Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers. All recognizable characters are the property of HasTak. All unrecognizable ones are the intellectual property of yours truly; their theft is punishable by severe voodoo-induced pain in any and all sensitive organs of the body, followed by eternal damnation.

Because, you know, stealing is wrong. (Which is funny because I totally ganked this disclaimer from Vaeru, with her permission of course.)

Rated: T. For mild cursing, violence, and other adult themes that will probably ensue.

Contra Mundum

Chapter Ten

"Why does anyone lie? Cause we're scared or crazy or just mean? There's a million reasons why a person lies. But sometimes you tell a lie so big that it changes your whole life.."

-Willy Jack Pickens, Where The Heart Is

The commons room seemed different now, even though absolutely nothing had been physically changed. The generator on the side of the room however, seemed to be more labored than usual. It was sputtering and setting off quite a lot of sparks. Soon it would die completely and David would either have to do what he could to fix it or go find a new one.

Not that any of that mattered.

Aside from the generator, the crappy fluorescent light still flickered and water still dripped from an unknown source above and within the ceiling, slowly forming slimey wet trails that all led down through into the darkness that was the second right-hand tunnel. Green algae traced the edges of the trails, and made them highly unpleasant to touch.

David stood for a while in the entryway of the commons area, with his back slumped forward and his arms hanging heavily at his sides. He wanted to be alone. He wanted to be somewhere quiet. Unfortunately, the generator seemed to be doing a good job of destroying any sort of peace that could be held in the commons area. With an annoyed grunt, the man turned towards his room at the end of the far left tunnel.

But once again, David realized that he would find no blissful silence even in his own room. Through the thick concrete over his head, he could just barely make out the sound of muffled voices. It wasn't very loud, but it was enough to nag him in the back of his mind. The man's face twisted and contorted into a deep frown; he did not even want to be remotely reminded of the presence of his unwelcome guests.

There was no other place in the Safe Point where David would find stillness. The generator in the commons area could very well explode at any moment, the voices of the last individuals he would ever want to see could be heard in his room, the machines in the control room would be just as bad as the generator, and the storerooms were far too cramped for the tall human. David plopped down defeated onto the cool floor of his room. God, he just wanted a moment. Just one quiet moment so he could forget everything.

There was one other place though, David gradually realized. He grimaced; it was not an area of the Safe Point he was particularly fond of, though it had always been vital for his survival. Despite this, dark childhood fears always compelled him to stay away from it unless he absolutely had to: the reservoir at the end of the second right-hand tunnel.

The reservoir had been there before the Safe Point had been passed on to David, and it may have been there even before the Safe Point was established. Rainwater and the trickling of old broken water lines that once fed into apartments and business buildings constantly supplied the black underground lake. How big and deep it was, David never knew. There was no light there, and the beam of a flashlight was swallowed by the heavy darkness after only a few feet.

The first time David had ever been there was when he was still traveling with other humans as a teenage boy. Jeb had brought him up to Dallas from Houston, against his wishes. It was still early in the invasion and safe passages from Safe Point to Safe Point were still being mapped out. Traveling was dangerous and slow, and humans were still easy pickings for eager Decepticons. With a shove his large guardian sent the scrawny runt of a teenager down the second tunnel from the right to fetch some water.

David still remembered his first trip down there. How scared he had been, and how angry he had been at himself for being scared. Jessie stopped being afraid of the dark when she was five and there he was at the age of thirteen scuttling down a murky tunnel with his heart trying to hammer its way out of his chest. He came to the water's edge and shined his flashlight out onto the basin. He had seen no end to black water, and the glow of his flashlight disappeared beneath its surface revealing nothing of its depth. In his young and imaginative mind, a foolish fear whispered thoughts of a horrible monster bursting from the water and dragging him under to some unfathomable fate.

It was now fifteen years later and the human still heard the irrational fear mewling in the back of his brain every time he shuffled his nervous feet down the damned second right-hand tunnel.

There was a dull thud somewhere above David's head, and a muffled voice increased in volume. The mechs on the street above were bickering. The man groaned; he really needed to be somewhere quiet.

With no small amount of reluctance, David picked his tired body up, and dragged his feet down the dreaded dark tunnel. He kept to the edge, just like he always did, though this time he didn't care to use his flashlight. It was all the way back in the control room anyway. Instead, David trailed his hand across the slick surface of the wall, constantly reminding himself of the actual geography of the passageway to keep thoughts of boogeymen away. The feeling of the algae under his hands made him want to wrench his hand away and squirm until the memory of it faded.

Focusing so hard on trying to keep himself calm, David did not realize how far he had come until the tip of his boot splashed into the edge of the water. With a gasp, he jumped backwards before letting out a sigh of relief, partly for there not having been someone nearby to witness his jitteriness. The thin man took several deep breaths, calming his nerves and his heart, and eased himself into a seated position with his legs crossed.

In darkness and in silence he sat. Somewhere far out in the blinding shadows, David could hear soft dripping sounds as water leaked and fed the expansive reservoir. The air was cold here and it soothed David's sun scorched skin. Perhaps it wouldn't have been such a bad idea to stand in one of the mechs shadows during their long exchange. Surely an impressive sunburn had appeared somewhere on the human's body; he really hoped it wasn't on his scalp.

David had to admit; it was nice. He managed to force his fears into the corner of his mind and as long as he didn't humor them, they held no strength. The whole experience reminded him of a similar event from his childhood.

When he was ten years old, David and his family visited the underground caverns in Central Texas, not too far from where he resided now. It was a long walk down a boarded walkway into the gaping maw of a dark cave. As a popular tourist attraction, many other families were there with children the same age as David and others who were younger. None were younger than Jessie though, who was four at the time.

Flashlights jumbled in the dark as braver children rushed forward, only to have their arms or the backs of their shirts caught back by ever-watchful parents. As they reached a large and domed room, the guide instructed the group to turn off their flashlights and sit in silence. Younger children, and even some David's age, wailed in protest. After much shushing and convincing from parents, all flashlights went out one by one.

Some kids persisted to whimper after the lights went out and parents again tried to sooth them. Jessie whined and clutched their father's neck in a death grip. A girl next to David, younger by maybe a year or two, began to giggle. The boy turned to the direction of the sound and even though he couldn't see her, he began snigger too. Behind him, David's mother shushed him but he couldn't stop himself. The giggle spread throughout the crowd and soon the dome was filled with incessant laughing and shushing. From somewhere in front of him, David heard the guide sigh in aggravation.

He felt for the guy now, having had his fair share of "tour groups". Only he didn't take them on a fun-filled trek into mesmerizing caves or beautiful forests. He tried to keep people alive and together, tried to get them somewhere safe. And he had failed many times. That was to be expected, of course. "Can't win them all," as the saying goes.

Mimicking the guide from all those years ago, David let out a long and tired sigh that echoed across the water of the reservoir. He fought down a surge of guilt that bubbled up at his last thought. It came up anyways, and popped out as a strange sounding hiccup. The man cupped a hand over his mouth and leaned forward with a groan.

What should he do now? There was a handful of mechs just above his head offering help and waiting for him. It was late and it wasn't much, but it was still help they were offering.

That's if they're telling the truth, David reminded himself. Over the years, he had received many warnings over the telegraph concerning Decepticons posing as traitors and offering help. It always ended the same way: some idiotic sap would fall for it and lead said Decepticon to a Safe Point, which was soon obliterated, people and all.

He wouldn't risk that, not David. There were not many Safe Points left anymore and any between Dallas and the Rockies were small. The mechs would want to be lead to the nearest and biggest settlement, which would be Oasis. The next biggest would be Endicott, and that wasn't far from Oasis. All the settlements in the Rockies weren't far from each other and if one went down, the rest would fall like dominos. He needed to lead them away, far away. Even if it meant getting himself killed.

That meant David needed to lead them south. Decepticons typically did not travel north if they didn't need too. The cold affected their bodies and their scanners, plus there was more energy to be reaped from warmer climates like the tropics. This fact allowed humans to dig out a living in the mountains in the Rockies and further into northern Canada, and even into the Arctic Circle. Mountains were more ideal however, because they were less harsh than the Arctic Circle, the forests provided excellent cover, and the terrain made it impossible to be followed by anything on four wheels.

The Decepticons must be getting desperate to eliminate the problem humans posed as a waste of resources if they were willing to go into the mountains and suffer the cold. Well, that was just too damn bad.

David didn't remember much of the geography or the terrain of the coast or the land further south into Mexico, but he did remember the area in and around what once was Houston. Major landmarks and buildings would be altered now and it was very dangerous being so close to the coast, but he should still remember the way.

I've been meaning to go back home anyways, the human thought wryly to himself with a smile.

His scheming was abruptly interrupted when a huge splash rang out in the darkness beyond the concrete shore. It was close too. David flung himself backwards and let out a noise he never knew a grown man could make.

Arms wind-milling, fearfully scuttling backwards, David slipped on the damned algae before sprinting all the way down the tunnel towards the common area and never once looked back.

"You let him go?!" shrieked Sunstreaker angrily, throwing his hands outward into the air. "Did you forget the big welcoming party he threw for us?"

"Didn't you see him after he found out almost his entire race was killed off by only a few Decepticons? You probably would've needed to be left alone for a while too," Jetfire countered defensively.

"He needs to have his alone time regardless," muttered Bluestreak. In response, Sunstreaker sent him a glare that could've sent the very air on fire. The gunner wisely took a step backwards and out of arm's reach.

"This is stupid!" Sunstreaker announced while still glowering in Bluestreak's direction. "Why are we still standing here? We're just handing him a wonderful second chance to try and kill us and I am not going through all that again!"

The Lamborghini held out an arm to Jetfire.

"Look at that! See all those scratches and little dents? They might not be so small next time! We should go back to where we're actually needed!"

"Look around, Sunstreaker. See the lack of intelligent life, the crumbling structures? I think this qualifies as 'in need'," the jet explained in a stern voice. He was very quickly losing his patience with the yellow warrior. Inwardly, Jetfire sighed with relief that Sunstreaker didn't wail about his damaged paint job any more than he already had.

"And furthermore, if you had been spending less time whining about being apart from your brother and your paintjob, you would have noticed the numerous sources of energy on this planet." He pointed a white hand skyward. "This planet's sun alone generates enough energy to supply an entire unit! This planet is most likely the reason the Decepticons have not been slowing down. They have a constant energy source while we do not."

"Won't do any good if the locals don't want us here," Hound pointed out. The other Autobots didn't fail to notice his adoption of the accent the organic had spoken with, but they didn't point it out either.

Jetfire then, fell eerily quiet. But the look on his faceplate said it all. Almost all at once, each of his fellow Autobots nodded in understanding and Bluestreak's optics went wide. If they relinquished the planet from Decepticon control and the locals still opposed, they would have to play the role their enemies did and occupy this world. None of them liked the idea of it, and certainly no Autobot would. But they were fighting a losing battle and they had to do what they could to survive, especially in regards to such a valuable energy source.

It wouldn't have been the first time they had to.

"You guys are really, really loud," said an annoyed voice below the mechs.

Jetfire almost jumped back in surprise. Poking up out of the small hole in the ground was the upper body of the organic that had almost killed them all. The jet sank back down onto one knee and leaned towards his level.

"David, you came back."

"Of course I came back," replied the small creature gruffly as he heaved the rest of his body out of the hole. Strapped across his back was a long piece of curved metal Jetfire recognized as a portion of armor. The makeshift leader repressed a grimace: Decepticon or not, he really didn't want to imagine how David came into possession of the thing. Jetfire continued to watch curiously as David reached down again and pulled up a hefty (compared to his size anyway) sack. The mechs surrounding the hole took several steps back to allow more room.

"What is all that?" he asked, gesturing to another sack the human heaved up.

"What's it look like? I'm on board with you guys," he replied nonchalantly. Almost immediately, all the tension in the air evaporated. Bluestreak and Hound looked to each other and smiled in relief. Even Sunstreaker seemed less cross. Though in all honesty, the jet wasn't sure if there was ever a moment when the warrior wasn't cross.

"You're going to help us?" asked Trailbreaker hesitantly.

"Mmhmm," the human murmured followed by a sudden air intake. "You gotta plan?"

Author's Notes: Ok, here's the issue with the reservoir. The thing was there before the Safe Point was made, so it used to be filled with natural underground rivers. (That probably isn't true at all for Dallas, but that's what's fun about pretend.) So there are fish swimming around in that that feed on the algae. After years of no predators, those suckers get HUGE. So that's what that splash was. No 'Con, no monster.