A/n Well, here it is, the next chapter. Again, my apologies for being so late. Life has not been very helpful in giving me time to write as often as I used to. But I'll manage with what I have.

For this chapter, the parts in Italics are the translations of the Toa's words. It would have taken longer to try to translate that much.

Having been so focused on both the group and the song, Bumblebee's reaction to Sari's exclamation of surprise was delayed long enough that she actually had stuck her head out of the bush she had fallen into by the time the scout had actually processed what had just happened. "Whoops." He murmured as he quickly helped her get untangled from the branches. "Sorry, Sari. I...uh..." The scout stammered, embarrassed that he had completely failed in protecting her from the fall. But Sari simply giggled at the flustered look on his face as she brushed off the leaves and twigs that had managed to get stuck in her hair and on her clothes.

"It's okay, Bee." She reassured him. "It wasn't your fault." That still didn't ease the guilt in his spark about it as he helped her get the rest of the dirt and leaves off of her while scanning her for any injuries. "You sure you're okaaaaaaAAAAAAAHHHH!" Bumblebee's words broke off in a startled yell as the solid ground beneath them suddenly gave way, causing the two to tumble uncontrollably down the steep slope towards the edge of the lake. Halfway through the fall though, Bumblebee somehow managed to pull Sari close to him, shielding her even after they had come to a stop mere inches from the water. The sound of footsteps coming towards them made Bumblebee look up as he tightened his grip protectively around Sari.

"Who are you?! What do you want with us?!" demanded the green figure, the tip of it's...his...weapon at Bee's chin, just above Sari's head. Noticing how close the blade was to her, Bumblebee reacted, growling warningly at green in hopes that he would back off. Unfortunately, green apparently saw it at a threat and made to lunge forward when black grabbed his arm, stopping him.

"Don't." he scolded. "Do you not see that this creature is protecting something?" He gestured to Sari who was peering out at them from under Bee's servos. The green figure widened his eyes in shock and stepped back. "If you had attacked, you would have killed the youngling."

"I...I'm sorry. I didn't know." Green mumbled, looking very shaken.

"It's not just that, kid." White spoke up. "You attacked them for no reason. Whenua didn't cause that landslide to bring them down here for you to kill them mercilessly. That is not the Toa way."

"We don't even know if they are friend or foe. We are in a strange land that we have no idea of. You could have made a huge mistake that would make things worse for us." Red slapped the back of green's head. Sari winced at the loud 'clank' of the impact. Even though she had no idea what they were saying, she didn't need a translator to know that the others were giving green quite the lecture and it made her feel a little sad for him.

"It...it wasn't his fault."

Bumblebee and the figures immediately looked at Sari. The yellow scout watched in growing horror as she climbed out of his services and stood nervously next to him, facing the figures who were watching in a mixture of curiosity and confusion. "Please, don't be too hard on him."

"What is she saying?" Red looked at brown who shrugged his shoulders.

"Gali, do you understand her?" White asked Blue who put her hands on her hips and shot him an annoyed glare.

"Do I look like I'm wearing a Mask of Translation?"

White frowned and, crossing his arms, looked away. "I was only asking." He muttered.

Sari and Bumblebee glanced at each other, both completely confused at what was going on and not much to go by to help them figure out what the problem was now.

"Any idea of what they're saying?" Sari whispered. The yellow scout shook his head slightly, being careful to not let their company see.

"Nope, I got no matches in my databanks, for neither Earth or Cybertronian languages." Sari slumped against her friend, a little disappointed and upset that neither knew what was going on. One can only go so far with just body language and voice pitch. It could get very frustrating after a while.

"Well, we have to try something!"

"Like what?! I just told you, I don't know their language!"

Brown looked at the two arguing Autobots before turning to his comrades. "What is their problem?"

"They look upset about something. I would guess it has something to do with the language barrier between us." Black answered as he thoughtfully rubbed his chin while watching the quarrel.

"You would be correct, Master Toa."

All jumped at the new voice and turned to see the image of a tall, pink figure calmly watching them with slightly amused, blue optics.

"Arcee!" Bumblebee and Sari exclaimed in with such joy, surprise and relief to see the femme warrior that Sari did not hesitate to run over and hug her pede.

"How did you know where to find us?"

Arcee chuckled. "When you two didn't come back when you said you would, the Twins told us were they had left you and I volunteered to come pick you up." She looked up at the figures. "Though I wasn't expecting you to have made some new friends."

"They're not really friends." Bumblebee muttered, moving over to stand next to Arcee. "We can't even communicate with them to know what they are."

Arcee raised an optic ridge at the yellow scout before shaking her helm with a soft sigh. "That's understandable, seeing as you are the youngest of us. You would never have known about the world that the Ancients called our sister planet."

Now it was Bumblebee's turn to raise an optic ridge. "We had a sister planet? Where? What happened to it? How come I never heard about it until now and what does it have to do with these...creatures?"

Bang!

Bumblebee stared at Arcee with wide optics as he rubbed the back of his helm where there was undoubtedly a new dent. "Never call them that again." Arcee growled warningly. "They are sentient beings like us and the humans, and they are very special."

"Special how?"

Arcee looked down at Sari. "I cannot explain that now. This conversation would be best to continue back at base." She looked up at the figures. "My apologies for keeping you in the dark. I was merely straightening out some misunderstandings with the younglings."

Black chuckled. "That is alright, ma'am. Perfectly understandable."

Arcee returned the smile before becoming serious. "Still I must request that you and your group come with us back to our base. It is not safe out here for you." Red stepped forward protectively, ignoring the annoyed look from White.

"Why do you say that?"

Arcee looked calmly at him. "Because the inhabitants of this world are skeptical and afraid of anything new to their home and will react with force to either capture or destroy it."

Red widened his eyes as White stepped closer to a visibly scared Blue. Black also moved closer to the other younger members of the group. It was obvious that with this piece of information that they now must expect the worst to become of them and the possibility that they might never return home alive.

"But you will be safe if you come with us. We have befriended several of the humans of their planet and they have kept our secret safe for many years. They will keep yours as well. Also, our base is large and in a remote part of the planet. It will be easy for you to hide and stay safe."

The figures looked at each other thoughtfully, muttering quietly to each other as the Autobots waited. Taking the opportunity, Sari tapped on Arcee's leg to get her attention. "Arcee, what did you say to them? And how can you speak and their language when Bee and I can't?"

Smiling softly, Arcee knelt down to Sari's level. "Way back in the early years of the war, I would spend my spare time in the Hall of Records, browsing around for something to read of find some hint of a clue that could help end the war sooner. In my studies, I came across some ancient records that made mention to a sister planet of Cybertron. A planet named Spherus Magna. The species that inhabited it were called Bionicle and were split in three groups: the civilians called Matoran, the protectors called Toa and the wise elders who guided them called Turaga. I found recordings of the language and a datapad with the written language on it so I...borrowed it for further study."

Sari giggled at how embarrassed Arcee looked while admitting she had run off with some material from the Cybertronian version of a library. They must be seriously overdue by several thousand years. Sari thought with a smile before turning to the figures thoughtfully, letting Arcee's words sink in. "So then...they are Bionicle?"

The pink femme nodded. "Yes. I believe they are Toa, given their height, armor and weapons. But what puzzles me is how they can still be alive."

Bumblebee, having been quietly listening to everything, blinked in surprise. "And why is that?"

"Because their planet was recorded to have been destroyed in a large explosion eons ago." Everyone jumped at the new voice and turned to see a black figure watching them. "We thought the Bionicle species had perished."

"Ironhide! What are you doing here?" Arcee stuttered, shocked that she had not heard or sensed the Weapon Specialist approach them. "You've been having around Prowl and Jazz too long." She chuckled in an attempt to lighten the mood but no one laughed.

"None of you were answering your comms, but what we did hear shook us up pretty good. Prime wants you all back at base now." With that, he collapsed into his alt. mode and opened his passenger door, waiting.

"What's going on?"

Arcee turned to the blue Toa. "Our Prime has requested an audience with you and your brothers. He has sent his bodyguard to transport you back with us."

The blue Toa hardly had time to react as the black Toa grabbed her hand and pulled her towards Ironhide, nearly pushing the white Toa in the process. The others hurried after him and piled hesitantly into the black Topkick until the black and green Toa were left. Sari was just about to get into Bumblebee's Camaro form when she noticed this. Quickly making a decision purely with her spark, she waved to them. "Toa! Over here! You can ride with us!" The black Toa turned at her call and smiled before urging his friend to follow him. Sari wasn't sure if Ironhide had translated her words to the Toa or not but she could not help the relieved smile as she watched them pile into the back and passenger seat before Bumblebee closed the doors and drove after Ironhide and Arcee. As Sari watched the scenery go by on their way to the military airport to fly home, Sari was certain of just one thing. This is going to be a long night.