Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers in any way. The plot and some of the Mechs in this story are mine, but the rest belongs to Hasbro Inc. This story takes place in no specific time line, but pulls together more than just one of the series characters, plots and histories.

Prelude of Disaster

By Ashana

Chapter Two: Surprises for All

Or Cold Confines

3:00 PM, November 9, 2008

Bottom of Drainage Pipe

Autobase, Oregon

Very rarely did Emily cry, and this was no exception. She sat on the bottom rung of the pipe, a few feet off the ground, arm wrapped in a makeshift sling made from Joe's jacket. Zach sat beside her, eyeing Joe as he examined the nylon rope. The end near the top had been sawed off by the two boys swinging as they came down. Carefully, the brother wrapped his jacket around the trembling girl's shoulders. Her lip was bleeding where she had bit it through during the fall. He wiped away the fresh blood with a napkin that had been in his bag.

"Are you sure you're alright? Beside, you know, the obvious." He asked gently.

Emily sniffed and glared at him. "I'm…I'm fine, okay? Stop asking." She slumped back into his jacket, pulling it around her with her left arm, her unbroken one.

The two winced as Joe let forth a string of profanity. He stood and began to wind the rope around his arm. He looked at them, frowning.

"Broken beyond what I can repair. We're stuck down here; there's no way up, other than through this pipe and out to the ocean, thirty miles away!" He ranted, storming around and shoving stuff into his bag. Zach jumped off of the rung and landed a bit unsteadily on his feet. Grabbing Joe's arm, he pulled him to the beginning of the level pipe.

"Would you shut up?" He hissed lowly. "Can't you see Emily's scared enough? I don't know why I even let her do this!" Dragging his hand over his face, he glared at the older man through is fingers. "We have to get her to a hospital, now. She acts all tough, I know, but I can see when she's crying, hurting, on the inside."

"So we turn ourselves over to the Autobots?" Joe snapped quietly, putting his face a mere inch away from Zach's. "Don't you know how much trouble we'll be in for sneaking down here?"

"Why do you think I was trying to stop you in the first place?" Zach shoved him away.

"The Autobots don't know anything about healing humans! They'd probably replace her arm with a mechanical one!" Joe accused.

"No, they'd get us help!" Zach glared at him. "She's my sister, and she's hurt. We're doing things my way from now on." Joe stared at him, stunned by the sudden surge of anger.

"Wh—what?" He spluttered.

"You heard me. There are human scientists up there too. They'll know what to do." Zach snatched up his bag and threw it over his shoulder. Walking over to the rung, he looked up at Emily. "Hop down, I'll catch you. We're going to get you some help."

Emily scooted to the edge of the rung. After dropping Zach's coat to the ground, she slid over the edge and into Zach's awaiting arms. Carefully setting her on her own feet, he wrapped his coat around his waist and pulled on both of their packs.

"Where are we going?" She asked Joe curiously as Zach settled the bags on his back.

"To the Autobots," Joe snapped. "Mister High and Mighty wants to get you help as fast as possible."

"You mean we won't be able to interview Optimus Prime?" She asked sadly.

"Yeah, that's exactly what it means!" Joe snarled.

"Well, I'd rather have Emily healthy than have her talking to a robot with a bleeding, broken arm." Zach said impatiently. "It's my call, not yours. We don't even know you that well!"

"So? We both want the same thing! Why can't you accept that?" Joe snarled. Emily put her good hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay Joe, we can catch him another time, I'm sure. Seeing a doctor right now sounds pretty good to me," she went to stand next to Zach. "Sorry I caused all this trouble."

"Trouble?" He ruffled her head, smiling. "Don't worry about it, Em. You've done just fine. We got in without being caught, didn't we?" He beamed his flashlight down the tunnel. "That's certainly something to boast about on your site."

"But they were expecting an interview with the Optimus Prime!" She protested, flinching as she tried to move her arm.

"Keep your arm still." Zach ordered. "C'mon, let's go."

3:15 PM, November 9, 2008

Drainage Pipe

Autobase, Oregon

"Zach, I'm tired." Emily sighed heavily, stopping to lean against the pipe. The young man stopped and shined his light on her.

"You look a little pale. C'mon, according to Joe, the grate should be just beyond this bend." He held out his hand and she took it with her good arm. "I'll help you along."

"You guys done flirting? I found the grate!" Joe shouted from around the bend in the tunnel, shining his light on the two and blinding them.

"I already told you--!" Zach began to shout, but Emily stopped him.

"Don't bother. He's just being a jerk 'cause he's angry. C'mon, let's go." She leaned on his arm and they carefully made their way down the gloomy tunnel.

"Are you sure you should have walked here with us?" He asked as they picked their way around.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure. Look, light." They rounded the corner and saw Joe standing in a shaft of golden light, trying to get to the grate by jumping. He was just a few feet too short.

"Zach, get up on his shoulders," Emily suggested. They looked at each other with a moments disgust, then shrugged and approached one another. Joe bent down and let Zach climb up on his shoulders before carefully straightening up. Zach carefully gripped the rungs of the grate and tried to move it. The metal whined in protest before moving a few inches to the left. He gave it another good push and managed to open up a space big enough for them to crawl out of near the edge.

Crouching down, he looked Joe. "Move to the right some. And—stop!" Standing, Joe grabbed the edge of the metal floor and hauled him up into the storage room.

It was as large as a hanger, and twice as sparkling. Metal and wooden crates alike were piled up all around the walls, leaving a space in the center where one could move about and sort through the boxes. The grate was right in the middle of the room, leaving Zach feeling unbearably exposed. Fluorescent lights above hummed loudly and burned into his eyes as they tried to adjust.

"You okay, Zach?" Emily asked as her head popped up out of the grate. "Wow, look at all this stuff! Help me out, would you?" Shaking off his amazement, Zach pulled her up onto the silver floor, careful of her arm. The backpacks were tossed up to them. Lastly, leaning over the grate, Zach held his arm out to Joe. In one jump, the man grabbed it and pulled himself up onto the floor. Kicking the grate back into place, he looked around and whistled.

"Nice digs. You could probably shelter an entire third world country in here." He wandered over to one of the crates and tapped on it with his knuckles. "Steel," he verified, examining the Autobot symbol stamped into the metal.

"So where do we go from here?" Emily asked, helping Zach get the two bags on his back.

"To a doctor," Zach muttered, looking for an exit. Right in front of them stood a huge door, obviously too large for them to move. "Do you think those doors open automatically, like on the sci-fi channel?" He asked the others.

"I'll go check," Joe volunteered, starting towards the door. While he went to examine the door, Emily wandered to the crates and pondered their marks just as curiously as Joe had.

Zach stood evenly between the two, looking from one to the other. Stretching and wondering what was so captivating about the strange image, he finally settled on watching Joe. He was leaning towards the door, tapping on it curiously.

It slid open, and standing there in the doorway, was a security Autobot, rifle pointing into the room, visor flashing backwards statistics at them. He was mostly red and silver, with splashes of dark blue here and there across his boxy armor. His gray face adopted a startled look at they landed on the human at his feet, and the ones across the room.

Zach and the Autobot both stiffened upon sighting each other. Joe carefully backed away from the gun toting Mech until he ran into Zach, who stopped him. The trio stared at each other for a moment, until…

"This is the Decepticon invasion I was supposed to check out?" The Autobot asked them, flipping up his visor, revealing honest light green optics that crinkled at the corners as he smiled. He put the safety on his rifle and kneeled down to look at the two more closely. "What are you two doing here? Nobody is supposed to be able to get through the security system."

Zach's mouth flapped open for a moment, as did Joe's. The Autobot chuckled and keyed the door closed, before sitting and relaxing against the wall beside his rifle. "Hey, you two aren't in trouble or anything. I'm sure Prime would love to close up any gaps we have in security. You might have just solved a future problem for us."

Joe seemed to loose all fright at the mention of Optimus Prime. "Really?" He asked eagerly, stepping forward and looking up at the bot. "Do you think he would want to thank us?"

The Autobot and Zach both groaned and ran their hands over their faces. "Wait until Kup finds out that I let in another crazy fan," he cracked a grin at the seemingly insulted Joe. "Don't worry, kid. I'm sure Prime would love to thank you. Now, just who are you?"

"Joe Carter, reporter for the New York Times." He boasted proudly, and the Autobots optics seemed to darken for a moment at the mention of his profession.

"You didn't come here for an interview, did you?" He asked.

Joe instantly backed down, "No, of course not! Mostly came just to see Autobase. An interview would be a lucky bonus on my part."

The Autobot nodded. "Uh huh, well then, I'm sure you won't be disappointed with our security policy: no private interviews with any Autobots or scientists residing in Autobase." The man's face fell a bit, but he forced himself to brighten up.

"That's alright. It was enough just to get to step onto Autobase soil." He grinned.

The Autobot switched his focus to Zach. "And you?"

"Zach. Just Zach," he admitted with a shrug.

"So then why are you here, Just Zach?" The Autobot asked, relaxing against the wall. The young adult glanced over his shoulder to look at Emily, and quirked his brows when he saw her. She was staring at the Autobot, mouth agape, face pale.

"Are you alright, Emily?" He asked in concern, hurrying over to her side. She shook herself out of her stupor as he patted her shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit surprised, I guess." She smiled up at the mech. "Hello."

He smiled back. "Hello. Emily, was it?" She nodded. "I'm Sharpbend. So what are you and you friend doing here?"

"Well, I came—" Emily was quickly cut off as Zach interrupted.

"She came to look after me!" He said quickly. "I, uh, really didn't give her much of a choice! She only came to make sure I didn't get in trouble." A quick elbow in the side, and Emily was nodding in consent.

"Uh, yeah, I had to look after him!" She said through clenched teeth.

Sharpbend smiled. "That's sweet; you humans always seem to be looking out for each other." He looked at her curiously. "I've never seen any of the scientists wear their outer armor like that. Is it a new, er, style?"

"Outer armor?" Emily asked, glancing down at her roughly bandaged arm. "Oh, uh, no," she blushed slightly, "I fell and hurt my arm when we were climbing."

"Will you be alright?" Sharpbend adopted a concerned look; he knew how fragile humans were, especially after a few had been involved in one of Wheeljack's exploding experiments

Emily glanced at Zach, who shrugged slightly. "She could use some help. Do you think you could get us to a doctor?"

The Mech brightened up. "Yeah, there's a doctor here on the base! I'm sure a bit of matienence will get you back up to speed!" Then he said the word that Emily had been dying to hear for the last six months, "Transform!"

The grate on the front of his chest fell forward as he collapsed to the ground, his body falling into a boxy jeep that seemed to be a combination of Earth and Cybertron technology. He popped open his doors, chuckling at their shocked expressions. "Hop in! I'll take you to the Medical Bay."

Joe jumped into the driver's seat, examining the dashboard in unerring interest. Zach helped his surrogate sister into the passenger seat, and climbed into the back. Seatbelts shot out of the seats and crossed their chests, strapping them in.

"Alright, let's go!"

3:30 PM, November 9, 2008

Outside of Medical Bay 3A

Autobase, Oregon

Sharpbend skidded to a stop in front of the medical bay, leaving black streaks along the ground. They hadn't seen anyone on the way there, mostly due to the sunny weather outside. The three humans clutched their seatbelts, faces tinged green from the high speed and tight turns. They sunk back in their seats, feeling sick.

"Red Alert! Red Cross! Open up!" Sharpbend shouted to the door. There was a crash, shouting and a loud 'thwop' before the door was slammed to the side.

"This had better be good, Sharpbend!" A large white Mech with crosses on his shoulder armor snarled at thin air. He blinked before glancing down at the sniper and three humans. "Sharpbend," he said in a dangerous voice.

"I know, I know!" The bot grumbled, shooting through the gap between Red Alert's feet. "Where's Dr. Merrick?"

Red Cross, a slightly younger Mech with the same build as Red Alert, glanced down at the four. "Hey Sharpbend, what's the rush?" He said with his ever easy-going attitude.

"Emily here fell and hurt her arm. I was wondering, is Dr. Merrick was around?" He popped open his doors and waited patiently for the three humans to disembark. When their feet were on the metal plated floor, he transformed to his robotic mode and gripped Red Cross's wrist. The medic did the same.

"Emily, huh?" He released Sharpbend's hand and glanced down at the three, his optics landing on the girl's hastily bandaged arm. "I see. I'll contact the doctor. I'm sure he's not to busy on a gorgeous day like this."

"Busy? I doubt he even knows the meaning of the word." Sharpbend snickered as Red Cross moved to the computer counsel and typed in a few strange numbers.

"Hey doc, you there?" He asked, typing the edge of the board impatiently.

"Something wrong, Red Cross?" A patient voice asked from the other end.

"Yeah, some humans snuck in and one bashed up her arm. Think you can get over here?"

"Where is 'here'?"

"Medbay 3A."

"Give me five minutes. Merrick out."

The connection closed and Red Cross turned back to the humans. "He'll be right here," he assured them before turning to Sharpbend. "Does Kup know that you're here instead of patrolling?" He asked.

The mech hit his forehead. "Agh! I left my rifle in the storage room! That old geezer will have my head if he finds out!" Ignoring Red Alerts snort, he looked at the three humans. "I gotta jet. Red Cross here will take care of you guys. See ya!" He tore out of the room, feet slamming against the metal in thunder like explosions.

Red Cross watched him disappear, before kneeling before the three humans. "So, you're Emily," he pointed at the injured girl, "but who are you two?"

"Joe Carter," the reporter stepped forward, wisely excluding his profession.

"Zach," the brother said with a shrug, moving to support Emily.

"Nice to meet you both, I'm sure," Red Alert said impatiently, "but how did you manage to get in?"

Red Cross waved his hand airily towards his commander. "C'mon Red Alert, give them a break. At least let Emily get fixed up before we pummel them with questions, which I'm sure Prime is going to do anyway."

The senior medic opened his mouth to retort, but was quickly interrupted by a flaring of lights as a Highway Patrol vehicle slid into the Medbay, followed by an ambulance. An aged man with white hair and bearing a black medical bag climbed out of the police vehicle, looking slightly green around the gills. The car quickly transformed into a large mech with a grey-silver face and bright optics. His armor was mostly white and blue, his Autobot symbol resting on his chest. The doors of his vehicle mode flared out behind his shoulders, proudly stating 'police' under the window.

Behind him, the ambulance transformed into a very simple white bot with a red highlight around his hips and a welding tool for his right hand. His chest was made up of the windshield, and his boxy shoulders and red crosses etched across them. His light optics quickly sized up the situation, and he managed a sigh.

"Prime is going to love this," he muttered to the cop car, who nodded.

Dr. Merrick, meanwhile, had gone straight to Emily and, disregarding Zach's warning of 'be careful!', began to unwrap the jacket from her arm. As soon as he saw the bone sticking through her skin, he sighed and shook his head.

"A compound fracture," he reported to the three medics, holding Emily's arm lightly and inspecting the angel of the sliver. "It won't be easy to fix, but I can do it." He mused to himself, nodding in absentminded thought.

"Hold up!" Zach shoved himself in between the doctor and his patient.

The doctor gave him a slightly peeved look. "Yes?" He asked patiently.

"She needs to go to a hospital," the protective brother insisted.

"Really?" Dr. Merrick asked, looking insulted.

Zach nodded. "Yes! I won't have some strange scientist operating on my sister!"

"Then you shouldn't have snuck into Autobase!" The doctor growled. Emily tapped her brother's shoulder.

"It's okay Zach, really. I've read about Dr. Merrick; he's one of the best." She cracked a grin. "I'm more worried about his bill than anything else."

The doctor smiled. "There you go. Now, missy," he moved the startled Zach out of the way and swept Emily towards one of the smaller doors in the back of the room, talking earnestly. The brother clenched his teeth and was about to go after them, but a large finger of his shoulder stopped him.

"Chill, Zack. He knows what he's doing." Red Cross advised. "Emily obviously trusts him, and you should too."

Joe patted his other shoulder. "Dr. Merrick is one of the best. He'll take good care of Emily."

A cough came from the back of the room, and the three turned to face the police car. "Excuse my impatience, but just what is going on?"

The two humans exchanged worried looks; where to start?

"Well," Joe chewed his bottom lip and bit then began from where they had met on the plane.

6:00 PM, November 9, 2008

Medical Bay 3A

Autobase, Oregon

Prowl, the police car and second in command of the Autobots, had left after nearly two hours of questioning their way of 'infiltration' and their motives. Joe and Zach stuck with the story that Emily hadn't come by will, if only to protect her from getting into even more trouble. Ratchet, the ambulance, and Red Alert had left to enjoy the sun a bit ago, leaving the two men with Red Cross. The young medic was pummeling them with questions about Earth, from television to music to politics. The two tried to keep up and answer the best they could. Any answer, however, seemed to satisfy the knowledge-hungry bot.

Sharpbend tore into the room, slamming the door shut behind him. Casting a furtive look around the room, he dove behind the computer mainframe, wedging himself out of sight among the wires. Grabbing a loose metal plate from the wall, he placed it in front of him, completing the hiding place. The two humans and medic exchanged a strange look.

"Kup?" Red Cross guessed.

"Affirmative; I'm not here, and you haven't seen me." He fell silent. The two humans grinned at each other before turning back to Red Cross.

"So who's Kup?" Zach asked.

"Head of Security, along with Ironhide. I can only guess he found out about Sharpbend's little escapade this afternoon." He grinned, but it quickly disappeared as an aged green-grey bot burst into the room.

"Where is Sharpbend?" He demanded, scouring the room with his optics. They landed on the two humans and Red Cross, and he frowned. "Well?"

The medic shrugged. "Haven't seen him since he brought the humans here," he confessed. The old bot ground his teeth angrily.

"If you see him, have him report to my office immediately!"

"Yes sir," Red Cross nodded. The bot turned and stormed out of the room.

"Kup?" Zach guessed.

"Kup," Sharpbend confirmed as he untangled himself from the wires of the computer. The door banged back open, and Kup stood there, smirking. The mech paled. "Oh slaggit all…" He muttered.

The older mech grabbed his hearing processor and dragged him out of the room, chastising him thoroughly. From their place on the medical gurney, Zach and Joe collapsed into laughter.

"He's good," Zach commented, getting his laughter under control.

"Bet he's not to pleased with us, though." Emily said as she was helped out of the back operating room by Dr. Merrick. Her right arm was bound with a lightweight cast of light blue.

Red Cross quickly moved to the girl's side and lowered his hand for her to step onto. She smiled at the doctor as he helped her up.

"Thanks again Dr. Merrick." She said warmly.

"Not a problem, dear," he smiled and winked before hurrying out of the room. Moving slowly, Red Cross carefully lifted Emily to the gurney. Zach and Joe helped her off of his hand. She smiled at them.

"Thanks. Still a bit dizzy from the gas, I guess." She glanced up at Red Cross and smiled again. "Thank you for the lift."

"Hmph. Breaking your arm seems to have calmed your fire a bit," Joe commented. "Maybe you should fall more often."

She smacked him playfully. "Shouldn't you call Carole and let her know we're alright?" She asked pointedly. He paled a bit.

"Oh yeah…she's probably going to kill me for forgetting." He quickly pulled out his cell phone and hurried to the other side of the gurney.

The siblings laughed quietly, before Zach turned serious. "How's your arm feeling?"

"Fine, Zach. Dr. Merrick did a wonderful job repairing it." She waved him off. "So what happened while I was gone?"

"Interrogation," Zach muttered, sitting down tiredly.

"Prowl and Ratchet?" Emily guessed, sitting beside him.

"Yeah," Joe said as he came back.

"How's Carole?" Zach asked.

Joe gave a nervous laugh. "Ready to kill," he confessed. Emily looked at the two grinning guys and gave a soft sigh.

"So what do we do now?"

7:00 PM, November 9, 2008

Medical Bay 3A

Autobase, Oregon

"No fair!"

"Hey, watch out!"

"Go the other way!"

"Let go!"

Red Cross shook his head at the three humans as his cyber car crossed the finish line. Placing his controller on his lap, he watched the other three struggle for second place. Emily claimed it, quickly followed by Joe, and then Zach. The medic grinned at them.

"Told ya."

"Oh shut up," the younger of the boys tossed his controller to the side. Emily lightly punched him in the shoulder with her good hand.

"You are such a sore loser, Zach! C'mon, smile." She twisted her head so she could smile up at him. "Please, for me?"

"…Fine. But only on one condition." He suddenly tackled her, tickling the girl fiercely. The other two cracked up as she screamed for mercy.

"Enjoying yourselves?" All activity ceased at the voice. It was strong and carried a large amount of authority. It was not, however, unfriendly. Red Cross had jumped to his feet as though someone had prodded him with a hot iron. Turning to face the doorway, he saluted.

"Good Evening, Commander Prime, sir!"

The three humans stared at the Autobot Leader in awe. He was the largest bot they had seen by far. His blue-gold optics smiled at them from beneath his impressive helm. His red and blue armor looked as though it could withstand a nuclear holocaust, and his very presence seemed to fill up the entire room. Glancing at Red Cross, the corners of his optics seemed to move with a grin beneath his face plate.

"At ease, Red Cross," he granted, optics flashing with a knowing look. The bot relaxed a bit, but still seemed a bit jumpy. The Prime chuckled and turned his attention to the staring humans on the gurney.

Joe scrambled to his feet and gave the commander a hasty salute. Emily shoved the staring Zach off of her and climbed to her feet, amazed. Shaking himself, Zach got up beside him. Optimus Prime seemed to blink at their amazement, and chuckled softly.

"Greetings, I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. Whom do I have the pleasure of addressing?" He asked courteously.

The reporter, of course, was the first one to step forward. "I'm Joe Carter, from New York," he gave the Prime a small bow. "It's an honor to meet you, sir."

Zach nudged Emily forward; she had frozen up at the sight of her hero. "Uh, I, er, I'm Emily, from Maryland." She stuttered. Optimus gave her a kind smile.

"You must be the girl Dr. Merrick was so smitten with," he crouched down so he could look her in the face. "He said you were the best patient he's ever had." Beneath her freckles, Emily's cheeks turned bright pink. "And your friend is…?"

"Zach," he nodded to the Prime, feeling calm in his presence. "Thank you for helping my sister."

Optimus Prime nodded in return, "Of course. Now then, Mr. Carter," he turned to the other man in question. "Sharpbend told me that you are a reporter for the New York Times?"

Joe nearly choked. Glancing up at Prime, he nodded. "Er, yeah, I am."

"I see. Then why did you not call ahead and ask for an interview? Prowl, my second in command, would have been glad to speak with you." Optimus gave him a stern look. "As a reporter, your employer should have briefed you on the punishments of sneaking into a military base without the proper passes and codes."

He flinched beneath Primes glare. "Yes, they did." He confessed.

Optimus nodded. "My soldier Jazz has already contacted your employer. He's waiting for you to call." His optics gleamed as the man winced, and he turned to the other two.

"As for you two—"

"It was my fault!" Zach immediately jumped in. "I wanted to see the base and found a way to sneak in. Emily only came to make sure I didn't get in trouble."

Optimus chuckled. "I applaud your bravery, Zach, but Dr. Merrick told me different. He said that you came to guard Emily."

The girl blushed once more and scratched the back of her head. "Heheh, forget to tell you, didn't I?"

"Yes," the boy muttered sullenly, glaring at her from under his ebony locks.

"I'm sorry Zach! But it seemed wrong to lie about such a trivial thing," she shrugged, "I mean; we're both here now, no worse for wear."

The boy snorted. "Yeah, I can imagine your granny's face when we walk up: 'Oh, hello Mrs. Dubbon, how are you today? What happened to Emily's arm? Well, you see, I was supposed to protect her while she went on one of her insane exploits but I completely and utterly failed. So how was your vacation to Florida?"

Emily's retort was cut short as a shout came from Joe, who was on the phone with his employer. "What do you mean I'm fired? I'm the best reporter you have!" He shouted into the mouthpiece angrily. Mechs and humans alike winced as he unleashed a string of profanity upon the poor cell phone.

"Er, Red Cross, why don't you give our two guests here a tour of the base? I'll have Wheeljack give Mr. Carter a ride to his residence." Optimus suggested.

"Sure thing, sir!" Red Cross perked up. Sweeping the siblings up in his hand, he set them down and transformed into a SUV ambulance. Popping open his doors, he invited the two inside. "C'mon, I'll give you the best tour of the base ever!" He said energetically. Emily pulled herself up into the passenger seat while Zach took the drivers.

"You're so sweet, Red Cross," She smiled sweetly and patted his dashboard. The medic gave an uncomfortable cough.

"Yes, er," clearing his vocalizer, he sped out of the room, "To the command center!"

8:30 PM, November 9, 2008

Covington Crater Ridge

Autobase, Oregon

The western ridge of Covington Crater was merely two and a half inches wide, made by rock sheared off during the crash. On the outside of the ridge, sitting on a small outcropping of rock, the two humans and their new Autobot friends watched the brilliant pink and yellow sunset. Emily was settled back in-between Red Cross and their newest companion, Bumblebee. They had met several different members of the team throughout their hour and a half tour, but only the infiltration specialist had agreed to join them for the trek up to the ledge. Zach was sitting on Bumblebee's other side, kicking his legs back and forth as they watched the sun sink.

"So Cybertron doesn't have a sun?" He asked curiously as the sky began to fade into deep reds and purples.

Bumblebee shook his head. "No suns. We have two moons, though." He leaned back on his elbows and admired the colors. "There's nothing like this on Cybertron." His optics gained a far-away look, gleaming brightly.

"That's sad," Emily said, standing and walking about the ledge to stretch her legs.

"We did have the Sonic Canyons," Red Cross sighed dreamily. "They were beautiful." At Emily's questioning glance, he burst into an explanation. "They were these huge chasms that crawled all over Cybertron, down to the very core! You could go and sit near the edge and shout something into them, and it would echo back at you a hundred fold. But you could also hear the inner-workings of Cybertron too; gears and pumps and stuff. It sounded like that kind of music you have here, uh," He scratched his head for a moment, "Industrial! It sounds like your industrial type of music, only better."

Emily smiled dreamily. "That sounds beautiful. I wish I could see it," she drifted off to the edge of the ledge and ran a hand through her fiery red hair.

Red Cross coughed and glanced at Bumblebee, who shook his head in reply.

"Aw, c'mon Bee! She's such a sweetheart; I'm sure Prime would agree!" He pleaded.

The two humans glanced at each other as Bumblebee said, "After he toasted you for telling them. Can you imagine the trouble we'd be in for telling them that?"

"Telling us what?" Emily prodded, poking Red Cross's knee. "C'mon, you can trust us, we won't tell anybody else!"

The medic gave Bumblebee a pleading look, and the yellow bot sighed. "Fine, but for the record, I'm against this."

Red Cross grinned and looked down at Emily and Zach. "Prime has been setting up a supply run to Cybertron for a while now. A few of the scientists are going up to see the planet; maybe we can convince him to let you two come!"

Emily was quiet for a moment, and then she jumped and gave a wild 'whoop!' "That would be so cool! Imagine, Zach, we could be some of the first humans to step on Cybertron soil, er, metal!"

He shook his head. "You think your grandmother would let you go?" He stooped down and shook a cane at her. "You crazy girl! You ain't going to a planet of robots, no siree! If those hunks of steel come anywhere near you I'll sick my dentures on 'em!" He stormed around the ledge, muttering to himself. Red Cross and Bumblebee looked away, trying to stifle their laughter.

Emily wrapped her arms around his neck as he straightened and looked pleading up at him. "Please Zach? Could we at least ask? Please?" She pleaded.

"Emily—" His brotherly concern speech was cut off as Bumblebee's com-link crackled to life.

"Bumblebee, have you seen the new humans?" Prowl's stern voice echoed across the ledge.

"They're right here, sir," Bumblebee replied.

"Send them down to the Command Center. Prowl out." The connection broke.

Red Cross shook his head. "What a stiff," he shrugged. "C'mon, Zach, lets head down there." He swept the human up onto his shoulder.

Emily pouted. "What about me?" Before the medic could answer, Bumblebee gently grabbed her under her arms and lifted her up onto his own shoulder.

"You get to ride with the cool bot," he grinned.

Red Cross snorted. "Yeah, right. Race to the bottom?"

"Loser buys the energon?" Bumblebee smirked.

"And the soda!" Emily chimed in.

"You're on!"

8:59 PM, November 9, 2008

Command Center

Autobase, Oregon

Optimus Prime, Prowl and Ratchet were waiting in the Command Center for the two bots and their human friends. Bumblebee and Emily waltzed in first, him sipping on an energon cube, her swinging an orange soda back and forth. Red Cross and Zach came in after them, scowling, with their own drinks in hand.

Ratchet raised an optic curiously. "Everything alright?" He asked them.

Emily grinned. "They're just sore 'cause they lost the race!" She chimed happily.

Optimus had to chuckle at the girls bright attitude. It seemed that you could throw anything at her and have it bounce straight back in positive rays. Getting down on one knee, he held his hand out to her. "How is your arm?"

"It's fine, all things considered," She took the finger he offered and shook it up and down happily. He laughed again at her enthusiasm. Standing as she skipped back to her brother's side, he cleared his throat and turned serious.

"Yes, well, all things considered," he glanced at Prowl, who nodded, "We found it necessary to contact your guardians." He raised an optic at their suddenly pale faces. "Emily, your grandmother is waiting for you to call," She looked ready to faint, "and Zach, your mother is expecting the same," His hands began to twitch nervously. "Professor Taket will take you to his office, where you may call home."

A cough came from the back of the room, and the humans turned to see a young man wearing a lab coat smiling patiently at them.

"Good evening. I am Professor Taket," he greeted the two. "And you must be Emily and Zach." He nodded to them.

Optimus smiled at him. "Good evening, Professor." He greeted.

"Greetings Commander Prime," the man nodded. "May I take these two off of your hands for now?" He motioned to the surrogate siblings.

"Of course," Optimus nodded, "I will see you in the morning, Zach and Emily." He turned to Prowl and began to talk in a low voice, meaning that they were dismissed. Ratchet grabbed Red Cross's arm and dragged him off to the Med Bays, chiding him about the work that had piled up. Bumblebee shrugged and transformed.

"Hop in," he popped open three of his doors. Professor Taket took the driver's seat, Zach the passengers, and Emily stretched out in the back. With a rev of his engine, Bumblebee took off out of the room towards the scientist's office.

10:00 PM, November 9, 2008

Base of Covington Crater

Autobase, Oregon

"Fire me, will he?" Joe Carter snarled to himself as he threw his spanner into the engine. "I'll show him! The rotten two-timing b—" He was cut off as a stream of oil spurted into his face. Cursing, he choked and stumbled back, running into something. Wiping oil off his face, he glanced up.

"Joe Carter?" It was an older man with pale skin and pure-white hair. He was dressed smartly in a grey suit with a grey tie and grey shoes with grey laces. His eyes were hidden behind grey sunglasses. There was a grey pocket-watch in his grey breast-suit, which he pulled out impatiently with grey nails and checked the time as Joe righted himself.

"Yeah, I'm Joe." The man eyed him up and down. "Why ya want to know?"

"I believe, Joe Carter, that we may be able to help each other." The man said calmly.

"If yer lookin' fer a ride, I can't give you one." Joe tossed his oil rag on top of the car and leaned against the fender. "She's deader than a bolt."

"Yes, well, I will provide us with transportation." The man replaced his watch. "Now, as I understand, you have lost your job?"

Joe growled and picked his spanner out of the engine angrily. "Don't know what yer talking 'bout." He snarled.

"But you do," the man insisted, "Because of the Great Optimus Prime, you have lost your job, and your only chance to interview your idol for the New York Times. But those kids are still in there, and that little girl will get the interview that is rightfully yours."

Joe slammed the spanner against his engine, breaking a few small wires in the process. "That damn girl," he scowled, "It was her fault we got caught!"

"Exactly," the man agreed, moving so he was right behind Joe. He placed a gnarled hand on his shoulder. "I can help you get your revenge, Carter," he hissed into the mans ear, "but first, I need information. Then the girl is as good as yours."

Joe cracked his knuckles. "I'll ruin her life, like she ruined mine," he nodded to the man. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything," the elderly man removed his glasses, revealing dark red irises. "I want to know everything."

Fin Chapter 2