This chapter didn't want to come out. Some serious editing is going to have to come because I do not like this chapter one bit. Thanks to Evanesence and Joni Mitchell for song lyrics in this one.

Mikaela was having nightmares again. Decepticons were everywhere. Explosions were ringing through her head, vehicles were crashing and people were dying. So many people died that day…Mikaela tossed and turned, desperately willing her body to wake up. Starscream was in front of her, laughing maniacally as he lifted his gun to meet her face. Closing her eyes she waited for the blast, but it never came. There was Arcee, taking the blow in the arm. Starscream was recharging, and as Arcee lay on the ground recuperating, Starscream's next missile launched directly at Mikaela…

With a scream, Mikaela sat up in bed. She was drenched in sweat, and panting for breath. She was so sick of the nightmares. They were coming more and more frequently now, every night they came and they were always the same horrifying dream. She shuddered and glanced at the clock. It was four in the morning. There was no way Mikaela wanted to go back to sleep after that, but she was so tired. The events of the past few days had taken their toll on her body. She jumped as she saw Arcee's concerned face in her window.

"I heard you scream. Everything A-OK?" Arcee asked anxiously. Mikaela gave a small nod.

"Yeah. Just…bad dreams." Mikaela shuddered. "They come every night."

"Try to get back to sleep, Mikaela. I have a feeling the next few days are going to be quite eventful, and sleep is a luxury that you may not have." Arcee said solemnly. Mikaela nodded, lying back down. Closing her eyes, she tried her best not to think about her dreams. She finally fell into a relatively dreamless sleep again, although her mind was plagued with flickering images just beyond her reach.

The next day, it was all over the news. Several meteors had hit the earth, but there were no meteors in the gaping holes in the ground. Optimus had called everyone together immediately. No other allies save Arcee had come, therefore given the current situation, he assumed they were Decepticons.

"Seems like it's just all bad news lately, eh?" Ironhide griped as he settled his large frame onto the ground.

"Yes, it does." Ratchet said, pointedly looking at Mikaela and Arcee. Mikaela gave a shrug while Arcee looked innocent.

"Should you try to contact them?" Sam asked nervously. "I mean, what if there are more Autobots?"

"If we do so, we run the risk of exposing ourselves and our location to the Decepticons." Ironhide said, his gravelly voice sounding menacing. Sam gulped and nodded.

"Then how will you know?" Mikaela asked. "Just wait and see if they contact you?"

"There's no need for that." A steely feminine voice cut through the clearing, and Mikaela gazed in amazement as two Autobot's emerged from the forest edge into the clearing. Arcee gave an excited whine.

"Chromia! Elita!" Arcee jumped from her place beside Mikaela and ran to greet the two females. Mikaela smiled in relief as they embraced Arcee.

"It is good to see you, Arcee." The other pink female said to Arcee, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We have missed you. All of you." She added, her gaze flickering to Optimus. Mikaela didn't miss the look, and she didn't like it. Glancing around to the other Autobots, she realized not everyone was happy to see them. Bumblebee looked pleased, as did Ratchet, but Ironhide was staring at Chromia with such a strange look that Mikaela didn't know what to think. Optimus was staring at Elita with a look of mixed emotion. Mikaela's insides began to twist uneasily as she reflected on the glance that had passed between Elita and Optimus.

"Ah, it is good to see you too, Elita. I'm glad you received my message." Arcee said warmly. Mikaela saw Optimus' eyes narrow at Arcee.

"I do hate to rain on the parade, but we were followed." The blue female interrupted. "We must decide what to do before the attack comes."

"Who followed you, Chromia?" Ironhide asked, his voice sounding hoarse.

"From what we could tell, there were four Decepticons behind us. I do not know where they landed." She said, her voice brisk. Mikaela sucked in her breath. Four?

"Which four?" Optimus asked, his eyes clearly avoiding Mikaela's and Elita's.

"We don't know, Optimus." Elita said, forcing him to look at her. "All we know is that they were not far behind us."

"Turn on the radio." Mikaela said, her voice a little too loud. Heads turned to look at her, and her cheeks flushed. "The news will tell you where they landed, I'm sure. Just turn on a radio." Bumblebee's radio crackled to life, and true to Mikaela's word, the locations of the meteor strikes, including Elita's and Chromia's were revealed. She received a look of approval from Ratchet, but her heart was aching for Optimus. He was blatantly ignoring her, and she was reasonably sure why. And she was angry he had lied to her. He had told her he had no one special, and now, a beautiful pink Elita was standing in their midst, making goo-goo eyes at Optimus. Something had gone on between them, and Mikaela did not appreciate the lie one bit. She felt betrayed.

"We must prepare for battle." Optimus said, turning his back on everyone. His mind was a race of emotions. He had never expected to see Elita again. But now she was here, and bound to create problems between himself and Mikaela. She wouldn't mean to, but it was going to happen. He turned his head, chancing a look at Mikaela, and saw the anger in her eyes. He sighed inwardly. He knew it. He would need to explain to her, tell her he had thought Elita dead. He was also angry with Arcee for sending a message without consulting him first.

"Optimus is right. We must prepare." Ironhide said, getting to his feet. The other Autobots stood, guns and cannons coming out. Ironhide went through each Autobot with care, inspecting their weapons. Optimus took this time to corner Mikaela.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you." He said, kneeling in front of her. Mikaela shrugged.

"Hey, its ok, its not like we are…together or anything like that right?" She said, her voice cold and harsh.

"Mikaela, please, try to understand-"

"I think I understand better than you think, Optimus. It's easy to see." She cut him off, aware that her words were hurting him. She didn't care. She had tried and tried to make him see, make him understand how much she cared, how much she truly loved him. "I'm not chasing you anymore, Optimus. I'm done. You made your decision, and now there are beautiful females here that can take care of you much better than a human." Her emphasis on the word human made the word sound like a snake. If Optimus could have cried, he would have done so.

"Please, listen-"

"I refuse to listen to anything else you have to say, Optimus. Like I said, I'm finished chasing you. Why don't we each stick to our own species. It'll be better that way right? This way, no one gets…hurt. Heartbroken." Her words were cutting him like a thousand knives.

"Mikaela, I lo-"

"You've lied to me and hurt me enough. Stop trying to 'explain.' I'm not going to listen." Mikaela cut him off before he could utter the words that would break her open. She ignored him as he sank to the ground, barely supporting himself through his grief, a low emphatic rumble coming from deep inside of his chest. She turned her back on Optimus, brushing away the tears that slowly trickled down her cheeks. She couldn't stay here any longer. Let them fight their own damn war. She was through. She had had enough heartbreak and sadness to last her forever. She took off running into the woods. Her eyes were so blurry with tears that she couldn't see where she was going. Trees and branches scraped at her arms and legs as she ran. She ignored it all, running blindly through the forest. Coming to a stop under a large tree, she leaned heavily against it, panting and sobbing. Sinking to the ground, she drew her knees up and buried her head. She never noticed the shadows above her head until it was too late.

-------

Optimus sighed and let her run. She needed a moment alone, that much he could tell. He would send Bumblebee after her eventually to bring her back. Bumblebee had an uncanny knack for retrieving the humans, and it seemed to be very useful with Sam and Mikaela. Elita had seen the whole thing, and walked over to Optimus, laying a large metallic hand on his arm.

"I'm sorry, Optimus." She said, watching him carefully as he turned around. His eyes met her own, and in a flickering instant, everything he had felt for her rushed back. But in the blink of an eye, it was gone. What he had had with Elita was nothing like what he could have with Mikaela, and he knew it. And since he couldn't be with Mikaela, he would be with no one.

"Thank you." Optimus said, turning back around.

"I'm not finished." Elita said firmly. Optimus said nothing, and didn't turn back around.

"I realize things have changed. I realize that you no longer love me." Elita said, choosing her words very carefully. Optimus shifted, but still said nothing. Elita, encouraged, continued. "You must realize that I feel the same way about you as you do me." Elita said, hoping she wouldn't hurt him. She was reasonably sure that she wouldn't, it seemed the little human was the only one who could really do that. After all their years together, the experiences and the romance, she knew Optimus enough to tell when he was hurting inside. Optimus swung around to look at her, brow raised.

"Do you, now?" He questioned her. She smiled softly at him, and nodded.

"I have another…" She stated slowly. "After the explosion, I lost my memory bank for a while. There was one who helped me regain it, and in doing so, I came to care very deeply for him." Elita said, picking up Optimus' hand. "I realized, once my memory was regained, that you must believe me dead. And I left it that way, on purpose. I felt that both of us could move on." Elita smiled brightly at him, her blue orbs glittering in the moonlight. Optimus nodded once at her, a hint of a smile on his face. It vanished quickly though, and he looked down at his large hand in Elita's. Elita gave his hand a squeeze.

"Go find her." Elita said, then dropped his hand.

"I think I am the last person she would want to see right now." Optimus said ruefully. Elita nodded in understanding.

"Send Bumblebee then. Either way, bring her back immediately. The Decepticons are on the move tonight." Elita said. Turning, she made her way back to the other Autobots. Optimus strode purposefully over to Bumblebee. After a few hushed instructions, Bumblebee gave a nod and took off into the woods. Sam waited patiently for his friend at the base of a tree, staring hard at Optimus. Optimus saw Sam's look, and met his eyes. From the look, Optimus assumed he had heard at least one of the arguments that night. There had been too many, they were wasting time. Sam stood up and walked over to Optimus, who looked curiously down at the human. Sam stared up at him, then with a yell, he kicked Optimus in the foot. Optimus suppressed laughter as Sam winced and grabbed at his foot.

"Yes, Sam?" Optimus knelt down in front of him. "And what did I do to deserve that?"

"Quit playing with Mikaela!" Sam hissed, his eyes glaring into Optimus'. "All you keep doing to her it hurting her. You wont have her, but you wont let me love her either! Make your choice, Prime!" Sam growled at him.

"Back off, Sam. Do not interfere." Optimus growled at him, and Sam looked slightly alarmed, but kept his resolve.

"Just love her, Optimus. I blew my chance. Don't blow yours." Sam said quietly, tears in his eyes. Optimus studied the human. They were capable of such sincere and heartfelt emotions. He watched Sam angrily wipe the tears from his face, and stalk off. Sam was right and Optimus knew it. When Bumblebee brought Mikaela back, he would talk to her. Make her listen. And he would confess everything he felt to her.

"What is our next move, Optimus?" Ironhide was by his side, watching Optimus' changing facial expressions. That human girl was sidetracking their leader.

"Find the Decep-" Optimus was cut off as Bumblebee crashed from the woods into the clearing, and collapsed on the ground. In an instant, everyone was around him, Sam screaming and trying in vain to shove Autobot's out of his way to get to Bumblebee.

"Bumblebee! What happened?" Ratchet asked, kneeling down next to him and examining him. There were scorch marks all over Bumblebee's body. Sam whimpered as he managed to push his way to the side of Bumblebee's head. There was a large, cruel hole in Bumblebee's chest, dangerously close to his spark casing. Ratchet turned to Optimus, looking worried. Strains of songs were emerging from Bumblebee's radio, his voice capacitors damaged again.

Isn't something missing?
Isn't someone missing me?

Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you got till it's gone?

Bumblebee was trying to tell them something in the only way he knew how. The pain he was in went beyond anything he had ever experienced. His legs had been damaged at the attack in Mission City, but this pain was more powerful than anything he'd ever experienced. Robotic whines and strains were heard as Bumblebee tried to speak

"Oh, God, Bumblebee!" Sam cried out, grasping onto the side of Bumblebee's head. "Ratchet, do something!"

"I'm trying, Sam! Calm down! Get him out of here!" Ratchet shouted, trying unsuccessfully to pry Sam away from Bumblebee. Optimus reached down and grabbed Sam around the waist, physically lifting him away from Bumblebee. Sam was beyond hysterical. His scream and cries were echoing through the forest.

"Shut him up he's going to give our location away!" Chromia hissed at Optimus, and Ironhide nodded his agreement.

"Sam! SAM!" Optimus bellowed. Sam's cries stopped as he stared at Optimus in fear. "Be quiet. The last thing we need is for you to draw the Decepticons back here and endanger all of us!" Optimus said, glowering at Sam. Sam nodded, his eyes flickering back to Bumblebee. He handed Sam to Arcee, who took him with a look of slight disdain on her face. Optimus strode back to Ratchet and Bumblebee.

"Fix his speech first. We need to know who did this." Optimus said quietly. Ratchet looked up to Optimus, a question in his eyes. If he stopped the repairs to Bumblebee's chest, Bumblebee could die. Optimus closed his eyes, then nodded his permission. Ratchet shook his head, and changed direction. Working slowly and tediously, he managed to reconnect the delicate wires that comprised of Bumblebee's speech capacitors. Leaning back, Ratchet nodded.

"Try to talk, Bumblebee."

"Hurts…" Bumblebee groaned, grasping his chest. "Pain…" Sam started struggling against Arcee, who held him tight.

"Stop struggling, be quiet and shut up, or I'm going to squish you." Arcee murmured pleasantly in Sam's ear, her grip tightening uncomfortably around his waist. Sam stopped moving.

"Who did this to you?" Optimus asked, nodding to Ratchet to continue the repairs to Bumblebee's chest.

"B-b-b-b-barric-c-c-cade…" Bumblebee cried out audibly as Ratchet worked.

"Barricade?" Optimus said, a bubble of fear rising in his chest. "Where is Mikaela?"

"B-b-b-b-barric-c-c-cade…" Bumblebee cried out, jerking against Ratchet. Ratchet looked at Optimus in alarm.

"Hold him down! If he jerks like that again while I'm working, he could cause severe damage to his spark casing, I'm working with limited tools and with very little time." Ratchet said urgently, motioning to Ironhide and the others. Ironhide and Chromia each took a side, pressing down on Bumblebee to keep him from moving. Elita took Bumblebee's feet, and watched Ratchet in silence as he began to work again. Arcee continued to hold Sam, his cries muffled by his jacket he had pressed to his face. The whole forest was quietly silent and the Autobot's who held Bumblebee down watched as Optimus' face showed the quiet, undeniable rage deep within him. Arcee stared in alarm as Optimus' blue optics flickered to red momentarily. Walking uneasily over to him, she lay a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll find her." Optimus swung around to look at her, his eyes ablaze with anger. He said nothing to her, his eyes showing all the words that didn't need to be said. Arcee's hard gaze met his own as she handed Sam over to a very irritated looking Chromia.

"Trust me, Optimus, we will get her back."

Without a backward glance, Arcee bounded off into the forest, eager to track Mikaela before the trail grew cold.