"Get mad and you break things,
Feel bad try to fix things,
But you're perfect,"

»«

Dana smiled broadly as they neared their destination, four humans visible on the horizon. One Ratchet could recognize as Agent Fowler, the other three he assumed to be Dana's family. He noticed the increased squirming of anticipation in his driver's seat as they got ever closer, the medic finally slowing to a stop with his left side facing the humans, Dana quietly telling him to wait before she slipped out, landing gracefully on her feet and feeling tears spring into her eyes.

"Mom!" She cried, running and embracing her mother, her father and brother joining in for a relieved group hug. "I missed you all so much . . ."

"We were so worried," her mother pulled away and took her in from head to toe. "When June Darby called saying you had been in an accident, I didn't think . . ." She wiped he cheeks as tears began to fall, bright blue eyes sparkling. "Then I got your voicemail, but you didn't call back!"

"I know, I know." Dana gently replied, smiling through her own tears. She paused when she looked at Agent Fowler, who had stood quietly and waited for them to reunite first before dropping the bombshell on them.

"Agent Fowler said there was something you needed to tell us," her father spoke when he noticed the look.

"There is." The woman confirmed, chewing her lip a little in thought. "It's . . . A secret that I've been hiding from you, for a long time. After what happened, my accident, I don't want to keep you in the dark any longer."

"Oh my god." Her mother looked horrified. "Are you pregnant? Is the father the leader of a gang? The mafia?"

"What - no, mom, no, I'm not pregnant." Dana bit back a laugh, both horrified and relieved that her mother seemed less worried about the fact that she was hiding a secret, and more concerned with what the secret was. "And I'm not involved in any . . . Gangs. It has to do with my science fiction club." She sucked in a breath before continuing. "Please try to remain calm, okay?"

"Calm? Why do we need to be calm?" Her father demanded.

"Because I'm going to show you something - someone - who may seem intimidating at first, but he's a really sweet guy." Dana turned away from them, looking toward the ambulance. "Ratchet, it's time to meet my family."

The Frederickson's watched in fear and confusion as the ambulance began to shift and transform, individual parts moving in synchronization and creating a large, humanoid being, the face settling into place last and bright cyan optics gazing down at them, his expression initially unreadable before giving them a partially-faked smile.

"It is nice to finally meet you," he spoke.

Dana's mom scrambled back, clutching the younger brother as the father moved to protect his family, Dana holding her hands up in an attempt to reassure them.

"Mom, dad, it's okay, it's okay. He's friendly." Dana pleaded with them. "He's my friend."

"What is that?" Mr. Frederickson demanded.

"He is an Autonomous Robotic Organism," Agent Fowler stepped in to explain. "They come from a planet called Cybertron, which has yet to discovered by even today's modern astronomers. For the past year, they have been tirelessly protecting Earth from their war, which has raged on for thousands, even millions of years. They call themselves the Autobots. They have enemies, which are called the Decepticons."

The family was silent for some time, staring up at the silent robot that was staring down at them, finally the mother speaking to her daughter.

"Has this been . . . A project of yours?" The woman didn't even seen to comprehend what the Agent told her. "You build robots?"

"No, mom. He technically isn't a robot," Dana said. "He's probably not even artificial intelligence, considering they weren't created by anyone. Well, except Primus, who is basically a god."

"Wait, so you are telling me that this . . . Thing, brought its war here, and Dana has been a part of it?" Her father was starting to become a little angry, looking at his daughter. "Have you been fighting in some kind of inter-galactic war?"

"No! No." Dana felt that she was repeating herself a lot. "I haven't been fighting. I'm one of the human companions, I just sit on the side lines. Well, I'm supposed to sit on the sidelines -"

"We Autobots had no intentions of taking our war to Earth." Ratchet cut in, not at all appreciating the objectifying remarks from the patriarch. "It was a retreat, a place we could rest before engaging the Decepticons once again. But then Megatron found us, and when he learned Optimus Prime was here, he wasn't going to leave this planet alone until he conquered it, and killed Optimus."

"So why didn't you just leave?"

"We had no means to." Ratchet confessed. "We lost the Spacebridge technology that had brought us here, and no Cybertronian ships had landed here until recently."

"But the war is over, now." Agent Fowler reassured the humans. "Megatron was eliminated by an Autobot, and their planet is currently being restored."

"Who is Megatron?" Little brother finally found the courage to speak up.

"The leader of the Decepticons," Ratchet explained, "a ruthless killer who spilled energon - blood - whenever he could. With him gone, the Decepticon cause is leaderless, and their forces scattered. We won."

"And Optimus Prime?" Her mother asked.

"The leader of the Autobots, and a good friend of mine." The medic briefly explained.

"So, this was your secret?" Dana's father spoke to her. "You interacted with a bunch of giant robots from outer space?"

"Yes, I did." She nodded, looking guilty. "I wanted to tell you guys, but if I did, you would either think I was crazy or become a target to the Decepticons. But now that . . . Megatron is . . . Gone, it was safe for you to know."

"And the accident," her mother remembered, "you said this had something to do with the accident that happened while Jasper was being evacuated?"

Dana nodded again, confirming, before she began to explain everything. She first started with meeting Megatron for the first time, not going into much detail about how he had initially fascinated her, how they became hooked on one another. She then explained the building up of their interactions, how they became more dangerous, before she finally realized who he truly was, a cowardly monster, and made him snap. She described her injuries in great detail, not leaving out the fact that he had confined her to a wheelchair due to his actions. Her mother was slightly horrified to hear how her voicemail had lead to her capture, however it was clear that Dana benefited from it more than it hurt her, as Megatron had ordered Shockwave to fix her. The procedure had worked, however it was unknown if the device itself would need more energon replacements as time when on.

Her family listened intently, sometimes in disbelief, and other times in horror, before she closed with the current events that had taken place before their meeting up. Ratchet occasionally supplied details that she didn't know, but provided sufficient background to the story. When she finished, it had taken a few hours, and her voice was a tad hoarse. Her family sat in silence for some time.

"Could we . . . See, this device?" Her father questioned.

"Of course, of course." She smiled, turning around for them and continuing to smile at Ratchet before she slowly lifted her shirts allowing her family to see.

The device itself was shockingly small for something that was made by titans, the main hub spanning from her third and sixth vertebrae, acting as the bridge which connected her broken pieces. It created a noticeable bump in her spine, and part of the silver metal was exposed in the middle, glowing a soft blue. The skin around it was scarred and ugly, though parts were beginning to smooth over as new skin grew along the top. It was alien, and almost discomforting to the observers, yet not one of them said a word for a long time.

"And this is for you to walk again?" Her brother asked.

"Yes. I suspect I will need it my whole life." She smiled wanely. "Considering I retained some hip function, but my legs were completely gone."

"And Megatron did this to you?" The father wanted confirmation.

"Yes." Dana put her shirt back down, feeling a little ball in the pit of her stomach. "I'd like to think he felt guilty, and that was why. But, he's gone, so we'll never know."

"Uh, Ratchet?" Jack Darby called from his cellphone, the medic picking up.

"Jack? What is it?" Ratchet straightened up, speaking out loud for everyone to hear, his finger on his earpiece.

"Arcee just called in. They need you. Ultra Magnus has been hurt!"

"What? How?"

"Two Predacons, neither one of them Predaking."

"What's going on?" Dana asked. "Talk to me, Ratchet."

"Ultra Magnus was hurt, severely enough to warrant my services. I have to go." He transformed into his ambulance mode, driving as fast as he could back to base without further explanation.

Dana turned to Agent Fowler, having noticed the government-grade van he had used to transport her family to their current location. "Take me to base. They can come too."

Agent Fowler nodded. "I suppose that would be the next step. Hop in, everybody! You're about to see our base of operations."