Before I begin I would like to thank Something dictionary related, for the follow.

Shadowstreaker27: trust me when I write this, but I was exited to write this story and this chapter. I'll do my best to keep up the "good work," but I can't make any guarantees on what some consider good work or not, I'll leave you to be the judge of that.

Answerthecall: glad that you found that last chapter interesting, I hope that you find this one just as interesting. I'll do my best to keep it up. My goal is to get some of you followers to favorite this eventually.

Brenna Mae (Guest): I'm glade that you like my story and I'm flattered that you think that this is the best that you've read. I'll try to keep it that way.

Chapter Four

The first thing I heard was the sound of the heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen monitor beeping. I slowly opened my eyes and saw only a very, very tall ceiling above me. I was able to move my head and I saw that the stump of my right arm was all bandaged up and I looked back up to the ceiling as the memories came flooding back. One of my first instincts was to try and move the right hand that was nonexistent and then the other one was to remove the breathing tube that was stuffed down my neck. Soon after I had woken up, I heard very human sounding footsteps though and I turned my head and saw an African American male wearing a suit and a loose tie around his neck. "Ratchet, he's awake." The man yelled and his voice sounded eerily familiar.

Ratchet, that's an odd name. I thought to myself. I heard metal footsteps of something heavy coming this way and my heart rate went up. I knew that because I could hear it from the monitor and I could feel it. "You lead a charmed life walking among titans." Silas' remark to an Agent Fowler came back. I looked at the African American male and I thought, Could it possibly be him? If it is I can just give him the flash drive at the moment. I highly doubt that they'd trust me, and I wouldn't blame them.

A robot walked in and I saw that he was white with orange heart rate monitors tattooed on his arms. That must be Ratchet.

"Hello, I'm the medic of this facility and the designation is Ratchet," the bot said. "You lost a lot of blood before one of our own brought you here and it must've taken a lot out of you because you've been in stasis for five days."

I just blinked rapidly and then motioned with my left hand to the breathing tube in my throat.

"Agent Fowler, could you please remove the breathing apparatus from the patient's throat?" Ratchet asked.

"Of course, Ratchet." Agent Fowler replied. I closed my eyes as Agent Fowler removed the breathing tube and I took in a couple of deep breaths.

"Thanks." I rasped.

"No problem," Agent Fowler responded. "What's your name, son?"

I thought for a moment and then decided to shake my head. "I'm sorry, sir," I answered. "I don't want to answer that at this time."

"Understood, you have a couple of options in front of you," Agent Fowler said. "One, you can come back with me and we can protect you from the threat that is prowling this planet. Two, you can have the protection of the Autobots. Or three, you can leave on your own and forget that this ever happened to you, which I find would be highly unlikely."

"I don't like any of those options, sir," I replied. "You wouldn't trust me and they wouldn't trust me either."

Agent Fowler raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Ratchet. "Go and get Prime and the others please, Ratchet."

"Of course, Agent Fowler." Ratchet replied exiting wherever it was this room was located.

"Why wouldn't they trust you?" Agent Fowler asked me.

"Reach into my right leg pocket and you'll find a flash drive," I said in a still barely audible voice. "On that flash drive you'll find a list of those that are members of the organization known as MECH and you'll also find some plans that MECH has."

"And how did you come by these?" Agent Fowler asked wearily.

I coughed and leaned back into my pillow a bit more. "I stole them by hacking into MECH's mainframe." I replied.

Agent Fowler didn't reply, he just did as I had told him and he removed the flash drive. "How old are you, son?"

"Seventeen, sir." I replied.

"And you flew an F-22 Raptor, hacked into probably a secure mainframe, and had your arm cut off, and you're only seventeen!" Agent Fowler exclaimed.

"Yes, sir."

"Where did you learn to do the first two?" a deep baritone voice asked.

Agent Fowler sighed and said, "Son, I'd like you to meet Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots."

I looked and recognized this bot from the train and DINGIS incident. I also recognized the other three that walked in with this Optimus Prime and Ratchet, from the incident as well. I saw that the blue one was female looking and a golden looking one with silver markings similar to the blue one's pink markings. I didn't recognize the gold one though. "From my adoptive father." I croaked.

"How much did you bots hear?" Agent Fowler asked.

"Enough to know that this child is hiding a secret that he believes will endanger him." Optimus Prime replied. He knelt down and looked at me. "Let me introduce the rest of my team, you've already met Ratchet." Ratchet nodded at me and I nodded back. "There's Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Arcee, and our newest addition is the one that brought you here. Her designation is Flare."

"What are you hiding from us?" the blue one asked, I assumed that was Arcee.

"Arcee, the child will tell us in his own time, I am sure," Optimus said still looking at me. "But the more pressing matter is why Airachnid was still lurking around the area of her ship."

Aha! So it was a ship! I thought closing my eyes. "Optimus, I told you that she is after humans to hunt as trophies, the kid can probably back that up." Arcee said.

I opened my eyes and saw that all of the blue eyes were upon me along with Agent Fowler's brown. "Yes, Arcee is right," I said a bit louder than previous times. "The one that attacked me said that my head would make an excellent trophy for the start of her new collection."

"See, we need to hunt Airachnid down and terminate her!"

"Do not let personal feelings get in the way, Arcee," Optimus said. "Megatron does not forgive rouges."

"Megatron?" I asked. "Who's Megatron?" I hoped that they were referring to Calvin Johnson, a Wide Receiver for the Detroit Lions.

Optimus then explained to my why the Autobots were here; they were fighting a war against something called the Decepticons and their leader Megatron. Optimus even explained the history of the planet Cybertron and how it was now a barren wasteland of a planet. I felt pity for the giant Cybertronians as I was told of their history. I closed my eyes and decided that if they were informing me of this, I should inform them of where I had come from.

Optimus ended his story and there was a small space of silence before I spoke up, "To answer you earlier question Special Agent Fowler, I came from a place that I am not proud of." I paused and looked at Agent Fowler. He looked shocked and so did the Autobots. No one had told me that he was a special agent, I knew because of his discussion with Silas. "I know your title because I was there, I was in the chopper, I was in one of the cars."

"What are you talking about?" Arcee asked on high alert.

"I was a part of MECH." I breathed.

Silence, it can be blissful and it can be deadly depending on the situation. In my current one, I felt that it was one hundred percent deadly. "What?" Agent Fowler asked.

"I was with MECH when they tried to seize the DINGIS," I said ashamed. "My adoptive father is a major official within MECH," not false and not true at the same time. Silas was MECH, "and he convinced me when I was fifteen to become a part of it. I did. When Silas blew up the tracks, I knew that I had to get out of there. I knew I couldn't sit idly by while Silas murdered innocents to either get what he wanted or deprive his enemies of what he did not receive. I hacked into MECH's mainframe and downloaded some things onto it before I made my escape in an F-22 Raptor. The starboard engine blew and I ejected myself from the plane. I was forced to work my way on foot towards civilization when this…Airachnid attacked me and I was forced to cut off my own arm in sake of survival. I hope to atone for what I have done or failed to do, but something deep down in my heart tells me that I'll never be able to do that."

"Ratchet, is he lying?" the green one asked. Bulkhead, that one was definitely Bulkhead.

"No, his heart rate didn't spike like it does when one is lying." Ratchet said.

"Flare? You observed the boy, what did he seem like to you?" Optimus Prime asked.

"The boy seemed like he was determined to do something important," the golden one spoke up. Flare as she was called. Flare had a soft, yet firm voice that had a motherly tone to it. "I felt like it was important to not interfere and try to keep him safe from harm due to the Autobot code, but I failed when Airachnid got him and I was too far away to help him until I found him bleeding in the forest after the coward ran away."

"It sounds too convenient for me," Arcee said, "I mean why would a child have to know how do to all of those things?"

"I wouldn't know the exact reasons," Agent Fowler replied, "but it has happened in the past of the human race and it is happening now. There are such things as child soldiers in the world, some much younger than this young man before us."

"I still don't trust him and I don't trust what he gave you," Arcee said. "What if what he gave you was a virus?"

"I didn't though." I croaked.

"Says the only one who knows what could possibly be on the file."

"I understand that you don't trust me," I said closing my eyes. "I wouldn't trust someone placed in your situation either from what Optimus Prime has just told me about you. In any case, right now I think that it would have just been a hell of a lot simpler if I had just been allowed to die in that forest."

There was a shocked silence before Flare spoke up, "How can you say such things?"

I opened my eyes and looked at the alien robots. "Because, my parents were KIA when I was eight in Iraq," I answered. "I miss them both and some of us humans believe in an afterlife where we can see the loved ones we've lost."

"What is your name, son?" Agent Fowler prodded once more.

"I'm sure that you wouldn't remember the young kid that opened the door to you and that other man in Denver that August evening," I responded. "But I sure remember you. Maybe you'll remember my grandmother's reaction to the news you gave her that her son had been killed and her daughter in law along with him. Do you remember me now, Agent Fowler?"

Agent Fowler looked at me hard and his eyes widened in recognition. "Uncle Sam's beard! You can't be Sandra Schwarz's grandson!" Agent Fowler exclaimed.

"Glad you remember me, William."

"I'm sorry for what happened to your parents Beau, but this attitude won't bring them back." Agent Fowler said softly.

"Execute me as a traitor and it will."

"Stop talking like that, please." Agent Fowler pleaded.

I shrugged and looked away from the group assembled by my bedside.

"Excuse us, would you, Beau." Agent Fowler said after a couple of minutes of silence. I only shrugged, still not looking at the group.

Wonder if they'll be talking about my detainment or will it be some other thing? I wondered. A sudden thought occurred to me. Why don't I feel any gauze or something on my face? I'm pretty sure that thing called Airachnid slashed me across the face!

The sound of footsteps permeated throughout the small space I felt like I was being enclosed into and I finally forced myself to look in the direction of the footsteps. All of the Autobots walked in along with Agent Fowler and the Special Agent didn't seem happy. I swallowed and looked from Agent Fowler to the Autobots.

"It has been decided that at the moment for your safety it is best that you remain here." Agent Fowler said.

"What?" I blurted. My heart rate picked up a bit in a small panic. "They don't trust me, you don't trust me! Why keep me here?"

"MECH doesn't know where this place is," Agent Fowler replied. "And until you are fully recovered, you cannot be moved."

"So, I'm a prisoner either way?" I asked.

"No…"
"Agent Fowler, please don't try to sugar coat this, I know the drill."

Agent Fowler sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, Beau, look at it in the way that you're under surveillance."

"Sugar coated." I said frowning at the man.

Agent Fowler sighed again and muttered something under his breath. He looked at me and said, "Yes you are being held here, but I don't view it as you being a prisoner. I view you more as a child in need of help."

I raised an eyebrow and shook my head. "View it as you will and I'll view it as I will." I replied closing my eyes and letting my head hit the pillow.

Three Days Later

I woke up feeling well rested and I was almost elated when Ratchet didn't come in to check on me like he had the previous two times I had woken up. I felt a bit stronger and I assumed that was due to the fact that the donor blood had taken effect and my own blood cells were forming. I was still hooked up to an IV and the monitors, which I found irritating, and that didn't really make me happy.

Heavy, metal, footsteps were coming towards me and I recognized the sound of the gates as Optimus Prime and Ratchet. "Good, you're awake." Ratchet said.

"Yeah, and so are you." I replied a bit snarky.

"Beau, please, we are only concerned about your well being." Optimus Prime stepped in.

I bowed my head and then raised it. "When can I start walking around again? I feel fine."

"You've been bedridden for eight days, you might not have the strength to walk." Ratchet pointed out.

"Either way, I want to try," I said. "I don't want to be bedridden for the rest of my natural life."

"Let me unhook you from the IV's first and then we'll see how you're feeling."

I nodded my head and waited for the medic to do that. With such big hands, I was curious as to how they'd work. I watched as Ratchet carefully removed the IV from the veins in my left hand and placed a cotton ball there to stop the bleeding. Ratchet stood up straight and looked at me with his blue eyes. "Are you ready?" he asked me.

I nodded my head once again and slowly moved my legs off of the bed and sat up. I closed my eyes after I saw the stump. "Are you sure that you are ready to progress?" Optimus asked with concern.

I gritted my teeth and opened my eyes. "Positive." I replied with grim determination. I stood up and felt wobbly. I took a step and stumbled a bit. I ground my teeth together and found a new resolve down in my chest to continue. I was going to do this, no matter what; I was going to find a way! I took another step forward and then another. I saw a chair that was across from a mirror and I slowly made my way to the chair. I sat down in it and looked at myself in the mirror. I was shocked by what I saw. It wasn't me. A man with a full beard looked back at me. He looked skinny. I must have lost twenty pounds or so over the week I had been bedridden. The eyes were sunken in and there was a nasty scar across the face. Not to mention a stump of an arm and a bloody mess of bandages where the elbow was supposed to connect to the forearm.

I swallowed and so did the man in the mirror. How had this happened? "How long until the arm heals?" I asked with my eyes closed.

"I'm not sure," Ratchet replied. "But from what I have read on the subject on humans, it should take at least a month."

My eyes snapped open. "A month!" I cried.

"I believe so, yes." Ratchet said.

"Great." I mumbled.

"Although, I think Agent Fowler is stopping by with some surgeons."

"Why?" I asked.

"To fit you for an experimental prosthetic." Ratchet answered.

"What kind of experimental prosthetic?" I asked wearily.

"The kind that is attached directly into your nervous system and attached permanently to your body like your original had been before you removed it." Ratchet answered.

I thought about it for a moment and the nodded my head in acceptance; I had been doing that a lot today. "Tell, Fowler that I'll do it." I heard an odd alarm going off and I looked around in confusion.

"Proximity alarm," Optimus answered. "It means that Agent Fowler is here with the surgeons."

"So you can tell him yourself that you accept the prosthetic." Ratchet added as he and Optimus exited the room that I had been in for over a week.

I couldn't help but let a little smile form at the left corner of my mouth. I didn't have to wait long for Agent Fowler and the surgeons to show up in the room. "Hello, Agent Fowler." I greeted.

"Hello, Beau." Agent Fowler responded.

"Ratchet told me why you're visiting today," I said. "I think that I'd like to try it out."

"The prosthetic?" Fowler asked. I nodded. "Good. Doctor Butcher will take it from here."

Doctor Butcher? I thought looking at the three surgeons in front of me. That's an interesting name, especially for a surgeon.

"I'm Doctor Butcher," a male in his early fifties with a grey beard said. "We'd like to perform the surgery today, if that's alright with you."

I glanced at the stump and then looked at the doctors. "Isn't it healed properly yet?" I asked.

"Enough for what we have in mind," Doctor Butcher answered. "We need the skin to heal around the implants and we also need the bone to heal around the implants as well."

"Oh." I said in a small voice.

"You'll only be bedridden for another week."

"Do you have any idea how hard that is?" I asked.

"Sorry, but it seems that you were active before your accident," Doctor Butcher said. "The wound after the surgery will take only two weeks to fully heal."

I frowned. "Two weeks?" I questioned.

"You seem to have an abnormally fast healing rate for a human being." Doctor Butcher said.

"How so?" I asked.

"The cut on your face is scarred over already," the doctor replied. "Normally it'd still be scabbed over."

"Oh." I said simply.

"So, can you walk back to the bed?"

I nodded and gingerly stood up and stumbled. Agent Fowler caught me and I looked at him. "Thanks." I said.

"Don't mention it." Agent Fowler replied.

We walked back to the bed and I sat down on it. I laid down on it and the doctors prepped me for surgery. The last thing I remembered was them placing an oxygen mask over my nose and mouth before my eyelids closed.