Chapter 13

Area 51? Well, it makes sense I guess. You have alien robots in this world, so the government made a secret sector to deal with them and anything they brought. Ignore the part where that name is infamous where i'm from (is it the same here? From the way Fowler grinned, I think it is the same here).

My immediate curiosity went to how old Area 51 is, as it'd give me an idea of how long humans have known about the Cybertronians. In the movie verse, humans, or at least the US government, had known about the Cybertronians for two centuries, due to the frozen big, bad and ugly they held. Depending on how long the government has known about the Cybertronians, I'd get an idea how their relationship with the AutoBots were received and developed.

Why is that any of my business? Because… okay, I was just curious. Even though Prime was dark for a kids show, it still wasn't realistically dark. As in, human casualties on screen, dark. Plenty implied, not the same as shown though.

And maybe tragedy will force me to confront that this is all real. That this isn't just a kid's show anymore.

The cool air conditioned room chilled me from the warm weather outside. We walked into a large lobby with white tiled floors. In front of us was a white wall and two sets of stairs at its sides which must lead to a second floor. There were guards directly besides us, standing watch at the door. A half circle desksat in the front of the wall behind which was a receptionist, a young male soldier. I could feel the eyes of the guards as we approached the receptionist desk.

I hate government buildings.

"Hello, how may I help you?" The guy behind the desk greeted.

"Yes, we're here for the meeting with General Pryce," Fowler responded, taking out a black wallet from inside his jacket and handing over two cards I couldn't see. The receptionist took them, looking them over and typing in his computer, before apparently being satisfied, and handing them back.

"You know where to go Agent Fowler?" the man grinned at the Agent, to which he waved off.

"Yeah, just get her through," Fowler said as he put back the cards in his wallet. The receptionist printed out something, and laid a pen next to it. He turned to look at me.

"So if you'll sign here, I'll get you a visitors pass. You need to stay with someone the entire time you're here, that means no wandering off, understood?"

I nodded, listening to the receptionist while also looking over the paper. It was basically a nondisclosure agreement. You can't tell anyone about this, not the press, not your family, not anyone, and no making things in the likeness of classified information (so making a knockoff of the Transformers is no good, huh?).

I signed the forms, got an ID badge, and then we were on our way, Fowler making sure I stayed strictly by his side. I tried to memorize the twists and turns of the halls, but I quickly lost track. Yeah, no trying to treck this place by myself. All too quickly we reached an office door, besides which was a plaque that read "General Robert Bryce". Oh boy. Calmdownnoneedforunnecessarypanic!

We entered the office and it was…

It was…

Very…

Ordinary.

Yep, definitely not what I was expecting. Due to my eyes not having adjusted from outside yet, it was a bit too dark inside the grey office for my liking. It was an average space for an office, and not in a bad spot either, considering the window directly across from the door (though blinds were currently up for some reason, not that it would help considering the setting sun). Grey walls, that cheap ugly grey carpet, two chairs, and a wooden desk was in the room.

Oh wait! Is that a painting I see? What majesty! It really livens things up, doesn't it? A painting of jets.

A white landline phone sat on the desk, along with a golden name plate with "General Bryce" and four stars with a black background etched into the metal, and, least I forget, the General himself was behind the desk. Said general was on older white man with buzzed brown hair and brown eyes. He had a beefy face, and a mustache, like the most stereotypical Hollywood General you can think of. He was wearing a dark green military jacket, with pins and things I had no idea the half of meant, underneath which was a white dress shirt and a black tie. He looked vaguely familiar, but I had no idea where I'd seen the man. The General stood up, and Fowler entered the room first, giving a salute to the General.

"General Bryce," Fowler greets.

"Agent Fowler," he nods, then turned towards me, reaching out a hand that I take. The door closed behind me.

"And you must be Ms. Evensbrough. A pleasure to meet you," General Bryce smiled as we shook hands. I smiled back, hopefully politely enough, and not nervously, and very respectful and all that. What? How dare I accuse myself of nervousness?! I have guts of steel!

Well not literally, that would be impossible, except for the Cybertronians who were made of metal, but then could you really call their innards guts? Guts after all imply cellular biology, not… what were Cybertronians made out of? Questions for later.

The General then gestured to the corner of the room, where, to my surprise, there was another person. I couldn't see their face in the shadows.

The person stepped into the lighting.

"And this is Agent Cauley, you've met I assume?" The agent smiled in that creepy way and nodded towards me.

Keep it civil Rachel.

I nod towards the Agent and smile.

"We have," I turn back towards the General. "And I'd like to thank you for your quick response to the situation. I was very...confused about what had happened that night," I chuckled. Talk about an understatement. Still, my mind had wondered to the "what if" question more than once since that fateful day I arrived, and I am very, very thankful that I came out of that night alive at all.

The general gestured to the two chairs with blue cushions in front of the desk. I took one, while Fowler took the other.

"I'd like to start by assuring you Ms. Evensbrough that on behalf of the United States government you will receive the benefits of asylum status here until further notice. This will give you the documentation needed to do most things, though if you have any needs at all that we can help you with, please don't hesitate to call upon Agent Fowler. You can work out any details with him, and we'll try to make it work."

I beamed. This. This is what I wanted to hear, to not be in legal limbo. To have an easy cover.

"Thank you."

Why did I have an uneasy feeling? There was a catch to all of this wasn't there?

There's always a catch.

"Accommodations wise, I can pull some strings and get you a start here if you'd like. A fresh start. I've been told you are already well informed on the aliens, and we could use as much of an edge as we get our hands on. You'd be paid a livable wage," he offered, and just like that my like of him went to zero. Of course they wanted to know what I knew. And I had no doubt that Agent Fowler also informed the General of what I'd told him.

"Infomed in the sense that my info can be wildly incorrect. This place isn't fiction anymore," I reminded. He chuckled and shook his head.

"No. No it's not fiction, but any information can be measured against what we already have and know." I nod in understanding, but I wanted to get a sense of my options.

"And if I wanted to stay with the Autobots?" I asked. The General leaned forwards, his fingers weaved together on the desk.

"You may if you would like to, but it's not the choice I would recommend." That caught me by surprise. At my confusion, the General continued.

"The Autobot base, while secure, is not meant for long term human habitation. And having a human constantly come in and out could jeopardize the security of the site."

"But it was originally built for humans to use." I didn't bother pointing out the other humans who come in-and-out of the base as well. I'm starting to have a wiggling doubts that the General knows about Miko, Raf, and Jack.

The General nodded. "Most of which has been stripped for the Autobots convenience. Not to mention the dangers of living with giant robots that are at war." The tone he was using was chastising, like I was some kid that needed to be talked down to. Did he seriously not know I knew the dangers of such a choice?

"No offense General, but you can't help me get back home. They can. Dangerous or not, I need to be close by so maybe we can figure out what happened."

The General nodded slowly.

"Know we can't guarantee your safety then." Aw, that's cute, they thought they could protect me from the giant evil robots that can kill them in seconds. Yeah, excuse me if I trust the Autobots more than the government.

"Maybe a third option, a compromise, is best, sir?" Agent Cauley spoke, startling me because I'd momentarily forgotten he was there. He had moved besides Agent Fowler without me noticing. The General indicated for him go continue.

"Perhaps we can set up lodging for you near the base? You'd be able to visit the robots regularly, and you can still get a salary by sending us reports monthly." A salary based on the Cybertronian secrets I could provide them that is, and that just didn't sit right with me.

Then again, no one specified the type of information I had to give, and I could completely BS them if I wanted and still take the money. Having a place outside the base would give me privacy, the Autobots wouldn't have to worry about me anymore (or at least, worry about me as much as they do the kids), and I could still be there everyday.

"How much would this salary entail?" I asked the General.

"1,500$ per month, we'd also provide housing."

"Then you've got yourself a deal General," I smiled.

8

Well that went better than expected. Why was I so nervous again? I can't seem to remember why.

We had negotiated a contract, and the General promised he'd get it written up and sent to me. In the meantime, Fowler and I took the time to dish out everything I wanted (to a degree. It was a flat no when I asked if I could have a game console), and we worked out some of the little things as far as my asylum status. After our secret military base excursion, we stopped by to get me some clothes, some toiletries, and some simple food items (thank God, if I had to eat another PB & J I'd go insane, no offense to Jack). To top it all off, he took me out to a restaurant for some real food.

Happy days, happy days!

On our way back to Jasper, we'd even gotten to talking about our lives a bit.

Okay, it was mainly me talking about my life. One thing that came out of this is that at least school's on hold for now.

"I'm surprised, I thought you were a high school student," Fowler commented.

"Nope, finished with public school and it's not something I ever want to do again!" I was currently in the back seat looking through the simple black flip phone Fowler had given to me. It was fairly basic, with call, text, and extremely slow and small internet access available. The only number in my contacts was Fowler. I had no doubt this phone would be watched closely, so I'm probably not going to use it much.

"What, no 4G?" I smiled. We were in the middle of nowhere, no sane broadband company would provide that in an area so remote.

"Tell me if you get that here," Agent Fowler laughed.

I noticed there was a calendar. Cool. Open that… hmm it's off. Date's right, years wrong. Settings, date/time, hmm… it's using the network. Weird.

"Hey, Agent Fowler, this phone is off, it's date is wrong." Off or just old? I know the military is slow to get new tech dispersed, security and all that takes time, but I'll admit I was disappointed I didn't get a smartphone. Agent Fowler didn't respond and for a second I considered he hadn't heard me. Before I could repeat myself though, the liaison responded.

"What's the date say?" His tone had shifted to serious. This was starting to worry me.

"March 7th, 2011," I said slowly. "The years wrong."

"And what year do you think it is?"

I raised an eyebrow at the question.

"2018 obviously."

Uh, what's with that look? Hey, what did I say?


A/N: Slight fix in previous chapters

I was on the fence about including the time travel, because I really didn't want to have to stick with a calendar, but in the end I decided to do it. I went back and fixed date and time issues for the previous chapters. You don't have to go back and reread it, the changes were small. The biggest change is that Rachel spent 4 days in the hospital instead of a day and a half. This is to match the 2011 calendar. Why didn't Rachel notice? Once she saw the date was the same (not noticing their was no year mentioned), she put it out of her mind. Years aren't mentioned as much as days or dates, so it was easy to miss.

Criticism's? Questions? Want to just say Hi? Comments are appreciated!

Scheduling: I have summer school Friday and Saturday, so releases (as seen on my profile) will be on Sunday or Monday. Following this story is probably the best way to know though.

Doesn't that make this late? Yes, now hush. Maybe they won't notice.

Also Note: I don't own Transformers, nor Prime. Ain't nobody got time for that.