A/N ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
-:-
When he came to he stared at the dark sky for a long while, but he eventually moved his hand in front of his face. Yep, he still had robot hands. Or... considering the emblem on his chest, Autobot hands. Apparently. He screwed his mouth to one side and pushed himself up. This was... mind-boggling. He crawled over to the lake and stared at his image, furrowing his optic ridges and frowning. The emblem on his chest looked... scratched... like someone had tried to remove it.
"...This is messed up." He murmured, pushing himself up and looking around.
Well, he knows one thing.
If anyone caught him like this they'd sooner shoot or run in terror. And he'd rather they didn't do either. His self-esteem was already low enough. Also, common sense. Only an idiot would stay in a populated area when they're obviously huge and intimidating. He turned and started running from the area, trying to get further away from any populated areas. Thankfully he didn't seem to be near anywhere, except for that dump. He cringed when he could hear how loud he was. Why couldn't he be lighter or something? Why couldn't he be a moped or something? Was he a car?
"Wait!" He stopped and grinned. "I'm a Transformer!" Apparently. "I can just transform!"
He did just that.
Or tried to.
He stood in place and leaned forward, waiting for... something to happen. His grin slowly started to diminish. He rolled his shoulders and hopped in place before he tried doing... something again. This should be working, right?
But... nothing was transforming.
"Dammit." He grumbled before he started jogging in any random direction.
Apparently he was a transformer that didn't know how to transform. He rolled his optics and snorted. If this was a dream, and he was really hoping it was, then he should know how to transform. It should be second nature by now to a cybertronian. Hey, he might as well start using the correct terminology. Should he start swearing like one too? He scoffed lightly, and slid down a small hill.
Maybe he should try to find a place to hide out in, just until he made sense of all this. Maybe there were warehouses around somewhere.
Okay...
The last thing he remembered before waking up at that dump was falling down, his neck burning something fierce, and a voice. A voice that irked him. Now what confused him was the fact that he couldn't remember his own name. Or his parents. Or how his parents looked...
He slowed from a jog to a walk and put a hand to his chin, staring at the ground in front of him in determination. He actually couldn't remember how they looked. Why couldn't he remember? What was going on?
He paused when he saw light shining through the trees, and ran towards the light. Please be an abandoned warehouse. Or even a road.
No such thing.
He peeked around the tree, holding onto it so he didn't fall down, and narrowed his optics when he saw the city in the distance. Well, he obviously couldn't go there. They had cops. And cops had guns. They'd shoot at him. Sure, he might be able to withstand it. Evidence: Scorp... onok? From the first Transformers movie. But the idea of anything shooting at him with weapons terrified him.
He winced and turned away from the city, keeping close to the trees and walking along with the freeway.
Whenever a car drove by he threw himself to the ground and cringed when he made the ground shake. He never felt as fat as he did now.
It's amazing he's still keeping a calm head when not even however long ago he was screaming his head off. He sighed and kicked the ground with a frown. But why was he like this? He stared at his arms and legs and... everything. It wasn't every day you woke up and found yourself big and mechanical. And hopefully beautiful. It wouldn't be epic to wake up like this and not be beautiful.
Another car was coming by, and he got ready to duck, when his headlights, located on his chest, started flashing.
His optics grew wide before he sprinted into the trees and tried turning them off. He ducked his head when he looked back and saw whoever it was slow down and step out. He could faintly hear "Hello?" before he was gone.
"What the hell?!" He tried covering the headlights and covered his face then. He felt like he was groping himself. "Okay, calm thoughts. Calm thoughts!" He stood straight and grinned.
He stood in place for a couple minutes before his headlights were turned off. He sighed in relief and hung his shoulders. Okay, it was a bad idea to walk beside a populated road. He stayed in the trees from now on, often walking close to the tree line to make sure he was still beside the... what was that, a freeway? He shrugged.
Where was he even going to go now?
Unless the Autobots...
He stopped in place and stared ahead silently.
"Oh, my god..." He covered his face and shook his head. "Am I one of those cliche people getting sucked into fictional universes?" He looked at the sky and almost whimpered. "Am I supposed to fall in love with someone now?"
Why him? He dragged his hands down his face and glared ahead. Hopefully that wasn't the situation and he was only in a coma. He'd prefer that than this. Because then he'd be sleeping and not in this... situation.
Soldiers moved out of the way, or stared in awe, as the large mechanical beings walked by. One could tell which soldiers were new, obvious in the way they stayed far away from the "Transformers" and with awe and fear on their faces. All Ironhide did, when he saw their expression, was snort and roll his optics. He walked behind Optimus, who was flanked by both him and Ratchet. Lately they've been doing more good work. Only two Decepticons were detected in the last three months.
"Sideswipe just had his "check-up" and other than slightly malnourished he appears to be in excellent health," Ratchet piped up from Optimus' left. "It shouldn't be long before he gets acquainted with the base and starts his pranks." He rolled his optics.
Optimus hummed lightly. "Hopefully it does not take Sunstreaker too long to show up."
"Ehh, he'll be fine," Ironhide waved his hand, as if waving off the idea of the mech never showing up. "He and Sideswipe could never stay away from each other for more than a groon."
"Nevertheless, that's one more mech that's joined our team," Optimus gave a satisfied nod. "My only hope is more arrive."
"Yeah, this planet's okay," Ironhide shrugged and looked around. "Except for all the dirt here." It gets everywhere.
Ratchet downed his cube before he pulled out his datapad. "Well, you'll be happy to know Jolt is settling in nicely. He still complains about the mud every now and then, but that's one more medic for the team."
Optimus nodded, satisfied, as they all walked into the hangar they regularly recharged in. He was glad the humans here were so accommodating, especially since they realized they meant them no harm. Though they often stepped around Ironhide carefully. Ironhide found it funny when they stared at him uneasily when he would bring out his guns. No matter how much Optimus told him to stop it he would just snicker and say he was just playing.
Not for the new soldiers that arrived.
They were about to transform and recharge, making sure they were ready for the next mission(if a Decepticon ever showed itself) when Lennox stopped outside with a truck. Optimus paused before he half-turned towards Lennox.
"Major Lennox," Optimus gave a curt nod. "Decepticon?"
"Thankfully no," Lennox stepped close and smirked when Ironhide stepped closer to him. He patted his ankle and looked up. "And how many times do I have to tell you it's just Will for you?"
Optimus gave a sheepish smile. "Yes... well..."
"Prime is too high-strung, Will." Ironhide gave him a smirk, receiving a dry stare in return.
"Anyway, I just got news," Lennox turned serious then. "We just got a signal."
"So... Decepticon?" Ratchet gave him a sarcastic question, along with a roll of his optics.
"It's Amp," That name caused them all to visibly start, and Lennox yelped when Ironhide picked him up before all three cybertronians were marching out of the hangar. "I told you to stop doing that!" He gave the black mech an annoyed scowl. "His signal popped up on our radars six hours ago."
"Where?" Optimus was practically jogging.
"No idea, his signal's scrambled," Lennox held up his hands to silently tell them to slow down. "We can't get a lock on him, but we know he's somewhere in Michigan."
"Perhaps I can isolate the signal." Ratchet offered, seeing both Optimus and Lennox nod.
"Do it, fast," Optimus gave the order and turned to stare at Lennox. "In the meantime, we need to get ready to move out."
Lennox nodded. "You got it."
He kept walking for two hours before he found a random barn, with a big hole in the back but he should be covered, and quickly ducked inside so no one spotted him. Okay, he was alone, he didn't feel any need to sleep, and he was slowly getting hungrier. Just a small pinch in his... tanks. But he should be able to hold it off. He rubbed the back of his neck and paused when he could feel his plating.
"This is frickin' weird," He muttered and hung his arms over his knees, sitting in the corner and away from the hole. "Or fraggin' weird."
He groaned and reached up to put his face into his hands, and he stayed like that for a long time.
Until he heard a vehicle approaching.
He froze and looked out the tiny, dirty window. He could hear multiple voice, and saw a truck before it stopped just outside the barn. Craaaaaap. Of course! Why not?! He started crawling for the big ass hole before he got out and leaned against the wall with bated breath. Breath? Venting...? He didn't know!
"...dad is getting worse! You should just move outside as soon as you turn eighteen."
"I am, that's why I have that job as a waitress. And I have work tomorrow."
He groaned quietly and hit his head lightly. Of course they're teenagers. This barn is probably a place they frequent to drink. Would they see him crawling away? Are they drunk enough that they won't notice?
"And that's why you're the driver!" He heard a peppy voice as he moved carefully away from the wall. "Plus you're the only one that has their license!"
"It makes no sense to give your kid a car when he doesn't even have his license." He heard another kid.
"Shut up, I'm taking the test in a week!"
He rolled his optics and slowly crawled away. As soon as he's far enough he'll get up and start running. That had been the plan. Until his hand landed on a bottle and broke it. He stared at his left hand in horror and heard startled muttering from inside the barn. He ducked down and laid as close as he could to the ground.
"Oh, please be stupid enough to think I'm a boulder." He muttered, biting his lower lip when he saw one of them look out the back.
"...Jack?!" He heard the waitress kid yell.
"Yeah?!" He could see another kid jump out of the truck with a pack of beer. He rolled his optics. Damn kids.
"Oh, it's just Jack." He could hear relieved muttering and sighed before he started crawling away again.
And once he was far enough he stood up to run, making sure to not glance behind him and chance his luck, and disappeared into the trees. His relief was apparent when he leaned against a tree and heaved a big sigh. All right... One hurdle down. Okay, he must be close enough to a populated area. Kids wouldn't stray far from a town just to drink. Right?
It wasn't long before he was walking again, glancing around to make sure nothing was after him. Pitchforks and such. One of those kids might've spotted him. He'd be more incognito if he could just transform! He scowled to himself and shook his head.
He tried again, bending his knees and trying to will himself to transform into... something!
And like last time. It. Didn't. Work!
He gave an irritated groan and kicked a tree, and instantly jumped when it broke. It was still standing, but the trunk had seen better days. That's one thing he's never doing again.
So far, this day has sucked.
Another few hours passed by, and he gave a loud scream when he slid down a small hill and into a lake. He sat there, dejected, just for a moment and he grumbled when he pulled himself out of the water. Great. Muddy, muddy water. He had been making great progress, heading to... wherever, and this had to happen. At least he wasn't cold, but he stared distastefully at the mud. Now he needed a shower. Or he could go through a car wash. He snickered to himself.
"This keeps getting worse and worse," He smiled without any humor before he was scoffing. "I hate this day."
He really, really did.
So far he seemed to be far away from any populated area, if the signs he passed by were any indication. Looks like he was just walking along the highway now, but had to stay close to the treeline because of all the vehicles. He'd rather not walk through the trees blindly. He might get lost. Well, he was lost right now, but he'd rather stay close to a road than walking in circles in the forest.
The sun was coming up.
Normally that would be great, because the daytime was always great, but then people would see him. He stared at the pink sky uneasily and moved further into the trees. He's been up all night and he hasn't felt the need to sleep once. How often did he need to sleep? He could hear birds singing, and could tell it was warming up. He was feeling better, more relaxed. His entire body was still sore, but he felt calm. There is something peaceful about being awake when the sun's rising.
That had been his thought until he heard a tiny 'splat.'
He paused and looked around before he started looking himself over. And there, on his right shoulder, was a small stain. Bird poop. He stared at it for a long moment and vented deeply before he covered his mouth and gave an angry scream. Of course! Stupid birds! Can't they even tell he's been through enough?! Everything he's known is different! Really different, he thought as he stared at his servos. He can't even transform. Though he probably wouldn't want to, considering that the terrain seemed to be really uneven.
Why was he like this?
He knew he kept repeating himself, but... why did he look like this? He was human. But right now he was a mech.
"...Da fuck?" He muttered to himself and snickered.
Don't panic, he told himself. Do not have another panic attack. It would be very pathetic, but very understandable at the same time. But he didn't want to panic, he needed a clear head. He needed to be calm and focused. And do more important stuff. Like wonder where the hell he was. He was pretty sure he wasn't in Canada.
...Now that he thought about it, considering his appearance, he probably wasn't even Canadian.
"I need to know what's going on!" He screamed at the sky.
Like the sky was suddenly going to tell him what was what. He scowled to himself and continued to stare at the sky, backstrut straight and arms by his sides.
He frowned.
What was he supposed to do?
His only plan was to wander around until... something happens. Like waking up from this or... He didn't know. He sighed and lowered his head to stare at the ground. This was starting to feel hopeless. Was he going insane? Is that was this was? Because he's pretty sure that's what this is. Or who knows. This might actually be real.
He sighed and rubbed his face with both hands before he patted his cheeks. All right. No more feeling down.
He's got to do something other than sulk here. He hasn't walked this much in years. You'd think he'd be tired, but he felt all right. He idly wondered, as he walked forward, if he fell asleep now would he wake up in his bed. Or would he remain like this. He'd rather not know.
Just as he was about to contemplate finding a way to wipe the mud off he heard stomping.
Loud stomping.
He froze when he heard it, looking around and backing away when he found the direction the sound was coming from. Holy shit... or holy slag. It sounded huge. It sounded like there were a lot of them. He paused and waved his servo when he realized he was huge too. He can take 'em! Hopefully it's just some animals.
What came through the trees, however, made his optics bug out.
"Amp!"
...Was that fucking Optimus Prime?
He watched, dumbfounded, as three mechs ran through the trees and stopped a few meters from him. Optimus Prime. Ironhide. Ratchet. The sun glinted off their plating, making them almost ethereal. He must have looked stupid, standing there gaping at them. He looked at all three and slowly tilted his helm to the side.
What in the hell...?
"You're here..." Ratchet said, shoulders slumping and a relieved smile crossing his faceplate.
He blinked.
"You sure scared everyone!" Ironhide walked forward, into his space, and slapped his shoulder. He almost fell over, still dumbfounded. "They really fragged you up." He looked him over, and frowned at all the deep scratches on his body.
"I am sorry, Amp," Optimus stepped forward and placed a servo on his chest, head bowed with a regretful expression. "We would have found you sooner, had we had a lead. I failed you as a leader."
He blinked and stared at the three mechs. They had the same color scheme in the movie, but looked kinda different. He stared at them for a long, long moment, which made them uneasy. Ironhide and Ratchet glanced at each other while Optimus continued to stare at the red mech with worry.
They all jumped when he started laughing hysterically.
"I am so glad!" He leaned forward with a wide grin. "For a moment there I actually thought this was real!" He turned around and held his arms out, motioning towards the trees and then himself. "I mean, c'mon! There was no way this could've been real."
Optimus glanced at Ratchet, seeing him furrow his optic ridges worriedly. The medic stepped forward and held his servos up to get "Amp's" attention. When he did he motioned towards himself and the other two mechs.
"No, we're real. This isn't... You're safe, Amp." Ratchet's worry only increased when the grin diminished.
"...Wha... Wait... What did you call me?" He cocked his helm to the side and screwed his mouth to one side.
Ironhide frowned. "...Amp... That's your name." He looked worried, as well. "Well, it's actually Ampere, but we all call you Amp. Which you should know." He started to look suspicious.
"Amp" shook his head and took a few steps back. "N-No, that's not my name. My name's not Amp! You got the wrong man!" He chuckled nervously and swung his arms. "Y-You—no! That's not my name. Can't be." He held his servos out towards himself. "I'm not this Amp person—mech!" He continued to shake his head.
Ratchet frowned and looked at Optimus. "He's delirious. They had him for four months, Optimus. Who knows what they did," He spoke through the comm link, seeing an intense frown cross Optimus' face. "He may have even... created a world so that he didn't have to deal with the trauma."
"And what is your name?" Ratchet asked, stepping forward and waiting for Amp to make contact with his optics.
Amp opened his mouth and seemed to hesitate before his shook his head. "That's not important!"
Ironhide looked at Optimus and Ratchet sharply. "He can't remember his own name?" He frowned deeply, stepping around Amp to make sure he didn't do something like run away.
"You aren't real!" They were brought back to the situation when Amp held his hands up towards them, all three of them. A nervous grin was on his face, yellow optics wide with worry. "I-I mean, you're all fictional, so I just must've went crazy and I'm in my room!" He looked at the three of them with an overwhelmed expression.
"And... what do you mean by fictional?" Optimus stepped forward, seeing Amp look at him and jump at the fact that he shorter than Optimus. "What room?"
"Sheesh, the size difference..." He shook his helm and grinned at Optimus. "You're not real. You're fictional. You're from a cartoon show based on toys! Therefore, I must be dreaming!" He turned around and started walking around their little space between the trees. "I'd really like to wake up now!" He paused. "Please."
"Amp," He turned and cringed that he even reacted to the name. He startled when Ratchet grabbed his shoulders and stared at him. "Calm down. You're working yourself into a panic attack."
"I... I think I'm already having one." Amp gave a sheepish smile.
"I know." Ratchet gave a solemn nod.
Ironhide jumped when Amp suddenly fell over, optics dark and body limp. Optimus stepped forward just as Ratchet was retracting a cable back from the back of Amp's helm. He looked over Amp's body with worry, seeing deep gashes everywhere. He could see a few choppy weld lines. He and Ironhide grabbed an arm each, pulling the unconscious mech up.
"The trauma must have been too much," Ratchet murmured, staring at the red mech with pity. "But insisting that we're not real..."
Ironhide growled lowly. "What the frag did they do to him?"
"For now, let us bring our friend back to safety," Optimus reached up and touched the side of his head. "Major Lennox. We have found him." He glanced down at the unconscious mech.
"Thank god! Everyone back at base will be relieved," Lennox sounded very happy. "How is he?"
Optimus went silent and frowned, glancing at Ratchet to see him glaring at the ground. "...He has sustained mental trauma. However, we do not know the extent of his physical injuries."
"..." He heard Lennox give a remorseful sigh.
My pen for my tablet broke so I decided to finish this chapter, 'cause I can't draw until I get a new one. :V
