearing a white blazer over a light pink blouse and jeans. The only difference was the extra wrinkles around her eyes and more prominent smile lines. She had been crying, I could tell because of her slightly messed up mascara, but a wide grin lit up her face.

"Damn, Aubs. You got old." I joked with chuckle.

She rose from the chair and wrapped her arms around me, sobbing into my neck. I glanced at Ratchet questioningly and he nodded, "The medicine wore off and your pain, along with exhaustion, returned. You dozed off with Taylor." What kind of medicine gave me energy, kept my mind crystal clear, and kept pain away? What sort of miracle drug was Ratchet pumping into my veins? Then again it was the year 2035. Who knew what kind of medical advances humans stumbled across?

"I'm so sorry for ever leaving you, Aimee." Aubrey pulled away.

I shook my head, "Come on, now. It wasn't your fault. Besides…to me it felt like you were only gone for a day." A sad smile flittered across my face, "I'm sorry I wasn't here for you." She shook her head, as if arguing, but I continued, "I heard about Wes, Aubs. I'm so sorry."

She wiped away her fresh tears and sighed, "You have nothing to be sorry about. I'm so glad you're here. I'm so glad you're safe."

I let my eyes drag back over to Optimus who was smiling softly a few steps behind her, "Hey there, OP. Long time no see, apparently."

"It's nice to see you again, Aj. You were missed more than words could describe." He replied.

Aubrey sat against the edge of my bed so she could hold my hand in hers tightly. I squeezed her hand in return and carefully let my eyes dart from Ratchet, to Aubrey, and then finally back to Optimus Prime. I cleared my throat, "I don't know if you have the time, OP, but I got a hell of a lot of questions to ask you."