Sam's breath came out in little huffs, soft clouds of dew among the cold of the machines.

"Ante Finem. Are you alright?' Optimus asked.

Sam did not have to look up at the other and instead only sank his helm further against the wall. The two of them had been separated from the main group upon entering the main units of the building though in reality Optimus should have been alone had it not been for the Prime's split decision to suddenly grab Sam and ricochet the two to the side as the ceilings collapsed into rubble. Their comms were down as a result and the two were stuck walking through lonesome passages which would not have been so difficult if Optimus was not carrying the Allspark. The glowing object contained within his chasis for protection though the ancient being was clearly disturbing Optimus' functioning as twice Sam had witnessed the great Prime suppress a shudder under the armor of his form.

Sam shuttered his optics before glancing up at the other. "How about you?" The other continued to watch him despite the evasion, before reluctantly continuing their trek across the barren Decepticon halls. "I can still fight," Optimus said confidently. Sam then watched as Optimus strode forward, but all Sam could feel was dread. Perpetual dread. "That wasn't what I meant," Sam whispered softly before following closely behind.

The Allspark was surprisingly quiet throughout the ordeal, refusing to speak to either its Prime or Sam though Sam doubted Optimus knew it could do such anyway, and Sam felt no concern over the Allspark's being. Thus, the silence resumed only to be disturbed by the thudding of Sam's own spark followed by the hushed drum of their footsteps.

It felt odd to Sam. The whole situation bringing waves of nostalgia and déjà vu in the worse sense possible. The last time the three of them had been together had ended severely wrong. In fact, all of Sam's interactions with the Allspark had been nothing short of life changing and detrimental to his health.

Sam was then pulled out of his musings upon recognizing the tell tale signs of glowing, raw energon against the cavern like entryway. "Optimus," he called out as the other stopped mid step to shift and look at Sam. "I recognize this place, we can get above ground through the next tunnel and meet up with the others in the main sector."

There was a pause of silence as Sam watched the other's processor whirr in thought. "That may be dangerous. The Allspark has a strong presence that even my EM field can not conceal once we are above ground. Is it possible to avoid all main sentries?" Optimus asked with a kind tone though Sam felt nothing short of being patronized. The two stared at each other for a moment longer, Sam's spark sinking in more, unspoken, fear as deep within his processor he recognized those words. He had lived this moment before at some point, yet that idea alone was impossible. Sam knew he had never lived this singular moment in any part of his life on Earth and Cybertron alike, and yet his processor seemed to be making impossible connections, flashes of memories and pictures formulating in his helm every time he blinked, almost like predictions, dark premonitions.

"Ante?" Optimus called out worriedly.

Sam shook his helm twice to rid his thoughts and clear his processor. "Ah, right. Follow me."

Sam then lead Optimus deeper into the hollowed out sections and, with nervous optics, scanned each wall and crack as his dread only intensified. The Autobots are supposed to win, at least this if nothing else, and yet Sam felt as if he was leading the one bot he was supposed to protect to their doom.

But the more they walked, the more Sam shed his internal fears and tried in vain to put up a brave front. Sam had lived through hell before; he had experienced it a thousand times. Yet his bottled emotions continued to renew themselves with each event, refusing to be forgotten. And somehow, every problem he faced seemed harder, more mentally exhausting, than the last. But how much more sadness could one feel after watching their entire planet over run and destroyed by alien titans that treaded their cities and humanity like child's play?

It seemed the darkness was taking over his thoughts, so with one last shake, Sam urged himself to move faster. The walls began to change from sodden stone to the clear, smooth metal of the sector units. Sam immediately felt his breath come out in a stuttered sigh of relief. "There's a stairwell leading up to one of the storage units from here on out, but it's most likely blocked. We can instead reach the server room from the vents."

Optimus paused to think before nodding his helm once and immediately working his way through the vents' opening. His servos working quickly as the screws were pried from the top section with loud screams of protest and the sound of bending metal. Once released, the airway came out cold as the vents, propelled by cooling condensers, shot the air to the main server rooms while also extracting the warm, humid air created by the machines' overexerting heat. Aided by energon, the machines were far more efficient than those on Earth, yet the mechanisms were familiar and Sam felt some aided calm in that knowledge.

Sam was able to easily squeeze through but stopped as he reached out to help Optimus. The said bot only closing the vents and sealing them shut. "Optimus!" Sam shouted in surprise as the other placed the last screw in place with utter care. "Get to the main servers. I'll meet you there," Optimus simply relayed though Sam could hear the sound of pounding stabilizers and the sound of screeching metal followed by explosions as the door to the stairwell was ripped off of its hinges. "Go! That's an order, soldier," Optimus continued firmly when Sam refused to move, but before Sam could stop him, Optimus had already charged from his vision towards the ensuing battle that had most likely been notified to their presence by the sound of whirring machines and the now enclosed vent.

There was the sound of explosions, blasted fire, as Sam violently shook himself out of his revere and followed the cold air towards their final destination. The more he walked, the more his senses began to numb, and before Sam could realize it, the distant sounds of battle faded into the white noise of the air vents. Sam was now alone in the wall of a now Decepticon controlled base.

Sam's breath came out in a shuddering mess as his servos began to shake with fear or exertion, Sam could not tell. But he had to move, regardless of emotions. Optimus needed him to move; the universe needed him to move. So with some reluctance in his stabilizing servos, Sam propelled himself forward.

It was a short route, surrounded and encased by thin metal, but Sam made his way across the sections of divided walls and stopped short of a large ventilation shaft which craned upward to another opening. Sam hesitated, weary of the noise the ensuing escape would make, before rushing forward and slamming himself against the vent's opening. The screws giving way easily and clattering to the floor listlessly along with the vent's panel. Sam flinched slightly at the reverberating sound, but otherwise ignored it as he leaped through the wall's opening and into the room.

The room was dark, soaked in shadows that made Sam's spark thud. The only light condensing from the many rows of servers which glowed neon against their black confinements. There was the sound of fans whirring in overdrive, air sucking the producing warmth out, as well as the cold vents still replacing the stagnant room with circulating air flows.

Surprisingly, the room was somewhat familiar, yet Sam had never been allowed in such a place. His station didn't allow it. Regardless, Sam found himself, almost unwillingly, being guided towards a connected room that glowed in a soft halo of blue light. The control room.

The screens, transmitting security images, practically stunned Sam from the surrounding darkness as he walked forward, hypnotized, by the familiarity of it all.

Sam was stopped by the shadowy images the reflected back from the haze. Autobots. There was the main group they had been separated from being blocked by the sector's security system and metallic walls that, without hinges, could not be budged by the undoubtedly powerful explosives being aimed towards it. Their efforts only being rewarded with black ash and the consequential heat.

Sam's optics than quickly roved through the panels only to stop short with a startled breath. There was Optimus battling multiple Decepticons in a singular room that must have been connected to the stairwell as the battle had progressed deeper into the building's layout. He had to help Optimus.

Spark still pounding against his chasis, Sam's servos began to nervously flit around the panels in mid panic as he began to chant in his processor, searching vainly for the security system's controls meshed and interwoven among the many other buttons and leavers. In a flurry of panic, Sam found himself shuttering his optics closed before sending out a comm signal. The line buzzed only once before Sam's audio receptor was filled with the sound of a connection causing Sam's entire body to sag as his tension fled.

"Ante?" the voice began through his processor. "What-"

"Wheeljack, I need your help," Sam began. "I have to disrupt the security. If I connect you to the port, would you be able to get through the firewalls?"

There was a pause as Wheeljack's voice became serious. "Give me one klik."

That was all Sam needed as he began to transfer the signal to the large machines. Perhaps it was his concentration, the adrenaline of the moment, but either way, Sam could not stop the way his body convulsed in shock as a voice shook to his very core from the shadows of the room.

The first words Megatron said to Sam in a long time were, "Your still alive?"

Sam could only turn his helm slowly in shock at the towering mech before him glinting silver in the panels' lights. His spark stopped suddenly, no longer emanating fear, but instead stilling completely like a rabbit caught in the sights of a wolf.

"Ante?!" Wheeljack's panicked voice cut through. "What's wrong? What's happening?"

Sam said nothing in response. His optics watching Megatron wearily as the Decepticon leader stepped forward. Very slowly and deliberately, Sam turned off his signal as the sounds of Wheeljack's voice echoed and abruptly stopped into silence.

AN- Okay so I apparently have some explaining to do. I did not realize the impact me earlier author's note would have, so hopefully, I can clear up some misconceptions. Sam being unable to speak English is supposed to be reminiscent to Macbeth when (SPOILER ALERT), after killing Duncan, is unable to say amen. It's more of a mental block than a physical one, so his loss of humanity is more figurative than anything else. Additionally, it has nothing to do with his psychical body. Sam's body deteriorating is because his spark, based off of the human soul, is significantly smaller that that of a regular Cybertronian which is why he is smaller in form and unable to control a robotic body as well. Additionally, being in a Cybertronian form only increases his life span somewhat as compared to others, he has a very short lifespan mostly due to the fact that he was once human and is unable to survive that long naturally. In reality, for a human, Sam is very old, so his mind is, essentially, slowing down much like an old man, but the Allspark is keeping him alive by putting him in a mechanical body. This, however, can not correct his natural deterioration. Hopefully that makes more sense, but I just wanted to say I am very grateful for the interest in this story. If there are still other questions, I would love to answer them. Also the reason I'm posting this on Sunday is because I realized I would be very busy next week, so I quickly finished this chapter. Hopefully the writing doesn't reflect that rush. Once again thanks for reading and your patience!