We had been tailing them for quite the distance, my eyes having lost sight of them after a while. I was looking out the windshield when I noticed that we were heading into a canyon.

"Woah..."

"It appears we are heading into trouble."

"Have they noticed us yet? I feel like they should have by now. You're a little big to be an inconspicuous tail."

"They knew long before we left the city." I sat up straighter.

"Why haven't they done anything?"

"They called in support." I looked ahead and saw that the bike had turned around and was being tailed by a big semi.

"Let me guess, you might be getting in a fight."

"Only to allow us an escape. I will not harm them unless necessary." We rolled to a stop, and the others did the same. Looking around, I saw we were trapped on all sides but the rear.

'Perfect. Not!' I saw the girl get off the bike and take a few steps away.

"I believe it's time to show ourselves. If you would," His door opened and I stepped out, standing a few feet away from him as he shifted into his humanoid form. I watched as the other bots did the same. The tallest of the two was the semi-truck, its color scheme seemed to be a mix of red and blue. The smaller one had changed from the pink bike, giving it a slim appearance.

I took a closer look when I realized it was balancing on one wheel instead of two legs. It bent down and spoke to the girl. They traded a few words and the girl nodded. With the wind blowing around, I couldn't pick up any of their conversation. The leader walked forward, calling out to Renegade in a voice that seemed to shake the canyon.

"State your alliance."

'Who dropped the bass on this guy?' I thought. Renegade had a fairly deep voice, but this guy was going to set off the Richter scale. Renegade held up his palm, showing them his symbol.

"Former Decepticon." The robot behind the leader had changed its arm to some sort of large gun. The leader held out a hand, and after some hesitation, they changed it back to their arm. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Former?" The leader raised its eye ridge.

"I am no longer associated with them. I did not like their ways. They were...cruel." Renegade spoke as he stood tall, not bowing in the slightest. This bot had to be about the same height as Renegade, but maybe it was just the angle I was at.

"Why should we believe you?" The pink bot spoke up in a female tone.

"You might not. But I only wish to live in peace. I do not want war." He grabbed the symbol in his palm and tore it out with a draconic snarl, tossing it to the ground like it was the scum of the earth. The pink bot's eyes rested on me. She spoke after realizing her leader was stuck in thought.

"Why do you have a human with you?"

"I saved him from a storm. I had to reveal myself to do so." The blue and red bot nodded, thinking for a minute longer.

"Have you harmed him?" I could feel the underlying warning, and took a step closer to Renegade, wanting to be near him if we had to make a quick getaway.

"No. I have been careful. Although, he had not made it easy for me at the start." I caught a look from him and bowed my head, a little embarrassed. The other bot motioned to me with a hand.

"May I speak to him directly?" Renegade hesitated, but nodded, stepping back to give the bot room. The massive form moved forward, bending down on a knee. "May I ask your designation?" I stared for a minute, then snapped out of it and coughed.

"Uh, yeah. My name is Neal." His eyes studied me for a second.

"Neal. My name is Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. Has this bot hurt you in any way? And I ask with you to be honest." I shook my head.

"No. Not intentionally, at least." Optimus' eyes narrowed and I backtracked a bit, holding up my hands a little. "I mean, he is a 40 foot metal robot and I'm only 5'5" and made of flesh. So to me it's understandable if I'd get banged up a little bit." Optimus searched me for a minute, gauging me. He stood back up and stepped back.

"He is not lying, you haven't harmed him."

"I did my best to be careful. I know how...delicate these humans can be."

"Delicate? Watch it Sparky!" *CLANG* "Ow, ow, ow, stupid, idiot, freakin-!" I bounced on one foot while I grabbed the other in pain. Renegade rolled his eyes, knowing the only thing truly hurt was my ego. I settled down and listened to the conversation in between the two bots.

Well, I tried to focus, but small pebbles kept landing near me. I looked around, but I didn't see anything. I turned to face the robots again when I got hit in the back of the head.

"Ow! Alright who has-!" I spun and paused when I saw the girl from earlier ducking behind a rock. I rolled my eyes. There was no doubt that everyone knew exactly where she was. I looked up at Renegade and saw he wasn't focused on me, so I decided to see what the girl wanted. I went around the other side of the rock quietly, walking up behind the girl with my hands in my pockets.

"Where'd he go?" Stage whispering, classic. "Maybe I didn't get his attention?"

"Oh, you got my attention alright. Hard to ignore a rock to the back of the head." She spun around to see me leaning against the rock. "Now, what do you want?" I stood up straight, giving her a look. The girl, who had a blue streak in her hair, didn't just enter my private space, she annihilated it.

"You're both new, how did you get stuck with big boy over there? Did he kidnap you?! Are you trying to escape?"

"No, he actually saved me from a bad storm. Now, why were you throwing rocks at me?"

"Um...it was her idea!" She pointed to the pink bot and I rolled my eyes.

"Okay, seriously. I'm not in the mood to play games, alright? I've had a long few days." She calmed down. "How'd you get stuck with these guys?" I jerked my thumb over my shoulder at the bots conversing.

"Well, I guess it all started with Arcee..." She went on to explain how she got involved. She had seen Arcee when she was on a run. Arcee tried to take off in her "alt mode", but Jessica jumped on her, making her stop. She was so involved in her story, she never noticed the bots' attention had shifted over to us. "...And then I met the rest of the Bots." I listened to the bots' movements until I decided to turn around, noticing they had moved closer to listen in.

"You all figure something out?" I asked. I noticed Renegade seemed more relaxed, and he nodded.

"Indeed. I am going to stay in a place not far from here so they can watch over me. I wish to build their trust." I nodded, a small smile on my face. Optimus stepped forward and took a knee, bringing his large face closer.

"We will send Arcee to take you back to your home. Arcee's human companion will go with you." He stood back up to his full height. "You will depart tonight." I nodded.

"Alright. Thank you, Optimus, for understanding and giving Renegade a chance." For some reason I felt a little discontent at leaving Renegade, but I was also excited to see my family again. My head snapped down and I stared ahead, my eyes going wide. "Oh crap baskets."

"What's wrong?" Jessica asked.

"My parents probably think I'm dead. I never called them..." Everyone went silent. Jessica pulled out her phone and handed it to me.

"Here, call them now." I took the phone and nodded at her.

"Thanks!" I walked a few yards away and dialed my mom's number. It rang for a while, then she picked up.

"Hello?"

"Uh, hey, mom..."

"Neal?! Is that you?!" I winced at the panic in her voice.

"Yeah, mom, it's me."

"We were so worried! When your friends got back from the trip early without you, I wasn't sure what to think! Your father and I haven't been able to hardly sleep! He was ready to come home from his trip early to help look for you." I winced, knowing how much pain and stress I just put them through.

"Sorry I worried you. I would have called earlier, but I just got to a phone!"

"What happened?!" I looked over my shoulder to see the bots conversing.

"Something...big interrupted the trip and I had to stay back. I didn't tell my friends either, so they have no idea. Could you let them know that I'm okay?"

"Yes, of course! You're not hurt, are you?" I shook my head, a habit of responding non-verbally.

"No, I'm fine. Let's just say I made a new friend." Her next comment had a certain tone to it that made my stomach curl.

"Neal, it's not a wild animal, is it? Because you are not bringing that thing home." I looked back at Renegade, who was now watching me intently. I thought about his dragon form.

"No, they're not...at least, not really." I shook my head, looking away again.

"Neeeal..." I flinched at the warning tone.

"Okay, okay I'm kidding. It's not an animal." I peeked one last glance at Renegade before turning back around. "I'll be home soon. Don't worry, I'll be careful."

"It worries me more when you say that." I smiled.

"I know, talk to you soon."

"Alright, bye Neal."

"Bye." I walked over and gave Jessica her phone. "Thanks."

"No problem, glad your parents know you're safe." She rubbed the back of her head. "Kind of went through a similar thing with my mom."

"Well, it's good to see you're still kicking. If our mothers are anything alike, I'll be fine too." I looked to Renegade as he spoke up.

"Neal, there is something we need to talk about."

"O...kay? What's with the ambiguity?"

"I believe Optimus should hear about this dream you had on the way here." I squinted my eyes at him.

"Why?"

"Because it wasn't a normal dream."

"How do you know what it was about?"

"You talk when you're in recharge." I looked at my feet, remembering the nightmare that had ensued on the ride here. I shuddered and shook my head.

"I'm not talking about it." Renegade gave me a hard look. "No, Renegade." He reached down and scooped me up, holding me in his palm. My stomach flipped at the rapid motion. "Would you put me down? You're not my therapist." Optimus spoke up, this time only having to tilt his head to talk to me.

"Neal. If this is something serious, then maybe it is something you need to talk about. Renegade already explained what happened from his point of view." I snapped a look at Optimus, but he held a steady gaze. Then I looked back to Renegade.

"You told them?"

"I felt it was for the best. After all, it did have something to do with a bot and I was the only one you had met until today." My brain decided to pull out random images from that nightmare again, flashing by like a camera roll.

"Fine. I'll tell you. Doesn't mean I have to like it though."