Heheh, i just got done writing chapter 16...

You guys are going to hate me when I eventually upload it.

Enjoy! For now... XD

~Silverleone

"Neal, we're here." I groggily sat up, looking around. I saw we were sitting on a lookout above a city.

"Is that where the girl lives?"

"Yes. Shall we?" I shook myself awake and nodded.

"Let's do this." Something dawned on me and I looked down at myself. "But first...I need some clothes..."

'No wonder everyone was looking at me weird at the hospital. I'm still dressed for the mountain…'

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We pulled into the parking lot of a small store. I stepped off the bus and shut the doors, pretending to lock it. I walked inside, ignoring the looks because of my snow gear. I hurried to the clothes section before picking out two pairs of jeans and shirts, along with a pair of shoes. I quickly stepped into a changing room to check that they fit. I stepped out and spotted the lady working the changing room.

"Excuse me, could I check out and then come back here to change? I'm in a big hurry."

"You can actually check out back here. Just keep your receipt handy for the gals upfront."

"Oh perfect, thank you!"

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I checked out and hurried out back out to Renegade. I was checking the receipt over when I heard some voices. I looked up to see a couple of guys standing around Renegade. They looked like your cliché goons you'd see in a comic book. Spiked, brightly colored hair and leather vests. I saw one had a pipe in his hand.

'Why?! Why me? Of all the crap-blasted days!'

"Dude! This would make a great camper!" I sighed and kept walking. I stepped right up to a guy standing next to the door and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, I need to get in." The guy turned around in surprise before grinning and leaning against Renegade, folding his arms with a smug look on his face. He smelled like alcohol. Lots, of alcohol.

"What? There's no way this is yours!" I rolled my eyes, meanwhile thinking something up.

"It's actually my dad's, he and I are spending the day together. Now excuse me." The guy still didn't move, a bigger grin growing on his face.

"Oh, a daddy's boy huh?" I lowered my brow at him, noticing his buddy turning towards us in my peripherals.

"Look, I only get to see him once a year. So if you'll excuse me." I tried to grab the handle, but the guy slapped his hand over it. I stepped back and sighed, trying to quell any annoyance. "May I, help, you?"

"If your dad's so loaded, then he won't mind sharing." I'm surprised his face didn't split open with how wide his grin was. I noticed his friend move behind me. Fed up with this whole situation, I looked to my right.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." The guy's eyes widened and looked over my shoulder. I ducked when I heard a grunt, and something swung over my head. I dropped my bag and turned, kicking my leg out to the side. It caught the guy behind me in the shin with a crack. I saw the metal pipe hit the ground as he cried out and I lunged for it. The first guy had gotten over his shock and was stomping over to me. I barely managed to deflect a punch with the pipe while stumbling back a few steps. Then using both hands, I swung as hard as I could into the guy's gut.

"Oof!" His arms wrapped around himself and I struck him in the back with an elbow, knocking him to the ground. I looked at the pipe before dropping it on his head in disgust.

"So uncivilized..." I moved around the second guy, who tried and failed to grab me. I grabbed my bag and hopped in Renegade. "Go," I said before even sitting down. We rolled out of the parking lot. When I looked in the rear view, I saw the first guy running after us. "Seriously? This guy just won't quit."

"We will lose him soon enough." Renegade peeled out of the parking lot, easily losing the punk. I sat in my seat and Renegade spoke up. "So, I am your father now?" I looked out the window, my face flushing just slightly.

"It was a spur of the moment idea. Sadly didn't work too well. But I mean, you are probably old enough to be my father anyways."

"Neal, how old are you?" I could detect a hint of amusement in his voice and raised my eyebrow.

"20, why?"

"I am approximately 220,385,000 years old." I nearly swallowed my own tongue.

"Tw-hun-WHAT?!"

"We Cybertronians live much longer than you tiny humans do." I gave the dash a disgruntled look, folding my arms.

"Hey, we live quite long, thank you very much." I shifted in my seat. "And I'm not tiny. You're just massive." I could feel his amusement through his engine.

"Your life span is but a glimpse of the time my kind can live." I sat there in silence, mulling this over. We were both silent for a moment when he spoke up again. "I didn't think you capable of harming others. You seemed very…compassionate towards that other boy." I snorted, then chuckled. There was no humor behind it.

"Learn something new every day." Renegade didn't respond. I rolled my shoulder a little. The sore muscles my parachute had nearly torn had been aggravated when I had swung that pipe. Stupid body.

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Thankfully, the car ride went by quickly. Eventually, we pulled up to a college campus, rolling past it slowly to pull into a couple parking spots. I heard some mechanisms shifting in the bus and a hologram grid appeared on the window. Students started filing out when the bell rang, squares appearing on each face and marking them with an 'x'.

"Right on time." I noted.

"I have an internal clock that is accurate down to the nanosecond; I can be very accurate." I looked at all of the students coming out, sighing when I thought back to high school. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing, just thinking back to a couple of years ago."

"...There she is." I looked up and saw the window lock on to a girl stepping out of a building. I watched closely as she walked down the steps, only to be stopped as another girl came running out after her, probably calling her name. I watched as they conversed for a minute, then went their separate ways. Following the first girl with my gaze, I saw her get on a pink motorcycle and ride off. My eyes flicked back to the other girl and watched as she got in the passenger door of a big green truck.

"Well, no way to talk to her now. Should we follow her?"

"Indeed." Renegade pulled out and started tailing the bike.

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"Why is she going into the desert?"

"They must have their base of operations out here, away from human civilization."

"Fair enough. But how do you know that is where they are going?"

"Because that vehicle is an Autobot."