I do not own Transformers, Nor do I own any other brands, shows, or patented materials that I may mention in this story now and in the future chapters.

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malkah5967: Hi there! I am proud! I'm glad that you found the last chapter funny! I'm not too sure how much humor I wrote into this chapter...there's a lot going on in this chapter! But I do hope you like it!

Cattable: Correct! You get a cookie! 🍪 I'm glad that you could figure it out! I hope you like this chapter!

Eeirany: Thank you for saying the last chapter was awesome! I tried to make the last chapter as light hearted as possible! Unfortunately I cant say the same about this chapter! I'm glad that you found it funny! As for Sunstreaker finding out about the meat and the manure, that will come later :) As for how he reacts to Lilac...you'll find out shortly! ;) I hope you like this chapter!

Autobot-Bre-Lightblast: Here is a whole lot more! I'm glad that the last chapter made you laugh! I hope that you like this chapter!

SunnyandSidesFemme17: I'm glad that you found the last chapter amazing! Read on to find out what happens next! I hope you like the chapter!

JerseyPrime23: You got the answer! Here is a cookie! 🍪 Thank you for the compliment! I'm glad that you like the story! The twins are my favorite too! Sorry that I didn't post sooner! Please read on to find out what happens next!

Silverleone: I had fun writing him as an Earth spirit! I'm glad that you are attached to the story and it's characters! Now you can read on and find out what happens next!

autobotgirlforever: I am glad that you are hooked and that you like the story! Here is a nice absurdly long update to compensate for the long wait!

Blackrose3107: You are correct! Here is a cookie! 🍪 I hope you like this chapter!

the everchanging: I'm glad that you are excited for updates! College is going okay...almost done with my degree! I'm glad that you found Sideswipe figuring out that he ate meat to be funny! I was hoping for that! Thank you for the compliment! And don't worry, I wont get burned out! Here is the next chapter! I hope you like it!

jgoss: Hello! I'm not sure what you men by "No really liked this chapter"...I hope you like this one! There will be even more interaction between them in this chapter! I'm glad you fund that part of the chapter funny! We'll see them leave the commune in this chapter, and as for her meeting the other bots, you'll have to read and see! ;) I hope you like this chapter!

silent femme: I'm glad that you love it! And you are correct about the song! You get a cookie! 🍪 I hope that you like this chapter too!

SleepiPanda: Yeah...that was one of the funniest things I wrote for this story so far! I had to think of something that he could pose as at a commune that would go with the hippy theme, and that was the closest I could get! Plus kids have a great imagination! ;) You actually noticed a character trait in Lilac before I addressed it! That is awesome! Anywhoo, I hope that you like this chapter!

YourOwnBeat130: Yes! You are correct, so first things first, you get a cookie! 🍪 I was singing the song when I wrote that part of the chapter! You may see more Barbie songs from the early 2000's because of the main character's age...maybe. I am glad that you are excited to see where this goes, and you wont have to wait much longer to see her meet the others! ;) Sorry that you haven't heard from me, and that I didn't post sooner! I hope you like the chapter!

SoundlyManners: Thank you for your compliments! I really appreciate it! I figured that having him learn stuff so fast would be boring, and I wanted to change it up! I also like the idea of a vegan Sideswipe because of his knowledge of what animals are! He's a bit traumatized, and Lilac might tease him later for it. You'll see her talking about food in this chapter too! ;) This is another loooooong chapter! And no I did not write a story in here, but it's big enough to qualify as one I think...its actually what would have been 2 and a half chapters in one. Both for an anniversary present, and for another reason you'll read below! I'm glad you found the earth guardian part funny! I had to come up with something that a hippy would be okay with and that was it! I think that them singing together was cute too, but they aren't lovers...yet. ;) Thanks for saying the story is rockin'! I haven't lost my flame, something happened is all. You'll read below what it was. I will however, keep it up! I hope you like this chapter!

Lostinthemusic: You are indeed correct! Here is a cookie! 🍪 I agree with you it is an awesome song for them to sing, and it held so much meaning for the future of this story! ;) I hope you like this chapter!

bonbon092498: Hello! I believe that I sent you a PM...on her age with a hint! ;) If you thought about it or not, you'll get an answer in this chapter. Its a partial answer, as more about her will be revealed later. You are correct on the reference! You get a cookie! I feel for you, I had to listen to the song a lot while I was writing that part of the chapter and after it too! Its a catchy song! I hope you like this chapter!

A/N: Hi there! You'll notice that the author's note is up here this chapter. There is a very important reason for that. If you don't want to read this, I understand, and wont feel bad if you go straight to the story.

As many of you know, I am in college to become a teacher. That is usually the reason why it takes so long for me to post. I am sad to say that this isn't the case this time. For those of you who have read my other stories, namely Love Times Two and Love Quadrupled you know that the main character has two dogs, a German Rottweiler named Zeus and a German Shepherd Husky mix named Phoenix. When I created the character I wanted her to be as realistic as possible, so I gave her the dogs that I had. The key word in that last sentence was had. I did own a German Rottweiler named Zeus when I was younger, however I owned Phoenix the German Shepherd Husky mix when I became a writer. Now to many, animals aren't people, and I understand that, but to me and my family, Zeus and Phoenix were not just people but a vital part of the family. I adopted him in middle school when he was a puppy, a great deal of time after Zeus's passing. Phoenix helped me through everything. He helped me get through bullying, through the stress of high school, through work, he helped me loose weight and we both gained some of it back in college. He was a major part of my life. Now many of you are probably wondering why I'm telling you this. In actuality, if it weren't for Phoenix, I wouldn't be writing at all. To deal with the stress of life, I took Phoenix for long walks. While I was on these walks I'd daydream and think of stories as well as what I wanted to do when I graduated from High school. He helped me decide that I wanted to be a teacher, and he helped me come up with the concepts of my stories. For every story that I have written, he has been a part of the creation process because it was on walks with him that I thought of characters, story arcs, plot twists, character flaws, character arcs and even how the story is told in terms of point of view and what the characters say. He'd sit next to me and watch me write, and he'd listen to me when I read my stories out loud to him. He'd check on me on late nights when I was writing and doing homework before he'd go to sleep. He was always energetic, full of love and life.

So what happened? Around last September we noticed he had a small lump on his lip. We thought that it was a papilloma, a wart like growth, because he had had them before. However by mid October we noticed that the growth was growing quickly. We took him to the vet and they gave him antibiotics for the growth which was quickly becoming infected. By November we knew something was very wrong. The antibiotics weren't working as well anymore. The vet took a look at it and told us that it was by how it was shaped and how it was growing, that it was cancerous. Given that it was on his lip and in his mouth, it meant that it couldn't be removed. By the end of November he couldn't play with his toys or eat his normal dry food. It was about a week later that we made the difficult decision to put him down, because his quality of life had gone down severely.

This is why I didn't post in December. I was both mourning his passing and unmotivated to write because of it. And for that I apologize.

Having said that, I haven't given up writing all together. While Phoenix was a major part of my writing process and is very dearly missed, he did leave me with enough character arcs and plot points for each story to finish them off. As it turned out, I thought of each story and what would happen in each on my last walk with him. This chapter is reminiscent of that. I asked him if I should combine what was originally going to be three chapters into one for this post, and while yes he couldn't talk, he somehow conveyed to me last winter that I needed to make it big, and that the emotions needed to be at levels that are too real or nearly so.

So my dear readers, I will admit that this chapter is sad and not just because it was the last one I got to work on with him present. I did cry writing this chapter, especially the end... and this author's note. So be warned, you may need tissues for the feels that Phoenix and I came up with.

Two last things; 1) Thank you for sticking around with this story and for reading this long A/N. I'm sorry for it. I hope you understand, and I hope you will be kind in not leaving a flame because of this A/N or for any other reason. There will be another one at the end with another bonus point opportunity.

2) When Lilac is being chased through the trees, I recommend listening to Maximum Effort from the Deadpool movie. It really sets the mood and carries her emotions well.

On to the story you all patiently waited for! Again sorry for the wait and I hope you enjoy! :)

After a good night of sleep, or recharge in Sideswipe's case, the two prepared to leave. The commune was sad to see them go, but sent them off with a hearty breakfast, and a few tins of organic herbal tea. Lilac discreetly checked the ingredients for any hallucinogenic materials before she stored them in her backpack.

Her backpack was stuffed to compacity at this point, with the excess of her supplies sitting in Sideswipe's back seat. Seeing that the mech was unsurprisingly chipper as they said their goodbyes made her wonder if he knew something she didn't. Of course, he could just be happy to get on the road. If she was right, they'd make it to Nevada in the next day and a half or so seeing that she'd only need to stop to go to the bathroom.

The thought of their fast-approaching destination made her sad. She had really grown to like Sideswipe, and she'd miss the company he provided.

XXXXX

Sideswipe drove at a moderate pace as his guide catalogued the items she had gained. When he last checked her list, she had; five sets of armor including the set she was wearing, enough fuel as she claimed to feed her for a few weeks if she metered it out correctly, more than enough credits to last her into the next earth vorn as she claimed, and after that he stopped paying close attention. He didn't want her to live as she had before meeting him. She kept telling him that she would be fine, but he could tell that she was saying it more for her own reassurance.

As he drove through a residential area, his sensors investigated the multiple dwellings and he observed those who resided inside. He saw family units sitting down to consume fuel together. He saw a sire playfully pull one of his younglings from their berth making the youngling chase him. He even saw a family unit cuddle together on the couch in front of a large viewing screen with moving pictures on it. The parental units held their younglings close. Sideswipe idly wondered why his friend refused his offer to bring her to base. He was confident that he and the others could help her find herself a good family unit.

"Lilac…do you want a family unit?"

"I'm not answering that."

She said not looking up from what she was doing, which happened to be cleaning a small blade that was sticking out of a strange contraption.

"Uhh…why…why not?"

He asked hoping that he didn't offend her by accident.

"Because today I get to ask you all of the questions, remember?"

"Oh. Okay. What do you want to know?"

"First, are you ticklish?"

"What? No! What kind of question is that? We don't 'tickle'. We're metallic creatures remember? Metal doesn't tickle."

He said certainly as she raised an eyebrow. Faster than he'd seen her move, she dropped the contraption to the floor and began to flutter her fingers lightly and rapidly across his dashboard.

Sideswipe swerved as he laughed.

"AHHH! Stop! DON'T DO-HOO-HOO THA-HAT! AHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAA!"

"I knew it! You are ticklish! Okay! Next question!"

She laughed as she sat back and picked up the doo-dad.

"Mean! What now?"

"Who is Optimus, and who is Prime and why do I sound like him?"

Sideswipe laughed again at her misunderstanding from the day before.

"Optimus is Prime. It's a title."

"Ohhh. Is Prime special?"

"Very special. He is the commander of all Autobot forces everywhere. He leads us in the war against the Decepticons, you know those slag heads with the red optics you keep referring to as monsters? Though in truth you weren't far off, they are monsters."

"And I sounded like him?"

She asked surprised.

"Well, not really like him. His voice is hard to describe, but you got the deepness correct."

He said as he pulled up the basic file he kept on his commander and displayed it on his windshield. "Uhh. Can you see where you're going with that?"

Sideswipe snorted haughtily. "Of course, I can."

Lilac blinked owlishly before looking at the profile picture closer. "He's…so…" she said trailing off as she looked the picture in the optics. To her, his outward appearance wasn't necessarily frightening, but it was certainly intimidating. And yet, there seemed to be kindness in his eyes.

Sideswipe looked at her curiously as she stared at the picture. "He's actually nicer than he looks."

"He is?"

Sideswipe smiled. "Yeah. Prime actually has a sense of humor despite the fact that he's not really supposed to have one."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he's Prime. He's in charge of all the Autobots. And we've been at war for a long time. It's not like he gets a lot of opportunities to laugh."

"So?"

"Sunny and I provide him some when needed. I wasn't lying when I said you were looking at the king of pranks. Depending on the prank, we can usually get him to at least smile. Mind you most people who don't know him don't know this because he usually has his battle mask up, so he can hide it, but still, if you know him well, his optics are a dead giveaway."

"So, I see."

She said smiling. Something about the mech secretly finding something funny when he wasn't supposed to made her smile.

"It's no secret, Prime's got a soft spark."

"Is that bad? It…actually sounds painful…"

"It's not painful. Oh, what was the human expression I saw? Oh yeah! He's got a soft spot for younglings, sparklings, femmes, intelligent sentient lifeforms…a lot of things now that I think of it. He cares a lot about the people around him."

Sideswipe said an admirable tone. Lilac smiled. "So, he must be really scary when you make him angry."

"What makes you say that?"

"The friendliest people are usually the most dangerous."

"Well make no mistake, Prime can more than hold his own in battle. I think I've only seen him really, truly angry once. It was not a pretty sight. Then again if somebody hurt my sparkmate, I'd go berserk too."

"Sparkmate? What's that?"

"A sparkmate is the one bot…or in some cases two, that is meant to spend the rest of their life with you. I think that the most similar thing that you humans have is marriage. Sparkmate's sparks have to call out to each other first, then when they are certain that the bot they have found truly is the one they are destined to be with, they…become sparkmates."

"Is there like a ceremony? Do people get to see it happen?"

"Primus no! When two bots become sparkmates they only tell the world after it is done, and when they are ready. Sure, the higher castes would have parties and even in some cases arrange the bonding of the two bots, sometimes arranging it after the sparkling was newly sparked. But…for a crowd to watch something so intimate, it's just not right. You wouldn't watch a couple bond, would you?"

"I don't think I understand. I think that marriage is probably way different from what bonding entails."

"What does your marriage intel?"

"Well…I guess a man and a woman, or in some cases, although I think they're rare, two people of the same sex decide that they really love each other, one proposes the marriage to the other, and then they have a ceremony where they become legally married to each other, and they kiss at the end of it and then there is usually a party with food and cake and stuff. I…I've only seen one from afar before…but I think that's usually what happens."

"Oh yeah, you humans don't have sparks like we do."

"Sparks?"

Sideswipe sighed as his holoform leaned back into his chair. This could be a long and depressing conversation. "Our sparks are our life sources. They are what make us unique as individuals."

"Your souls."

Sideswipe raised an eyebrow at her in confusion. "Our soul is what makes us as humans unique. When…when we die, our soul leaves our body."

"And they go?"

"Heaven. You were saying?"

She said as she swallowed thickly. Sideswipe got the memo. He didn't really wanna talk about the end of life either. "Our sparks are basically the same things as your souls. However, the cool thing with us is that we can put our sparks in another body if need be. And shouldn't you be eating?"

"I don't want to be rude. I wouldn't want someone eating and getting things all over the inside of me."

"Well, your tanks keep growling. We have enough credits for me to be cleaned a few more times if need be. So, eat please."

"Okay…you want a blueberry? It's not sentient."

Sideswipe shrugged as he took a few and ate them. "These are good."

"I know right? You were saying?"

"Right. We as a species transfer our sparks from frame to frame as we get older, or in the worst-case scenario, when we need a new frame."

"New frame? Wait wait wait…you guys don't grow?"

"Grow how?"

"Like you know…grow. Like get bigger? Undergo natural development by increasing in size and changing physically? The progress to maturity?"

"Sure, we do…in a way I guess. We just grow through upgrades and building new frames. But what I was saying was that if we need to be put in a new frame because we get too beat up, a medic can do that."

"Really?"

"Yeah! And I know the best medic in the universe. He could probably do it while recharging."

Sideswipe said chipperly. "Sideswipe, you can talk to your twin, again can't you?"

Sideswipe looked at her with surprise. "How did you know? I can feel his presence and some of his stronger emotions, but I can't hear him yet."

"You're happier than you were last night when we last spoke. It was the only logical explanation."

"You sound a lot like a bot I know."

"Not the first time I've heard that in the last 48 hours. You and your twin are special, aren't you?"

"Well…we are pretty fragging good at what we do. And we can't help but be insanely handsome. Yeah we're special."

Lilac rolled her eyes playfully as she began to open a bag of snickers. "I mean like with your sparks."

"Oh. Well yeah. We are."

He said quietly. "It's okay, you can tell me. Or not tell me, I mean it's not like it really matters."

"It does matter."

"How so?"

"Sunny and I are what are known as split spark twins."

He said looking over to Lilac who was quietly chewing. "That in simple terms means that we share a spark between two bodies."

"Interesting."

"Oh yeah. Sure, for you and everyone else it's interesting. Fascinating."

He said mockingly. "I sense some hostility."

"You're fragging right you do."

He growled angrily before he continued. "All we are to most of our race, before the war, and sometimes even now, are freaks."

"What makes you say that?"

"When you hear enough people say, "Oh wow twins! How strange!" or "Wow, look at those two!" or "How freaky is it to know what your sibling is feeling all the time?" you get a feeling for what you are."

"I don't think you're freaks."

"Of course not, you haven't met Sunny yet. You haven't seen one of our bad days, when we go berserk and can't be stopped by anything less than a stasis dart, or some mech bashing our helms in to get us to stop. Of course, to you we aren't freaks!"

He snarled. Lilac crossed her legs under her facing him directly before he continued. "All Sunny and I have ever been were freaks. Our creators, our parents were the only ones who didn't think that about us. But none of that mattered. Not with the war. Kaon was fragged up before the war, but when the Decepticons began to move in, things got worse."

He said tensing up with rage. Lilac didn't interrupt him, feeling as though he had to say what was on his mind. "It started with the bombings. Most of north Kaon was destroyed, but it didn't matter to us. Our Carrier and Sire still had good work, and we were financially stable for a while. Then one day, our sire simply disappeared. Sunny and I were still sparklings, but we knew that there was something wrong. He seemed to be coming home later and later, until one lunar cycle, he just didn't return. Our sparks didn't react until the beginning of the next solar cycle. His end of the bond just…snapped. It hurt more than any pain I've ever felt. Our Carrier fell to the floor when it happened. Sunny and I didn't figure out what had happened until a few vorns later. He was a merchant. A…a good mech…"

He said sadly. "Our Sire had been on his way home from work. He had made decent credits that day. Enough to pay the bills for a while, and get Sunny, Carrier and I treats. He had paid the bills before he started to walk home. Unfortunately, some wannabe Decepticons jumped him that night. They had been pressuring him at the docks for a long time to sell his wares only to the Decepticons, but my Sire didn't want to. He wanted to sell to everybody."

"What did he sell?"

"Sire sold lots of things. To both sides. Trinkets, precious metals for frame detailing, but the two things that he sold the most of, ironically, were the handmade blades, and homemade polish he used to make."

"How is that ironic?"

Sideswipe snorted but smiled as he did so at her question. "Sire didn't like the idea of fighting for no reason. If our Sire were to fight, there had to be a good reason or a worthy cause to make him fight. Sire also worked so hard that he often didn't polish himself. Heh, Carrier had to remind him to wash before he'd go to the docks, and sometimes when he came home too. He was always too busy working or playing with us to really notice or care that he wasn't shiny and clean."

"Oh."

She said seeing how happy and sad that the memory made him. She was about to stop him before he continued. "When he got jumped that lunar cycle…they told him that he should have done what they said. Our Sire was knocked out and drug to the Pits."

"The pits?"

"The Pits were a popular place in Kaon for Nobles and higher society bots to go and watch performances. Sometimes the Pits were used for concerts and parties. But the Pits were known for bots going to watch the middle and lower classes slaughter each other in blood sport."

He said darkly. Lilac gulped. "Our Sire wasn't given a weapon. He was given a dented shield and forced to fend for himself that night. The Decepticons didn't necessarily own the Pits, but they certainly had whoever did on their side. Some bots would sign up on their own to fight in the Pits for credits, while others were forced to fight as slaves. The Decepticons that ambushed him were paid for delivering him to the Pits, where my sire was slain in front of a cheering crowd."

He said angrily. Lilac sat silently staring at him in muted horror, not sure on how to respond. She sat there silently for five whole minutes before taking a deep breath and asking the single most uncomfortable question she could think to ask of the mech. "How do you know?"

Sideswipe glared at her, with a look that she was sure killed on a few occasions. "Sunny and I saw the footage of the fight vorns later."

"I- "

"After what happened, our Carrier moved us out of Kaon. She moved us closer to Iacon. We went to the academy, Sunny got into art, I took after Sire and began making blades, just for fun. And then…"

"Sideswipe. You don't have to tell me. I know it hurts."

"How could you possibly know how I feel?! You don't have a twin! You didn't have a war destroy your family or your home! You couldn't possibly understand how slaggy my life has been!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"I suppose you're right. I've never lost a planet to war. I've never had a biological sibling to back me up, and wait for me and care for me, or love me enough to wonder if I'm okay. I've never had anyone in my corner, and the few who did stand up for me and cared about me either were taken away from me by force or betrayed me soon thereafter. Heh, hell! I have to live in total obscurity from the world! If I don't hide myself, I'll get caught and sent back to a family that not only hates me but will probably kill me at the first chance they get and make it look like an accident! I don't get to be comfortable! I have to live every moment I have in fear that today will be the day that somebody finds me and returns me for the damn reward money! I DON'T GET A HOME WITH A PICKET FENCE AND A DOG AND A MOMMY AND A DADDY! I DON'T GET A HAPPY BIRTHDAY, A MERRY CHRISTMAS, OR AN I LOVE YOU! THE ONLY THING THAT I GET TO FUCKING DO IS DIE ALONE!"

She shouted furiously. Sideswipe was surprised at her. He had never heard someone so young sound so…so bitter before. He noticed then how upset she was, how angry, sad, lonely and bitter she was. "You at least get to live your life. Your war is ending. You have a brother that is probably worried sick about you! I don't have any of that!"

She hissed furiously. "If and when you die, hundreds of thousands of years from now mind you, which is something that most humans myself included would wish for and envy you for, you will have someone to die with you! Your twin will meet you in the afterlife! I don't get that comfort! I get to die alone, either by, starving, freezing, or getting too dehydrated! Those are my options. And I have to get comfortable with that knowledge. So, don't you dare try and compare your tragedies with mine! Your life can and will get better. Mine won't."

She spat as she pulled her knees up to her chest. Sideswipe looked at her quietly. She had a point. Even when he eventually offlines and joins the matrix, Sunny would offline too. He'd never really been alone. He had his twin and their bond to keep him going no matter what. She didn't have anything close to that. She was alone.

"I'm sorry. For what I said."

"Everyone is sorry. But you don't have to be. You didn't do anything to me. Not that I'm aware. I just hate it when people feel like they're the only ones who have problems. Or that their problems are the worst in the world. You have to look on the brighter side of things, otherwise life is no longer worth living."

"I know. I'm the happy go lucky twin."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

He said as they drove on in silence. Neither Sideswipe nor Lilac said anything to each other for several miles. They just watched as the scenery rolled by alongside the highway they had gotten onto. Slowly but surely the traffic began to slow down until it barely crept along. Sideswipe growing slightly uncomfortably at being boxed in and at moving so slow began to cast his sensors out in front of him, curious as to what was causing the back up.

"C'mon!"

He moaned petulantly only to moan more when they barely moved forward. He didn't like being in one place. He didn't like being boxed in, he needed to move. "COME ON!"

He shouted angrily as he blared his horn. Lilac shot him an angry look. "Sideswipe, you don't know what's going on up there."

"People are moving too slow! That's what's going on!"

"Sideswipe- "

She said sternly as the traffic at last began to move. "Finally!"

"It's barely been five minutes."

She said as they began to pick up speed. Sideswipe snorted arrogantly as they passed the first police car. Sideswipe's sensors slowly began to pick up what each of the vehicle were. Police cars, and ambulances partially blocked off a crumpled-up motorcycle and a black tarp that covered a human sized mass. The road was stained red and was studded with little pink and white bits. Looking over to his passenger seat as they passed by the scene he saw his guide shake her head before looking down at her hands. Slowly he began to put the pieces together as they passed the bloody helmet. Someone had died.

Sideswipe felt awful. Here he was complaining about the slow traffic, when there was a truly dire reason for it to be moving slow.

"I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?"

"I didn't mean to pry into your life."

"It's okay…you didn't know. It's not something that Sunny and I talk about a lot. But I'm confused about something."

"What?"

"How did you know that Sunny would die if I die."

Lilac sighed as she readjusted herself in her seat. She handed Sideswipe one of the fun sized candy bars before speaking. "I drew the conclusion from what you've said about your race. How your sparks are your life forces, what sparkmates are…the fact that you share one essence between two bodies. It was a lucky guess, and it was one that I shouldn't have made. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I probably needed to hear it. You're right. My life has been…I don't even know what to say, but to assume that I'm worse off than everyone else…just isn't fair."

"No, it's fair. I mean…you lost a planet. When comparing tragedies, you win. Besides, most people do that. It's part of what makes us unique I suppose."

"If you say so. But if it's all the same, I think that you should know the rest of the story."

"Sideswipe, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"Yeah but that's just it. I want to tell you. It's not like Sunny and I talk about it, and the rest of the bots probably don't know."

"So, you think I should? Not that I don't want to know, but what makes me so special?"

"You care. You don't think that Sunny and I are freaks. You're my best friend."

He said looking at her with sad eyes and the smallest smile that Lilac had ever seen. "And what you just gave me tastes really good."

Lilac smiled as she handed him another one. "I'm glad you like it. It's not sentient. And it is referred to as candy or more specifically chocolate."

"Kay."

He said as he put the whole bar in his mouth before he took a handful of candy out of the bag. Lilac smiled at this laughing at the grin that came to his features.

"At any rate, Sunny and I went to the academy in Iacon as the war began to really pick up. About a vorn after we were in our second frames is when the Decepticons bombed the small area outside of Iacon where we lived. Our Carrier died in the bombing, and Sunny and I didn't handle it well. We got kicked out of the academy, for a number of reasons, and had to live on the streets. Half a vorn later, somebody took us in, and told us that they would care for us, only for them to turn around and sell us to the Pits. That's where we saw the footage of our Sire, and what remained of him. One of our opponents kept his arm as a trophy. They also found a way to rob his subspace, taking the remaining blades that my sire didn't sell that day."

"What happened?"

"We beat him. He was our last opponent that we faced in the Pit. The Autobots did a raid on the Pits, and we were saved. At the time we were closer to your age maturity. Maybe something like twelve earth years old?"

"Oh man. I'm so sorry. You guys must mature really really slowly."

"And what is that supposed to mean? I'll have you know that I am quite mature for my age!"

He said in a playfully snooty voice. Lilac laughed shaking her head, happy to move on from such a dark topic. She was also happy to know she had a friend.

XXXXX

"I am really beginning to hate the media."

Will said as he rubbed his eyes wearily. When they had arrived, they had cordoned off the area where Sideswipe was attacked and were trying to investigate, but the media as well as the police and any moron with a camera were crawling all over the area making it hard for them to figure out what happened. Unfortunately, Will had to use the big guns. He had to get the S7 agents to scare the people and the police away. He wanted nothing to do with the agents of Sector Seven, especially since the secret agency was scheduled to be disbanded in the oncoming weeks but given that they still existed and were by a small technicality under his command, Will thought that he might as well use them.

Two hours later, the area was devoid of people for miles around. "I know what you mean."

Epps said as he surveyed the area. The two men stood back as the Autobots worked the scene with the efficiency of the world's best crime scene investigation team. No rock, pebble or bolder went unchecked, no drop of energon untested, no broken branch unscrutinized. While Ratchet, and Optimus search the scene, Sunstreaker and Ironhide followed the trail of energon drops away from the scene. "So, do you guys know what happened?" Will asked curiously. Ratchet shook his helm positively. "Sideswipe was attacked here. His energon, as well as a known Decepticon's is more than present here."

"As is a familiar print."

Optimus added, as they walked over. Sure, enough at the base of a tree that had been near cleanly broken in half was the familiar imprint of a converse shoe. "He has someone with him?" Will asked curiously. "The same someone who made first contact with him I presume." Optimus said.

"Hmm. This someone has left us a sample of their DNA."

Ratchet said as he pulled a few of the dangling strands of hair out of the tree Lilac had been hiding in. "Maybe we can use it to see what we're dealing with."

Will said as he walked back to the road where Ironhide and Sunstreaker were driving up. Once they transformed it was plain to see that Sunstreaker found something amusing. Though what he was unsure of. "Ironhide, Sunstreaker, report."

"We followed the trail to an old closed up garage about twelve miles from here."

"Was there any sign of Sideswipe there?"

"Plenty of energon stains on the floor and some tools. But the pit spawn isn't there."

Ironhide said while giving Sunstreaker an angry glare. "Would've been back sooner if this aft had helped me."

"I did help you Ironaft. I picked up today's paper."

He said with a smirk as he showed everyone the front-page headline. "UFOs over your town?" Optimus read in confusion as both Will and Epps groaned. Somebody had burned through several acres of corn to create crop circles.

"What does this have to do with Sideswipe?!" Ratchet grumbled irritably. "None of those symbols look familiar to you?"

Sunstreaker asked in a near borderline cheeky tone. Whatever it was, he found it funny.

All three of the mechs leaned forward to read the page and groaned softly, before Sunstreaker began to snicker, and as both Ironhide and Ratchet fought off a few small chuckles knowing that the situation wasn't really a laughing matter. "What's it say big guy?" Epps asked curiously.

"It says many things Sergeant." Optimus said as he shook his helm, trying not to find what his frontliner wrote to be amusing.

"I'll read it." Sunstreaker said before reading some of the symbols out loud. "Sideswipe was here. Humans are corny. The king of pranks has arrived. Kicked Decepticon aft, have a femme squishy guide. Heading to base.

"Well at least we know the gender of who he has with him."

Will sighed tiredly. "He…won't hurt her will he?"

"No. Sideswipe might be reckless, but he would never harm a human."

Optimus said. "He's going to the base. We should meet him there."

Sunstreaker said. "He's right. If that Pit spawn is injured, we need to be back at the base to help. Not only that, but it will also give me the proper facilities to analyze who his guide is." Ratchet said as he began to walk back to the road. With a respectful nod, Optimus agreed before they transformed and began to make their way back to the base where they flew in.

XXXXX

Sideswipe and Lilac were making great time. They hadn't had the need to stop aside from Lilac needing to use the bathroom. They had just made their way out of Wyoming and into a small town in Utah when Lilac asked Sideswipe to stop. "Seriously? Bathroom again?! This is the second time we've stopped for that!"

"Listen, when you get a bladder, then you can dictate how often a human can to go to the bathroom okay?"

"Fine! But I'm listening to rock'n'roll until you get back!"

"I don't mind that. I like rock!"

She shot back playfully. While they were cruising along, Sideswipe was finally able to gain access to the local radio stations. She had shown him rock'n'roll, pop, hip hop, country, and classical music stations. Sideswipe liked all the different types of music, but he really liked the instruments used in rock. While he was flipping through all the channels he couldn't help but be reminded of and talk about Jazz. It was near impossible for him not to talk about the musician turned saboteur when it came to music!

It was also a part of Sideswipe's secret plot to get her to stay with them at the base. After all, Lilac wouldn't be able to claim that she didn't know anyone if he told her about his teammates before she met them. He had already told her about Optimus and Jazz, he mentioned Ratchet, but would have to go into greater detail…

"LET ME GO! LE- MMMMPPPPPHHHHH!"

Sideswipe turned his holoform around, only to see two girls get dragged into a white van near an alley across the street, before the van sped off with a squeal of its tires. Lilac came jogging out with a concerned look on her face and was about to say something to him when a little girl, no older than maybe six ran into her crying and shaking with fear!

"Miss! Miss! Please help me! Please don't let the bad men take me!"

She wailed. Lilac looked around before she moved Sideswipe's seat forward and guided the child into the car. "Sides, I need you to follow that van at a good distance. And be subtle."

She said as she hopped into him and put her seatbelt on. "Sweetheart, I need you to calm down. What is your name?" She asked as she turned around to look at the child. "S…S…Sadie."

"Sadie, my name is Lilac, and this is my friend Sides. We're not going to hurt you okay?"

"Please, you have to help them!"

"Them? Who is them?"

Sideswipe asked as he continued to follow the van. "My friends! They're my big sisters! And those men just took them!"

"Okay, okay, calm down. What happened?"

Lilac asked as the girl leaned forward between the seats. "Me and Ro and Mari and Leslie are trying to get to Arizona, cause Mari's grandma is going to take care of us. But then these bad men started to follow us, and then they just took them!"

"How long were they following you?"

Sideswipe asked as they slowly began to drive into a fairly abandoned looking warehouse district. "They've been following us for I think 2 days now. I can't loose them…they're all I got…"

She whimpered as more tears began to roll down her cheeks. Lilac grabbed her hand and squoze it gently before she noticed the light pink bandana around her neck. "You know Maria Ortega?"

"You know Mari?"

Sadie gasped in surprise. "Lilac you know who she's talking about?"

"Yeah. She's an old friend of mine. I haven't seen her in years."

She half whispered as Sideswipe came to a stop outside of the warehouse where the van, two others and an old school bus was parked. "We gotta get them out of there." Lilac said looking at the building. "Why would those men take them?"

Sideswipe asked as his sensors looked inside the building. "I think I know why. But I seriously don't like the reason. Stay here."

"Where the frag do you think you're going?!"

"To look through one of the windows. I'll be right back!"

Lilac snarled as she opened the door and snuck up to the building. She heard voices before she got to the dirty broken window. "SHUT UP! SHUT THE FUCK UP OR I WILL GIVE YOU ALL A REALLY DAMN GOOD REASON TO CRY!"

Lilac winced at the tone as she stealthily peered through the window. What she saw confirmed her fears. Girls from ages 4 to 28 were kept in cages and handcuffed to metal pipes coming out of the walls. A furnace was turned on and long rods of metal were sticking out of it. As Lilac scanned the room she counted 18 girls, including her friend Maria who was in a cage with a few others next to a table where a bald man sat counting money. Lilac re-scanned the room and counted twelve armed men, including the one counting the money. Just as she was about to sneak away, she heard one of the men snap at one of the girls again, before he opened the cage she was in, and slapped her. He then drug her out of the cage and chained her to a pipe. "You wanna cry? I'll give you a damn good reason to cry! Ay! Get Lucas on the phone and tell him we're delivering his bitches to him tonight! Fernando, heat that fire up! It's time to brand the merchandise." He said coldly as he grabbed the girl's face in one hand. "And since you can't listen, you're going first."

That was enough for Lilac! She crept away from the window quickly, but not before picking up some old handheld bolt cutters she found under a wood plank near her foot.

"What did you see?"

"Sides, it's not good. They're sex traffickers. We have to get them out now."

"And how exactly do you think we'll do that?"

He asked. He wasn't sure what a sex trafficker was but from how his guide was speaking it couldn't be good. Not only that but, his communications were still down, and Lilac didn't have one of those personal communications devices like the male organics in the building had!

"We could use a payphone! Or maybe someone could lend us theirs until-"

"There's no time for that! They are going to brand them soon, and by the time we get back from finding a phone, they may already be gone."

Lilac said as she pulled her hair up into a high pony tail. "Worse still, even if we do get the cops to get here before they leave, the sirens will make the bad guys nervous, and they'll try to run, or worse, they may hurt or kill the girls." She said gravely as she took her Swiss Army Knife out of her backpack. "So, what do we do?"

Sadie asked tearfully. Lilac looked at Sideswipe with a determined glare. "Lilac… I'm not- "

"Who said anything about you? You stay here and take care of Sadie. Make sure that none of those goons leave before I can call the cops."

"But you don't have a phone!"

Sideswipe said annoyed and not liking where his friend was going with her idea.

"I don't have a phone…but they do."

"Pit no! I am not about to let you go in there! What if you get hurt?! What if they capture you?!"

"We don't have a choice Sides!"

"Uh, yeah we do! It's called- "

He trailed off as he saw the heartbroken look on Sadie's face. "I have to try Sides. For her sake and for Maria. I owe Maria a lot, and I can't let something like this happen to her." She said as she gestured with her head over to Sadie. "Can I talk to you outside?"

Sideswipe asked as they both left his interior.

"WAIT!"

Sadie cried. The two looked back at her with worry before they checked their surroundings. "Yes?"

"Take this with you. For good luck, and to cover your face so they won't know who you are."

She said as she handed Lilac her pink bandana. With a nod and a quiet thank you, Lilac closed the door. "Okay, you do know how fragging dangerous and stupid this is right? RIGHT?!"

"Like you can talk! After some of the stories you told me-!"

"This isn't about me! This is about you! And news flash human, I'm considerably larger, and more heavily armed than you!"

He hissed quietly as he looked at the building she wanted to storm. "Never underestimate a homeless person, let alone a Hobo."

"What the pit is the difference?! Lilac, you can't go in there!"

"I can and I will. I already have a plan."

"What plan?! How could already have a plan?! THEY HAVE GUNS AND YOU HAVE A TINY BLADE AND SOME BOLT CUTTERS!"

Sideswipe whispered-yelled while making wild arm gestures. "Do you trust me?"

Sideswipe looked at her dumbfounded before answering. "Yes, I trust you…but-!"

"Then have a little faith in me that I know what I'm about to do. Sideswipe, you can't stop me from doing this, I get that you're scared and worried for me, and believe me, I am too…but for her sake" Lilac said looking back at Sadie how was watching them with anxiety. "It's not only worth the risk it's a necessary one. If she is right and knowing how Maria is, she is, then by me not going in there and saving those girls, I would be taking that poor girl's only hope at a home off of the streets and the only family she has away from her. I can't do that Sideswipe."

Lilac said with grit. Sideswipe was both amazed and impressed by his guide. The quiet, and timid femme he had met four days ago was standing before him ready to kick some aft and save her friend, even though the odds were not in her favor. "Sometimes a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do." She said while looking at the building. "This is one of those times."

"Alright."

Sideswipe said sounding resigned. "You go in there and kick some aft. I'll be watching with my sensors, and if they capture you, which you better make sure they don't, or hurt you and again, you better make sure they don't, I will not hesitate to bring that fragging building down to rescue you and the other femmes. Got it?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now be careful."

"I will. I'll come get you guys when I'm done."

She said as she jogged off toward the building. She had found the door when she had first crept up to the building. While hiding in the shade and in the blind spot of the windows, she put the bandana over her face and put her pink baseball cap on before she snuck around the corner and into the building. Luckily for her there were some large metal drums and crates by the door that she could hide behind. Lilac swallowed her fear and crept behind the crates up to the first girl, the one who was to be branded first and hissed to get her attention. Thankfully the thugs were playing loud music, so much of her louder movements and sounds were muffled a great deal, but she still had to be careful. The girl, who looked to be about 16 looked down at her with fear filled teary eyes. Lilac made a shushing motion with her fingers. "I am going to cut the chain and set you free. Stay put so they don't know I'm here!" She hissed right before she cut the chain and ducked back down. The girl did as she was told, and Lilac silently thanked her as she moved onto a group of girls chained to the wall. She had only cut through two of their chains when one of the men saw her. He had his gun trained on her, and was about to shoot, when the 16-year-old she had freed attacked him from behind. At that point, all hell broke loose as the men began to rush them and as Lilac cut the last two chains before handing the bolt cutters off to one of the youngest girls in the room, a 9-year-old who kicked the immediate threat in front of her in the crotch before running off and freeing more girls. Lilac exploded, dodging punches and wriggling out of people's grasp as she tried to get to the other side of the room where the cages were. She yelped as she heard and felt a bullet fly past her head. Lilac paused in shock only to be grabbed from behind by a much larger man. With a savage snarl, she stomped on the man's foot and elbowed him in his gut before opening wide and biting down hard on his arm.

Sideswipe heard the shot and was immediately driving towards the building, preparing his systems to transform as soon as Sadie was out of him, what stopped him was what his sensors saw and the gruff scream he heard. His guide had bitten a man and drawn blood. She did this before she spun around in his grasp and kicked him in his groin, a place that Sideswipe knew to be extremely sensitive on both humans and Cybertronians. He watched in awe as his guide slid under the older male organics and as she threw quick jabs and punches that had the males groaning out in pain when struck. However, they eventually cornered her against a wall, growling murderously. But before Sideswipe could act, he saw most of the freed femmes come to her aid, some brandishing shovels, others hot pieces of metal that they immediately pressed into the males who yowled with pain at first contact with the branding irons. The brawl continued for a few minutes more, before Lilac and the other femmes finally over powered the men and corralled them into one of the cages without their weapons. However, one of the males hadn't been captured, and was sneaking up on Lilac, who swiftly turned around and swung the shovel that was in her hands up high near the man's face. The man ducked laughing at her, until Lilac allowed the momentum of her swing to spin her around quickly, landing a solid smack on the opposite side of the man's head, knocking him out.

Sideswipe was stunned. "Okay…Listen up! We need to get out of here! I am going to call the cops, but before they get here I am leaving. If you were kidnapped, or if you want to talk to the cops, you can stay here. Personally, I think that it would be best to go to the station and make a statement so that your captors can't try to dupe the police, but it's up to you! Anyone who is homeless, or does not want to talk to the cops, is more than welcome to leave before they get here!"

She shouted before going over to the cage with Maria in it and letting her out. "Uhhh…thanks."

"Don't mention it! You ready to go?"

"Listen, I don't know who you are, and while I appreciate the assist…"

She trailed off as Lilac dialed 911. One of the women, a 28-year-old from the cage Maria and her friends were in took the phone Lilac held out to her and began speaking to the police.

"I'll stay behind, get the other girls and yourselves out of here and to a police station!" She mouthed as she continued to speak to the police. Maria looked to Lilac skeptically before she darted over to a table and took several sets of keys off the table. "Alright! Listen up, my friend Rochelle here is going to drive the bus. Since there is a lot of us I think it would be good if we all took one vehicle, but my friends and I are not going to go to the police…not just yet, we need to get to family in another state, but we will make a statement when we get there. So, we're gonna split ways and we need someone to drive the bus the rest of the way. Cool?"

There were a chorus of positive responses before they all made a break for the doors.

XXXXX

Sideswipe was surprised. He never knew that his guide could do what she had. She was so timid and meek…for her to take charge and lead a rescue was impressive! "I can't believe she did that!"

Sideswipe said as he drove after the bus that contained his friend and the other femmes. "Me either! I hope that when I grow up I can be brave just like her! And like Mari, Ro and Leslie too!"

She said as Sideswipe began to listen in to the conversations on the bus while also looking inside with his sensors. "Okay, seriously…who are you and why did you risk your life for ours? Not that I'm ungrateful."

Leslie asked. "Yeah, we don't even know you and you just came in and kicked ass!"

"You know me…you just don't recognize me."

Lilac said in a gentle yet happy cheeky tone. Maria looked closer at her and Lilac smirked under the bandana she was wearing. "Lye?"

"At your service!"

She said playfully as she removed her hat and preformed a low sweeping bow. "Lye lye?"

"In the flesh!"

"Androm?"

"That's my middle name, don't wear it out!"

"Lilac?!"

"Enough Mar! It's really me!"

She laughed as she took off the bandana. "Oh my God it really is you!"

She yelled in a relieved tone as she hugged her tight. "Good to see you again Maria."

"Same! Although I wish it were under better circumstances!"

"Oh, you're telling me? What in the world happened back there? What happened to being observing!"

"Don't you think we were?! We've been running from those slime balls for the last two days!"

"Oh, holy shit. Mari! We left Sadie behind!"

"And furthermore there's a car that's been following us since we left the warehouse!"

Leslie and Ro said in a panic.

"Oh, don't worry about him."

Lilac said casually as she stretched.

"Him?"

All three of them said in confused unison. "Yeah…he's a friend of mine. Sadie's with him right now."

All three girls looked at her in alarm. "Who is this guy?!"

Lilac sighed through her nose. "He's a decent guy from the military- "

"MILITARY?!"

"Will you please let me get a word in edgewise!"

Lilac snapped at the three. "Look it's a long story, and I'll tell you everything, but Maria you have to tell me yours first."

Lilac said in a stern tone.

Maria sighed heavily. "You remember all that court stuff with my mom? And my Grandma?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah well…my mom's dealer sent those goons after me. He wasn't lying when he told me that he had connections a couple of years ago."

"What about your mom?"

"She died a year and a half ago. And she had a lot of unpaid debts…to a lot of people. A lot of people who either would be satisfied if I fried like her or would be satisfied if I worked off the debt."

"Dealing or…"

"Both."

She said with a grim and weary sigh. "I called my Grandma after I found out she died. We both thought that she could get custody now…but the dealer used his connections, and we've been running ever since. My Grandma and I have been talking on and off when we can, and I came up with a plan. It's gonna be hard enough for her to get custody of me because of the legal system, but with those creeps chasing us…it means that I can't stay in one place, and I'm pretty sure that the cops might not be as helpful as they think." She sighed. "Not only that, but I can't leave Rochelle, Leslie, and Sadie. We're a family. Those creeps know that, and I'd never be able to live with myself if something happened to them because of me."

"So, her grandma is taking us all in."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I told her that I had two friends with me, and then three in December when we met Sadie." Maria said as the bus came to a stop. One of the teenagers from the back of the bus came up to the front and took Leslie's seat at the steering wheel.

The girls said their goodbyes to each other and their well wishes for the future before Rochelle, Leslie, Maria and Lilac got off the bus with their things. The four watched as the bus containing the rest of the girls turned down the road up ahead and towards another part of town. Lilac was only worried for a moment before she saw the sign on the side of the road that directed people towards the Sheriff's office. "Think they'll be okay?"

Leslie asked as they watched them go. "They'll be just fine. You know assuming the Sheriff isn't corrupt." Rochelle said with a scowl.

"Ah, I met her at the gas station a few hours back. She seems nice enough. Heh, better than most cops I've encountered."

Lilac said ruefully as Sideswipe drove up. Before any of the girls could say anything, Sadie jumped out and ran to them as fast as she could. "SADIE!"

Maria and the others cried as they wrapped her in a hug. "I was so worried about you guys! And then the bad guys almost got me! And then-!"

"Shh, shhh, shhh. We've got you. It's okay. It's okay. We've got you."

Rochelle said softly as she cradled Sadie to her. "Todo está bien cariño. No tengas miedo. Nosotros te protegeremos."

Maria soothed as she gently held Sadie's head as she cried. Sideswipe mentally translated the words and was touched by what she said. "Everything is okay sweetie. Don't be afraid. We'll protect you." Sideswipe looked at the girls in amazement, before looking at his own guide. She was smiling, and she was crying too. They were showing so much concern, so much care…so much love, that it truly amazed Sideswipe. Here were these five girls, who as far as he could tell were not related but cared for each other so much that they would risk their very lives for each other.

"Now that's camaraderie."

He said, getting the attention of all the girls. "Who the fuck is he?"

Leslie said blankly as they stared at him. "Guys… this is Sideswipe…my friend."

"He kept me in the car while she saved you!"

Sadie said chipperly. "He stayed in the car?"

"For the record, I wanted to storm the building so that Lilac could be safe…but she's stubborn."

He said with a roll of his holoform's eyes. "Yeah she can be a bit stubborn."

Rochelle said as she ruffled Lilac's hair. "Yeah well only when I'm protecting people I care about. And none of you can really talk! Especially you Sides!"

"So…Sideswipe. How do you know Lilac?" Maria asked skeptically.

"I was going to ask you the same question." Sideswipe said equally as suspiciously.

"Why don't I save us all the trouble and explain how you both know me hmm? That way we can all become friends and stop staring at each other like we're about to get into a Mexican standoff?"

Lilac said dryly as everyone stared at her. "I resent that comment." Maria said in an equally as dry but slightly playful tone. "After today and what happened in that warehouse, I think you resemble it. And then there was that one time a few years ago when…"

"Lilac!"

Maria said in a stern tone that made Lilac smirk. "Anywhoo…Sideswipe, Maria, Leslie, and Rochelle and I know each other because of where we used to live."
"Outside?"

"Kinda. We met Lilac when she was a part of the Lost Boys. Back then we were all staying in an old run-down train tunnel system. It was where old trains went to get turned around and re-routed but when the county built a new track a couple miles southeast, they shut those particular tunnels down."

Maria said.

"The tunnels were kinda like middle ground for all of us Hobos. We came together there to sell things, hang out, hear news about the various communities and do a bunch of other stuff." Lilac said with a sigh. "Maria actually wanted me to join her group."

"Why?"

"Because the group she was with was all male. With us she'd at least have people who get her."

Sideswipe wasn't sure what she meant, but he nodded his head anyway. "Maria, Ro, and Leslie are like the big sisters I've never had. And so, when I saw Sadie wearing their bandana…"

"You knew it was us and wanted to save us."

Leslie said with a smile. "Of course! I could never let something like that happen to you guys, or to Sadie!"

"Is the bandana special or something? How did you know it was them?"

Sideswipe said in confusion. Maria, Leslie, and Rochelle each pointed to a bandana on their person, Maria's was in her hair, Rochelle's was folded nicely and tied around her neck in a choker style, and Leslie's was folded nicely and tied around her wrist. "Our pink bandana is like our calling card. It's our group signature."

Leslie said. "Not all groups have one, but we have one for identification reasons."

Rochelle said. "But why?"

"Sideswipe, there are a lot of groups of homeless people out there. A lot of groups of kids like us, Hobos. Each group is different. Some groups are only male, some only female, like Maria's and some mixed like…like my old group."

"And each group is close knit. Our bandana's help us find each other in a crowd, but they also give us something else, something decidedly happy to have in common aside from being homeless."

Rochelle said.

"Our bandanas connect us because we're a family. We may not have the same genetics, and we may not look the same, but that doesn't mean that we still can't be a family. The bandanas are like a family crest, or like a resemblance of sorts so that people know that we are together."

Maria said with a nod and a small smile. "Now that you've asked all the questions, I think it's time that we ask you some questions."

Maria said as she eyed Sideswipe suspiciously. "I met Sideswipe in Kentucky. He made his commander, his friends and his twin brother a bet that he could navigate his way to their base in Nevada without the help of a GPS when he got back to the U.S."

"And?"

"He got horribly lost. I found him trying to get a vantage point in Kentucky. We kinda bumped into each other. He saved me from the cops, and I decided to get him to Nevada to win his bet."

"How? He can't have any help!"

"No…I can't use a GPS…Nobody said anything about having a personal navigator."

"You're in the military, and you can't read a map?"

"Yeah…that seems kinda odd to me."

Leslie and Rochelle said suspiciously. "We don't use maps like we used to. Not exactly. We're using more and more technology, and I was trained to use it. Maps were never my strong suit."

"Uh huh."

All three of the girls said in a dry tone before they looked at Lilac. "Can we steal her? For like an hour or two?"

Maria said skeptically. "I won't be long Sides. Meet us at the train station say at 2:30?"

"And where are you going?"

"The library."

They said in unison before they pulled Lilac along.

XXXXX

Maria, Leslie, Sadie and Rochelle walked Lilac to the library, where they then sat down at the computers. "Do you have any idea just how shady he sounds?"

Rochelle said angrily. "Guys,"

"No Lilac! Rochelle is right! You just 'found' him in Kentucky?! What are the odds of that?!"

Leslie hissed quietly as she logged onto her computer. "Not only that, but he's military! You know that they have to follow orders!"

"So, what?"

"So! So Lilac, what if he just keeps driving? What if he takes you onto his base! You know everybody is gonna wonder why he has you with him!"

Maria whispered angrily. "I'm not gonna let that happen! I already told him that we're parting ways when we get into a city in Nevada. Trust me, that is the last thing I want!"

She said while logging on to her computer. It's not like Lilac really wanted to leave him…she truly thought of Sideswipe as a friend. But she had no choice. Getting that close to a military base, with all their rules and regulations…it made her skin crawl! Going somewhere with so many rules like that was bad for her wellbeing. She knew what they would do to her. They could send her back to foster care, or worse back to where she came from. And she definitely didn't want that! "Lilac."

"Yeah?"

"Has he…done anything to you?"

"No! Of course not! Geeze!"

Lilac whispered in outrage.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive! You know I'm a light sleeper."

Lilac said with a soft laugh. "He really is a good guy!" She said as finished searching the distance between Nevada and the Redwood national forest. She'd always wanted to see those big Redwood trees in person. And that's what she was going to do.

"Are you sure he's a good guy?"

"Yeah. He's taken better care of me than the majority of adults I've encountered."

"And that makes him a good person?"

"Given the fact that he promised not to tell anyone about me? Yeah, I'd say so."

She said with a snort. All three of the older girls looked at her with a skeptical look. "Uh huh."

"Sure."

"Okay…"

"Guys-!"

Lilac whispered in a chiding tone. Maria sighed heavily. "You got a plan for if your plan goes south?"

Lilac thought for a moment. She hadn't gotten that far yet…" Well, no."

"Ughh!"

"But there isn't a place on this planet that can contain me for long. We all know that!"

She said with a small smile. All three of the older girls rolled their eyes good naturedly. "Okay Lye. Just be careful!"

Leslie said softly. "Yeah and remember what My Chemical Romance said."

"And Sum41."

"And Good Charlotte."

"Yeah, yeah I know. I'm not gonna let someone make me conform to societies rules. I'm not changing for anyone anytime soon."

"Good! Now give me your email so we can keep in touch!"

Maria said. "Yeah and mount a rescue if we need to!"

Rochelle laughed softly as they leaned over to her computer. "I don't have an email. I live out in the wild remember?"

"So? We'll make you one."

Leslie said as she stole Lilac's keyboard. "Yeah! Just because you live out in the wild doesn't mean that you don't still go to libraries!" Rochelle said as they began to make her a Gmail account. "You okay with the email lilacandrom23 ?" Maria asked with a smile. "So long as no one can figure out that it's me and turn me in, sure!" Lilac said with a snort.

"Well, there are a lot of Lilacs in the world. So, you should be safe. Just try and lay low okay?"

Maria said again as they finished the process. "Laying low is all I do. Now email me so I have your contact info!"

Lilac said as she began to fiddle with the background of her email. Once Maria had sent Lilac an email, the girls printed out their maps, and logged off their computers. They then proceeded to pick out some books for themselves to read before Lilac had to be back. Though they didn't read much. They spent the remainder of their time together talking and catching up on each other's lives. Lilac learned that they had found Sadie back in December when they were passing through a town and that she had been abandoned recently by her mother. She also learned that Leslie's dad had been attacked and was sadly killed in prison, and that Rochelle planned on getting a job when they got to Arizona so that she could eventually afford a lawyer and gain access to her mother's estate, seeing as her step-father had seen it fit to kick her out after her death back when she was 12. Lilac laughed to herself internally. Here she was two and a half years after having last seen her friends and they seemed to pick up right where they left off as if no time had passed. In reality, they were all getting older, and times seemed to be getting harder for all of them, but they were still happy with their lives.

"So Ro, have you had someone drill your mom's safety deposit box yet?"

Lilac asked as she put their books away. "No. Should I?"

"Yeah. If your mom left a Will, then it might be in there. Or a copy of it could be in there."

"I dunno. I mean…I know I'm supposed to have a trust fund and all, but I don't know if that bastard has spent it all." She growled. "It's worth a shot. Might be cheaper than a lawyer right now too. Just check the laws, and stuff if and when you look into it."

Lilac said casually as they walked out of the building. "You been reading law again Lye?"

"All the time. Hey, when you're a known criminal, you have to find a way to get the law on your side somehow."

She shrugged. "What about you Mari? Aren't you supposed to be planning some Quinceañera or something?"

"Oh, I don't know. I mean I'm 15 and a half…"

"Give or take."

All five girls said out loud in unison before laughing at their coincidence. "But seriously?"

"I don't know. My Abuela is no doubt going to throw us a welcome home party."

"You should ditch the military dude and come with!"

"Yeah Lye lye, it'd be loads of fun if you came with!"

Rochelle and Leslie said as they gently nudged her. "Guys…."

"It would be neat if you came with us Lilac! Mari says her grandma is gonna make us a feast!"

"A feast huh?"

"Yeah!"

Sadie said with excitement! "And what will be at this feast?" Lilac asked, more to keep Sadie busy than anything else. Maria, Rochelle, and Leslie looked at each other conspiratorially. Lilac was as thin as could be! Surely a nice hot meal would sound good to her!

"Well…you know Lye…. enchiladas, menudo, pastel azteca, sopes, taco al pastor, Arroz a la tumbada…"

Maria said casually, while winking at Rochelle and Leslie. "And that's just the first part right Mar Mar?"

Rochelle asked innocently. They were trying to bribe Lilac with food, in hopes that she would leave her current ride and go with them instead. "Oh yeah! Abuela loves to cook! And she loves to make sweets too."

"Really?"

Lilac and Sadie said in unison. While Sadie sounded more excited and hopeful, Lilac sounded very wistful as she forcefully swallowed her building anticipatory saliva as discreetly as she could.

"Oh yes. I bet Abuela is making flan..."

"Mmmmm!"

Leslie and Rochelle hummed together at the sound of the yummy custard. "Yeah…and she's probably making my favorite… pastel de tres leches, or three milk cake."

"That sounds really yummy!"

Sadie moaned as her stomach growled. Lilac was thinking the same thing. Maria had made a modified version of the cake for her once not too long after they first met, and she hadn't had it since. Maria and the others smirked to themselves. They knew that Lilac loved sweets. Her sweet tooth was legendary, especially since she could be bribed with a simple bag of candy whenever a mundane task needed to be done. They secretly hoped that she would come with them just because of the cake. "It is Sadie. It really really is!"

Lilac said jovially as they continued to walk quickly to their destination. "And to wash it all down, Abuela is probably making Agua de Jamaica, hibiscus punch."

"I thought that was a tea?"

"Not the way she makes it! It's almost like a fruit punch, but with flowers!"

"Man, that sounds so good!"

Leslie moaned as her stomach growled. The girls had reached the padlocked fence and tossed their gear over before they began to climb over themselves. With soft grunts of effort, all five girls landed safely on the other side where they gathered their things and began to walk towards the trains.

XXXXX

["WHERE THE FRAG ARE YOU?!"]

["Sunny- "]

[WHERE. THE FRAG. ARE YOU SIDESWIPE?!"]

Sideswipe mentally rolled his optics as his twin continued to snarl and growl at him from across their bond. The signal had strengthened earlier that morning, allowing the two to really feel the other, and to talk to each other.

["Look. We're close okay?"]

["How far is close you fragger?!"]

Sideswipe snorted in annoyance before answering.

["We're in Utah okay? Now will you- "]

["We? Who is this 'we'?!"]

['A femme I met the night we made planet fall. She's helping me get to Nevada."]

["You're letting a slagging organic give you directions?!"]

["Given that my communication links, and GPS are down it's not like I have a choice. Can't even access their world wide web. All I can access are radio waves and you."]

["Then get rid of her! I can guide you the rest of the way!"]

["Oh really? Less than a klick ago you were asking me where I am. Meaning my location beacon isn't working either."]

Sideswipe said dryly. All he got as a response was more yelling, swearing and flashes of anger over his bond.

["Look. We'll be there in a solar cycle at most okay?"]

["No."]

["Not like you have a choice Sunny."]

Sunstreaker growled in annoyance before giving off an irritated vent.

["What are you gonna do with the squishy when you get here? Optimus said they are not pets."]

["That is for me to know, and for you to learn tomorrow brother dearest!"]

Sideswipe said chipperly. Truthfully, he did not have a solid plan for what he was going to do with Lilac when they arrived. He planned on convincing her that she should stay on the base, make her home there instead of wherever she fell asleep. He'd even be willing to share quarters with her as a friend. Bumblebee was ready for guardianship of his human, but Sideswipe didn't really want the responsibility of taking care of her. Not like that at least. He liked the idea of keeping her around as a friend. Protecting her as a friend. Making sure that she was safe from whatever has been secretly bothering her…as a friend.

["Don't fragging call me that!"]

["Whatever! I gotta go. She's back, and we're leaving soon! Don't tell the others about her yet okay?"]

["Why?"]

["Picture the looks on all of their faces when they see her! It'll be hilarious for them to see someone like her with someone like me!"]

["Sideswipe- "]

["C'mon Sunny. Just promise!"]

["Fine you fragger!"]

["Great! Bye!"]

Sideswipe said as they mutually ended their bond conversation. Sideswipe watched as Lilac and her friends snuck further into the train depot, avoiding officials and slow-moving trains. Quietly he followed them in alt mode, having to quickly step over a fence before he was able to catch up with her and her group. As he was moving, he worried about his guide. Would she leave him for her friends? After all, she didn't seem to want to go to base with him…at least not yet. But Sideswipe wondered if she would leave him, secretly hoping that she wouldn't. He liked having her around…she was fun and funny and energetic, she knew lots about Earth and the people on it, and as reluctant as he would be to say it out loud, without her, he would have never gotten this far. When he rolled up, he found them exchanging items, and writing things down. "Alright. That is the last of the recipes and the list of medical herbs needed for treatments. And here is a copy of all of our recipes for food on the fly, party snacks and so forth!"

Rochelle said as she handed Lilac a stack of papers, of which she immediately filled neatly into her backpack. "Thanks Ro! Now I can officially add apothecary to my list of trades."

She giggled. "Don't mention it!" Her friend chuckled as she ruffled her hair. "What list of trades?"

Maria asked teasingly. "Running, hiding, breaking out of people's homes, avoiding the police…"

Leslie began in a gentle teasing tone. "And then there's fire maker, food catcher, professional wild child…" Rochelle continued equally as lighthearted. "Don't forget navigator."

Sideswipe added, making them all jump. "Jeepers creepers! Sideswipe! Don't do that!"

Lilac sighed before giving a nervous laugh. "Sorry, but I have to admit, your faces were priceless!" He sniggered as they all rolled their eyes at him. "So, what do you say Lye? You coming with?"

Maria asked recovering fast. "Wish I could, but I made a promise. And you all know how I feel about that."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, Ro is right! Can't you figure out how to get to Nevada alone at this point dude?"

Leslie asked exasperatedly. "Hey now. It's not like I don't want to come with you guys."

"So, come with us!"

"I can't."

"Yes, you can!"

"Guys! Can I at least see my Redwoods first?! That was half of my goal by coming out here!"

"Wait what?"

Everyone said out loud. "The California Redwoods? I wanna see them! They're huge!"

"And then?"

"I dunno Mari! I mean I'll figure it out, but irregardless of what I do, he's a friend. And you can't just leave friends at the side of the road."

She said aggressively. Everyone stared at her in surprise before Maria, Rochelle and Leslie sighed sadly. "It's not like I won't ever see you guys again. I have all of your emails. And I'll know where to find you after I'm done. I'll send you an email and then I can go out there and hang for a bit."

"And get off the streets for good."

"Maybe."

"Lilac…"

Maria said in a chiding tone. "Maria…."

She mimicked. "Look you know me. I like my freedom…love it even but- "

"But what?! Lilac we all love our freedom, to come and go as we please, and to do what we want when we want. But even you have to admit that it is getting dangerous to live like you do. We're a group, and you saw what happened to us! What almost became of us!"

She said with fear and hurt in her voice. Lilac wrapped her in a fierce hug as Maria and her friends wiped at their eyes. "I know. I know the risks and the dangers, and after today I won't lie I'm scared too. But at the same time, after all I have been through, the circumstances…I don't know if I can ever have a normal life. It's not that I don't want to have one. Really, I do. I would love nothing more than to be able to sleep in, in my own bed in my own room. To be able to wake up and be surrounded by people who love and care about me, who want to look out or me and take care of me for the rest of my life. But that may never happen because of them."

She said bitterly as she wiped away her own tears. "But you can Lye! Just come with us!"

Rochelle pleaded. "I can't! Back in Nebraska we ran into some car trouble. So, we went to a garage and got the car fixed up. The old man that owned the business had recognized me and he called the cops on us."

"Lilac…"

"Someone recognized me. I have to lay low. Worst case scenario, if Sides and I get caught, I get drug back and he gets to live his life. If I'm with you guys and we get caught, then all of us get drug back kicking and screaming to foster care or worse. I can't do that to you guys. I…I won't."

She said as she wiped her tears. The girls came together and hugged her. "It's not like I won't ever see you guys again."

"But how do we know that?"

"I have your emails. When I'm done in California I'll come see you. And even if I can't, I'll still keep in touch!"

"But when Lilac? When?"

Sadie cried softly.

"How about once a week? More often once I find a safe place."

"You promise?"

She asked. "I promise." Lilac said as she hugged her tight. Moments later a train horn sounded, signaling that the train was going to leave soon. "C'mon guys. Otherwise you'll miss your train." She sniffled. Lilac gently lifted Sadie into the box car before handing her, her backpack. When Lilac was handing back Sadie's bandana she shook her head no. "Keep it. That way you remember to email us."

"And besides you're always a part of the Ortega's, even if you aren't physically with us." Maria said as she lifted her gear into the car. With a teary nod of her head Lilac hugged Maria once more before rushing to the back of Sideswipe's alt. She opened the trunk and took out a bag of the fresh produce she and Sideswipe got from the hippies the day before. She made sure that her friends would have a little of everything before she trotted back and gave Maria the bag. "For your trip, or the feast if there is anything left." She said with a small smile as the girl's eyes widened at the food. "Where did you get all of this?!"

"We stopped at a hippie commune yesterday. Sides wanted me to eat more fruit and veggies and less meat." She chuckled watching as they all looked at him with disbelief. "What? Do you know what humans do to meat? It's disgusting!" He said with a shudder. "Never pegged him to be a vegetarian." Leslie said softly in surprise. "I'm vegan!" He corrected as he walked to the back of his alt, silently laughing at their startled looks and Lilac's soft laughter. "And you're sure you want to go with this weirdo?"

Rochelle asked cautiously. "I heard that!" Sideswipe almost sang mischievously. "He has really good hearing and yes I'm sure. I'll email you when I get to a library and am safe."

She said while the others looked at her worriedly. "If you don't get an email from me in exactly one week's time, then you can panic. That means I am captured or worse."

"I'll do you one better." Maria said as she took a sharpie and a piece of paper out of Rochelle's backpack. "If you need us, call this number. They can't keep you anywhere or deny you a phone call. If you get trapped, call this number. My Abuela or I will pick up. If it's her just tell her that you are a close friend of mine and that you are in trouble and where and we will come get you."

"How?"

Lilac asked curiously. "My Abuela and I aren't above lying if it will keep the ones we love safe. You know this." She said as she gave Lilac one more tearful hug. "I know. And I will. If I can call I will try. But keep an eye out for any contact okay?"

"Of course!" Maria agreed as she climbed into the box car. "Are you positive he doesn't like…look at or touch you?" Leslie asked as quietly as she could, not wanting Sideswipe to hear. "No. He never has. I can protect myself if I need to." She said with a nod as she hugged her friend close. "Good. You let us know if he does. We'll have his nasty ass arrested." She and Rochelle growled. "I'm standing right here! And Ew!" Sideswipe said sounding disturbed by what he had heard Leslie say. "GOOD!" She and Rochelle shouted before they gave Lilac one more hug and loaded themselves and their things on the train. Slowly the train started to move ahead. "Good bye Lilac!"

Sadie waved. "It's not 'good bye' Sadie! I'll see you again soon!"

"She's right! We're not saying goodbye to Lilac because we will see and hear from her again." Maria said over the loud train.

"You only say goodbye to people you will never see again." Rochelle added as the train began to pick up speed.

"Exactly! I'll see you later! One way or another, we will meet again!"

Lilac called as she trotted along with the train. "But until then; Be safe my sisters! Make new friends and enjoy life on the other side! Send my regards to your grandmother for me Mar Mar and enjoy the food and the ride there! Remember the code! Hobo!"

"See ya Lilac!"

"Safe travels sister!"

"Adios mi amigo!"

"See you soon!"

Each of the girls called before shouting together in a sing song tone, "Hobo!".

As the train sped off, it was headed for a quick check point to make sure nothing was missing, and that no one was hiding on board. The girls having stolen rides on trains before, were ready and knew how to fool the workers. Lilac was sad to see them go, but happy to know that her friends were okay, and that they were headed for bigger and better things. Walking slowly back to Sideswipe she discreetly fought her tears. She would love nothing more than to have gone with them, to rest her weary body and rest knowing that to some degree she was safe. But such was not her fate. She had a job to do, one that was nearly complete, and nothing was going to stop her.

"So…you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm good. Sorry for the delay."

"It's all right. You had some slag to handle."

Sideswipe said as they both got in and he reversed out of the train yard.

"I only wanna know one thing."

"Yeah?"

"Where the pit did you learn to fight like that? That was amazing!"

"Just drop it Sides."

"But- "

"Sideswipe. Drop it."

She groaned tiredly as he drove on.

XXXXX

Sideswipe didn't drop the subject. He had pestered her and pestered her until she finally cracked about three hours later. "I'm a pacifist okay?! Geeze-a-loo!"

She snapped.

"But why? And how- "

"Sideswipe!" she sighed exasperatedly. "Look. When you live a life like mine and you see an entire life time's worth of violence, you get tired of it. By being a pacifist, I break a cycle of violence."

"What cycle of violence?"

"Sideswipe!"

"Okay okay! Never mind. Forget I asked."

"Thank you! Now what were you saying about Ratchet?"

"That he is a cranky old medic and loves nothing more than to throw wrenches and Sunny and I."

Lilac stared at him in shock. "Just what is old to you? Cause from where I'm sitting…"

"What are you saying?"

He asked in a playful tone. "Nothing. Nothing at all…just that you're decrepit…"

"WHAT?!"

"Oh, I'm just kidding! Seriously though, what about Ratchet were you saying?"

"I wasn't lying. He is an old medic and he is usually cranky."

"Does that have anything to do with you pulling an obscene amount of pranks?"

"No…"

Lilac raised an eyebrow at him before he sighed. "Okay yeah, we do pull a lot of pranks, but at the same time he needs them!"

"Really?"

"Eh, it keeps him on his toe caps. Wouldn't want the best medic in the universe to get slow or rusty on us!"

"Wait…is he the one you were telling me about before?"

"Yep! Hatchet can be a mean fragger sometimes, but he really does care for anybot under his care."

"Really?"

"Let me say it this way; If he didn't care, Sunny, I and a lot of other bots would have been little more than piles of scrap by now. He's more than skilled enough to handle the big operations and save a mech's life, yet at the same time is resilient enough to repair all of the stupid injuries that he sees me, Sunny, Jazz, and even Prime and Hide coming into Medbay with."

"That takes a special kind of person."

"Yeah. He has no…what's the phrase? Manners on the side of the bed?"

"Bedside manners?"

"Yeah that. He's brutal and blunt, but deep down he really does care for his patients."

Sideswipe said as he turned his head lights on. They had begun making their way into a more mountainous terrain and it was getting dark. Sideswipe only needed Lilac to explain one road sign about crossing deer before his sensors were put on their highest level. No way in pit was he going to let some organic life form leap out in front of him, scare him and possibly send him over the edge of a cliff!

"Well, it's good that he cares. He sounds more caring than most people I've met. Then again with my track record that's not so hard."

"Really?"

"Oh, you don't wanna know. Need gas?"

"Uhhhmm…not really. Need more credits?"

"I think I'm good."

"Ah pit, I'll stop anyway. Give myself a chance to rest my tires and stretch."

"Rest your tires and stretch? Sideswipe you can't reveal yourself to the public. You know that!"

"Ah c'mon! Its dark out! Who's gonna tell?"

"Sides!"

"Fine! But I'm still stopping!"

He mumbled as Lilac playfully rolled her eyes.

At the next gas station, he stopped and let Lilac out. She went into the mini mart to use the bathroom and stretch her own legs. And to buy one last bag of candy. She and Sideswipe had eaten all of the fresh fruit, candy and nearly all of the vegetables. Well…she had eaten most of it. Sideswipe didn't mind trying new things, but she was so hungry that once she started eating the fresh produce it was hard for her to stop.

As she paid for the candy, she watched Sideswipe's holoform at the ATM across the street. She also watched as a hooded man came up behind him with what looked like a knife in his hand. Much to her surprise the man checking her out didn't seem to notice. He was so bored and resigned to his work that he never really looked up from his comic book, even when ringing up Lilac's bag of candy. Just as the man was about to attack his holoform, Lilac watched as Sideswipe, still in alt. mode tiptoed up behind the man on all four of his tires before blaring his horn! The man jumped and spun around only to be greeted by Sideswipe's half transformed self, still partially on all fours as he rose slightly, and wiggled around. The man's face was so scared and at the same time, so funny looking to Lilac she had to literally bite her tongue to keep from laughing out loud!

"That'll be 1.67 please."

"Uhh..."

Lilac stammered as the man ran down the road screaming, while Sideswipe in both forms fell over laughing!

"1.67 Please."

"Uh…sure. Did you see-"

"Huh?"

The man said as he took out an earbud and looked up at her for the second time in the three minutes she had been standing in the store. "Never mind. Thanks!"

She called as she paid the man and ran out to Sideswipe's still shaking vehicle mode. Said store employee simply shrugged before putting the earbud back in as he resumed his reading.

"I can't believe you!"

Lilac laughed as she opened Sideswipe's passenger side door.

"His face! Hahaha! He…his fahahahahahahace!"

He laughed as he tried to pull onto the road. "That was so wrong!"

She giggled as they drove on. "Hey! He was the one trying to do the wrong thing!"

Sideswipe chuckled as he recovered from his hearty laughter. The two continued to drive on into the night through the small town laughing at what Sideswipe did until they came to a red light. A storm had rolled in and it was raining pretty hard, something that Sideswipe whined about as they waited at the light. For some odd reason, they were the only ones on the road. Sideswipe didn't seem to care, but Lilac immediately knew something was off.

"Ughhh! We're the only ones here! I'm just gonna drive through it!"

"No Sideswipe, just wait a few seco-"

She stopped speaking when she gasped sharply as she heard a sharp tapping on Sideswipe's window. It even made Sideswipe jump a little! There standing outside his driver's side door were two teenagers, both boys around Lilac's age, one maybe a year older. Both were somehow paler than her, and both wore long dark hoodies. Their faces were not easily seen.

"Uhhh…hi there!"

Sideswipe said curiously. He was checking his sensors. There was no way two humans, especially two male younglings, could have snuck up on him like that…at least no way that he liked…

"Hey…can you give us a ride?"

"Uhhh…"

"Sideswipe…"

Lilac hissed apprehensively. She didn't trust the two boys one bit!

"C'mon, please?"

"Yeah! It's pouring rain out here!"

The boys said taking an even closer step towards Sideswipe, making him even more uncomfortable. "Sideswipe…no. Don't."

"Why not?"

He asked, noticing Lilac's panic-stricken features as she repeatedly pressed the door lock down.

"L…L…L…Look at their eyes!"

She squeaked timidly as she continued to stare in horror. Sideswipe looked at the two boys again as they loomed outside his window. Sure enough, both of the boys had jet black hair and black soulless eyes. Unlike Lilac's eyes which were white with blue irises and black pupils, the boy's eyes were completely and totally black, almost as if they had no eyes at all. "LET US IN!"

One yelled furiously as he yanked on Sideswipe's door handle. Like a rocket, Sideswipe shot off driving like his life depended on it. Sideswipe didn't know what was wrong with those humans, just that they weren't right. Something about them…everything about them was wrong. His thoughts on this were confirmed by this as Lilac began muttering words under her breath. "Dear God, please protect us from evil and the snares of the devil as we continue on our journey. In Your name I pray Amen."

"WHAT THE FRAG WERE THOSE THINGS?!"

Sideswipe yelled as they swerved back onto the mountainous highway. They were driving so fast that Lilac barely caught the "Curves ahead" road sign, as well as the warning for inclement weather and landslides. "SIDESWIPE!"

"SERIOUSLY! WHAT IN THE PIT WERE THOSE THINGS?! AND HOW DID THEY AVOID MY SENSORS?!"

"SIDESWIPE! THE ROAD! WATCH THE ROAD!"

Lilac screamed as he barely rounded the first set of curves. However, he was so startled that he barely had enough time to register the loud grumbling of mud and rocks, and the trembling of the road beneath his tires. "LANDSLIDE!" Lilac screamed as she braced herself. Sideswipe was able to beat the landslide, but just barely. His tires screeched as he slid to a sliding stop on the wet asphalt. His systems were on high alert as he scanned his surroundings. "You…you okay?"

He asked as he vented steam from his systems. His only response was a soft whimper from her. She was balled up in his seat shaking with fright. "It's okay. You're safe." He tried to console as he reached over. Much to his surprise Lilac grabbed him in a hug. He held her close as she trembled within his grasp. "Don't be scared. It's okay. It's okay." He soothed gently.

The two stayed like that for what seemed like hours before they heard it. The deafening roar of another landslide. Sideswipe started his engine and was about to speed away when he realized that the landslide wasn't coming down the cliff above them, but that it was coming down further ahead of them. Slowly, Sideswipe drove on to where the mud was still sliding down the precipice carrying debris with it across the road and over the sheer roadside cliff. "Primus. This planet is scary." Sideswipe grunted as he watched the muck continue to cascade over the edge of the road and down through the trees below. That was when he heard the screams and cries from below for the first time. The screams from four different people, coming from one place. Two distinctly young, the other two older. Sideswipe re-calibrated his sensors to see better through the rain and felt his engine stall. There was a forest green car, hanging partially off of the road-side ledge farther ahead. The mud had knocked it off the road, and partially through the guard rail, but not all the way over.

"Sideswipe…"

Lilac said, startling them both.

"I see them…but- "

"I have a rope, we just need to tie it to their axel, and pull them to safety!"

"How? I mean not to be rude, but you're smaller than my smallest digit. I've seen you do some impressive slag, but this…this- "

"Is where you'll have to transform and help me. I can get close enough and tie the rope, and you're strong enough to pull the car back."

She said as they heard the car lurch forward and the screams of those inside. Without saying another word, Lilac got out of Sideswipe, and he picked her up before he jumped over the still flowing mud in front of them, racing for the car. As soon as Sideswipe put her down, Lilac was running as fast as her legs could carry her. She took the rope out of her backpack and slid over to the car. She could see the car's inhabitants through the rear windshield. There was a man in the driver's seat, a woman in the passenger seat, and two children in the back seat, both only a little younger than Lilac. They were the ones who saw her. "Don't worry, I've got you!"

She said as she crept closer to the rear axle of the car. She was just a little out of reach! "Lilac! Watch out!" Sideswipe shouted as tree swept past him. "WHOA!" She shouted as she hopped out of the way of the speeding tree. Looking back to the car she nearly swore as the car began to tip forward even more…" SIDESWIPE! NOW'S A GOOD TIME!"

Lilac called as she hastily tied a strong knot around the axel and began running back with the rope. "I GOT IT! I GOT IT!"

"DON'T PULL TOO HARD!"

"GOT IT! NOW MOVE!"

Sideswipe shouted as he began to pull and skate backwards toward the rocky wall. The car slowly began to come back up over the edge. With one strong pull, the car was almost brought back up onto the road, but with a whine of tearing metal, the car's axle broke in two, and the car pitched forward, falling over the edge. Lilac screamed as Sideswipe dove for the car, catching it by its trunk and hanging onto the ledge. With a frightened pant, Sideswipe looked down at the car, seeing that its occupants had passed out. With a grunt, he hefted the car back up over the ledge, and climbed back up onto the road. He then picked up Lilac, put her on his shoulder, and then picked up the car and began skating carefully down the road.

Once they were far enough away from the landslide site, he put Lilac and the car back down.

"Whoa…that…that was totally wicked!" Came the cry of someone in the car! "Huh?! Oh slag!"

Sideswipe groaned as his shoulders hung. His cover was blown. Again. Optimus was so gonna have his aft for this…

XXXXX

Lilac was able to come up with another good lie to explain away Sideswipe's presence to the young boy. After that, it wasn't hard for her to get a phone from the boy and to call the emergency services. Within two hours, emergency search and rescue was on the mountainside road, and the family was getting treatment for their minor injuries. As the man who was driving the car was talking to Lilac, Sideswipe watched his family unit interact with each other. He also observed the search and rescue vehicles. Many where red, or white, but one was a rather loud shade of yellow green. Sideswipe couldn't help but smile and think of Ratchet, wondering what vehicle form the medic took. He mentally saved the obnoxious color, thinking about how he could use it in a prank against said medic in the future. After all, his basic white with red highlight's armor could always use a pop of a different color.

"Really, I…I owe you two my life. We all do. "

"It was nothing sir, really. My friend and I barely escaped the landslides ourselves. And we couldn't just leave you on the side of the road."

"I can't thank you two enough! Really, I can't. I'm on leave for less than a week and…and…I don't even want to say it." He shuddered as he shook his head.

The man reached into his wallet with shaking hands and pulled out a card. "You're a lawyer?"

"I am…for the military. I'm on leave for the next month with my family, so that we can spend time together. And, stupid me, I thought that we could make better time by driving at night…."

He sighed before continuing. "Anyway, I heard my son saying that your friend is in the military, but the offer extends to the both of you. If you ever need anything, a favor whatever, just call. It's the least I can do."

Lilac was stunned. "T…thank you. I really appreciate it." She said as she began to walk back toward Sideswipe. "You guys take care!"

"You too!"

Sideswipe and Lilac called back before driving off.

"Well…that was…intense."

"Yeah. I'd like to get you to Nevada with little issue if you don't mind."

"Hey! It's not my fault your planet is insane!"

Lilac laughed and shook her head. He had a point. "I never thought you'd be the courageous type. I mean, you fought those men and saved all of those other humans…"

"Siiideswiiiipe! Please. Please just…just- "

"What? I can't pay you a compliment?"

"You can…it's just…I'm…not…. that…strong or brave, or courageous…I'm not."

"But you are!"

"But I'm not!"

"Yes, you are! You've saved lives, you've helped people! You're helping me!"

"But- "

"But nothing! Bravery isn't something you're born with, not where I'm from. It's something you gain, through experience, from facing your own fears, or a nitrogen rush or whatever it is for you humans. I don't know what's happened to you, but I do know that you can't stand to see others hurt, or in danger and that you feel compelled to help. And that, to me is bravery."

He said as they drove out of the mountains and into the planes. Lilac couldn't help but smile. Somehow hearing him say that about her…it made her feel better about herself. "So… tell me what is the rest of your team like? What's your twin like?"

Sideswipe smiled. There was a lot to cover.

"Well, I've told you about just about everyone, except for maybe Jolt, Bee, Ironhide, and Sunny."

"Okay, tell me about them. We've got the time."

"Ironhide is a hard aft. But- "

He began as they continued to drive. Lilac smiled. If nothing else she could live vicariously through Sideswipe and his experiences, at least for a little while longer. Hearing him speak animatedly about his team, his pranks, and the things he'd been through made her happy. It was nice to hear about a good group. To live vicariously through Sideswipe would allow her to feel like she belonged, at least for a little while longer.

XXXXX

Sunstreaker was working hard. He was trying to match the paint of his twin by memory, and it was pissing him off. Matching red was always impossible. There were just too many shades of it to ever get the color just right. And then there was the fact that red always looks different under different suns and atmospheres, let alone the fact that Sideswipe's last stash of red paint was left behind when they began their trip to Earth. Sunstreaker highly doubted that his twin has more than a small can for touch ups, and he'd be lucky if his twin had that. Not to forget to mention that what Sideswipe had told him over the bond the day before, indicated that he was going to need a major overhaul when it came to detailing his frame.

Slowly, a smirk came over his faceplates as he got up from his seat on the Autobot sized couch. There was only one place that his twin's paint might be. Striding carefully into the Medbay, Sunstreaker found what he was looking for as it came flying through the air towards his helm.

He swiftly caught the wrench and examined it. Sure enough, there was a ruby red scarlet scuff mark on the wrench. Sideswipe's signature color. "Thanks Hatchet! I'll return this when I'm done!"

He smirked as he trotted out of the Medbay with the wrench in hand. Now that he had an example of his twin's color, and the chemical components that made it up, he had some paint to create. The only thing he needed now was Sideswipe to show up. Hopefully clean and without a fleshy human in tow.

XXXXX

Lilac awoke with a groan. She was lying in a puddle of dirty water next to a tall building. With a soft groan she got up and looked around trying to source the odd sounds she was hearing. Sure enough, she found what they were and where they were coming from. It was Sideswipe. Lilac fought back her laughter, but not easily. Apparently, Sideswipe found yet another place to get a wash…an abandoned truck wash specifically. He was standing up, whistling and trilling some sort of tune as hot water blasted his frame clean of suds. Large brushes stood off to the side, covered in a lather of bubbles. Lilac sniggered quietly as he used what looked to be a comically large long handled back brush to scrub his back and under his arms as he continued to warble, blissfully unaware that she was nearby. That is until he ducked under the spray of water to rinse his chassis and saw her giggling. He was startled at first, but then smirked down at his mud adorned guide. She'd need a wash too.

"And what's so funny about washing?"

He asked making her squeak and jump. She was about to run away when Sideswipe grabbed her. "Ah, ah, ah! Not so fast! You haven't had your wash yet!"

"Sideswipe no! NO!"

"Relax, it won't take long!"

He said mischievously as he pulled her under the harsh spray with him. Lilac screeched out in surprise and slight pain as the hot water hit her skin. Sideswipe immediately put her back down outside, only to watch as she dashed around the corner and smothered her skin in the cool water puddle she was originally laying in. Thinking carefully, he came up with an idea. First, he got out and dried his chassis. Then he opened the service door and plugged his systems into that of the wash's. He changed the temperature of the water first, then the pressure. Next, he flushed the nozzle systems with water before attaching Lilac's own washing solvent to the system. He then slowed down the speed of the brushes before testing the systems with his holoform. Satisfied that the wash was now human safe, he proceeded to pull Lilac from her cool mud puddle.

"C'mon. I fixed the wash. It won't hurt you now."

Lilac looked at him skeptically. "Look, you're not getting into me looking and smelling like that. And Sunny will have a fit if he has to come all the way out here, and he will. He doesn't bluff often."

"Or, you could just leave me here. That's an option too."

"Ha! No way. Now come on. I promise you'll like it."

"Side-"

"I know that you like nice warm washes. And a good brush massage will make you feel like you came right off of the assembly line! You can even test the water if you want."

He said. It did sound enticing…With a cautious sigh she looked back into the wash at the many nozzles, hanging shammies and brushes. She wasn't so sure…but then again…it's not like she'd never used unconventional means to shower before. She and her friends had used self-service car washes to clean up before. So, really there wasn't much of a difference.

With a resigned sigh she began to pull her hair up, only to be stopped by Sideswipe. "Uh uhn. You need to wash your fur too. C'mon."

He said chipperly. "It's called hair."

She corrected as she nervously stepped under the nozzles. Lilac hated to admit it, but Sideswipe was right. A nice warm shower did feel good. He left her alone once she was under the spray of the soap. What she wasn't expecting was for the shammies and brushes to tickle so much. They were made of a soft plasticky material that was somehow fuzzy and soft to the touch, and they barely moved fast enough to fully agitate or rotate. And of course, Sideswipe found amusement in her ticklish laughter as he guided the brushes to clean her all over. However, once she was rinsed, his laughter turned into excitement as he threw one of his drying cloths at her, demanding that she get dried off and changed.

Once she did, Sideswipe disconnected his system from the wash, retrieved Lilac's soap, and made for the road like his life depended on it.

"Easy, slow down there speed demon!"

"I am not a demon. And no, I will not slow down! I finally get to see my twin today!"

He said excitedly as they cruised closer and closer to the city limits of Tranquility. Sideswipe had made great time the night before when Lilac was asleep. He was so excited to see his twin that he didn't notice the jet creeping into his sensor range until it was right over head of him.

"By Primus code… What did I do to the universe to make it hate me? And how the frag did this coward live through Mission City?!" He snarled as he swerved off of the road and onto the desert plane as the air craft above him began firing at him. "I don't know! I'm really beginning to wonder how we're running into all of your enemies! Seriously! Does everyone of your species hate you?!"

"I'm glad that you have a sense of humor about this! HOLD ON!"

"THIS IS THE THIRD FREAKIN TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED IN A WEEK! I'D HARDLY SAY ITS FUNNY!"

She screamed over the roar of the jet. Sideswipe slid to a stop so that she could tumble out. "RUN! GET AWAY FROM HERE AND HIDE!"

"HIDE WHERE STUPID?! WE'RE IN THE FREAKIN DESERT! THERE IS NO PLACE TO HIDE!"

She spluttered furiously.

"Precisely why I chose this location to ambush you. Now you have nowhere to run this time fleshy!"

"Back off Starscream! I'm in no mood to deal with you. No matter how fun clipping your wings sounds right now."

"Oh, big talk from a small mech! Missing your other half, I see."

"Not entirely. I was on my way to meet him. You should come with. It's been a while since Sunstreaker's gotten to do Jet Judo."

Sideswipe said as he discreetly motioned for Lilac to get behind him and run. She didn't need to be told twice! She was gone!

Faster than Sideswipe was prepared for, Starscream fired his null ray and he had to dodge the shot. "Whoa!" Both Lilac and Sideswipe shouted in unison, but it did nothing to stop the Decepticon as he continued to fire at the two before taking off in his jet form, chasing after Lilac. "GET BACK HERE INSECT!"

"GET AWAY FROM HER YOU CREEP!"

Sideswipe snarled as he tackled him to the ground. But it was to everyone's surprise when another jet swooped down and transformed, grabbing Lilac in the process. "Seriously Starscream? You can't handle one puny Autobot? He's half of a fraggin' spark too!"

"SHUT UP! AND ITS LORD STARSCREAM TO YOU!"

He snarled as both the new mech and Sideswipe rolled their optics, a habit they both quickly picked up from humans. Meanwhile, Lilac had found a way to squirm out of his grasp and was shimmying down his armor. She had reached the ground and was running away by the time anyone had noticed. "WHAT THE FRAG ARE YOU DOING?! GET HER!"

Starscream roared as his trine mate took off after Lilac, quickly catching up.

"C'MERE HUMAN!"

"NO! GO AWAY! NOOOOOOOO!"

She screamed as he snatched her up before transforming and flying away.

Starscream sneered down at Sideswipe as he struggled. "It's too bad that your twin will only feel his demise through you! So, tell me puny Autobot! Where is your twin now?!" he roared.

Meanwhile Lilac was pounding on the glass of the cockpit, trying to get some sort of reaction, trying desperately to escape, knowing that she was trapped.

CRUUNNNNCCHHH

Or so she thought. With a screech of pain, the seeker twirled midair, trying to dislodge something, or perhaps someone.

"I'm right fragging here!" The new mech snarled murderously as he took hold of the jet's wings and bent them at a harsh vertical angle.

All Lilac saw was a brief glint of gold before she saw the very hard ground quickly coming up towards the nose of the plane. The glass covering the cockpit shattered, and acting only on instinct, Lilac leapt from it going into a tuck and roll, being sure to cover her head and neck as she leapt up. She turned slightly as she ran only to see the mech that previously had her trapped getting up and dislodging some sort of blade from his wing before it's owner swung another at his head. At this sight Lilac stopped and stared. The four brawling before her was the single most astounding scene she had ever seen. The newer mech looked almost exactly like Sideswipe, with the exception of his golden paint job, and his audio fins. Both he and Sideswipe moved with a demonic type of grace that she wasn't sure if she had ever seen before. But just as soon as it started, it ended with the two flyers fleeing for their lives as the two swordsmechs yelled and jeered curses at them in English and their native tongue.

With a sigh of exhaustion, she located her backpack and grabbed it before she walked up to the two who were looking at each other with matching smirks. "Needed some help there huh?"

"Hey! I was doing just fine! I only wanted you to get some practice in! I had it covered!"

The new mech huffed out of his vents exasperatedly before clapping Sideswipe on the back in a friendly manner. "Whatever. Where's the squishy?"

"Uh…h…hi there!"

She said bending at the waist in an old Cybertronian style bow. Though she would probably never admit it out loud, and she would deny it all the way to the grave, she couldn't help but find the two of them, both of them, to be rather…handsome. But nobody needed to know that…. or hear that.

Sunstreaker scoffed at her at first before she continued speaking. "You must be Sunstreaker. I'd shake your hand, but it looks like you just polished your armor, and I'd hate to ruin it by leaving finger prints or dust. Thank you for saving me." Lilac said sheepishly.

This time Sunstreaker smiled approvingly. "You trained her well."

Sideswipe snorted. "I didn't train her. She's just really polite. She doesn't even like eating in my interior."

"You'd let her do that?!"

"It was either that or continue to stop frequently so that she could re-fuel."

Sideswipe smirked. "Well, to be fair, I wouldn't want someone to eat inside of me, and make a mess. Speaking of which, I truly hate to be so blunt, but- "

"Your neck is bleeding human."

Sunstreaker said dryly making her blink. "Huh? It is?" She said as she felt the back of her neck only to find a wet spot. With a frustrated groan, she dug into one of her backpack's many pockets and pulled out her first aid kit, from which she pulled out an alcohol wipe and a large band-aid. She tore open the wipe's package and grit her teeth before scrubbing at the cut on her neck with the sterile alcohol wipe. Both mechs winced at her snarls and growls of pain. Once the cut was clean she placed the band-aid on the cut and put her trash in a Ziploc baggie that came with the kit. "I'm terribly sorry you both had to see that. Thank you Sunstreaker for telling me about my neck."

"Right."

The mech said sounding a little disturbed by how calm the human in front of him was. "You should probably see a medic for that."

"Oh, no. But thank you though. Really. I'll be fine."

She said as she put her first aid kit away before hefting her bag onto her back. "I actually really need to get going."

"Lilac,"

"Sideswipe,"

"Don't mock me right now! You're hurt. You need a medic!"

"Sideswipe, I've survived worse. I'll be fine. Can I please have my stuff?"

"No. Not until we get to base, and you get checked out!"

Lilac blinked up at him and sighed. "Sideswipe, you know why I can't go with you. We've discussed this! C'mon don't make this harder than it needs to be!"

"You should talk! All I want is for you to get checked over!"

Almost as if she could read his thoughts, she looked to Sunstreaker as he spoke the truth. "No, you want her to come to base so that she can live there."

"Sunny!"

"Sideswipe look…"

She sighed sadly. "I don't like this any more than you do. But you know what will happen if I go to base with you."

"You don't know that!"

"And you do?! Sideswipe, there is no real happy ending for me, remember? Now come on! Please give me my stuff!"

She said sadly as he stood there with a sullen expression. Finally, he began to take her stuff out of his subspace. "It's nothing against you. You know that. And you have my email too. I promise to keep in touch. Okay?"

She said as she finalized her packing. "No…"

He said as he bent down, bringing her in to a close hug. "I'm really gonna miss you Lye."

"I know. I'll miss you too. But you guys have some stuff to deal with. A war to end, a home to make. And besides, this isn't goodbye remember? I don't do goodbyes. I'll just see you later."

"When will that be?"

"When the time is right. But for now, I gotta go. And you, have a lot of catching up to do with your twin, and your team."

She said as she returned his hug before he put her down. "It truly was a pleasure to meet both of you, and I hope that you two can find peace of some sort on Earth. Till we meet again, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker. It's been great!"

She called as she began to jog up the side of the road. "See ya Lye!"

Sideswipe called, with his usual mischievous grin blooming on his face.

"You do know that she needed to come back to base for questioning. Right?"

Sunstreaker said lazily. "Yep!"

"Then why did you let her run off slag head?!"

"I wanted her to get a head start. Prime and the rest are coming up the hill, right?"

"Yeah…why?"

Sunstreaker asked now annoyed and confused. His twin's mischievous grin and excitement translating across the bond were enough to explain what would happen. He snorted and smirked back at him, glad that his more chipper and yet equally as devious half was back. "C'mon. Let's go get her." He said with a smirk and shake of his helm as he called ahead to their superior officers, giving them an image of Lilac so that they'd know what they were looking for.

"Missed ya bro."

"Missed you too. Don't get all squishy on me like the humans. I can barely tolerate them as it is."

Sunstreaker said as they transformed and made their way back to the road.

XXXXX

Lilac was making decent time. She was running at a very good speed, and the road was literally downhill. She idly noticed a large group of cars go flying up the hill in the opposite direction. The first was a loudly colored emergency vehicle, who had its lights and sirens on. The second one was a large black truck, and the last one was a very pretty red and blue flame decaled semi-truck. She payed them no mind as she continued to pick up speed as she ran down the hill. A few minutes later she heard sirens again, this time however they were coming towards her. She slowed down and looked behind her, only to see the same loudly colored emergency vehicle rolling up next to her. She was about to stop, when her instincts immediately began to scream and raise vivid red flags. The vehicle rolled down it's window, to reveal no driver. And then it started talking. "Human femme! Stop this instant! You are coming with me!"

Lilac screamed and ran in the opposite direction as the vehicle slowly began to transform. Talking vehicles that transform into mechanical beings? There were only two options for what that could be, and Lilac didn't want to push her luck by sticking around to see which faction the chartreuse demon with the spinning head belonged to. Screaming bloody murder, she scrambled up the slope on the side of the road, and into the small patch of desert pine trees.

"Nice goin' Hatchet. You scared her away."

"Cram it Ironhide!"

"Don't worry. I'll retrieve the little human femme since it seems too hard for you."

He grunted as he transformed. "C'MERE LITTLE HUMAN!"

He bellowed as he ran after her into the trees. "And he said that I scared her. She'll need the human's best therapist with the way he's chasing her." The medic grumbled as he climbed up the hill.

Lilac was running for her life as a large black behemoth ran after her. She was doing everything she could do to get away from the thing. Taking sharp turns, leaping over logs, she even fell to the ground and hid in a ditch while the creature stopped to search for her before he ran past her hiding spot. She got up and began to run, only to hear and indignant shout of "HEY!" Before it was back on her tail. She was running out of options. Suddenly she was faced with a sheer cliff face in front of her. Without a second moment of thinking, she began to climb up the cliff. If she could just get to the top…

"And where do you think you're going?"

The being snarled as it plucked her off the wall. Lilac screamed and fought trying to get out of its grip. "Stop squirming youngling!" It growled. Lilac was furious and frightened. She was not going to go down without a fight! Seeing an exposed wire poking through the seam in his finger, she quickly grabbed ahold of it, and bit down with all her might, silently praying that the bite wouldn't kill her. "ARRRGHHAAAOOOWCH!"

It roared as it dropped her. Lilac braced herself as she fell about 13 feet to the ground. She had surprised the creature more than she had actually hurt it. Nonetheless, she got her desired result and was off running once more. She didn't get far before she saw the original chartreuse nightmare that sent her running into the trees trotting towards her. Lilac poured on some speed as she changed direction, but it wasn't enough, as the black behemoth grabbed her by her backpack and lifted her back up into the air. Lilac began to scream at the top of her lungs in fright.

"Don't grab her like that! If she slips out of that backpack she could offline from the fall! Even if she does survive, she could sustain internal injuries!"

"She bit me! The little fragger- "

The behemoth barked as he changed his hold on her. Now he was holding her by the back of her shirt, and she was screaming even louder.

"STOP SQUALLING YOU LITTLE- "

"SSSIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDESWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIPE!"

Lilac shrieked at the top of her lungs, making the two mechs wince. Suddenly there was a ferocious roar of twin engines, as said mech and his twin arrived, blades drawn and ready for a fight.

"Whoa! Whoa! -"

The chartreuse one growled as he ducked a swing from Sunstreaker's blade. "WE'RE FRIENDLIES SLAG HELMS!"

The other barked. It was then that the fog cleared from Sideswipe's vision and what he saw was quickly becoming a less than funny sight. His guide was still screaming and crying as she hung from Ironhide's fingers despite being in no real danger at all. He had expected the two to corner her and take her to base, or to talk some sense into her about why she should come to base with them. He knew that they'd probably scare her a little, but not to the extent that she currently was.

"Give her to me."

"What!?"

"Giver her to me! Primus! Can't you see that she's scared?! Hand her over!"

Sideswipe snapped. Ironhide glared and growled at him, but nonetheless handed Lilac over to him. Once Lilac was given to him, he gently hugged her to his chest plates before turning around and gently speaking to her. Neither Ratchet, nor Ironhide could hear what he was saying, but Sunstreaker could and he was surprised. His twin was consoling her as if she were a sparkling of their own species! It was no secret that between the two of them, Sideswipe was better with sparklings and younglings than he was, but to see his twin kneel down onto the ground, and steady her as she continued to cry was something he hadn't seen Sideswipe do for a very long time.

Both Ironhide and Ratchet were surprised as well. Usually Sideswipe and his twin were very rough, and edgy. But to see the care he took in calming down the child was truly a sight to see.

"Take deep breaths, okay? They're not gonna hurt you contrary to what they just made you think. Okay? Just take deep breaths."

Sideswipe said as he stood up and stood in front of her. If he knew Lilac well, he knew that she wouldn't want the others to see her like this. And truth be told, the times where he and Sunny felt the same way, they were rarely if ever given privacy, or a chance to really work through their emotions. Such as the reason why they had so many walls around certain emotions and behaviors. Sideswipe knew the importance of saving face and putting the barriers up between one's feelings and the world around them. He'd done it and seen Sunny do it too many times not to know what it looks like, even when a human does it.

"Looks like the time was right now since we're meeting again!"

Sideswipe said chipperly as Lilac pulled herself together. Meanwhile Optimus Prime slowly began to make his way through the trees and over to his troops.

{"Is everything all right?"}

He asked over the communication relay, seeing the tenseness of his soldiers and medic.

{"By Primus, she's only a sparkling."}

Ratchet said in awe as they watched Lilac slap angrily at Sideswipe's hands as he tried to pick her back up. She was snarling and growling things angrily up at the mech who was looking down at her with a mixture of exasperation and sadness. She was hissing words too low for them to hear, but loud enough that Sideswipe could. That combined with her various and somewhat wild hand gestures towards them and the rest of the surrounding area meant that while she had just about stopped crying, she was still very angry and that they were a topic of her anger.

"You shouldn't have run."

"You shouldn't have told them to chase me!"

She hissed as she sat down and pressed her head between her knees, taking deep breaths to try and stop her mounting panic attack.

"How did you know that I told them to- "

"Because you are one of the most mischievous, conniving, driven and annoying people that I have ever met. And that is saying a lot."

She wheezed.

"Not only that…but you have your twin bond back. I may be organic, but my memory is still pretty good. You can talk to him, and he could have, probably did, tell the others where I was and what I looked like. If you were going to do something this blatant, and try to play innocent, you shouldn't have told me about the pranks you've pulled, or the fact that you two can communicate in such a way."

She said dryly as she looked up from her knees at him. "I didn't tell you about our bond!"

"Yes, you did! To a certain point you did tell me about your twin bond, why it's important, and about other bonds too!"

"Yeah and you figured the rest out on your own!"

"That I did. But that is not the point, and you need to stop trying to change the subject!"

"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry!"

He said exasperatedly.

"No, you're not."

She said angrily as Sideswipe prepared his 'Hurt-why-don't-you-love-me?' look that Lilac had quickly learned was a favorite of his when he didn't get his way, or when he wanted her to do something he wanted. "The 'look' isn't gonna work on me Sideswipe. Not this time. We discussed this."

She snapped. as she got up and brushed her clothes off.

{"She sounds like you Ratch!"}

Ironhide said in surprise eliciting a small growl from said medic. Meanwhile Sideswipe pouted at her. "Mean…"

"Mean?! You're saying I'm mean?!"

"Yes, I am! If you just came with us, none of this would have happened!"

"YOU WARPED OVERSIZED CONNIVNG SON OF CAN OPENER! WE'VE GONE OVER THIS-!"

She roared as she continued their argument.

{"Now she sounds like you Ironhide!"}

Ratchet snorted humorously as Ironhide growled.

"Do you have any idea how many years you scared off my life?! DO YOU?!"

"I didn't scare you this time!"

"You might as well have! Sending them after me like that after we were just attacked! Why if I didn't abhor violence so much…I…I'd-!"

CLAANG!

"OW FRAGGIT!"

Sideswipe cursed as he grabbed his helm where Sunstreaker had punched him.

"Feeling vindicated?"

Sunstreaker asked, the tiniest hint of a smile or smirk at the edge of his lip plates.

"Actually, yeah,"

She exhaled as a rueful smile came to her face. "Yeah I do feel vindicated. Thank you. I needed that."

She chuckled softly at Sideswipe's miffed glare. Meanwhile Optimus and the others simply stared in awe at what was transpiring in front of them.

{"And she dislikes violence too."}

Optimus mused.

{"What is the human phrase? A femme after our own sparks?"}

Ratchet asked as the three turned to them.

"If you need me to do that again, all you have to do is ask."

"Oh, thank you very much but I don't think that will be necessary."

She said as a soft red glow came to her cheeks when she noticed that the others were staring at them.

"Oh, how embarrassing!"

She squeaked as she darted back around Sideswipe's tire to hide.

All three officers were surprised at this as they took a few steps forward. "Please little one, do not be afraid. We mean you no harm."

Optimus said gently. "His voice…it's so…strong. Yet gentle. He has the strength to be gentle." She thought as she peered around Sideswipe's tire. Said mech smirked as he lifted his tire up and nudged her with it before setting his tire back down behind her. She stepped forward and repeated the old Cybertronian style bow she had done earlier when meeting Sunstreaker.

"My a…apologies."

She said timidly. Once more the three bots were surprised. It had been a while since they had seen the old greeting of their race.

"You have nothing to apologize for little one."

Optimus stated as he kneeled before her. Lilac blushed a deeper shade of red as she looked down at her feet. "With all honesty, I should have checked the insignia before I ran. But with all due respect,"

She stated while looking up at Ratchet. "I, like many humans I imagine are not comfortable with seeing a person's head spinning around like yours did. To the best of my knowledge, there is not a species on Earth that can fully spin or rotate their head 360 degrees. Owls come close perhaps, but they can only turn their heads 270 degrees."

She said innocently. This got a bark of laughter from Ironhide and some sniggers from Sideswipe.

"R…Really though…I should have checked. But to give you some context, we have been attacked three separate times by your enemies, of which I now know have vehicular forms as well as aerial forms. I did not want to take any chances so soon, such is why I ran."

"I find that to be a perfectly logical and acceptable reason for why you ran from us. You are forgiven."

Ratchet stated calmly.

{"Her language patterns are different."}

{"That is because she is using proper grammar, and a lack of 'slang' while speaking. This may suggest that she has a higher education."}

{"Even the soldiers don't speak like that Ratch."}

{"Remember that human languages, English especially are adaptive to their environments. She may have a different background than the humans we have been dealing with as of late."}

{"Prime, I know good manners when I see them. She had to have learned them from somewhere."}

{"Are you insinuating that she has come into contact with a Cybertronian before Sideswipe?"}

{"It makes the most sense. How else would she have learned how to bow like that?"}

"I'm glad that you accept my apology Dr. Ratchet."

"What did you just say?"

"I…I'm sorry…did I- "

"How do you know my designation?"

Lilac blinked before she smiled. "Oh! Sideswipe has told me many great things about all of you!"

The officers gave light reprimanding and accusatory glares at said mech before she continued. "He said that you are the single greatest Medic in the universe!"

Ratchet was astonished! He had never expected the child to say that of all things!

"Are you certain?"

"Oh yes! He said that you care deeply for those in your care, and that you would do just about anything to keep them safe and healthy! He also said that you have great natural talent, and that you could perform certain procedures with your optics closed or without a hand!"

Ratchet stared in disbelief at her before looking over to the mech in question with a truly dumbfounded look on his face plates. Meanwhile, Lilac continued on.

"Although, I doubt that you would, given your vast knowledge of medicine, safety, and ethics! And you must be Ironhide!"

Said mech grunted. He could only assume what Sideswipe had told her. He was no less surprised than Ratchet was. "Sideswipe told me that you are a master of weapons, and that you are among the bravest of warriors."

Ironhide blinked.

"He also told me that, while you are hard on people, it is usually because you care about them. He also told me that it is good to fight alongside you because of your immense fire power and skill as well as your desire to protect others including the ones you fight with."

Lastly, she turned to Prime who was still kneeling in front of her with a slightly bemused look on his face plates. "And last but not least, you must be Optimus Prime, Leader of the Autobots. Sideswipe told me a lot about you too."

"Oh?"

"Yes. He told me that you are a compassionate leader, and that you work harder than many think you should or do so that the best outcomes can become a reality not just for yourself but also for your troops as well."

Optimus couldn't stop the smile that was coming to his face plates. She sounded so…proud. Almost as if she were talking about her own accolades.

"He also told me that your compassion and generosity almost know no bounds, and that when you are on the battlefield, you can easily shed your noble exterior and are ferocious and a true warrior when put to the test."

She said smiling. All three officers swiveled their gaze to Sideswipe, their optics wide in disbelief.

"What?"

Ratchet scanned him. Surely there had to be some sort of damage to the mech's processor. Sideswipe glared at the medic with a look of disbelief and anger.

"Really?!"

"Scan him again Ratchet, the fall may have jarred something in his processor."

"Oh, but everything he said about you all seemed so nice. Was it untrue?"

"He usually does not give compliments like that."

Ratchet said as he recalibrated his scanners.

"We wouldn't put it past the pit spawn to taint your ideals of us, as some sort of heinous prank."

Ironhide said darkly as he looked at the frontliner. Sideswipe looked affronted as she chuckled.

"Oh, yes. He also told me about many of his pranks too. Sideswipe, your reputation precedes you."

"But they already know me!"

"And we know that you enjoy playing practical jokes on people you have recently met."

Optimus said dryly as the mech pouted.

"The first time that I actually try and do the right thing in not pulling something, you guys don't believe that I could do something kind! Unbelievable!"

He protested with a pout.

"Well to be fair…Sideswipe after some of the stories that you told me, I wouldn't be surprised either if you did what they are saying you've done. But having said that, he was more than the perfect gentleman, or rather, gentlemech during the duration of this trip."

"He was?"

Ratchet asked suspiciously.

"Oh yes! And then some! He made sure that I was very comfortable, and that all of my needs were met for the trip…he is quite the conversationalist too!"

The Autobots stared at her in surprise. It was Optimus who spoke next.

"And you seem to be one too. You know of our designations, but we do not know yours."

"Oh, how rude of me! My na-"

"Syringa Vulgaris!"

"The common Lilac?"
Ratchet asked sounding confused by Sideswipe's outburst.

"Yes."

Lilac deadpanned with a wry tone.

"That is my namesake. My given name however, is Lilac Andromeda. Once more it is a pleasure to meet you all."

She said with a polite nod of her head.

"Once more, your neck is bleeding squishy."

Sunstreaker said with an equally deadpan tone. Lilac and Ratchet froze. Ratchet looked at her as she reached up to the back of her neck and pulled her hand back with crimson covered fingers.

"Fudge!"

She swore, making the officers jump. Ratchet immediately began to walk towards her, his caregiver instincts beginning to take over.

"Hold still. Let me see youngling."

"Oh, I'm okay. It's just a scratch. My Band-aid probably moved or got unstuck because of my running during the chase."

She said as she took out her first aid kit. Ratchet raised his optic ridges before narrowing his optics at her as she removed the bandage and proceeded to snarl in pain as she cleaned her wound and re-dressed it.

"Youngling, you should let Ratchet see your wound."

Ironhide presaged.

"Oh, he doesn't need to bother himself with this. I'll be fine."

She said as she put her trash into the Ziploc bag and stood up with a pen. Lilac then began to write things down on her hand.

"What are you doing?"
Ratchet asked as he leaned in to see. Lilac looked up at him with a little concern.

"I'm just writing down the supplies that I'm gonna need. Nothing major. Just more bandages and disinfectant."

"And why, pray tell, do you need more supplies?"

Ratchet asked with a gentle yet stern tone. Lilac swallowed thickly.

"For my trip. I'm on my way to see the California Redwoods! I…I actually really need to get going."

She said as she picked her bag back up and began to re-situate it on her shoulders. Lilac took a timid step back as Ratchet began to walk closer to her. He did not look happy. She swallowed thickly once more as she felt her hair stand on end and her skin prickle. She felt as though she had passed through a field of static electricity.

Ratchet's optics were narrowed in on her. Lilac and the others watched as his optics widened and a wide array of emotions played across his face before he narrowed his optics at her once more, this time with a look of quiet disbelief.

"Ratchet- "

"Youngling, when was the last time you properly refueled?"

"Ummmm…I think it was either last night or this morning. I don't remember. Wh…why do you ask?"

"Are you aware of your current health status?"

"Ummmm…"

She squeaked timidly as she looked at her feet trying to think of something to say to the very large, very intimidating doctor. Meanwhile the other Autobots looked to Ratchet in confusion and concern.

{"Is there something wrong with her Ratchet?"}

{"Prime, she…her skeletal frame looks to have been severely damaged and healed several times during her life span thus far."}

{"Humans are fragile Ratchet, remember?"}

{"OF COURSE, I REMEMBER GLITCH HEAD!"}

{"What did you find Ratchet?"}

{"Prime! Her frame shows evidence of abuse, and neglect. Severe abuse and neglect."}

He said gravely. The communications relay went quiet as the medic continued to speak.

{"She is under weight, under height, and she is in dire need of more vitamins and minerals in her diet."}

The medic said worriedly. Optimus got the message in his urgency.

"I would really like to thank you for helping Sideswipe navigate his way here. Our allies are expecting us back, and it is almost time for their evening refueling. We would like to extend the invitation for you join us this evening."

Lilac blushed a gentle pink. She didn't want to be rude, but at the same time, she knew that she shouldn't go.

"She'd love to come!"

"Sideswipe!"

"Ah c'mon! It's just one evening of refueling! You can stay for one night!"

"Sideswipe! We've been over this!"

She moaned tiredly at the mech.

"As much as I would like to accept the invitation, I'm afraid I'll have to decline. I really must get going."

"Are you certain? It would be less strain on your frame if you rested for the evening at our base, and then left in the morning. Perhaps we could even transport you to these Redwoods."

"Oh, you don't have to do that! Really! Though I appreciate the offer very much, you all have your own things to worry about. My job was only to get Sideswipe to you, and I have certainly completed that task. For me to stick around would be unnecessary. You all have better things to be doing than helping me, I'm sure."

She said innocently. "Our allies also have some questions for you as well."

"Oh? Well then perhaps I can answer them for them now. If you don't mind? This way there is less to worry about. I've already promised Sideswipe that I wouldn't tell anyone about you guys."

"And why is that?"

"Because it's not my secret to tell. You deserve a safe place to live, the same as anyone else. It would be wrong to expect some type of reward for helping someone in need, and it would be equally as wrong for me to tell everyone what I know about you. I wouldn't want someone to do that to me."

"Then tell us human, why did you really help the Pit Spawn?"

"Because he was far away from the only family he had, and he had very little idea on how to get to where he needed to be, and blend in while doing so. It was common decency to help him, and I'd hope that someone would do the same for me if I needed it."

She said sagely. "As it is, the relationship was mutually beneficial. Sideswipe got reunited with all of you, and I got a friend. Seeing the Redwoods is only a bonus that I thought of on our way here."

She shrugged as the mechs stared at her. They could tell that she was telling the truth. She didn't want a reward for her monumental good deeds in assisting a handicapped mech across the country. She was happy to help. But yet, her urgency to leave and not come back to base with them was suspicious. Why go through all of the trouble of helping someone foreign to the planet, and not accept some sort of reward? Why the eager haste to get back on the road? Unless…

{"The youngling is hiding something."}

Ironhide said gruffly. Optimus could hear the suspicion in his voice.

{"I agree with Ironhide. Her heart rate is slightly elevated, her pheromones suggest high levels of stress and anxiety, and she keeps discreetly looking past us, almost as if she is debating on running from us again."}

{"Yet outwardly, she seems calm."}

Optimus observed.

{"She keeps squeezing two of the digits on her left hand. It's a tell. She's been in enough situations where she has had to be discreet about outwardly showing her emotions."}

{"The humans refer to it as a 'Poker face'. An expression that is meant to mask their other emotions."}

Ratchet added as he continued to look at the scan of her he had taken.

{"Perhaps, she is hiding her abuse from us. Not coming to the base with us means that we cannot learn more about her, or what may have been done to her."}

Ironhide said thoughtfully as he watched her check the time device on her wrist and frown as she looked up at the sky.

"Odd. My watch says six, but the sun is…oh! How silly of me!"

She chuckled. "I completely forgot that we went through two time zones! Its…three p.m. here, correct?"

She asked the mechs. Optimus was the first to respond. "You are correct."

"Oh, then I really should get going! By the time I get into town, buy my supplies, and get a bus ticket, it'll be nearly dark!"

She sighed with a nod of her head.

{"Optimus,"}

Ratchet said, getting his attention.

{"We can't let her go. Not just because our allies have questions, but because her health is at stake."}

{"What are your findings?"}

{"Based off of my scans alone, her future looks dower. I'm sure if I ran tests… the information would not be as positive as we would hope. I wish to put her under extended medical observation and through treatment until her condition greatly improves."}

{"Prognosis?"}

{"If she is exposed to the elements and does not come with us, her systems will begin to malfunction."}

{"Meaning?"}

{"Unless she comes back to base with us and stays there, she will offline in a few months. Sooner if her atrophied muscle structure is anything to go by. She needs medical treatment."}

Ratchet stated gravely.

Even though Sideswipe was completely unaware of what his team mates were talking about, he could tell that they were talking about Lilac. Ratchet's grim expression was enough for him to know that there was something very wrong with his friend. Said friend was currently starring at the Medic and his Prime as the two spoke over the internal communications relay. Slowly but surely, she tried to inch away from his tire, and past the two as they continued their momentary staring contest. In actuality, the two's conversation was only about 30 seconds, but it was enough for her to try and sneak away. Or so she thought. Ironhide had given her a stern glare companied with a soft growl as the other two officers turned back to her. She faked a stretch, trying to cover up what she was doing so that she could try and fool the others. Sideswipe however wasn't buying it.

["Don't interfere. Let her go."]

["Sunny, I can't just let her go. She needs help."]

["She doesn't want help! She's made that very clear!"]

["That doesn't mean that she still doesn't need it!"]

["What is your attachment to this…this meat sack?! She's gross, and oily, and fleshy and smelly, and they secrete mucus, and other nasty looking and smelling things! Why do you like her so much!?"]

["Because she helped me. She barely asked me of anything at any time and did her best to make me happy on the way here! She offered me shelter, fuel…Sunny she was prepared to starve and offline if it meant that I'd be able to make it here! She saved my fragging life! She didn't have to. She could have run off at any time, told me to frag off, but she didn't."]

["So, what!? She's kind. Not my fault she was stupid enough to want to help you!"]

Sideswipe smoldered at hearing his twin's cold callused remark.

["I don't think you got that last part. She. Saved. My. Life. She saved my life!Our lives! I was bleeding out on the side of the road and she took me to a place, and she helped fix me! If I offline, you do too! We owe her our lives! The least you can do is be the least bit grateful that I made it here in one piece, let alone thanking her for keeping me online."]

Sideswipe grumbled as he looked down at his friend who was Pit bent on not coming with him. That was when he remembered something. Something particularly annoying about Ratchet, yet oddly useful at the current moment.

["Has Ratchet been getting on the humans for their health?"]

["Yeah. He rants about their diet all the fragging time! So, fragging annoying! Just let the squishies eat what they want and offline early! Primus!"]

Sunstreaker grumbled. Sideswipe smirked.

"Are you certain that you must leave now?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I really must go."

"Aw, c'mon Lilac! You were just saying how much you'd love to have a…what was it? A…a home cooked meal! Yeah that was it!"

"Oh?"

Optimus and Ratchet said curiously.

"Sideswipe- "

"Well you did! Right after you ate that greasy food we got at that truck stop."

"Greasy food?"

"Uh…"

"Yeah! The people at the truck stop were nice and gave us extra fuel for her, but it made her sick cause it had too much grease."

Ratchet frowned down at her and she swallowed hard.

"Ye…yeah. I did get sick. But! But I'm fine! Really…"

"But doesn't eating canned food get old after a while?"

"Canned food?!"

Ratchet barked making Lilac jump.

"Ye…yes. It's all really good stuff! I have green beans, corn…some pears…"

She trailed off seeing the medic's look of disapproval.

"Some SPAM."

Sideswipe said casually, barely containing his gleeful smirk as Ratchet glowered at the child.

"Youngling, how much of this…canned fuel do you have?"

"Oh! I have enough to last me…ummm…. maybe two weeks? It depends on how I meter it out really."

"Meter it out? How often are you re-fueling?"

"At least twice a day."

She said as she pulled a can of peas out of her backpack. "See, I have plenty to eat. I'll be- "

"And when you run out? What then?"

Optimus asked. Before she could answer, Sideswipe began to speak again.

"Yeah Lilac. Are you going to buy more SPAM, or are you going to buy more of that food that can be prepared quickly? And what about that chocolate stuff? Snickers are good, but wouldn't you get bored eating that all the time?"

Ratchet sputtered in shock and rage! "YOU'VE BEEN FEEDING HER THAT SLAG THE WHOLE TIME?!"

"She chose her own fuel!"

Sideswipe defended. Ratchet turned his murderous glare from him to Lilac who visibly flinched at his expression.

"Youngling! -"

"I do not eat fast food and candy all the time!"

She protested! Ratchet could tell that she was afraid, but that she wasn't lying to him.

"Then tell me youngling…what do you consume?"

He said as he leaned over her menacingly.

"I…I eat vegetables…fruit, fish, meat, bread…not all of the food I eat comes out of a can. But canned goods are okay too."

"I thought you threw away all of the rust spotted expired cans."

Sideswipe said as he pointed to the can in Lilac's hand. She blinked quickly before she looked at the can and squeaked softly in surprise. He was right!

"That is more than unacceptable! Youngling you need proper nutrition! You need to come back to base with us now!"

"What do you mean I need proper nutrition? I feel fine."

She said innocently. Sideswipe smirked. He had planted the seeds to get the CMO riled up, and his friend was playing into his plan perfectly.

"Youngling,"

Ratchet ex-vented through his olfactory vents, using the last of his patience to speak to the child.

"You are gravely underweight, and under height. You are deficient in Iron, vitamins D, C, B-12, A, Calcium, and Magnesium. And you are beginning to suffer from sun exposure. You are dehydrated, and you have inflammation of the skin caused by overexposure to ultraviolet radiation especially from sunlight-or a sunburn developing."

He said pausing as he noticed Lilac writing something down.

"What, are you doing? Were you evening listening?!"

"Yes, I am listening. I wrote down everything you said."

"Why?!"

"So that I can go and get vitamins from the store when I get into town. It shouldn't be too hard to get a bottle of multivitamins…and of course water and sunscreen are a must too."

"Absolutely not!"

Ratchet snapped furiously, making Lilac cower in fear.

{"Ratchet- "}
{"Permission to put her under my medical care."}

Ratchet asked. Though it sounded more like a statement, Optimus knew what his Medic and close friend was saying. The child was not going to willingly accept help despite her conditions. Nor would she voluntarily come back to base with them. She was hiding something from them and Optimus though having a solid belief in what he thought it was wanted to be sure. If that meant making the child who seemed to be growing more and more nervous around them upset, then so be it. But his allies needed answers and there was no stopping Ratchet once he decided that someone, be they bot or human, needed his care or expertise.

{"Permission granted."}

Ratchet ex-vented once more to cool his elevated core temperature before speaking.

"Youngling, I have tried to be as kind and gentle as I can. But you leave me no other options. Seeing that you will not willingly care for yourself correctly and in fact may not be capable of doing so, and since you will not willingly accept our help you leave me no choice."

Lilac gulped.

"As of this moment, you are hereby under my medical jurisdiction and as such you will have no choice but to return to base with myself and the others where you will receive medical treatment from myself for your wound which will be cleaned and re-dressed, your weight, and any other damage that has been dealt to your frame until I deem you healthy. In addition to this, you will not be permitted to leave under any circumstances unless I deem it acceptable and or necessary for your treatment."

Lilac shook her head in dismay. This was the last thing she wanted. They couldn't do this to her…could they?

Meanwhile Sideswipe giddily bounced on his tires with mischievous excitement. His plan had worked! All he needed Ratchet to say were the two words that would make any bot, Optimus Prime included obey the medic out of sheer terror and he would be ecstatic!

Lilac had gone pale. For some reason both Sideswipe and Ironhide found the scenario to be funny when it clearly wasn't! Sideswipe was bouncing like a giddy child, and Ironhide was smirking deviously for some odd reason. Optimus Prime looked apologetic but also resigned, as if he knew there was no point in fighting with the chartreuse monster. Sunstreaker simply looked bored and annoyed.

"N…n…no. No! You can't do that! You…you have no right!"

She said as she continued to back away from the medic who frowned even deeper before snorting at her. "I do. And I just did. You are coming back to base with us, whether you like it or not, and whether you want to or not. Doctor's orders."

Sideswipe gave a happy whoop of "YES!" as he jumped. Lilac shook her head no as she began to back away from the medic. "No…"

"Oh yes! You heard him! Doctor's orders!"

Sideswipe sang as Lilac continued to back away. Ratchet grunted as he turned and began to walk back to the road alongside Ironhide, Optimus and Sunstreaker.

"Make sure that she does not get away from you. And if either of you so much as think of running and trying to get out of a medical exam, you'll regret it."

He snarled. Lilac was about to do just that, But Sideswipe picked her up first. "Ah, ah, ahhh! You're not getting out of this Lilac!"

Sideswipe crooned mischievously. "S…Sideswipe! N…no! Please! You can't do this! I'm begging you! Please!"

"I have to. I don't want a wrench to the helm! And besides it won't be so bad! Now you won't have to worry about finding fuel, and a place to recharge! It'll be fun!"

He chirped as he quickly set her down before transforming and herding her into his interior. Lilac tried to open his door with all her might, but it was no use! Sideswipe tossed her backpack into his back seat and pulled onto the road. With a pitiful whine, Lilac pressed her hands against her window and watched the scenery begin to roll by.

XXXXX

The drive to the base was fairly short. This was something that Sideswipe didn't mind. He was however concerned when he saw the base. It looked like one strong gust of wind would knock the structures over. The buildings weren't new, but he could tell that they were recently connected to each other with a newer material. One area was still under construction, and by the looks of it, it would be done soon. Sooner if any of the bots were to help.

Sideswipe felt his friend tugging and banging on his door, trying desperately to get out as they approached the base. She looked positively terrified, if her distressed grunts, whines, elevated heartbeat and the beginning of tears forming in her eyes were anything to go off of. There was a human at the gate that opened it once Optimus rolled up. Ratchet had positioned himself behind Sideswipe during the convoy over to the base, so as to ensure that his two patients didn't escape. Once they were through the gate, Ratchet herded Sideswipe into the first hangar, the main hangar that also doubled as a sort of rec-room for the base.

Lilac would have been amazed at the sheer size if she wasn't so terrified. It was big enough to house a sitting area for the Autobots and humans alike with chairs, tables and couches for both parties and a coffee table big enough for the bots to use. In addition to this there was a small area with a swinging door, where two soldiers walked out with mugs, possibly a kitchen.

Ratchet then herded them through the hanger out the back door and into a hallway. They turned right in the hall before turning left and driving down a long hall with a set of large doors at the end of it. The Medbay.

Lilac was bawling in fear. She did not want to be there, but she was trapped. With a hiss, the Medbay doors shut behind them, locked.

"Alright. Sideswipe let the youngling out. Jolt, you'll be giving her a maintenance exam. Sideswipe, on this berth here."

Ratchet commanded. When Sideswipe looked over, he saw Lilac frozen in fear. She had a distant and far off look in her eyes and she was trembling.

"Lilac, it's okay. You have to get out."

All she could do was whimper.

"I promise, nothing bad is gonna happen. They won't hurt you."

He said as Jolt opened his door making her scream. Ignoring her screams he gently pulled her out of his interior and carried her over to a berth. As soon as she was placed down on it she scrambled back from him as fast as she could, and he pulled a curtain closed around the berth.

"Easy there. I'm not gonna hurt you. I just want to help you."

He said seeing the distant look in her eyes and the look of horror and fear on her face. Deciding to take a different approach, Jolt turned on his holoform and began to walk towards her.

He had sandy brown hair and bright blue eyes and wore dark blue scrubs with a stethoscope around his neck.

Lilac screamed and pushed herself to the back of the berth. When her body hit the wall, she began to look at the edge of the berth.

"Whoa, now. Don't go thinking about jumping off the side. Wouldn't want you to get hurt."

"Please! Please leave me alone!"

Lilac wept.

CLAAANG!

"OW!"

"SIT BACK DOWN!"

"WILL YOU GIVE ME A MINUTE?!"

Sideswipe snapped. "Primus!"

Sideswipe swore as he tore the curtain back revealing the two. Jolt gave him and Ratchet a confused and slightly helpless look as he stood near the berth, disengaging his holoform.

"Lilac take deep breaths. It's okay. This is my friend Jolt. Remember? I told you about him and how he is a medic in training?"

Lilac sniffled and nodded her head.

"Good! Jolt, this is my friend Lilac. She's very scared as I'm sure you've noticed."

"Hi."

He said sheepishly with a small wave. "Good! Now that you've been properly introduced, I can safely say that Jolt here won't hurt you. He knows how to treat femmes. And if for some odd reason he did try to hurt you, he knows that I'd re-arrange his faceplates…painfully. So, having said that, are we all good here?"

"GET BACK OVER HERE PIT SPAWN AND SIT DOWN!"

Ratchet barked making Sideswipe look over his shoulder. Before he left, he gave Lilac a gentle nudge with a digit and a smile. "I'm serious Jolt."

He called as he rolled away leaving the two feeling very uncomfortable. They stayed like that for a few minutes until Jolt decided to turn his holoform back on. With a sigh he looked at her again.

"I really mean you no harm. I just want to make sure you are healthy."

Jolt said. Lilac looked at him unsure if she should let him come near her or not.

"Can I listen to your spar-heartbeat? Sorry, I'm still getting used to the new terminology."

He said sheepishly. Lilac blinked up at him hesitantly.

"May I?"

He asked as he took a small step forward. Lilac nodded yes in return. Jolt walked across the berth and kneeled before her. Making slow movements, he used the stethoscope to listen to her heart. After a few moments he smiled. She was still scared, but she sounded healthy.

"Good. Now, if you wouldn't mind laying down, and holding very still, we can finish your maintenance exam. Oh, and I'll need a sample of your DNA."

"W….why?"

Lilac asked timidly. Jolt smiled. She sounded so young and innocent.

"Because we want to make sure from a genetic standpoint that you are healthy too. Don't worry, it doesn't have to be blood. It can be saliva, or even a few small strands of your hair."

"Blood is fine."

Jolt looked at her in surprise. But then as she moved to lay down he saw the blood on her neck. With a nod he smiled at her. "Now hold still. This may tickle a little."

He said as he performed a deep systems scan on her. She gave him a bemused smile once it was over. "Why does that tingle so much?"

"Because we scan down to the molecular level. We see more, with a less physically invasive method. It saves us time and our patients from feeling too uncomfortable. Having said that, may I see your neck? Ratchet informed me that you needed a wound treated."

He said gently. Lilac smiled. She liked him. He seemed nice, and gentle. And young. Much in the same way that Sideswipe and his twin seemed to radiate a sort of adolescent vibe.

Lilac slowly lifted her hair from her neck and showed Jolt the cut. He nodded with a frown as he trans morphed his fingertips into a pair of tweezers. "Okay, I need you to look at my holoform and take a deep breath. Don't move. There's some glass in your neck that I need to get out. But first…"

"No! no anesthetic! I don't do medicine! Or shots!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down! Okay I won't give you an injection! BUT you still are going to need a small painkiller once I'm done. The disinfection part is gonna sting a little."

"I know, I cleaned it twice this afternoon."

Jolt raised an optic ridge in surprise. "I carry a first aid kit in my backpack. Sideswipe has it right now."

"Okay…How did you meet him anyways?"

Jolt asked curiously as he began to remove the many small and one large shard of glass from her neck. Lilac raised an eyebrow before she cautiously began to tell him her version of events.

From where Sideswipe was sitting it looked like Lilac was beginning to warm up to Jolt. It made him smile. "What the frag did you do to your frame?! And what is this slag wrapped around your cables and wires?!"

He sighed in exasperation at the medic. He forgot that by dragging Lilac along with him and to base that he wouldn't get out of a maintenance exam or Ratchet's scrutiny either.

CLAAANGG!

"OWWWW! RATCHET!"

He whined. "Stop whining and answer me slag head! And stop squirming!"

["Help me!"]

["You're on your own fragger."]

["Sunny!"]

He whined while looking at his twin. Sunstreaker rolled his optics and shook his helm. This was gonna be a long exam.

XXXXX

Will and Epps stood on the platform of the Crisis room and were talking about their strategy.

"So, we'll sit the kid down, give her a nice steak dinner, and talk to her about what happened. We'll have her sign the paperwork and we'll be fine."

Epps said casually as he set the table on the platform as Will leaned against the railing. He was letting the steaks rest on the grill outside and would bring them in to serve them in a few moments. "You make it sound so easy."

"Isn't it?"

"No. C'mon Epps. You know it's never that easy. She'll probably want us to pay for her college or something."

"I'm not so sure Captain."

Optimus said as he walked into the room. The two men looked up at the leader curiously. Especially given the fact that Ironhide was following behind him grumbling and that he was wearing his battle mask.

"What makes you say that?"

"The youngling seems to want nothing to do with us. In fact, she tried repeatedly to evade us."

Optimus said. The two men looked at the two bots, noticing some clues. While Prime was wearing his mask, they could easily see the amused sparkle in his optics as well as hear the amusement in his voice. Ironhide on the other hand was grumbling as he looked at his digits.

"Something wrong 'Hide?"

"That little fragger bit me! She bit me! Me!"

He growled. Both men noticed Optimus' shoulders trembling in a silent chuckle. "She bit you?"

Will asked in incredulous disbelief.

"Did I not just state that?!"

Ironhide snarled as Will and Epps laughed. Optimus chuckled softly. "I'm sure she meant you no harm old friend."

"Tell that to the denta indents in the cable in my digit! Fragging feral femme!"

"You might want to have that looked at. Wouldn't want you to catch something."

Will laughed as he went down the stairs to get the steaks from outside. Ironhide grumbled to himself as he flexed his digit once more. Will brought the steaks inside and Epps went into the kitchen in the next hanger and got the mashed potatoes and broccoli as well as some beers for Himself, Will and their guest of honor. Upon seeing this Optimus frowned. "I was under the impression that younglings were not allowed such beverages."

"Ah, she's a college kid. Probably will say it's not as good as what she has at parties."

"Optimus is right. We shouldn't be giving the kid Alcohol. C'mon dude you know that!"

"Yeah but after a drink or two, the lips get looser and inhibitions go out the window…"

"We're not interrogating her!"

"No, but she'll have less to hide if she has something to drink! And besides if we treat her like an adult, she may be more likely to work with us instead of against us! You know what I mean. A couple of drinks won't hurt."

"Or we can be responsible adults and treat her like a young lady, and not give her any alcohol to drink."

"Aw c'mon!"

Epps moaned as his shoulders sagged. "Put 'em away Epps!"

Will called from where he was finishing setting the table. Epps marched back into the kitchen and put the beers back before he got three glasses and the jug of milk. "Hope she's not lactose intolerant." He grunted as he walked back into the Crisis room. Once he got up the stairs he set the glasses down and poured the milk. "Satisfied?" Epps grumbled at Will who snorted back at him. "Yes. You ready to meet the kid?"

"Let's meet this punk ass college girl."

"Ah, get over it Epps!"

Will said good naturedly as he jabbed his friend in the ribs. "I'm over it. But I'm drinking yours later tonight when this is over." He grunted with a smirk. "Ratchet has informed me that they are coming up the hall now." Optimus said with a short nod. "That slag would have fried the youngling's processor any way." Ironhide said as an afterthought as the two men looked over the railing expectantly. Will had his hands behind his back, and Epps had his arms crossed. Both had a serious no-nonsense look on their faces, a look that they usually reserved for missions, meetings, or training. Ironhide snorted. "You're not gonna get info from the youngling looking like that." Ironhide grunted. The two men looked at him questioningly before they heard the high hum of tires on the floor as well as Ratchet's large footsteps. Looking back to the door they saw the Medic walk in with Jolt right behind him. A silver mech skated his way inside after them and Sunstreaker walked in after him. The silver mech gently bent over and placed whom he was holding in his cupped hands on the ground.

Will and Epps faces went blank. "She's…she's just a kid man!"

Epps hissed in surprise at seeing Lilac who looked fearfully up at them before she tried to dart around the silver mech's tire to hide. Said silver mech pushed her out from behind him with a smile that was the embodiment of mischief. With a gentle nudge, the child took a few stumbling steps toward the platform's stairs. This gave the two men enough time to wipe the surprised looks off of their faces and try their hardest to not look concerned, confused, or coo at her like she was a little kid. At least not yet. They both notice the dried blood in her hair and her scrapes and bruises as well as how pale and thin she was. Both internally confirmed that it was a good thing they opted for the steaks. The three stood in awkward silence when she got up to the top of the stairs. Will was the first to fully recover and say something. "Well hi there!"

"Hi."

She said shyly as she swept a strand of hair behind her ear. "So, you're the girl who has been helping Sideswipe." He said before looking up at the mech. "And I presume you are Sideswipe?"

"Yep! That's me!"

He said chipperly. "And this is Syringa Vulgaris! Feral femme extraordinaire!"

Lilac face palmed as the two men looked at her confused. "I swear by all that is good…what is wrong with you?"

She mumbled with a short laugh towards Sideswipe. "My namesake, is Syringa Vulgaris. My name is Lilac Andromeda. It's nice to meet you…Captain Lennox and Sergeant Epps."

She said extending her hand for a handshake. The two men once again stared at her blankly. "How…did you know our names and ranks?" Epps asked as he narrowed his eyes at her. Lilac blinked before she smartly raised an eyebrow at them. She tapped her chest on the right before she tapped her arm just below the shoulder. "I beg your pardon, but you are wearing your names and ranks respectively." She said with a small smirk as she once again gestured to where the two would be should they be on her person. Will smirked at this. "Smart kid."

"Thank you."

"You hungry?"

"Uhh, well…"

"Aw, c'mon!" Epps said as he placed his hand on her shoulder, noticing how she squirmed before she stepped out from underneath it. "It's chowtime! And my man Will here made some good-looking steaks!"

"I'd hate to impose."

"You're not imposing anything. C'mon sit down and eat. It'll give us a chance to talk to you anyways." Will said as he guided her to her seat, where a plate already sat with hot food on it. "Nothing's more irresistible than a hot juicy steak!" Epps said as he rubbed his hands together and sat down on her left. "You only say that because you eat so much and don't cook!" Will ribbed from where he was sitting on her right. Both men sat a little way from her, to give her enough room, yet were close enough to pounce on her if she tried to run.

"Yeah whatever man! C'mon kid. Dig in!"

Epps said as he picked up his utensils. Lilac looked to Sideswipe uncomfortably only to see him smiling back at her. He had pretty much got what he wanted, but she could still escape yet! Exhaling softly, she picked up her fork and knife and cut into the steak. Epps wasn't kidding when he said they were juicy! Lilac fought the soft moan and instinctual muscle tense that usually came when she ate real food. She kept her eyes open and silently reveled in the taste. She hadn't had steak in 7 years.

XXXXX

Conversation was slow at first, but before long the three were comfortably talking. Lilac skillfully dodged any questions that would have her giving too much of her information out and she learned a little about the two men. She learned that Will was married and had one child, a baby girl, and that Epps had a few siblings but no wife yet. After they discussed some of their personal life, they asked Lilac questions about the trip. Lilac and Sideswipe wound up telling the whole story of how they met, (with Lilac conveniently leaving out any parts about her living arrangements) and how the trip went. Everyone leaned in as they told their story, laughing at some parts and nodding gravely as they spoke of their fights with the Decepticons. From start to finish the story that spanned over a week's time took an hour and a half to tell, including answering questions along the way.

When all was said and done the two men nodded their heads in understanding. They heard most of the story, but they were both thinking at length about Lilac, her parents and what they were going to do next now that she knew so much. "Well…that's one hell of a road trip." Epps said. Will cast an angry look at him for swearing where the child could hear him. "Yeah, that sounds like a long trip. You're probably exhausted."

"Oh no, I'm quite fine really. Did I answer all of your questions?"

"We only have a few left. You do understand that you can't tell anyone about the Autobots right?"

"Of course. And for good reason." Lilac said as she sipped from her glass of milk. "And what would that reason be?" Optimus asked curiously. Lilac smiled up at him kindly.

"Well for starters, not every human can handle the knowledge that aliens are real. I don't want to create mass panic and hysteria. Not only that, but it is not my secret to tell. When you all feel that the world is ready to know about you guys then you and or these nice gentlemen here should be the ones to tell the world. Not me."

She said with a soft chuckle. "We're glad you're willing to cooperate. We just need your parent's phone number and email address and then we'll work on getting you sent back home."

Lilac looked at Will with muted horror in her eyes. She had to leave. Now. "Oh, there's no need to worry about sending me home. I'll just sign the paperwork and get out of your guys' way."

"Actually, we need your parents to sign the paperwork. It's just a formality, you know just to make sure that they know that you can't tell anyone, blah blah blah, and that there would be consequences if you did." Epps said, noticing how uncomfortable the girl became at the mere mention of 'parents'.

Lilac swallowed hard. She had to think fast and come up with some fake information…" She can't go back to her parents." Sideswipe said defensively. Lilac froze in horror. Slowly she turned to him with a look on her face that not only conveyed her horror, but also with an expression that was pleading with him to just stop talking. "Oh, and why is that?"

"Because I have places to go and things to see!" She said cutting Sideswipe off from speaking out loud. "Like what?"

Will asked perplexed. "Oh well lots of things! The California Redwoods, the beach, Las Vegas maybe if I'm feeling daring!" She said with a big smile. Everyone in the room could tell it was fake though as they continued to stare at her. "Aren't your parents worried about you?"

Epps asked. Lilac shook her head and snorted playfully. "Oh no! They know I'm helping a friend. They don't know that he isn't human, but they're cool with me being out here."

"I dunno. If you were my child and you just told me that you were going to help a friend that I never met cross the country, I'd be extremely worried." Will said as he narrowed his eyes at her. Lilac swallowed gently before she spoke again. "Oh, but they don't mind though. We're very free-spirited people. And besides, I have some friends down in Phoenix that I can crash with before I go all the way back home." She said with a shrug and a smile. Both men looked at each other with matching frowns before they looked at her.

"Kid, we both know that no normal family would allow this sort of thing."

Epps said with a shake of the head. Lilac swallowed hard.

"Now either you tell us the truth, or we'll look it up and ship you back the hard way."

Will said firmly. Lilac was at a loss for words. "This can't be happening." She thought to herself.

"She can't go back to her care givers because they're abusive to her!" Sideswipe blurted. Lilac's eyes got as big as moons when she saw Sideswipe project the missing child flyer she had shown him. Lilac bowed her head as fear took over her body. The room was dead silent, and surprisingly cold for how hot it had been outside that day.

"Kid."

Lilac didn't move. She didn't want to. She didn't want to look at them. At the people who would ultimately be the reason she was sent back to the hell hole she escaped all those years ago…

"Kid look at me."

Epps said. With a silent sigh, she looked up at the two men and at the room full of concerned looking Autobots. "How long have you been away from home?"

Lilac swallowed her anger and bile before she answered. "It's not home."

"How long?"

"About three years... give or take…maybe four."

"How old are you?"

"Thirteen…give or take a year."

"You don't sound thirteen."

"I read. A lot." She said through her gritted teeth as she tried not to cry. "So…this is where you give me a long-winded apology about how you wish you didn't have to call this in, but as a responsible adult you have to, and that it won't be so bad and that you're sure I'll find a good home that's safe."

Lilac said with resigned bitterness. "What makes you think that we'll say something like that?"

Will asked. "Because, that's what people like you always say. They never want to hear my side of the story, the reason why I'd rather live on the streets…in the woods on my own than live with them! Everyone always sees the flyer and thinks 'Oh those poor parents! They must miss her terribly! She's probably an immature brat that didn't get her way!' or 'You're too young to understand what's best for you! Your parents miss you! You need to be in a safe facility!' "

Lilac spat. "Are those statements not true? Do you not wish to live with your caregivers, or at the very least in a facility where you will be cared for?"

Optimus asked curiously. "NO! I…I'd rather DIE than live with them! And those facilities aren't any better!"

"Okay, calm down- "

"No! I'm not gonna calm down! I…I…I…I will not go back! To either! I don't care if I have to escape or die trying! I'M NOT GOING TO LIVE THROUGH THAT AGAIN!"

She snapped as tears rolled down her cheeks. "Not again." She wept. Epps reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a small package of tissues. He scooted himself closer to her before he offered her the package.

"Take it easy. We're not gonna call anybody. At least not yet." He said gently.

"I'm not about to send a child, who is clearly afraid for her life back to a place that could kill her."

"And neither am I."

Will said solemnly before he sighed. "Look, I don't know what happened to you, and I know it's gonna be hard for you to talk about it…but we need to know what happened."

Will said. Lilac sat there, crying. She didn't want to talk about it. Not only because of the painful memories, but because she didn't want to be disbelieved yet again.

Sideswipe gently placed a digit on her back, and she looked up at him. His look held grim determination, but also an air of protectiveness. All of the Autobots had the same look in their optics. She swallowed hard and wiped her eyes on her sleeve before she used a tissue and wiped her nose.

She looked at her audience with a steely gaze before she began to speak.

"It's a long story. And yes, I have to begin at the very beginning as cheesy and cliché it sounds."

"That's okay. Just tell us what you can."

Lilac nodded her head before she began again. "I do have biological parents, obviously. But my biological father is still alive."

"How come you don't reside with him?"

"Because he abandoned me. Like I said I have to start at the beginning."

"Please, begin." Optimus said solemnly. Lilac exhaled.

"My mom married my father when she was really young. She quickly realized that he was abusive, but because of her age, it was impossible for her to get away from him because he made her dependent on him. I…was not supposed to happen. My mom got pregnant, and…and he told her that she should abort me…but something happened, I don't know what exactly, but it changed his mind. I don't remember a lot about my early life, not that there is a lot to remember, but I'm sure I've got repressed memories of some of the things he said…some of the things he did to my mom…and to me."

She said before taking a deep breath. "The metaphorical road I'm on starts around me turning five. This is about as far back as I can willingly remember I think."

She paused. "My father was an alcoholic…a raging alcoholic. He worked in construction and knew a lot of people in the town we lived in, making it that much harder for mom and I to leave him. On the surface, we seemed like a normal nuclear family, my mom stayed home with me, and took care of me until I started school. But when my dad would get home…"

She said with trepidation…"He didn't just physically abuse my mother in front of me, he also verbally did it too. He preferred to slap us. Open palm. It hurt, a lot, but it was easier to cover up and faster to fade away than a bump from a bat, or a welt from a belt. But that didn't stop him. If my mom was in bad shape, or if he simply was in the mood, he'd turn his focus to me and he would abuse me while she watched. He liked to call me worthless, stupid, a burden on all I meet. He said that I was a waste of space and that no one would ever truly love me. Not really."

She said lowly as she fought back tears. "I didn't believe him at first, but then he started beating it into me. And it began to make more and more sense as time went on. He didn't allow us to have much. I didn't have toys, I couldn't go to parties and functions at school or on fieldtrips and as the year went on he started to get worse. He'd show up at home drunk, and he used his gun to threaten my and my mom's lives…"

"Why did your carrier not remove you from the home?"

Ratchet asked. Lilac looked at him sadly. "We had nowhere to go. Mom didn't work, and she had barley graduated from high school. We couldn't run off because we had no money, no transportation, and because of my father's contacts we had no place to go."

She said sadly. "That is…until my father crossed a line. One night he had come home after I was asleep. I heard him and my mom arguing in the hall. I crept out to see what was going on, only to see my mom huddled against a wall holding her face…her eye and crying. I rushed over to her to see if she was okay, but my father pulled me off of her. He was intimidating her with his gun again. I don't really remember what he said to me, only that he hit me really hard in the head with the butt of his gun, and that it sent me tumbling backwards down the stairs in our house. I remember being in pain and crying…I remember feeling like my arm was on fire…and then the next thing I knew I was in a hospital, with a pink cast on my right arm and mom was talking to a nurse and another lady about my father."

"What happened?" Jolt asked. "While I was in the hospital, mom went and got our things from the house. She packed up all she could and when I was released from the hospital, we left my father behind. We moved to another small town nearby…Bonnieville. Mom got a job at a local diner as a waitress, I went to a new school and life was great for a while. She took good care of me…we went on field trips with my class, she bought me toys, one weekend we even went to the zoo…but it didn't last long."

She said sadly. "Somewhere near my sixth birthday, my father found us. I remember the day vividly. He showed up to my school in a big new, shiny red truck, and he had my mom in the passenger seat. She looked so happy. When he picked me up and strapped me into my car seat, he said that he was sorry, and that he promised never to be that way again. To prove his point, to make it up to us, and to celebrate him getting a promotion, he was taking us out to dinner at a restaurant. I'm not sure if it was fancy or not, but I remember that he bought my mom and I new dresses to wear for the occasion. As soon as I got home from school, my mom gave me a bath, and she took a shower before we both got dressed and went out with him. The night was nearly perfect. The kitchen was moving slow because of a lot of orders, and so I didn't get my food until after my parents did. My father…gave me some of his steak. My mom gave me a little of hers…that was the last time I had steak until today." She said darkly. Everyone in the room was enraptured with her story. "What happened Lilac." Will asked dreading what she was going to say. "My father wasn't happy about the service, and he had a few beers with his meal that night. My mom went to the bathroom before we left the restaurant, and while she was in there…I...I…saw my dad take some pills. He finished his beer and when my mom came back, we left for home. It wasn't long into the drive when my parents started fighting. My father was driving faster than he should have been. I was so scared…" She said as she wiped her eyes. "My father struck my mom, and the truck was swerving all over the road. The next thing I hear is him shouting at the top of his lungs; "IF I CAN'T HAVE YOU TWO, NO ONE ELSE WILL!" and my mom screaming. Then we crashed. We crashed into a tree. My head was spinning, and I somehow got out of the truck on my own…I'm not sure how…but when I looked at my mom, all I could see…all I could see…was the low hanging tree branch sticking out of her chest and stomach." She wept. The men in the room swallowed uncomfortably. "The paramedics said that she died on impact. She didn't feel any pain after the initial impale. Yet somehow, my father survived the crash without a scrape!"

She said angrily. "I was sent to live with my grandmother, while he was put on trial. He pled insanity! And he got away with it! He was sent to a facility until he was fully "cured" of his illness. He was there three months before he was "cured" and let out on parole. He came and got me from my grandmother. I never saw her again. I later learned that she died of Alzheimer's. She forgot to take her heart medicine and had a fatal heart attack. As for me, my father and I lived in his house for another month. Then one night, he told me to pack up everything that I cared about. I didn't know what was going on, so I packed up the picture of my mom and I, the stuffed panda she bought for me at the zoo, a blanket, and some coloring books before I met him in the living room. He put my coat on me and carried me out to the truck. He put me in the front seat and drove me to a hospital. Once we got to the emergency room entrance, he told me to get out and wait from him in the lobby. I walked into the hospital with my backpack and sat on a chair and waited. And waited. And waited for several hours until one of the staff finally noticed me. A male nurse asked me what I was doing and if I knew where my parents were. I told him I was waiting for my dad. A female nurse, who was new, and was having some trouble with her glasses read the note my father taped to the outside of my coat out loud. It read "I don't want it anymore. Take it somewhere else." "

Lilac said lowly. "He called me an 'it'. He abandoned me at that hospital that night and I haven't heard from him since."

"That slagger just left you there?!"

Ironhide growled. Lilac nodded her head yes before she took a deep breath and continued on. "I was placed into foster care. I was sent to live in a group home, a facility of sorts until the social workers could find foster parents for me. It was there that I learned the nature about my situation. The social workers said that they were certain that I'd get placed right away, and that the chances of being adopted were pretty good. But the reality is that I was at the tail end of a very short shelf life for being adopted."

"Shelf life?" Will asked confused. "Statistically speaking, adoptions drastically drop when the child turns six. By seven or eight the chances of getting adopted are very low. We're too big, have too many problems and everyone always wants babies. The average child spends three to five years in the system and twenty percent of kids spend five or more. And some just don't get adopted. The average age of an adopted child is about 8."

"So, you still had a chance to be adopted."

"I did. But it wouldn't come for a while. The kids who were already in the system told me what was going to happen. All the lies that the therapists and psychiatrists and social workers, and caregivers would tell us to make us feel better, to make us behave when they wanted…the chances that we would be adopted, what some of the red flags to look for with parents were…its depressing to say the least. But I was lucky. I got placed with a foster family pretty quick, and I stayed with them for four months."

"Why such a short time?"

"Despite the fact that they were caring and good parents, they were using my older foster siblings to sell drugs."

"Wait, what, seriously?!" Epps spluttered.

"Yeah. They grew marijuana on their land and they were learning how to make meth. They didn't use the meth, they just sold it. This was the first place I learned to weld a little bit." She said looking up at Sideswipe with a small smile. She sighed before she continued on. "But yeah, the DEA busted them, and we got sent back into the system…though one of my older foster siblings from that home did get tried as an adult. He was seventeen…I don't think that it was really fair, especially since that is all that he knew since he was thirteen. My next foster family came about six months after that. I was about to turn seven around that time…I think. Once I was placed with them they insisted on changing my name because it was too silly, and too much like and I quote "What those God forsaken gays would call their child."."

She said as she paused to take a drink of her milk. Looking up she saw the perplexed and bewildered looks on Will and Epps face's. "Oh, yeah. They were extremely religious. Not that being religious is a bad thing. By no means am I saying that. What I am saying is that they were the type of religious people who interpreted the bible differently than what I suppose is normal for many. I mean they said they were going to beat Christ into me. And yes, they were serious. And yes, they did try. They home schooled us, making us read religious texts all day, at times kneeling on grains of rice while we did so. They told us that we were fasting to become closer to God, when in reality they were starving us. They only allowed us to eat so much and for only small moments of time. I remember one time, they took all the food out of the fridge and put it on the table, and they told us we had five minutes to eat it all before they put it all away again. One of the other foster kids, a boy named Terry that they re-named Ezekiel who was younger than me ate so much so fast that he threw up all over the table and the food. They beat us so hard that it hurt for me to breathe for two days! And on top of that, they made us scrub the vomit out of the carpet and they forced us to eat the food on the table. Yes, the food covered in vomit. And just for the record, they did this to us once every five days."

"Shit." Epps muttered as he rubbed his face. "That's not the half of it. They were very easy to agitate. Any small thing could set them off on a tirade about how we are sinners, and how we are a burden to all those with pure souls and that we must repent and be punished for our sins. They told us that we were placed with them because we were the worst members of society, that we needed discipline and that only by beating Christ into us until we were adults would we be able to join society as valued members before we inevitably die and are greeted with open arms at the gates of heaven. What's worse, Ezekiel my younger foster brother, who at the time I think was five always got the brunt of their rage. They always hit him the most. One night he accidentally spilled some water on the floor in front of our foster dad. He used a computer wire to beat him to within an inch of his life. My foster siblings and I knew that we needed to get out of there, but they had bars on the windows and doors. We knew that we needed to get him to a hospital, so we came up with a plan. My oldest foster sibling, Paul distracted our foster parents, while I snuck out through the front door. My foster mother had left it open as she was bringing in the groceries that night. I took my stuff with me just in case. I was at the end of the block when I heard the outraged scream of "HEY!" from her. She chased me out of the suburbs and into town, which as it turns out was a mile and a half away in distance. While I ran for my life, I was screaming at the top of my lungs."

Lilac said while her fingers ghosted across her right ribs. "When I got into town I ran into a diner that had a child safe zone sign in the window. And to make things better, there were four cops sitting at the counter. I ran in screaming and crying about my foster mother and attached myself to one of the cop's legs. She came in right behind me and struck me two times in my ribs with a small lead pipe."

Lilac said as she gestured to her ribcage. Both Will, and Epps winced.

"What happened next youngling?" Optimus asked worriedly. "Well…my foster mother was tackled by the police. My foster siblings and I were rescued and put in the hospital for our injuries and then placed back into foster care. Terry and Paul were later adopted to good homes. As for me and my other two foster siblings, we were sent back into the system. I tried to escape the group home shortly after that…when I was almost eight. The cops drug me back and I was labeled a 'problem child'…and then…the Dixson's came along."

She said softly.

"Your current foster family?"

Epps asked curiously. "No…they went the full mile. They adopted me…" she said looking at her hands. She swallowed hard and took another drink of her quickly depleting glass of milk. She fought back tears as she prepared to speak again. "By the time I was eight, I got pretty good at reading people. I always knew which potential parents were looking for a child to love and which were not."

"And the Dixon's?" Will asked curiously.

"When my social worker initially spoke to me about them, I picked up on some red flags. So did the other kids at the group home."

"Red flags?" Optimus asked confused. "By red flags I mean indicators of danger. The Dixon's had a few. For example; Mr. Dixon was running for a Mayoral re-election. Why adopt a child during an intense and stressful time like that? Especially when she has been labeled a 'problem child'?"

Lilac said with narrowed eyes. "Another red flag for me was that they already had two kids who were two years older than me. Why adopt a third child around that age? The last red flag for me was the fact that Mrs. Dixon said out loud that she was more than capable of conceiving another child and had the medical paperwork to prove it with her! Why, would a perfectly happy and healthy couple with two happy and healthy kids want to adopt a 'problem child' during election season? It didn't add up right to me. Add in the fact that they actually wanted to adopt a few of us group home kids at the same time but couldn't because of procedure and paperwork and you have all the reasons I was leery. When I told my social worker this, she shook her head and chastised me! She said that I was going to a good home, where I would probably want for nothing and that I should be happy. She had no idea how far she was from the truth. I had a gut feeling that something was off about the family. So did the other kids in the group home. But it didn't matter. They filled out the paperwork correctly, and the visit to the home to inspect my future living conditions went well. They passed all of the screening procedures, answered all of the state's questions and there didn't seem to be anything wrong. They were given the green light to adopt me."

"What about your social worker? They were supposed to check up on you."

"And she did. A few times. But the problem is that there are so many kids in the system, that the social workers and case workers often times have trouble keeping up with the workload. Plus, to her the Dixon's seemed totally legit, and I'm sure by the second meeting, she knew that she wouldn't have to check up on me."

"What really happened then?"

"As soon as the Dixon's took me in, they made it blatantly clear that I was not there to be cared for, and that I was there to make them look good. They are a wealthy family, and Mrs. Dixon was a socialite so aside from caring for her own children she didn't want to be bothered with me. In fact, she…she told me several times that she hates me and that she'd do anything in her power to see me suffer if I so much as think of getting out of line or tell someone about the way they treat me."

"And how did they treat you?" Ratchet asked with concern. "Poorly. They made me live in their daughter's second walk in closet, which was used to store her extra winter clothes. They did not feed me often and if they did feed me it was usually a little bit of bread and water or their table scraps, which usually wasn't much. They did not allow me to use their bathrooms, so I was forced to do my business in a bucket that they kept in the closet."

"How long did they make you live like this?" Jolt asked in horror. Lilac looked up at him from her lap. The whole room was looking at her. They all looked disturbed and distraught. She was surprised. She had told her story to others before, but she had never seen people look so… put off about what she said.

"I lived like this for a year." She wept. Those with her in the room collectively grunted or growled in anger. "They did so much to me." She cried softly. Epps reached out and tried to put a hand on her shoulder, but she squirmed away. "You don't have to tell us anymore if it's too painful."

"No. I can tell it." She hiccupped.

"They lied to the social workers. And they lied to the private school that they sent me and their kids to. They said that I had Prader–Willi syndrome. That I was mentally retarded because of my genetics."

"My scans prove just the opposite." Jolt said defensively. "I know. But try telling that to teachers and staff that see a hungry kid with lots of scars and bruises and who has trouble focusing. Because according to her sweet, loving, caring adoptive parents, she was abused so much by her prior caretakers, that she not only has Prader-Willi, but is also depressed and self-harms herself."

"Those idiots bought that?!" Epps snarled. "They ate it up. I was treated like…like…like everything was a challenge for me! The spoke really slowly to me, they would pat me on the head like I was simpleminded and that I wouldn't know or care! They treated me like an overgrown toddler! I tried to prove them wrong, I tried to tell them what was being done to me, but all the staff and teachers ever did was nod their heads and pretend to look alarmed. They didn't believe me! And the Dixon's made sure of that. They came up with false papers for tests to show the school that I really had mental problems. And because the Dixon's upstanding reputation, their money and political standing, the school believed them."

She said lowly. "As bad as it was at school, with all of the teasing from the students and being talked down to like an animal from the adults, it was nothing compared to what they did to me in public."

"What did they do?" Ratchet asked. "First of all, unless I was needed for a public appearance, I was kept in the closet, as dark and funny as that sounds…"

"I fail to see the humor of you being abused little one." Optimus said gravely. "I don't mean funny as in amusement. Not entirely. More in the realm of strange. Anyways if I was needed for a public appearance like for a family outing to the ice cream parlor after my "brother's" baseball game, I was not typically allowed to speak. I was not to ask for anything when we were out. I was meant to look happy. Like I belonged."

"When in reality?"

"…When in reality, if I spoke up, told the truth, asked for something, or looked at her or any family member wrong, Mrs. Dixon would inflict punishments on me. Some so severe that I'd have to stay home from school while I either healed, or she and Mr. Dixon continued to teach me a lesson." She said. "When in reality, the family left me for a three-week vacation out of state during the summer with only two loaves of Wonder bread to eat and two gallons of water to drink, and no cooling system turned on in the house." She said keeping her head down as the others stared at her with horror. "When in reality…they didn't allow me to interact with their own kids, aside from staying away from them or allowing me to watch them from the windows as they had birthday parties, and played with their friends outside, something they told me I was never allowed because I was scum. What made matters worse sometimes is that their kids would treat me just as poorly as they did. My "siblings" would lie and say I did things so that their parents would punish me."

"How in the pit did you get away from those slaggers?!" Ironhide said.

"It wasn't easy." She said looking down at her watch. "The watch I'm wearing, I found it during recess at the private school before I left. I remember the day I planned my escape…the whole event vividly." She said as her eyes seemed to grow distant at the memory.

"I was coming in from recess. I had just found the watch and hidden it on my person when I passed a few classes lining up to go inside. My "siblings" were standing in line with their class making fun of me as usual. I had had enough of it…so I followed them into their class. The teacher didn't see me at first, but a student called me out. She immediately began speaking down to me, asking me if I was lost. When I told her that I belonged there, the class laughed. She gave them a light reprimanding look before she said that she was going to call my teacher so that she could come and get me. I told her that I could prove that I wasn't mentally challenged. There was a math problem on the board…pre-algebra. I had been sneaking looks at it from my "sister's" math books when I could. I walked up to the board and solved the problem. Everyone was laughing at me, even the teacher looked at me like it was cute that I was trying something that was, by what she knew, far above my understanding of math. They all stopped when they realized that the math was right. That I had gotten the right answer. They were all silent when I explained my work, and how I got my answer. My "siblings" were very angry with me, but I didn't care. I had enough witnesses to prove that I was smarter than what I was supposed to be. And since the teacher saw, you can understand that the Dixon's were furious when their kids told them what happened."

She said with the tiniest of smiles on her face as she told them the last part. She winced as rubbed her back softly as she began to speak again. "I was beat really badly that night, and if the banquet at which Mr. Dixon had to address his campaign team and a good chunk of his voters at wasn't a few days away, they would have done worse to me. I stayed home from school for the rest of the week while the Dixon's did damage control and prepared for the banquet. I was on my best behavior during that time, meanwhile I was creating my plan of escape. By the night of the banquet, I was ready. They pulled me from the closet, washed me up, put my hair up and dressed me up in something nice. We went to the banquet and I was silent the whole night. When we got back, I went straight to the closet. Mr. and Mrs. Dixon had had too much to drink that night, so they didn't notice that I still had the bobby pins in my hair to keep it up." She said.

"Once I knew that everyone was asleep, I made my move. The Dixon's had put the lock to the closet I lived in on the outside, but the hole that a tool could be inserted into to unlock the door was on the inside of the closet. I used my bobby pin to unlock the closet door. I took only what belonged to me and nothing more as I left. In the year that I lived with them, I had memorized the sounds of the key pad on the alarm. That week I listened and memorized the sound pattern used to disarm and re-arm the house. I disarmed the house so that it wouldn't go off when I opened the door and left. I did however, lock the closet door and set the alarm to silently re-set after I left, so I could get a decent head start. I got all the way to the rail yard before I realized I hadn't thought my plan through. I didn't have any money, and thanks to the Dixon's the whole county knew what I looked like." She said darkly before continuing.

"Just as I realized this, a guard at the station saw me. I ran for my life into the rail yard, dodging trains and running in between them. The guard was catching up to me pretty fast, when out of nowhere, I got hoisted up off of the ground and into a box car. The guard ran past, not seeing what happened, and the train I was on began to move."

"What happened?" Ratchet asked curiously. "A boy named Jack who would later become my self-adopted older brother heard my screams and pulled me into the train. His self-adopted brothers Colby and Cooper hopped onto the train before it picked up too much speed, and I told them what happened. From then on, they took care of me."

"What happened to them?"

"Yeah, I didn't see any male younglings around when we first met." Sideswipe said, making Lilac jump. He had been so silent, she had forgotten that he was standing next to her. Lilac swallowed the lump in her throat and fought back her tears for the umpteenth time that night before speaking again. "It was about a year after we met up. I think I was ten at the time…"

She sighed. "We were in an old train depot, in the tunnels cause it was cold…I think it had snowed recently…" She said sadly. "It was us and a whole bunch of other Hobos…a lot of us were kids. We were happy, celebrating something…I…can't…remember if it was Jack's birthday or mine…but I remember the panic. I remember hearing the sirens outside and seeing a boy come running inside saying that we had to run, that we had to get out before they caught us. I remember going with Colby and Cooper as we ran out of an old exit. I remember hearing the shouts and cries of people as they were drug by the police out of the tunnel and forced into cop cars and police vans. I saw up the road that a bus…a police bus was coming. Colby, Cooper and I were in the trees, but we could see it… we could see and hear dogs barking and howling as they pulled their handlers, wanting off of their leashes. We were running farther into the trees when I heard a cop speak into the Radio…He…he…he said…. he..." Lilac stuttered as she choked up at the sad memory. With a sob, she continued to speak. "He said that they were going to take everyone in. Jack…Jack was among the crowd of kids they were forcing onto the bus. Colby told Cooper and I to hide. He was going to go back and try and rescue Jack. Cooper and I continued to run into the woods, but we were getting closer to the road. We were so scared we had looped around and were walking towards the police. That's when we saw Colby. The cops had him, and he was trying to fight and get away!" Lilac cried softly. "Cooper…Cooper wanted to rescue Colby. I begged him not to go. Not to leave me…but…but he'd said he'd be okay. He promised he'd be back. Before he left me…he…he gave me a card…and this."

She said as she held up her Swiss Army Knife, showing it to the room before she gently sat it on the table. "It was a gift from Jack…he…he wanted me to have it…" She said as she began to cry harder. "Little one," Optimus said gently, wanting her to stop so she wouldn't exhaust herself. But she went on. "I…I climbed up into the trees. And I watched Cooper. He got caught. They put him on the bus too!" She said before she blew her nose. "I stayed in that tree all night. The dogs couldn't track my scent well because of all of the snow and wet ground. I heard the cops as they walked through the trees. One of them said…he said that it sucked that the tip about me…the Dixon kid didn't pan out. They were looking for me. My brothers got caught…because of me." She wept. After she blew her nose again, she continued to tell her story. "I didn't leave until all of the cops left. I watched the bus drive away…I watched my older brothers get taken away from me… and I never saw them again!" She sobbed brokenly. This time it took her a while to calm down. Lilac was inconsolable.

It was only after a few minutes of Sideswipe silently stroking her back that she was able to talk again. "I…I've been on my own ever since." She hiccupped. Will and Epps looked at each other with matching grim expressions. There was no doubt in their mind that Lilac had suffered enough. Both knew that the other wouldn't send Lilac back to the Dixon's…but they also knew that they had to do something with her. She couldn't return to the streets…but at the same time, her returning to foster care would probably kill her in some sort of way.

Just as they were about to say something, Lilac spoke again. "This is the part where you apologize to me for all that I have been through."

"Excuse me?" Will said confused. "This is the part where people say 'I'm sorry you went through all of that, but we still have to do the right thing. We still need to call your parents and the police.'." She said. Her eyes were a supernatural shade of red from all of her crying. She looked tired and defeated. Like she was ready for death to come and take her away.

"Kid, we're not- "

"It's okay. You guys wouldn't be the first to do it. I understand." She said before she looked up to Sideswipe. "Congratulations. You helped the government catch a kid who's been escaping and avoiding them for the better part of three years." She said softly.

"Lilac, I won't let them take you! I won't let them hurt you! Not again!"

"It's not up to you. It never was Sideswipe." She said sadly as she put the knife back in her pocket. "If it's any consolation, I'll miss you. I'll miss our talks and your humor. At the very least…I have our adventures in my memories…" She said as she wiped a tear away with the back of her hand. "Thanks for caring about me Sideswipe…I…haven't known what that feels like in a long time. I'll try to be strong like you and I'll cherish the memories we made on this trip." She said wiping more tears. "Thank you two for the meal. The steak…was delicious, best I've had since…since I was six." She said as her voice broke. Both men reached an arm out to steady her as she stood up. "If you'll excuse me, I'll be waiting in Medbay for child protective services to show up. I'd rather not be here when you make the call…" she said as she dashed towards the stairs with one last tear filled "Excuse me." Lilac bolted down the stairs and out through the doors into the hall. Sideswipe was right behind her, calling for her to wait as he skated after her. Jolt hastily followed the two to make sure Lilac was alright, leaving the room and its painful silence behind.

A/N: Hello! Again sorry for the lack of posting! If you skipped the first A/N and you want to know why I was missing aside from school, please go back and read it. I know the ending there is a bit of a cliffhanger, but those of you who know me well know I love happy endings! I crave closure so I will try to post again soon! I cant guarantee when or how long the chapter will be though!

Just a heads up, I am on track to graduate with my license next year! This unfortunately means that I will be going to school again this summer to keep it that way. The other bad news is that I have to pass something like 7 tests by November, and submit a lot of paperwork before summer's end so that is going to eat some of my time. The good news is that I am only taking 1 class this time! So having said that, I am going to try and write short chapters for my stories this summer so that I can post more often! But I make no promises!

Also thank you to all of you who have stuck around with me as an author! This is my third year writing and this story's second year anniversary!

Those of you who earned a cookie can redeem it by asking me any question about the story over PM! Seeker3 If you're reading this, you still can redeem your prize too! And I mean Any Question! Just don't share what I tell you! No spoilers aloud in the Reviews or elsewhere!

Now for the new point opportunity...*NEW BONUS POINT OPPORTUNITY*

The people who tell me what Lilac meant in the first chapter when she said "the 3rd star I see tonight" will get a cookie that they can redeem for answers!

Personally I don't think you guys will get this one. It's pretty obscure so you may have to do some deep digging. No, it has nothing to do with the anniversary of me becoming a writer, and no it is not a code for something! There are a lot of interesting plot points and Easter eggs in this chapter alone! Just keep in mind that shows like Steven Universe and Gravity Falls made obscure things important and that they showed or told us things at certain points for a reason... and that I try to do the same thing when I can in all of my stories! ;) Feel free to prove me wrong!

This is now the longest chapter on record that I have written! Once again happy anniversary to this story, to me as an author (it feels weird to congratulate myself for that...) and to all of you as readers! I hope to hear from all of you in the reviews! So without further adieu,

Please Follow, Favorite, and Review this chapter and story! I'd love to hear from all of you! It took me about seven months to write this so forgive me if its bad, and if it's good let me know please!

Cant wait to hear from you guys!

Thanks!

CLYL! (Com. Link You Later!)

P.S. Sideswipe will most likely not be silver in the next chapter! :)