Voices of the Heart

Galloway

"Wake up, Alyssa! Wake up!"

I groaned as Annabelle shook my shoulders. I really didn't want to wake up right now. I pulled the sheets over my head as an attempt to protect me from the little girl. For a moment there was silence, and then Annabelle jumped onto my back.

"Wake up, wake up, wake up!" She chanted as she bounced on me. The sheets were pulled off of me and I groaned in defeat.

"Okay, I'm up..." I said groggily, squinting from the light. I heard Ironhide chuckle as he plucked Annabelle off my back.

"Morning, Half-Pint. Get dressed and meet us downstairs. Lennox and I are taking you to base for your training after breakfast."

I grumbled under my breath before pushing myself out of bed and heading for the bathroom. After cleaning up, I threw on a purple tank top, black workout pants, and a pair of black jogging shoes before heading downstairs. A plate full of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast was set on the table for me.

Will greeted me with a smile before taking a sip of his coffee. "Not a morning person?" He jested as I sat down.

I shook my head and took a bite out of my toast. Will chuckled and shook his head. "Since today is your first day, we're just going to check out how much you know and go from there. Destinee, Chromia, and Optimus will train you in physical combat while Ironhide, Epps, and I will coach you through weapons. Ratchet also made a point to give you medical training, so he'll be your instructor in that field. We divided your training into the days of the week: physical combat on Mondays and Wednesdays, weapons on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and medical training on Fridays. You get Sundays off. "

I nodded. Sounded straight forward. "What about my home-schooling?"

Will smiled. "Prowl insisted on helping you with that."

I blinked. "Really?"

"Yup. He says he'll help you with your schooling. You study on Saturdays at the base." 

That didn't sound so bad.

Will suddenly grimaced. "Oh yeah... You have to meet Galloway today."

But that did.

**

The Autobots were watching me spar with Optimus's holoform. Destinee, Epps, and Will were watching as well, insisting that they wanted to observe how much I knew. Shane wasn't there since he was with the Wreckers. Destinee had told me that the Wreckers had their own base since they were too out of control to keep here. However, she did promise that I could meet the Dinobots after I had finished sparing with Optimus.

At the moment, he had me in a headlock and had hold of my right arm. Thinking quickly, I kicked my foot back into his knee. It was enough to make him stumble, causing him to loosen his grip. As soon as I felt the slighted difference, I pulled my arm free, elbowed him in his rib, then swung out for a kick in the stomach. I didn't even see him catch my foot before he flipped me onto the floor.

"You did well," Optimus said as he helped me up. "But you need to stop hesitating before you attack. Your indecisiveness gives your opponent time to attack you. You may take a break."

I nodded before walking over to the bench where Destinee sat. She smiled at me and handed me a bottle of water. I nodded my thanks as I sat down next to her and gulped down the water.

"Gotta admit, I'm impressed," Will told me. "I've never seen anyone last that long against Prime."

"I've never seen anyone touch Prime," Epps said, chuckling slightly. "Well, anyone human, that is. But still, you've got skill, girl."