Author's notes: Hey everyone. Sorry about the delay in updates. I have a new Beta Reader, Epona Harper, and we've been going over everything. The previous chapters have all been edited for grammar and spelling and Chapter three has been revised so please go back and re-read that before proceeding onto this chapter. Seeing as it took so long for me to update, this chapters a bit long winded. lol I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Please leave feedback! I love feedback! Reviews happy authors and happy authors More updates. lol. It's pittiful but very true.

Chapter 4

Bumblebee sat down on his berth and sighed, exhausted from the past few hours' exertions. Having been put in charge of the human boy, Bumblebee had to convert his quarters somewhat in order to accommodate an organic. Fortunately, he had help. Wheeljack was thoroughly intrigued by the concept of having a young human staying at the Ark (at least temporarily) and practically jumped at the opportunity. They had looked into the human's internal information network to sort out what care a human child required. Thankfully there were servers still operational in distant countries that allowed the Autobots make full use of the medium. By the time they had finished and had a good idea of what they needed, Bumblebee felt rather overwhelmed. Humans Sammy's age required constant supervision. Not only for mental stimulation and education, but also to make sure that they didn't damage themselves doing something stupid.

Human curiosity – apparently it kills.

Sammy also needed frequent, close, physical contact as the opposite would be detrimental to his development, and most of all they had to be extremely careful of what they fed him to avoid nutrient deficiencies that could lead to several problems that they simply didn't have the resources or proper knowledge to treat.

Several hours after the meeting with Jazz, Bumblebee left Sammy with Wheeljack to go back into town to forage for what they required in order to make the child more comfortable. He went immediately to the devastated Wal-Mart and scoured through the remnants. There he found most of what he needed; more food, a small springy sleeping pad (mattress, as the information network had called it), a thick square of padded fabric (blanket), and even some clothes. He spent another hour or so randomly searching various shops he generally neglected to explore on his routine patrols.

Jazz was readying his report to send to Optimus by the time Bumblebee returned. Setting the small canisters of preserved food on the shelves above the vacant berth in his room, Bumblebee pondered where best to put the little human's sleeping pad. His first thought was to simply place it on the other empty berth. However, after some consideration, he decided against it. Sammy was rather fidgety and the prospect of him possibly falling off from that height was concerning. In the end, he decided to place it under his own berth; there was less chance of the boy being injured and he would be close enough to Bumblebee so that he could do something quickly if a situation arose.

The modifications to his quarters complete, it was time to fetch his charge. Walking into Wheeljack's lab, Bumblebee greeted the engineer who was preoccupied with an odd little device, scrutinizing it with one optic as he held it up to the light.

"Hey, Wheeljack," Bumblebee said stepping up to the table. Looking around, Bumblebee's tired demeanor turned to concern with a touch of irritation. "Uh…'Jack?"

Wheeljack, still looking at the device, mumbled a reply "Hm?"

"Where's Sammy?"

"Sideswipe came in about three hours after you left and took him," Wheeljack replied simply. "Don't worry. I cleaned the kid up like you asked. All lacerations and tissue damage were superficial and will heal on their own in a matter of days."

"And you just let him?" Bumblebee asked annoyed.

"What?"

"You just let Sideswipe take him?"

"Actually," Wheeljack admitted almost defensively. "I encouraged it. That little biped is sneakier then Laserbeak, let me tell you! I'm tempted to make a leash for him."

Bumblebee raised an optic ridge. "What happened?"

"Everything was going fine for the first hour or so. He stopped crying about three breems after you left. I gave him some washers and ball bearings to play with while I finished the repairs on the ship wide-comms. I looked away for a breem - at most - and he managed to climb up to the top storage shelf and push a container over the edge." Wheeljack raised a hand and pointed to a significant-sized dent in his cranial unit just to the side of one of the flashing fins situated on either side of the engineer's head. "Caught me right above the vocal indicator. Oh, it was just an accident, but it still hurt like the Pit."

Bumblebee didn't need to be told what happened next.

"Then the kid started crying," Wheeljack sighed. "Probably thought I was gonna squish 'im or something. I was trying to calm him down when Sideswipe came in. Kid stopped crying instantly, so I put two and two together and passed down the burden."

Bumblebee's mind sputtered indignantly at Wheeljack's choice of words, but outwardly, he only groaned. "So where is he now?"

"Probably the Rec room with everyone else," Wheeljack replied simply as he returned his scrutinizing gaze back to the device in his hands.

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The echoing din of several Mechs laughing emanated from within the Rec room. Four Autobots clustered around a small table in the center of the room, a cube of glowing pink liquid resting in front of each of them. The largest of the gathered Mechs was Trailbreaker, having been relieved of sentry duty a few breems ago by Huffer. The two seated next to him were of equal size and similar model type; one of them sported a glossy yellow armor while the other red and considerably less shiny then his counterpart. They were the Autobot Twins, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. Another Autobot with white and blue armor sat quietly observant from his chair watching as his three cohorts chortled over their new guest. His name was Mirage.

"He's so small," Sideswipe smirked as he lowered his face almost to the table's surface, trying to get a better view of the child. The little human boy sat with his back to the Autobot, looking around at all the metal giants. The human boy in question remained quiet and observant, his bright green eyes looking around at all the metal faces. Whenever someone made a sudden move, Sammy would jump or whimper, but, thankfully for those in the room, he managed not to turn on the water works. After a little more than an hour, Sammy was starting to relax, and Sideswipe even caught the boy smiling or laughing once or twice.

The human's attention was occupied by a metal ball bearing he had taken with him from Wheeljack's lab. As he had done several times before, Sammy rolled the bearing across the table where Mirage caught the small sphere as it rolled off the edge and politely rolled it back to the boy, much to his glee.

"Easily entertained isn't he?" Mirage smirked at the boy as he caught the metal object.

"When did we become a human-sitting crew?" Sunstreaker asked as he set his Energon cube down after taking a drink. The sound of the cube hitting the metal surface of the table caused Sammy to turn his head at the unexpected noise. Setting down the metal ball, the boy rose to his feet and slowly walked over to Sunstreaker's Energon cube. When the yellow warrior wasn't looking, Sammy peered down at the glowing liquid in utter fascination as the different hues of pink light swirled around in the container. Infamous human curiosity took over and his small hand reached in…

"Careful," Mirage warned, jerking up from his relaxed slouch after when he noticed the boy's movements. Curious optics flickered over to Mirage and then, seeing where the spy's optics were focused, over to Sammy. Sunstreaker looked down and scowled. The yellow Mech picked him up and brought the boy close to his face, optics narrowing at the human. "Unless you wanna melt into an organic goop, I suggest you stay away from the cubes and their content, runt."

The little boy merely blinked at the scowling Autobot.

"I think he likes you, bro," Sideswipe said.

Sunstreaker's narrowed optics flashed over to his brother. "What makes you say that?"

Sideswipe's shoulders shook in silent laughter. "He ain't cryin'. You heard the racket he was making when Red had him didn't you? Primus, I thought my audios would short circuit…"

Trailbreaker's optic ridges rose. "That was him?"

"Yeah," Sideswipe replied. "Woke me right up outta recharge."

"Here," Sunstreaker said to Sideswipe, offering the human child to his brother. The red armored Mech held out his hand and Sunstreaker tipped his hand. Sammy slid off his sleek metal palm and into Sideswipe's.

Sideswipe stared at the small being in his hands for a long moment before announcing abruptly, "I think we should give him a new name."

"Why?" Trailbreaker asked. "What's wrong with the one he's got?"

"'Sammy' just sounds too…," Sideswipe struggled to find an accurate word. "…human."

"Well, he is human," Mirage pointed out.

"I was thinking something like…Spike," Sideswipe replied, not seeming to hear the others's objections.

"Spike?" Sunstreaker looked dubiously at his brother and then back down to the boy. "Why Spike?"

Trailbreaker rolled his optics and Mirage slowly shook his head.

"Because it suits him," Sideswipe said holding Sammy up as if to show him off. "He looks like a Spike don't ya think?"

Mirage titled his head bemusedly. "No…not really."

Sideswipe scowled. "Yes, he does! His hair; it looks like one of those…spikey creatures."

"Your abilities of acute description are astounding," Sunstreaker smirked.

Sideswipe's scowl deepened. "I can't remember the name of it! Frag….it's small and spikey! It's covered in spikes!"

"Hedgehog?" Trailbreaker ventured in a half-hearted attempt to help the red Mech's failing argument.

"No…it starts with a 'P'…"

"Porcupine?"

"That's it! His head looks like a Porcupine!"

There was a long awkward moment of silence.

Sunstreaker stared at his brother. "You're an idiot."

Sideswipe huffed as he pulled Sammy away, almost defensively. "And you got a dent."

In an abrupt turn-around, Sunstreaker's expression shifted from mildly annoyed to near panic as he contorted to find the spot Sideswipe meant. "Where?!"

His brother snickered.

Sunstreaker's face fell at the realization that he'd been had. He shot to his feet, chair sliding back with a squeal, and pulled his arm back ready to slam a fist full of metal into his twin's face. Sideswipe shied away from his enraged brother, holding the human boy to his chest protectively while raising his free hand in an attempt to shield himself from the blow.

Sammy whimpered.

"Hey!" Sideswipe cried. "Cool it! You're gonna scare Spike!"

Sunstreaker lowered his curled fist and sank back into his chair flicking, a sneer at his brother.

"Slagger," Sunstreaker scowled.

"Love ya too, Bro," Sideswipe grinned before turning his attention back to the boy to make sure he wasn't too shaken up. Surprisingly, Sammy looked more annoyed then scared.

The Rec room doors parted with a hiss and the yellow form of Bumblebee stepped through, his optics immediately locking onto Sammy.

"Leave a note next time you decide to abduct Sammy, Ok?" Bumblebee told Sideswipe as he came to stand next to him, a definite note of irritation in his tone.

"'Abduct' nothing!" Sideswipe replied. "Wheeljack practically forced the kid on me when I came in to ask him about my jetpack. Besides, he's not Sammy anymore. We renamed him."

"And by 'we' he means himself," Trailbreaker offered, propping his head up with his hand.

Mirage looked over at the bulky Autobot and stifled a grin.

"So…you just renamed him?" Bumblebee asked with a dubious glare. Sideswipe nodded. "Dare I ask, to what?"

"Spike," Sideswipe grinned.

Bumblebee rolled his optics. "Did you even ask him if he wanted to be renamed?"

Sunstreaker snorted. "'Ask him'? The kid barely says anything and, when he does, can't hardly vocalize the simplest of words."

"He's just shy, that's all," Sideswipe countered defensively giving the little boy an encouraging smile. "Ain't that right, Spike?"

Sammy/Spike looked up at the red Mech holding him in his open palm then smiled and nodded with a giggle.

"See?" Sideswipe pointed to the boy. "He likes his new name!"

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Optimus touched a small button on his wrist, deactivating the hologram projection of Jazz's face as the lieutenant's report ended. This news was not what he had wished to hear from home base. Beside him, Prowl sat in silence. His left arm rested on his lap, palm up, the armor plate removed to reveal the delicate circuitry below as he carefully repaired the damage he sustained during the last altercation with the enemy. Prowl was no medic, but he could repair a cracked circuit without help, and Ratchet was optic deep in damaged Mechs. It was a mediocre job, but it would do for the time being until he could get the damaged circuit replaced or have Ratchet go over it once the walking wounded were taken care of.

"What's the news?" Prowl asked, not bothering to look up from his tedious work.

Optimus sighed. "It's beginning…"

At his commander's choice of words and his foreboding tone, the black and white Mech looked up.

"Sir?" Prowl asked.

Optimus turned to look down at his second. "Jazz has reason to believe the Decepticons who remain in North America are establishing Energon Refineries."

Prowl's optics narrowed. "How? Who's working them?"

Optimus stared into the younger Mech's optics. "The human refugees it seems. Jazz informed me that Bumblebee stumbled across a young human alone in the abandoned town of Burbank whilst on patrol the other day. The boy is very young and Jazz believes he and his parents may be refinery escapees. Although their whereabouts are not known; they are presumed dead."

Prowl looked back down at his wrist and the exposed wires. Silently, he replaced the panel and stood up.

"What are your orders?" Prowl asked.

Optimus was silent for a moment. "Send word to Ultra Magnus."

Prowl's stance visibly stiffened. "I do not wish to question your orders, sir, but we've already placed several requests for reinforcements. They're just as depleted of resources and warriors as we are."

"We must try," Optimus told Prowl. "If the Decepticons are allowed to extract and refine the Earth's resources to create Energon, there is no doubt they will send it to Cybertron to aid their forces there. Ultra Magnus will not have a choice but to send us aid. If Earth falls to the Decepticons, I fear Cybertron will as well."

Prowl gave his commander a curt nod before replying. "I will send a priority pulse wave immediately."

"Thank you, Prowl."

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It was dark, but not frighteningly so. The smell of them was everywhere (a combination of motor oil and ozone), but not overpowering, not as it had been back there – at that place. These robots were nothing like the others he had encountered. They smiled at him, played with him, made him feel…safe. Made him feel like he had before his family had to leave home.

Before the plant and all the nightmares that were born there.

Sammy had awoken half way through the escape attempt and nearly blowing their cover. When the small group of escapees had made it out of the guards' range of sight, they openly ran, farther and farther into the wilderness. For weeks they had traveled. They slept, huddled together to keep warm, never daring to start a fire for fear of being caught. They scavenged along the way for food; they found mushrooms, wild berries, and once even a nest of duck eggs. One night they camped by the river and temptation got the best of them. As it began to appear that they were well out of harm's way, they risked building a fire. His father and two others waded out into the water and used their shirts to catch fish. It wasn't the most successful venture, but they ate well that night and slept warm and happy together. It seemed at last that they were free…

And then the Shadow found them.

The darkness was thick and there was so much dust it was hard to breathe. The smell of unwashed humans and the stale sweat staining their clothing was overpowering as they huddled together inside the abandoned clothes shop, the soft fabric of hanging clothing brushing their faces and backs. Sammy clung to his mother as she held him close.

"Hush baby…" His mother cooed, rocking him. His mother's chest shook as a coughing fit hit her, but passed a few seconds later. "It's OK, don't be scared."

"I'll be back," His father said from where he crouched down next to them. "I'm gonna try to find Howard and Jenny."

"No!" His Mother pleaded, reaching out and grabbing a fist full of her husbands tattered and worn shirt. "That thing's still out there!"

He gazed at her for a long moment.

"We didn't survive all this time just to die here," He told her gently. "I'll be back. We need to regroup if we're gonna have a chance against that monster. Trust me…"

Tears lingering in her eyes, she pulled her husband closer and hugged him with one arm, choking back as much of the fear as she could. He pulled in closer and hugged his wife back, cradling her against him for a long moment. Looking down at his son as they pulled away, he ruffled the shaggy brown mop. "Be good for your mother, OK? You have to protect her for me until I get back."

Sammy nodded meekly. "Yessir…"

"That's my boy," His father smiled before he disappeared from sight.

His mother continued to rock back and forth quietly singing to her baby, stroking his hair and kissing him. Soon he drifted off to sleep in his mother's arms; warm and loved.

A scream startled him awake sometime later. His mother jumped as well, having fallen asleep too.

"William," She breathed, her voice quivering with fear. "Oh god…"

There was anther scream before everything fell silent. His mother jumped to her feet, clinging to her child. She made her way to the front of the store to peer out. She sucked in a horrified breath and darted back across the store to the back. Looking around through stacks of boxes and merchandise, knocking over a great many as she past, she caught sight of an air vent. Running up to it, she put her son down, and began yanking on the cover. Rusty screws gave way and with a screech the cover came off. Setting it to one side, she picked her Sammy up and put him inside. Dust and cobwebs coated his hair…


"Mommy…" Sammy whimpered. She reached up and cupped his face in her hands, tears streaming down her face. "Honey, please. Stay quiet. No matter what you hear, stay quiet OK? Can you do that for me? Can you be brave for mommy?"

Sammy cried even harder, gripping his mother's hands as if she would stay as long as he held onto her. He nodded.

"Good boy," She smiled and kissed her son. "I love you, Sammy, I love you so much."

And then…she was gone…

Sammy's eyes burned as tears formed and squeaky cries escaped his mouth. He could imagine their faces, their warmth. He could feel their touch and hear their words. His little heart ached. He wanted to feel all those things again. He wanted his Mommy to hold him, smooth his hair and rock him, make him feel better. He wanted his Daddy to play with him again. He wanted so many things.

"Sammy?" Bumblebee looked over the edge, blue optics peeing down at the comforter that completely covered the human child as he lay on the small mattress beneath the Autobot's own berth. "What's wrong little buddy?"

Bumblebee reached down carefully and pulled back the edge of the covers. The little boy's face was streaked with tears. Bright green eyes locked onto blue optics. Sliding off the edge of his berth, Bumblebee kneeled down to get a better look at the boy. "Are you OK?"

The little boy sat up, rubbing his tearing eyes and gave a quivering cry as a reply. Bumblebee's expression softened at the sight.

Poor little guy, Bumblebee thought sympathetically. Smiling warmly, he reached out and smoothed the boy's hair before scooping him up, blanket and all. He straightened up and sat back down on the berth, cradling the distraught human in his metal arms as he had seen mothers doing in pictures on the human information network. Snuggling against the metal body of his guardian, Sammy began to slowly calm down, his cries dying down to mumbling whimpers.

"It's OK," Bumblebee told him comfortingly, rocking him slightly. "You're all right."

A few breems later, the boy was sound asleep in Bumblebee's arms, tears staining his cheeks.