hiya guys, it's been five years. not sure if any of my old readers are here... but in any case, thank you for taking the time to click on this little story!

just for a note, this chapter everyone is speaking in chinese. italics will be english. then after that, it'll be switched since things will be taking place in america. there was a LOT of plotholes in the previous version, and after growing as a writer, i hope to do better with meixing and her development!

... oh, but just a note, "xiao jie" does literally translate to something similar to "small big sister", commonly used to address the young women/girls out of politeness and such (or use meimei), and the reason why i kept it in pin yin form is because... well, translating some stuff from chinese to english loses its meaning sometimes. if he just called her "small big sister" that would be... strange. this word is one of those words. this is part of the problem i have with english, but eh, what can one do. i am taiwanese, so... yeah, i know some stuff. sorta. i'm basically the reverse of meixing tho rip

anyway, this is revamped and moved from my old account~ feel free to leave concrit! and any comments are greatly appreciated!

do i still have to do disclaimers? it's been so long. uhh i don't own transformers nor will i ever in the future.

Chapter One

Meixing delivers food, per usual, but sees something that definitely should be a result of having bad shrimp.

Lifting the plastic bag to the elder quietly, Meixing offers a small smile to ease his seemingly startled figure. Shanghai, though always bustling with noise, seemed to be just a tad more loud tonight. Explosions and gunfire could be heard in the distance and the people of the neighborhood were getting restless. But because they were far away and the Chinese youth prioritized her work first, deliveries still had to be made.

"I hope you have a good night," she says complacently. The elder's weary eyes soften and he takes the bag from her.

"Thank you, xiao jie. Return home safely." She bows in response to the other's concern before the door closes firmly. Meixing crosses off his name from her notepad, noting that there were no more deliveries for the night and it was finally time for her to go home. Helping her parents out with the restaurant was rough, but since she was still a high school student, the least she could do to support her family was by making deliveries. It was highly convenient that electric scooters were considered bicycles here, so with her bicycle license, she didn't have to illegally drive it anymore.

She sighs, seating herself quietly and starting up the scooter. "Aiyah, it's another late night. I wonder if I can get my homework done in time."

That is, if she would get home safely in order to do her homework. Because just as those words left her mouth, one silver blur... and then three colored blurs crashed through the apartment she was just at. She blinks once before surprise expresses itself vividly on her sharp features. Though a good majority of Chinese neighborhoods ignored whatever strife was in their vicinity, Meixing's presence there and the fact that she was still young causes her to stick her nose in other people's business sometimes.

"Sir! Sir, are you alright?" She rushes to the hole in the wall, and relief replaces fear when she sees the elder, sitting at his table with his food, wrinkled eyes widened to the size of plates.

"... Xiao jie, did you see that? Those were metal aliens."

"... sir?" Did Father put something strange in the shrimp? That had to be it. After telling the elder that he should remember to call someone in the morning, Meixing smiles wryly and excuses herself, settling on her scooter again.

Then, she tilts her head. Perhaps it is because of his old age that he had mistaken cars for aliens... but? Curiosity flickers in her brown hues before she starts up the scooter and drives off in the opposite direction of where home was-

- To where she had seen the motorcycles and silver blur go.

"Mother will be very angry," she sighs to herself. Because Meixing was an only child, her family was quite protective over her. Helping the restaurant with deliveries is by the influence of her Father, and even if there was a risk fo not being "safe"... if she could help the business and bring money in, they usually had no complaints. Neither did she, in that case. They would pay for her education anyway, so it was just a matter of choosing where to go.

Of course, these thoughts flee her mind immediately when she hears the roar of an engine. In her mirrors, she takes note of a car accelerating towards her. Her eyes widen and in panic, she moves to the side so that the driver would drive past her- and she had no such luck. It continued driving, in her direction it seemed, and she let out a startled screech just as the car suddenly split in half.

Correction: it got cut in half by something else.

Meixing slams on her brakes immediately- she'd be damned if she kept on driving and collided with wherever the destroyed car was going- but scooters... don't really go that fast. When they collide with a large bump in the road, however, they do launch petite Chinese girls into the air and onto the ground. It wasn't really a high arch, thus the fall wasn't dangerous, but when she collided with the ground she could only let out a curse and sit up, glaring at whoever was responsible.

"Damn, I'm good~"

"Hey! I'll sue you!" Her voice, shrill with anger and fear, rang out throughout the street. There was the destroyed silver car and a-

... Was that a metal alien?

Their eyes met, glowing blue against brown. Her mouth was agape and she was quite torn between yelling at it for not catching her and running away, in case she was next. Silence filled the air between them, but it seemed as if the metal being was even more wary than her. It was as if he was apprehensive and displeased to see her.

"A human saw me..." It spoke English, but Meixing could only understand bits of it. She didn't study English too much- it may have been a course in high school, but she was better at reading and writing it since memorization wasn't difficult.

"Who are you?" Her voice, shaky in tone, traveled to the other. She gripped her arm, bruised from her fall, and tilted her head up, defensive yet curious. "Will you kill me next?" Mother- where was her Mother? Her Father? If she called them, maybe they could rescue her. She was scared, she wanted to cry and run away, but her legs refused to move. Was she going to die? Couldn't she at least leave a will before she did?

"I'm Sideswipe. A, uh... protector?" The metal... thing replies back- in Chinese? It had spoken in English earlier, how strange; she hadn't expected for something like it to be bilingual. Its words were hesitant, as if it didn't know what to say. It made small movements towards her, as if it wanted to grab her, but also paused, as if it didn't. "Rude. We don't kill for fun. We're the ones who protect you small humans-" And then it pauses. Meixing frowns and scoots farther away, her back hitting the wall behind her.

"Who... is we?" Her eyes glance towards the car he had destroyed. Was that... the same thing as it? But this one is more antsy now, glancing from her to the distant city. As if... it was debating between something.

"Slag, everyone's busy. What do I do?" It began pacing on its wheels, and suddenly it very much reminded her of the times when she was debating on whether or not she should enter a class late. The action is surprisingly human of it, despite it towering over her significantly. She finds herself relaxing despite the situation she was in right now. "Do I take her with me? She saw me and that Decepticon, so it should be Optimus that decides what to do with her. But I have to fight more- ughhhh."

Meixing blinks curiously. What was it saying? It wasn't making any move to hurt her, like it had said... so was it really harmless- well, harmless wasn't the word. It had destroyed something, and those blades on its arms were certainly not there for show. Suddenly, it turns to her.

"Can you keep a secret?" It says to her urgently now. Its attention causes her to yelp and retreat further into the wall, if it were possible. "I don't have time to deal with you-" She pales at the use of the word. "- and my allies need me, so I'm gonna go fight now. Don't tell anyone or-" It pauses. "It'll be dangerous. Okay. Crap, that's Optimus over the-!" And before she can respond, the metal alien transforms into a car and drives out to... what?

"..." Meixing blinks again, rubbing at her eyes and squinting in the distance. There was... another giant... alien? It was deeper in the city... but it was quite far away, so it wouldn't be reaching here anytime soon. "The wind... is quite strong tonight." The youth rises to her feet unsteadily, exhaling and looking to where the one she had just met... Sideswipe, was it? A strange name, but for a... thing like that, it should be fitting.

After ensuring that her scooter was working and that the... car 'Sideswipe' destroyed wasn't going to move anymore, she picks up a white cloth with the strange insignia etched into it. It flew from the direction that Sideswipe went to, and though she never had gone sky-diving before... "A parachute, isn't it?" She squints at it. It... should be related to Sideswipe and what he was. Leaving it here would raise suspicion about it, so she'd take it with her. She's sure to hear about this in the news though- the motorcycles, this silver car... not exactly a discreet way of doing whatever it was they were doing, especially if it was supposed to be a secret.

"... Hmm. I think I know where I want to go for university now." The Chinese girls nods firmly. Though fear of these beings was still dominant, she had seen something that she was sure was supposed to be a secret. If she was the only one to know, then naturally she'd want to know more. If... being harmless was their claims, it would be okay if she knew more.

... She supposed being nosy would be her downfall one day though.