Part One:

A New Dawn

“Stay close, and don’t let go” he ordered.

The little Knightingale nodded.

Autobots were running left and right. Others were pulling comrades out of the rubble. There was dust kicking up, making it hard to see. There were injured, moaning in pain as blue liquid leaked out of their wounds. Knightingale whimpered as she clung closer to him.

“Bee, I don’t like this. I want to go home” she whispered.

Suddenly, they heard gunfire as lasers started firing towards them.

“GET DOWN!”

 

Taylor jolted awake by the ear-grating sound of her alarm clock. Her heart was pounding wildly inside her chest. She slammed her palm on the off switch, silencing the horrid noise. She sat up, and rubbed her eyes. It was still dark outside, a faint glow of the rising sun visible through the curtains. She sighed.

“I shouldn’t be having dreams like that anymore…”

She felt discombobulated, her eyes threatening to close as she stumbled down the stairs. In her half-drowsiness, she thought about everything that had happened. Fear struck her.

Was it all a dream?

Then, her mind drifted to outside of the window where she could see the separate garage next to the house. She remembered who was in there.

“I need to check…”

She put on her morning robe, and exited her room, creeping quietly down the stairs. The smell of morning dew filled her senses as she stepped out into the cool morning. She walked hastily on the path to the carport structure. She stopped when she stood in front of the door.

“Please don’t let it be a dream.”

Slowly, she turned the handle, and slowly pushed the door open.

 

There, sitting down on the ground in a criss-cross formation, with a small portable radio in his hand held up to his audio receptors, was a robot, dressed in shiny yellow volkswagen beetle parts, the front doors spread out behind him like wings, two black stripes streaming down his chassis, and round plates on his forearms with bright red circles; blue optics against black, sharp pointed eyebrows, and two lines downwards to the end of his face and a trapezoid chin.

The robot noticed her, and put down the radio, surprised.

“Gale? You okay?” it asked.

Taylor sighed in relief.

“No…It wasn’t a dream.

“Gale…Knightingale. That’s my name. That’s my real name.”

She smiled and looked up, facing him.

“Yeah, yeah, Bumblebee, I’m fine!” she replied.

She scratched the back of her head, a touch embarrassed.

“I just…Wanted to check on you…make sure you were still here and all.”

Bumblebee furrowed his eyebrows, and scooted forward.

“Knightingale, were you-?” He paused for a moment, searching for the correct vocabulary, “-sleepwalking?”

“No, no!” She chuckled, sheepishly.

How could she forget her best friend was camping out in the Witwicky’s garage on her behalf?

 

She asked, “What were you doing?”

“Oh!” Bumblebee exclaimed.

He turned around to glance at the radio sitting on the workbench.

“I just…Found it.”

He picked it up.

“I…was just tinkering with it, then suddenly I made it turn on-”

His face lit up at his next words, “It plays music! Lots of it! Look!”

He flipped a switch which turned it on. It was on a low volume, but she could hear a remix of some type of dance song. Taylor beamed.

“That’s right!” she exclaimed, “Music! I forgot we hadn’t played music since the war began! It’s the best discovery you could ever find, isn’t it?”

Bumblebee was now grinning uncontrollably as the angelic sound filled his audio receptors.

“Oh yes! Though, I must say, none of it sounds quite like good ole fashion metal ‘n’ mixing!”

Taylor laughed. “Well, Earth is getting there, don’t you worry! Trust me, in a few light-cycles, that’s all you’re going to hear!”

Bumblebee slowly picked the radio back up again and examined it.

“It looked abandoned when I discovered it,” he commented, “Do you think that…the Witwickys’ will let me have it?”

Taylor shrugged. “I don’t see why not. We don’t exactly have need for radios since smartphones were invented.”

She paused.

She referred to herself as “we,” as in “we, humans.” There was nothing necessarily wrong stating it, but it remained a distracting reminder of what she was, what she truly was.

 

“You alright, ‘Gale?”

Then, Taylor took another deep sigh.

“I’ll be honest, I’m still taking it all in. With everything that’s happened…You, Optimus Prime, and the others…All here, on Earth, alive and well.”

“You’re not the only one.”

Bumblebee gently placed the portable radio down on the work-table next to him. He leaned forward, trying to be more eye-level with his hybrid companion.

“We made it off Cybertron in one piece-” his voice trailed off, his optics beginning to wander.

He breathed, “-Then to a strange, foreign, bio-organic planet, where we can’t freely roam and have to hide.”

He chuckled. “Not quite the sanctuary we were hoping for, eh?”

Taylor frowned.

She could never forget her first memories of landing on Earth:

The fear…The anguish…

“Hey…” she called.

Bee’s head was lowered enough that she could reach up, and touch his face with both of her hands. He looked up at her.

“Everything’s going to be alright. I know it. We just need to keep having courage and perseverance. We’ll get through this.”

The Autobot stared at her for a long moment, then smiled.

“I’m glad you’re here, Knightingale” he replied, softly.

Taylor smiled back, tenderly. They leaned forward, touching each other’s foreheads and closing their eyes. Her heart raised and soared.

“Me too…Bumblebee.”

 

Then, she shook the thoughts out of her head and said, “Well! Big day today, meeting the leaders of America! I need to get ready before we head out!”

Bumblebee was confused. “You’re not already?”

Taylor looked at him for a moment, puzzled at seemingly such a silly question. Then she remembered.

“Oh! Oh no! This is nowhere near suitable for a formal meeting! Humans, especially females need to look their best when traveling somewhere” she explained.

Bumblebee made a face.

“Sounds exhausting.”

Taylor scoffed, then replied honestly, “It is.”

They both chuckled. Taylor reached for the door, “I’ll be back soon, hopefully in less than two Earth hours!”

Bumblebee nodded. “Yes sir! I’ll be waiting.”

Taylor grinned.