A/N: (Only putting this at the beginning since it's a new chapter story.) Greetings, Transformers fans! :D This story is set just after the ending of TF: 2, when the Autobots, and humans, thought it would finally be peaceful for a little while. Not every chapter will be so short, it's just this short to make sure that I'm not wasting my time typing for hours if nobody likes it. I'll be posting new chapters about once a month, but maybe earlier if I'm bored. Anyway, enjoy the story!

Hero of War

Chapter 1

Sweltering heat made Jaxine's long, dark hair cling to her neck and face as she worked on her ancient truck, cursing when she lost a screw or messed something up. Installing a new stereo and speakers was relatively easy on some cars, but with the old speakers being almost rusted out and the lines chewed by rodents, well, that just made the job that much harder. She sighed, taking a swig of lukewarm water from a plastic bottle, and grimaced at the taste.

"Need any help with that?" a male voice offered. Tightening her grip on the red screw driver in her palm, she turned to face the stranger. Scrutinizing the young man with cautious eyes, Jaxine finally realized who he was, and wiped the sweat from her brow with a finger.

"I think I'll be fine, Samuel. You should be more discreet when you're checking out a girl. Just sayin'..," she suggested with a shrug. Sam's cheeks morphed into a rosy color in embarrassment as he averted his piercing blue-eyed gaze from her.

"Heh, I didn't know you could tell. How've you been lately?" he asked, quickly changing the subject. The hazel eyed girl wiped her hands and repositioned herself in the driver's seat so her tanned legs were dangling over the side.

"Busy. This is one of my rare days off from my job, and I don't know if it's even gonna be a full day. I'm an EMT now. What about you? What've you been up to?"

"I would say busy, too, but that's more of an understatement. I can't believe you still own this truck," he replied, gesturing to the faded, off-white Chevy pickup. Jaxine gave him a look, appalled and offended.

"This is my pride and glory, my child! This beast here has been in the family, from my great-grandfather to grandfather, to my father, and now to me. I'm surprised my father gave it to me; I could barely drive a clutch when he handed over the papers. At least I had a car to drive myself in for most of high school, unlike somebody over here," she mocked.

"In my defense, my dad was too cheap to help me buy a car, and he didn't trust me with the family car," Sam defended. "Besides, mine goes faster than sixty, so really you have no room to poke fun at me." Jaxine rolled up a rag and threw it at Sam's face, to which he caught it and threw it back at her with fluid movements, flashing a charming grin. A flashy black and yellow Camaro pulled up just outside the driveway, the driver using the headlights and honking to catch Witwicky's attention. He turned around and held up an index finger, gesturing for him to wait a minute. Jaxine's eyes skimmed over the car and widened, for it wasn't every day that a new sports car pulled up to her duplex. She quickly remembered something one of her friends said about that car, something along the lines of 'it's a douchebag car, because only filthy rich douchebags buy cars that guzzle gas like that.' She smiled, shaking her head at the memory.

"I gotta go, Jax, but before I do, would you feel like going on a date with me sometime?" The words caught the brown haired girl off guard. She blinked in surprise.

"That would be awesome; but you don't even have my phone number," she explained. I'm wondering how you even got to my house in the first place, she added silently.

"We should change that, then, right?" he asked, pulling out his phone. Black Converse shoes, followed by long legs, hit the hot, concrete ground. They exchanged information quickly, the driver honking impatiently behind them. Jaxine glared at the unsuspecting man through the tinted glass.

"See ya next week, Jaxine," Sam said, giving her a wave farewell. The girl waved back and watched the car and Sam drive off, wondering who the blonde-haired male in the driver's seat was. She walked back to her truck to resume the dreaded task of installing a stereo, her thoughts hovering rather awkwardly over the brown-haired, blue-eyed man she used to attend school with. The tall girl didn't know what exactly to think of her friend; he seemed to have changed quite a bit since high school.

later

A week later, Jaxine stared back at the female in the mirror who was nervously combing her hair with spindly fingers and glancing at the clock. Samuel promised to pick her up at seven o'clock sharp today; there were three slowly ticking minutes left until then. They were going to a nature park that housed various birds, ducks, geese, and rodents to walk and enjoy the massive star settle over Earth's horizon. She hadn't been on a date in almost a year, since she'd broken up with her last boyfriend. Sure, other guys asked her out, but all got the same answer of no because they were either aging like milk or looked like they belonged to a gang (or more likely, in jail).

Her hazel eyes skimmed over her outfit once more before grabbing the house keys and slipping outside to the small patio. J.C. winced as she heard a ruckus inside the living space next to hers. The neighbors weren't exactly what you'd call, nice. She didn't have a clue to what relationships were going on in there, or if there was a family, but she knew that, whoever they were, were abusive, and/or alcoholics. On the weekends, it was loud, and she barely got any sleep. Items of hers had been stolen on more than one occasion, too. The sound of a car engine broke her from her thoughts, and she saw the same yellow Camaro, Sam being the driver this time. He hopped out of the car and greeted his date with a smile.

"Hiya, Sam," she spoke, watching him wince after hearing a loud crash, "Sorry about my neighbors."

"It's cool," he replied, leading her to the car and opening the door for her, shutting it lightly when she got in.

"Nice car," she commented as he drove.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah…The leather interior is amazing, and I love the paint job. Very quiet, and the ride's smooth. It's a great looking car," she confessed, a grin spilling over her cheeks. Sam smiled proudly.

"You can take a look at him later, if you want to," he offered.

"I'd love to. Thanks."

later

Sam and Jaxine walked down a rocky pathway, surrounded by a beautiful array of colorful plants and fresh green grass. Both of them chatted away, reliving memories and filling each other in on the past few years. Sam pointedly avoided telling her about the giant alien robot wars, even though she probably had heard about it on the news when the Fallen broadcasted a wanted sign on every electronic device every human owned. He was actually surprised that she hadn't asked about that yet; maybe she forgot about it or maybe she was being polite, who knew.

Sam led her to a park bench near the pond. The park's traffic wasn't too bad for a Saturday evening, besides the geese and other wildlife roaming about. Jaxine fed two quarters into a machine, and it dispensed some pellet-shaped birdfeed in return. She crouched down near the edge of the pond, throwing a few pellets into the glassy water. The two watched them jump into the water with a plop, diving below it briefly before resurfacing and floating along the shockwaves. Jaxine stood back up and walked back to the red-coated metal bench and sat down, Sam following in her footsteps. They watched the geese cautiously edge to the food and eat it, grabbing a few more pellets and throwing them out every once in a while. It was silent for a few moments as both of them spaced off, slightly paying attention to nature but their minds going elsewhere. Jaxine spoke suddenly.

"It seems like you've changed so much. You're so different now, Sam. I feel like you're somebody I never knew, like you have the same characteristics but a different personality. Same body, different person. That's what you are, that's what I think you are…" she trailed off, biting her tongue and mentally scolding herself for saying too much. Hurt and angry blue eyes met Jaxine's. They looked like they belonged to a person who had been through too much too early, like they'd seen too many deaths or fought too many fights.

"Yeah, I guess I have changed. I've been through hell and back again in the past couple of years. That changes a person. You're an EMT, right?" Sam didn't pause to hear her answer. "You've seen lots of people die. But were they people that you knew? Do you know how that feels, to watch somebody die and not be able to do anything about it? It's a horrible feeling. Horrible. I can't even explain it." Jaxine shied away from him but continued to stare at him, trying to decipher everything he was saying and the emotions behind them. Suddenly, a rush of memories flooded to Jaxine's mind, her heart pounding. A terrified teen on the television. Samuel James Witwicky, a wanted fugitive. A robot-like face telling the public what would happen if no one turned him in. The chase for the boy all over the news, then the chase being called off. A terrible accident involving the pyramids in Egypt. Suspicion of an alien race living, hiding among us. Nothing of it on the news as little as two months later. The realization settled in Jaxine's head, and, even though she had never been through something like that, her heart felt for the man beside her. Nobody should have to go through something so strange, so… horrible.

"Sam," she started slowly, rolling the words around in her mind before willing herself to speak them, "You're right, I'll never know what you went through. From the bottom of my heart, I apologize for saying something like that to you in the first place; it was too far. But trust me, even though I'll never understand, you can come to me to vent your feelings or whatever else, like you did just now. I promise you that my feelings won't get hurt. I'm just worried about you, and that's it." She held her breath, waiting for something to happen. Sam shook his head, as if to shake the thoughts from his mind. He let out a sigh and looked away from the pond, turning to Jaxine. He knew she would never understand the things he went through, no matter how much he explained, even if he was allowed to explain. He hated how vulnerable he felt at that very moment. He also hated himself for practically ruining the date because he had another mental breakdown. Sam knew she wouldn't be interested after this date was over.

"Don't apologize. I had a bit of a mental breakdown," he spoke finally, forcing a smile while standing up from the bench. His date did the same, and, while he was stretching, she wrapped her arms around him in a hug. Sam was startled for a moment, but returned the hug.

"You smell good," she mumbled, pulling out of the hug and laughing a bit. Sam chuckled and grabbed her arm, pulling her back onto the path.

"I know a little hiding spot that's safe from any people," he said. "We can go there and hang out. Besides, dates are supposed to be fun, not sad, and we're missing the sunset."

later

Sam drove leisurely, one hand on the wheel and the other reaching for the radio. Jaxine watched his movements, noticing how gentle and deliberate each movement was. Fingers fumbled with the smooth dials and buttons, gradually turning the volume up until the Camaro pulsed with each boom of the bass of a song. Jaxine grinned from ear to ear and let loose a loud 'whoop!' earning a smile from her blue-eyed friend.

"This is awesome!" she yelled over the music. Sam's opened his mouth to reply, but his words quickly morphed in a blood-curdling scream as he lost control of the car. Tires screeched and the pulsating music stopped abruptly as an explosion went off directly in front of them. Jaxine choked on her voice and her lungs begged for more air as both humans were thrown into the air, their world becoming a blur. The Camaro, now a robot, struggled to catch the terrified people as they landed roughly in his huge servos.

"SAM!" Jaxine managed to scream, scrambling for the safety of her friend.

"RUN!" he yelled back at her, taking her hand and jumping from the robot's servo as it lowered the two down, yanking her down with him. She fell roughly, wincing in pain when her skin tore from being dragged across the tarmac. Yanking her sweaty hand from his, she willed her long legs to run faster than they ever had as metallic voices rang out, metal screeched, the whir of cannons and firing of guns relayed throughout the black land. Sam realized what was happening, but Jax didn't, and he knew it. He glanced around, finding his friends terrified eyes flashing towards him as she pushed forward. Oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap what the crap is happening? She wanted to scream, dashing to the right as flaming debris landed beside her. The noises were loud and chaotic around her, making her all the more terrified and confused.

"Stop!" Sam yelled when he reached the safety of a large tree, grabbing her arm and yanking her to a halt. The frantic girl struggled to break free of his grip, looking at him like he was crazy.

"Why should we?" she demanded, pointing her free arm towards the fighting robots. "We're gonna get killed by those demon things!" Sam grunted as he struggled with her, finally catching hold of her other shoulder, forcing her to face him full on.

"I'll explain everything later! Just stay with me, please! I promise you, we won't get killed!" he pleaded. Hands flew to ears as an ear-shattering scream and horrid crunching sound pierced the air like a knife. Sam winced, glancing back at the battle and making sure that the huge yellow robot, whom Jaxine would later find out is Bumblebee, was okay. He let his grasp slip from the shoulders of the terrified girl when he thought she wouldn't try to run. When she had heard the metallic scream, she thought it was over, but her ears deceived her as she turned, eyes landing on two already wounded robots, the size and complexity of their stature baffling her mind. Not long after, another car from the east arrived at the scene, screeching to a halt and morphing into a robot much like the two fighting, except it was silver, had wheels for feet, and was taller than the Bumblebee. The new robot lifted something that looked quite similar to a gun, and fired, the bullet plunging through the head of the opposing robot in the blink of an eye.

"Can't get any better than that," the silver bot exclaimed, blowing the smoke from the barrel of his gun. Hazel eyes watched the dying robot fall to the ground, its whole frame groaning and crashing as the ground shook violently from the fall. A Humvee arrived at the scene, military personnel jumping out of the vehicle and leading Jaxine back to it. Sam followed them, speaking almost casually with the officers before telling Jaxine that he'd be with her in a little while.

"I have to go talk to Bumblebee."

"Who's Bumblebee?" she asked, her face scrunching up in confusion. The tall boy pointed to the yellow bot who was now talking to Sideswipe, the silver bot that took the kill earlier. "You're gonna leave me alone?" she asked.

"Actually, Mr. Witwicky, you'll need to get in the car. We're leaving right now," the driver of the Humvee explained, looking at him through the dash mirror. Sam grumbled incoherently, climbing into the vehicle and buckling up. They rode all the way back to the Department of Health and Human Services in silence, Jaxine trying desperately to figure out what was happening and who everybody was with little information. Three giant robots just fought. One of them was 'bad'; or maybe he was the good one. But that wouldn't explain why the military didn't try to kill the other two, so they're probably the 'good' ones. The government obviously knows about this. It has to do with the other robot face that was talking about Sam on the television, maybe. Why is Sam involved anyway? So many questions... Why are we at the Department of Health and Services?

"Are you doing okay?" Sam asked as they waited to get through clearance. He had to admit that he was a bit worried about her because she hadn't said anything during the whole drive here.

"…I'm in shock. This is a really weird night; it's not every day that you see a battle like that," she replied, speaking slowly.

"Hope you don't mind weird," Sam spoke, "because it's about to get a whole lot weirder."