Disclaimer: I don't own TF or RvB.
Author's Notes: This chapters twice as long as the first three. Didn't mean for it to be, but I hope you like it anyways. It is SOOOO weird to update such short chapters, btw, I'm use to updating these huge things of like 5000 to 10000 words. X_X.
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It took twenty minutes to get to the Witwicky household, partially because of the distance covered in their little adventure and partially because of the sudden traffic as people sped off to see the meteor. They turned down side streets and back alleys Mikaela knew in the area and eventually turned calmly onto Sam's road. When they stopped outside the house, they found all the lights to be off.
"I guess they're asleep. Sometimes, Judy stays up or they're both watching the news when I get off work," Mikaela explained quietly.
After checking the streets to be sure they were clear of witnesses, the girls stepped out of the car and Mikaela trotted to the garage to lift the door.
They weren't outside for five seconds before New Bot spoke up. He kept his voice subdued, but he still seemed loud in the night. A dog started barking down the street.
"Is this the place?" he asked curiously. "Am I going in the garage? That's how you say garage, right? Garage? I like this place, it seems nice and peaceful. And pretty. Wow, look at all those flowers! Someone knows how to decorate! I can't wait to see them in the sun. I've never seen flowers before.. Ooh! Water! I've never seen water before either! Huh? Why are you waving your servos around – uh, I mean your hands? What does 'shhh' mean?"
Some desperately whispered warnings later the bot finally backed into the outer room that was usually occupied by Bumblebee. Since the Fallen's attack the yellow scout had gone to protect Sam while the boy studied, leaving the house behind. The young man's parents occasionally got a guardian of their own to stay with them when Decepticon activity picked up, but right now they were on their own. Normally, this made the couple currently sleeping nervous, but right now it was perfect.
The duo shut the door of the garage with some wary glances up and down the street before settling into the warm interior. The place smelled like most garages do; something like oil, cat litter, metal, and paint mixed together. It was kind of shoddy, but it was obviously well used. In the corner was a vast array of gardening supplies and concrete slabs. Everything was cluttered together, but preserved meticulously and very clean. Perhaps, then, the pristine pale colored designer car wasn't quite as out of place as he could have been. Eventually, Mikaela found a good spot on a nearby workbench to sit and, after clearing away some empty flowerpots, Maggie joined her, setting the bright box behind them. The box held one last donut by now.
"So…" New Bot intoned, trailing off invitingly.
The door just next to the girls opened.
"Mikaela?" Mrs. Witwicky's sleepily bewildered voice called out. The older woman stepped out and sized them up through squinted eyes and a frown. She wore a long white nighty, a pale blue robe, and Mickey Mouse slippers. She carried a bat in one hand. "What are you doin' in the garage? I thought someone broke in. Who's that? Is that Maggie?"
Maggie waved, "Hi, Mrs. Witwicky."
Judy placed her hands on her hips and blinked her eyes clear. She had obviously been very deep asleep when she'd shot out of bed ready to kill. "Well, gosh, could someone call me before invitin' people over to sneak into the house in the dead of night? Hello, dear."
A brunette and a blonde exchanged an embarrassed glance.
"Well? What's goin' on? Why are you sittin' in the dark eatin' donuts in the garage?"
Maggie spoke up while Mikaela lifted her hands in a placating gesture. "Ah, I'm sorry to have woken you up but there've been some major events going on this evening. This here is a new Autobot. He just landed and Mikaela and I found him. We were hoping he could stay here until the others can pick him up?"
Judy blinked at the sudden rush of words to her tired mind. She reached behind her and switched on the light, blinking again when she finally saw the new car.
"Hi!" New Bot exclaimed.
The red headed woman's slightly grumpy expression softened after a minute of processing and she smiled, even if her eyes still felt poofy. She sighed and shook her head, though she still sounded slightly annoyed, "Hello there, I'm Judy Witwicky. You're more than welcome to stay here however long you need to as long as you stay quiet, don't transform in public, don't step in the flowers, don't bother my dog, and don't shoot at my house." It was standard around here to lay down the most important rules straight up for new bots or else they walked all over the yard or repeated the same mistakes other bots had made before them. She wouldn't have that.
"Yes, ma'am!" The Audi seemed to salute using his voice alone. "Although, I dunno why anyone would want to ruin your flowers. Or shoot at your house. It's too nice to do that!"
"Why, thank you," Judy replied. She paused. "Now, what shall I call you?"
New Bot sounded sheepish, "Oh, sorry. How rude of me! Actually, I don't have an English name yet. My Cybertronian one doesn't translate too well, so I've been trying to think of a good one for Earth. I don't like any of the ones I'm coming up with, though. They all sound so harsh!"
The women nodded understandingly.
"I'm sure you'll think of something," Mrs. Witwicky assured him. She looked back to the two girls sitting on the work bench. "I think I'll put on a cup of coffee to wake us up a bit. I'd like to hear about these 'events' you mentioned."
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Apparently, Judy and Ronald Witwicky had gone to bed about an hour before the first meteors started hitting the planet. Always keeping tabs on world events and always quick to take a stance on those matters, they would have been some of the first to see the broadcasts on the shower of aliens had they stayed up. Twenty minutes after coffee was made, however, both wife and husband were wide awake in the garage watching the news on the living room TV with everyone else.
"Brand new HDTV in the garage…" Ronald had hmphed as he'd maneuvered the expensive electronic onto the previously occupied bench. "And now it's getting paint and garden dirt all over it…"
"Oh, quit your griping and turn it on already," Judy had waved as she settled four slightly dusty stools to face the screen. "Looks like spring cleaning's gonna take place early this year…" she'd added in a mumble.
Now, they sat entranced as the scenes started to replay, interviews and sightings that had been on before repeating themselves to fill in new viewers. The channels were switched back and forth, looking for anything new but it was generally the same every one. They eventually settled on switching between CNN and Fox before the black box suddenly lost signal, going snowy. All five of the garage's occupants were quiet while Judy lightly hit the side of the television and Ron checked that nothing had been unplugged.
"Did you, uh, call their leader? Optimus Prime?" Ron questioned from inside the house, breaking the silence. "Or something?"
Mikaela nodded before speaking up, since he couldn't see her, "Yeah, on the way here but he just answered a few minutes ago. He said it was good we found him, but to remain alert and keep my phone charged and available."
"That doesn't sound good," Maggie noted ominously, her chin resting on a hand.
The other girl nodded grimly, "The news said at least forty meteors. There might be more. One of them is sitting with us…Optimus's message sounded like… like to be on standby, in case he needs us to do something. I don't know what's going on but I'm definitely worried."
Judy turned to them, her eyes going wide. Then her face settled from horror to determination.
"I'll be right back," she said shortly and she reentered her house. The two young women found themselves concerned but soon the New Bot decided to speak.
"Uh oh…" the pink car monotoned dreadfully. He'd gone very quiet just after the television had turned on, enough so that even though they knew perfectly well he was there, he'd been somewhat forgotten in light of current events. Suddenly, he came back to life. "My team and I were surprised to find so much activity around while we were headed in. My commander said to open all frequencies to see if there was any chatter, but we didn't get anything, so he had us turn it off since we couldn't be sure if they were friendly or not. None of those other guys bothered to send any comms either. It was like they were ignoring us, and it put my superior on edge."
"Wait, so you have team?" Maggie attempted to clarify, skipping over the 'How much have you known since we found you and you didn't tell us?' part. "And you have no idea who the other bots were that you were flying in with?"
"Yes, and that's right. There are only four of us."
Maggie almost asked if he new if his team was still alive when the implication hit her. She looked to Mikaela and they both looked at Ron, who had stepped back outside just in time to hear their conversation.
"There are only four of you," he said slowly, "but there were at least forty other guys you don't know and who were totally quiet when you were entering Earth's atmosphere all at the same time." It wasn't a question.
"Um, yeah…Would this be a bad time to mention that the satellites have suddenly stopped communicating with Earth's surface? Worldwide?"
Silence.
"…and that my superior wants to regroup with the team as soon as possible?"
More silence.
"…and that it looks like the majority of those guys were Decepticon according to an update over Autobot frequencies I got a couple cycles – uh, minutes - ago?"
Staring.
"…yeah…I should have said something a little earlier, huh?"
Judy stumbled out of the doorway with two big backpacks in her hands. She was wearing jeans, a blue button up shirt, and her hair was tied back. On her feet were the best sneakers she had and squeezed under her arms were a pair of men's shoes and a full set of clothes.
"Ron, get outta those PJs and put these on," she ordered, setting down the backpacks and shoving the clothes into her husband's arms. "Change right there in the kitchen, don't go far. We're leaving."
"Leaving?" Ron gaped, but two younger voices had chorused with him.
"Yes, we're leaving. We're all leaving. We're gonna disappear into the night until this all blows over," she explained sharply, waving her hands about. She picked up the bags and started to head towards her own car, parked next to New Bot. She stopped. "No, not the car. You, new guy, you're going to take us somewhere safe."
"I am?"
Ronald was still having trouble catching up, his mouth working as he tried to piece together the same the same puzzle his wife had apparently already solved.
Maggie did it for him.
"You think they're coming here," she stated with comprehension in her serious eyes.
The air garage seemed stuffier all of a sudden.
"Yes. Yes, they did it once, they'll do it again. They'll take us and either kill us or kill my son. Well, they won't get us." She pointed at the blonde. "Maggie, you're in danger, too. You helped crack into their code. And you, Mikaela, are with Sam, so you're potentially a target, too. And if they get Mojo or Frankie? They'll have the whole world around their pinkies, I just know it!"
Ron promptly disappeared inside and shut the door, presumably to change. The two girls slid off their stools and checked over their things. Mikaela also checked her phone – no message yet. She supposed, by now, she was expecting one.
"Are we taking the car or…?" she asked, flicking her hair out of the way and looking between the family vehicle and the living one.
New Bot hesitated, "Uhh… I'm not sure I should. I mean, I've never driven anyone before. That's kinda weird and potentially unsafe for you. And you do have a car…"
Judy was already shaking her head, her eyes holding a slightly paranoid glint in them. "We can't take the car, they can track us down. Those monsters could be anywhere. Look at how they found Sam! And us! They found us in Paris somehow. I don't think I even told that many friends where I was vacationing, much less a Decepticon! You know how the government has all these cameras about these days? Well, there ya have it. If we leave in our car, they'll find us for sure!"
Maggie was nodding and Mikaela came to agree as well. As they looked to New Bot to hear if he had a say, Ron came back out in jeans, a red Hawaiian shirt, and sneakers. He was slightly out of breath, as if he'd changed at lightspeed. He held both of his dogs in his arms, who looked a bit confused.
"I left a message," he whispered conspiratorially, looking a little proud of his ingenuity.
"A message?" Judy quirked a brow.
"I recorded a message on our own answering machine, the landline. I said we weren't home, we went camping with friends. I don't know if it'd fool them, but if they check our phone to try to trace us, we might buy ourselves a few hours time to hide. Hehehe…"
Maggie's mouth lifted into a slight smile. "That… might work. At least until they check the area for parties and such and do a search, or something. We should also turn off our cell phones."
At the tone of approval, Ron's conpsiring laugh repeated itself.
"Okay," New Bot broke in sharply. He sounded rushed suddenly. "You'll need to hurry. Get your stuff inside – I hope none of it's fragile. If I need to transform, I'll have to eject everyone and your stuff from my trunk."
"Wait, why are we hurrying?" Mr. Witwicky asked with slight dread. Judy stiffened.
"Because Optimus said so," Mikaela answered heavily, her phone's display light reflected in her eyes. "Like, right now," she added, stuffing the phone into her pocket.
The room flurried into movement. Judy rounded the Audi Locus whose trunk was already open. She stuffed the bags in and, at the last moment, grabbed a small spare bag of dog kibble from a nearby shelf and shoved it in too.
Maggie slid into the back seat, her cell phone in her hand as she turned it off. Ron threw himself into the passenger seat. He was rifling through his wallet, and balancing Mojo on a knee. The dog did him a favor and jumped into the backseat onto Maggie, who was sitting just behind him.
Judy climbed in back as well, leaning towards the front to take Frankie from Ron's arms. He'd grown quite a bit since August, no longer puppy weight, but she managed to wrestle the pug into her lap.
Mikaela was moving the stools out from in front of the car. She placed them as naturally looking as she could along the wall in front of the TV, which was still plugged into the house through the door. It looked like she was going to be the driver.
"I, uh… don't really wanna be seen driving a, you know… 'light red' car," Ron explained when Judy asked why he wasn't heroically at the wheel instead.
Judy lightly hit his shoulder and settled back into her seat, rolling her eyes at the men in the world. "Well, so much for a knight in shining armor drivin' us to safet- "
"Knights in shining armor don't drive pink cars, Judy, they ride noble steeds. Preferably black," he cut in as she finished, throwing a look over his shoulder.
"I'll be your knight in shining armor and your steed!" New Bot interjected cheerfully, his voice seeming to come out from all around them. "Hey, I'm not black, but I'm a fun ride anyway!"
Ron pinched the bridge of his nose at the wording while Judy clapped, delighted, in the back.
"Perfect!" she grinned.
"Okay, New Bot, we're ready to go," Mikaela announced, getting into the front seat. She grabbed the steering wheel and pulled on the seat belt. She heard Frankie sneeze in the back.
"New Bot?" the car asked incredulously. "Ohh, I didn't tell you. I chose a name now!"
The garage door lifted open automatically since Mikaela had hit the button on her way to the car. Four pairs of eyes were glued to the street and four sets of lungs held their breath, as if expecting a sharp edged giant waiting for them just outside.
"What's your name, then?" Mikaela inquired softly, afraid to be heard by alien 'ears.'
New Bot didn't seem to have any qualms about speaking loudly, however, "Oh, I looked up those things you were eating earlier before the satellites and half the internet was shut down, and was pretty impressed with the results. They're visually appealing, sweet, popular, and best served hot. Just call me Donut!"
With that, he squealed out of the garage and took off down the street, the Witwicky household completely dark.
…Except when a wiry jet landed in its front yard not twenty minutes later and shoe its bright red optics into the front windows.
"Sorry for any inconvenience, but my wife and I have gone camping with friends for a couple days. We'll be back Sunday evening. Don't call animal rescue, we took our dogs with us; they're not abandoned or anything. Except Sam's goldfish, we couldn't take a fish camping. If ya leave your name and a number at the beep, we'll get back to you as soon as possible. Or never, depending on who calls. Thanks."
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A/N: I didn't plan for the Witwickies to come along for the ride. Honestly, I didn't plan for them to go anywhere. But then I remembered the shower of enemies the Earth is experiencing right now and, well, I guess they're on the move. :3 I wanted to include a call to Sam and also Prime's exact words but I thought this was better. And I also wanted Donut to share more information he has, but I figured I'd answer that later. Also, to me it feels like Donut was sort of only half there. Like his mind was somewhere else. Well, we'll see where it was next chapter. :3