Last Edited June 16, 2019

Wheeljack

"How many times have I told you not to call me that?" he grumbled. I smirked as I leaned against the wall.

"Come on Doc, all I'm asking for is a groundbridge to Hope's school." Hope had wanted to go to school, claiming she would have nothing to do here. Not that I blamed her for complaining. I was always out traveling the galaxy. And since I was on this rock of a planet, I was usually out exploring. Never sitting in one place.

"I think it best for her to rest with her injuries." Ratchet stated simply as Hope's small form walked in. She yawned, rubbing her eyes.

"I'm fine, Ratchet." she pointed towards her neck, which was practically healed. "I heal fast. I guess it comes with the wings." She smiled at him, her blonde hair swaying as she shook her head. "No need to worry. Wheeljack will take care of me." She turned to me, and I nodded.

"Come on Ratchet," I said, using his real designation. Ratchet sighed, his holoform suddenly appearing next to Hope as he began to examine her. After a few minutes of him poking and prodding her, he finally sighed.

"I don't understand how a human can heal so fast." he muttered before his holoform disappeared and his Cybertronian form turned to me. "Fine. But she will require the materials necessary for her teaching."

Hope froze. "I-it's back at the orphanage. My backpack and stuff."

She huffed in frustration. I smiled down at her as I transformed, opening my door. She hesitated before climbing in. Ratchet activated the groundbrige and rolled forward slowly. I parked at the front of the old run down brick building. Hope trembled inside me, and I activated my holoform.

"Stay here. You don't have to go in." I said softly to her. She nodded quickly, obviously happy to know she didn't have to follow me inside. I opened my door but stopped when I felt a small hand on my wrist.

"Um, could you get me something else as well?" she asked shyly. I nodded and she continued, "A small box on my dresser in my room. I have some valuables in it I can't leave behind." I nodded in understanding. She thanked me softly before I closed the door and pulled my katanas out, ready for any possible threat.

The front door opened with a squeak, as I peered in. Everything was silent. The lights were off, but the sunshine that leaked through the curtains and into the living room I was standing in seemed to brighten everything up. I grimaced as I noticed glass everywhere. The walls had peeling paint, and the flooring had nails sticking up, just asking some fleshy to step on them.

How could someone live like this? It was disgusting. The blade of my katana seemed to split the air, making noise as I turned, surveying the room for any possible danger. Nothing. Not wanting to waste any time, I hurried upstairs to Hope's room. The room I had left the flesh bag Macen in the night before.

Now, he was nowhere in sight. I noticed the backpack immediately, sitting in the corner of the room with a few dirty clothes surrounding it. Grabbing it, I slung it over my shoulder before making my way over to the tall wooden piece of furniture which I guessed was the dresser.

Just as Hope had said, there sat a small box with the words "DO NOT OPEN" written in black on the front of it. I was curious, but didn't want to go against Hope's wishes written in bold so I tucked it under my arm and made my way downstairs.

Hope was waiting anxiously for me, still inside of my alt mode. She let out a sigh of relief when I opened the door. "What? Didn't think I could handle myself?" I smirked. She shrugged, her eyes glazing over as it was covered by her hair.

"Hey, I was just joking," I said softly. She nodded timidly.

As my holoform disappeared and I began down the road again, I couldn't help but adjust my rear view mirror to look at her small figure. She was the complete opposite of Miko. Not that I was complaining. I honestly didn't know how Bulkhead did it. Maybe Hope just needed some time to get used to everything, as Optimus told me early this morning.

I forced myself not to sigh as I turned my blinker on, pulling into the parking lot of Jasper's High School. Hope gave me a shy smile before taking her backpack upon her shoulders and hoping out. "I'll pick you up after school," I said, hating to see her go. There were so many ways she could get hurt or worse.

Bullies, M.E.C.H, or the 'cons. Either of the three could attack while I was gone. Sighing, I heard Bulkhead over the comm link.

: Don't worry too much. She will be fine as long as Miko, Jack, and Raf are with her: Bulkhead reassured me.

From across the parking lot, I spotted the ol' wrecker sitting and waiting for me as I had requested him to before he dropped Miko off. I pulled up next to him before we both pulled into traffic.

: I know she will be. But I can't help but worry about her. Is this how it always feels like? : I asked him. Bulkhead chuckled as he drove beside me, turning left. I followed.

: You mean worrying? Yeah, I worry about Miko all the time. But she's a tough kid. I have to trust that she knows how to handle herself. : Bulkhead stated.

When we were a safe distance away from the small town of Jasper, I skidded to a stop and transformed. I knew Miko could handle herself. Heck, I had witnessed with my own eyes her take down an insecticon when I was so close to offlining.

Bulkhead had been severely injured and I was dumb enough to let her in on my plan for revenge. Which led to another worrisome thought. What if she got hurt because of me and my actions? Miko had almost been killed on that mission. But, she also had a chance to prove to everyone how strong she was.

Bulkhead smiled at me and cocked his helm to one side. "I know what will make you two bond faster. Why don't you take her on a trip in the old Jackhammer?" He questioned. The Jackhammer? I hadn't even thought about that.

"Couldn't hurt none." I grinned.

Hope

School went by faster than I thought it would. Normally the long, dragged out school days were full of bullies and angry whispers to one another about the 'weird' girl. But today, things seemed to change for the better.

I didn't have to worry about rushing home to get back to Macen, so I could actually take my time with getting my homework and not accidentally forgetting something. Miko was laughing hysterically beside me as I closed my locker.

"What?" I asked. She snorted and waved me off. "No, what's so funny?" I found myself giggling. Miko finally rolled her eyes.

"The principal's face. He just asked me why I wasn't in detention, and I told him I didn't have it today." I raised an eyebrow. That did seem strange.

"You're not going to detention because you decided not to or because you just didn't get any?" I asked, suspicion aroused. Miko waved me off immediately.

"Didn't get one. Decided to keep my mischief to myself today, so we could have some extra time to go shopping. My fifteenth birthday was last week and I still have money." I shook my head.

"No! You can't spend your money on me!" I pleaded, feeling ashamed. "Don't spend it on me!"

"It's fine. I have a good five hundred dollars, so I've got plenty." My mouth dropped. How did she get that much money from a birthday? Miko could obviously read the confused expression on my face as she pressed my mouth shut again.

"Big family in Japan and here, so lots of relatives," she stated simply. Oh. I had forgotten that Miko lived with a family here that wasn't her own. But that still didn't mean she had to spend her money on me! And what if the Decepticons tried to attack or something?

"I know what's going on in your brain, so stop thinking about it." Miko snapped at me. I jerked my head up, realizing I must have said that last part out loud. "Bulkhead and Wheeljack will be there, so everything will be fine." She said, adjusting her backpack and walking down the hallway towards the front doors of the school.

I jogged to keep up with her. In the process, I bumped into a few people here and there, receiving some grumbles of annoyance and angry remarks. Miko looked like she wanted to thump them, but I ushered her out the front door and sat on the bench sitting on the sidewalk.

Miko grinned widely at me as we sat and waited for our guardians to show up. Raf walked up a few seconds after we sat.

Adjusting his glasses, he asked, "What are you guys doing later? Jack and I were thinking about going racing with Arcee and Bumblebee." At that very moment, Jack walked up, his arms crossed and a lazy smile plastered onto his face.

"We thought Miko would like to go off-roading." he explained. Miko shook her head.

"Hope and I are going shopping. It turns out, she's staying with the Aut- uh," she glanced around, realizing we were in public and in earshot of any eavesdroppers. "She's staying with our friends, and I decided to take her shopping when we get picked up. Would you boys like to come along?"

I couldn't help but giggle as Jack backed away slowly, his hands up in surrender. Bumblebee pulled up beside us and Raf stuttered, "W-we'd love to go shopping with you, but B-bee was really looking forward to off-roading." He made a nervous laugh before shooting a 'lets-get-the-heck-out-of-here' glance at Jack, who nodded quickly in agreement.

When the two had driven off with their guardians, a trail of smoke left behind them, I giggled and turned towards Miko. "Boys. I never thought they could hate shopping so much." Miko chuckled, crossing her legs.

"It's not so much the shopping. It's more of the fact that when there's a woman involved, it takes three hours to find the perfect outfit," she said the last part in her best girly voice, which I personally think she nailed. "I just can't wait to get a Slash Monkey T-shirt! I saw one the other day!" she rambled on.

I took in a deep breath of the afternoons fresh air, happy that I wasn't rushing home to get a beating from Macen. Or dealing with the fact that I had no friends- because now, I have friends. I gave Miko a side glance as she kept babbling before rolling my eyes slightly in amusement. Well, a best friend who wouldn't shut up.

It would take a while for me to get used to giant alien robots as well, but at the same time, I knew it would be difficult for the human allies to get used to me having wings. Suddenly, here was a honk at my right, and I found the familiar white sports car. Bulkhead, in his alt mode, pulled up behind him.

Miko grinned and winked at me before climbing into Bulkhead. I did the same with Wheeljack. "How was your day, kid?" Wheeljack asked as he pulled out of the parking lot. I shrugged, but a smile was plastered onto my face.

"Pretty good, I guess. Not so much homework and the teachers weren't jerks." All of a sudden, a voice came on the radio.

: Has Hope informed you about going shopping yet, because Miko won't shut up about it. : I looked down into my lap as the rearview mirror turned to face me.

"Shopping?" He questioned. I nodded shyly.

"Since I'm staying with you, Miko thought you guys wouldn't mind going shopping for some clothes. All mine were ripped to shreds back at the orphanage." I heard a chuckle, making me look up, surprised.

"I wouldn't mind. I've been bored out of my mind all day." Wheeljack stated. Over the radio, Bulkhead groaned.

: You don't know what you've just gotten yourself into :