Author's Note:
I am actually quite pleased with this chapter even though its really more filler than anything. I am so warmed by the response to the last chapter considering how uncertain I was about it when I posted it. Thank you so much for your continued support, please enjoy this next chapter!
I own nothing and will put the characters back when I am done, except Gregory Witwicky who I made exclusively for this story.
…
It didn't take long for them to reach the edge of town. It was dark and silent and heavy considering how the night had played out so far. Sam slid out as soon as Sunstreaker's doors swung open, feeling much like he was about to head to his own execution. He'd made a real mess of things by straying away from his guardian, away from Prime's inner circle, away from those like Lennox who only ever wanted to help him. He could feel the judgment emanating off the police car. Gregory hesitated, understandably, before following Sam, eyes kept firmly on the green jeep he knew to belong to his friend. Sam could see the question in his eyes but couldn't bring himself to shatter that final illusion. Not yet.
Instead of transforming, however, a man appeared right in front of Sam. It still shocked him to see even though Hound had admitted to being able to form a human guise. This man, Prowl, reminded him faintly of Spock from Star Trek in the way he stood and stared at him. His eyes narrowed as though he found something lacking and, for a moment, Sam got a glimpse of something in those bright blue eyes. Familiar. Frightening. It was gone in a flash, though, and Prowl sighed.
"Samuel James Witwicky, you have certainly caused a lot of trouble."
"Not on purpose!" Sam defended hotly. "You think I wanted that- that thing to take out my uncle's house and try to flatten me?"
"Rumble." Prowl interjected smoothly. "One of Soundwaves companions. I believe you encountered one before by the name of Frenzy."
Sam blinked, "Yeah. He's not around anymore."
"Rumble and Frenzy were close. If he ever puts together that you were at fault he will not stop until you are out of commission. As it stands, he will continue to pursue you. Likely he is operating off older orders given by Megatron when he first arrived. Until Soundwave connects with him again and redirects him, he will be relentless now that he knows where you are."
"But if he tells Soundwave anything-"
"Exactly." Prowl's gaze became even more intense. "I don't know what you thought you could achieve out here on your own, but that endeavor has come to an end. The only logical course of action is to return you to Optimus Prime and inform him of the complete situation and let him handle things from there."
Sam's chest tightened at the thought. He wasn't ready to face them with this. He couldn't.
"You aren't taking my nephew anywhere Officer!" Gregory, who had been silent until now, said sharply.
Prowl turned his gaze to Gregory smoothly, like he expected such a reaction. "Gregory."
"It's Mr. Witwicky to you!" Gregory jabbed his good finger at Prowl, who didn't even twitch. "I helped you get on your feet when you first came here, but it wasn't necessary was it? You aren't taking Sam anywhere until someone explains what the fuck is going on here! That blender on crack that showed up those years ago, crawling back up like some demon spider, trying to hurt my nephew and destroy my house; is one of you?"
"He's of our kind, but he isn't one of us." Prowl said firmly. He tapped his badge which had the Autobot symbol on it. "We are protectors. All of this is beside the point. Your nephew holds the energy of a Nuclear power plant in his body and only has a base idea of how to handle it. Why Prime allowed him to venture out this far is beyond me, but he is only in danger out here now that Rumble is aware of his presence. The more he uses this energy, the more of a beacon he becomes to our kind, the more likely they are to find him. Not all are like us, Mr. Witwicky. Many will seek to extract this energy no matter what it does to young Samuel." Gregory went white in the face and Sam was unsure if it was from pain, shock or a mixture of both.
"I can't." Sam spoke up. "Not yet please."
Prowl stared at him incredulously, "You. Are. In. Danger." He punctuated as though Sam were hard of hearing.
"I'll be in danger there!" Sam yelled before clarifying, "Not from Optimus. Or Ratchet. Or any of them. It's NEST. They were created to help you guys, but in the end they are still government ran and I am still under their jurisdiction! If I step on that base, I guarantee I won't get in two words to Optimus before they drag me off and there will be NOTHING he can do about it and I might never see them again! Or my family! I'll be locked in some basement like the Allspark and Megatron, poked and prodded until the day I die."
A firm, "No." resounded through the field. Prowl, Sam and Gregory's heads whipped in the direction of the yellow Lamborghini. No figure appeared, but his good headlight was lifted enough to mimic a glare. "I won't allow it." He'd turned to speaking in Cybertronian, which had to be easier than his limited knowledge of English.
"Human matters are not our own." Prowl returned.
"This human is frightened of his own kind and you won't think on why? You used to be more compassionate than that, Prowl." Sunstreaker hissed.
Prowl bristled. "He is best taken care of by his own kind, it's the only logical course-"
"It's not and you know it! I don't know much about this human, but I felt that All Spark energy he wielded. Squishy or not, he's been affected by our problems and should be Prime's responsibility."
"He has a point," Hound supplied. He didn't activate his holoform and spoke in Cybertronian as well in order to keep the two humans out of the conversation for now, "I've been watching and interacting with humans since I landed. While they have great capacity to do good, they can also do great harm to one another if faced with something they don't understand. Sam is something they don't understand."
Prowl looked between the Jeep and Lamborghini feeling very much outnumbered. He pinched the bridge of his nose, a familiar gesture Sunstreaker has seen the mech do a number of times before, before speaking, "He must be brought straight to Prime. He can decide what Samuel's fate must be from there. And yours." Prowl leveled Sunstreaker with a firm look. Sunstreaker revved his engines in a threatening manner but didn't respond.
Prowl turned back to Sam and Gregory now that a decision had been made.
"You talking to us now?" Sam quipped, unhappy about being kept out of the loop. Prowl didn't dignify it with a response.
"You are going back to Prime tonight. That is the only course of action at this point and there will be no arguments on the matter. However, they have made your case that you should see Optimus Prime first and not your own kind."
"You aren't going to give me a choice, are you?"
"No. You had your choice up here for nearly a year. That time is over, and you must return to reality now. Your reality. I'm sorry, but it's time for all of us to go home."
"So that's it then?" Gregory huffed. "You're just going to…take him? Just like that?"
"Yes. It's how it must be, for his safety. As for yours I would suggest leaving this town and starting over. You put Rumble out of commission the first time. He will not forget that and will come back for revenge. We won't be here to protect you when he does."
Sam watched the heartbreak in Gregory's eyes at the thought of losing everything. His home. His shop. His nephew. All in one solid blow. For Prowl's part, he did look sympathetic at that. Gregory hadn't asked for any of this to happen. Sam didn't know what to say to make it better.
"And Sam's just expected to go through this alone?"
"He will not be alone, I assure you."
"No, he won't be. He needs another human to vouch for him, to look out for him, because I doubt you or he will be willing to drag his parents into the middle of this."
"You don't understand the complexities-" Prowl sighed, clearly thinking all of this a waste of time.
"You're right son, I don't understand giant robots from space or anything that goes with it. I don't understand why one tried to hurt him or why it showed up to my home all those years ago. What I do understand is humans, my nephew. I don't get what you're talking about with All Spark energy, but I do get when he's had too much. When he's at his breaking point and won't talk about it. He hasn't asked me for my help, but I'm willing to be the one to help prevent this NEST from abusing their power and taking him away. To prevent your kind from abusing him because you don't understand human limitations. I got nothing left here. You said it yourself. So, give me this."
Sam was speechless in the wake of his uncle's statement. He was sure he was in for the ear chewing of his lifetime, but he was floored by the sheer protectiveness of his uncle. His parents had sort of preferred to have their heads in the sand about the whole Autobot thing. They liked knowing, but not too much, because it was frustrating and scary, and he couldn't blame them. But Gregory was willing to go to bat for him despite all the damage Sam had brought upon him.
Prowl stared at him for several beats, considering. "Very well. It's your life, Witwicky." He turned to Hound then, who had been silent for much of the conversation, which wasn't entirely like him. "We should all report to Prime. I believe it's been long enough." They had once been part of his core team, now scattered to the wind. Hound's engines revved to life in response. "Let's roll out then. Hound, you escort them first." Prowl ordered. Sunstreaker spun his back tires in what could only be protest for reasons Prowl didn't know. He ignored it though and didn't rise to the bait. Years of working with the twins allowed him that immunity. Slag, the twins. Was it really a good idea to reunite the terrible two? On their own they were much more manageable.
Sam moved back towards Sunstreaker when Prowl cut him off, directing him towards Hound instead.
They made a stop back of Gregory's house to collect some clothes. Hound and Sunstreaker watched the front while Prowl kept an eye on the back in order to ensure that Rumble didn't sneak back in to finish the job. Sam went right to his room and gathered his meager belongings back into his duffle bag. Sam took a moment to give the room a good last look. From the broken mirror to the singed and beat up alarm clock, to the dark marks on the ceiling, there was evidence of what Sam had gone through. He held up his right arm which still looked normal, despite the high levels of stress he had been going through. He was shocked as, before, he would have been lit up like a Christmas tree. He must have used a lot of it on Sunstreaker, he mused.
Sam gave it a minute before going to his uncle's room to check on him when he didn't hear any movement. Sam found him sitting on the bed staring at a wall, his own duffle bag only partially packed beside him, cradling his injured hand as he tried to comprehend everything that had just happened. Sam sat next to him on the bed, unsure of what to say to make it all better. There wasn't anything he could say really.
"You don't have to do this." Sam finally broke the silence. "I could ask Hound for a favor, have an accident happen to the shop so that you could collect the insurance on it and then go where you want to retire."
"My whole life was here kiddo." Gregory said brokenly. "That shop has been in the family for years and now-" He sighed deeply. "I guess there's no help for it."
"This is all my fault. I should have never come here. I just thought, maybe, I could go somewhere to get my head straight for once without someone looming over my shoulder. That was my mistake, I guess, thinking I could have a normal life after all of this."
"It's a lot of weight for someone to carry." Gregory said softly. "You didn't do anything wrong. I just-I'm upset, but not at you. For you." He wiped at the moisture in his eyes. "For me."
"You don't have to do this." Sam reiterated. "It's a lot."
"It is." Gregory agreed. "And you need someone in your corner. It sounds a lot like you don't right now." He wrapped his good arm around Sam and drew him in against his side. "I'm not going to let this NEST do what they want with you, but I'm not going to let these….uh…."
"Autobots."
"Autobots, do that either. I'm going to look out for you like I have this past year."
"Thanks Uncle Greg." Sam said honestly. "Here, let me help you." He motioned towards the packing. With Gregory's direction he tossed a few more items in. Gregory stopped and pulled something from an old jewelry box, shoving it into his pocket before they left the room. Sam ran to the kitchen and pulled a sling out from the first aid box he kept under his sink, gingerly helping his uncle's arm into the support. "We need to get you to a hospital or something."
"You really think they're gonna stop for that?" Gregory asked dubiously before downing some aspirin and pocketing the bottle too, chasing it with a swig of whiskey.
"NEST has doctors." Sam said instead and didn't stop his uncle from bringing the bottle of whiskey with them in order to help numb the pain. It was going to be a long drive.
They were a strange convoy of three on the highway and might have turned heads had it been daylight. Sam stared out the window, watching Sunstreaker in Hound's side mirror. He wasn't sure why Prowl was so adamant against him riding with the yellow mech, but he could almost feel the frustration rolling off him. Gregory sat in the passenger seat, surely familiar with the jeep and every nook and cranny, but he never came out and asked why Harris' jeep was driving away. If the Jeep had been posing as Harris' jeep and come morning the man would find himself without a car….or…..
Hound, for his part, wasn't very talkative either. It was quite out of character and Sam suspected it had everything to do with his uncle. Hound wasn't too eager to shatter the illusion either, to admit to Gregory that his close friend had been a Cybertronian in disguise all along. It was a conversation they needed to have, but it was one Sam shouldn't be witness to.
He wanted to have them pull over and ride with Sunstreaker to allow them that space, but with Prowl watching closely he had a feeling that wouldn't happen. His only chance would be at a rest stop and he would have to be quicker than Prowl. Sam leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes, deciding to just go along with the ride for now.
The sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon when Hound pulled over and rumbled softly, "Stretch your legs." And opened his door. Gregory was still asleep, likely thanks to the combination of pain relievers and alcohol. "I need to talk to Prowl about our best route to base."
Sam nodded and jumped out, stretching the kinks out of his joints. They were somewhere in the high desert now, pulled to the side. There was traffic coming and going, but it wasn't very busy this early in the morning. It was cool with a slight breeze and the air smelled crisp and fresh. He stared at the sky, which was becoming streaked with rays of color piercing through the inky night sky. It was peaceful in sharp contrast to the night he just experienced.
Sam wandered over to Sunstreaker. He hesitated before placing a hand on his hood, wondering now if that was too familiar.
"You were able to transform." Sam mentioned, voice light. "It sounded painful though."
"I'm improving by the day. It didn't hurt too much, not as much as I would have hurt that fragger Rumble." Sunstreaker said in his Cybertronian accented voice. Sam was beginning to like it. None of the others spoke like that and he had a feeling its purely because Sunstreaker was learning the language like a human, not just downloading the information into his data banks. "Your creator? Is he hurt?"
"My uncle," Sam corrected with a chuckle. "Yeah, he is. I think his hand is broken. He needs to see a doctor when we get to base." Sam glanced over towards Hound where Gregory was still sleeping. He could almost feel Prowl's gaze on him. It was stifling.
"Hey." Sunstreaker nudged him slightly by rolling forward slightly. "Want to give ol' Prowler a spark attack?" Sam could hear mischievousness bleed into Sunstreaker's voice, something he hadn't heard before, but he liked it. "Get in." Sunstreaker swung his door open. Sam didn't even hesitate before complying. Sunstreaker allowed his tires to burn rubber, showing off, before tearing down the highway ahead of Prowl and Hound. Sam laughed as he heard Prowl's sirens kick on, probably scaring his poor uncle awake.
His grin widened as he heard laughter echoing his own, chest blooming with warmth.