Transformers: A Matter of Fate

A CHANGE OF PLANS

CHAPTER 5

A Change of Plans

Not much time had passed before Hound found the theater marked "condemned". At first, he wondered if those who came to inspect it had found Mark and taken it away. But his answer came swiftly, as he found Mark lying in an alley beside the theater, his head rested against his backpack like a pillow. Activating his holoform, which was that of a rather burly man with a greying beard, he gently kicked Mark's leg as the boy stirred and woke up. "What happened?" He questioned, pointing to the theater.

"They came last night." Mark muttered "I went out to take a walk. And when I got here I found the notice." He commented, sitting up and trying to wipe some of the dirt and grime off of him "I heard them say something about mold and crap. They'll probably fix it up, and sell it." He commented, grabbing his backpack "Either way, I'm screwed. I could stay in there, but..."

"I know, breathing in mold spoors is dangerous for humans." Hound then motioned toward the alley "Though sleeping in filth ins't exactly a step-up, in my opinion." Mark frowned, shifting his backpack slightly "What are ye gonna do now?"

Mark shook his head, he hadn't figured that out yet. Usually, he had more time to formulate where he might go now. But he wasn't sure where the next stop was, or, better yet, how he was going to get there. It wasn't as though he had gone looking at the modes of transportation around the town yet. "You've got me." He then added "What's this anyway? How are you...?"

"Holoform technology." Hound pointed out "It's a physical manifestation of my subconscious in human form. Ye can even touch me and everything." Mark reached forward, almost expecting it to be a joke, but sure enough, it was very solid "I know, it's a little weird, you'll get used to it though." He patted Mark on the back lightly.

"I don't know if I'm going to stick around long enough for that." Mark replied "This is a small town. Without a place to lay low, I'm gonna get caught. And the whole point of this is that I can't get caught." Hound's holoform stroked his beard slightly, as Mark stared at him "What? Have you got another idea?" He asked as Hound frowned slightly "What?"

Hound shook his head slightly, and tried to straighten himself out. What he was thinking was a bad idea, a very bad idea. And one that he was pretty sure that none of the Autobots would approve of. Keeping a young human on the run inside Cade's old barn was not the worst idea, of course. Cade barely made use of it as it was. But several of the Autobots made use of it, meaning they would have to know about Mark, and the fact he was there. "Mark... Have you come to trust me, yet?" He asked.

Mark gave a "so-so" motion with his hand. "Why?"

Hound stiffened, he hated how this boy was getting under his plating. And what was more, he hated that he couldn't talk himself out of at the very least, trying. The door to his alt mode popped open, and Hound leaned against it. "Get inside, kid." Mark looked confused "I can't exactly promise that it will work out. Especially not given the circumstances... But there's only one other place I can think of that you'd be able to lay low."

"And that is?" Mark asked.

"The same place the Autobots and I are."

Mark's face fell slightly, he backed up clutching his backpack. "No way, that's a bad idea. You said there was a reason that the others don't know about me, right?" Mark asked, Hound nodded a bit "So your idea is to just surprise them with "Hey, my human friend needs a place to crash, can we keep him?"?" He questioned, putting his hands on his hips.

"If you have a better idea, I'm all audio receptors." Hound noted.

"We could just part ways?" Mark suggested "You've done a great job looking after me, Hound. Don't get me wrong." He explained calmly "But maybe this is a sign that I overstayed my welcome here... And with you." He explained "I mean, you didn't think this was going to last forever, did you?"