I woke up the next day feeling sore. I had never sat on a motorcycle before, so the ride home did nothing for my already stressed body. I groaned as I tried to dig deeper into my bed, not wanting to move or wake up in the first place.
Something in my flashed, which confused me considering my face was in my pillow. I did a double take and flipped over so I was sitting up.
[_Unknown:You humans sleep a lot_] I stared at the message is shock.
"Uh, what?" I whispered out loud before responding in the text through my "phone."
[Neal:Who are you?_]
[_Unknown:They never told you about me, did they?_]
[Neal:That's very vague and VERY unhelpful. How'd you even get this number?_]
[_Unknown:Honestly, it wasn't that hard. I recognized the encryption and broke through. Of course, I can't do anything besides communicate_]
[Neal:And why do you want to communicate with me?_]
[_Unknown:I am bored_]
'Well, this is just a rollercoaster of a conversation.' I thought flatly as I stared at the wall. I shook my head and looked down at my phone.
[Neal:Who even are you? Where are you?_]
[_Unknown:My designation is Siege. I am in the room you refer to as a living room_] I did a double take and reread the message, even as a notification mentioned it added this "Siege" to my contacts automatically.
'Designation? A bit?! In the house?!' I was off like a shot, nearly tearing my bedroom door off its hinges and leaping down the stairs in my haste to make sure my mom was safe. I turned the corner into the living room and froze. It was void of any human or bot. Or at least I thought so.
[Siege:You humans can be fast when you want to be_] I shot a glare at the message.
[Neal:Where are you?_] I typed furiously, my eyes constantly looking around the room.
[Siege:Here_] The black cube we used as a coffee table split into millions of pieces, shifting around, and forming a monstrosity.
Standing 4.5 feet at the shoulders, a robotic panther stood in front of me. Two eyes gleamed with a pinkish-purple light that dimmed slightly after a second. The lights in the room reflected off of it, revealing an obsidian black hide that shone purple at certain angles.
I took a step back as it stood there, its tail waving lazily through the air. A small humming sound matched the motion.
[Siege:Well, are you going to introduce yourself?_]
'Nope!' I spun around and bolted for the stairs.
"MOM!" I cried as I ran. I needed to get her to safety. I had to keep her away from this thing!
"Neal? What's wrong?!" I heard her call from upstairs.
[Siege:Great. All you humans are the same_] I reached the top of the stairs, only to have something heavy slam into my back and pin me to the floor.
[Siege:Would you quit squirming? You're worse than the rabbits in the back yard_] I threw my elbow back and caught it in the nose. It flinched back and shook its head.
[Siege:Ouch! Hey, that hurt!_] I was just able to squirm my way free. I grabbed the nearest object and threw it at it, hitting it in the face with a potted plant. It let out its first sound as it yelped.
[Siege:Fragging-! I just cleaned myself earlier! That's it, come here you!_] I gasped and stumbled back as it lunged at me. Its head slammed into my sternum, knocking the wind out of me as I hit the floor. It pinned my arms to the floor and growled quietly.
[Siege:Now hold still!_]
"Siege! Let him go!" We both looked up to see my mom hurrying over. My lungs refused to work as I pushed against the paws that trapped me.
"M-om! Ru-un!" I choked out, my eyes wide in horror as she kept getting closer. It hadn't registered that she had used the thing's designation, or that her posture held no fear or confusion. I just didn't want her to get hurt. A look of sympathy passed over my mom's face as she dropped to a knee next to us.
"Oh dear, he knocked the wind out of you, didn't he?" She back handed the metal cat across the face, making it flinch back. "How dare you attack him!" Her phone pinged and I only felt more confused as she paused to pull it out.
"That's the worst way to stop someone from panicking!" She said, looking at the bot. It had the audacity to look guilty and stepped back, allowing me to pull myself a little ways away. My lungs finally sucked in a full breath as she reprimanded the machine. I stared at it as I hacked up a lung, my mom's hand patting my back. The cat sat and stared down at me.
[Siege:I apologize. I had no intention of bringing harm. Are you hurt?_] I could only stare at it in return. In hindsight that was the best reaction because I couldn't have responded with my mom around without explaining myself. My mom's phone pinged again and she read it.
"You knocked the wind out of him after scaring him half to death, what do you expect?" She commented and helped me to my feet. "Are you okay Neal?" I looked at her in horror. She was standing next to a giant metal cat and basically ignoring it.
"What is happening?!" I asked before my lungs threw another fit and I covered my mouth to cough again.
"Let's go back down to the living room. I'll explain there." I nodded, though I eyed the bot with obvious hesitation. It rolled its eyes.
[I wasn't trying to hurt you. I forgot the fact that you humans are so soft_] I sent it a murderous look as my mom walked down the steps ahead of us. Thankfully, she missed it. My mom and I sat on the couch as the bot sat in front of us, its tail curling around its feet as it sat up straight.
'How is does this thing make me nervous? I've got a 40 foot behemoth as a friend!' I thought as I turned my attention to my mother.
"Care to explain what the giant cat is doing in our living room?" I asked hoarsely. She sighed before introducing us and then explaining. Apparently, Siege saved my father's life during a military spat overseas. Even going so far as to simply disarm any of his fellow soldiers who tried to pull a gun on him out of fear. The men leading the operation had no choice but to allow him to come along, and he proved to be a great asset to their mission.
Siege had quickly gained favor with my father and had been able to be shipped home in a crate(Much to his well announced displeasure, he noted in a message to me. The message was promptly ignored.).
"So, he's just, living here?" I asked.
"Yes. So far he's been nothing but kind. Except for what he just pulled this morning," She added with a look at the bot, who pulled his ears back. Her phone pinged and she looked at it. "Him panicking is no excuse," She said to the bot.
"So he speaks through text?"
"Yes, he can communicate through any messaging system."
"It's kind of weird he doesn't speak." I said.
"Why is it weird?"
"Well, he's a robot, you know? I thought if he could shift around his parts like he can, he should be able to make a speaker, or something." My words tumbled out of my mouth in a half panicked tone. I clamped my jaw shut as my mom raised an eye brow.
'Crap.'
"Neal, what's going on?"
"Nothing! It's, I'm just still kind of freaked out about what is happening right now." Siege stretched his neck out, his nostrils flaring as his eyes locked on me. My mom's phone pinged again and she did a double take, reading it more than once.
"Neal? What exactly happened to you on that mountain?" She asked, her gaze sliding over to me. I froze, my eyes flicking to Siege.
"I, I got los-!"
"Don't lie to me!" I flinched back at the sudden change in tone. "Siege says he smells others of his kind on you. What. Happened?" My eyes widened in horror as I realized I had been caught.
"I-I-I've never seen anything like him mom! I swear!" I said desperately, gesturing in his direction. It wasn't technically a lie.
"Who dropped you off yesterday?"
"One of the military personnel. Why?"
"Siege said he sensed another of his kind outside. And you're the only one that came to the door."
"T-the Lieutenant was in a hurry, they had to-." I gulped as the look on her face hardened. No one messed with momma when she got that look.
"Neal. The truth." I ducked my head.
"…I'm leaving somethings out…For your safety." I added after a few seconds of silence.
'And self-incrimination.' I mentally noted. I began to tell her about how I met Renegade, and how I helped him find the Autobots. I carefully skirted around the topic of my eye, leaving out taking that one kid to the hospital all together. I didn't mention the dreams either, not wanting her to worry any more than I could see her worrying.
"…Arcee was the one to bring me back." The scariest thing happened after I finished speaking.
"…" My stomach dropped into my feet as she stared at a spot on the floor.
'Say something! Anything! Ground me, yell at me! Anything is better than this!' I thought desperately.
[Siege:I think you broke her_] It took a second to register his message, and I shot him a heated glare. He shrugged his shoulders. He had taken to cleaning the dirt out of his plating while I talked, staying observingly quiet as his metal tongue flicked between his claws. I nearly snapped at him, but kept my mouth shut, not wanting to tip my mom off.
"Neal, that's…" She couldn't find the words.
"Completely insane." I finished for her.
"Well, yes."
"I don't expect you to believe me, or do anything okay? I just want to go back to normal." She reached over and put the back of her hand on my forehead. My shoulders drooped and I shot her a flat look.
"I'm not sick mom. Just tired." I stood up and went to get something to eat but paused next to Siege. I reached up and hovered a hand over his shoulder before patting it gently.
"Welcome to the family, I guess." He let out a soft purr after meeting my eyes. The rest of the day went by in a boring state. Or maybe I was just shellshocked by how much actually happened since the mountain, and every regular day life felt…bland.
While my mom and I were eating breakfast the second morning after I got back, Siege curled up next to my chair. I shot him a curious look before shrugging and continuing with my meal. My mom asked me to get the mail so I stepped out onto the front porch and began walking down the driveway to the mailbox. I noticed a search and rescue chopper flying low over the neighborhood. I opened the mailbox, only to see it empty.
"Huh, nothing." Normally we got some sort of annoying spam letter, even if there was nothing else. I started back up the driveway, only to turn around when I noticed the chopper was getting a lot closer than one normally would. It flew right over my house, only to circle back around to the front and lower itself till it was about 30 feet off the ground. I took a few steps back, confused and getting wary of it as I held my arm up to block the wind.
[Siege:Neal RUN!_] My face paled as the chopper transformed into a bipedal mode right as the message popped up.
"Human! Rah!" It literally hit the ground running.
"AH!" I took off sprinting across my yard, avoiding claws. I pulled my sleeve back and scrolled through the options until I came to a phone. I clicked it, having to duck under a line of bushes to try and hide.
"Come here puny human!" The bushes were torn out of the ground, being thrown to the side. I tripped and rolled over to see the Decepticon reaching for me. I barely had time to push the call button on my screen before the mental image of Megatron grabbing me made me freeze. The Con's claws roughly snatched me off the ground.
"There you are! There is a Con who would like to meet you." I saw Renegade's icon blink in my eye, showing he had answered the call.
"Neal?" I ignored him, trying to show him I was in trouble.
"T-tell them to jump off a cliff with you!" I shouted. The Con threw his head back and laughed.
"Oh ho ho! We've got a feisty one here!" I squirmed at the tight grasp as I heard tires squeal through the call.
"If I was your size, I'd kick your tailpipe to the moon and back!" I spat. The Con grinned and it made my stomach curl.
"Soundwave will enjoy tearing you limb from limb as he studies you." I heard a blood curdling scream and the Con and I looked down to see a woman staring from her house window. "Annoying pests." The Con's free hand shifted to what could only be a cannon of some kind.
"RUN!" I screamed, my throat protesting the action. The whine of the cannon built too quickly. I forced myself to turn away, ripping my eyes from hers. The ensuing explosion made me cry out as debris showered us. The Con chuckled darkly and folded over me, forming into the chopper once more. I was thrown into a back seat and straps locked me tightly in place. I was quickly hauled out of town and high into the air.
««{{Hours Later}}»»
"So human, are you going to talk to me?"
"..."
"Human? Huuuuuu-man..." I kept my gaze on the floor of the chopper. I felt the chopper jostle. "Stop ignoring me." I shifted in my very restricted position, trying to force fresh blood into my legs. I was afraid of losing circulation for too long.
"Shut up."
"Not even a friendly conversation? I hear you fleshies like small talk."
"I also like to beat the crap out of old rust buckets that have no use other than murdering innocent people." I glowered. The whole chopper rattled violently.
"What did you call me?!"
"You heard me," I said, not putting any effort into the conversation. The straps holding me tightened significantly, squeezing my lungs.
"Don't you ever talk to me like that again! Otherwise I'll-!"
"What? Tear me limb from limb? Squash me? Blast me?" I wheezed out. The Con was silent. "I'm not scared of you."
"You should be." A low growl accompanied those words, and I nearly snorted. The straps loosened after a second.
"No, I'm not scared of you. What I'm really scared of is that Soundwave guy."
"Soundwave? Please. He's nothing but a shut in freak."
"That freak was able to replace my eyeball with a camera and record my whole life for 3 years without me knowing."
"Really? You have an optical sensor?" I smirked, but it didn't reach my eyes.
"Yeah, just about as fake as you are."
"I will squash you!"
"You wouldn't dare disobey Soundwave, would you?"
"I can always claim you jumped..." I raised an eyebrow.
"What?" Suddenly the straps released me and the door flew open. I was yanked towards it due to the pressure difference, and I barely snagged one of the handles on the frame.
"Well human?! Not so tough when you're 20,000 feet in the air, are you?! HAHAHAHAH!" I looked down and I had no difficulty seeing the horizon.
'Little-!' I grabbed the handle with both hands as the chopper leaned in my direction, leaving me more exposed to a free fall. I barely pulled myself back into the chopper, scrambling away from the open door.
"Resilient little scrap. Try this then!" The chopper swayed back and forth, making me slide from one side to the other. I gritted my teeth and held on as best I could, trying not to be sick. I noticed in the back of the chopper there were parachutes, and I smirked.
'Fool of a massive caliber.' I waited until the chopper tilted so I was rolling away from the door, then I leaped forward and grabbed a chute, slinging the bag over my shoulder.
"HEY! Stop that!" The Con cried. I ducked as a strap lashed out at me.
"Now who's the resilient one? Oh that's right, still me!" I used the chopper's angle to take a running start, and as it met the apex of its tilt, I leaped outside. I wanted to get away from the Con, but I had to get my chute ready. I quickly strapped into the chutes bag and then dove. I flipped so I was falling back first and saw the chopper diving after me in bipedal mode.
"You little worm!"
"Rusty bolt!" I spat back. It roared and flailed, trying to grab me. I was barely able to maneuver out of the way.
'There's no escape once I pull the chute. I guess this was pointless.'
"Neal! I'm nearly at your location! What's going on?!" I gasped at the voice in my ear and spun to face the earth again. I tucked my arms in and tried to create as much distance as possible.
"Renegade! You have no idea how good it is to hear your voice! A Con found my house and caught me once I stepped outside. Apparently Soundwave didn't appreciate us messing with his toy!" I ducked out of the way of the Con's grubby claws as it swooped past me. The four propellor blades on its back spread out and began to spin, slowing it down. It matched my fall and made another wild grab. I barely missed the wide swing that should have taken my head off.
"I can barely hear you over the wind! Are you free falling?! I'm flying as fast as I can. Just hold on!"
"I'm tryi-AH!" The Con snagged me while I was distracted. It transformed around me again, the straps wrapping around my arms and legs and locking them tightly in place.
"Ha! Got you!" The chopper Con quickly activated his rotors and slowed our descent. "Soundwave will be interested to hear how much of a fighter you are."
"This Con will die today!" I hear Renegade growl through the comms. I flinched at the ferocity in his voice. I noticed a blip on my, for lack of a better term, HUD, and saw it was a radar of some kind. A blue arrow was on top of a red dot in the center of the map, and I took a gander that it was showing the Con I was being held in. I saw another red dot enter the radar's range from the bottom, showing behind me.
"I hope you know what you're doing," I said aloud to Renegade. The Con, still oblivious to my call, laughed.
"Of course I know what I'm doing. It's not so complicated of a job. Snag the human and bring it to Soundwave."
"If it was any more complicated, someone might have to walk you through it." I responded. One of the straps lashed out, striking me in the cheek before wrapping around my neck. I felt my airway tighten and gasped.
"Now would be good!" I choked out. I saw the red dot behind us catch up.
"Hold on, this is probably going to hurt!" I had no real way to prepare myself and opened my mouth to respond as such.
"'Now what' human? Wait. What's-!" My world exploded into motion and noise as Renegade body slammed the Con. It let out a screech of pain as his claws tore into its framing.
"It's you! I'll kill you!" It transformed, spitting me high into the air. I flailed at the sudden freedom and tried to right myself as Renegade dragged the Con towards the earth below. It shifted its arm to what looked like a buzz saw and swung at Renegade, who turned and bit the arm, bathing the limb in blue fire.
The Con screamed again in agony. Renegade roared in response and clamped down on its head. I felt like I shouldn't watch, so I looked away in time to notice the ground being a little too close for comfort
"Crap!" I twisted in the air and pulled the chute cord. I gasped when it didn't release the catch chute and jerked it again. The third jerk released both chutes, and I slowed to a crawl. I sighed and guided myself to an open field.
"Renegade, I'm safe, are you okay?"
"Almost finished up here." I landed in the field, only for the chute to land on top of me and trap me in its hold.
"Ah, really? Piece of, stupi-gah!" I felt the ground shake as something landed with a loud crash not far off, the ensuing explosion knocking me off my feet and entangling me even more. I felt the ground shake a second time, followed by metal shifting. The chute was lifted off me a few seconds later. I collapsed on my back when I saw Renegade in his bipedal form, kneeling above me.
"Are you okay?" He asked after ending the call. He severed the chute lines, freeing me from my temporary bonds.
"I hate Cons." I panted breathlessly. He sighed in relief.