Hi guys, this is The Fallen's Mistake, the sequel to The Past Always Returns, which is the sequel to A Change In Plans. It would probably be best if you read those first, else ya'll will be very confused. ;p

Thanks a bunch to everyone's support, and mah lovely reviewer harem! ^^

- Until All Are One -

Summary: The adventures continue! How will all the changes affect the events of the 2nd movie as we know it? Sage and her family are going to go through some more difficult and troubling events in this sequel to The Past Always Returns.

Disclaimer: Obviously, I don't own Transformers, else I'd have the kiddie version, and the adult version. LOL Plus I'd not be broke right now. XD

I will have my normal notes, from A Change In Plans, at the bottom, instead of at the top. So Cybertronian terms are on the bottom. ^.^

Chapter Warning: Leo's being perverted, and schemes afoot!

- Until All Are One -

Title: The Fallen's Mistake

Chapter Three: College, Conspiracies, and Talks

- Until All Are One -

Previously from The Fallen's Mistake:

"Freedom is your right. If you make that request, we will honor it." His calm dignified response only made Galloway appear more and more petulant. Epps and Will shared looks, understanding why Prime had calmed them. He had shown more respect and dignity, more sophistication, in one servo, than Galloway seemed to have in his entire body. The NSA nodded smugly, glancing at everyone with a superior look. Before he turned to leave however, Prime wasn't finished. "But," he turned, looking worried, "before your President decides, please ask him this. What if we leave and you are wrong?" Prime stepped back slightly, dismissive. As Galloway fled, his metaphorical tail between his legs, Will turned to him.

"That's a good question," he encouraged.

- Until All Are One-

Sam watched as his parents gushed over his college, helping Sage out of the backseat. His cousin groaned softly, sleepily piling out and leaning against the rental car drowsily. "Why am I here again?"

"You promised you'd help me settle into my dorm," Sam chirped happily, his excitement clear. That excitement dimmed as his parents started acting like they always did. His mom started gushing about feeling smarter and his dad was complaining about the cost.

"So I did," she grabbed a box, following him as he carried his own box.

"Go ahead, we'll get your stuff. Just go ahead and check out your room," Ron encouraged. Sam nodded, leading his cousin through the halls and areas. With some helpful directions, they were soon walking in a co-ed dorm, making Sage raise her eyebrow delicately.

"Co-ed? Really Sam?"

"Hey, don't worry, Mikaela's the only one for me," he repeated, aggravated. She had already lectured him about cheating and what would happen if he broke Mikaela's heart. She had grown pretty fond of the mechanic in the last two years, and was quite willing to torture her cousin should he do something stupid, like he was prone to doing. Sage paused, readjusting her grip on the box, and inadvertently allowing him to get a headstart. She glanced up at the numbers on the doors, making her way through the hall after he had disappeared.

Sam spotted the open door that had his assigned number, and stepped inside, only to find all the walls covered already. The other teen in the room spotted him and easily hopped from his perch of putting up another poster. "You must be Sam, right? I'm Leo."

"Hey," The two sized each other up a bit.

"So, I already set up the crib a bit. You want this side or that side?"

"Uh, that side,"

"I already chose that side." Sam stared at him blankly for a moment, then huffed.

"You know what this is? This is the awkward moment." Leo's face looked slightly intrigued and amused. "Yeah, see, you're trying to see if I'm a normal guy. I'm trying to see if you're a normal guy. Balanced, un-medicated, nothing under the crawl space."

"Good personal hygiene, won't stab me in my sleep."

"No criminal record, won't steal anything."

"Including girlfriends."

"Especially girlfriends."

"You got a girlfriend?"

"I do. You?" Leo laughed a bit, before looking disappointed.

"No, not a chance. You a techie?" Sam nodded a bit, wondering. "Sweet! Sharksy, Fassbinder, where we at?" Sam followed him into the next joined dorm, spotting two guys and a mess of computers. One wall had a bunch of photos of hot girls spread across it.

"Server's almost online, Leo."

"Network's up and running,"

"Beautiful, that's what I like to hear. That's Sharsky," he pointed at an African American teen, whom looked quite tall, "that's Fassbinder," the second guy had long hair and looked almost like a hippie. "My IT gurus. Welcome to my empire, bro, . That's me, I'm sure you've heard of it."

"No, I haven't," Sam denied, looking bemused.

"Well, that sucks." One of the two replied despondently. Before Sam could ask what it was for, he heard his name being called.

"Sam? Hello?"

"Yo, Bree, in here," he turned, not seeing the three's suddenly curious looks. Sage poked her head in the door, after dropping the box on the floor. Her eyes blinked slowly as she examined the room briefly, her glance barely skimming over the three unknown boys. Stepping fully into the room, her interest peeked at the sight of the complex computers. Neither of the cousins noticed the gob-smacked looks on the three guys. "This is Leo, my roommate, I guess,"

"Nice ta meet'cha," she greeted absently, leaning towards the nearest computer, which incidentally put her close to Fassbinder, who was swallowing audibly as he eyed her. "Nice site, conspiracy theories? How's ya firewalls and security net?"

"Um, well,"

"Easy Bree," Sam chuckled, "But what is all this for?" Leo blinked rapidly, clearing his mind. His eyes wandered over Sage's figure again, pondering if she was Sam's girlfriend.

"Hey, niña bonita. Usted está buscando absolutamente bien!" (1) he murmured. Her eyes shot over to him, irritation becoming apparent. She had chosen to wear black leggings, a short knee-length black sundress with blue-gray floral patterns, with a thin plain black t-shirt underneath the sundress. A belt was tied loosely around her hips, keeping the dress from flaring too high up. Her arms were bare except for the tiny sleeves on her shirt, and the collection of eclectic bracelets on her left wrist. Simple black sandals graced her feet, and her shoulder-length hair had been pulled back into a messy bun. Mikaela had insisted on giving her some fashion advice in getting some girly clothes, and Sage had accepted the outfit since it was comfortable.

"Por favor mantén tus ojos y babeara ti mismo, no estoy interesado en un niño de la hormona impulsado, " (2) her response was sharp, but it made him light up.

"You speak my language, mi hermosa flor!" (3)

"I'm not your flower," she bristled, then suddenly looked utterly bored, "Your firewalls suck, a five year old could hack and steal anything off it," Leo's face fell briefly, before Sam intervened.

"Hey, so what is all this for?"

"See where I'm going, bro," Leo shot her a smug look. "Look, call me gross, I want to be a baby billionaire. Boom!" he held up two calendars, "Kitten calendars. That's where I started. Look at me now. Got to have dreams, bro." Sage and Sam shared an unamused look. Suddenly a vid popped up on one screen, several people screaming inside a car.

"Yo, Leo! We got some brand new Shanghai vid!" Fassbinder grew excited. Sage's eyes narrowed slightly, flashing a brief scarlet.

"Post it, baby! Go, go, go! FTJ! FTJ!" Sam bemusedly looked at Leo.

"What's 'FTJ'?"

"Fuel the Jet. Fuel the Jet, bro." he glanced back at her, "See, my lovely flower, we do impressive work, eh?"

"FTJ. FTJ, legit!" She leaned near Fassbinder again, eyes focused on the vid playing on the screen. As the three got more and more excited, the two cousins got more and more wary.

"Look at this. Half of Shanghai gets wrecked and China says 'gas leak.' Don't believe the hype, bro."

"Just like the alien robots in LA two years ago that everyone covered up." Sharsky was really getting into it, his own obsession poking through.

"Yeah, I saw these robots, and they did this, like, firing thing and they came down and toasted this woman, and she was like…" They were really excited about this, they noted dryly. Sam was verging on a panic attack however, while Sage had gone thoughtful.

"It looks fake to me," he interrupted the gruesome tale Fassbinder was spinning.

"Dude, it's not fake. The Internet is pure truth. Video doesn't lie," It was like he spoke blasphemy or something, Sam wondered. Sage snorted softly, attracting their attention.

"Video lies all the time, just look at my Computer Graphics projects. I simulated various videos exactly like that, just with my graphic art and animation techniques," she stated dryly, rolling her eyes. She pointed at various points of the vid, and began bullshitting like a professional. Sam watched in awe as she pulled unbelievably logical bullshit out of thin air to contradict the video's authenticity.

"Exactly, Bree's right, anybody could do it on any computer, okay? And I wasn't there," Sage shook her head, eyes flashing, "So I can't comment or speculate," She thumped her hand against her face, slowly dragging her hand down. Sam instantly winced, the phrase that had been drilled into his brain by various officials coming out automatically.

"'Comment or speculate'? And we're supposed to cohabitate?" Leo spoke up, giving him a dark look. "No, listen, okay? Don't be sucking the sack, bro!" Sage winced, the mental image popping into mind was horrendous.

"Which sack?" she really wanted to smack her oblivious cousin.

"The ball sack," Sharsky stated confidently.

"Dude, what kind of tool are you?"

"Mainstream media sack." She could really do without his graphic groping hand, "They're lying to us, all right? It's aliens, man."

"Okay, okay,"

"Sam," Sage's unamused look and tone made the three blush, making them suddenly remember her presence. "Do yourself a favor, and don't ask any more questions. I'm grossed out enough, and Cade's gonna blame you for why I'll be twitchy the next couple of days." His face whitened.

"Don't tell Cade!" his panic had him attempting to dodge around the mess. Leo snorted and motioned them to join him in the other room.

"Uh oh, Leo, bad news! We just got scooped. The video's already up on GFR."

"Damn it Fassbinder!" Leo settled in front of his computer with a groan. "Robo-Warrior, the guy's our main competition on conspiracy stuff." He didn't notice Sage pull her cell out and text several sentences, informing her Guardian about the guys and their website. "'Effing' was my F-ing idea and he stole it! He's been linking to my site and thieving hits forever. By the way, I read your file. I'm poor, you're poor. We're going to fix that, all right? You work for me now." Sam blinked and looked astonished, sharing a glance with his cousin. Both felt their Witwicky pride rear up, dislike becoming apparent. The only difference being Sage knew when to keep her mouth shut, while Sam couldn't.

"I work for you now? That's incredible."

"Sam!" she knew he was about to do something stupid. You do NOT want to piss off your roommates in college, since they had access to all your things. Especially not the first day. He didn't seem to care, however.

"It's the first day of college: I got a career in a dinky Internet firm with a boss who is made up of just pure champion stuff." Leo's pleased look dropped in a moment, looking hurt and shocked for a brief moment.

"Are you mocking my life's work, Samuel? That's your one warning patrolling, dude. Don't make me have Fassbinder hack your financial aid, 'cause I'll do it!"

"No you won't," Sage stepped in, eyes flashing. Sam totally deserved getting chewed out, but threatening him was a no-go. Sam stepped back, just as she stepped forward, Leo nearly chasing after him as he left the room. She pointed her finger up into his face; her eyes flashing and making him hesitate. "You ain't messing with my cousin, or I'LL be da one messin' wit'cha records, and makin' damn sure ya dun get anythin' ya aftah!" In her anger, she slipped into Blackout's familiar accent, which did its job since he hurriedly backed up. He smirked at her however, humming to himself.

"Me likes a chica with fire," he tried to purr, and didn't come close to the level she'd been exposed to by the Mechs. She scoffed darkly at him, giving him the bird.

"I'm taken, ya moron, an' rem'mbah, ya mess wit' mah cousin, ya mess wit' me, and ya mess wit' me, ya mess wit' a whole mess o' highly trained veteran soldiers," his face paled, her seriousness finally sinking in. Moments later, Sam and his parents re-entered the room. Leo plastered a charming face on, edging slightly around her. As they introduced themselves, the cousins simultaneously spotted the baggie in Judy's hand. Both shared a look that reflected their thoughts: seriously? The next ten minutes involved them attempting to take away her reefer-baked brownies, with no success, to listening to her spout off embarrassing stories of Sam's, and then tackling several students to steal their Frisbee. By the time they managed to get her back to the car, all of them were exhausted. "Really Sam, I'm hoping you at least got Bee to avoid the house," she couldn't help but tease. At the blossoming horror on his face, she winced in sympathy for Bumblebee; she had no desire to THINK about Sam and Mikki in such a position, let alone be forced to listen to it. "A nice scrub and wax for the poor traumatized Autobot," she muttered darkly.

- Until All Are One-

Up in orbit, the Communications Officer Pinged his orders to Ravage, orders from the Fallen. Calculating the trajectory, he ejected his Cassetticon's entry-pod into the atmosphere, receiving a Ping back once the feline-mimic landed. He could feel Ravage's annoyance at having to deliver Reedman's micro-cons, but he performed his duty precisely, giving the other backup and cover fire. No Mech, not even Lord Megatron, would deny that Ravage wasn't a professional. Soundwave's optics flickered slightly in surprise when Ravage Pinged him a request, hesitating to grant it at first before allowing it. Once he secured the shard, he left Reedman with the deep-dive team before separating from them briefly.

While Ravage was off on his own personal exploration, the Officer contacted the Constructicons, receiving several affirmations that they were ready for their parts. He briefly approved of their alt modes before returning his attention back to his, now two, wayward Cassetticons. Receiving inquiring Pings from several others, he withheld the vent. His work was never complete, he mentally frowned, sending back encrypted replies and denials. Finding a moment of peace, he reviewed an old message, his Spark warming at the small hope he had instilled in one of his favored Mechs. With that brief hope, he returned his attentions to the various schemes and plans, most of them set into motion by himself and his dear lost friend.

=The End is coming,= he whispered, feeling the happiness from all his Cassetticons.

- Until All Are One-

Mikaela smiled slightly at the rapt attention Sam's cousin was giving her. The two were working on one of the shop's cars, more accurately, Mikaela was working, and Sage was listening as she explained. It was Sage's last day before she and Barricade began the drive to some obscure military base for pickup, and the two decided that working in the shop would be fun. Mikaela was grateful for her company, having become closer to the other girl, plus she was enjoying herself in teaching her the various parts and how to repair them. Sage didn't mind that the younger girl was more knowledgeable that her in this regard, and paid attention to everything the other was telling her.

Of course they were also playing and joking around, and Sage had to tease and scold her for traumatizing Bumblebee after she had returned to Tranquility from dropping off Sam. Mikaela had blushed bright red and immediately volunteered to help her wash and wax Bee in apology, the scout soaked up the attention easily until he reluctantly was called back by Prime, but was grateful to their attention. Of course after that, Barricade demanded some attention as well, which resulted in him getting a wash and wax; during which he had ended up falling into a pleasant recharge. He would deny it of course, despite the fact the two of them easily heard his soft 'snores' and recognized the mechanized sounds.

The two had hung out the previous two weeks, after Sage had completed all her courses and exams, and she was adamant they spend time together before they would be separated for an indefinite amount of time. This is why Sage was with her in her dad's auto shop with a lazy Barricade snoozing outside in the sun. The two were also discussing what Sam was planning for the webcam date later that night. When the shop was preparing to close up, the two hugged tightly in goodbye, with a mischievous grin sent her way from Sage, before the older brunette poked her Guardian awake. Settling in her chair, Mikaela smiled happily and a little nervously, signing in.

- Until All Are One-

'Mikaela's gonna kill me,' Sam thought, slumping his head forward against Bee's steering wheel. The scout was pissed at him, he could tell, ever since that Alice girl climbed in. He really didn't understand why that girl was so interested in him, especially after he had stated he had a girlfriend. 'Probably would have been better if you hadn't stuttered it, stupid,' her thumped his head against the moving leather. He heard an inquisitive chirp/trill, before Bee remembered he was angry and went silent again. 'Forget Mikaela, Bree's gonna murder me. No way that Bee ain't gonna tell her,' he sighed and slumped further. 'Then again, I did miss our web date, so maybe Mikaela will beat her to it.' His attention focused on their surroundings, a frown appearing on his face at the large cemetery. Sitting up, he caught a flash of familiar blue and red and braced himself. 'Damn it, I thought Bree was going to be the one to deal with this? I just wanted to go to college and be normal!' he thought in despair. Bee parked, letting him climb out. Moving over to one side, he climbed up the separating wall and sighed, heading to the Autobot Commander. Anger flashed up, words spilling out without his permission.

"Huh? You won't give me a day, huh?" Prime turned, looking down at him sorrowfully. "You won't give me one day in college?"

"I am sorry, Sam, but the last fragment of the Allspark was stolen." His anger faded away to numbness.

"Like what? Like Decepticons stole it?"

"We placed it under human protection at your government's request, but I am here for your help, Sam, because your leaders believe we brought vengeance upon your planet. Perhaps they are right. That is why they must be reminded by another human of the trust we share."

"This isn't my war," Sam shook his head, denying it.

"Not yet, but I fear it soon will be. Your world must not share the same fate as Cybertron. Whole generations lost."

"I know," Sam looked down, hearing and feeling the grief Prime was showing. "And I want to help you, I do. But I am not some alien ambassador, you know? I'm a normal kid, with normal problems. This is Bree's job, what she's been preparing for these last two years, right? Not mine, I am where I'm supposed to be."

"While this is indeed what she has been preparing for, I am well aware that she is not ready yet to speak directly to those in power," Prime knelt slowly, his optics darkening, "You know as well as I, that her past is still restraining her. Her confidence is not strong enough to defend us."

"I know that," Sam scrubbed his hand through his hair, a trait he and his cousin had in common. "I know what her grandmother did, it left scars. I know she isn't ready to stand against politicians and the Secretary of Defense, or the President, or whoever. But what can I do? I'm even younger than her!"

"You do not have her hesitance in speaking her mind," he reminded gently, "You are willing to accept that you must fight others to show your stance. She is slowly reaching that point, but she is not ready yet. I do not know what or why, but I do know that she is holding onto something. Once she lets it go, then she will step forward not only as our Liaison, but also as our Voice."

"I'm sorry, I…" Sam looked away. "I really am."

"Sam," his voice gentled, understanding and compassion making his guilt grow. "Fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing." Prime's optics unfocused, as though remembering something. "A very wise Bot once told me that, would you like to know what else she said?"

"Optimus,"

"Some things cannot be denied, nor changed, to suit our preferences. Even though our choices may be limited, we still have a choice. There will always be a time in our lives, that we must choose one way and forsake another. We may wonder at our choices, but if we follow what our Sparks, our hearts, tell us, then we will never have regrets. Do not make any choice if it will cause you regret."

"Who said that?" Sam wondered, pausing, "It sounds like something Bree would say,"

"Indeed," Prime bowed his helm, "It was spoken to me by Head Voice Stargazer, when I became Prime. She alone saw my fears and gave me not only comfort, but confidence. I only met her three times before she was killed, but those three times are forever ingrained into my Spark. You see Sam, all Voices, including your cousin, my Sparkling Sister, see things in different ways than us. They see what is best for one's Spark, or soul, not necessarily what we believe we need. We need you Sam,"

"You're Optimus Prime. You don't need me." Blue optics watched sadly as he left.

"We do, more than you know."

- Until All Are One-

Ravage slunk easily past the oblivious organics, curling around one of their power conductors and tapping into the lines of communication. Using the humans' technology to boost his own signals and range, he quickly contacted his Brother. Exchanging news with his younger sibling, his optics dimmed as he went over the data packets he had sent. Easily multi-tasking, listening to his sibling as well as skimming over his reports, he rumbled out a low purr. He agreed with Frenzy, their Creator needed to view this information as soon as possible. Unfortunately both of them knew he was overwhelmed with various other tasks at the moment. Preparing the Decepticon arrivals, following the Fallen's orders, sending, directing, and relaying other orders, as well as keeping everything moving smoothly, was only accomplished thanks to his great experience in his multi-tasking. They didn't wish their Creator's job on anybot, least of all on him, unfortunately, all of them accepted his reasons for shouldering all the burdens.

=I miss the old days,= Frenzy's mental presence curled closer to Ravage's, seeking comfort.

=I do as well, Little One,= the feline mimic vented, =I remember when Creator was content, before this war, before everything happened,=

=Has he found out who did it yet? Who killed 'Gaze?=

=The only clues we have detected were what you knew before embarking with Barricade. That the orders for the execution were delivered from part of the Decepticon hierarchy, but unknown to Lord Megatron.=

=He did it, or at least ordered it, we know that!=

=Hush, until we have proof, we can do nothing, as you well know.=

=But Rave,=

=No, you will follow your orders, be a good soldier, until the time is right.=

=Fine,=

=I mean it 'Zee, don't do anything to get yourself killed!=

=I promise, just, make sure 'Wave gets those packets,=

=You are well aware that he received them, looking them over on the other servo…=

=Please Rave, they're important!=

=I promise,=

=Thanks=

=I need to go, it is time to revive Lord Megatron,=

=Be careful!=

=I will,=

- Until All Are One-

Translations:

"Hey, pretty girl. You are looking absolutely fine!"

"Kindly keep your eyes and drool to yourself, I am not interested in a hormone-driven kid,"

"My lovely flower!"

- Until All Are One-

Whooo hoooo! ^^ The action's starting! Finally!

- Until All Are One-

Reviews:

Angel897: ^^ thanks! I try my best, not only to deliver an original story, but to keep it from being too boring.. ;p