When Worlds Collide

Chapter Four

I woke up to the sounds of blaring sirens. The sound practically made me jumped out of my clothes! I turned to the other kids, who looked a little nervous, except Miko. She had the expression of someone who wanted to up chuck.

“Great,” she said in disgust. “Agent Loser is coming.”

I cocked my head at her statement. “Agent who?” She didn’t have a chance to tell me though. Ratchet scooped my up in his arms and started trotting off, causing me to gasp. “H-Hey! What gives?! Where are you taking me?! Let me go!” I started hitting his chest and thrashing about. However, I just hurt myself in the process. He glared at me in annoyance “Will you stop squirming for one moment?! I’m taking you home before Agent Fowler finds out about you.” I glared back at him and commented, “Who’s this Agent Fowler guy you keep talking about?! Why don’t you want him to see me?!”

“Agent Fowler is our liaison of your government. It’s his job to make sure no humans know of us. We already have four humans besides him who know of our existence and he doesn’t want any more. If he sees you, he’ll blow a gasket.” I furrowed my eye brows and held on to him.

“I see…So what about the Decepticons who went to that forest? Will they come back?”

“I don’t know. I wouldn’t doubt it however. It’s unlike them to give up early. Why do you ask?”

I swallowed a little as I stammered a reply. “I-I just want to make sure. I mean, the forest there is really close to my hometown a-and I don’t want to run into them again.” He narrowed his eyes, looking like he was calculating my answer. I didn’t dare let him see my face. I didn’t want to tell him the truth. Even though Ratchet and his buddies saved my life, I just met them. I can’t trust them. Not yet, at least. He didn’t say any more as we made our way to an empty room. He set me on a metal box as he gave me a stern look.

“Stay here. No matter what you hear or see, stay in here. Is that understood?” I nodded. “Yes sir.” He nodded back and walked off, the door closing automatically behind him. I sighed as I looked to the ceiling. ‘God. Please. Please watch over my town and my clan. Please make sure they don’t find SunClan. Please dear God.’

I felt like crying. Mainly out of frustration. I thought all my troubles were over. I thought after so many seasons my clan was safe and secure. Now there are giant, evil, organic androids stomping through my territory, threatening the very thing I hold dear and I can’t do a thing about it! I brought my legs to my chest and held them. I cried silently into my knees. ‘Oh Orangeblaze. Why can’t you be here to help me? I—I need you so much right now.’

I cried for a good two minutes or more before I wiped my eyes. I took a shaky breath, slowly pulling myself together. All I could think about was Spottedtail, Softnose, my grand-kits, and my other clan mates. I had to find a way to protect them. My veins started turning to stone as I thought of strategies to keep these ‘Decepticons’ away from our borders. I was yanked from my thoughts when the doors opened. My heart did a little dance as I waited for the intruder to show themselves.

It was Miko, smiling like she won the million dollar jack-pot. “Hey Alicen! Whatcha doing?” I sighed in relief and gripped my chest.

“Jeez! Don’t do that! You almost gave me a heart attack for StarClan’s sake!” She gave me a look of confusion as she came into the room. “What’s StarClan?”

I mentally face-palmed myself. ‘I really need to be careful with what I say! I might give myself away.’

“Uh—it’s from a video game I play.” ‘Nice save.’ That statement made Miko’s eyes sparkle for some reason. “Really?! I didn’t know you’re a gamer! What’s it called?” I started stammering for an answer. “I-I can’t remember w-what the game is called. Sorry, uh, Miko, was it?” She nodded, causing her pig tails to bounce. “Yep! The one and only! So do you really live way up north? How can you stand the cold?” My eyes widen as I stared at her. “What do you mean? Aren’t we still in my state?!”

“Uh no. We’re in Jasper, Nevada.” I nearly choked on my spit at her news.

“WHAT?! What do you mean Jasper, Nevada?! How the heck did I get here?! It would have taken over six hours to get here from my house!” The Asian girl just put up her hands in defense. “Whoa Alicen. Take a chill pill. You got here by using the ground bridge.”

I just blinked at her. “A-what bridge?”

“A ground bridge. It’s kind of like—a combo of an airplane and a tunnel. If you type in the exact place where you’re at and another location, a portal will appear and take you to the place you want to go.” I thought about that for a bit, then slowly nodded.

“I see…That makes sense, I guess…So what is Agent Fowler like? He seems like a big deal around here.” Miko groaned loudly as she plopped herself next to me.

“He’s basically the king of all buzz kills! He is such a jerk too, especially to the Auto-Bots.” I frowned a little. “What do you mean? Why would he treat them bad? I mean, they’ve been protecting Earth for well…for as long as they’ve been here. Did they do something to him?”

“Heck no! He just doesn’t trust them. He thinks that since they’ve been here, things have gotten worse. But if you asked me, life has been way more fun since then!” She hopped off the box and smiled mischievously at me. “Let’s ditch this place!  I can give you the grand tour!”
“Uh I-I’m supposed to stay here. I told Ratchet that I w-would.” She gave me a not amused look. “Oh come on! That scrooge is too uptight about these types of things. We’ll make sure that Agent Doofus doesn’t see us. I promise it’ll be quick!” She offered me her hand.

My mind started feeling fuzzy as I tried to decide what to do. Ask me to come up with a war stagey and I can do it in a matter in seconds. However, ask me a simple question and I’ll end up vapor locking.

‘Wait. If I follow this chick around, she might bring me to where this ‘ground bridge’ is and I get back home to SunClan!’ I hate deceiving people, especially if they helped me out with something, but I had to make sure that my clan mates were okay. Their safety was my top priority.
“You know…I am getting kind of bored. So why not,” I said as I grabbed her hand. She beamed at my words and helped me off.

“This is going to be so awesome! I’ll show you where they keep the guns!” With that, she zoomed me right out of the room, making me squeak in surprise. She led me down grey halls, showing me where they keep their impressive weaponry, food that she called ‘energon’, and where their rooms were. I was amazed of everything I saw, but my mind starting prickling as the time ebbed away.

“Bulk and I love to hang in his room and rock out to our favorite bands! Do you have any?”

“Um I r-really like Skillet, but I was wondering if m-maybe we could check out that ground bridge you were talking about.”

She made a sheepish face and rubbed the back of her head. “Uh about that, we can’t go to the ground bridge. Agent Doofus is there. We’re trying to avoid him, remember?” I balled my fists as I tried to hide my anger. “I see. What are we-,” She suddenly covered my mouth and shushed at me. My gasp was muffled by her hand as we both heard footsteps.

“Quick! Hide!” She shoved me into an empty corner. I covered my mouth, my heart beat pounding in my ears. She walked toward the footsteps until I couldn’t see her. “Oh, h-hey Fowler! What’s up?”

‘Oh, great! The one time I decide to break the rules, I’m going to get caught for it!’

“Something is up, that’s for sure,” answered a gruff sounding voice. I swallowed as he continued. “Why is everyone acting so jumpy? Is there an upcoming Decepticon attack or something?”

“He he. Uh, not that I know of. So what are you still doing here? You’re usually gone by now.”

“Well everyone was acting so weird that I thought I could do a little investigating.” I heard some more footsteps as he continued to talk to her. “I don’t suppose you know what the Auto-Bots and the other kids are hiding, do you?”

“Nope! Not a clue! Hey how about I take you back to the control room? You look like you need some company. I can ask Ratchet to get you a ground bridge.” I heard some scuffling. I prayed to God that he would listen to her.

“Not on Washington’s breeches! I wouldn’t go through that worm hole even if you paid me! Besides, I usually go down this hall when I leave.” I heard him walking towards me. I started losing it as Miko yelled, “Wait!”

Suddenly, I saw the shocked face of an African American man who looked like he was in his fifty’s. He was wearing a blue suit, a white shirt, and a black tie. He had short, frizzy black hair and he was more on the portly side. His shock turned into a scowl as he commented to Miko, “Don’t know nothing, huh?” He grabbed my arm and started towing me back the way he came from.

“How many more kids are they going to pull into this?!” I started hitting his arm, panic rising in my system.

“H-Hey! Let me go! I said let me go dang it!” Miko tried helping by grabbing his free arm. “Yeah! Let her go! She didn’t do anything wrong!” However, he shook her off and continued his stride.
“Prime is definitely gonna hear about this!” I tried breaking away from him, but his grip was too strong. Miko couldn’t do anything but try to persuade him to let me go. Her pleas fell on deaf ears.  Before I knew it, we were back in the place I was healed. All of the Auto-Bots were there, plus one I didn’t see earlier. He was a yellow and black, six and a half foot tall android. There was a mask covering his silver face as well. His blue eyes sparkled with curiosity as he watched me. However, the others looked shocked by my return.

“Care to explain why I found this little girl hiding behind a corner of a supposed to be secret government base?! Are you guys starting a day care or something,” barked the man. I flinched under Ratchet’s harsh glare.

“I thought I told you to stay in the room!” I tried answering him, but I was cut off by my captor’s rage. “So you tried hiding her from me!? Tell me, whatever happened to ‘honesty is the best policy’?!” Optimus then stepped up as he raised his hand.

“Agent Fowler, you do not understand. We did not intend to-“

“I don’t care what you didn’t intend to do Prime! It’s what you did do that irks me! You honestly can’t hide yourself from ONE human, can you?!”

I gave Fowler a ‘what the heck’ expression as he ripped into the Auto-Bot Leader more. I could tell by the others that they wanted to say something, especially Ratchet and Bulkhead. I yanked my arm away from him, glare on my face.

“Hey! Lay off dude!” My yell could be heard ringing throughout the room. Everyone had a surprised look on their face, except for Optimus.

“It’s not their fault that some Decepticons started chasing me! And if it wasn’t for Ratchet, Arcee, and Bulkhead, I could’ve been dead! Then you would have to explain to my parents how their daughter got killed! So you should be thanking them for saving you from an unpleasant experience!” I took a deep breath and turned away from him. I didn’t notice at the time, but Arcee, Bulkhead, the yellow robot, and the kids were hiding their smiles from the stunned African American.
“W-Well I uh um-“as he stammered for his words, Optimus spoke up.

“Agent Fowler. Alicen was in mortal danger. If my friends did not help her when the Vehicons attacked, she would have died. It would have gone against everything the Auto-Bots stand for. Please understand our reasons for saving her.” The government agent looked at him, then back at me. He sighed and pinched the ridge of his nose. “I don’t get paid enough for this. “ He went up to me and showed me his badge.

“I am Special Agent William-“

“Fowler. I know. Ratchet and Miko told me about you.” He glared at me for interrupting him, but he kept talking, “Then you know why I was so upset with them?” I gave him an unamused expression. He sighed. “Look. You’re now under the protection of the Auto-Bots and the American Government since the Decepticons went after you. So that means you can’t tell anyone about this. If you do tell any of your girlfriends or family, we will have to erase your memory.”

“Uh…okay? I kind of assumed that I wouldn’t be able to tell a soul so yeah.”

Fowler glared at me, then glanced at the Auto-Bots. “She’s your responsibility now. Try not to get her killed.”

“We haven’t had a human die yet,” remarked Arcee smartly. I snorted in laughter at his reaction. With that, he turned around and matched out, boots clicking. Once he was out of ear shot, Ratchet sighed out of annoyance. “Well. That could have been gone better.” He then glared at me again, causing me to tense up once more.

“You were supposed to stay in the room! What compelled you to leave after I specifically told you not to?!” I held my hands together, avoiding eye contact with the Auto-Bot. Then I felt someone set their hand on my shoulder.

“I convinced her to go Ratchet,” stated Miko. I turned my head toward her. She looked really guilty. “Alicen wanted to stay, but then I talked her into leaving the room. So if you’re going to get mad at anyone, be mad at me.” I blinked in complete shock. I felt something in my heart twinge, but it was a good feeling. I smiled a thank you at her and she returned it. Ratchet just frowned sourly.

“I should have known you had something to do with this Miko.”

“Hey I was just trying to show her the place! You were treating her like some pet you weren’t supposed to bring home. So don’t get your panties in a knot!” Ratchet just gave her an ‘are you serious’ look. Optimus then broke it up as he spoke.

“That does not matter. Even though you were showing Alicen empathy Miko, she was supposed to stay hidden until the right moment to introduce her to Agent Fowler arose. But he knows now and there is nothing we can do to make the situation better at this time.” He turned his attention toward me and I at him. I felt myself calm down as I did. He came over to me and kneeled down so we were on the same eye level.

“I believe it is time for you to return to your town. I will have Ratchet escort you to your house.” The orange Auto-Bot looked flabbergasted at his statement. He then went straight up to him. “Optimus! Even though I would never question your decisions, I can’t just leave now! I have to check how much energon we have left and see if the super computer is running correctly! Don’t even get me started about all the sanitation I have to do because of the blood!”

I winced a little at the blood part, but I shuffled my feet shyly as I stated, “Um if y-you don’t w-want to take me home, that’s o-okay. I don’t want to be a b-burden.” The bigger android stood up and padded my shoulder. “It is no burden for us to bring you safely home Alicen.” He turned back to Ratchet.

“All those errands can wait my old friend. Escorting her home is more important.” He then looked at all the others in the room. “It is best if we all returned to our homes. I will see you all tomorrow. Farewell Alicen,” he said as he faced me again. He stared at me for a little while, and then walked away. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my returning nerves.

Rafael came up to me with the yellow robot from before. He smiled big as he got closer. “Alicen, this is Bumblebee. Bumblebee, this is Alicen. She’s the one who I was trying to tell you about before Mr. Fowler came in.” Bumblebee then started making noises that sounded a lot like beeping buttons and gears rearing. Something clicked in my mind and smiled back at him once he stopped ‘talking’. “Nice to meet you too!”

Suddenly everyone turned toward my direction, expressing shock. Even Bumblebee was staring at me strangely. I gave them all a nervous look. “W-What? Why are y-you all staring at m-me?” Rafael then smiled even more.

“You can understand him too,” he asked excitedly. I blinked and looked away a little. I started to feel bashful as I explained myself.

“Y-Yeah. I mean, I couldn’t understand what he was saying, but I knew what he was trying to say through his body language.”  Ratchet eyed me a little curiously, but the others seemed really surprised by my answer.

Bulkhead chuckled as he remarked to Arcee, “It looks like there’s more to this human then meets the eye.” She nodded in agreement. “You said it.” Bumblebee then started buzzing and beeping more in excitement, eyes shining. I chuckled a little at his antics.

"Well it’s not too hard to understand you. You just have to hear just not with your ears, but with your eyes too.” He ‘smiled’ at me and beeped some more. I smiled bigger and nodded my head. Rafael smiled at him as he said, “What a great idea Bee!”

“I would love to go for a ride! It sounds-“

“You are not going anywhere young lady,” exclaimed Ratchet. “I’m taking you home before more damage is done!” The yellow android beeped some more, looking a little confused as he ‘talked’ to the medic. Ratchet sighed as he replied, “Look. Alicen’s parents will begin to wonder where she is and we don’t need them snooping where they shouldn’t. Besides, Optimus said she has to return home now.”  He beeped in defeat, giving me an apologetic shrug. I glared at Ratchet for a moment, but I smiled to Bumblebee.

“I’m sorry Bumblebee. Maybe we can go another time. It was nice meeting you though! Hopefully I’ll see you later!” He returned my wave and buzzed goodbye. Rafael said goodbye as well and walked off with the yellow Auto-Bot. I then turned my attention toward Miko, who was getting scolded by Bulkhead.

“You shouldn’t have convinced Alicen to leave the room Miko. You knew she wasn’t supposed to.”
“I know, I know. But she-“, The Auto-Bot gave her a stern look. “No buts Miko. You have got to start listening to what people tell you to do. You’re going to get your friends and yourself in danger if you keep disobeying your elders like this.” I could tell by the expression on her face that she was only half listening. I felt a little guilty though. It was my fault just as much as hers. Plus I was just using her friendliness to get back home. My face must have betrayed my thoughts, for Ratchet came up to me.

“Miko isn’t the only one that’s to blame. Alicen could have stayed in the room, but she went against an order.” I shuffled my feet as I meekly replied,” I-I’m sorry Ratchet…You’re right. I s-should’ve stayed in there. B-But I d-didn’t mean for-“

“Enough. What’s done is done. Just stay there while I log in the coordinates for our departure.” With that, he went over to the screen from before, tapping silently on a touch screen keyboard. I gapped in amazement at the technology. It looked like something from Star Wars. Arcee and Jack smiled at me, watching Ratchet as well. “It’s really cool, isn’t it,” asked Jack. I nodded, grinning big.

“Yeah! I never have seen anything so cool before in my life! Well other then you guys!” The remaining kids and Auto-Bots laughed at my statement, save for Mr. Grouchy Pants. Miko went up to me and hugged me tight, taking me by total surprise. “I’m starting to like you more and more by the minute!” After a while I hugged her back, smiling softly. “I like you too.” At the corner of my eye, I saw Ratchet pull down a lever, causing a green light to appear in a tunnel I didn’t notice from before. It made me jump in surprise, causing the others to chuckle.

Arcee patted my back gently. “You’re a little jumpy for a kid. It’s only the ground bridge.” I looked at it, taking in the swirling vortex. ‘So. This is the ‘ground bridge’. Is it even safe for humans to go through?’

As if he read my thoughts, Ratchet quieted my fears. “It’s perfectly safe for humans. However, you may feel a little bit of motion sickness if you have a weak stomach.” With that, he suddenly started changing shape, making a lot of loud noises as he did. I screamed a little at the sudden noise, but as soon as it started, it ended. In Ratchet’s place was an ambulance, sporting the same paint job as him. The others were snickering at my scream. I blushed from embarrassment and glared at them.

“What’s so funny,” I asked sharply. Bulkhead coughed into his hand, smile lessening. “Sorry. We’re just used to seeing Cybertronians transform. We didn’t mean to sound like were mocking you.” Jack backed up the army green mech, looking apologetic.

“Um, yeah. Sorry if we hurt your feelings.” I mumbled an ‘its ok’. Suddenly the passenger door opened while a voice said irritably, “Get in. I don’t have all day!” I jumped, but got into the car obediently. I grinned a small smile at the others as I said good bye. They returned the good bye as the door slammed shut. Without further ado, the ambulance turned itself to the ground bridge, taking me with it. One thought ran through my head as I watched the steering wheel move by itself.

‘Things are never going to be the same ever again.’