CHAPTER 8
No Choice Left

"The sunset's really pretty tonight."

Mark ran a hand through his hair slowly as he and Hound watched the sunset that night. Hound chuckled at his young friend's attempt to create small talk, and smiled at him. He looked over at Mark thoughtfully for a moment, and then spoke up. "Y'know it's truly a sight..." He carefully moved his hand underneath Mark who gave a startled cry and deposited him carefully onto his shoulder "From my height."

Hound calmly stood to his feet as Mark clutched tightly. "Whoa! WHOA!" He stated quietly.

"Yer fine." Hound held him with a hand "You won't fall Mark."

As he was finally standing at full height, Hound turned back towards the sunset. Mark was stunned, it was just as beautiful as Hound had suggested. His eyes widened, and he clutched onto a bit of his shoulder. "Wow, this is... This is how you see everything?" Hound nodded with a grin "This is so cool, Hound. Now I'm kinda jealous of you." He chuckled a little.

Hound smirked, and rubbed his thumb along Mark's head. "Well, you get a real treat then, I suppose." He explained "Few humans really get to see from this height for just a relaxing moment." He noted "Most of the time, it's other, more war-related reasons." He smiled up at the boy who still seemed awestruck "Is it really that amazing for you humans?"

"And a little scary..." Mark chuckled nervously "I would really hate to be the guy who fell from this high."

Hound laughed slightly. "You're safe with me, Mark." Hound replied softly "Always."

For once, Mark was surprised to realize that he didn't doubt that. Somehow he was slowly beginning to feel safe around the mech, like around him, no one could, or would hurt him. He bit his lip slightly, unsure of how to respond to that out loud. The answer that came out of his mouth surprised him, nearly making him bite his tongue. "I know." It was so soft that only Hound could have possibly heard it.

Hound was silent a moment, and then shifted. "So, I've been thinking..."

"Don't hurt yourself." Mark snorted.

"Punk." Hound jested, then added "I was going to say that I was thinking when I take you out of town. Maybe I can stick around with ye just a little bit longer." Mark turned to Hound in surprise "You've been being looked after by me for so long... I'm kinda worried that if I leave you on yer own right away it won't end well." He then added "I can stick around ye, at least until yer on your feet."

"Hound, you've done plenty for me." Mark replied "You don't need to-."

"I want to."

"I get that, I do." Mark told him quickly "And if you could do that it would be great. But the Autobots need you, Hound." Hound frowned at that "I'm just a kid; you've got a whole planet to worry about." The next word pained him more than anything "I can't ask you to take care of me for the rest of my life. Even if I know you would if you could."

Hound looked away at that comment, as if feeling uncomfortable. He knew the boy was right, if he could take care of him for the rest of his life, he would. He'd do it in a sparkbeat at this point. But what government would let him? He knew it would be a long string of custody fights, arguments, and the like. He didn't know if he could Mark through that, or the war itself. "I... Understand." He finally spoke "If us parting ways is what you want this week, then that's what we'll do."

"Please don't be upset." Mark replied "I really like you, Hound." Hound peered over at him "If it hadn't been for you I'd probably be dead right now, or in that freak Cyclonus's hands." Hound was silent for another several moments "And you're the only reason I have even a little trust for anyone again." Hound smiled a little at that "But you and I know if we were both on the run, someone's going to see us. And this whole thing will come crashing down."

Hound hated to say that that was indeed the truth. There was still an amber alert out, and at any time, it could get them both into a heap of trouble that Hound didn't want to be in. "Mark..." Hound was silent for a moment "Sometime tomorrow, I want to have a serious talk with you." Mark frowned slightly "When it's just the two of us."

"Why?"

"Because I want this to be private."

Hound tried to hide the longing look in his optics. But he knew he was going to do it: he was going to ask Mark to turn himself in. So that he could recharge at night without worrying every day that he may be on the news, having been found dead in a ditch somewhere. It was becoming increasingly clear that it would be the case if Mark left that week and he never saw him again. It wasn't living in his care, but at the very least, Mark would be in a home, safe, and cared for. Which was without a doubt the next best thing.

"Hey!" Hound turned towards Crosshairs, who was motioning him over "C'mon you two, I want to get back and get a cube of Energon. I'm starving." He then added "You can gawk at the sunset on the way back."

"Alright."

Hound set Mark back on the ground, and transformed, opening his door for Mark. "Hound, are you okay?"

"Fine."

Or at least, he hoped he would be. And for that matter, he hoped Mark would be too.

...

Hound and the other Autobots had only left for a moment the next day when the sound of cannon fire filled their audio receptors. It was loud, and defining, and at first, they believed it to be the Yeagar's new home itself. It was only after tearing back down the road they had driven down that they quickly saw the remains of what had been the new barn, up in flames and with rubble all around. "MARK!" Was all he could get from his cracked voice as the large, purple Cybertronian jet took off into the distance.

For a moment, he went back to the day of the raid on the base where his family lived. He remembered the rubble, the pain, the fear, the anguish as he pulled the bodies of both his sparkmate and son out of the rubble of their home. NO! You can't have him! He shouted through his thoughts as he tore off towards the rubble YE TOOK EVERYTHING ELSE FROM ME! Mark isn't yers to take!

"What the hell is going on!?" He could hear Cade Yaegar shout, rushing out front from inside the house.

Hound made it to the rubble, and immediately began to tear it away. His optics searched frantically for any biological sign. There was nothing, no life signal, no nothing. He could feel his energon tears start to surface. "SLAG IT MARK!" He slammed his fist to the side "You can't be dead! Yer NOT DEAD!"

"Mark? Who's Mark?" Cade stopped beside Crosshairs, and stared up at him "What's wrong with Hound?"

Both Drift and Crosshairs exchanged worried glances, unsure of how to reply. It seemed as though they were all trying to take in what had happened. Until coughing filled the air, followed by choking. Hound's head shot up, and he stood, stepping over the rubble. He found Mark lying on the ground, several feet from the remains of the barn, but somewhat burned and covered in ash. "Primus almighty..." He breathed easily "Mark, Mark, it's okay..."

"C-Cyclonus." Mark choked, trying to sit up and failing "I was right outside the barn... I t-tried to move."

Cade made his way around the corner of the barn, as his eyes immediately fell on Mark. Or rather, Hound's petrified form that hovered over Mark before picking him up, and cradling him against his chestplate. "Would someone mind telling me what a boy was doing in my barn?" Cade looked over expectedly at Tessa "I thought you and Lucky Charms were still going strong?"

"I don't have time to explain." Hound noted "He's been hurt pretty slaggin' bad. I need to take him to a hospital." He noted.

"Let me take him, I can take him." Cade motioned forward "If any of you guys show up-."

"I need to-!"

"Hound, listen to me." Cade held up his hands "I don't know who he is, but he's a kid. And if he's hurt enough for a hospital, I'm your best bet. I'll take Bee, he's the most inconspicuous of you guys." He stated as he pointed towards Bumblebee "You gotta trust me, Hound. You don't want to make a scene."

Hound looked down at Mark, who was fighting to keep awake, and then down at Cade. Slowly, he crouched down, and deposited Mark into his arms as gently as he could. The man looked up at Hound for a long moment, then at the boy. "Mark, you can trust him, Cade's a friend." He noted at Mark's look of utter fear in his eyes "I'll be right behind ye, kiddo. It's going to be okay."

"They're going to ask for a name." Cade commented.

"... Mark." Hound told him slowly "His name's Mark Savoy." By the look on his face, Cade seemed to make the connection.

No more words were exchanged as Bumblebee transformed down, throwing open his car door. Hound could feel his spark nearly beating out of his chest as Cade wasted no time flooring the gas and driving down the road. "Hound..." Sideswipe spoke up as he noticed Hound starting to shake "You couldn't have seen that coming. That missile came out of nowhere, we're just lucky-."

"I'm going to kill Cyclonus." Hound muttered "Mark could have died!"

Crosshairs looked thoughtful. "And since he lived... We all know he's going to try again." Crosshairs commented "Now do you see why we shouldn't have brought him into this, Hound? Because this is what the Decepticons do!" He shouted, his voice sounding loud and frustrated "Primus, if Cyclonus has a target on his head..."

"This isn't my fault!" Hound rebottled "If I hadn't come into contact with him, he would be dead right now!"

It was then that Tessa spoke up for the first time, her voice wavering. "Do one of you guys think you could fill me in on what just happened?" She asked "Who was that kid?" She asked louder this time.

Hound wouldn't stick around to answer the question. As the next thing that anyone knew, he had transformed down and taken off, his anger slowly, but surely building in him. How could this have happened? Mark had done nothing to Cyclonus, how could that mech be so cowardly as to attempt to blow up a child? His engines roared once again as he felt another bit of rage build up. Cyclonus wouldn't get away with that, he swore. He would not get away with attacking one of his friends like that, a cowardly deed like that would go punished.

But for now, with Cyclonus at the advantage with jet engines. He could only tear through the scenery of Texas, and try and resist the urge to shoot everything in sight.

...

When he returned later that day, he found himself greeted by a woman who introduced herself as Dana Walsh. A member of the human group that called themselves the Department of Social Services. And none to his surprise, the group had not let the fact that a young boy from an amber alert had just turned up in Texas, having nearly been blown up. "So let me get this straight..." Dana commented, sitting on a log outside the home with the group of Autobots standing in front of her, with the exception of Bumblebee, who was still on guard at the hospital. "You've known that Markus Savoy was here for almost three weeks and never thought to-."

"Only I did." Hound interrupted "No one had any idea that he was even here until I brought him to the barn..." Dana frowned at that, taking a note on her clipboard "I'm still waiting for you or Cade to explain to me whether he's alright or not." Dana was silent at that, taking the glasses off her face "Despite what you may believe, I am worried out of my processor."

Dana sighed, and looked thoughtfully back up at him. "If you're going to insist on asking, Markus is fine." Hound sighed in relief "He's a lucky kid, very minor burns, a broken arm, and a few broken ribs." She then added "If this so-called "Decepticon"'s missile had hit any closer though he wouldn't have made it." Hound looked down, guilt pulling at him.

"If I may ask..." Hound paused "What will happen to him now?"

"He'll recover in the hospital, and then he'll go to a foster home." Dana explained "Like he should have been in months ago."

Crosshairs immediately stepped forward at that, shaking his head. "I'm afraid that's out of the question." Dana raised an eyebrow at that "Ms. Walsh, the mech that nearly killed him today, Cyclonus, will target him again when he finds out he's alive." The woman frowned "As much as I disliked his father, Markus now needs to be under protective detail. And I don't suppose we can just assign him a guardian in this case."

"No shit." Dana replied "But what do you expect me to do? I can't just throw you on every foster home he goes to. If he needs protective detail... Well, I'm afraid that's out of the question." She explained "Unless I can guarantee every home he goes to is affiliated with you people. And honestly, I can't exactly promise that... No matter how much of a threat this "Cyclonus" poses."

"That's an unwise direction to take." Drift told her calmly "He nearly died today."

"On your watch."

"Because at this point we thought Cyclonus had forgotten him." Drift argued "It would not happen a second time."

Hound was silent as this discussion went on, turning around and walking a small distance. This was a terrible position he had put them both in. Mark was okay, yes, but if he went to a foster home now things were going to go to hell quite fast. For a moment, he looked into the distance, and then he finally turned around. "And what if one of us took him ourselves?" He spoke up, his optics rotating "We'll be at NEST Base here in Texas soon. We have plenty of room to convert one of the barracks into a bedroom." He then added "And until he could move in, we could get one of the NEST operatives that do foster care to take him with Autobot supervision. Most of them don't do long-term, but I'm sure they could take him for a few months."

"Hound-." Crosshairs began to interject before Hound threw up a hand.

"You can't actually be serious." Dana laughed.

"What would one have to do?" Hound noted "Hypothetically if we wanted to take it upon ourselves to protect and take care of him."

"As in, you...?" Dana noted "The Autobot that harbored a runaway and practically kidnapped him?" She asked.

Hound looked down at her, then back at Crosshairs. The mech looked none-too-happy, but even he had to understand. At this point, they had no choice if they wanted to be certain that they would not be responsible for the loss of an innocent life next time. And after a moment, it was clear that Crosshairs had come to that conclusion himself, as he slowly backed off. "Yes." Hound noted "I am suggesting myself to take legal guardianship of Markus Franklin Savoy."

"You can't be serious."

"What would I have to do?" Hound insisted.

Dana stood there for a long moment, her eyes focused on Hound. "Come with me." Dana finally spoke up "I'm going to need to talk to my superior before I can even tell you if it's possible." She noted "This is not a typical case."

"Call who you need to." Hound insisted.

As Dana walked towards her car, and Hound started toward her, Crosshairs held his arm out. "Think about what you're doing, Hound." Crosshairs told him in a low voice "If you do this... If you go through their legal proceedings to become a "foster" parent, you can't take it back without hurting him."

Hound stood there for a long moment, mulling the thought over in his head. "I already have thought about it." Hound told him quietly, pushing Crosshairs' arm down "Trust that I know what I'm doing, Crosshairs." He told him calmly "We no longer have any other choices."

Hound only hoped that this would work.

...

A/N: Woo, longer chapter. I had originally thought to end it at the second part of the chapter, but it felt too anti-climactic for me. And as for how this all goes for Hound, whelp, I'll see you all next chapter! ;)