Chapter 1: Windfall Part 1
(Alternative Title: And So It Begins)
He could feel a strange sensation wash over him, his eyes taking in the pink book in front of him. He leaned against his older cousin's shoulder, his eyes never straying as Rachel picked the book up. When he touched the lock, it opened, and he felt an overwhelming feel of hostility.
Something about this felt wrong, as though he should not have been scared, that he was not the intended target of such anger, but it was suffocating all the same. He felt his grip on Rachel slip away, a weightless sensation settling over him, and when he looked up, he found himself staring into the eyes of a blue robot.
When he opened his mouth to speak-
-the alarm clock started beeping.
Rad groaned as he turned over in his bed, blinking blearily as he grumpily slammed his hand down on the 'off' button of his digital clock. He sighed as silence reigned once more throughout the room, and he closed his eyes while his brows furrowed in irritation. He could already feel the details of his dream slipping away, and he wondered how long this was going to last.
The blond had been nervous about staying with Rachel, as even though he loved her, he knew that there wasn't much they could do together with most of her time being taken up by her classes or her evening job at the town's bed and breakfast. Rad frowned as he pulled his pillow to his chest, arms wrapping around it to rest his chin on the soft down. He hadn't wanted to leave town, to be uprooted by his parent's constant moving like what he'd watched his cousin go through over the years; the repeated pattern of going to a new town, settling in while your parents did their thing, and then only to move back and feel like an outsider because everything just seemed different no matter how little time may have past.
Rad was lucky that all parties had agreed to this, and he was immensely grateful to his cousin for letting him use her spare room. He didn't want to bother her with his nerves of being away from his parents, or the weird dreams that seemed to be occurring in the two nights he'd already spent here.
This was his choice, he couldn't forget that.
Opening his eyes once more, Rad dragged himself out of bed and made his way to the bathroom with a clean change of clothes. When he was finished in the bathroom, Rad made his way towards the kitchen where his cousin had already gotten dressed and was drinking her morning coffee while intermittently eating her cereal.
Sitting down in the seat across from Rachel after retrieving his own bowl, Rad reached for the box of Frosted Flakes in the center of the table and the milk next to it. Breakfast had always been a silent affair, as Rad discovered that Rachel hated mornings just as much as he did, but he didn't really mind as it gave him time to clear his head for the day.
Rachel patted down the pocket on her vest, frowning as she furrowed her brow. "Go get your shoes on; I need to go get my keys."
Rad nodded silently as the blonde got up from her seat, both mug and bowl empty. The boy hurriedly finished his cereal before he gathered up all the dishes and put them into the sink, and placed the milk and the Frosted Flakes back into their respective areas. He walked over to the shoe rack by the door, and avoided bumping into his bike, something his parents had gotten him so Rachel didn't have to worry about dropping him off at school when she had to go to early classes.
When a scream came from Rachel's room, it sent a jolt through Rad that chased the remaining drowsiness away as he ran down the hall. He leaned on the doorway, his eyes searching through the room for any sign of a disturbance, but all he could see was his cousin staring down at a parcel in her hands, the top of the brown paper ripped and clutched tightly in her grasp, her face full of surprised horror.
Rad furrowed his brow as it registered just what the parcel was, and it confused him greatly as to why Rachel would be so scared of a pink book. "What is it? What's wrong?"
The blonde slowly began to exhale, her eyes never losing their intensity as she dropped the book into one of her drawers and scrambled over to her desk to place the top of the chair against the drawer and backed away. She ushered Rad out of her room, the end of her keys digging into his back before she closed the door behind her and turned Rad around, her gaze locking onto his and her expression now dead serious.
"Rad, just where did that package come from?"
"Well, Aunt Joy stopped by yesterday while you were still in class, and she wanted to drop off a few things for you." Rad explained nervously. "She said that she and uncle both cleaned out the attic, and they found something which they thought you would like. Whatever I did wrong-I'm sorry, please don't be mad at me!"
Rachel sighed, her expression softening. "I'm not mad, it's just…I need to have a talk with my parents about giving me stuff they think I'd like." She grumbled. The blonde smiled, but there was still an uneasiness to it that had Rad wondering just what the real problem was. "We better get going; I don't think your friends are gonna like waiting around."
Rad nodded reluctantly as he went to retrieve his backpack, but paused as he stared at Rachel's door, his brows furrowing as it felt like there was almost something really in that room. His cousin nudged him on the shoulder, and Rad snapped out of his daze to trail after her. He paused once they were out in the hall as Rachel locked the apartment, and they were off yet again for the elevator; he wanted to ask just what was so worrisome about a book, but he could see the agitation under the smile Rachel mustered up and he didn't want her to rethink the cave exploration he and Carlos had talked her into overseeing.
Alexis had thought they were dumb to go off unsupervised to a cave, but had inexplicably changed her tune when Rad brought up the fact Rachel was going to be coming along. He figured it was just that Alexis saw his cousin as one of those 'responsible adults'.
Once they reached the lobby and went outside to the parking lot, Rad took his usual spot in the passenger seat while Rachel turned on the engine of her beat up blue and yellow car. The car ride was driven in silence as Rad could still see that his cousin was a bit more freaked out by the book than she let on; just what about it was so disturbing?
When they stopped by Carlos' house, the boy was waiting outside with the exploration equipment his father was letting them use; Rad guessed it mostly consisted of flashlights, energy bars, water bottles, and a strict promise from Rachel that she'd bring Carlos back in one piece-a first aid kit was also likely included in that bag as it was to be almost expected from kids running around outside.
"Hey, man." Carlos high-fived Rad as the blond lowered his window for the express purpose of doing just that before the brunet got into the backseat. "Ray; where can I put this?" he asked hefting the second pack with him.
"Set it in the trunk, that's where your backpacks are gonna be going after anyways." Rachel replied.
"So, are you both super stoked to go exploring?" Carlos asked excitedly as he put the duffel bag into the trunk behind his seat. After he put his seatbelt on, Rachel pulled the car off the curb and drove down the block towards Alexis' house.
"Totally." Rad said as he turned in his seat to fist-bump Carlos' hand.
When Rachel reached the Alexis' home, Rad's neck was beginning to ache from having looked over his shoulder the entire time while speaking with Carlos. To spare himself more pain, he sheepishly realized that he probably should have sat in the back in the first place.
"Um, you can have the front seat." Rad said to Alexis as he got out of the car, and the girl nodded before primly getting into the passenger seat, and the blond rushed around to the other side of the vehicle before hopping into the seat behind Rachel's. "Okay, that's all the stops we have to make."
Rachel rolled her eyes. "Except for school, of course. It's not gonna be magically three o'clock just because you say so."
Rad rubbed the back of his neck as Carlos snickered. "Right, kinda slipped my mind."
Alexis shifted in her seat, and she reached into her backpack to pull out a small box wrapped in a red ribbon. She held it up to the blonde before Rachel could start driving again. "This is for you," she said and her face flushed faintly, "just to say thank you for chaperoning us."
"Well, you didn't have to, but thank you." Rachel said as she opened the box, and Rad peered around her seat to see a small key with a pink circle at the top and a five-pointed star in the center while on both sides of the circle were two tiny wings. He blinked, only to find that the key was now a dark-colored mood ring.
'What just…nah, I'm probably thinking too hard about it.' Rad thought, but he still felt curious despite himself. He caught Rachel's narrowed gaze in the rear-view mirror, and he sheepishly grinned at her before buckling up.
Rachel shook her head as she put the box into her pocket and set the car once more into drive. "Just to set up some ground rules; we stick together in the cave, no going off on your own, and when I saw we leave, you listen-got it?"
"Yes." The three children chorused.
Rachel nodded. "Good, and I'm glad to see at least one of you dressed appropriately."
Rad rolled his eyes as Alexis flushed, as while both he and Carlos were in their sneakers, shorts and t-shirts, Alexis was wearing hiking boots, cargo jeans, and a long-sleeved shirt. "Even when we're not in school she's a suck up."
Alexis turned in her seat to glower at him. "I heard that."
Rad looked out his window bashfully as Carlos once more snickered.
Furrowing his brow, Rad blinked as he rubbed his eyes. 'Oh no, I fell asleep again.' He thought, vaguely recalling resting his eyes when his history teacher started on one of their lectures. Rad flushed as he saw that the room was completely empty, and wondered just how long he'd been like this. 'Why didn't Carlos and Alexis wake me up?' he looked up at the clock, but felt immensely confused when he saw that the time hadn't passed at all; it was still ten a.m.
Rad got up from his seat and made his way up towards one of the large windows. His eyes widened as he took in the night sky, with stars twinkling overhead, but this only had him feeling even more confused. The blond made his way out of the classroom and hurried down the hall toward his locker, but when the school began to shake, he stopped abruptly.
Rad looked towards one of the walls, blinking as he found that there was a window there now, but what was happening outside took precedence. He ignored the fact that the surroundings around the school mirrored that of the mountainous range of the Black Hills and that the sky was now as blue as could be; no, his attention was focused solely on the two giant robots.
While the room shook when they grappled with each other, Rad could hear absolutely no other sound when the green and purple one with the antlers opened its mouth to speak. The other one consisted of red, blue, and a bit of yellow; it had a metal plate over where its mouth would have been, but the fact it pointed at the other gave Rad the impression it was talking as well.
Neither robot gave any indication that they were aware of the bizarreness happening around them, but Rad took in every detail he could, including the purple emblem on the green and purple robot, and the red emblem on the other one.
Rad didn't look away until he realized he was holding something in his hands. He blinked as he stared down at a pink book, which he recognized as the one Rachel freaked out over. Rad frowned as he felt the same overwhelming hostility from it, but when he blinked again, the book had been replaced with a small green shield embedded with several purple stones. "What…?" he asked aloud, but as if in reply, the shield glowered and floated several feet away from him.
Rad was dimly aware that the scene outside was no longer there, and the sky was dark once more, leaving the glowing shield to be the only bright light against night backdrop. The blond pulled away on instinct when a robot just a bit shorter than him appeared in a burst of rainbow light.
It tilted its head, and Rad stared back at it. Something about this felt painfully familiar, like he knew this blue robot from somewhere, only that he had been the smaller one. Rad found himself reaching out to the blue robot, who lifted its own hand to meet his.
Rad felt he should know its name, that the designation was just at the tip of his tongue. "Hi-"
"Mr. White!"
Rad's eyes snapped open, and he found to his embarrassment that he'd just been caught sleeping in class. He flushed at the feel of a dozen eyes looking at him and the snickering throughout the room. "Um, I was just resting my eyes?"
"This is the second time I've caught you sleeping in my class; one more and it'll be detention for a week." His teacher said sternly. "Now before Mr. White dozed off, could someone please explain the phrase from page…"
Rad leaned down on his desk, barely managing to restrain himself from banging his head against it.
When the final bell rang, Rad was deeply relieved despite how Alexis was staring at him with disapproval clear in her eyes. Carlos only looked at him sympathetically, but hadn't resisted the rib against him about how even he hadn't fallen asleep in English class.
Rad sighed and rolled his eyes as he leaned against the front door, his backpack slung over his shoulder. "How is it my fault anyway if the teacher's so boring he puts kids to sleep?"
"Not kids, just you." Carlos retorted, but Alexis' glare intensified.
"If you don't get good grades, you'll never get into college and you won't have any career options." She said.
"Says the girl who wants to be president." Rad retorted. "Well, not everyone has such big hopes for themselves; some of us would just be happy with a quiet life."
"We're kids; do we really need to be talking about this anyway?" Carlos questioned. "My mom's already been getting on my case lately about grades and stuff; I don't need it from you too, Alexis."
The brunette only huffed, but her features softened almost immediately and a faint blush appeared on her cheeks. Alexis scurried down the steps of the school landing and rushed up to Rachel's car as the blonde got out.
Rad shook his head as he and Carlos made their way toward the vehicle, and he saw his cousin looked much more relaxed than she had this morning. "Good day?"
Rachel's smile widened. "College might be stressful, but it was enough to take my mind off…" she trailed off, and her grin faltered for a moment. "Never mind," she said and opened the trunk, "alright, bags in; I wanna be back before dark and we'll stop for ice cream, how's that sound?"
Rad's face lit up and with the rushed way both Carlos and Alexis scrambled to throw their bags into the trunk and get their own respective seats, the promise of ice cream was just as appealing to them. The blond was a bit miffed that Alexis took the passenger seat as he hadn't offered to give it up this time, and he sullenly got into the backseat.
The blond leaned against the window, his eyes gazing absently over the landscape as he thought of his dream, and the foggy details he could just barely remember. He hated how that worked, as he felt he was missing something important; he'd had a weird dream for two nights, and now he'd had one during the day: what was his mind trying to tell him?
Rad opened his mouth, but caught himself in time before he could speak. As much as he wanted too, he wasn't quite sure how to broach the subject with Rachel or if his friends wouldn't tease him about it in the first place; they wouldn't be a problem, but he couldn't risk anyone else overhearing if they wanted to talk to him about it out in public. 'Just glad that Billy decided to skip today or I'd have been made fun of for that stint in English class.' He was distracted by Rachel driving past a house that had Alexis peering out at it, her brow furrowed in consternation. "Something wrong?"
The brunette blinked and glanced back at him. "No, just that my own cousin's family isn't back yet from their trip to Hong Kong. My mom got a post-card from my aunt that they'd be back soon, but that was almost a week ago."
"Maybe they just got held up at the airport or something." Carlos said, but he crossed his arms and puffed out his cheeks. "Besides, your cousin's kind of annoying."
Alexis glowered at him. "Kelly is not annoying; she just knows what she wants." She said and turned up her nose. "Which is more than can be said for some people."
Carlos' brow twitched. "Well excuse me for wanting to enjoy being a kid!"
"Now, now, settle down you two." Rachel warned. "Don't make me turn this car around."
Carlos grumbled apologetically as he hunkered down in his seat, while Alexis fidgeted as her mumbled out her 'sorry'. Rad was left bemused by how Rachel could get them to stop arguing when he couldn't. 'Is it because she's the adult?' he assumed that was the reason, on Alexis' part anyway. Rad nearly shuddered at the idea of Carlos only listening because he had a crush on Rachel; all it would take is his friend making one off-hand remark about how 'hot' she was and things would get incredibly awkward. 'Friends are supposed to goof around and play video games, not talk about how much they like that friend's cousin.'
Though it hadn't happened yet, Rad secretly dreaded the day Carlos would slip up and say something about Rachel to him.
The rest of the drive was uneventful, as Rad only stared out at trees he'd seen before on car rides with his parents. When Rachel parked at the bottom of the mountain, Rad got out and stretched his limbs while she pulled out the duffel bag from the trunk. He paused when his cousin went over to Alexis' side and the girl flushed when Rachel opened the door before leaning down to rifle through the glove compartment in the dashboard.
"I asked Marty for advice, and he said-" Rachel paused as she looked over both Alexis and Carlos, who were furrowing their brows at the unfamiliar name. "Er, he's the professor's aide-anyway, I asked him since I was going to check out the caves with you three, if there was anything more to bring along. He suggested that if by chance we do get separated, that we should be in contact, and since I can't trust cell reception up here…" Rachel held up four walkie-talkies for emphasis.
Carlos excitedly grabbed the one offered to him and turned on the switch, grinning as it clicked on with static resonating from it. "Cool, I feel like we really are gonna go on one of those adventures that my dad always talked about."
"And a walkie-talkie is what does it?" Alexis quipped, and Carlos glowered at her. They both straightened up though when Rachel gave them another warning look as she handed Rad another one of the talkies.
"Now, keep these on at all times, and you will be so sorry if you break this rule. I'm in charge of your safety, and I take this very seriously." Rachel said, her tone stern and commanding.
Rad nodded right along with his friends, but once he saw the unnerving look in his cousin's eyes pass, he found himself growing hyped as well. "Can we at least race up the mountain?" he asked, but winced when Rachel glowered at him. "Too soon?"
The blonde rolled her eyes as she began her hike up through the trees. "Don't make me issue the buddy-system, 'cause I'll have you all hold hands."
Rad and Carlos reeled back from Alexis, whose eye twitched as she jerked away from them as well before sprinting after Rachel. The two remaining followed not long after.
"That won't be necessary." Rad said hurriedly, and Carlos nodded along with him.
Rachel sent him a sly smirk, but failed to notice the sullen look that crossed Alexis' face. "Just be sure to stay in sight, and we won't need to use the walkies, okay?"
"Yeah, I got it." Rad muttered, his face flushing as Rachel reached back to muss up his hair. He petulantly pushed her hand away, as things like this were meant for just the privacy of Rachel's apartment; he still had some dignity to preserve after all.
As they hiked up the hillside and the cave got closer, Rad began to feel a strange sense of déjà vu as the trees were thinned down until the rocky formations started to appear. When the group approached the cavern entrance, Rad froze as he saw the large alcove between two mountains, and furrowed his brow as he had a flash of two robots grappling there.
"Hey, hurry up, man!" Carlos yelled.
Rad snapped out of his daze, and he found that the other three were already in the cave with Rachel handing out the flashlights. He sprinted to catch up with them, and flushed under the raised brow Rachel sent him. "Sorry, just thought I saw something on the cliff side-probably nothing."
The blonde hummed noncommittally as she handed him a flashlight and clicked hers on, the children following suit. "I get being distracted by your surroundings, but now's really not the time, okay?" she asked and Rad nodded solemnly. "Good, now stick close and follow me."
Rad rolled his eyes when Alexis sidled up next to Rachel, while he and Carlos lagged behind just a little. He pointed the light around the cave walls, and he wondered just how far this cavern went. He paused when he felt a pounding start to resound through his head. He clutched at his skull, his eyes closing tightly as the aching grew; there was something at the back of his mind, something he thought he should remember, but what-
"We'll be able to play together real soon, you'll see!"
Rad gasped, his eyes growing wide. "High Wire."
Carlos looked at him strangely. "What? Dude, do you need air already?"
Rad's eyes only widened a fraction more as he looked past Rachel and Alexis, a tug in his mind as he could feel the stirring of something else in his head. It was still faint, but as if in response to his voice there was a warm feeling washing over him as though it was happy he was here. Rad rushed past Alexis and Rachel, the latter of who he could hear shouting at him to stop, but he ignored it as the feeling only grew stronger. 'I'm almost there.' he thought, but where 'there' was he had no clue.
With the flashlight not pointed in front of him, Rad was more surprised than he should have been when he found his next step not touching the ground. He screamed as he found himself tumbling down a short slope, the warm and fuzzies replaced with unrelenting terror that he'd just done something monumentally stupid.
Rad groaned as he reached the bottom, only coming to a stop when he felt the solid, flat ground beneath him once more. Disoriented, Rad was vaguely aware that his name was being called again, and it took an even longer moment for him to realize where it was coming from. Rolling onto his back, Rad squinted against the light being shined down at him from the top of the slope. "I'm alive, I think."
Rachel's relieved sigh was echoed throughout the cavern. "That's good," she said, but then her tone became furious, "because I'm going to kill you myself!" The blond saw his cousin turn to his worried friends. "Stay here, I gotta go check on Rad-and I mean it you two." She said harshly and carefully slid down the slope, and when she reached him, Rachel's expression was set between relief and anger. "What were you thinking? Oh, wait, you clearly weren't!"
Rad groaned as he pulled himself into an upright position. "If it's any consolation, I don't think anything's broken."
"It's not." Rachel said flatly. Her touch was surprisingly gentle despite her anger, and she checked over Rad thoroughly for any sign of scraps and cuts. His arms and legs were littered with them, but nothing was bleeding. "After, I'm taking you to a doctor and seeing if there's any worry for a concussion-or just to check if you have a brain at all."
Rad grimaced. "I know you're mad, but I had a really good reason for running off, I…" he trailed off, as once the pain began to leave him; he felt that the presence at the back of his mind was startlingly close.
"You have a reason? I'd love to hear it." Rachel said annoyed.
Rad frowned as he got back to his feet, which hurt more than he cared to admit, and gingerly picked up his flashlight. "It sounds weird, but I thought that there was something down here." He said and set about looking over the cavern with the flashlight.
Rachel snorted. "Rad, the only reason I agreed to bring you three here was that I was sure there wasn't anything here."
"No, I'm serious; I really think-" Rad stopped as the light glinted off a green glint in the ground. "Look, I found something."
Rachel frowned as she approached the glint, and knelt down to dust away the dirt. "This is strange; I've never seen this kind of shield before." She said once she cleared the debris away, while Rad was left stunned to see a small green shield that had been in his dream. "It looks too small to be a standard shield, and much too ornate; it could have been a decoration, but it's still in better condition than I would have expected from being in a cave."
"Pick it up." Rad said, his eyes locked onto the shield.
Rachel looked up at him incredulously. "What? This is still a discovery, we can't just take it."
"If you won't, then I will." Rad said, letting a pained grimace cross his features as he forced himself to start walking over. 'I hate to think about how much I'm gonna hurt tomorrow paying for that stunt I just pulled.'
"Okay, okay." Rachel relented and Rad halted. She reluctantly started to feel around the edges and began to jimmy the shield out of the ground. "We'll take it with us, and tomorrow I'll bring it to my professor to carbon date it properly."
Rad nodded absently, his eyes still locked onto the green plate. Being so close, he could feel a strange surge from shield, and he leaned in expectantly, but not quite sure what he was waiting for as he reacted to the joy that washed over him.
Rachel grunted as she pulled the plate free, her expression momentarily set in triumph before it turned to shock and surprise as the panel began to glow. She dropped it and reeled back, falling onto her backside as two beams of light shot out through the cave ceiling; one green, and the other yellow.
There was utter silence for a moment, but the cave ominously started to shake.
"Earthquake!" Rachel shouted horrified, and she quickly shot to her feet.
"Wait, grab the panel!" Rad exclaimed, but when Rachel gave him an annoyed and incredulous glare, he stood firm. "We're not leaving without it!"
The blonde rolled her eyes before quickly stuffing the panel into the bag, and she supported most of Rad's weight onto her as they precariously made their way up the slope. Carlos and Alexis helped pull them up onto the edge, their faces laced with terror but Rachel's features were calm despite the tight grip she had on Rad's wrist before hauling him onto her back. "Alright, let's get out of here."
Both of the kids nodded, and the three of them promptly began sprinting out of the cavern, and once they were out in the clearing, Rachel set Rad onto one of the boulders as she caught her breath while the younger blond winced as he could now see the litter of scratches on his arms and legs more clearly; his friends cringed as well, but now that they were out of immediate danger, Alexis glared at him.
"What we you thinking? Do you know how-"
"It's alright; I already gave him the riot act in the cave." Rachel interrupted, her expression tightening. "And there's going to be plenty more after we get back to town."
"Oh man," Carlos clutched his hair and looked worriedly out in the direction of Lincoln, "what if the town's been hit? We have to get back there pronto!"
Rachel nodded tiredly. "Okay, but let's try and keep calm." She said soothingly.
Rad reached into the bag, and pulled out the plate. "Besides, look what I found? Isn't it cool?"
"Whatever." Carlos said distractedly as he kept glancing in the direction of their hometown. "Can we just go home?" he asked as he looked pleadingly at Rachel. "I really wanna make sure my parents are okay."
The blonde knelt down to the ground, pressing her hand to it as she waited for any tremors. "Sure, but we'll have to watch out for aftershocks, okay?"
"Earthquakes aren't supposed to be happen here, are they?" Alexis questioned uncertainly; while Rad wanted to make a crack about her not knowing something, he felt shaken about the fact it could be the panel in his hands which caused the problem.
"I need to talk to you." Rad said quietly to his cousin, who frowned worriedly.
"Alright." She said and looked between Carlos and Alexis. "I should patch up Rad, so can you two make your way back down the hill? I know this is a lot to ask, but you have to be strong right now, okay?" she said softly.
Alexis wrapped her arms around herself, but Carlos nodded determinedly.
Rachel smiled at them both as she took the first aid kit out of the duffel bag and handed it to Carlos along with her car keys. "You can put the radio on if you want, but no joyriding." She said sternly, though there was a playful edge in her expression to try and offset the fear they were feeling.
Rad wasn't sure if it worked, but at least his friends didn't seem like they were on the brink of freaking out anymore. He waited until they were out of earshot and disappeared in the treeline before he waved the plate at Rachel. "Do you think it could have been this?"
Rachel frowned as she began to dab at the cuts along Rad's leg. "I don't know; it just doesn't seem logical. How could pulling a shield out of the ground cause an earthquake?"
"Maybe it was on a fault line?" Rad offered, but even to him that sounded dubious. He winced when Rachel began cleaning the cut on his forehead before she put a Band-Aid over it. "How much trouble am I in?"
"You are so grounded for the weekend." Rachel said flatly. "The only reason I'm not grounding you for the week is because I'm more relieved you're alive." She explained, her voice softening at the end. "Now, how do you really feel?"
"For the most part, I'm just aching but nothing's sprained or broken." Rad replied honestly.
Rachel nodded, but she still supported his weight against her. "We'd better get going; if we felt the quake, I'm going to be dealing with some worried parents."
Rad looked up at her as he held the panel under his arm, but froze as he spotted a gathering purple mass in the sky. "What the heck is that!?"
Rachel furrowed her brow, but when she looked up in the same direction, she let out a loud gasp. "I don't know, but I sure know don't wanna find out." She said and hurried out of the near desert-like mountain range towards the treeline.
Rad tried to hobble along quickly, but his movement stopped all together as out of the light a robot materialized, and the image was so startlingly familiar, that Rad could do nothing but stare as Rachel's grip on him tightened. "It's a giant robot…"
"I can see that." Rachel hissed under her breath.
The robot glanced around at its surroundings, but then its gaze landed on the two blonds. Its red eyes narrowed, and Rad felt a chill go down his spine as he realized it was staring at him. "You," it stated weightily, a metallic edge in its masculine voice, "will hand over that Mini-Con panel and I shall spare your pathetic lives."
Rad blinked, as he found himself amazed that the robot could speak, let alone be able to talk in English; how had that happened? It took him a moment more to register that it was also talking about something that the blond couldn't quite grasp. "Mini-Con?" he questioned, and he felt Rachel stiffen next to him.
"We don't have what you want." She said tensely.
The purple and green robot narrowed its eyes further until they looked like slits. "Do not attempt to lie to me; I can clearly see that other fleshling holding it."
Rachel looked down at the plate as Rad did the same, before she looked calmly up at the robot though Rad felt her grip had not lessened in the slightest. "And how do we know you'll let us live if we do?"
"If you do not, I most certainly will kill you." The robot rumbled.
Rad's eyes widened, but he felt a protectiveness towards the panel in his arm. He didn't know just what was so special about it, just that he'd gotten in a lot of trouble for it. "Not a chance!"
"Rad!" Rachel scolded, but the younger blond shook his head.
"No, I'm not letting him take High Wire." He said, the name slipping out on accident.
Rachel's expression went slack, her eyes widening. "High…" she trailed off, a deeply troubled look crossing her face.
Their attention was abruptly turned back to the large robot, whose on face was contorting darkly. "Such unwise creatures you are." It said with a quiet ominousness. "I will simply have to take it from you then."
"Stand down, Megatron."
Rad's attention snapped to the side of the area, where he felt another sense of déjà vu as he took in a red and blue robot standing majestically against the sunlight. Even if he was still wary, he felt immensely relieved when the purple robot turned its ire toward the other with a clear look of disdain.
"Prime." Megatron growled. "This mini-con panel is mine; you will do well to stay out of my way."
"I will not let you attack the inhabitants of this planet." Prime replied firmly.
"Then so be it." Megatron said darkly, and without another word, he lunged for the red and blue bot, who met him head-on in a stale mate.
Rad was struck with a rather intense case of déjà vu, his mind overlapping an image from his dream with the one in front of him. He felt almost detached as he held the green plate in his hands, but that was where the familiarity ended as Rachel began put a finger to her lip and quickly had him climb onto her back before she began a hurried trek back towards the car.
Glancing over his shoulder, Rad was tense the whole was down, as even when the trees began to cover their escape, he still worried that any moment they could have noticed he and Rachel were gone. When his cousin reached the bottom, Rad cringed as he heard a furious metallic roar ring out that sounded suspiciously like the baritone from the purple bot.
Alexis, who had been leaning against the passenger side door, jumped and Carlos yelped from his place in the driver's seat. "What was that?"
"Is it an aftershock?" Carlos called.
Rachel didn't answer as she ushered Rad into a seat, and quickly got Carlos to trade places. "Buckle up, and hold on-I'm about to break the speed limit in the next two seconds."
Rad didn't waste time, and when those two seconds had gone by, he was pressed flat against the back of his seat. He turned his head to see if he could spot either of the robots, but when he remembered the weight in his hands, the blond realized that there was a much bigger question at play. 'Just what did that purple robot want with this 'mini-con?''
And try as he may, Rad still couldn't quite grasp why that term was so familiar to him.
If you noticed the change I made to the beams High Wire sent into space from three to two; I realized it wouldn't make much sense for there to be three. One would be for the mini-cons, and the other would be a general signaling. To have beams meant specifically for the factions to pick up would imply that the Autobots or High Wire himself wanted the Decepticons to show up on earth as well; by making the only other beam a neutral yellow, I hope I've softened the implications.
