Neira clutched the necklace close as she stepped into the home, staring at it as she resisted the urge to cry. She placed the necklace down on the table and opted to go to bed early, despite it only being seven in the evening. Neira sighed and changed into pajamas before settling down for the night. It didn't take too long before she was asleep…
Neira was walking the forest, her hands clasped around her necklace. She looked, and it was broken. She heard whispers all around her, though she was unable to dissern what they were saying. She then heard one thing that chilled her to the bone.
"The necklace is broken…!" one voice screeched, followed by silence.
She felt eyes on her now. She then felt something grab at her shirt. She yelped, turning. But nothing was there. Something else grabbed her legs, making her stay in place. Hands around her wrists and pulling at her hair, tearing at her arms and legs…she screamed out, but a hand went over her mouth. She struggled and screamed in fear…
Neira woke with a start, breathing heavily. She held her hand to her chest, trying to calm down.
"It was just a dream," she told herself.
Neira got up out of bed and went to make herself a glass of water and take some pain pills. Her head was hurting a bit, though it wasn't unusual. She got occasional migraines. She stood in the kitchen, sipping water when the room lit up. She frowned and peeked outside the window of the entry way. Three cars, all custom muscle cars, were parked outside her house, lights shining into her windows. One was red and looked to be expensive, while the other two were violet in hue and similar in make. Her breath hitched. There's one reason why cars like theirs would show up at her house, and it was to cause trouble. Or worse. She didn't waste time staring, instead opting to grab her bag, throwing on her running shoes, and dashing into the forest. She had nothing of great value in the house, but was more concerned for her own well-being. Since she lived out in the middle of nowhere, someone showing up at her house uninvited was a sure sign that she was in danger. So she ran. She knew the forest better than anyone, and could use it as a means of escape or hiding until they left.
Then she heard the engines turn over, followed by the sound of the cars revving their engines and the breaking of sticks. Neira ran as fast as her legs could carry her, hearing the cars gaining distance on her every passing second. She didn't care that her bare legs were being whipped by brush or her arms being torn at my hanging tree limbs. She didn't care that she was in pajamas, exposing herself to the cold autumn night air. Her safety was more important than her appearances at the moment. Neira then felt her body tense up, like all of her muscles were spasming at once. She collapsed to her hands and knees as a shudder overcame her, holding herself as her body refused to move. It felt as through someone was pressing their weight onto her, pinning her down.
"What...the hell...?" she murmured, holding herself.
The cars sounded extremely close now. Her panic set in and allowed her to move, shaking off whatever just caused her to collapse. She had more pressing matters. Neira looked around before noticing some rocks. They were shaped in just a way that it would hide her small frame well. She clambered behind the large outcropping of rocks, holding her breath. She heard the cars near before stopping, turning their engines off. She held her breath, her hands going over her mouth. Her mind kept repeating the same word; traffickers.
At least, that's what she thought they were here for, until she heard a strange sound and felt the ground shake. Neira almost gasped aloud when she saw a gigantic robot step past her hiding spot. It was the same red as the car. It was followed by two other robots, both purple and black.
Is that...the cars that were chasing me? What is going on…?
She heard beeping noises coming from the red robot, who was holding a white device in its hand.
"Hmm…the sensors indicate that it's nearby. That human definitely had it," it said, their voice similar to a silvery young man's.
It looked around before glancing towards Neira's hiding spot. She ducked down, holding her hands over her mouth again. She hid in place as the footsteps grew closer.
"Come on out, little girl. I won't hurt you…too badly. If you give me what I need I'll let you–"
"Autobots!" one of the other robots hollered.
Neira then heard the sounds of a firefight break out. She took this as her chance to run. She psyched herself up before leaping over the rocks and running back the way she came. She took a glance back, seeing the red robot change into the car and give chase. Behind it was a fight between the two violet robots and three others. One was a small, lean blue one, one a bigger, smoother yellow one, and the last one a big, bulky green one. She didn't spend time gawking, she was being chased. She kept weaving between trees, hoping it was enough to lose it. She was wrong.
The red car sped past her, transforming in front of her as she skidded to a stop. It quickly snatched her up in its hands before changing back into the car with her inside. She was strapped to the driver's seat, the seatbelt keeping her arms to her sides.
"Knockout to base. I have the Dark Energon, though it isn't as simple as a small crystal. Requesting a ground–"
A loud honking was heard before they were rear-ended, sending the car skidding into a tree. Neira yelped, being jostled about. The car was then lifted and thrown. The red robot transformed to catch itself, but leaving Neira in free fall. She cried out, expecting to hit the forest floor and break her back. But she was caught in a giant hand. She looked up just as the green robot set her on her feet.
"Run!" it said just before being shot, sent flying backwards.
Neira didn't hesitate to run, her ears ringing from the explosion. She'd be asking questions if she didn't feel that she was in danger. She felt she was at an extreme disadvantage; she was five and a half feet tall, a bug compared to these giant robots. Neira figured the other two robots with it were as friendly as the green, making it her best bet at making it out of this alive or unscathed.
She figured correctly, as she saw them finish off the two purple ones before heading towards them. The blue one saw her immediately.
"Bee, go help Bulk, I'll get the human to safety," Neira heard it say in a sharp feminine voice.
The yellow one buzzed in response and ran towards where the green one was, who was now fighting the red robot. The small blue one approached her before transforming into a motorcycle.
"Hop on!" the robot said sternly.
Neira didn't argue, holding on for dear life. This didn't stop her from asking questions.
"What is going on…?!" she asked.
"Ask questions later, kid. We're trying to do our job. And that right now is protecting you from the 'Cons," the robot responded before a static noise sounded. "Ratchet, I need a bridge. A human got caught in the crossfire and I need them out of harm's way."
"Another one?" an exasperated man's voice replied. "Alright, I'm opening up a bridge at your coordinates."
Just as he finished, a honk sounded behind them. A green and yellow car sped up behind them.
"You chase him off?" the motorcycle asked.
"Yeah," said the voice that Neira recognized belonged to the green robot, "once he saw Bee he went running."
Neira was beginning to feel dizzy, struggling to process what had just happened. Giant robots? It was all too much.
So she passed out.
~*~
Neira woke several hours later on what she assumed was a hospital bed. She heard several voices talking, catching the tail end of a conversation.
"–not sure how she managed to get Dark Energon weaved into her genetic code, let alone how she's survived this long with it."
"Who knows? All we know is that the 'Cons want her."
She sat up, suddenly remembering the events prior. She recognized the blue and green robots from before, plus two others. The first was a white and red boxier one, slightly smaller than the green one. The last towered over the rest. It had red and blue accents all over and was strong in stature. They heard her move, all robotic eyes on her.
"Well, she's finally awake," said the white robot, glancing up to the big robot. "Optimus…?"
The big robot nodded and stepped forward. "It's good to see that you are well. You must have some questions."
Neira nodded slowly, starting to climb out of the bed. She wrapped herself in the blanket provided. She then stepped forward.
"Y-yeah…what's going on? And what are you?"
"We are the Autobots, and we're here to protect your planet and all of humankind from the Decepticons."
"Those other bots from yesterday?" The blue one added.
Neira glanced to her before back to the large one. Their size alone made her dizzy.
"What did they want with me? I'm not anything special."
The white and red one cleared it's 'throat', "You appear to have a harmful substance fused to your genetic strands called Dark Energon."
"What's that?" Neira asked.
"The antithesis to Energon, the lifeblood of all Cybertronians, regardless of their faction. I fear that, because of the Dark Energon in your body, Megatron may try to get his hands on you."
Before Neira could ask another question, a horn interrupted them, and she could see the yellow car and an older tan car pulling up. Four people got out of the cars, a woman with brown hair out of the tan, a teen boy with black hair, a teen girl with black hair and spiked pigtails, and a younger teen with reddish brown hair all got out of the yellow car. The woman wasted no time in rushing over to Neira with a case in her hand. This made her uncomfortable, stepping backwards from her.
"Mom," said the older teen, "we know you're a nurse, but she probably doesn't."
The woman nodded before looking to her, "Sorry, my name is June Darby. I just want to make sure you are okay."
"I'm fine," said Neira, still cautious.
She was very confused, after all. Giant, sentient robots, a supposedly deadly substance in her that made her a target? It all seemed to be too much. She felt dizzy again, her stance wavering. The woman caught her and guided her to a nearby couch.
"Jack, there should be some granola bars and an electrolyte drink in my bag in the back seat, can you grab it?"
The older teen nodded and went to grab it. The teen girl neared, her curiosity obvious.
"I'm Miko, what's your name? Where are you from? How old are you?"
"Miko," the woman said before Neira could answer, "while I'm sure she'll answer your questions soon, she's unwell and needs to be treated. Why don't you play some games with Raf?"
She sighed, skulking over to a television with the younger teen. The boy, Jack, came back with a drink in one hand and a couple bars in the other.
"Can you eat or drink anything?" The woman asked.
"Maybe…?" Neira said, taking the drink and slowly sipping. She made a small face; it had an apparent fake fruit taste to it.
"You're obviously dehydrated and suffering from muscle fatigue, as well as various cuts and scrapes. What happened?"
Neira closed her eyes, "I was being chased…into the woods by those cars. The…Decepticons, I think is what they said they were called? Apparently I'm now a target of theirs."
"Why?" Jack asked her as Mrs. Darby cleaned the cuts on her arms and legs.
"She has Dark Energon intertwined with her genetic coding," the white robot said.
"Wait, isn't that stuff extremely deadly to humans?" Mrs. Darby asked, stopping. "She might have to go to urgent care then."
"Yes, which makes her case all the more troubling," the tallest robot replied, "it is best that she stays here, however."
"She needs to be taken to a hospital, Optimus," the woman now said as she stood, "she can be treated better there than on a couch in an abandoned missile silo."
"While I do not disagree," the one called Optimus began, "if the Decepticons were able to track her simply with the Energon in her body, I fear that her presence would not only put herself in danger, but others as well. We cannot risk the event of human casualty to Megatron's greed."
Mrs. Darby looked away now.
"Um, I hate to interrupt," Neira said, "but I'm still confused. Who's Megatron? Why does this…Dark Energon stuff make me important?"
"Megatron is the leader of the Decepticons, a ruthless and harsh leader. He sees Dark Energon as a valuable resource, and has ties to it unlike any other Cybertronian," Optimus replied.
"Does that mean…he'd try to use me?" Neira asked, which earned her a nod.
"It may very well be that, if he learns that the Energon is fused with you, he may either try to use you…or take it from you by force."
Neira looked down, staring at her bandaged hands as her mind twisted and coiled in thought. All of this was so new to her. All she could do at the moment was ponder as her wounds were cleaned.
