Today's become a very eventful day.

Not so much for Ellie personally, but more for the country itself. Or, more specifically, the government. Ellie has never been too big on the modern day's news -all the biases and propaganda are more than enough to urge her to switch to a soap opera. But lately she's found herself looking past all of the typical political toxicity, if only to keep herself aware of the bizzare events going on ever since humanity recieved a rather ride and abrupt wakeup call years ago in Mission City.

It's a crazy world to live in with the knowledge that beings like Cybertronians exist. She remembers all of the media and the rumors and the endless talk of what happened in Mission City in 2006, in Egypt two years later, and in Chicago just three years after that. She remembers when a new and formerly secret branch of military had been created, N.E.S.T., and when it had gone public and explained that Earth was facing a war beyond anything it's faced and before and that they've joined forces with a faction of Cybertronians called Autobots. Autobots, who had pledged to protect Earth from their more aggressive counterpart, the Decepticons.

It's a lot for Ellie to take in, even now. She's seen footage of them and somehow it's difficult for her to imagine human soldiers fighting alongside such colossal, powerful creatures. If they can even be considered such. Ellie's always wondered how scientists could possibly explain their very existence. According to N.E.S.T, they're classified as simply biomechanical lifeforms. Not of flesh and blood and carbon, but capable of breathing and feeling and thinking all the same.

"They live," once said N.E.S.T.'s founding commander, William Lennox, during a public speech at the White House, "They live just like we do. Just in a way that we don't, and possibly never will, understand."

Ellie eyes the television mounted on the kitchen counter. The news channels are practically eating at today's events like famished hyenas, what with the recent destruction of N.E.S.T.'s headquarters in Washington DC. Sources say it's a betrayal on the Autobots' part, that after Chicago the government had issued a CIA unit to put N.E.S.T. in lockdown. Instead of a simple lockdown, however, the Autobots have apparently retaliated, attacking the CIA and thus resulting in a violent bloodbath that has resulted in the eventual bombing of the headquarters entirely.

Something about the situation doesn't sit well with Ellie personally. It doesn't seem right that the Autobots, whom have saved and protected the human race for so long, have suddenly decided to attack. In the years they've been on Earth Ellie has only heard of all the good they've done. The only exception is Chicago, when leaked information had revealed that it was indeed a single Autobot who had initiated that catastrophe. N.E.S.T. had taken responsibility, even volunteered to help rebuild the destroyed city. Yet the government has decided it wants to try and shut down N.E.S.T. completely, which resulted in sending the CIA and in turn resulted in what Ellie deems is a fishy event that she isn't sure is truly the Autobots' fault.

But alas, it isn't as if her opinion is going to change anything. The government has already labeled the Autobots fugitives and is urging the public to turn them in regardless of what public opinion is at. It's no secret that a lot of civilians are distrustful after knowing an Autobot had attempted to destroy Earth not too long ago. But Ellie's always had her logic to fall back on -even among aliens, there's always a bad apple. The rest of them shouldn't be judged by just that.

Sighing softly Ellie glances periodically through the glass back door, where her kids are outside playing. She doesn't feel completely comfortable with them being out while a national debacle is in play, especially since they only live a handful of hours away from DC, but it's the weekend and God forbid she keeps them cooped up in the house for too long. Instead she ensures they stay within easy sight and she has her shotgun loaded and ready -hidden away for the kids' sake but there in case it's needed. Which isn't very likely considering their property is tucked away in the woods.

Ellie finishes up the last of the dishes and pulls open the glass door, "Maddie! Charlie! Time to come inside, kiddos."

"Okay Mom!" Her daughter replies. Ellie watches, amused, as her twelve-year-old daughter signs quickly to her eight-year-old son. He nods and they abandon their rock throwing game in favor of running inside. She ruffles Charlie's curly brown hair as he hops by and he giggles. She takes one last sweep at the backyard before she shuts the door, locks it and pulls the shades over it.

When she turns around, she sees to her dismay that she's forgotten to switch channels. Madison and Charlie are staring at the television as reporters drawl on about the DC incident. The controversies around it are far too complicated for their little heads but Ellie would rather her kids not be too exposed to such opinionated arguments. Quickly she grabs the remote and turns on some cartoons. Charlie doesn't mind the change at all, but Maddie turns to her looking troubled.

"They said the Autobots are bad now," she says with a frown, "Is that right, Mommy? I thought only the scary ones with red eyes are bad."

Ellie opens her mouth but finds it difficult to give a suitable answer that her daughter will understand. Tucking a stray piece of light brown hair behind her ear, Ellie decides to answer somewhat honestly, "I... don't know, sweetie. I don't think anyone knows for sure who's good and bad. They're just guessing. They don't exactly know what happened."

"They said the 'Bots attacked," Maddie said.

"Yes, they did."

Maddie scrunches her face up in thought, "I hope they're wrong."

Ellie blinks, not having expected her daughter to say something like that, "Why's that, honey?"

"I don't want the Autobots to be like Dad," Maddie says, hugging her mother close, "I don't want good guys to be bad."

A tight feeling grips Ellie in the stomach. She closes her eyes and sighs, soothing her hands over Maddie's hair. She feels a second smaller pair of arms embrace her and Ellie sadly smiles.

"Me neither, Maddie."

Ellie had made her kids some sandwiches for lunch when very odd noises begin to erupt from outside. At first she can't place what it is she's hearing, but as it grows closer and closer the entire property begins to shake more and more violently. Before she knows it Ellie is running on full maternal instinct and she's shoving Maddie and Charlie into the closet even as they protest in confusion.

Charlie whimpers.

"Mom, what's going on?"

Ellie shushes them and continues to stuff them into the small space until they're in the very back and hidden behind a lot of old and thick winter coats, "Stay in here. Do not come out until I tell you to, do you understand?"

"But-" Maddie began.

"No buts! Stay. In. Here," Ellie says firmly, signing along as well so that her son can see, "No matter what, you don't come out, either of you. Understand?"

She doesn't wait for confirmation. Instead Ellie shuts the closet door and practically lunges for her shotgun before daring to venture towards the back door. The property trembles again once, twice, and then there's nothing. Ellie holds her breath and tentatively reaches out with her free hand to swipe the blinds to the side. There's nothing outside at first glance, but then she almost screams as something massive casts a shadow across her backyard and then comes crashing down with a booming impact that shakes the house more than it ever has before.

Ellie isn't entirely sure what she's looking at. It's a huge unmoving mass of red and blue that's more than likely torn up the grass in the yard. Common sense tells her not to step a foot outside that door, but after waiting for what feels like hours and not seeing a single movement, Ellie carefully unlocks the door and risks easing outside for a better look.

Walking slowly, shotgun in hand, she openly gaps at the full sight of what has quite literally dropped into her property. It isn't hard to figure it out now. She sees the unmistakably bipedal frame that's collapsed on its side and instantly knows she has a Cybertronian in her backyard. An unconscious one, it seems. And badly injured. Its back is to her but Ellie doesn't need to be a tech expert to know that there's a lot of things wrong with it. In various places there's sparking and cackling. The red and blue paint has been scorched away all along its massive body, leaving behind ugly stains of charcoal black. The air smells of raw electricity and burning metal.

DC's incident echoes in her mind. N.E.S.T. had gotten bombed, undoubtedly killing many human as well as Autobot soldiers. Ellie had wondered if anyone managed to escape. She supposes the answer is right in front of her, in the form of a half dead Autobot collapsed on her property. Carefully and as silently as possible Ellie rounds the titan of a creature and checks for anything else that may have meandered to her house and luckily finds nothing.

She debates on what to do. The obvious choice is to call 911 and report that she's inevitably ended up with a badly damaged Autobot passed out in her backyard. It's the sensible thing to do in this situation, but Ellie has quite unwisely left her phone in the house. Somehow, though, she has an unsettling feeling that calling the police isn't going to help this Autobot. In fact, she may as well be sentencing it to death if she even thinks about dialing 911.

It doesn't seem right to just... leave it out here either. But Ellie doesn't want to call the authorities just yet and it's not like she can move the metallic giant anywhere. Tapping a finger on her shotgun in thought, she bites her lip before deciding to head back inside and instead somehow explain this to her kids. Right now she has no other options.

She tentatively walks alongside the Autobot to go around it, but almost as soon as she's near its head she sees a pair of bright blue lights flash on and suddenly the deathly still frame springs into motion.

This time Ellie does scream. She scrambles away as fast as she can as the Autobot clambers to its feet faster than what Ellie would think is even possible. The ground shakes under the weight of its spastic footsteps, causing her to lose her balance and fall back. Looking up, Ellie finds herself face to face with a monster of a gun barrel trained down onto her.

She's gripping her own shotgun more as a security blanket than something to defend herself with. This isn't a gunfight she even has a chance in. For a fleeting moment she believes she's going to die and her last thoughts go her terrified children in the closet. What's going to become of them?

But surprisingly the Autobot doesn't shoot. Instead it whirls around, huge gun aimed, as if its scanning its surroundings. Evidently it's not too concerned about its physical state and doesn't see her as an imminent threat either. Ellie still refuses to move right away, though, on the knowledge that the massive being can still kill her instantly if it feels the need to. She watches nervously as it looks around and notes how it sways unsteadily on its feet and how it shakes its head often, as if dizzied or confused. The Autobot is definitely weak.

When it's done looking around its head snaps back down to her. Ellie can't help but to flinch under its piercing blue stare. It stumbles again, and then speaks.

"Who are you?"

It's a he, clearly. Ellie's mouth gaps like a fish for a moment before managing to squeak out, "I-I'm Ellie. You... you collapsed in my yard."

"What..."

He spins around again and apparently does it too fast since he nearly loses his balance again. Ellie takes the spare moment to get up and scramble towards the house so that she's at a safer distance. The Autobot rambles noises that don't sound like any human language. His voice is low and rough, the grittiness of it on par with sandpaper. In the few English words he's spoken Ellie thinks she detects an accent of some sort. She waits for him to say something, anything she can understand, but all he does is stare at her house and struggle to not fall over again.

"You need help," she says, "You're hurt."

"No," the Autobot growls, viciously enough to make her jump. He waves his gun dangrously her way, "Don't need any fraggin' help."

"Is there... anyone I can call-?"

"NO!" he roars, all but making Ellie's heart skip a few beats, "No... no calling. Don't call!"

Ellie waves her hands in surrender, "Okay! Okay! No calling. I won't call anyone. I promise."

"Better not..." the Autobot hisses, lowering his weapon and looking away, "They'll kill me. Kill you, too."

Ellie isn't sure who he's talking about but if that's the case, maybe calling really isn't the best idea. But she isn't sure what she's going to do with ten tons and thirty feet of broken Autobot. She doubts he'll go away anytime soon and she has a feeling that keeping him hidden is probably very illegal. Then again, what choice does she have?

The Autobot begins to cough. It's intriguing at first to see him doing something so human but Ellie's interest instantly turns to disturbance when he collapses onto his knees and violently hacks until a stream of neon blue liquid pours from his mouth. She looks away but she can hear his mechanical groaning and gasping, telling her that he's vomiting very painfully. When she looks back the Autobot has a large palm on the ground and the other on the scorched armor of his stomach. He looks devastated, weak and intimidating all at once.

"They killed him," he whimpers in a static laced voice, "Oh Primus, they killed him!"

Ellie's at a loss. She watches helplessly as this Autobot spirals lower and lower into an emotional hole that is terrifyingly heartbreaking as it is surreal. One of the most powerful living things in existence was having a mental meltdown in her backyard, armor trembling and shoulders shaking as he whines and sobs and mourns himself sick once again. What looks to be a simple giant robot on the outside is actually a true living being, with feelings and thoughts and a mind as fragile any human. It's in this moment that Ellie realizes that William Lennox was right, and the government is wrong.

She takes a deep breath and lowers her shotgun to the ground. Gathering up her nerves, Ellie forces herself to slowly approach the distraught Autobot until he finally looks at her.

"I'm sorry," she says sincerely, "about what happened to you."

He stares at her for a long moment. His glowing eyes short out twice before they go out completely and he collapses once again, completely unconscious. The impact isn't as forceful as it was when he was standing earlier but Ellie nearly loses her balance again still.

She backs away and after determining that the Autobot is indeed out cold, she picks up her shotgun and races inside. She ensures her house is completely secured with all the windows and doors. Once she does that she stands idly in the living room, running her tremoring fingers through her blonde hair and letting her mind mull over what has just happened.

There's an Autobot. In my backyard. God, there's an Autobot in my backyard...

Of all the places he had to wander into, it has to be her home. What in the world is she going to do now?

"Mom?"

Maddie's voice calls from the hallway meekly. At her daughter's voice Ellie rushes over and rapidly tries to think up a suitable explanation for her children on a situation that not even she can fully grasp. Her heart races at the thought of how she's going to deal with all of this. There's an alleged threat to national security in her backyard. Unconscious. Dangerous. Broken.

Today's an eventful day for her after all. And ultimately, everything's going to prove to be eventful for the months yet to come.

So in the midst of being burnt out on Savior and outlining/planning out my other publishes stories, this little plot bunny kept nipping at me until I finally gave it some attention. I recently rewatched Dark of the Moon and Age of Extinction, which inspired me to write a story that takes place in between, featuring an Autobot who doesn't get a lot of attention. Y'all know I have a soft spot for underused 'Bots, so viola.

My current update schedule for this story is every Monday. And yes, I can actually have a schedule because I've already got a load of chapters written!

Please, let me know what you think! Reviews are always appreciated and loved! :)