Once again, I was walking through a city. Busted cars and collapsed buildings. The whole place looked like it had been hit with a nuke, flipped over, and hit again. I walked around, trying to figure out what was happening. I turned a corner and froze when I saw a giant dragon. I started to back away but stopped when I recognized it.
"Renegade!" I ran forward, calling out to the robot. He turned his head, and my world slowed to a screeching halt. Half of his face was severely damaged. I ran over and just about threw myself onto his nose, looking over the damage. "Renegade what happened?!"
"He tried to protect you." I slowly turned around, fear striking me in the heart as a familiar voice growled at me. "Too bad it did no good." I saw the same robot from my first nightmare standing there in his full, horrifying visage. My heart rate and my breathing shot through the roof as Renegade hissed at the bot, his tail curling around me protectively.
"W-w-who... You did this?!" I demanded.
"This is what happens when someone betrays their master." Anger made my fists clench.
"He is not some pet!"
"Then why does he bow to me?" I looked at Renegade and noticed he was shaking. His front left leg was torn badly, barely hanging on to his main body. His undamaged eye was wide open, glowing in fear.
"...No...Renegade..."
"This is what happens when you interfere with my plans. You become scrap." I picked up the nearest rock and hurled it at him. It harmlessly bounced off his armor. "You really think you can harm me human? You are nothing but a worm." He chuckled darkly. I was shaking just as badly as Renegade, knowing I was helpless. The big bot stepped forward and lifted his foot. I thought he was going to stomp me out of existence, but he planted it firmly on Renegade's damaged shoulder, making Renegade roar out in pain.
"Stop it! Leave him alone!" I threw another rock, this time hitting him in the side of the head, which then snapped over to look at me.
"You worm!" He grabbed me before Renegade or I could blink. "I'll squash you with my own servo!" I felt his grip tightening slowly, squeezing the breath out of my lungs. My whole world was flipped around in unknowable directions as the bot was tackled by Renegade. I was tossed to the ground and rolled a few times. Dragon and bot were fighting, and it appeared Renegade was winning, tearing into the other bot with the fury of the sun.
"Get off of me!" The other bot threw him to the ground, breaking off his already damaged leg, then picked him up and slammed him into a building, which he then collapsed against. All of Renegade's fight was now gone. "Die traitor!" A large cannon charged, and Renegade looked at me with a face that will forever be etched in my memory. The strained look said everything. He knew it was over. A blast ripped right through his head, and he went limp.
"NO!" I ran over to him, dropping to my knees next to what remained of his head. "Renegade! No! Get up! Please! You have to get up!" He didn't move. He didn't breathe. His whole face was gone, a massive hole in the middle of it. Reality hit me and I stopped. He was gone, and my will to live went with him. I couldn't fight this monster, it was impossible.
"How the mighty have fallen." My head slowly turned to look at the bot. The cannon charged with a low whine as the bot grinned. "Remember this. You. Are. Nothing." The cannon went off and my vision went black.
I bolted up into a sitting position as I heard someone screaming. Only when I had to take a breath did I realize it was me.
"Neal?! What's going on?!" That voice. I was out of bed and slamming the door open, desperate to see a reality opposed to what I had witnessed. I looked up to see Renegade kneeling in front of me, alive and in one piece.
"Are you okay? What happened?" I collapsed to my hands and knees, my body heaving at the memory of the dream as sweat gathered on my face. Once the process of losing my dinner was over I fell to my side, exhaustion washing over me. I felt large fingers slowly wrap around me and pick me up.
I curled into a ball as a cold snap hit me, the adrenaline that flooded my system gone. I felt the cold air seep into my bones, making me shiver. Heat washed over me and I noticed Renegade holding me close to his chest, a few vents open and pointing at me. I curled up tighter as I just tried to not panic anymore. The bay door slid up and a smaller yellow bot stepped through, stopping at the door when Renegade looked up. He turned back to look at me.
"Neal...?" I slowly raised my head to look at Renegade. He looked surprised, probably at the haunted stare. "What happened?" I tried to find my voice, but it took me a minute. Even then I could only get out a few broken words.
"City...f-fighting...dragon...dea..." I couldn't say that word without my body dry heaving again, the vivid images flashing through my mind at a sickening rate. Somehow, the image of seeing Renegade's draconic form in such a state affected me worse than regular gore would. Maybe it was because he was someone I actually knew?
Renegade and the other bot traded shocked looks and it stepped out of the room. Renegade sat down on the platform that he was using as a bed, careful not to jostle me too much. He placed the blunt side of a claw on my back, doing his best to comfort me.
"Sh, sh, sh, it's okay Neal, it was just a dream." I just sat there, blankly staring at whatever was in front of me. I felt Renegade move and saw him tap the side of his head. "Bumblebee, while you're there, get some water and a blanket please. Renegade out." He rested his free hand on the bed. He sighed gently and looked at my shivering form. "...Neal..." Minutes later the bay door opened, and Bumblebee stepped into the room again, a larger, lime green bot following him.
"Renegade?" The new bot asked. Renegade nodded and tilted his head slightly.
"And you are?"
"Ratchet, medic for the Autobots. Bumblebee said there was a commotion in here?"
"Nightmare on Neal's account. It's not the first time, but it was a bad one. I think he is going into shock after he purged his tank." Ratchet walked over and looked at me. Just hearing footsteps of that size made me curl up smaller. My eyes snapped open when lights danced around, and I saw laser beams flicker over me. I froze, tense and unmoving.
"Hmm...He does have signs of severe stress. Bee, the blanket." I felt some fabric drop over me and I latched onto it like it was the only thing keeping me in this waking world. "He might need to see the base's nurse for a full checkup. I'm still not too familiar with human anatomy and I don't have the right skills to treat the more psychological side of them."
"Should I get him there now?" Ratchet shook his head.
"You will have to wait till morning. The office opens at 0900 Earth hours." He seemed to think for a moment. "Just keep an eye on him and keep him comfortable." Renegade looked down at me.
"Neal? Are you comfortable?" It took a few seconds before I numbly nodded. Even if I was laying on the equivalent of a metal floor, I didn't care. I thought if he left my sight he would disappear. If I let go, he would vanish, the nightmare becoming reality.
"Alright. I will check up on him tomorrow after the nurse checks him out."
"Thank you Ratchet, Bumblebee." The two bots left after bidding farewell, closing the door behind them. The echo of the door shutting hit my ears. I felt Renegade's eyes rest on me.
"Neal, how are you feeling?" I tried to push myself up, and it took everything I had. My body felt weak, and my arms were shaking as I shifted into a half sitting position, pausing to catch my breath.
"I...I really hate nightmares."
"...Do you want to talk about it?" I shook my head before he even finished his sentence.
"No." I said firmly. Renegade sighed, knowing there would be time later.
"Alright Neal, we don't have to. Do you think you can go back to sleep?"
"I don't want to...but I'm so tired..." Renegade slowly moved around and laid on his back, placing me on his chest plate. He laid his hand over me. I felt like I was in a metal tent.
"Well, I'll be right here, so there is no reason to stay awake. Get some rest." I nodded, hoping with every fiber of my being that it would be peaceful this time.
««{{¤}}»»
I woke up slowly and looked around. All I saw was metal.
'Renegade.' I sat up and looked at the massive hand resting over me. I could see the spot where he had torn out the Decepticon symbol. One of the wires was still sparking a little, though it was out of reach, so I wasn't concerned.
'I didn't think it would actually be hooked to anything electronic...I wonder if it hurt?' I felt the rise of his chest increase and his hand lifted up. I looked up and saw his eyes looking at me.
"Good morning Neal."
"...'Morning Renegade." He gently picked me up and held me in his palm as he sat up. I did my best to ignore the screeching of metal on metal that rattled my head.
"Did you sleep better this time?"
"Well, it's not like I woke you up screaming bloody murder this time so..."
"I'm glad you got some more rest. Do you want to see the nurse now?" I hesitated. Going to the Doc's was never my favorite activity, but they might be able to figure out what happened last night.
"...Yeah...I need to see if I can get some meds to knock me out. Otherwise, I don't know if I'll be able to sleep."
««{{¤}}»»
"Neal?" I stood up and followed the nurse into the back. Luckily, it seemed like they had a good medical staff here. The nurse opened the door and sat me down, getting my information before stepping out of the room. "The doctor will be just a minute."
"Thank you nurse." The door shut behind her and I leaned back in my seat. I closed my eyes and tried to relax myself. One of the few times I get anxiety is in the doctor's office. No idea why, but I feel like I'd done something wrong every time.
My leg was bouncing a little and I firmly set my hand on my knee, trying to restrain the urge to get up and move. After about ten minutes, the door opened, and a doctor walked in.
"Neal?" I stood up.
"That's me." We shook hands and he leaned against the counter.
"It's good to meet you. I'm Doctor Evans, a naval psychologist. So, you checked in because of some, strange dreams?" He paused when checking the paper.
"Yes. I've never had dreams this real before, and while it may sound like I'm paranoid, these are...different. And I don't know how much I'll be able to sleep." He looked over some paperwork he had, occasionally glancing up at me and asking a few questions.
After about an hour of questions that seemed to get progressively deeper in meaning and topic, he clasped his hands together and stood up.
"I'd like to ask you to come this way."
"Okay?" I got up and followed him down a maze of halls. If I wasn't so keen on the cardinal directions, I wouldn't know left from right, or up from down, by the time we stopped at a door. He knocked, then entered, and I followed him in to see a donut shaped machine. "Um, what's with the MRI?"
"We would just like to check and see what's going on upstairs. Make sure everything is in check. From what you told me, these are not normal dreams, and even if you feel fine, it doesn't hurt to check when the option is there. This doesn't come at any cost to you, by the way." I nodded.
"Okay..."
"If you would lay on the table, it will pull you into the machine, and when we say, don't move. This is harmless but if we want an accurate reading, then you need to hold still." I nodded, having seen one of these in action before. He strapped a lead vest to me and had me sit down.
"Let's get this over with." I sighed. Slight claustrophobia was my only worry in doing this. The Doctor nodded and stepped out of the room. I heard his voice over the intercom.
"Alright Neal, we are going to pull the bed in now." I felt the table shift and slid into the machine. Soon all I could see was white panels. "We are going to start in ten seconds, remember, don't move." I was about to nod my head but decided against the ironic action. I heard the machine kick on and a low hum echoed in my ears.
"What we are doing right now is compiling data on what brain activity is active right now. That will tell us if everything is working properly." I slowly lifted my hand and gave him a thumbs up, setting it back down and taking a slow breath to calm my heart. It had probably been two minutes into the scan when my right eye felt tight for some reason, and the pressure felt like it was building. It started tearing up, and I had to shut my eyes.
"-ou mean?! Neal, we are pulling you out, okay?" I heard the hum die down and felt the table shift to pull me out. The doctor and a couple nurses entered the room as I sat up. I started to rub my eye to wipe the tears, but the doctor jerked my hand away. "Don't, let me see." He grabbed his pen light and shone it in my eye, which only made it worse. I pulled away and covered it with my hand when I felt like my eye was going to pop.
"Ah! Sorry Doc, that hurts." He pulled back with concern.
"Hmm..." I felt the pain die down eventually and sighed.
"Alright, try again." He shone the light back in my eye, and while it still stung, it wasn't anywhere near as bad. The doctor lowered his arm and sat back.
"Neal? Have you had any accidents involving your eye?" My brow lowered in confusion.
"What? No? Is there something wrong with it?" He gave me a weird look as one of the nurses stepped into the other room and brought back some charts. The Doctor took them and hung them on a lighted board. I looked at them in confusion.
Everything looked about as normal as I would assume, at least with my lack of knowledge. But there was one thing wrong. On the charts, where my right eye should be, was a white sphere. My face began to pale when the thoughts of another boy I had met only the day before came to mind.
"Are you sure you didn't have any implants not on records?"
"Doc...I've never had surgery...for anything." I emphasized.
"Then why do you have a prosthetic eye?" I lowered my head in shock as my face went white as snow.
"...I wish I knew..."
««{{¤}}»»
I had been sitting in a regular office for about an hour now, and I was starting to get impatient. First, instead of just giving me some simple sleeping pills, they ran me in and did a full on MRI scan. Which proceeded to reveal the fact that I, unbeknownst to everyone, including myself, have a fully functioning prosthetic eye. I had tested it on the vision board in the room while I waited. It appeared to be focused on the same level as my other eye, which explained why I never noticed.
My breath hitched when a small blinking line appeared in my vision.
[_] It looked like a coding program type, even though I wasn't sure what it was. I waved my hand in front of my vision, but no matter how close I moved it to my face, it never blocked the image. It was in my right eye, and it was real.
[Sndwve:It is time for us to talk_] My eyes widened.
"Wha..."
[Sndwve:Designation:Neal_] I nearly flipped out when I saw my name, but something clicked.
"Wait...designation?"
[Sndwve:Affirmative_]
"Are you...?"
[Sndwve:Autobot? Negative_] It cut me off.
"Then that means you're..." I dreaded to finish the question, but the words did it for me.
[Sndwve:Decepticon? Affirmative_] My heart skipped a beat or two and I started to call out, but the next words came out almost instantly.
[Sndwve:Threat level:Harmless_] I squinted my eyes, staring at the words. It was throwing me off to only see it with one eye.
"...Why should I believe you...?"
[Sndwve:Task:Observation_]
"...And?" I sat down and folded my arms. "You wouldn't have revealed yourself if you weren't just observing.
[Sndwve:Secondary Motivation:Curiosity_]
"About what?"
[Sndwve:Fleshlings_] It took me a minute to get what it was referring to.
"Okay, first, that is rude. Second. When did you place this thing in my eye? H...How long have you been watching me...?" I felt panic start to set in.
[Sndwve:Allocated time:3 orbital cycles_] I ducked my head as my breathing became ragged.
"You've been watching me for, 3, years?"
[Sndwve:Affirmative_]
"What give you the right?!" I shouted, then quickly shut up, realizing just how crazy it was to shout that out of nowhere.
[Sndwve:Following orders_]
"Orders from who?!" I hissed through my teeth.
[Sndwve:Megatron_] My blood ran cold when I read the name. Something about it felt off, but familiar.
"Who is that?" I gestured to the single word, throwing my arm out at the wall in front of me.
[Sndwve:Decepticon leader_]
"And they chose me, out of 7 billion people in the world?!"
[Sndwve:Other experiments in progress_]
"Oh. That makes me feel so much better." There was a solid pause before more words appear.
[Sndwve:Vitals:above norm_] I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees.
"I'm going to rip this eye out. And then I'm going to smash it to dust with a 7 ton wrecking ball. Then we'll see how normal my vitals are!" I took a minute to calm down, kind of shocked someone hadn't come in to check on me yet. "Alright, whatever your face is," I didn't get to finish my sentence before more words appeared.
[Sndwve:Designation:Soundwave_]
"...Don't interrupt me again." I shook my head and did my best to focus. "I don't care who gave you orders. I don't care what type of curiosity is itching right now. You. Don't. Watch me. Got it? So get out of my eye and stop making me act like a crazy person!"
[Sndwve:Negative_] I stood up, spun, and punched the cabinet door behind me, hearing and feeling a solid *crack* as bone met metal. I gasped in pain and held my hand, hoping it wasn't broken.
"I'm going to get some help. You keep your trap shut. Got it?" There was a pregnant pause, then I opened the door and located the nearest nurse. "Excuse me, could you get someone to check my hand? I think it may be broken."
'My day is only going to get worse. Isn't it?'
So that's not good…Neal's got a Con watching him, and it's the digital lapdog to Megatron himself.