Arena
Chapter One: The Outer Realm
Prowl stirred, reaching a hand up to his head. "Ooh, what…happened?" Sapphire eyes flitted open and Prowl looked up at the ceiling of some sort of shelter. Groans told him he wasn't alone and the Autobot sat up carefully, looking around. The building was rather small and gray with no door. Sunlight came in, casting shadows about the room. Prowl turned his head and heard a soft clink. Surprised, he looked down and realized he was wearing a necklace that sported the red Autobot insignia. The tactician froze, staring at himself. He had a white t-shirt on with black stripes running down the seams, black jeans, and a pair of sturdy dark brown boots. His hands were no longer a light gray, instead they were a light tan color, a shade Prowl recalled Spike referring to as Caucasian. Prowl reached up, feeling hair instead of his helmet. He looked around, eyes widening. Five. Five others, here in this place with him, and every single one a human.
"Primus…" he whispered, dropping his head into his hands as he remembered, remembered the shuttle, and his own death. Is this…the Matrix? No, it couldn't be. Why would he be human in the Matrix? The Autobot shifted and glanced down, seeing a blue bag by his side. He picked it up as one of the others finally woke.
"Primus, what hit me?" the redhead grumbled, pushing himself up to a sitting position.
"Ironhide?"
Ironhide turned and frowned. "Don't believe I've had th' pleasure…"
"Ironhide, it's me, Prowl."
Ironhide's jaw dropped. "No way. Yu're…human."
Prowl snorted. "So are you 'Hide."
Ironhide's dark blue eyes narrowed and he looked down at himself. Prowl eyed him too. 'Hide was wearing the same necklace Prowl had on as well as the same dark brown boots but from there the similarities ended. 'Hide's shirt and jeans were a dark red color with a black stripe running down the seam of the Autobot's shirt. Prowl let his gaze travel upward. His friend's hair was mostly red but Prowl could see it graying a bit at the edges. The tactician waited a moment longer. Ironhide reached down with a scowl and picked up a blue bag. His eyes met Prowl's and held.
"How…"
Prowl shook his head. "I don't know but…"
"How 'what'?" a gray haired man demanded as he roused, clambering up to look around. Prowl took one look at the white clothing with the red crosses on the shoulders and smirked.
"Nice to see you awake, Ratchet."
Ratchet eyed him. "And you are?"
Ironhide groaned. "Ratch, tha's Prowl."
Ratchet whirled around toward Ironhide. "Ironhide?"
"Before you start, take a look at yourself, Ratch," Prowl advised as he rose, bringing the mysterious blue bag with him. The tactician maneuvered around the three unconscious Autobots and stepped out into the sunlight. Prowl shaded his eyes and looked around. A white road stretched before him. On either side was desert, as far as the eye could see. Prowl sighed, ignoring the arguing coming from behind him as he turned his attention to the blue bag in his hands. He opened it up and stared at the contents. There was a small black book, numerous ceramic pieces, small blue cubes that Prowl suspected were energy cubes, two small silver packets, and a water bottle. Prowl slid the book out and closed the bag. The book had a curious tri-circle symbol and his name on the front. The Autobot scowled, paging through the book and reading different parts. He halted at a section about the white road. To encourage forward momentum, portions of the track have been engineered to disappear after an elapsed interval of time. It is wise, therefore, not to linger, especially at the beginning. Prowl gaped at the words. He whirled and halted, staring at a plant that was pressed up against the small hut the Autobots had landed in.
"Slag!"
Ironhide was watching Ratchet look around in horror, holding back chuckles at Ratchet's expression. Ratchet's head turned back and the light blue eyes narrowed.
"Are you laughing?!"
"Slag!"
Both Autobots whirled toward the entrance as Prowl appeared, eyes hard. The tactician surveyed the still unconscious Autobots. "Ironhide, Ratchet, get the others. We have to go, now."
"What's wrong," Ironhide drawled as he rose and hefted the blue bag he'd found next to his leg.
Prowl's gaze flicked down to the bag. "There's an aggressive piece of vegetation doing a decent impression of a Venus flytrap out there. Don't forget those bags."
Ratchet was about to complain when the shelter gave an ominous creak. He snatched up two bags and slung a still unconscious Autobot over his shoulder. Prowl and Ironhide hauled the other two figures up and Prowl spared a look for any forgotten items. The three sprang for the door as the white path vanished and the plant ripped into the hut. Prowl didn't stop running until they'd gone, by Ratchet's estimate, a quarter of a mile. Ratchet sagged, panting as the group came to a halt. He was barely aware of Prowl lifting his burden. After a few minutes of catching his breath, Ratchet looked up. Prowl was looking around, probably searching for any threats in the area. Ironhide was busy getting his breath and the three Autobots yet to wake up were finally stirring.
"How'd you know that would happen?"
Prowl looked over at Ratchet. "There was a book in my bag. Looks like a guide to this place. I was paging through it and I spotted a section about this road being a safe zone."
Ratchet nodded, than froze, piecing it together. "Only it disappears, right?"
Prowl gave a nod. "The guide said parts of the road disappear after a bit so we can't just stay in one place. That's when I noticed that plant. Figured we had to get out of there, fast."
"Glad at least one o' us is payin' attention," Ironhide remarked.
Ratchet scowled. "But how'd we end up here? As humans?"
The others shook their heads. Silence fell. Ironhide looked down at his bag and peaked inside, pulling out a small black book. Prowl sat down, fiddling with his own supplies. Ratchet eyed him, then realized Prowl was assembling various tools from the contents of his bag. Ratchet shrugged and pulled his own pack toward him. The black book brought him up short as he stared as his name for a few moments. The medic sighed and flipped the book open. He scanned through the different sections, finally reaching a section that featured assembly diagrams. Ratchet eyed the pictures, then pulled out various pieces and started building.
A/N: How is it so far? I figured Arena would be a good crossover for our dearly departed G1 Autobots. Next chapter: Enter CSI: Miami's Tim Speedle.
