XVIII
It was strange. Such a strange feeling. An invisible cage kept him in place but he could still see the outside world. He could still feel his body moving through reality. Strange, isn't it? Though locked out of control, he could see so much clearer. His mind was finally opened. The memories that belonged to his counterpart were now his. It was just…strange.
"Got to stop using that word," sighed Kyle.
He looked around the empty space. Trapped in his own mind. Or was it Knockout's now? Though everything seemed clear and open, he was somewhat confused and flustered. It was probably the stupid medication Knockout was feeding himself. Kyle smirked. It was only a matter of time before it would lose potency, lose effect. It was only a matter of time.
Mary folded her arms. She'd accompanied Arcee, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead to the supposed location of the next Decepticon uprising. It was a quiet little place, hardly seemed worth visiting. Nothing seemed to have ever happened in this little place. Mary glanced at the Autobots. The three were wondering around, patrolling or something. Mary sighed, separating from the group. She couldn't wait any longer.
"Kyle has to be around her somewhere," whispered Mary. "I know he is…"
It was a lovely little town. People would walk by and say hi to her. Small shops and window shoppers. Mary smiled. She could see herself living here someday. She'd live in a little one story house with two bedrooms. She stopped, looking into one of the stores. The more she thought about a little place to live, the more she thought about Kyle. Did she really want to spend the rest of her life with him?
Suddenly, there was a crash. The shop window burst, throwing Mary back. She was lucky enough to shield her face from the flying glass, cutting up her arms in the process. She collapsed the ground with a groan. The store began to produce smoke. Silhouetted in the fog, figures emerged. Mary tried to focus. She heard a click, instinctually rolling out of the way before a gun was fired.
"Slag, I missed."
Mary looked back, watching the smoke clear around Starscream and a Soundwave. Starscream smirked, taking aim again. Mary stumbled to her feet, racing away. Soundwave stuck out an arm in front of Starscream before a second shot was fired.
"What are you doing!?" howled Starscream. "That's Knockout's human friend…"
Soundwave nodded, pointing the opposite way. Starscream snarled but complied, walking away. Soundwave turned back toward the fleeing Mary. She hadn't gotten too far, still within sight. Soundwave nodded, taking to the chase. It didn't take long for him to grab her. His hand wrapped around her collar, yanking her back. She yelped, but it was stifled as the collar pulled against her throat.
"Let go of me!" shouted Mary, struggling to break free.
Soundwave used his free hand to grab her by the arm. Mary fell silent. Soundwave led her by the arm, down the street, and out of sight.
"What do you mean we lost her!" gasped Arcee.
Bulkhead and Bumblebee refused eye contact, looking at anything other than Arcee. Arcee sighed, looking around as well. This town wasn't big, but it was big enough to lose a human in. Optimus wouldn't be happy. As the three stood, sirens began to go off nearby. The three exchanged looks and took off in the direction of the noise.
"Looks like a store got robbed," Bulkhead offered.
"With that kind of damage? Has to be the Cons," Arcee replied.
Bumblebee tugged at Arcee's sleeve, pointing at one of the officers interviewing a witness. Arcee leaned in, listening to the conversation. At first it wasn't helpful, until the mentioning of a woman taken by one of the thieves. Arcee groaned, turning back to the two.
"Well?" Bulkhead hummed.
"They took Mary…"
Knockout couldn't think straight. He was tired mostly, refusing to sleep though. Breakdown had wondered off, getting a call from Starscream. They were about to head out. One town over should be the location of their long lost leader. Something felt off though. It was a feeling like everything was going to end soon.
"They're on their way back," Breakdown hummed, coming up behind Knockout.
"Time to move again," nodded Knockout.
"Feeling okay?" Breakdown mumbled.
"Just tired…" sighed Knockout.
"It's a side effect probably. You've been taken too much of it. You should lay off it," snapped Breakdown.
"No!" shouted Knockout, storming away.
"This is going to end badly…I can tell already," sighed Breakdown.