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Silence met Griffin as he opened his eyes. He felt disoriented as he attempted to look around, confusion hitting him as he felt a sudden throbbing pain.

A bandage was tightly wrapped around his upper arm, right below his shoulder. A hiss left his lips as he went to move and an exasperated voice followed shortly after.

"Ep ep ep! Do you want it to start bleeding again?" the voice asked in irritation. Griffin groaned, wishing he could cover his ears. The voice was so loud. He blinked slowly as two large, metal legs stepped into his vision.

What- Griffin's eyes widened as he slowly began to look up. A familiar white and orange robot met his gaze. Startled, he threw himself backward and- much to his surprise- fell off of the bed he sat on.

"Humans," the voice grumbled in irritation.

A loud chuckle followed before a second voice spoke, "Looks like you scared the Allspark right out of him Doc!"

Griffin could see a second robot as he slowly eased himself off the ground. It stood leaned against the wall a short distance away, grinning at the white and orange robot.

"Do not call me Doc."

"Okay sunshine."

Feeling overwhelmed, Griffin quickly rose to his feet, trying his best to ignore the increasing pain in his arm and took a step back.

"Who are you? Where am I?" His sister suddenly enveloped his thoughts, to which he also shouted in panic- "Where's Fae!"

The white and orange robot paused, as if realizing something important. "Ah, yes. The femme. She is doing quite well, actually. Her injuries were nothing more than a concussion. I would advise her not to do any strenuous activities for at least a week."

"Where is she?" Griffin asked again.

The robot seemed to soften a bit, recognizing how distressed he was- "She is resting for now," he pointed a short distance across the room- "over there."

Griffin felt relief wash over him as he spotted her small body lying in a makeshift hospital bed, sleeping soundly. With a sigh, he allowed himself to relax.

"Who is she?" the second robot asked suddenly in a suggestive tone, "your girlfriend?"

Griffin couldn't stop the scowl that crossed over his face. "What? Ew, no- she's my sister." Wait. what was he doing? "I want to know where I am. Who are you and what do you want from us?"

"Well, that's hardly the way to thank the one who saved your aft," the white and orange robot scoffed. Saved my aft? What did that even mean?

Memories suddenly flashed through his mind. Griffin's breath caught in his throat as he remembered the men in black, armed with guns. They had escaped thanks to-

He paused in thought before turning to the robot. His voice did sound familiar...

"Ratchet?" Griffin asked cautiously.

The robot seemed shocked. "Well, you're the first human to, as they say, connect the dots this quickly."

Griffin shifted his gaze to the second robot. "And you... you're Optimus?"

A loud laugh followed the question, making him wince. "Me? The Optimus Prime? Sorry kid, but I could never be boss bot. Too much responsibility."

"And an astounding lack of many other qualities that one must require to become Prime," Ratchet grumbled in distaste.

Griffin looked between the two in confusion before the second spoke up again- "The name's Wheeljack. What's yours?"

"Griffin." He paused before speaking, which Wheeljack seemed to pick up on.

"What's the matter kid? Nervous?"

"I'm just alarmed at how calm I feel."

"Ah yes," Ratchet chimed in, "shock. It is completely possible that your body is taking the time to process everything happening around it. But do not worry- though it is a time-filled, strenuous task that I have the misfortune of undertaking, I have researched much about humans and their medicine. You are safe in my care."

"Careful, Doc, or he might think you didn't want to help him," Wheeljack said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

A soft groan sounded suddenly, making Griffin perk up. Fae was shifting slightly, moving a hand to cover her eyes as they fluttered open.

"Griffin?"

"Fae!" He was quick to move, jogging over to her bed before Ratchet could stop him.

She winced in pain and placed a hand to her head. "I feel like I'm having a hangover."

He chuckled, knowing very well that she'd never had a drop of alcohol in her life. While she was rebellious enough to drink it behind their parent's back, she was also too scared to try.

"You've never had a hangover Fae," he chuckled.

She grumbled in reply, reaching out an arm. Griffin leaned forward and let her hug him. He winced in pain as she brushed against his arm. She pulled away in shock.

"Your arm-"

"It's fine, Fae."

"You were shot!" she gasped, suddenly remembering everything they had experienced. "Mom and dad-"

Griffin felt helpless as tears filled her eyes, lips and hands trembling. "I know, Fae."

"They're gone," she whimpered out.

He felt tears in his own eyes as he nodded, hugging her tighter as she hiccupped through her tears. For a moment he had almost forgotten. But now their blank stares were burning into his mind.

A few moments passed before she pulled away, wiping gently at her eyes. "Where are we anyway? What happened-" she froze as she suddenly noticed Ratchet and Wheeljack, who had watched their interaction in respectful silence.

"Oh, well-" Griffin stepped to the side to let her have a better view, "I don't really know where we are, but this is Ratchet- he helped save us, remember? And that-"

"My name's Wheelajack," he said, introducing himself with a small smile. "I'm sorry to hear what happened to your parental units."

"Parental units?" Fae asked quietly.

"The same as parents, but in Cybertronian terms," Ratchet answered. "I too am sorry to hear about your loss. I assume it was at the hands of M.E.C.H."

"M.E.C.H?" Griffin's hands clenched and unclenched. "They're the ones who did all of this?"

"But why? Who are they?" Fae asked.

Steady footsteps sounded, echoing throughout the large room and making everyone fall silent. A large robot Griffin didn't recognize appeared from a separate hallway. He was red and blue, with a soft smile on his face and a knowing look in his eyes.

"M.E.C.H. is a human organization that attempts to replicate anything of Cybertronian origin," he said in a deep, baritone voice. Griffin recognized it easily as the man who had stolen his gun.

"Optimus?" he questioned hesitantly.

"Yes, young one. My name is Optimus Prime."

"There's another giant robot," Fae mumbled to herself. Griffin grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, just as she often did when he was having a panic attack. She relaxed instantly and took a deep breath.

"But what are Cybertronians? Where are you from?"

"We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron."

"So you're aliens?" she whispered, excitement filling her voice. "I knew there were aliens out there somewhere! I've always believed in you guys, but Griffin was more skeptical. But how on earth can someone see space and think that we're the only one's living in it? It just makes no sense-"

Griffin placed a hand on her arm- a reminder to breathe- and she paused, blushing in embarrassment. "Sorry. I've- I've just always wanted to meet an alien. Didn't think it would actually happen, though."

"Then today's your lucky day, kid!" Wheeljack grinned at her. She smiled shyly and turned back toward Optimus as he began to speak again.

"It is true- we too were surprised to find humans when first arriving at earth."

"Mostly surprised at how squishy you all are. Fragile creatures," Ratchet muttered. His hands worked quickly at what looked to be a large keyboard. Strange symbols flashed across what looked to be several monitors hanging on the walls.

Griffin looked around, finally taking in the large room they were standing in. It looked to be the inside of a cave. Technology was scattered across the area, along with large tables covered in tools and other gadgets that looked to be bigger than him.

"So I'm assuming you hide here so you won't be experimented on by the government or something?"

Ratchet scoffed, "The government is well aware of our presence. As if they could do anything against us," he mumbled the last part under his breath.

"Yes- we keep ourselves away from civilians in order to keep our secrecy, though a few do learn about our existence," Optimus said.

"So you're here because you left your home planet Cybertron?" Fae wondered out loud.

"Cybertronians are separated by two sides- the Autobots and the Decepticons. A millennia of war has left our planet in ruin, and we followed the Decepticons here. We have found our lifeblood, Energon, deep in the crust of this planet. Decepticons are destructive and do not care about any other life but their own. We Autobots have sworn to protect the earth and its inhabitants until we win the war and restore our planet."

Griffin felt like his head was spinning. He leaned back onto Fae's bed, gripping his head as he tried to steady himself.

"So there's an alien war. An alien war has been here, on earth, and we had no idea."

"I do apologize for the circumstances that led to our meeting," Optimus continued, "but now you have found out about our existence. It is important that we keep you safe- from both M.E.C.H. and the Decepticons.

"But the Decepticons don't even know about us, right?" Fae asked in a timid voice.

"We believe M.E.C.H. is working with Starscream- a Decepticon who often goes rogue from his team. Now that M.E.C.H. knows that we helped you, the information is bound to get to the Decepticon's leader one way or another."

The two sat in silence, unable to process this news. Not only were they witnesses to their parent's murder, but they were now under the radar of killer enemy aliens.

"I really want this to be a dream," Griffin groaned, one hand covering his eyes.

"Don't sweat it kid, we'll protect you," Wheeljack said suddenly. "We won't let anything happen to ya."

Fae eyes the group standing in front of them. She couldn't help but feel intimidated, despite the fact that they were on their side. "So how many of there are you? Are there other humans like us?"

"That know about our existence?" Ratchet asked, scowling, "Unfortunately, yes. Three teenagers around your age, in fact. I'm sure you will be great friends."

Optimus smiled, "There are six of us in total. Bulkhead, Arcee, and Bumblebee are currently with their charges. I requested they leave the base so you would not feel overwhelmed."

Griffin appreciated the thought, but he was well past overwhelmed.

"So what now?" Fae asked.

"Now, we must assign you both a guardian. After that I will inform Agent William Fowler about your presence. Seeing as your parental units have sadly... passed, it is important we know where to place you from here."

"Guardian?" Ratchet asked, sounding skeptical, "Who else is there? The other three have already-"

Optimus smiled softly, to which Ratchet scowled, "Optimus, you can't seriously think-"

"Sounds like you're gonna be a guardian, doc!" Wheeljack chuckled. Then he paused, looking at both Griffin and Fae, suddenly realizing something- "There are two of them-"

"You will also act as guardian to one of the children, Wheeljack," Optimus said. There was a hint of amusement in his tone as the other two gasped and sputtered, trying to form some kind of argument but failing hopelessly.

"I must now contact William Fowler. I will leave the decision to you two."

Griffin and Fae looked to each other as he retreated before slowly looking up at Ratchet and Wheeljack.

Ratchet and Wheeljack did the same, looking unsure as they stared down at them.

Ratchet sighed in distaste before stepping forward. "Who of the two of you is the least hyperactive?"

Fae raised an eyebrow and pointed to Griffin, who shrugged gently, as to not hurt his injury- "Me, I guess?"

"Good," Ratchet nodded, "From now on you shall be my charge. Wheeljack, I'm sure you'll get along with the femme just fine."

Wheeljack shrugged in agreement before stepping to the side. "The Jackhammer needs me- I haven't repaired her in a while."

"Yes, and I must finish my work."

And just like that, the two went their own separate ways, leaving Griffin and Fae staring at each other, wondering the same thing-

Did their new guardians just abandon them?