23: The Adventures of Little Riley!
Chapter 23 - Enemy Or Ally
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Transformers Prime or the franchise. All characters (except Riley) belong to Hasbro.
The next day from Chapter 21...
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(~Riley's POV~)
My whole body felt like it was beaten death. Pain and cramping coursing through my body. I opened to my eyes only to be met with pitch black. I managed to turn my head and look to the side. There was a faint light from a keypad and door. Except the door was incredibly big.
I was laying on the cold, hard ground. As I used my arms to get myself up, I could feel them shaking. They gave out, making my head bang on the floor. If my head wasn't bad before, it was worse now. It felt like a bunch of drillers had entered and done something.
I moved my aching body so I could get up without crashing again. When I finally felt ready, I rolled over on to my stomach and pushed myself up. I curled my legs forward before getting my foot on the ground.
When I was finally on my two feet, I struggled to keep my balance. After regaining it, I looked around. The ceiling was very high and the door still looked pretty big. When I tried to remember what happened, I was blank.
The last thing I remembered was leaving the candy shop. Anything past that felt like a barrier blocking the way. I just couldn't remember, it throbbed my head to try. Was I kidnapped? Where is here? Why am I here? Why is the door so big?!
Before I could question any further, a flickering light came to life. Soon it held a steady source of brightness, still dull but now everything was illuminated. There was chains hanging from above, crates piled up on the far right side, and a spot of red on the ground. Right where I laid.
I felt the back of my head and sure enough, I was bleeding. I soon felt stitches there too. Did I accidentally open them? But why did I have stitches? Now everything was getting more confusing.
That's when a huge figure came into the room, rumbling the floor beneath my feet. I nearly lost my balance again but soon it stopped. When I looked up, I was shocked at the sight. It was a giant robot!
I went into a full panic mode, flinging myself backwards, breathing heavily. My body violently trembled as the figure got down on one knee and looked at me. He had red eyes and his head kind of looked like a bucket?
"There's no need to be afraid little one. I won't harm you, I want to help you." He said gently. His voice suggesting he didn't usually talk like that.
I wasn't so sure. He didn't exactly look friendly, his eyes piercing my body. But I'm not rude. Can't judge a book by its cover.
"What happened...where am I?" I asked quivering still. He smiled kindly at me before lending out his very big hand. His fingers looked pretty sharp...actually more like claws than fingers.
I cautiously went up to him and on to his hand. He carefully stood up and looked at me, the light providing a better look. His face was scarred, pretty big eyebrows, and his head still looked like a bucket.
"Your upon my ship, the Nemesis. You are safe here. As of what happened, we saw you unconscious on the side of the road with an injury to your head. My doctor fixed it up for you. You can thank him when we go see him." He finished explaining calmly. I nodded my head in understanding as we left the room and down the dark halls.
A few mins later, we arrived in what looked like a medical room. I looked around, noticing metal beds and tools. Monitors and counters lining the walls.
"What are you guys? And why are you here?" I asked more curious then scared now.
"We are robotic organisms and we come from Cybertron, unfortunately there was a civil war and we were forced to leave our beloved home." A red mech explained walking past.
"This is Knockout, the Decepticon Medical Officer." Megatron introduced.
"So you guys are like aliens? And what's your name? Also nice to meet you Knockout!" I said waving at the mech. He seemed more friendly than the one currently holding me.
"We are a different species aside from humans. There are currently two sides in our race. Autobots and Decepticons. As for me, I am Lord Megatron. Leader of the Decepticons." He explained, proud of the fact.
"That's pretty cool. And are the Decepticons the good guys?" I asked. I felt like I was asking too many questions but I needed and wanted answers.
"There is no such thing as good or bad in a war. It's all dependent on your view. But if we are being less technical, we have a better cause. We fought for equality among all Cybertronians! The Autobots didn't like our methods and waged war against us." Megatron told me, like it was a history lesson. I nodded my head, understanding what he meant.
"Oh shoot! Uh you guys don't me haha...uh my name is Riley! Riley..." I trailed off not remembering my last name. Also when I said 'Oh shoot' it didn't sound right. Like I would normally say something else. When I tried to remember more, again my head throbbed in immense pain. The same barrier blocking me from remembering.
"Riley Hayes." I finally said, shyly smiling at Megatron. I assumed it was Hayes since my parents were Rachel and Lawerence Hayes. Megatron seemed satisfied at my answer...why?
"It is nice to meet you Riley." He said smiling wide. "Knockout will check up on your injury, if you don't mind." Knockout walked up, waiting for me to approve of him carrying me. I nodded, smiling kindly as I got myself up and exchanged myself from Megatron to Knockout.
"Hmmm, it seems the stitches opened up but not to worry! It's an easy fix. Stay here and sit still" he instructed as he placed me down on a metal table. He walked away, grabbing something before heading back. Megatron stood at the side, watching with his hands behind his back.
That's when I noticed the huge canon on his right arm. That was pretty cool. Then I heard a fizzling sound behind me, I turned around and saw a human? I looked back at Megatron, hoping for an explanation.
"It's called a holoform. We use it so we can walk among humans. They don't know we exist and we prefer to keep it that way." He explained as I felt Knockouts holoform touch the back of my head. He moved my hair, carefully touching the wound. I winced in pain, trying to not cry out loud.
He apologized as he started to stitch it back up. When he was done, I thanked him. Now it was super sore, oh how I wished aliens had pain killers. Almost like he read my mind, a water bottle and a pill in Knockouts human hand came into my view. I took it immediately, not realizing how dry my throat was.
His form disappeared, his original body returning back to life. Megatron came forward, asking how I felt.
"Fine now. I feel like everytime I try to remember something, there's a wall. And it hurts." I said, carefully rubbing my head.
Again, he looked satisfied by that. Then he spoke up.
"Perhaps it was caused by the injury. Do you remember anything about your childhood?" He asked. I looked back at him confused before Knockout stepped in.
"It's just to make sure not too much of your memory was lost." He explained in a professional tone. I nodded my head as I started to try and remember.
I couldn't remember anything. I remembered school but not how I got there or got home. I couldn't even remember my home...I don't remember moving to Buffalo but I did remember moving here. For some reason, parts of my life at Buffalo seemed chopped up as well. Parts were missing and the wall was still there everytime.
I told Megatron and Knockout about that, both seemed interested but happy as well. After I was done, Knockout went to his monitor and typed away at it. Megatron watched him for a second before facing me.
"Knockout is a good doctor, I'm sure he will be able to help you. For now, you must be getting back home. We will be in touch soon Riley." He said, reminding me. Oh jeez, how long has it been? My parents must be worried sick!
I nodded my head as Megatron put his fingers to where his ears would be. He started to talk to someone, talking about opening a groundbridge?
A swirling, blue and green portal appeared beside him. Megatron looked at Knockout who gave a thumbs up. Then he scooped me up and carefully placed me on the ground in front of the portal. I looked up at him, unsure but he reassured me.
"It's ok, it's set so you'll be outside of your home. It won't hurt you, eventually you'll get used to the feeling." He said, gesturing at the 'groundbridge'. I waved goodbye and stepped through. Next thing I knew, I was outside my home. It was like magic!
Then the portal closed, leaving me on the sidewalk. I walked up to the house and opened the door. "Mom? Dad?" I called out.
Soon I felt two pairs of arms wrap around me, followed by sobs of relief.
"Riley where were you?! You worried us sick!" My mom exclaimed, slightly shaking me. Lawerence looked like he could've had a heart attack. Both of them though, oh boy. They looked 10 years older, dark circles under their eyes and completely pale.
"Apparently I got injured but someone helped me and dropped me off here. I'm sorry you guys." I said reassuringly, hugging them. We all stood there for a few mins, hugging each other.
"Because of that scare Riley, you owe me a game." Lawerence said, pointing at the game cube I got for my birthday. I smiled challengingly at him, "your on!".
Rachel watched as Lawerence and I raced each other in a racing game. So far I was winning but he ended up crossing the finish line first. I'm not sure why but I felt like I've played these games all the time. Not sure with who but with someone and I always lost to them.
"What happened to your head?!" Rachel suddenly asked worried. Right, the stitches.
"The person who saved me had a friend who stitched me up." I said trying to calm her down. She was just looking intensely at it, gushing over how it could be infected, and a bunch of other stuff.
"I'm no doctor, well for humans, but we should get it checked at the hospital. Just in case." She said a bit more relaxed but still tense. Lawerence nodded in agreement so we made the trip.
Once we entered, we waited in the waiting room. It felt like an hour till my name got called. You think Jasper's hospitals wouldn't have long waiting times but nope, same as every place. But when they called my name, I was confused. They called me Riley Pax. Was Pax my actual last name? But Rachel and Lawerence were my parents and have the same last name, so why didn't I?
I didn't get a chance to question it as we were directed to an empty room. I sat on the leather bed, seat, thing. The paper covering it, crumpling underneath me.
That's when a woman entered. She wore a beige sweater with a nurses outfit, it was a pretty cyan. More greenish but still pretty.
"The patient is Riley Pax. Alright..." she said jotting down something on a clipboard. Right, my last name. Before I could speak, the nurse spoke up again.
"You said she got an injury to the back of her head and it was stitched up. You just want it checked?" The nurse asked. My parents nodded before moving out of the way.
"Hello Riley, you can call me Nurse Darby. Now if you could turn a bit so I can see the back of your head." She said in a calm and motherly tone. I turned and felt her touching it. I started to wince again, curling my hands into fists. Once she was done, she noted things down.
I turned back around, looking at my parents who mouthed 'you're doing a good job'.
Nurse Darby looked again, examining each stitch in place. She did a 'huh' before turning to face my parents.
"Well whoever did it certainly did a good job. It doesn't appear to be infected but if you want to be sure, I can take out the stitches and check further.
"Uh no thanks!" I said quickly, hopping off and going to my parents. They looked at me confused but saw I was pretty defiant on the decision. I've had enough pain to my head today sir!
"I trust your word Nurse Darby. Thank you very much." My mom said, shaking her hand. The nurse smiled back, saying her goodbyes. We all left the room and after some talking with the front desk, we left.
I decided not to bother asking about the whole last name ordeal. Didn't seem necessary plus at least I knew now.
(~The Next Week~)
I had been thinking about the whole event that happened last week. This new alien race? Their tech? The answers I got to my questions? It all felt like too much to comprehend. My room also felt different. When I looked in my closet, I found two boxes that I had no idea existed.
When I looked inside one of them, it had photos of the robot aliens. I had this but didn't remember? Jeez how much was I missing out on. But did I know them before meeting Megatron?
There was also a letter and a note, each ending off with a name and having my own. Ratchet and Optimus was what I got. The letter said they missed me. The note mentioned something about lessons? Now I was super confused and I intended to question Megatron about it.
I also found papers with weird symbols written all over. It looked like I wrote it but how was the true question. There was a translation sheet, thank goodness. Turns out it was just my name and random stuff on the pages.
The other box had a lock on it, which I was determined to open. But I couldn't find a key or anything to unlock it with. I would probably have to use a tool from my dads garage.
But the most interesting discovery was metal on my chest! I mean, actual metal. It's basically attached to my skin or is apart of my skin. I wasn't sure which one but the sucker wasn't coming off.
I decided to take a stroll outside. Just to clear my uncompleted head from all this madness. I was greeted by Megatron not long after. Well, human Megatron. I felt like I've seen him before but again, that wall stood there proud and strong.
"Hey uh Megatron." I said as he walked alongside me now. He suddenly stopped, looking in a certain direction before leading me down a different street. When I looked behind me, I saw a familiar blue motorcycle and yellow with black racing stripes, muscle car. I could've sworn the motorbike moved on it's own. As for why they felt familiar, well I'm sure you can guess the pattern here.
"It is nice to see you again Riley, doing well?" He asked wrapping an arm around my shoulder so that I was closer to him now. I nodded my head, smiling kindly at him.
"I have a lot of questions Megatron, like a lot." I stated, throwing my hands in front of me. He saw how confused I was and called for a groundbridge. He then lead me to an alleyway where the portal waited.
We both looked behind us, making sure no one could see. I saw the same 2 vehicles, parked across the street. Were they watching us? New question to add to my list for him now.
Once we were aboard the ship, Megatron's holoform disappeared and the real Megatron walked into view. He offered his hand which I climbed on to and we travelled down the halls to a room full of screens. Again, so familiar!
"Soundwave, this is Riley. Riley, this is Soundwave, our Communications Officer." Megatron introduced to me and to the mech. He had a visor on and seemed a lot like Slender Man. I waved politely at him, he just nodded his head in return. Then he went back to whatever he was doing.
"Now what are your questions?" Megatron asked, looking down at me. That's when I kind of went rapid fire but he didn't stop me nor get confused. Impressive.
"Why do I have pictures of other robot guys? Who is Optimus and Ratchet? Why did they mention lessons and missing me? Why is there metal on my skin? Were those two vehicles following us? Did I know these guys before meeting you?"
"Every question about the bots will be answered in full explanation later. The metal on your skin was by Knockout, there was a chunk of skin missing so we quickly replaced it. The two vehicles, I noticed something but I'm not sure what." He finished smiling.
I could tell the last part was a lie but maybe it was for the better.
"So explain the Autobots." I said, crossing my arms. Megatron called for Soundwave who turned around. His visor came to life as Megatron explained. It felt like a tv show.
"The Autobots, whom you already know, are at war against the Decepticons. After centuries of war, we came here to Earth to seek refuge. The Autobots and Decepticons scattered to the stars but Optimus Prime also chose to come to Earth. He is the leader of the Autobots and the last of the primes. A corrupted council of bots who believe in separating those by class. Decepticons do not believe in that though, we believe in equality. We may have approached it the wrong way but we mean well. I tried to talk to them but they didn't listen. When some methods don't work, force is required. Do you understand?"
I nodded my head. I understood where Megatron and the Decepticon cause came from now. If that's the only way to get those to listen then maybe it's for the best. I once heard this saying that relates to this. No sacrifice, no victory. But the force became a war, a war that ruined their home. The Autobots didn't sound bad themselves but why would they try and pound Megatron's idea. It's like they didn't want him to rise up against them. Maybe the Autobots are working for that council and the primes!
"As for why you have letters and pictures from them is because they captured you long ago. You were their...test subject on how humans function. They wish to wipe this planet clean and remake Cybertron using your planet. You were very young and easily persuaded into their cause. We were lucky to get to you before they could cause any harm. As for why you don't remember that stuff could be a result of them." Megatron added.
He seemed very convincing, and I believed the words he fed me. It didn't seem rehearsed or fake. Like he's telling the truth. I saw him for what he was now. An ally. A friend.
"I believe you Megatron." I said, looking away from Soundwave's visor and at Megatron. He looked back at me with gentle eyes. I smiled in return.
I hung out with the Decepticons after that. I got to know the main crew and meet a lot of the Vehicons. I asked a few more questions here and there, all getting answered to great lengths. For some reason, the Decepticons, seemed like the family I never had. Dysfunctional but still a family.
"Knockout?" I asked swinging my legs from where I sat. He was currently buffing himself while I watched from the table. "Yes Riley?" He said as he struggled to reach a spot.
"Hold up, give me that! I'll help you." I offered, standing up and holding my arms out. He looked unconvinced I could do it but I would prove him wrong.
"You-you actually got the spot. Thanks kid." He complimented after I got it. I smiled back with an 'I told you so' look.
"So what was your question?" He asked putting the buffer away.
"Oh right, why are you guys called the Decepticons? Sounds a lot like deception and that's not a nice word."
"Ah that. You see, it's a scare tactic for the Autobots. They used it as an insult but the armies and cause have since taken the name and saw it as something to be proud of." Knockout explained proudly while pointing at the symbol on the monitor.
"Do you think one day I could have the symbol?" I asked looking at the cool insignia.
"Don't see why not. Only if your wanting to join the cause and war."
I nodded my head at that. I wanted to help them. It wasn't fair what the Autobots were doing, and I don't do that kind of stuff.
Megatron's voice suddenly rang out in the room, requesting my presence. Knockout escorted me there, in style of course! His sleek car driving through the halls with ease. It was amazing and super fun! One day, I'd have to join him in one of his races he mentioned.
Once we reached the communications room, Megatron and Soundwave stood there, looming over a monitor. When he heard Knockout's engines, he turned around and greeted us. Knockout let me out before leaving. We said goodbye to each other before I went up to Megatron.
"It's time you return home. Do you wish to have a regular visit upon the Nemesis so you can learn more about our kind and history?" He asked, bending down to my level. I nodded my head excitedly. I did want to learn more and become closer to each bot on board the ship.
"I also want to join you guys, if you don't mind." I mentioned sheepishly. I twiddled with my fingers and didn't make eye contact either. I was nervous of how he would react but he didn't seem to mind.
"Of course you can. There isn't a problem with it at all." He said as he got up. When he thought I was looking down still, he smiled evilly at Soundwave. I didn't dwell about it though.
"Soundwave is opening a groundbridge for you now. We can discuss visiting later this human month. And one more thing." He quickly added, raising his finger. I looked at him to continue.
"If you join our ranks, you'll need a different name so the Autobots won't recognize you."
I thought about it before agreeing with him. I nodded my head and headed for the open groundbridge. I waved goodbye and entered my home once I was out.
Once I was in my room, I thought about everything I had learned and just did. It was all exciting and amazing. That's when I had to tell my parents that I wanted to change my name but I would need a reason.
"Mom? Dad? I want to tell you guys something" I called out from my room. I heard their footsteps coming as I prepared and mapped out my words. They entered and sat down beside me on my bed.
"What is it sweetie?" Rachel asked, hand on my back.
"I want to change my name. Since we are back in Jasper, I want a new me. Ya know?" I said, trying to sound convincing. They gave each other odd looks but turned sympathetic afterwards.
"If that's what you want. What were you thinking?" Lawerence asked. I thought about it for a moment before declaring it out loud.
"I want to be known, not as Riley Pax, but as Raina Hayes."
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