Note: I am not 'great' with fight scenes and this might be to the best of my abilities in the chapter. Just be warned if I ever try and do crazy shit like this. If it comes to other fandoms (where alien weapons aren't being used), I can do somewhat better. But since this was filled with technical jargon I don't have, this is the best I got.

Also, it gets pretty sappy in this chapter. YOU WERE WARNED!

The night was calm as four more days had passed since his time on the base. And the thought that peace was finally back along with all the entertainment when outside of a classroom. That was until a blaring alarm had awoken the entire base, knocking most soldiers and civilians out of their beds. Sam was no exception as he tumbled when red lights blared in his room.

His first thought when his face met the ground was where he'd get a large enough hammer for his alarm clock. But as he pried his eyes open, he noticed his entire room was flickering red, a clear sign of danger. Pushing himself up, Sam got to his feet and looked up to the lights which continued to flicker red while a deafening blare pierced his brain.

As he grabbed his hands and covered his ears, he grabbed any pair of clothes he could out of his suitcase and dressed himself immediately. Thinking back to a day or two ago, he remembered the instructions the Prime had given him. 'Wait at your room and lock yourself in until I send someone to escort you out. Otherwise, I'll find you.' He had strictly instructed. He was thankful his mind kicked in during emergencies to actually remember that. And if someone was coming to pick him up, he'd rather run in something other than his pyjamas.

What he dressed in was a simple t-shirt with long pants. As he pulled on his shoes, a rapid knock came at the door, notifying that someone was there. Grabbing only his phone, the teen ran to the door, revealing Captain Lennox on the other side, already fully dressed in army uniform as well as a gun in his hands.

"C'mon kid! We gotta' get you outta' here!" He instructed, Sam giving a quick nod before escaping out the door, Will closing it behind as the two began to run. The soldier led the way through different turns in corridors as Sam noticed other soldiers running around as well.

"What's happening?" Sam questioned as the two took a turn.

"Apparently, someone spotted Starscream above flying over us." The adult male had briefed, stepping aside as soldiers came their way. Sam followed suit before continuing the jog.

Then a rumble came as the ground shook, forcing Sam to lean on the wall next to him and Will kneeling down to regain balance. The rumble continued for a few seconds with dust crumbling above their heads before they continued on. After the first, a few more came as they struggled to maintain balance, ground shaking more violently than the last. Before long, a voice came over the speakers.

WEAPONS HANGAR HAS BEEN DESTROYED! I REPEAT, WEAPONS HANGAR HAS BEEN DESTROYED!

The soldier gave out a curse before the two reached towards a double-door. Judging from the signs on the doors, it was an emergency exit for civilians as Will opened it, indicating for the teen to head out first. Sam did not waste time as he stepped out and turned back to the large building. The place had caught fire in multiple spots as smoke rose from those damaged areas.

When Will had come in front of the teen, he began shouting orders. "Listen, I need to go back there and get my men together. You think you'll be fine on your own?"

"I can help too-"

"Not an option. Civilian lives first." The captain stated, shaking his head in disapproval.

"I've been in one too many of these to be called a 'civilian'. You know I can help."

"Look, it's not about if you 'can'. It's that your life matters. And we're not going to let you throw it away. Besides, Optimus would have my head if he caught you still inside." Will reasoned, leaving the Witwicky frustrated as he knew the man was right. Silently, he gave in with a nod. "Good. Now go lay low somewhere until we find you. Knowing Starscream, this can take all night."

And with that and a simple nod, the soldier went back inside the building, leaving Sam alone to stare up at the structure. There was a moment before the sound of jet engines soaring through the sky had come and a large shadow that flew across the air, telling the boy to run towards a few trees. As he looked up to find no plane in sight, he slumped his back against a tree.

Once again, he was useless in a battle. He hated that feeling more than anything. Even more than the nightmares he has. It's not the fact that Optimus died in those dreams, it's the fact that Sam could've saved him in those events. His fingers dig into his opposite arms, tempting blood to spill forth. The feeling was the same as how he had been protected by everybody. Suffocated. Another missile was shot at the base, creating another wave from the explosion before the sound of returning gunfire made him look out.

Up on top of the building were Optimus, Bee and Ironhide as they struggled to find their flying target in the night. Unlike the city, there were no constant lights to help them see in the dark. Other than their optics, that was their only source of sight. But even that was hard. With their backs to each other, their firearm were ready at hand.

A missile shot came close to their heads but just missed as Optimus pushed each other out of the way. Then a voice came through loud speakers. The voice was that of Starscream, prompting that he had hijacked the network.

"Give us the Allspark and all will be spared!" The voice ordered. The base took a moment to process it before it had clicked what the 'Con really wanted. Sam. Surprisingly, the three Autobots at the top spoke in unison, Bee using his voice for once in front of others.

"Never!" Reloading their shots before shooting at different points in the sky. A few stray shots scraped at the jet's wing, but never gave full contact. A final shot was fired as it had blown the three apart from each other, a few curses leaving Ironhide while Optimus and Bee groaned.

A thought had struck the college student as they fell. A dumb idea, but an idea at least. Not much thought was put through as he began sprinting out of the tree line, heading for the set of ladders leading to the top of the building. Whilst climbing it, he heard the sounds of more shots being fired, almost stumbling and falling off the ladder while the rumbling shook. He faltered for a minute to catch his breath before advancing with trembling hands.

When he reached the roof, he was swayed by the constant wind that blew him back. Going down onto his hands and feet, he moved slowly. He carefully made his way to where a corner of the building was. Pushing himself onto two feet, he looked to the sky as he saw another shadow fly over. Making a funnel around his mouth, he shouted.

"Starscream!" His voice caught the attention of the Transformers around him, as most were horrified to see that he was there with them.

"No S-"

"You want me? You're going to have to catch me!" Sam taunted, running when he heard the sound of jet slowly approaching. Turning his direction towards the nearest Autobot, he began to run to the Prime which was on his knee with his gun ready at hand. It took a moment for the leader to catch on with the human's idea, reacting quickly when he noticed the plane flying behind the human.

"Bumblebee, Ironhide! Weapons at ready!"

Sam sprinted fast as he knew had faith in the Autobot leader. Optimus waited a seconds as the outline of the jet had finally been viewable. The plane drew close to the building in a matter of seconds as his finger curled around the trigger. As the gun was fired, the teen relied on his reflexes and jumped down, the specialised-bullet soaring over his head. Unfortunately, when he jumped, he didn't account for the hard ground that was to come. And in a moment of great bravery, Sam was out cold.

A few hours later…

The next time Sam had come to, the first thing he noticed was the blaring white light. Then it was the sound of arguing in the room he was in. As he groaned, he noticed that the arguing had been silenced for a moment before he heard a call.

"Sam?"

He groaned again, the headache finally hitting him in full force. As he reached a hand up to the side of head, he felt the fabric that wrapped around it, telling him it was a bandage. When he blinked himself awake, he found it hard to stay focus for too long before things got blurry. He coped with it for the moment while he looked at the faces that stared down at him. God, how he cursed that it had to be them that saw him in his position.

"Sam, are you awake?" Bee's holoform asked, the same amount of worry and concern on his face as the other three.

"… Yeah. Just give me a moment to think straight." Sam replied, squeezing his eyes shut before reopening them.

"That'll be the pain killers. It should lessen the effects of your headache." Ratchet commented from the other side of the bed, looking down at what had looked like a data-pad recording his vitals.

"Great… How long have I been out?"

"A few hours. But you sure gave us all one Pit of a scare." Ironhide added, standing back with his arms crossed, dropping his rear onto the provided chair.

"Perfect. And Starscream?"

"… He retreated." Optimus stated, looking down at the teen with a stroke of guilt.

"Oh…" Sam dumbly said, not sure if he should say anything else.

"Oh? Oh?! Don't 'oh' me when you charged in that battlefield with no thought process whatsoever!" Ratchet complained, turning a menacing glare towards him whilst Bee rushed to the other side of the bed to calm down the medic. And boy did he look like he was ready to slap the teen on the backside of his head. That had made Sam wonder how it would turn out if he didn't have his title as a doctor.

"… Sorry…"

The holoform held the glare for a minute longer before releasing it with a sigh. "Next time, please think before you act. Don't think I won't ask for Captain Lennox to have someone watch you 24/7."

"Sorry to make you all worry."

"Oh we're past the borderline of worry. Though I was tempted to blast the 'Con a new one." The weapons specialist raised an eyebrow, making the human give out a light chuckle.

"That's reassuring." Sam stopped mid-laughter when he looked over to the Prime and saw a dark face on his expression. He couldn't say, but he felt his gut turn inside out when he noticed that the Autobot wasn't meeting his eyes. "Optimus?"

A pause of silence hit the room before a single word ran out of the leader's mouth. "Why?"

"Huh?"

Approaching the bed's rail, he had his hands on it before speaking more firmly. "Why did you go in? You knew the dangers and the warnings we've given. So why?" He asked, his angered expression now visible to all. Sam took a moment to respond, thinking carefully to understand the situation.

"I… I saw a situation where you guys needed help. Being that I was the one he was after, I-"

"That's not the point!" Optimus shouted, scaring the group. Never in their life did they think that the Prime would bark with such volume against anyone other than enemies. Even more surprising when he did so to Sam. A most trusted friend of their group. Ratchet, being the more sensible one out of the three shocked Autobots, planned to step in.

"Optimus, I think-"

"Optimus. What do you mean 'it's not the point'? He was after me. I had to step in. It's simple." Sam retorted, standing his ground as the three bystanders were left quiet in awe. Three large surprises in one day would surely have anyone silent. One being the attack, the second being the volume of their leader's voice, and the last being the human's courage. Either that or his plain recklessness.

"You're saying the endangerment of your life is 'simple'?" He questioned.

"Compared to you, Bee and Ironhide, yes." He stated, drawing the attention of the two bots named. Oh how they wanted to step in the conversation as well, wanting to deny the boy's thoughts. Luckily, they knew better to stay out of this when things get heated between someone and the Prime. And vice versa with Sam.

Optimus was frankly shocked at the answer. Did Sam really think that? That his life was lesser to that of his own and his family? Sam's eyes didn't deny his thoughts, so he wasn't hesitating nor lying when he answered. The Prime hated that belief. That one life was worth more than another. To the point that he clearly stated it during some of his battles. Hearing the opposite come from a close friend ached his spark.

"Sam, no matter how much you say that, you are clearly wrong. What in the name of Primus made you believe that?" Optimus said, his tone going deeper.

"It's not a matter of belief. It's the social order of the world. I'm sorry I didn't listen to your guys' warnings, but I don't see what I did wrong." Optimus clenched his teeth as he heard that, feeling his spark bear the pain of the past. He felt his memories rising to torment him as he turned away with a huff of breath, hiding his face as he headed for the door.

"Ratchet, have someone stay with Sam 24/7 while he stays on the base." Optimus ordered, bubbling shock and surprise from both races.

"What?!" Sam blurted out, pushing himself up to gaze at the leader's back while Ratchet got to his side, shouting a few words in Cybertronian.

.: Optimus, this is not the way to go. :. Ironhide advised over the comm-link. But of course, the Prime knew that. But if it meant keeping Sam out of harm's way, then he'd gladly take any negative feelings of the human teen.

"You can't just decide that!" Sam argued as he was being held down from standing up by the yellow mechling and the medic.

"Yes I can and I will!" Spinning on his feet as he glared down the college student.

"I may respect you big guy, but that doesn't mean you can decide what happens with me!"

"No, but I am the superior in this case and my word is an order!" He spun on his shoe and concluded quite harshly. "And that is final, Elita!"

The room went entirely silent. Everyone froze on the last word that left the Prime's tongue, Sam baffled in a state of shock. It had been only a few days since Sam had heard that name once, yet it had been burnt into the back of his mind. Unconsciously, the blonde and the doctor had released their grip, too busy focused on their leader and brother. Ironhide looked up in his seat, cursing internally as it had revealed that the elder had yet to let go of the past.

Sam broke the silence with a single word. "What?"

And then the Prime was gone, extinguishing his holoform into particles of light. When his mind returned back to the Peterbilt within his hangar, he began to question himself. Why did he say that? It was completely irrelevant to the argument and yet his mouth moved on its own. As if acting out a scene. Frankly, why was he angry with the human in the first place? He had no room to complain when he'd do the exact same thing in the scenario. Then all of a sudden he was shouting at the teen before disappearing. Didn't Sam understand that the order he gave was to protect him? Thinking back to every word said in that room, it had hurt to think about it.

Spending the next few hours, he contemplated everything said. Both by him and the Witwicky.

Meanwhile, back in the room…

The group was silent with only the sound of Ratchet punching a few buttons and giving a few scans on the human. They were all thinking the same thing, but none chose to voice it as of yet. Obviously, they were still amazed how the two, which were the greatest of friends, could argue so harshly at one another. Then Sam, came to conclusion.

"Ironhide," He called. "What didn't you tell us when you were explaining Optimus' past?"

The black mech froze in his seat and looked up with weary eyes. Heaving a sigh, lifted his head up and rested his arms on the arm-rest of the chair. "… Before Elita-1 was sent off on her mission, the two had a dispute. I couldn't remember the exact details, but apparently it had involved their previous mission as she risked her life to save his."

"…"

"I'm guessing he thought back to that point during this dispute. Damn mech still hasn't let it go. Don't hold it against him." A dark air drifted onto Sam's mind before he looked up.

"I won't. But if only he has the guts to apologise first."

"… Well it seems your readings are fine, for now. I won't hold you in this room but I will prescribe you some much needed rest and healing time. Don't move around to fast or try anything in the word range of 'idiotic' and eat healthily. If you feel any pain, come see me at once." Ratchet explained as he began shutting off most of the equipment.

"Thanks, Ratchet."

"… From my better judgement, I'll ignore Optimus' last orders. But, promise me you will keep safe from now on."

A nod of agreement finalised the ordeal as Ironhide left the room first. Bee watched his friend climb out of the bed before taking slow, but even, steps. The holoform led the way back to the human's room, confirming that the boy will be fine for the rest of the day before turning in for a much needed recharge.

Sam waved a good bye before looking to the window of his room. It had been early sunrise and he was exhausted. As he made his way to his bed, he collapsed down on the blankets and pillow, hiding his eyes. Slowly, silent tears gushed out into the pillow, thinking back to how the leader had called out someone else's name.

A few days later…

The teen turned another corner as he saw the little particles of light float into the air. Now he was getting annoyed. Sure, the argument between himself and the Prime left a bitter taste for everyone, especially enough for one to avoid the other for a few days. This included Sam locking himself in his room as it was the same with Optimus bolting the door to his office. But seriously? Dispersing the holoform as soon as the teen was in sight. That was just plain rude and annoying. Of course, there were times when even he had turned the other way, but that only lasted three days-max. It was reaching almost a week and half since they last spoke and everyone on base could feel the tension in the air when around the two.

Will and Epps were given a rundown from Bee of what happened as they did everything they could to avoid the subject. Sadly, that was proving harder than it was when a certain request was given to the two.

Sam pushed forward as he found the two well-known soldiers conversing between each, looking as if they were arguing. Approaching them, the college student listened in on a few of the details.

"Why do I have to tell him?" Will inquired.

"He's more comfortable if you told him." Epps reasoned. "I'd rather pay you than tell him myself."

"No way am I telling Sam."

"Tell me what?" The teen questioned, scaring the life out of the two soldiers. The two gave nervous chuckles as they shuffled a little further away.

"H-Hey kid. How've you been doin'?" Epps asked. The teen rolled his eyes, knowing this treatment. It seemed like more often than not, people have trouble giving him the truth face-to-face.

"Okay. Let's skip the part where I 'pretend' I don't know what you're talking about and just tell me what you guys know." Sam spoke blatantly. The two soldiers exchanged a glance, giving in when they knew they didn't have a chance.

"Well, Optimus asked us to tell you that he wants to speak with you in his office."

"Alone." Epps added after Will finished. If Sam's face wasn't impressed before, he certainly isn't now as the frown curved deeper. A sigh escaped the teen's lips.

"Tell him I won't meet with him until he comes to me." Sam instructed, turning back and making his way back to his room.

A few knocks came from the door as Sam didn't even bat an eye before raising his speaking volume.

"Bee, don't bother. I'm not going until he apologises."

There was silence, then the heavy trudging of metal footsteps walking away from the door. Sam flicked to the next page of his book, wondering what other ridiculous plan he was going to try next.

When a knock came to his door a second time during the day, he glanced up to the kitchen's clock. 9:47. Took the sentient being one week, two days, fifteen hours and eleven minutes to get it right. Not that he was counting. Too bad the Prime had come when he was currently busy cooking himself up lasagne. Another sigh escaped his lips as he pulled off the oven mitts, throwing them onto the table before grabbing a towel.

As he made his way towards the door with one hand using the towel to clean the other, he wondered if it was truly the leader this time. When his hand came to the knob, he twisted it open and was finally face-to-face with Optimus' holoform since a week ago. He wasn't surprised to see that the man had his frown a few centimetres lower and his gaze showing no emotion.

As much as he wanted not to, he allowed his guest in. "Come in." He said, stepping aside as the holoform stepped in the room with a small 'thank you' as quiet as a whisper. After closing the door, he made his way back to the kitchen, Optimus following a second behind. "Take a seat." The words coming out more like an order than an offer.

"…" The man abided the instruction as Sam went back to cooking. Optimus said nothing for the time being, choosing silence over speaking. If they were going to have a talk, then he'd rather do it face to face. And trust him, this was going to be a real long talk.

The teen continued until it was five past ten where he sat down with his own plate of food, a glass of water and eating utensils. Letting the food simmer off on the side, Sam stared blankly at Optimus as the Cybertronian did the same. While Sam waited for the leader to talk, the Cybertronian words reappeared, floating mostly around the Prime's holoform. He ignored it as Optimus pried his lips open to speak.

"I'm sorry, Samuel." The Autobot apologised. Sam stayed quiet a little longer. "I'm sorry for my last orders given to Ratchet and I'm sorry for raising my voice against you. I'm sorry for trying to contact you via other means and should've respected your wishes the moment I heard about them." Still, as Optimus kept the gaze held on the teen, no reply came. It was then that his eyes fell lower. "I do not wish of you to forgive me, but rather I would like you to know how I feel every time I see you and/or vice versa."

"…" Sam felt a prick of regret in his heart as he knew that the mech wasn't the only one that should've apologised. Down casting his gaze as well, he found himself staring at the table separating them. A sigh leaving his lips for the third time that day. "I guess… I'm sorry as well. I knew it was dangerous that night, but I couldn't risk losing any one of you…" Sam wanted to add an 'again' to his apology, but he knew it would stir up something more troubling. Anyways, he was still waiting for the raven-haired man to apologise for one last thing.

As Optimus looked up, he spoke again with more confidence in his voice, the worry and guilt still in his tone. "Sam, please know that you aren't the only feeling that way. But even in a war, no number of lives are worth any more than one. Not even yours."

"… I'm sorry." Sam was still waiting for that one last 'sorry' the man had to give.

"I understand and forgive you, but please think better before heading into a battle." Sam nodded as silence fell over the table. Waiting only a few seconds, he expected the apology but nothing came. Looking up, Sam met worried eyes.

"That's all?" Optimus, confused by the question, nodded before responding.

"That's all." A twinge of pain struck deep in the human's chest as he twitched with Optimus noticing. "Am I forgetting something?"

"… No… It's nothing." Of course the Prime could pick out the lie, this time if he's going to get the teen to fully forgive him, then he'll have to face everything.

"Sam, I-"

A burst through the door stopped his sentence as their heads spun immediately towards the sound of the door slamming open and nervous breaths. They were greeted by the sight of Ironhide at the door, looking like a he cracked eggshells under his foot.

"S-Sorry to interrupt, but we have to get moving Optimus. Now." The weapons specialist said, looking as if he'd rather be anywhere but there unless urgent.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"We've just picked up a distress signal coming into the solar system. Cybertronian." He stated as Optimus stood up from his seat.

"Could it be the Ark?" A shake of the holoform's head brought the Prime's expectation down.

"Too small to be of the Ark. But we will need to go and give them coordinates on where to land and greet them when they do."

"Alright." As the man at the door left first, the leader turned down to look at Sam.

"Go. We can talk afterwards." Sam decided as Optimus wavered for a moment before giving an unsure nod. Walking out of the room, he closed the door on his way out. He stared at the door, wondering what he had forgotten. Taking off to the communication room.

Entering the domain, Optimus was met with a dimly lit room with cables running just about at every point of the room. He was surprised how none could not trip in such an environment, but he guessed most of the ones that worked here, usually switching between Ratchet and Ironhide, are careful. Or at least as careful as they could be. At the back of the room were rows and sets of screens as each one held a different sensor. Behind them were the other Autobots as they all ducked their heads down, even though they still held their holoforms.

Optimus stood behind the bots, opening his audi- ears out for the conversation between Ratchet and the signal. It had seemed they had already established communication. But as a voice came over the radio, both the leader and weapons specialist had tensed.

"This is Lumos Aria. We have been stranded for many vorns now, undertaking hyper-space recharge to conserve energon rations. But we have steadily been losing more each vorn unless we can find a deposit. Please indicate if there are any around your location." The voice asked, sounding as if a plea.

Optimus pushed through the crowd to the front, earning a few 'heys' from those pushed. As he leant down to the microphone, he looked to the speaker and spoke Cybertronian. "Elita-1, is that you?"

There was silence, then the voice returned. "Orion Pax?"

The Prime, had it not been for his pride, would've broken down on the spot. Joyous as his mate had finally returned.