A New Arrival

(Episode 1)

"Olivia, get up."

Olivia opened one eye and looked up at the man leaning over her. "Why?"

"Because," the man grabbed a hold of her scarf and gently pulled her up, "you're not allowed to sleep in here if I can't." He smiled softly, "Help me put away these samples."

With a sigh, Olivia slid off the table. "Why do you find so much joy in looking at dirt, Henri?"

Henri picked up a small tray from the counter, "Why do you find so much joy in digging through it?" He headed toward the small door at the back of the room.

"Touché." She smiled as she pulled her coat on, "Got me there."

Henri returned a second later. "I'm gonna go get some coffee. You want some for the road?"

"Uh, yeah, if you hurry." Olivia pulled on her gloves. "I have a train to catch soon."

"Okay, I'll be quick." He disappeared out the doors and Olivia picked up her bag and flung it over one shoulder. As she turned and pulled on the other strap, she noticed the second tray was still sitting on the counter.

"Oh, Henri…." she shook her head, "what would you do without me?" She picked up the tray and headed toward the door Henri had entered only a few minutes earlier. She pressed the tray against the door and pushed it open.

Suddenly, she felt a wave of dizziness over come her and closed her eyes tightly, waiting for it to pass. After a few silent moments, she opened her eyes again to darkness. Had the lights gone out? "Henri?" she called and her voice bounced back to her. "Henri!" She balanced the tray against her hip and looped an arm around it to brace it. "Henri, this isn't funny!" As she turned back around, she nearly tripped, but quickly regained her balance, "Alright, fine! We can play this game, but if I spill these samples, you can't yell at me!"

She stumbled once more before she reached the door and leaned her head against it with a sigh. "One of these days, Henri…" she mumbled before giving the door a hard shove. It didn't budge. "Oh, come on, Henri! I have had quite enough! Open the door right now! I have to catch the train!" She pounded the door with her free hand. "Open the door!"

"What making so much noise?" A strange voice came through the door.

Another voice answered. "It's comin' from in thar."

Olivia fumed and pounded on the door, "Henri! This isn't funny! Open up now!"

To her surprise, the door slid to the right instead of swinging out. Standing where she had expected Henri to be there were instead two creatures she had never seen before. The two glanced at each other, shrugged, and then turned their attention back to Olivia. The one on the left, with a freakish, green, bug-like face, took a step toward her.

Olivia gave a shriek and threw the tray in the air in response. It came crashing down onto the green one's head and he gave a started, gargled sound and fell to the floor.

"Ya idjet," the other snapped as Olivia rushed to the back of the room. "Ya scared it." He paused and she ducked behind a table. "Whatever it is."

"Waspinator think it fleshy-bot from future."

"Ya mean a human? That dun make no sense, pard. Where'd she come from then?"

"Waspinator not know. Two-head should radio Megatron. He will want to know what we found."

"I reckon yer right." There was a moment of silence and Olivia ventured a peek, slowly inching up so she could gaze over the table top.

"Quickstrike to Megatron." The second creature raised his wrist to what Olivia assumed was his mouth. "Me an' Waspy's got ourselves a situation down here in the storage room."

A few seconds later, a sigh came in response. "What have you two done now?"

"Nothin'!" Quickstrike cried defensively, "We were just walkin' by, and we heard somethin' a'pounding on a door and so we opened it and there was this human girl standin' there."

Another couple moments of silence. "What?"

"It's true, Megatron!" Waspinator piped up. "Waspinator see her with own eyes! Fleshy-bot from future!"

"That's impossible."

"Come an' see for yerself. We got her cornered in this here room. She ain't goin'

no where."

More silence; another sigh. "Fine. I'll be down in a bit." With a click the transmission ended. Waspinator and Quickstrike exchanged a glance and Olivia ducked back under the table.

"Come on out, girly," Quickstrike took a cautious step forward. "We ain't gonna hurt ya none."

"Yes, Waspinator and Two-head only want to talk to girly-fleshy-bot."

Olivia slowly sunk down to her hands and knees and began a painfully slow journey toward the door, making sure to stay hidden behind piles of boxes. She didn't understand what was happening, but when she found Henri, oh, was he in for it! Carefully placing one hand in front of the other and taking care to where she placed her knees, her speed gradually increased. She managed to reach the door at the same moments the two reached the back table.

Scrambling to her feet, Olivia exited the room, taking a sharp right. However, almost instantly she collided with a large, metallic purple structure and she was sent staggering backwards. She lost her balance and fell painfully to her behind with a yelp.

"Oh, my," the deep voice from the other end of Quickstrike's transmission spoke above her. "Perhaps it is possible!"

"Look, I don't get what's going on here, so please, just tell me where Henri went. I have a train to catch."

"I'm sorry, my dear," the voice sounded puzzled. "I don't know a Henri."

Olivia growled in frustration. "Henri! He's only been here--" She cut herself off as she finally looked up at the being providing the second half of the conversation. Her jaw instantly dropped and her eyes widened.

Standing in front of her, its head tilted to the side as it regarded her, was a seemingly robotic, purple Tyrannosaurus Rex. This was getting to be too much. The world around her slowly began to fade to black and, as the darkness swallowed up the Tyrannosaurus's head, she began to think maybe Henri wasn't behind these happenings.

Olivia groaned softly and rolled over. She was safe and warm in her bed. The weird things that had happened, the freaky creatures, the metallic T-rex, and Henri's disappearance were all a dream. Maybe Henri really wasn't catching the next train and they could head home together and laugh over this ridiculous dream.

She rolled over onto her back and forced her eyes open. The sigh she saw should

have been the white ceiling of her dorm, but instead it was a high gray ceiling.

"Ah, finally awake?" The deep voice from her dream asked.

Olivia drew in a sharp breath and slowly sat up. At the foot of the bed were the creatures Quickstrike and Waspinator, and to her left…

She shrieked and jumped to the side, nearly falling off the bed.

The purple dinosaur raised a brow.

"It's a dream, I'm dreaming!" She pulled her knees to her chest and covered her face. "Wake up! Wake up!"

"I regret to inform you, my dear, that this isn't a dream, as surreal as it may seem."

"No." She didn't look up. "You're not real."

"I assure you, I am."

"No. You're a little purple Tyrannosaurus Rex. You don't exist."

"Ah, I see." There was a pause and then the Tyrannosaur roared softly. After a

sound of grinding gears he continued, "And now am I easier to look at?"

Olivia slowly looked up and standing where the dinosaur had been was a more humanized robot. She stared for a few moments. "You're that… and the Tyrannosaur?" She asked softly.

"Yes, I am indeed. I am a Transformer."

Olivia shook her head. "Like the Autobots? They were huge and cars and planes and stuff. Why are you a little dinosaur?"

"Well, my dear, they were such because of their surroundings. With a lack of vehicles of any kind, we instead took on the form of wild life. You see, the Autobots were our ancestors."

"Uh, boss," Quickstrike spoke up, "I thought--"

"You thought what?" The dinosaur asked harshly.

"Uh, not'in'," he answered meekly.

"So, I time traveled?" Olivia asked, "Into the future?"

"No, we're in the past."

She stared up at him for a few silent moments. "What?"

"Quite a difficult subject to wrap your mind around, I know. Perhaps the rest can

be saved for another day. More important matters are at hand, I believe. Such as how and why you're here."

"I… dunno." She glanced around. "I hadn't really thought about it but I didn't notice anything different about today… or yesterday, whenever. I was just hanging out with Henri in the university. I was getting ready to catch the train so I could spend my holiday at home."

"Nothing at all out of the ordinary?" The dinosaur pressed for information.

She shook her head. "Nope. Honestly, I think most of me thinks this is all a dream."

He frowned. The expression reminded on his face for a moment until he cleared his throat and the smile reappeared. "It appears we have a mystery on our hands, my dear. Either way, you will be always welcome within my ranks. Tell me, what is your name?"

"Uh," she faltered slightly; the question seemed out of place. "Olivia. Everyone calls me Via though."

"Olivia," the Transformer repeated with a smile. "Welcome. I am Megatron. I am leader of the Predicons."

"Megatron?" Olivia raised a brow. "Megatron's a bad guy. I thought you were decedents of the Autobots."

"Indeed. But a name is nothing more than a title." He paused for merely a second, "Ah, but I believe you have already met Quickstrike and Waspinator."

Olivia turned her attention to the two at the foot of the bed. They had been so quiet she had nearly forgotten them. "Hi." She muttered uncertainly.

"Howdy, miss." Quickstrike nodded toward her. "Sorry 'bout scarin' ya earlier."

"It's okay. I should be apologizing. Waspinator?" She stumbled over the strange name, "I'm sorry I threw that tray at you."

"Waspinator not mind. Get scrapped all the time. Could be much worse. Waspinator will not hold it against Via-bot."

"Via-bot?" She tilted her head to the side as she regarded the two, "But I'm not a robot."

"That's jus' the way he talks, miss." Quickstrike explained, "I suspect he's been smacked upside the head a bit too much."

"Waspinator think the same thing true about Two-Head!"

"Now, now, this is not the way to welcome a new comrade." Megatron stepped toward them and Waspinator cringed, but instead of pain, as he expected, the Predicon commander put an arm around each of them. "If there is anything at all you need, Olivia, don't hesitate to ask. You have my full permission to explore any part of the ship you like, but please, for safety's sake remain inside. You never know what's out there."

Olivia nodded. "I think for now, I'll just stay here." She bent over the side of the bed and retrieved the pillow which had been flung when she had jumped. She hugged it to her chest, "If that's okay."

"Of course. I'm sure you need time to yourself to think. I'll return later to check on you." He shoved the other two toward the door. "And remember: if you need anything, just ask." He pushed Waspinator and Quickstrike the rest of the way out of the room. They landed in a tangled heap on the floor and Megatron scowled down at them as the door slid shut. "You two will learn to shut your mouths one way or another!" He picked each up by the throat.

"But, boss," Quickstrike protested. "You lied to 'er."

"It wasn't a lie, no! It was merely an exaggeration." He set them back down.

"You, Quickstrike, like many of our other comrades were once Maximal protofoms, so the Autobots were indeed your ancestors. She, lucky for us, doesn't know that, and neither of you will tell her otherwise! This girl may one day prove to be useful and I refuse to allow her to join the Maximal side! This will be our little secret, yes?"

The nodded.

"Good. Now get out of my sight!"

Olivia sighed and started at the ceiling, still hugging the pillow to her chest. "Can this really not be a dream?" She asked aloud. "Maybe I'm on drugs or something and I just didn't realize it until now." She sighed again and tossed the pillow away. "Either way…" She let the sentence trail off, unsure of how to even finish it. She rolled onto her side and folded her hands under her cheek. After staring at the wall for a few fleeting seconds, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye and sat up. "My bag!"

She jumped off the bed and knelt next to the book bag she had packed in the morning before she had set out to find Henri. After rummaging though the contents, she found what she was going looking. She pulled out her cell phone and flipped it open. The screen stared back at her, no different than it had been that morning.

She paused. Was it still the same day? How long had she been asleep? She read the date and time line and saw it read the exact same thing as it had said when she had gone to meet Henri. Thinking it was frozen, she pressed up a button. The contacts menu opened quickly, disproving her hypothesis. She scrolled down to the contact labeled "Dad" and pressed send.

Nothing happened.

She sighed and leaned back on her heels. Of course. There weren't any tower in the past, how could there be any service?

Olivia stood and hauled her bag onto the bed. But at what point in the past were they? And where exactly were they located?

"Megaton said he'd be back," she informed herself and sat next to her bag, "but

you never know when that'll be. He said I could go anywhere but outside…" She paused her conversation with herself when she noted she was still wearing her snow boots, coat and scarf. She quickly removed and tossed them to the side, then began rummaging again

through her bag.

"I just wanna stay here," she mumbled to herself as she found her second pair of shoes and dropped them to the floor. "That's stupid of me. I have way too many question to just stay here." She slipped her feet into her shoes and then stepped up to the door.

She groaned, "Of course…" The door had no handles. It probably, she thought, slides to the side like the other one. Next to the door was a small control panel with several unlabeled buttons. "Can nothing here be easy?"

She pressed one of the bigger buttons and nothing happened. She pressed it again and still nothing. She fumed softly and went to push another button when the door suddenly flew open.

"--believe it when I see it!"

Though he hadn't been the one to speak, Olivia looked up to see Megaton standing in the doorway.

"Uh, I, uh… Was just going to come find you."

"Then I have quite the timing." He smiled at her as she backed away so he could enter the room. "Olivia, there's someone I would like you to meet." Still smiling he looped his arm around her shoulders and turned them both around to face the door.

With a startled yell, Olivia covered her face. "What's that?!" She demanded of the strange new creature in the doorway.

Megatron laughed loudly. "Nice to know I'm not the only one who gets such a response. This is Tarantulas. He wanted to meet you."

"What is he?" She asked softly, peeking through her fingers.

"If the name isn't obvious enough, I'm a tarantula." He explained with a soft cackle.

Olivia whimpered and huddled closer to Megatron. "I used to have nightmares about giant spiders!"

He cackled louder. "You'd better watch out. There's two of us running around. We might decide you look tasty."

Olivia ducked out from under Megatron's arm and cowered behind him. "I assure

you Tarantulas is only joking."

"Or am I?"

Megatron glared at him.

"Moving inwardly, tell me, 'Livia, how did you get here?" Tarantulas asked.

"I don't know."

"You don't know? How can you not know?!"

"I just don't! Go away!"

"You must know something!"

"Well, I don't!"

Megatron held up his hand to silence Tarantulas. "Enough."

"She's not answering my questions!" Tarantulas protested.

"He's asking me too many!" Olivia replied. "I can't deal with all this! I don't

know where I am or who you people are! I think I'm on drugs, I really do! But I don't know how that could be! Stop asking me how I got here! I really don't know! I don't know anything at all! I'm tired of these repetitive questions. Take a break from them and help me! I have very burning questions that need answers!"

"You have more questions?" Megatron asked.

"I have a shit loud of questions!"

He turned around and she looked up at him through the spaces between her

fingers.

"Well?" He prompt after a moment of silence. "Ask."

"Um," She blushed softly. "How do you work the doors?"