Rachel was staring out the window of the driver's side, her head on her hand and she had one other hand slightly resting on the steering wheel. The view they were getting as they grew closer to the shore line was gorgeous. The sun was basically sinking into the ocean by now, and stars could barely be seen. The girl releases a yawn and gazes around. Raph was completely out in the back seat, and Sam was also staring out his window. He seemed.... happy? As if he hadn't been in this car in a while.

Rachel turns back to her view, going over the events of today. It was the only way to escape the migraine that was pounding her skull. She most likely had a concussion after that blast, and she didn't want to fall asleep knowing that.

Earlier, she was just about to break through the last firewall to pin point exact coordinates to the island. She was mere seconds away, but the moment she was about to decimate the safety features of N.E.S.T., the detector went off.

Then N.E.S.T. arrived less than an hour later.

Her eyes open more.

The 'possible' location of the island was nearly three hours from their shack in the woods, and that's without traffic. There was no way they would have gotten there that fast.

Unless.....

She huffs. Should have known that shifty salesclerk was giving her too good of a deal on that nice car. He was most likely a N.E.S.T. operative.

And her car.....

"Bumblebee?" She asks quizzically. The radio emits static, then a "Yes?" from another show. Sam had explained earlier that Bumblebee couldn't speak, so he used recordings from shows or movies to speak. Rachel asks her question, and turns her gazes towards the radio. "My car.... i-it's an Autobot, isn't it?"

The radio is silent for a while. So quiet that Rachel hears movement behind her, telling her Raph was slightly awake. Even Sam was watching her now, his gaze darting between her and the radio.

Finally, a single word answer comes out, in a voice similar to the large blue and red eighteen wheeler that was still tailing them.

"Affirmative."

Rachel sighs. It was as she said to Sam earlier. Her and Raph were prepared for almost everything. This.... wasn't one of those things.

Suddenly, a deeper, more baritone voice emits from the speakers. "Miss Rachel, we never meant to invade your privacy, but you had become the target of Decepticons due to your.... findings." The girl glares out the window, then turns in her seat to look through the window behind them.

"Stop."

Sam cocks an eyebrow in confusion, and even the camaro makes a confused beep.

"I said stop. As in halt, quit moving forward."

Silence. As her grip tightens on the steering wheel, Bumblebee lets out what sounds like a sigh, then slowly pulls over on the road before slowing to a stop. The eighteen wheeler behind them follows suit, and everything grows quiet.

"What is wrong?"

The voice was back, but this time, Rachel wanted to talk to it-him- herself. Opening the door, she steps out of the car and makes her way to the large vehicle behind them. Sam seems to completely lose his mind. "R-Rachel! W-What are you doing?" He tries to leave, but Bumblebee locked the doors. Sam turns to the front of the car with a glare.

Bumblebee says something to him, and the boy stops trying to escape. He instead leans back in his chair and sighs. "Crazy girl..."

Rachel, having made it to the side of the eighteen wheeler, slightly glares at it. Her gazes falters, turns curious, then she quickly climbs up the side, opens the door, and slides into the seat. She sits there for a while until her suspicions were proven. The deep voice radiates from the radio, much louder now.

"You seem angry."

Rachel huffs, then sighs. "I'm.... I-I'm not angry. I'm just... confused. I wanted to ask you something.... without other ears listening and other voices pipping in."

The vehicle seems to emit a low rumble of understanding. A seat-belt slowly moves over Rachel and clicks into place. She lets out a startled "Oh!", but doesn't move. "Sorry..." The male voice replies. "N-No! I-It's okay. I'm just not used to having my car buckle me.... that's all."

Slowly, the eighteen wheeler pulls back onto the road after Bumblebee, and for a while Rachel sits in silence. She had always wanted to ride in one of these, and now she was.... and was also riding in a giant alien robot...

With feelings....

That understands English and human emotions....

She relaxes and finally spits out her first answer.

"What's your name?"

The vehicle quickly replies.

"My name is Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots."

Rachel slightly laughs, and this earns a confused question from the bot. "What's so funny?" Rachel apologizes. "I-It's not... It's just they way you said it. Sounds like you say it a lot." The engine seems to sputter, and it takes a moment for Rachel to realize it was a possible laugh. "Indeed I have."

She doesn't hesitate to ask another one.

"Who... Well, what are you? You seem so...." She tries to think of a better way to put it, but settles for the original word. "Alive."

There's a small amount of silence, then her answer. "We are, indeed, alive. We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron. Also known as Cybertronians by our.... human comrades. We came here in search of something we believed would restore our home world.... but it has been destroyed...."

Rachel's gaze softens. She didn't even have to ask. The way he spoke of it meant that their home was destroyed or at least uninhabitable. "I'm sorry, Optimus...." The engine sighs as they drive closer to a large port. "Thank you, Rachel."

They continue on in silence for a while, then another question pops into her head. "So... What's the name of my car?" Optimus is quick to answer. "His name is Sideswipe." He stops, then seems to apologize. "I hope he didn't cause to much trouble while on the road...." With a name like that, she understood his concern. "He was fine... Especially when I had to race through traffic earlier..." She smiles. "Around you, actually."

The engine stutters again. "I was to intervene if necessary, but you avoided the Decepticons easily without my help."

Rachel freezes, and Optimus seems to notice as he slows slightly. "Those... w-weren't... your guys?" The truck answers quickly. "They were not. We had not known how soon they would find you, and that is why we assigned Sideswipe as your guardian until we felt it necessary to bring you to our base."

Rachel barely relaxes. "So you guys were going to wait until we almost die to get us?" She was angry, but mostly because they had endangered Raph's life. He got dragged into this because of her, and she would feel terrible if something were to happen to him.

Optimus tries to reassure her, but instead stops and says, "It was not my idea. I wished to get you the moment we found you successfully hacking into our systems." This makes Rachel red in the face. She had thought she was so sneaky, but they knew the whole time.

"Why?"

She didn't need to say more.

"Your government would like as few people to know of our existence as possible... They wanted to see if you would exhaust yourself to the point of giving up. However, each obstacle we tried to put in place, you simply tore down." He's voice lightens up a bit. "Major William Lennox seems to have a liking for your determination."

This doesn't seem to effect Rachel, however deep down she feels a sense of pride. She knew the rankings, and the fact she gained the attention of someone that high up. She lets a small smile slip on her face, and Optimus relaxes.

Somehow, they arrive at the port much faster than Rachel had wanted. She gazes through the window at the soldiers standing by. They gaze at her, then the truck, and wave them on. She wasn't worried, but her nerves were on edge. Sooner or later, she was going to face this creatures at their full form... and that terrified her especially after today's incident.

That made her ask another question as Optimus rolls to a stop.

"What was his name?"

The bot makes a confused rumble. "Beg your pardon?"

"The Decepticon earlier. Sam recognized it. What's his name?"

Optimus goes silent, thinking for a moment. "Barricade, one of the strongest Decepticons." Rachel smirks. "Guess Raph and I were that big of a deal, huh?" Or it knew Sam was there.... She keeps that to herself. She asks another. "How many of you guys are there?"

Optimus tries to count them in his mind, but instead he simply replies, "There are many of us at the base. You will be safe." Rachel slightly huffs. He was pretty good at reading through the lines, she will give him that. Finally, she stays silent for a while, watching the waves roll past the large carrier ship they were on. It was a beautiful sight, and she was even graced by the presence of a dolphin launching out of the water.

Gazing at the side mirror, Rachel gasps as she barely can see the shore anymore. As if on cue, her door opens and the seat-belt retracts. "It is safe for you to walk around now, if you'd like." She gazes at the radio, then over it towards Bumblebee. The two boys were getting out as well.

Slowly, she does the same, stretching her legs and everything with a sigh. As she takes a few more steps away, the truck behind her rumbles to life, then clanking of metal on metal echoes around. Rachel slightly shouts and jumps back, turning in the process. She watches in awe as Optimus Prime transforms fully before her into his massive mech form. He gazes down, then kneels down to allow her to see him better.

His eyes- optics, she mused- were electric blue and she could see the details in each one. His face was smaller plates of metal, and when he spoke, she could see a row of moving parts that shifted like a sound wave. "I did not mean to startle you. My mistake." Rachel gazes up at him, then moves closer until she is standing beneath his face.

She reaches up, but hesitates. "It's alright." Optimus states, and the girl continues. She touches his cheek where it seemed like plates to cover his mouth piece were hidden. Lowering her hand, she gazes at the rest of him. Slowly, she makes her way around the knelt bot before slightly stepping back as Bumblebee transformed next to her.

She watches the display again, and Optimus straightens slightly. As the camaro finishes, he turns towards her and waves. She smiles and waves back, looking over him. Walking closer, she lays a hand on his leg, then walks around it as if inspecting him. "Woah there, honey..." He says, in a cowboy accent. However, he doesn't move, and this earns a slight giggle from Rachel.

Seeing the girl a little more relaxed, Optimus stands up straight and walks towards the middle of the ship, minding his step around other humans rushing about. He gazes through a window at the captain of the boat and gives him a nod. The captain nods back.

Bumblebee, having turned to watch Optimus, now gazes back down at the girl who was staring up at him. He blinks in surprise, then kneels down. She keeps her eyes locked on his optics, then slowly goes down his shoulder to his servos. She walks closer, and Bee sticks out his hand. She gently places her own in it. "Fascinating.... You can feel this, right?" She turns to Bee, who nods his head.

Carefully, she places her other hand on his servo, then pushes herself up onto his hand. On her knees in his hand, she gazes at him. "C-Can you... uh...." Bumblebee seems to smile at that before standing and lifting her in the air. The girl catches herself before gazing over his palm.

"Woah!"

She slowly stands, still gazing down. However, after feeling the breeze brush against her, she gazes up, her eyes falling straight on Optimus Prime's large figure. The last light of the setting sun made the flames on his paint job glow as if they were real. Blinking, she turns to Bumblebee and smiles. "Y-You can put me down now, Bumblebee.... Th-Thanks..." The bot's optics seem to soften like a smile as he lowers her back to the ground. 

Hoping off his servo, she shivers. It was rather cold on the ocean. Sam walks over and careflly lays his jacket over her shoulders. She nods her thanks, then gazes back up at Bee. "He's your car?" Sam only smiles at this, then follows her gaze.

"My one and only...."