Chapter 16

All the cars in the intersection had stopped to watch the spectacle. People were getting out of their cars and froze when their eyes locked onto the mechanoid. Leila was one of the many who were frozen in fear. The robot standing in front of her looked oddly like the one from her dreams but a little smaller. Its red optics locked onto her and her heart skipped a beat. It knew her. The teen started to step back and attempted to run for her life.

The mechanoid was quick to react and followed her in his vehicle mode. Luckily for the teen, the people that fled the scene left the keys in their cars. She jumped into one of the sports cars and put the vehicle into gear. Her feet smashed hard against the pedal and the car sped down the street. Her eyes kept looking back from the rear view mirror to the pavement in front of her. The police car was in hot pursuit and there was no stopping it.

Leila had to think quickly. What was a good way to escape a giant robot that was haunting her dreams and some how became real? She had no idea. Not a hope in hell. The teen's hand rummaged through her bag looking for her cell phone. She could call the police or the army. They would know what to do. She finally grabbed hold of it and started to look through the numbers on her quick-list. She put the phone to her ear as she sped around a sharp corner.

'Hello?' the receiver picked up.

'Andy!' she yelled.

'Leila?' the voice seemed more concerned. 'This is Sam. Hospital Sam.'

'Damn,' she smacked the stirring wheel. 'I must have picked the wrong number. Shit!'

'Leila? What's wrong?'

"I'm being chased by an alien robot,' tears began to run down her cheeks.

'Where are you?' he was panicking. 'Leila?'

There was a loud click and the line went dead. The few people that were in the hallway were watching him. It was clear they thought he was crazy. As he ran through the hallways, he called the police to inform them of the pursuit. He put away his phone and ran out of the school doors. it was the middle of the day and it was pouring rain outside. He ran through the student parking lot looking for his bright yellow Camaro. His green eyes immediately spotted it and he was off.

He was driving on the Tranquility exit highway heading towards Mission City, where Leila was living. He had no idea where she was but it wouldn't be hard to see a giant robot in the city. The teen just hoped he would get there in time. One the drive, he told Bumblebee about the phone conversation and he contacted the other Autobots in the area. No one really answered his transmission. He couldn't get a hold of his comrades. The two were alone on this.

All her attention was suddenly focused on the police car that had just bumped her in the rear. In panic, she dropped the cell phone to grip the wheel for dear life. She slammed down on the pedal once again but she didn't accelerate. The gas gauge was slowly leaning towards the empty sign and her heart raced. It was not the time to run out of gas. She swore under breath as she turned around her final corner. The car slowed down and she jumped out to see the police car swerve after her. She kept running no matter what.

It immediately transformed and jumped towards her. She tried to run away but it was a dead end and her back was against the side of a building. Both mechanoid's claws crashed down on either side of her to prevent her from escaping. She could feel the concrete piling up at her feet. She held her breath as it growled at her. She could only imagine what a giant demonic robot would want with her. The tears were flowing more than ever and there was no way to stopping it.

'Thought you could get away from us?' its voice was harsh and cruel.

'What?' she managed to say.

'It's your fault that Lord Megatron is dead.'

'Megatron…' it was the name of the robot in her dreams.

'You will pay for ruining his chance at ruling.'

'What are you talking about?' she nearly screamed.

'Don't play stupid, human. You know what you've done.'

'I don't know!' she screamed.

'You will pay for your impudence.'

Her eyes widened in fear as the mechanoid's claw rose in the air. She closed her eyes and put up her hands in defence hoping it would stop the monster from attacking her. The ground beneath her rumbled and she opened her eyes to see another robot collide with the one looming over her. The two mechanoids crashed into the side of the building. This was just becoming weirder. The new alien robot was the one from her dream, the one that was in pieces. Could this be happening? Was her dream coming true?

They stood back up and began to fight. The teen watched from where she was sitting, frozen with fear. The fight seemed more and more déjà vu as it progressed. The two mechanoids were blasting each other with their cannons and throwing punches. The area cleared quickly and it was only the two combating robots along with the scared teen. The rain that was threatening the sky was coming down hard joined in by a few loud cracks of thunder and lightening.

She gathered up the courage to stand and slowly made her way down the street away from the fight. She was having trouble running on the wet pavement, slipping and tripping over her feet. She fell hard between two cars. The ground beneath her shook harder than ever. Her head snapped around to see the evil robot's cannon pointed right at her. She tried to get up and run but she kept slipping.

'Give me the human,' Barricade growled, turning towards his enemy. 'We'll call it even.'

'This human is worth more than Megatron ever would.'

The black mechanoid leapt off the ground and tackled the other robot. He wasn't quick enough because a little ways away a car exploded from cannon blasts. A fear grew in his spark that the human would be harmed and with the new spark of passion he ended the battle. A few blasts of his most powerful cannon were released and his opponent fell to the ground. The street fell silent as the red hot metal around the brim of the cannon cooled down. The robot ran towards the now destroyed cars to see the teen slowly getting to her feet. She had a few scraps on her but she had had worse before.

Ironhide noticed right away by the way she was looking at him that she did not get her memory back. He could give it a try anyway. He stepped towards her and knelt down to her level. She stepped back only slightly but she kept looking at him. Her mouth opened to speak but nothing came out. She didn't know what to say. They starred at each other but then she stepped towards him. Very slowly, her hand moved from her side to touch his mechanical face. It was like they had just met again.

'Are you harmed?' he said softly. 'Leila?'

Her hand quickly withdrew from his face and she backed away. She actually looked scared that the robot knew her name. He hoped that she would stay and they could talk but she kept backing up. She stopped moving once she hit one of the destroyed cars. Ironhide put out his hand towards the teen hoping she would reach out and remember. She turned away from him and sighed,

'Leila?' he said once again.

The teen closed her eyes and images began to flash before her eyes. Everything from the moment she stepped into that black pickup truck a few weeks ago; images from being caught by the government, planning with the Decepticons and the battle that resulted in her losing her memory. All of it was flowing back into her mind, the passion and the pain. She took a deep breath and she looked up at her long lost guardian.

She opened her mouth once again but police sirens cut her off. Ironhide immediately stood at attention. Could it be more Decepticons coming to help their fallen comrade? It was impossible. Most of the Decepticons that were on Earth were destroyed in the final battle a few weeks back. Within seconds, the beginning of the street was filled with police cars. Men in uniforms stepped out of their cars and pointed their firearms at the mechanoid.

'Don't try anything funny,' they called out to them.

'Watch it, Chief,' one said. 'There's a civilian in the line of fire.'

Leila turned around to face the police but did not move. They called out to her to move out of the way or to step away from the alien but she did not move. Ironhide looked down in admiration at the human. She turned her head towards him and winked. The mechanoid wanted to smile but it was not the time. One of the policemen started to walk towards her but she kept taking a step towards the mechanoid. There was no way they were going to take Ironhide.

'Miss,' he said calmly. 'Can you please step away from the robot?'

'No,' she said bluntly. 'Stand your men down.'

'I can't do that.'

'Then I'm not moving.'

She didn't noticed how close the man had gotten. He quickly reached out and grabbed her arm. She reacted as quickly as he did and she kicked him hard in the groin. Ironhide took this opportunity to flee from the scene. He transformed and the teen jumped into the vehicle. She held on to dear life as the black pickup truck drove through the damaged cars and down the street.

There were at least five police cars racing after them. It would be difficult to lose them. After all, it wasn't hard to see the only black pickup truck in the area. The vehicle weaved through traffic but it wasn't enough to lose their pursuers. Leila was out of ideas. She didn't know how to get rid of the police. She closed her eyes and thought but nothing jumped at her. The teen nearly punched out the window because she was so frustrated.

'Fresh out of ideas,' Ironhide spoke through the radio.

'I can't think of anything.'

'Then let's try mine.'

Her eyes shot down to look at the radio. What could the mechanoid be thinking? The vehicle stopped right in the middle of another main intersection. He locked the car doors so Leila could not get out. She started to panic when she saw the police force surrounded them. The men got out of their cars and took their positions.

'Your plan better work,' she swallowed.

'Now you know how we felt with your plans.'

It sounded more like an evil chuckle than anything else and the teen began to worry. One of the men stepped forward to address the vehicle and its passenger. The intersection fell silent as everyone waited for the two to answer their call but the silence was not broken. They were not going to make the first move. They wanted to see what kind of alien robot they were dealing with.

'This is ridiculous,' said one of the policemen.

'Higher up said we have to negotiate.'

'I still find this ridiculous.'

The men waited another few moments before taking action. They advanced towards the black pickup truck. They were only a few feet away when the door suddenly opened. The teen slipped out of the vehicle and stood next to the car. A few of the men put down their weapons and the one man stepped towards her. Her hazel eyes were locked onto the man, never blinking.

'Will you come with us, miss?' he gestured towards the car.

'No,' she simply said.

'Do you realize what's behind you? You could be in real danger.'

'I'm not in real danger,' she smiled. 'It's his job to protect me.'

It took the man a while to realize what she meant. Could it be possible? The higher department never told him about robots working with humans. He was told they were dangerous and to be cautious. Their actions could not be foreseen in battle. The policeman had to find a way to make the situation work for his team. He thought for a moment and put away his rifle. He had a plan up his sleeve.

'Alright,' his fixed his collar. 'We won't harm your robot friend. Just come with us to the station and everything will be cleared up there.'

Leila took a few moments to regard the man. Government officials had fooled her before but his eyes weren't lying. She pushed herself off the car door and walked with him back to his police vehicle. Something didn't feel right though. The men were still in position. They weren't moving. The teen's head slowly turned around and she saw the vehicle transform into the twenty-foot tall mechanoid. The police immediately took action and fired at him.

'Stop!' she turned around to run to her guardian but the policeman stopped her.

'Don't interfere. It's a threat to everyone, including you,' he tightened around her forearm.

'Let me go,' she said through clenched teeth. 'Now…'

'You're coming back to headquarters along with your robotic friend.'

'No, I'm not.'

The teen's eyes narrowed and she glared at the man. Last time some official ordered her around; he got what was coming to him. This one was no different. The man pulled her towards one of the police cars and she struggled against him with all her might. She was not going to get caught and he questioned about everything that had happened. She protested one more time but he did not listen.

'You asked for it,' she yelled at him.

He slowly turned around and she punched him right in the nose. There was a loud crack and the teen stepped back, holding her hand. There was a river of blood flowing from the men's nose and he was in shock at what just passed. Just for the sake of it, Leila kicked the man hard in the stomach before turning away. Ironhide was still under attack but he didn't know what to do. When he saw the girl running towards him, he prepared his cannons.

'May I?' he looked right at her.

'Blast only the cars so they can't follow us this time.'

A smile crossed the mechanoid's face as he took out the five police cars. He made sure that nothing else was damaged besides their transportation. The mechanoid quickly transformed into the pickup truck and they fled the scene. The teen smiled to herself when she sat in the passenger's seat. It was great to have Ironhide back but she wanted to see everyone else.

'Ironhide,' she spoke up. 'Where're we heading?'

'It's a surprise.'

Sam leaned against his bright yellow Camaro. He was quite discouraged. He had looked around Mission City for Leila but couldn't find her. There wasn't even a sign of an attack anywhere. Now the brunette was standing alone not far away from the city. Bumblebee turned on the radio to break the silence. He always came in the most inappropriate music for the moment. The teen sighed as he turned around to head home.

The other Autobots were enjoying the quiet time but a loud engine heading their way interrupted it. All their heads turned to see the black pickup truck drive right up to them. There were a few moments of silence before the passenger door opened. Sam's heart jumped when he saw a slender figure slip out. He couldn't believe it. It was the auburn haired girl walking towards him. The other Autobots were as surprised as he was. She looked the same as the first time he had seen her. Their eyes met and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

'Sam!' she practically yelled into his ear. 'I'm so glad to see you again.'

'Leila…' he hugged her harder. 'It's really you.'

She pulled back and looked into his green eyes. She could see how much they had been through together and she was glad she got all those moments back. A smirk appeared on her face as she leaned in and kissed him. Nothing could describe how it felt to feel his lips on hers. It was something she had been waiting for since the beginning of their adventure. It was great to actually do it.

'Wow…' he breathed.

'Is that all you have to say?' she laughed.

'It's just great to have you back,' he wrapped his arms around her.

'You should thank Ironhide for that,' she turned her head to face him. 'He's the one that came for me.'

'How did you know?' Sam looked up at him.

'I'm not the type of robot to abandoned his duties just because my human lost her memory.'

'Thanks, Ironhide,' she smiled. 'I'm sure Barricade would have killed me if you didn't step in.'

'Barricade?' the other mechanoids said.

The group fell silent as they looked down at the girl. The Autobots thought that all the Decepticons were gone from Earth. Then they hear Barricade tried to kill Leila. Something wasn't right. A loud beeping filled the silence and everyone's head turned towards Optimus. It took him a while to register the information. They all exchanged looks as they waited for him to inform them.

'Bad news, Autobots,' his voice projected. 'Large masses of Transformers are heading this way. I can't tell whether it's Autobot or Decepticon.'

'What should we do?' Ratchet stepped in.

'We must prepare for the inevitable.'

'When you thought this war was over,' Ironhide sighed and he prepared his cannons.

Leila slowly turned towards the brunette. She thought the fighting would be over but it seemed a bigger war was heading their way. The Autobots would be here to protect them but they weren't sure if that was going to be enough. They would be swept off into another adventure with their mechanical friends. She slowly kissed Sam on the cheek. He looked at her and smiled.

'Sam?' she looked at him. 'If you had the choice to do it all over again, would you?'

'Within a heartbeat,' he hugged her. 'Why?'

'I've a feeling we haven't seen the last of the Decepticons,' she glanced over at Optimus.

'But this time,' he grinned, 'we're going to work together on the crazy plans.'

'Of course.'