Summary: Living with the Autobots has become normal for the Yeager family, they moved states to keep a low profile, kept the remaining 'Bots out of trouble for a whole year…then Optimus came back…and it all went to the Pit.

Disclaimer: I own except those you don't recognize, and even then I tweaked others a little...OH! And I do not own Daughtry's "It's Not Over" that I've been using as the title and chapter titles...it fits my story and I love it's theme for the fourth movie, kinda forgot about til now...whoops

Disclaimer: Any of Drift's proverbs, well most-I made up a couple, can be found from special dictionary's 777 Japanese proverbs.

Warning: Swearing

:Comm link:

"Radio/Bee's Lyrics..."

To Shadow Kat: Yeah, Bee was in pain when Sector Seven got a hold of him, and Transformers Prime canon cold shuts a bot down, hence frozen Megatron. Cars won't start in temps that are too cold. I see what you did haha! You'll just have to keep reading! Thank you so much as always awesome reader!

To Zeng Xiao Long Sunstar: Thank you for the faves and follows!

From now on the chapters get longer as I get heavier action parts and stick to my little outline I drew up when I picked out the title song, hope you guys like more reading! Reviews are nice too!

Chapter Twenty-Five

Cause part of me

Xxx November

Tessa groaned as her sleep was broken by something buzzing. Growling at it did nothing to cease the noise, and she blearily shifted to look around for the source. Kate was just as disoriented, she'd been out most of the day and night checking cattle and making sure the barns were insulated properly with winter hitting Iowa a month early, Tessa had watched her stumble in the house, hit the shower then dive into bed to sleep for twelve hours.

The buzzing died after a few minutes, then started up again, this time something small lighting up on Tessa's desk. Kate's cell phone...

Her growl reminded Tessa of her dad trying to wake Optimus when the mech had dozed off in the abandoned church they'd hidden in while in Chicago. The autobot hadn't been too welcoming of the disruption to his sleep, probably left over caution and anxiety from being on the run for so long.

"...'lo? Yeah...huh? Who is this? You've got what?!"

Tessa gave up on falling back to sleep, leaning up on her elbows when Kate froze in the middle of their bedroom, listening intently to the early morning caller.

"Is this info viable?...Yeah I get that, I can't take that risk right now if it's a dud..."

Whatever was being said, Kate must have agreed with it, she went from frozen to a blur of motion as she lunged under her bed to grab her boots, rushing out the bedroom as she asked rapid fire questions. Two seconds later the phone clicked shut, three after that Kate hit the house alarm button that set off a siren in the house and in the buried ship. Cheryl's new intercom crackled to life as Tessa raced up the stairs to figure what the hell was going on.

":Hide to the house, what is going on?:"

"Lock and load boys, we got visual on 'cons...and they're not going anywhere anytime quick so if we want to make a move we gotta do it now."

":Prime here, who all do they have sights on?:"

"Couple vehicons, a seeker..."

":Who else?:"

"Galvatron."

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0700

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The bots were up and waiting for them by the time Cade and Tessa followed Kate outside, having donned bullet proof vests and body armor. Ironhide held a case of weapons out for them, and handed Cade the alien gun he was fond of. Tessa had a small handgun on her hip, she'd stay with Max and First Aid behind the front lines while Hoist brought back those needed attention from the field.

Kate was called out orders as to a driving formation, they had thirty minutes to make an hour and half trip to the old quarry where satellites were currently watching Galavtron and a group of his mechs, not the entire army but they'd take what they could get. Military back up was enroute and would meet up with them there.

Cade hauled himself up into Prime's cab, the door not even shut as he started moving as Kate jumped in as well, checking her hand gun while her rifle rested against the dash.

"Open comm on Optimus?"

"Yes."

"Good, alright guys listen up, at 0400 hours a satellite image picked up traces of con activity in the middle of Nebraska, a radius search then found the cons at Warshaw Gravel Pit twenty miles away. A set of snipers are in place and monitoring the location, so far it has been just even rotation of watch shift changes, the rest have been in alt mode and supposedly recharging. EMP units have been set up to scramble processing units as much as possible, the effects only last ten minutes, the blast zone encompassing the units will still hold the charge for eight, meaning we got about 120 seconds to get as close as possible and do as much damage before they really get going."

Hound's voice broke over the chatter of acknowledgements, bringing up a very valid point, "Since when do EMP charges effect us?"

Brains piped up suddenly, "Since most o' da 'cons ah made o' human tech! And wi' Megatron's mind feedin' 'em info da military has new weapons against us!"

Optimus growled softly, frame tensing at the thought of more weapons able to hurt his mechs...ones his enemy fed them...

Kate caught his mood, rubbing the steering wheel as she turned the CB off for a minute, "Easy Prime...these soldiers are good guys, I've worked with them for a couple years now, they won't do anything to risk you or your team...hell they'll call this off and risk blowing their cover if the EMPs don't go off right, they won't take the chance of the blast misfiring."

The last prime grunted, but settled enough to turn the comm back on as Ironhide started going over weapons details with everyone. Cade shifted in his seat, watching the sun rise in Prime's side mirror as they drove west way over the speed limit. They'd come at the quarry from the North, the military cutting off the south and west. East was a rock wall a hundred feet up...especially with the gravel pit having been dug down...

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Why in god's name did historians glorify battle? It was a damned mystery to Cade as he shifted on the rocky ground he was laid out on, aiming his gun down into the pit, hoping for Sideswipe to move enough so he could fire off a shot and not hit the wrong mech.

The resulting boom as he was able to finally shoot was satisfying...Sideswipe taking the help in stride and using the now severed arm to turn and stab the con blade through its owner's spark. Another one down...

The battle was messy, the EMP charge only lasted five minutes, meaning the cons were a lot more functional than the bots had been hoping for. Military reinforcements were caught about a mile and a half back, more cons on the move to rendezvous with their leader intercepting the men. With the planned forces now halved, the bots had moved from this being a strategic fight to an all out melee to take down as many as they could with as little loss as possible.

Tessa, Max, First Aid, Hoist, and Joshua were two miles East of the pit...and Cade was glad she wasn't near this...

Energon was flowing freely, none of the cons or bots really giving a flying frag if they were the ones leaking the precious blood, any humans that had been on ground zero had quickly moved to higher ground once the energon started flowing. No one wanted burns... now everyone not made of metal was a sniper and taking shots when they could.

Which wasn't easy...the KSI turned cons were vicious, taking hits like they were nothing and not going down til just about dismantled. The bots were guessing it was because they were man made first and then "energized", they had nothing to feel with besides basic neural systems...meaning this was a whole lot harder than it was supposed to be.

Kate cussed over the comm link, Cade adjusting his ear piece as she started giving directions from her vantage point up a nearby tree. Eyes above made the bots' moves a bit easier in case something came at them from behind.

:Oh yeah...frag off cons, I'm back I'm ragin' let's do this! Booyah!:

:GoingdownconsI'mgonnaripyanewaftholeyeahyabettarun!:

"Blaster! Blurr! Get off the comm channel, this is not twitter!"

Cade was just about to smirk and comment as well, then the sound of a rocket launching echoed out...

In reality it was Galvatron's monstrous gun, the blast had hit the rocks behind Prime when the mech had gone flying, slamming into the rock wall and barely rolling out of the way in time.

"Hey Optimus..."

:Yes?"

"Duck."

The Autobot leader hesitated, all Galvatron's hits were low, trying to hit below his chest plates and elicit a similar response like the last battle.

:Duck?:

"Duck."

Someone yelled Goose just as Optimus complied, it wasn't as funny as they had intended when Cade and Kate fired off shots, hitting Galvatron and sending the decepticon into a rage.

Kate winced loudly, "Ok, not quite the plan..."

:You think?!:

:Cool it Crosshairs, I don't see you comin' up with a plan.:

:Oh shut up Hound!:

"And whose idea was it to have an open comm network?"

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Optimus spat out a mouthful of energon, he'd stupidly bit down on his glossa when a punch to his face had sent him stumbling.

Galvatron chuckled darkly, optics watching Prime with amusement as the blue and red mech regained his balance, beginning to back away from the rest of the group to lead Prime away from back up.

The last prime's spark throbbed as he got a good look at his enemy with Galvatron stepping into full sunlight. Being out of KSI's control, Galvatron had adapted to look more like Megatron...armor losing it's sleek seams and going more jagged. The rough exterior and sheer power emanating from the mech only made things worse...

The con must have sensed Optimus' thinking, a wicked grin shifting the faceplates into something that made the prime cringe. The look once used to fill his spark with mischief when his brother had come up with a crazy idea to get the younglings into trouble, as the war progressed that look then meant Prime was about to either get his aft handed to him or that Megatron was way too over confident in something soon to fail.

Now it sent chills running through his frame...

"Do I make you uncomfortable Prime...look around you...my mechs are all newer...better...stronger...and yours? Desperate fugitives."

"No more desperate than yours...hiding out like a scraplet hive?"

Galvatron snarled, lunging at Optimus and swinging a punch at his helm, the prime blocked it with ease, landing a solid blow against the other mech's shoulder, damaging some of the wires as the weak earth metal armor bent.

The Decepticon wasn't immortal...

Something was pulling at Optimus' spark, and he stupidly let it...thinking it was just neural responses as his battle protocols worked overtime to keep his systems running.

He didn't expect the swirling chaos that was what used to be his brother's spark to invade his thinking...

The agonizing rage that ripped into his very core made him choke, collapsing to his knees as something attacked his very being...tearing through his spark as not even the Matrix could stop its power.

Galvatron laughed as he tried to crawl away, stepping closer and stomping a ped on Prime's ankle, only laughing harder as Prime shuddered at his touch, EM field trembling as the darker one forced its way in.

Megatron had never been like this...he may have come to despise the Autobots, despise the title of Prime...even downright hate what Optimus himself stood for...but the warlord couldn't even bring himself to hate his brother...

This...thing...wasn't Megatron...something else had added itself to Megatron's consciousness when it had moved to this new form...and it wasn't something Prime recognized...

From the klick he'd first encountered his older brother's EM field and ignited the bond between their sparks like any sparkling meeting their sibling would...Prime knew everything there was about his brother...whether Megatron liked it or not...got both of them into a heap of trouble as younglings...

Now...whatever this was it wasn't Prime's brother...

He cried out as the feeling of looming dread began to tear at his internal resolve, tugging at old memories and shredding them, ripping apart who he was from the inside out.

Kate was yelling at him over the comm, having switched to his private channel when he lost connection with the main. Galavtron either noticed or guessed, digits grabbing at his antenna, trying to rip them off.

Optimus knew pain...but this was something else...it wasn't just the fact that his antenna were deep in his helm...but the fact that it was like some random stranger shoving their fingers in another's ears or mouth..a horrible violation...

He roared, tossing his head as his servos clawed at the pair gripping his helm, trying to pry them loose without causing further damage. Galvatron just laughed...the sound haunting Prime's spark as it hit his audios.

That feeling attacked his spark again, doubling its efforts with Galvatron so close to him...their EM fields woven together so tightly that he could feel every emotion running over Galvatron's frame...

It made him sick...

This battle is kicking my butt...I don't like how this turned out...

Part One!

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