Hello! I'm terribly sorry it took so long to update, but Writer's Block has been killing me. Thank you for being patient and I hope you like the chapter.

Warnings: Not many this chapter. Just a little angst.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. That honor goes to Paramount, Hasbro, and anything else affiliated with this epic series.

Set In Motion

Dawn illuminated the wasteland that had once been a beautiful city.

Sam stared out the window of the black truck he and Epps were currently occupying with several other men. Two other vehicles accompanied them, both carrying soldiers who had volunteered to help the boy. All of them stared in awe at the destruction that was Chicago. People ran past them, screaming for the trucks to turn back, that it was too dangerous.

Decepticons stalked the slower and weaker humans, picking them off when they either fell or didn't get out of their way. Sam's eyes darkened as a little girl was killed because she refused to leave the bodies of her parents.

"Those bastards," Epps growled, his fists clenching.

The trucks stopped when the road was blocked by a fallen building. They all got out and looked around, fear shinning in everyone's eyes except for Sam's.

"I'm not going in there," the tallest black soldier said as he slowly backed up.

The others nodded, following suite. Epps gazed up at the silvery-blue spire in the distance, his hands clenching around the gun he was holding.

"We can't do this. Not without help," he muttered.

Sam glared up at Trump Tower, dark rage swirling in his eyes.

"I'm going in, with or without you," the boy said before he disappeared into the smoke ahead of them.

Epps followed at a run. "Sam, wait! We need a plan or we'll get ourselves killed!"

The young man ducked behind a wall and grabbed the black soldier, pulling him behind the barrier as Epps was about to run by. A moment later an explosion went off and they both shielded themselves.

"We don't have time for a plan," Sam said, peeking around the corner to see if the coast was clear.

Epps frowned, but before he could open his mouth to answer, Sam had slipped out from their hiding place and was sprinting across the road.

"Sam! Wait! You're gonna get yourself and the rest of us all killed!" Robert called as he took off after Witwicky again, the other soldiers following him closely.

The boy ignored him and scrambled up a pile of rubble, stopping at the top and looking around himself. Something tingled in the back of his mind and he took off again, sliding down the debris and kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Sam! Is that what you want?" Epps called again, closely following the boy. "Is that what you truly want?"

Sam stopped by the ruin of what once had been a coffee shop and turned to face the black soldier, anger in his eyes. "No!"

"Then why won't you listen to me?" Robert snapped, his eyes narrowing.

"Look around you Epps!" The young man gestured with his hands. "Did you not see what happened to all those jets and choppers? They were all shot down! They expect us to do the predictable thing and make a plan," Sam crossed his arms over his chest, hazel eyes icy. "We must be unpredictable and catch them off guard."

"But that will most likely get us killed!" Epps growled.

"It also gives us an equal chance of surviving! We have to keep the element of surprise until we manage to get to get in contact with Lennox and the others somehow," Sam snarled.

"It's over Sam!" Epps snapped. He refused to flinch away from the young man's dark eyes. "I'm sorry kid, but it's over."

"No, it's not," Sam's voice was as cold as winter. "I refuse to stand by and watch as the Decepticons take over our world. We're the only ones left who can make a difference now that the Autobots are gone," Sam's fists clenched at his sides. "The fight is our own, Epps, and I'm doing this with or without you."

The two men glared at each other in silence for several moments before a whirring sound filled their ears.

"Missiles!" One of the soldiers called, ducking behind a crumbling wall as the ground exploded nearby.

"Sam! Get down!" A deep voice called as the Decepticon ship opened fire upon their group.

The boy was suddenly tackled to the ground and a strong body covered his, shielding him from the blasts. Sam lay stunned on his back, hazel eyes squeezed shut. The sound of a blaster being fired filled his ears and he cried out in fear as the ground beneath the young man shook with the force of the explosion.

Then all was still.

The weight shifted off him and a large, callused hand gently ran down his right cheek. "Are you alright?"

Sam opened his eyes only to freeze when hazel locked with ethereal blue and the seemingly dead bond flared back to life within his mind.

The boy's mouth opened, but no sound came out.

"Sam?" Optimus asked, concern filling his eyes when he noticed the boy had begun to shake. "What's wrong?"

Sam's answer was to suddenly cling to the Prime, his arms wrapping around the Autobot in a tight hug as the boy hid his face in the holoform's neck with a sob. "Optimus!"

The Prime froze, bowled over by the emotions and thoughts that flooded the bond. The constant chant of 'Alive-alive-alive-alive…' and 'Never leave me again-never leave me again-never leave me again…' caused Optimus to tighten his hold on the boy, basking in the warm glow of his mate's soul after what felt like an eternity of being separated from him. He buried his face in Sam's hair, breathing in the human's scent as Prime whispered reassurances within the quickly awakening bond.

Blocking the link had been the most painful thing Optimus had ever done. The separation grated on his nerves and his need to be sure Sam was alright nearly broke his resolve to stay hidden several times. Ratchet took command for a short time while the Prime fought to get a hold on his emotions and panic. Optimus knew he would never intentionally separate himself from his mate again. It was a promise he was sure to keep.

"You aren't hurt?" The Autobot leader questioned as he pulled away slightly to check the boy over.

Sam pulled back and shook his head. Optimus wiped a tear away from his mate's cheek and the human leaned into the touch, hazel orbs full of wonder as he stared into the holoform's sapphire eyes. "How?" Sam asked, his voice but a whisper. "Your ship was destroyed. I-" The young man's eyes squeezed shut and he leant forward so that his forehead was touching the Prime's. "I felt you die."

Optimus took the boy's hand and laced their fingers together. The anguish in his mate's voice tore at his spark. "We hid in the first booster rocket to separate," The leader explained. "It broke off just before the Xanthium was destroyed."

"It splashed down in the Atlantic jus' as we planned," The red wrecker explained in a thick Scottish burr. He spat off to the side while his green and blue comrades threw the remains of the Decepticon pilot to the ground. "We ain't goin' nowhere."

Brains and Wheelie slid down from the roof of a destroyed car. "No one's exiling us," the laptop-former said.

"Yeah," Wheelie stopped beside his friend. "The Autobots are staying to see out this war, whether the humans like it or not."

Sam looked around himself to see that everyone was there. Optimus stood and offered out a hand to his spark mate. "We're all beside you, love."

The boy grabbed hold of the offered hand, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. They stared into each other's eyes before the holoform disappeared in a wisp of smoke and the Optimus's true form stepped up beside Sam. "The Decepticons are sealing off the city so the humans cannot see what is going on inside. They're planning on turning it into fortress. We need to find where the master pillar is so we can stop that space bridge," Prime looked into his mate's eyes as he said, "Our only chance is the element of surprise."

Sam nodded before he glanced over at the fallen Decepticon ship, then at Bumblebee as a plan began to form in the boy's mind. His eyes finally landed upon the silvery-blue building in the distance and he smiled. "I think I know where to look."

William Lennox sighed in frustration. He had never liked desk work, especially when he could be out on the field helping his men. Instead he was trapped in this building, making strategies that failed and watching as good men died at the hands of the Decepticons.

The colonel stood and walked over to stare out through the glass separating him from the chaos of the command room. 'If only Ironhide were still alive…' Lennox cringed as pain shot through his entire being.

Will moved out of sight of the glass to lean against the wall, sliding to the floor and rubbing the middle of his chest. The colonel's breaths came in gasps as he fought to contain the raking sobs threatening to overwhelm him, but it was for naught. Will's mask had shattered, revealing the vulnerable and heartbroken man underneath.

Ironhide was dead. Murdered by the mech he had been trying to protect. Sentinel shot the weapons specialist down like a dog. He had done it as an example to those who dared get in his way.

Ironhide had lived for three minutes after the last shot. Three whole minutes. And Will felt every single second through the bond as it was literally eaten away. Lennox had held onto the metallic strand despite the pain, not wanting Ironhide to think he was alone. Had it not been for Sam's presence and Lennox's duty to his men the colonel would have followed his mate into the Matrix.

Like Bumblebee, Will was Sam's guardian. Lennox had swore to protect the boy from any harm. It had been a promise he made to Optimus several months after Egypt. The young man was like the younger brother he never had.

But now the Autobots were dead, their ship destroyed by Starscream's hand, and Sam was out in the middle of the fighting, hell bent on getting vengeance for the death of his mate. He had last been spotted by a parking lot camera with several other men earlier that morning. Epps had been among them, staying close to Sam and not letting the boy out of his sight even for a moment. The kid was in good hands.

'Not that he needs watching,' Will thought, a small smile pulling at his lips despite the tears still flowing down his face.

The college graduate could take down a mech about Bumblebee's size single-handedly if he wanted to. Sam had given up his humanity when he bonded with Optimus about five years ago. He had been changing into a mech ever so slowly since.

It had been very painful for the boy as his spark developed and he had hidden it from everyone including his mate. The others hadn't realized anything was wrong until Sam collapsed the morning his human heart was fully replaced by his metallic one. When asked why he hadn't come to Ratchet when the pain started Sam simply answered that he didn't want to worry anyone.

Lennox snorted. The boy had caused much more than worry that morning. It was the first time William had ever seen Optimus Prime panic. The leader had paced in front of the med-bay doors the entire time and he would not be moved, not even by Ironhide and his cannons.

Tests had been done and it was revealed Sam only had about a decade before he was a full mech. The transformation would be slow at first, but Ratchet hypothesized that by the middle of year six or seven it would begin to speed up. The CMO suspected Sam's growth into his larger mech form would occur during the last two years and it would be painful.

All this had happened about five years ago. Lennox himself had bonded a year after Sam and the colonel could already transform parts of his body into weapons while the boy could do much more.

A sudden knocking at his office door pulled the colonel out of his thoughts. He stood, straightened his uniform, and wiped at his face with his handkerchief to remove the tear tracks on his cheeks before Lennox answered it. Outside a captain in his middle to late thirty's stood at attention. He was of average height with lightly tanned skin and jet black hair. The man's face may have been impassive, but his brown eyes shown with deep loyalty as he waited for his superior to address him.

"What is it Captain?" Lennox asked, his back straightening imperceptibly as he hid behind his blank mask once again.

"Colonel Lennox, sir," The captain saluted before continuing. "Agent Simmons and General Morshower are on the vid screen, sir."

William nodded. "Inform them I'll be there in a moment."

"Yes, sir." The man saluted before leaving.

Lennox closed the door and leant against it with a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. As much as he wanted to stay in this room and morn his mate's death he knew he couldn't. Lives were at stake and the others were depending on him to come up with a plan to pull them through this fight.

There was no more time for tears. It was time to face the world with a clear head and brave spark.

William went over to his desk to pick up his plans before heading for the door. He paused in front of it with his hand on the doorknob to gather strength from the memory of his mate. Then with a deep breath he turned the knob and pushed the door open.

Seymour Simmons stared at the destroyed city on the vid screen along with everyone else in the room. It was horrible. Buildings were burning and crumbling, the roads had craters that could be seen even from the high altitude of the drone, and the sky was nearly black with smoke. "That's Chicago?" He asked, fear in his voice.

"Yes," Agent Mearing said, as she came to stand by the man in the wheelchair.

Simmons swallowed, his hand gripping the armrest in a white knuckled fist as grief almost overwhelmed him. "Poor kid," He whispered, "Probably never got close."

"What?" Mearing asked sharply, her eyes widening. "You don't mean he-"

"He did," Simmons said gravely. "He left with Epps yesterday evening."

The female agent dropped into a chair beside Seymour and took off her glasses with shaking hands. The news shocked her to her very core. "He can't be gone. He just can't," Mearing said as tears gathered in her eyes.

Despite their rough beginning, Samuel James Witwicky had grown on her. His audacity had astounded her the first time they met. No one, not even Secretary Keller, had the bravery to talk back to her and stand up to Helen like the boy did. She found it refreshing to have someone who wouldn't cringe in fear or stumble over themselves when she gave an order or became angry. She learned to grudgingly respect him once she discovered who Sam was married to, only to have that respect cemented when the fiasco with Sentinel began. That boy had melted her cold exterior and she began to trust again.

"Why didn't you inform me Sam was planning to go in there?" Helen asked, turning her heartbroken eyes upon Simmons. "I could have stopped him."

"He wouldn't have listened," Reggie said with a small smile on his lips. "That boy is a force to be reckoned with and stubborn as an ox. Once he puts his mind into something Samuel James Witwicky will not stop until he's seen it through."

Mearing nodded. Simmons was right because the other agent knew Sam better than she did.

A high-pitched beeping filled the room and all eyes turned to stare at the screen. A black ship had broken away from the circle around the city and was speeding toward the drone. The tech flying the machine frantically tried to get it away, but it was too late, the Decepticon was upon the drone in a matter of seconds. Light filled the screen as the 'con opened fire then the monitor went black.

Silence filled the room as the tech messed with the controls for a few moments before he sat back in defeat. "It's gone," He said sadly.

Several people visibly jumped when two screens at the front of the room suddenly flickered and the faces of Colonel Lennox and General Morshower came into focus.

"Is everyone alright?" Will asked from the left, concern in his voice.

There were times when a drone was destroyed the backlash would cause the controls to short-circuit and give off a powerful electric charge. Several people were injured when the first drone to be sent to Chicago had been lost.

"Everyone is alright here," Simmons answered, giving Mearing time to collect herself.

Lennox nodded. "Good."

"That was our tenth drone. If we keep this up we won't have any left," Morshower said, his voice steady despite the fear in his eyes. "Our long range bombers were just shot out of the sky. They can't get around the air defenses over the city and our satellites have been jammed," The general sighed.

"So we're completely blind?" Mearing asked, standing up and gaining the attention of the two men on the screens. "Can't we get anything in there?"

"We're going to give the mini-drones a try," William answered. "My team and I are holed up at Grissom Air Force Base which is about ten minutes from the battle zone," Lennox's hand suddenly went to the radio in his ear. "An Infantry is stationing themselves at the perimeter and special forces are trying to access the city. We may need a hacker to get into the city network and somehow make it easier to get in."

Everyone in the room turned to look a Dutch and the blond German smiled. "Leave it to me."

"You better get one of those drones stationed close to Trump Tower," Simmons said frantically. "Witwicky said there was some kind of human point-man there working for the Decepticons. That kid, as we all know, is an alien-bad-news magnet."

A grin appeared on Lennox's face. "He is indeed," The colonel said, chuckling.

Sam stood with his hands on his hips as he carefully examined the Decepticon ship alongside the yellow Camaro-former. "Can you fly this, Bee?" The boy asked suddenly.

Bumblebee stared hard at the opened cockpit. "Somewhat," His voice was slightly scratchy as the vocal components were still healing.

Sam looked up at his guardian with a frown. "What do you mean somewhat?" He asked in exasperation. "You can somewhat fly this thing?"

"I know right?" The 'bot chuckled. "Terrible, no?"

The young man rolled his eyes even as a small grin appeared on his face. "Yes that is terrible."

A hand tapped his arm and Sam turned to see Epps standing there, his face serious. "We're all behind you," Epps said, offering the young man a gun.

Witwicky took the weapon with a nod. "I'll be sure to use it," He said before he turned and began to head toward the ship.

The boy suddenly found himself pulled against a warm chest and his lips caught in a passionate kiss. After a moment of shock he relaxed and returned his love with the same passion. They pulled away a moment later, both breathing hard. Sam rested his forehead upon Optimus's and stared into his eyes. 'Love,' The Prime said through the bond, 'Please stay safe.'

'I will,' Sam replied with a smile. 'And you had better do the same.'

'I promise,' Optimus replied with a small chuckle.

Sam captured his mate's lips one last time before he pulled away and continued on to the ship. Fear clenched in the Prime's gut as he watched Bumblebee lift Sam into the cockpit. He didn't want his mate to go, but it was necessary. He was the only one who could get into the tower unnoticed and not get seriously wounded should he be discovered. His mate was only half human after all. Normal bullets wouldn't harm him.

As he watched the ship take off Optimus hoped Dylan wouldn't discover Sam's true nature.

Christmas Break is going to start soon. Then I'll be able to write all I want. Hopefully I won't get stuck again.

Until next time! Happy reading!