Chapter Text
The sound of a devastating blow resounded through the halls of the Ark, the alarm systems blaring loudly. B-127 sped out of their quarters and into the bridge, where the rest of the Autobots were frantically trying to regain control of the ship.
“Left engine’s been taken offline!” Rhythm announced.
“Fire up the weapon systems! Try and fight back!” Arcee shouted.
“It’s going to take a klik to power up!” Windblade called back.
“Optimus, what’s going on?!” B-127 asked, clutching onto the arm of the captain’s seat to keep their balance as the Ark shuddered dangerously.
“The Decepticons found us! They must have figured out a way through the cloaking system!” Optimus explained, fiddling with the controls to try and keep the ship upright.
Another loud crash echoed through the ship’s hull, the lights and computer screens flickering.
“They just knocked out our weapons!” Wheeljack growled. “We’re scraplet bait!”
“The Ark isn’t going to last much longer with all this damage!” Ratchet warned.
“Optimus, what do we do?!” Hot Rod nervously asked.
“Everyone, get to the escape pods! We need to get out of here before the Ark detonates!” Optimus commanded, taking B-127’s servo and running out of the bridge alongside their team.
The eight Autobots made it to the escape pods, preparing themselves for departure as the Ark’s alarms continued to scream through the halls and the entire ship continued to quake. Optimus took a moment to kneel before a hesitant B-127 as the others stuffed themselves into the pods.
“Optimus, is everyone going to be alright?” B-127 asked, their optics starting to tear up. The Prime pulled the little bot into a tight hug.
“We cannot be certain, but we’ll have to take the chance. Stay safe, B-127. I’ll come find you, I promise.” Optimus reassured. They released B-127 from the embrace and helped them into an escape pod, making sure the yellow bot disembarked safely before finally getting into a pod themself.
As B-127’s pod careened off into space, they watched out the window as Optimus’ pod shot out and away from the Ark just in time, the battleship bursting into a cloud of bright blue and white flames. B-127 released the intake they were holding.
Everyone got away safely.
The little bot nestled themself into the seat of the escape pod, watching the stars and the other escape pods pass by. There really wasn’t much else to do now, floating in the endless void and waiting to land on a planet. They only hoped that when they landed they’d be able to find the rest of the Autobots. Who was to say they’d even end up in the same planetary system?
B-127 made themself more comfortable, shuttering their optics and waiting for stasis to set in to wait out the rest of the journey…
Anna was expecting for her life to get a little bit more exciting when she moved from her small hometown to live in New York City, but so far all it had been was a headache.
There were so many people and lights and sounds; it was overwhelmingly busy, and the poor girl was already missing her old home. Anna was thankful that her phone had a GPS, otherwise she’d never have been able to find her new school.
Even with all the chaos of moving to the big city, nothing had really happened that she could call “interesting” in any sense. Her first day of school had been as eventful as one could expect school to be. Anna was hoping that if she stuck around the front yard for long enough she’d see something worth writing to her cousins about, but after a while she got tired of sitting under a tree waiting for a story.
She figured that if she wanted to find something interesting she’d have to go looking for it herself.
And so, Anna found herself wandering the streets of New York City, hoping to see something interesting enough to tell a story to her family about. As she walked down the street, passing by apartment buildings and shops and random passerby, Anna spun a story in her mind that a spaceship crashed into the street and she got to make friends with an alien. She could explore the city with them and go to all the cool places Anna hadn’t gotten a chance to check out yet.
It wasn’t at all believable, but at least it was interesting, and her cousins would probably enjoy the tale. That was really what mattered.
Having gotten distracted by her own thoughts, Anna accidentally bumped into a car that was parked on the side of the street. Out of instinct, she immediately said “sorry” to it.
She wasn’t expecting it to make a noise in return.
Anna had to take a moment to process what just happened. The car apologized back to her.
What.
Any other person would’ve just brushed it off as them hearing things and gone on with their day, but Anna was absolutely certain that strange electronic-metallic noise came from the little yellow and black car. She was determined to find out the source.
Anna took the chance of stepping closer and peeking in the windows. Nobody was in the driver’s seat, so it couldn’t have been someone sitting inside playing some sort of music. Peeking underneath the car didn’t amount to anything other than a brief flash of light, which Anna figured could have been some sort of modification the owner added.
What really caught her attention was that where the car manufacturer symbols should’ve been, there was a face instead. Or at least a symbol that kind of looked like one. Anna didn’t recognize it from any companies or even a cartoon or video game that she knew of. The more she looked at it, the more mysterious the whole situation was. What kind of car was this? Where did the noise come from? Why did it have a cat face on it?
As quickly as that situation arose, another one soon followed, as a large, dark shadow fell over both Anna and the striped car. The girl slowly turned around and looked up, feeling her stomach drop as she saw a huge form standing on top of the apartment building before her. She didn’t know how else to describe it other than that it was massive. The sunlight glinting off of its blue armor threatened to blind her, and its piercing yellow eyes burned themselves into her mind.
The moment felt like it lasted an eternity, and in an instant Anna was snapped back to reality by the charging of a laser, the car’s door opening, and that metallic noise urgently saying something Anna couldn’t understand, but assumed meant to get in. The heat of the blast barely grazed the girl’s feet as she dove into the passenger seat of the car, the door slamming shut as she buckled in. Within a split second, Anna saw the city streets speeding by, the car driving itself away from the continued gunfire.
She could barely process anything that was happening anymore. One moment she was walking home from school and the next she was in a high-speed chase with a self-driving car and a giant monster.
Her parents were going to kill her when she got home late and her excuse sounded like it came right out of a cartoon.
“Hey, are you okay?” a voice asked, snapping Anna out of her panic. She looked to the source, which turned out to be the dashboard of the car, that same face imprinted on the steering wheel. “Are you scared?”
“U-Uh, yeah, a little-” Anna choked out, trying to regain her composure. She glanced back to see if the… robot or monster or whatever it was… was still chasing after them, seeing instead a blue van with some sort of laser cannon mounted to it driving after them. “Where did-”
“That car is Breakdown- er- the bot who shot at us.” the car answered. “It’s a long story, I can explain later. What matters right now is losing them.”
“Sounds good to me.” Anna whined, sinking further into the seat.
A shot from Breakdown’s cannon sent the car swerving, and Anna shrieked and held on for dear life. Over the sounds of tires screeching against the pavement and the gunfire, that same metallic sound was continuously shouted back and forth between the two vehicles. Anna still didn’t know what any of it meant, but she could assume now that it was car language or something. She’d have to ask once they got somewhere safe. There were so many questions Anna wanted to ask, but she was almost certain she wouldn’t get the answers to them.
To think that this day started off as a normal school day.
“Hold on tight, I have a dumb idea!” the car suddenly blurted. That wasn’t a good thing to hear.
“What the hell does that mean?!”
Before Anna could say anything else, the little car suddenly took a sharp turn down a side street, Anna screaming and clutching desperately to the safety handle out of fear of being sent flying out a window, even in spite of wearing a seatbelt. Once they were steady again, Anna peeked out the back window, sighing heavily in pure relief at seeing an empty street behind them.
“Oh thank god, we lost them.”
“Not for long. We’ll have to find somewhere to hide before they turn around and come after us again.” the car replied. “Know any good places to camp out?”
Anna settled back down into the passenger seat. “Uh, not really. I’ve only lived here for like a week.” She glanced out the window, fiddling with the straps on her bag. “I guess I could use my phone to look up somewhere to go?”
“I don’t know what a phone is, but you do that!” the car enthusiastically responded. Anna couldn’t help but laugh.
“Alright, gimme a sec.”
Anna stepped out into the fresh air, taking a moment to stretch her arms and legs. It had taken a bit of searching, but they found a not-very-frequented park a few blocks away from the city that they could hide in until the coast was clear.
“How long do you think it’ll be until we’re safe to go back out on the streets again?” Anna asked.
“Hopefully Breakdown’ll stop searching for us within a joor or two.” the car answered.
“I… don’t know what a joor is. Is that like an hour? A day?”
“Um… I have no idea. I don’t know this planet’s time measurements.”
“Are you an alien?” Anna asked, caught a bit off guard by the nonchalant comment.
“Yeah! Oh, hold on, wanna see something cool?”
“Uh, sure?” Anna wasn’t entirely certain what she actually agreed to until the parts of the car began to shift, making her stumble backwards and fall to the ground in surprise. Within moments, the parts of the vehicle had formed into a somewhat humanoid form, with wings on its back made from the doors of the car and big, bright, yellow eyes. It was… not quite as intimidating as the other robot they were running from, but intimidating nonetheless.
“I- woah.” Anna stuttered, her words failing her.
The yellow bot stretched his limbs, door wings fluttering happily. “Ah, much better. It gets kinda cramped in my alt mode.” he giggled.
“You weren’t kidding about being an alien.” Anna commented, getting to her feet. “So uh… what’s your name?”
“Ah, right, we never introduced ourselves! I’m B-127!” B-127 chirped.
“Nice to meet you! I’m Anna.”
“Hehe, Anna’s a weird name. I like it!”
“Thanks, I picked it out myself.” Anna chuckled. “B-127 is a weird name too. It’s cute. Are you alright with me calling you ‘Bee’ as a nickname?”
“‘Bee’.” he mimicked. “Bee! I love it! Nice to meet you, I’m Bee!”
“I’m glad you like it!” Anna smiled. “Alright then Bee, while we’re hiding, what do we do now?”
Bee hummed to himself in thought, quietly pondering “What would Optimus do…” to himself before looking around at the rest of the park. “We need to find somewhere safe and hidden to set up a base in case we run into any of the other Autobots, and in case the Decepticons come looking for us here.” he concluded.
“…question.” Anna asked.
“Yeah?”
“What are Autobots and Decepticons?”
“Ah- Right.” Bee’s wings drooped slightly. “It’s eh- It’s a long story.”
“I have time, don’t worry. You can tell me about it while we search.” Anna offered.
Bee smiled back at her. “Sounds good to me!”
“Okay, so, explain what an ‘Autobot’ is first.”
Bee looked over his shoulder at the human from where he was investigating some foliage. “The Autobots are my faction! We stand for freedom for all sentient beings!”
“Heh, sounds nice.” Anna chuckled. “So then the Decepticons…”
“We’re fighting against them to stop them from conquering other worlds.”
“Makes sense.” Anna shrugged. “I take it this has been going on for a while?”
“Since before I was even forged.” Bee confirmed.
“Sounds rough…”
“Yeah… I guess I don’t really mind it too much. I mean, I haven’t really known anything else- wait hold on that sounds really depressing-” the yellow bot sputtered.
Anna giggled. “Let’s change the topic maybe?”
“Yes, please.”
“Alright, uh… tell me about the rest of the Autobots. What’re they like?”
Bee’s door wings immediately perked up. “They’re all really cool! There’s Windblade, Arcee, and Wheeljack, our soldiers, Hot Rod, the other scout aside from me, Rhythm, our Spec Ops, Ratchet, our medic, and our leader, Optimus! Everyone is really nice, and really strong…”
Anna started to zone out a bit while Bee rambled. From what she picked up, the Autobots seemed like a pretty tight-knit group, almost like a family. If alien robots even had families. In either case, it was clear Bee really cared about the rest of the Autobots. It was really sweet.
“I hope they’re all okay…” Bee finished, staring up at the clouds. “I don’t even know if we’re all on the same planet.”
“They sound like they can handle themselves just fine on their own. I’m sure you’ll see each other again soon.” Anna reassured. “For now though, we’re still looking for a place for you guys to stay.”
“Right.” Bee replied, smiling. He looked around at the park again, his expression falling. “There isn’t really a lot to work with around here, is there?”
“Yeah… I guess there aren’t really a lot of places for a giant car robot to hide out in. Imagine that.” Anna quipped. “We’ll- find something, I’m sure. We just have to keep looking.”
“What about that place?” Bee asked, pointing to something in the distance. Anna squinted to get a better look at it, assuming it was some sort of warehouse from what she could make out.
“Well that’s convenient.” she commented. “Let’s go scope it out to make sure it’s safe.”
As the duo got closer it was clear the warehouse was no longer in use by whoever previously owned it. The outside walls of the building were covered in rust, dirt, moss, and scattered graffiti. The windows that remained were dusty and cracked. Anna walked up to a large door and tried to open it, but found it nigh impossible with the rusted hinges that hadn’t been tended to in some time.
“This place would be perfect if we could get in…” Anna mumbled.
Bee shifted his plating, getting into a charging stance. “Stand back, I’ve got this.”
Anna took several steps to the side as Bee made a beeline for the door and rammed into it, the doors flying open as the yellow mech tumbled inside. He sat up and shook himself off, looking around in wonder at the spacious warehouse. The setting sun cast golden rays through the dirty windows, the light catching on some stray dust particles hanging in the air. Discarded scrap metal from unknown projects lay against a back wall, in otherwise good condition if the spots of rust were ignored. On another wall was a balcony at about Bee’s optic level, the stairs leading up to it speckled with moss. On the balcony were a few more metal scraps and a door leading to the outside, and presumably another staircase that they hadn’t seen from the exterior.
All Bee could say was: “Wow.”
Anna made her way inside. “It’s not the cleanest place, but I think this works for now. Welcome to your temporary home away from home, Bee.”
“Thank you so much for helping me out, Anna. I really appreciate it.” Bee chirped, smiling. “I’m glad we ran into each other.”
“It was nice to meet you!” Anna replied. “Even if I almost got fried…”
“Yeah, sorry. That’s kind of just the usual for me…” Bee put on a determined expression. “Be really careful, Anna. Now that Breakdown saw you with me, the rest of the ‘Cons are going to see you as an Autobot too. Stay alert.”
“Got it. Keep my eyes peeled and avoid any suspicious vehicles.” Anna nodded. “And if anyone asks, I don’t know you exist.”
“Nonexistent.” Bee agreed.
Anna chuckled. “Well Mx. Nonexistent, I think it’s about time I get home. My parents are probably freaking out right now.”
“Alright! See you around Anna!”
“Take care, Bee. I’ll see if I can stop by sometime.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
The two waved farewell to one another, and Anna made her way out as Bee got to work tidying up the warehouse a little bit. He might as well make the place look nicer if he was going to be staying there for a while.
He had a feeling things were going to work out just fine.
Anna walked up to the door of her apartment, fumbling through a pocket on her backpack for the key. Once she got a hold of it, she prepared herself for the lecture she was about to get and opened the door.
“Mom, dad, I’m home!” she called.
Silence…?
“Hello?”
The only response she received was a meow as her cat trotted up to her. Anna leaned down and gave her a few pets as she took off her boots. She walked over to the living room and spotted a note with a 20 dollar bill lying next to it.
“We’ll be home late tonight, I have a shift at the hospital and your dad has a late meeting. You can order yourself dinner if you’d like. Love you lots. -Mom”
Anna smiled, pulling out her phone to look for places nearby to get food from. She couldn’t get in trouble for getting home late if nobody else was home to know about it at least. She went to the website of a pizza place a few blocks away and ordered herself a small pizza and a soda. Once that was over and done with, all that was left to do was relax for the rest of the evening.
…though, Anna did grab her sketchbook to draw a few doodles of Bee and that Breakdown guy they were being chased by.
Today was too crazy to forget, so she might as well immortalize it.
Breakdown stormed into the bridge, a scowl on his faceplates. A red and silver mech glanced back at him as he approached, wings shifting ever so slightly.
“So?” the seeker prompted.
“The little twerp got away with barely even a scratch, and they made allies with one of the squishy creatures.” Breakdown grumbled.
Starscream sighed in annoyance. “Must I do everything myself?” He strutted past the larger bot, holding his helm high. “The Autobots will not truly be vanquished until every last of them is terminated. These organics are merely an inconvenience, but if enough of them know we exist, it could escalate quickly.”
“What do you intend to do, commander?”
Starscream smirked at Breakdown deviously. “I intend to do my job, Breakdown. I'm Second in Command for a reason after all.”