Fourteen-year-old Kirin Volkov never believed in aliens. She's a scientist, and belief in such things was ridiculous! Yep, she absolutely did not believe in the extraterrestrial. That is, until she's saved by one.

(Cliffjumper, plus a few others not dead because I like them too much)(Do not own Transformers Prime characters)

Kirin stared out the window of her father's red and black Ford F-150, and watched as the distant mesas drifted in and out of sight.

Why did we have to move to Nevada? Oh, yeah, because the chemical hazard I call a brother got kicked out of school, again. Kirin turned away from the window and shot a brief glare at her older brother (though sometimes it was hard to believe that he was older than her) before turning back to the window. Even though Kirin was upset about the move, she couldn't be completely blame Ian for the fight that got him kicked out of his old school. The teen had insulted their parents, mainly their father because of his slight accent. Besides, moving wouldn't be so bad, she'd be able to get new soil and mineral and plant samples for her experiments.

Kirin was suddenly jerked out of her thoughts by a jab to her shoulder and a "Hey, Rin?"

Turning away from the window, again, she looked at her brother. "What?"

"What do you think Jasper's going to be like?"

Kirin shrugged and crossed her arms. "I don't know. Hopefully it won't be like Anchorage."

Damian nodded in agreement. "Yeah."

A laugh from the driver's seat drew their attentions to the front of the truck, to their father Damon.

Their father, Damon Volkov, was Russian by birth but immigrated to the U.S., where he eventually met their mother. He has short, black hair and ice-blue eyes, and stood at a height of 6' 9''. Both Damian and her got their hair from their father, but underneath, Kirin's hair had streaks of dark brown that she had inherited from their mother. Small scars flaked the left side of his neck and jaw, and a larger, much longer, scar marred his right arm, stretching from the curve of his shoulder to just above his elbow.

Kirin raised a brow. "What's so funny, dad?" she asked.

Her father smirked, and said, "Nothing, nothing! It's just that you're mother and I said the same things over the phone last night, that's all."

"Before or after you guys threatened to kill each other?" asked Damian.

"After." their father said simply, making Kirin shake her head and roll her eyes.

Their parents had a very unusual relationship. They loved each other so much that they hated it - and their dad had the scar on his back to prove it. When their parents first met everything was fine. But when their feelings for each other got stronger and the two started dating, things got violent. Not violent enough to kill, just enough to be in the hospital for a few days. What their mother did during their wedding is how their dad got the scar on his back. She stabbed him in the back. He had to spend the first few days of their honeymoon in the hospital. The only time the two of them were actually nice to one another was when her or Damian were around or when their grandparents on their mother's side came all the way from Japan to visit. Surprisingly, even though they try to kill each other, they never cheat on or threaten to divorce each other.

Kirin rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Dad, you and mom are cra-!" Her right hand flew to her mouth to try and stifle the coughs. Kirin hunched over as the assault continued. Next thing she knew, Damian was right beside her, a hand rubbing soothing circles on her back whilst the other handed her a bottle of water. She gratefully took the bottle and sipped the water until the coughs subsided. Her dad shot her a worried look before turning back to the road.

"You've been coughing more and more these days, Kirin. I'm going to make a doctor's appointment when we get to the house."

"Dad, I'm fine! It's just a sore throat. It'll go away once I take a few cough drops."

He shot her a look, and said, "Kirin, your mother will very well have my head if I don't make an appointment."

Groaning, and shooting a glare at Damian when she heard him snicker, she nodded finally. "Fine."

~ %$~

Four and a half hours later, they reached our house in Jasper.

It was better than their old house in Alaska, she realized. Two stories, three bedrooms, two baths and a good sized back yard, and it was only four blocks from the school Damian would be attending the rest of his senior year - unless he blows something up or sends someone to the hospital, again.

Glad I'm done with school - that is, until I find a college I want to go to when I get a bit older. She thought, following her father and brother up the path that lead to the front door. Kirin mentally cringed when she remembered what would happen when they stepped through the front door.

Kirin, unlike her brother, had graduated high school at the age of twelve, but continued to expand her knowledge under her mother's tutelage and through her own experiments. She wanted to be a scientist, like their mother, whilst Damian wanted to be a weapons designer, like their father.

Speaking of their father, he had just opened the front door...when mom's frying pan came flying at his head. Kirin and Damian dropped to the ground to avoid being hit. Dad moved to the side and grabbed the pan by the handle as it went by, a frown on his face. It was fake, though, they could tell.

"Damn it! Why can't you ever stay still, you bloody Russian!" cursed their mother.

Kirin looked up and saw her mother, she was standing with her arms crossed in the kitchen doorway, gray eyes narrowed and her signature scowl etched on her face. It was gone as fast as it had appeared when she noticed her and Damian crouched on the ground, and was replaced with a look of curiosity.

"Why're you guys on the floor?"

Kirin pointed up at the frying pan, their mother gave them a nod then walked over to them, took the pan away from their father, and walked back into the kitchen without a word, but not before she 'accidentally' smacked their father on the cheek with the frying pan. Hard. Kirin grimaced, and felt Damian flinch beside her, when she heard the sickening smack.