Miko Nakadai admits it openly.
This is the best day of her life.
Why is that? Because there are robots, and they're aliens too, it's incredible! She grew up with mech anime and dreamed of something like this. And to her shock, it's all come true, there's a reason she came here to Jasper, the "Entertainment Capital of the World", it's all destiny!
So they still have a base in the old rocket launch facility, which makes their position even more awesome.
The leader, a giant Optimus Prime bot, and blue female robot, then a honking Bumblebee, their doctor Ratchet, and the coolest one in her opinion, Bulkhead. He's so big and looks so strong, he'll probably turn into a monster truck.
She imagined herself fighting side by side with the giant robots, smashing their enemies and coming out victorious! And the battle would be against the those Decepticons themselves, the sworn enemies of the Autobots, as Optimus Prime had told her. Evil Decepticons versus good Autobots - it was meant to be!
Like the best anime, an epic confrontation between good and evil. Wasn't that what she had always dreamed of? And now, such an incredible opportunity lay right at her feet!
Miko could barely contain her excitement as she looked at Jack and Raphael, stunned by her enthusiasm. How could that Darby even think of leaving? The guy's got a lot on his mind if he's giving up this kind of adventure! Isn't that the whole point of life, to seek out danger and accomplish feats?!
Fortunately, little Raphael seemed to be on their side. Almost the entire school knew this twelve-year-old prodigy who was several grades ahead of his peers because of his phenomenal abilities. I think he was even in the same grade as Jack. Yes, Rafe would keep her adventurous spirit alive!
If it had been up to her, Miko would have quit school altogether. Those endless lessons only distracted her from real adventures. To hell with studying! She hated it in Japan, and she hated it even more here in Jasper City.
Though, the American school was better than back home. But any school, no matter what city it was in, still couldn't compare to the possibility of becoming a heroine in a battle of giant robots!
Her thoughts of the incredible adventures to come were interrupted by Raphael's question:
" Optimus, what about that Dinosaur? Is he also with you? "
Jack immediately supported Rafe:
" Yeah, I was going to ask that too!"
" A DINOSAUR?!" ,Miko screamed in desperation and grabbed her head. If they're talking about it, that means they've seen it! And if Rafe is asking if the dinosaur was with the Autobots, then it must have fought on their side? Too much awesomeness in one day! Could this crazy day get any more epic?
Optimus Prime himself, the leader of the Autobots, frowned in puzzlement and looked around at the rest of the team except for Ratchet, as if looking for answers. Ratchet looked at them in confusion as well.
" A dinosaur?" - he asked.
" Several specimens," Arcee reported immediately. " Jack and Raphael are referring to another alien race recently discovered on this planet. The data padd is already on your terminal, Optimus."
Bumblebee confirmed her words with a series of buzzes.
Miko didn't understand any of this information exchange, but Rafe seemed to have figured it out.
" A shape shifter? Like some kind of werewolf?" - he suggested.
Miko felt like she was going to pass out from an overdose of awesomeness.
"This doesn't make any sense," Ratchet grumbled. "There are no advanced intelligent civilizations in this quadrant of space, and if there's, it's too small. Unless these beings came from another galaxy, but even that seems unlikely."
Bulkhead immediately refuted his words:
"I saw it with my optics, Ratchet! He turned into a large brown creature, a dinosaur as been said, and easily destroyed two Vechicons. And then he took another form, some kind of blue thingy with tail, and escaped!"
After listening to his team's reports, Optimus Prime lowered his gaze thoughtfully, pondering the information he had received. Finally, the wise leader replied:
"The existence of a previously unknown race of transforming beings on this planet is stunning. How many of them live here? What are their goals and intentions? Have they come here as friends or enemies?"
Optimus looked around at those present and continued:
"However, if the testimony of Bulkhead and Bumblebee is true, these beings used their incredible abilities to help us in your recent battle with the Desepticons. And for that, we should be grateful. "
Optimus' words hung in the air, but Miko barely heard them. Her attention was riveted by the low, rumbling voice suddenly emanating from the bowels of the Autobot base.
The girl turned sharply, as did the others, who immediately took up defensive positions.
"Your words mean a lot, Optimus Prime," the mysterious voice repeated.
***
Hearing the mysterious low voice, the Autobots turned sharply, trying to determine its source. No one knew who the voice belonged to, for it was unlike anything they had ever heard before. Preparing for a possible attack, each Autobot quickly rose to stand between the humans and the unknown threat, forming a small protective circle.
"We are under attack! "- Arcee yelled angrily, clutching her blaster with both hands.
"Decepticons?!"- Ratchet assumed a combat stance as well.
"Whoever you are, show yourself!" - Optimus Prime ordered loudly, his commanding voice ringing like molten steel.
" But first take your weapons away, Autobots," the same mysterious voice demanded from out of nowhere.
But the warriors refused to budge, keeping their blasters at the ready.
" Again, show yourself, you Decepticon punk! " - Bulkhead interjected ominously.
"I assure you, I am not a Decepticon," the Voice protested. - "I saw where you, Autobots, took the children. Please forgive my sudden appearance, but the safety of the kids was paramount."
Optimus Prime saw the merit of that reasoning. No Decepticon would undertake such a tedious task. He didn't need a firefight, especially on the base, near children.
"Autobots, lower your weapons," he ordered.
And they did as ordered, but didn't take it away. Lowered, but still ready.
"Thank you," the voice replied briefly.
Then, slowly shedding its cloak, a new creature appeared before the Autobots. It stood at the entrance to the floor bridge, and all eyes turned to it as the children remained in a safe circle behind the robot warriors.
The creature had a slender but rather large body, about seven feet tall, resembling a large purple salamander with darker camouflage-like spots all over its body and a short tail. On its head was a black helmet with three triangular colored lenses - the left blue, the right red, and the middle green - covering the creature's three eyes. The back of the helmet had a spiky fin on the back of its head. The creature had four-toed hands and three toes on frog-like legs. Its wide mouth was filled with sharp teeth.
A cape rested on its shoulders, and a dark green clock-like dial was visible in the center of its chest.
Bumblebee and Arcee recognized the dial. It was the exact same dial as the alien who had helped them earlier.
" That is shapeshifter who..." - Arcee started to say, but was interrupted by Miko:
"Ah, a talking lizard!"
The creature seemed offended by this definition.
"Merlinisapien," it corrected.
"I'm just gonna call you Chamalien."
Jack and Raphael looked at each other in amazement. Ratchet strained his optics to get a better look at the unusual creature, and the rest of the Autobots were slightly surprised. Optimus Prime spoke again, his voice as confident as ever:
" We owe you a debt of gratitude..."
" The name is Rockwell, Optimus Prime," the creature introduced himself.
Jack and Raphael opened their eyes dazedly, both knowing the name as the Merlinisapien pressed a dial on its chest in front of them.
There was a flash of light that caused even the Cybertronians to close their eyes.
After the flash, someone else stood in the creature's place.
Before the astonished eyes of the Autobots and children stood a middle-aged man of Caucasian appearance, with a slightly shaggy beard and gold spectacles on the bridge of his nose. He wore a long, dark trench coat that revealed a loose purple shirt, white pants, and expensive shoes. But the most striking thing about him was his huge frame, about 3 meters tall - just gigantic for a man.
Jack and Raphael stared stunned at the unbelievably tall man they recognized for sure.
Anyone who lived in Jasper would surely recognize this man who had recently settled here. Always frowning, wearing big purple glasses, with a low voice, tall stature and anatomical features that are an anomaly for people with gigantism. "Mr. Dragunov?! The two boys exclaimed in surprise, and Miko shouted with them, "Big old dude?!"
***
Revealing his identity might not have been the best idea, but Rockwell couldn't think of another way to make them trust him quickly.
Autobots don't expect danger from a human by default.
Although the little ones.
He knew one of the boys through his mother. June Darby—whom he'd met when her car broke down—became the first person he got to know in this world, strange as that might sound. Their little friendship grew from there. When she found out he had recently moved to the area, she showed him some neighborly hospitality, inviting him over for tea and introducing him to her family. As he later learned, that family consisted only of her and her son, Jack.
Jack was a very responsible boy—level-headed, honest, kind, easygoing, and with the makings of an excellent mechanic. Rockwell even taught him a thing or two. All in all, a very pleasant young man.
His meeting with Rafael was a completely different story.
It happened when some bullies were harassing him.
A twelve-year-old in high school—that's basically an open invitation for bullies. They could mess with him, and what was a kid supposed to do in response? Nothing. Sure, he could complain to his family, but depending on the situation, that might not change much. Unfortunately for those teenagers, they happened to cross paths with the three-meter-tall bogeyman of the city—someone whose very presence scared everyone off. As luck would have it, the group of bullies and Rafael were passing by Rockwell's house, located on the outskirts of town.
That day, all he had to do was step into his yard and whistle. The teenagers scattered instantly, leaving Rafael standing there bewildered, blinking like an owl in confusion. That's how they met. After walking him home, Rockwell also got to meet Rafael's parents. While Jack's family consisted of just him and his mother, Rafael had nine siblings—at least, that was how many Rockwell managed to count that day.
Rafael was a true prodigy. For his age, he was incredibly smart—arguably smarter than anyone in the entire school. His ability to process information was impressive, especially in the field of programming. So impressive, in fact, that his Galvan form came to appreciate Rafael's skills.
If they started being afraid of him, he could hardly blame them. He was literally an alien—both in appearance and in essence. What was going through their heads right now, he couldn't tell.
The girl standing beside them, however, he could read just fine. If human biology allowed eyes to glow from intense emotion, hers would have already exploded. Bouncing on the balls of her feet, her gaze kept darting from him to the Autobots. This girl had definitely decided that today was the best day of her life.
He snuck into the headquarters right behind them, so he could hear everything this Optimus was explaining to the kids. Their backstory and team introductions. And while this Optimus looked like the one from the movies, like Bumblebee, Ratchet didn't. He was completely different. But he would get used to it. He learned to adjust to the data.
" Primus, this is a big human... Do they get that big... " he heard the soft whisper of the green one, Bulkhead was his name. HighTrix enhanced his body, hearing was one of the parameters.
And this Optimus obviously hadn't expected to see such man either. No surprise, and once he got over his initial surprise, Optimus turned to the giant, by human standards:
"I owe you a debt of gratitude for helping my team, Mr. Dragunov"
Rockwell himself shook his head humbly:
" I only did what was right."
Suddenly, a label flashed on one of the monitors, and Ratchet hurried to check out the cause. After reading the message that appeared, he muttered in despair:
" Impossible..."
"What's going on, Ratchet? " - Optimus asked in confusion as the rest of the Autobots and humans turned to the medic.
"Vital signs signal... Cliffjumper," Ratchet said with difficulty. " This can't be happening! It must be another glitch in these primitive Earth technologies...
That was reason enough for Arcee to step in.
" Optimus, if there's any chance that Cliffjumper is still alive...!" she exclaimed eagerly.
Prime shared her impulse.
"Ratchet, get the medbay ready just in case, you might need it," he ordered, turning toward the bridge.
Rockwell slowly backed away from him, stepping aside to let the Autobots pass. Their initial shock at his incredible appearance and abilities had already been replaced by a determination to fulfill their new mission - to find their missing teammate.
He understood their eagerness. At that moment, the Autobots' minds were on one thing: discovering Cliffjumper's life signs. His own presence was completely overshadowed.
"Autobots, be ready. "
Optimus stepped forward slightly, preparing to begin the search. Giant man found this moment perfect. He had nothing to do during these hours, and fighting was the best way to practice. When he had nothing to do, he began to think too much, and that often led to unpleasant situations.
"Optimus Prime," he addressed the Autobot leader, respectfully as he was a guest and thought it appropriate to use his full name for now.
" Yes, Mr. Dragunov," Optimus nodded.
" You are the leader of this group, and it would be appropriate to ask your permission to accompany you on this mission," the giant said with his usual seriousness, his eyebrows furrowed. The stern expression that had been on his face for the past month had returned. His enormous stature and permanent scowl were the main signs by which he was recognized in the city.
" I know too little of your abilities, Mr. Reiniger, and I cannot allow you to risk injury..." - Prime tried to object.
" I thank you for your concern, Optimus Prime, but I assure you I have nothing to worry about," Rockwell said firmly.
"But..."
" I insist on my participation," the giant said adamantly.
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(A/N) Check comments for Alien art