"𝓑𝓵𝓾𝓮 𝓲𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮𝓯𝓸𝓻𝓮 𝓶𝓸𝓼𝓽 𝓼𝓾𝓲𝓽𝓪𝓫𝓵𝓮 𝓪𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓬𝓸𝓵𝓸𝓻 𝓸𝓯 𝓲𝓷𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓲𝓸𝓻 𝓵𝓲𝓯𝓮."

"Sooo, how did you end up here anyways?"

You looked up from the transparent looking tablet in your hands that you had received from Brainstorm and to the little red bot who sat before you with a curious look in his eyes and a grin. Ever since you'd officially met Sideswipe and the other bots, he'd been sticking to your side quite easily. He always keeps asking you questions, most of them personal, and his brother Sunstreaker usually has to drag him away.

He reminded you of Mikey in that way, and it made you smile. Still, you couldn't shake the reality that they left you behind. They forgot to get you while they were running away, and left you for dead. What happened if Lord Dregg really did come for your body? What happened if Brainstorm and his friends didn't find you?

"Hello?" Sideswipe snapped you out of your spiraling train of thought again. He noticed often how you would talk very little. Usually you would only respond if it was necessary, and you always drifted off into thought with a sad look on your face. He took it upon himself to make you feel better.

"Sorry." You muttered. "I uh... Well my friends and I... It's... It's complicated." You said sighing.

"Well, then why don't you start with why you're in space?" Sideswipe asked. "Not many humans are seen out here, and usually they don't last very long - or at least their human bodies don't. Sometimes they have to opt for moving their consciousness into mechanical beings or robots."

You stared in minor shock. That explained Fugitoid. "Well, my planet was destroyed by the Triceratons." You said, a little more casual than it actually was. "My friends and I went back in time and are trying to make things right again. We ran into a cyborg who saved us, and we went to that spaceport where I found you guys, and... and well, I was left behind when they were fighting against Lord Dregg."

Sideswipe stared at you with wide eyes and an open mouth. "Wait, wait, wait!" He said floundering about. "Back up! You time traveled!? Do you know how taboo that is in so many different cultures!?"

You scratched your chin nervously. "Umm... No?" You said shrugging.

"Wow..." Sideswipe breathed out. "And you friends just ditched you? Wait, why did they even let a squishy like you fight when you were injured?"

Your mood continued to dampen and you steadily became more and more uncomfortable. "Because I... I thought I was alright." You muttered, your head dipping lower.

"Stop bugging her, Sideswipe!" Sunstreaker walked into the room with an angry expression as he grabbed hold of his brother.

"Wait! Sunny, I was just about to make a break through! She was finally telling me how she got here!" Sideswipe whined. His brother only continued to drag him out, and Bee watched as the two were wrestling past him.

"Hello, (Y/N)." Bee greeted you, holding a tray of organic food. "You should eat. It might not look the same, but it's compounds are similar to that of the food you had on Earth."

"Thank you." You said taking the tray of strange, yet beautifully colored food. Most of it looked like exotic fruits, but there were some that were so monotone in color that it looked like the items jumped out of someone's sketch book. "Bee, how is it that you know so much about humans in comparison to the others?"

Bee smiled at you. This was the first time you had asked him a more personal question since meeting him. "I was a veteran of the largest civil war in my species... It even stretched past that of my own home planet. Because of this, I've seen and talked to a lot of different species. I've met some of your own kind, they taught me all about your home planet, Earth and it's inhabitants. I learned some of your culture and your biological make up. All the one's I've met were very intelligent and curious sparks. You are no exception." He gave you a warm expression, you could tell he still had hope in his heart despite seeing such terrible wars.

Your eyes went wide, and your lips trembled. "A-am I really?" You asked. Were you really just as intelligent and curious and open-minded as the amazing astronauts, scientists, and explorers that Bee mentioned? Could you ever amount to the humans who abandoned Earth in favor of the fruitful galaxy?

"Yes." He replied, watching as a tearful smile appeared on your face.

"Thank you." You said before taking a bite of the monotone fruit in front of you.

Despite it being so plain looking, it tasted familiar in its own way. Like salted caramel candy and a cookie-dough aftertaste. Trying one of the more colorful ones on the other hand was like eating pure soy sauce and a grass texture. It was probably gross, but it was edible... kind of.

It had been a week since traveling with them, and Brainstorm used your human DNA to track the other humans on board of Fugitoid's ship. You were grateful for him helping you, and slowly you were making new friends with the bots on board. Sometimes, you found yourself wondering if you should just stay with them.

You shook that thought right out of your head. Even if the turtles and April and Casey didn't need you anymore, you still had to go back to them. Despite how hurt and angry you were about being left behind like some sort of side character; they were the key to saving Earth, and you couldn't just leave everyone else you loved behind. Your friends and family back home, Alaric and his parents and their dog Collie. You couldn't just give up on them because the turtles left you behind.

"(Y/N)?" Bee broke you out of your downward spiral thoughts. "It seems like you're doing that thing again. Where you look down more and more, until your tucked into a little ball. I realize you do it when you're upset. An old friend of mine used to be the same. Would you like to tell me what's wrong?"

He was so polite and gentle about it, you found yourself uncurling and looking at him in those old, wise, blue mechanical eyes of his. "Yeah... Ok." You said nodding. "I guess it's just the fact that my friends left me behind. We've all been through so much together, and I've been there to help them every time they went through a rough patch. I've helped them take back the city after an alien invasion twice, and I was there when they lost everything, twice. I just thought they would have cared about me enough to... to not leave me behind to die."

A tear began to stream down your face and Bee wiped it away with his mechanical finger. He said nothing though. You found it as a cue to continue spilling your emotions, but any more than that, and you'd probably be diving into the territory of how betrayed you felt about Raph and Leo the most. Raph was your best friend, you thought he wouldn't forget about you. You'd never forgotten about him, even if you were in love with his brother. Leo knew you loved him, but maybe you got your hopes up. Maybe ever since telling him, you really did screw up your friendship badly enough for him to forget to take you with them. To forget that you were injured and couldn't run away with them.

"(Y/N)." Bee began. "Are they really as terrible as you describe them? Are they really so unappreciative and cruel as to leave you behind? If that's the case, it may be better that you stay away."

"No!" You defended. "No, their not terrible. They're heroic. They've saved the world over and over again, and they're hearts are always in the right place. They're really just a bunch of kids, forced to save everyone again and again without any recognition..."

"Then why is it that you're so worried that they left you behind on purpose? Do you really think they meant to leave you? Or perhaps is it that you've done so much for them, that they expected you to be right behind them like always?" Bee asked with a raised eyebrow and a more serious expression on his face

Your eyes were wide open, your mouth slightly agape as you realized he was right. He was so, so right, and it made you weep. Your eyes filled to the brim with tears and you shoved your face into your hands as you cried into them. They were so used to you acting like an adult around them when things were falling apart that they nearly forgot that you were just the same age as them. You were only a kid like them, but you kept thinking that you needed to solve everything, that you needed to take care of them, and yourself. But you couldn't take care of yourself, not all the time. You were just a kid too, but it still didn't change the pangs of betrayal you felt. Not before you could wash away the scars and crusted blood of the wound they inflicted on you by leaving you behind in the first place.

You continued to sob heavily into your hands, and you felt Bee's hand on your back, making calming rubbing motions to comfort you.

"I-I'm sorry, Bee, but I can't forgive them - not yet."