Disclaimer: I do not own "Transformers" in any way, shape, or form. They are the property of Hasbro, Michael Bay, and all the other masters of the craft. I am just a humble college student and make no money from this.
The Moonlessnight:Writer's block is still there, but I'm muscling my way through it. I figure, if nothing else, throwing Bumblebee and Mikaela at Sam in tandems might wake the kid up. Let's see what happens….
Universal
Wrapped up, tangled up, and otherwise trapped in soft sheets, Mikaela Barnes snapped awake to the sound of a car horn blaring just outside her window. Two short blasts, but still loud enough to deny her the end of an otherwise pleasant dream. Recognizing the sound as belonging to a particular yellow Camaro, she rolled from bed only to land in a heap on the floor. She cursed vehemently at her plaid printed sheets, rubbing her sore forehead and dashing to the window. Throwing the sash open, she leaned out whispering loudly, "This had better be important, Sam!"
Her answer came in the form of flickering headlights and a door opening to a vacant interior. Mikaela cursed again, this time using words recognizable only to her inmate father. Pausing only long enough to grab her purse, she quickly and quietly made her way from the house. The last thing she wanted at the moment was a lecture from her stern but loving grandmother. If Bee was here without Sam, then one of two things had happened. One: the Decepticons had returned from the oceanic abyss, or two: something had happened to Sam. Either way, Mikaela knew that time was of the essence. Sliding into the car at a near run, Mikaela clicked her seatbelt into place just in time for the accelerator to hit the floor. Pulling out of the driveway faster than any normal car in existence, Bumblebee explained the situation to Mikaela in deceptively calm tones.
"Ratchet says Sam needs you, Mikaela," said the disembodied voice of the Autobot, "Sam would probably say so himself, but he's not talking at the moment."
Not talking? Mikeala's heart constricted in her chest at the thoughts those words unleashed. Swallowing around a sudden knot in her throat, she brought her hand up to rest on the steering wheel. "Tell me what happened."
Memories ruled the waking world. Pain ruled the sleeping. Everywhere, energy crackled and hissed like an electric snake coiled to strike. Snatches of faces occasionally broke through, sounds echoing dully against the endless hiss of the beast that was so much more than mere memory. Unable to cope with them both, Sam opted for the simple escape. Back and down into himself, burying his consciousness in barriers thick enough to keep anything from reaching him. Even those who desperately wished to help him. Watching it all, Ratchet sighed in utter frustration. "There is nothing I can do for him, Optimus. You know that as well as I do," the medic was saying, "This kind of trauma happens, even among our own people."
Optimus Prime nodded, heaving a great sigh, "It is the universal price of war, I'm afraid. Let's just hope Mikaela can pull him out of it."
Ratchet nodded in agreement, casting a furtive glance at the rocks where Ironhide lay hidden. Since the episode had begun in Ironhide's presence, Ratchet felt it best to keep him away from Sam for the moment. The boy would have to approach him on his own, and in his own good time. Optimus' pacing brought Ratchet's gaze back to scene in front of him and his shoulders slumped in further defeat. "Optimus, you are wearing a trough in the ground. What is it you told Bumblebee last night? 'Pacing like a caged beast won't make him get better any faster.'"
Optimus ceased his pacing, settling on the ground near the boy instead. "I know, Ratch. I know." Sitting this close, Optimus could hear the words the boy muttered under his breath. They were not pretty and he soon tuned his audio receptors to negate the sound. "He truly didn't know what it was I asked of him when I gave him the All Spark," Optimus paused in thought, "He still doesn't know."
A noncommittal harrumph came from deep within Ratchet's chest as the Hummer spread his hands wide. "You couldn't have known the boy would react like this, Prime. Blaming yourself for it will leave you no better off than he is." Catching a bit of what the boy was muttering Ratchet could not keep the cringe from his face.
Catching the brief expression on the medic's face, Optimus smirked. "You think that's bad? You missed the bit about the 'human pet'. Megatron told him some horrible things, Ratchet." Optimus stroked the human's back gently with a finger, optics faded in guilt. "I only hope Mikaela can reach him because, Primus help me, I can't forgive myself if the boy comes to further harm."
Ratchet raised his hand, preparing to launch into a tirade reiterating his early admonishment, when the sound of squealing tires caught his attention. Bumblebee had arrived.
Energy crackled, burning flesh to leave intricate marks permanently engraved on the hands that wielded it. Blue and white, spark to spark, the distance between life and death closed steadily despite the pain the made the hands shake. A meter, a foot, an inch, until finally the two colors met in a rush of torrential power. Blue and white, white and blue, a hissing snake biting its own tail in its fury. Finally the snake took a great gulp of air, eating itself in the process.
All fell to darkness and Sam cried.
He cried for the energy that had screamed so loudly for life. He cried for hands forever marked for their deed. He cried for Megatron and he cried for himself. He cried because, if he did not cry, the very darkness around him would consume his very soul, just as it had devoured the spark in Megatron's chest.
"Sam?" The voice came like light from above, honeyed sweetness that danced upon his senses. "Sam, can you hear me?"
The tears slowed as brown eyes searched briefly for the source of that heavenly voice.
"I'm right here, Sam. I'm right beside you. Can you see me?"
Sam turned and, sure enough, there she stood. There were tears in her eyes. Why? Had the darkness come for her, too? Is that why she was crying?
"I'm crying for you, Sam. Is that so hard to believe?" Her hand came to rest on his cheek and Sam pulled back. She should not touch him. Not after what he had done. Her hand returned, insistent but gentle, and he relished in its coolness. This was not the energy that burned him, nor was it the darkness. It was her. It was Mikaela.
"Are you awake, Sam? Are you listening to me?" He nodded, unable to answer otherwise. He would not, could not, deny that voice. "Then listen to me now, Samuel Witwicky. You did nothing wrong. You did only what you had to survive. There is nothing wrong with that. You hear me? Nothing wrong at all, Sam."
But he…the spark…Megatron was…and….
A second hand joined the first, this one large enough to cradle his entire body from head to foot. "She's right, Sam. Listen to her."
Was that Bumblebee? Craning his head back, Sam saw Bumblebee's face swim into focus. "But I-."
"Megatron is not dead, Sam." The boy's head snapped up, eyes wide as the memory played once more.
"He is. I saw it. I-I-." Voice cracked and strained, Sam slowly shook his head. The darkness gathered once more. "I've killed him, Bee. Worse than that, I destroyed his soul. What good is there in that? What good am I?"
Sam was shocked by the laughter that greeting his question, "Oh, he's gone from this plane of existence don't doubt that." The laughter faded. "But I assure you he's still alive and kicking in the next."
The human boy hiccupped in disbelief, "H-how?"
A new voice joined the conversation, this one deep and friendly. "He has moved beyond this existence, Sam Witwicky. He has rejoined the Matrix."
"The what?" A question was spoken with two voices, Sam's and Mikaela's.
Optimus laughed, leaning in to Sam's line of sight. Blue optics danced with life as the huge mech answered, "The Matrix is the source of all Cybertronian life, the Spark of all sparks."
Sam laughed, shaking his head in rueful glee, "The All Spark is gone, Optimus. It's over."
Optimus and Bumblebee both laughed this time before the Prime shook his head. "The All Spark was a key, Sam, nothing more," the mech knelt to bring his face within inches of the boy, "It gave us access to the Matrix, but it was not the Matrix itself." Optimus stood, forcing Sam to all but lay on the ground to see his face. "While it is possible to tap the great power of the Matrix using tools like the All Spark, nothing can truly harness it. Likewise, the Matrix cannot be destroyed. From the Matrix we all came and, in the end, it is to the Matrix that we return."
"Ashes to ashes," Mikaela muttered.
"And dust to dust," Sam finished the sentence. The darkness was retreating from his vision but it still lingered in his heart like ice. "But I destroyed his spark, Optimus. What was left to go back?"
The anguish in Sam's voice made Optimus' spark ache, and he sighed, motioning with a vague gesture to someone the boy could not see. He learned that that someone was Ratchet, as the mech spoke a few seconds later, "Every Spark dissipates in the end, Sam. Don't mistake that inevitability for death. 'Dust to dust' as you just said. I have never heard it put so eloquently in all my vorns."
"Then he didn't…and I'm not…." Sam barked a wild laugh and raked a hand through his hair.
Laughter dissolved into more tears, but this time they healed instead of hurt. As he cried, Mikaela held him close and rocked him gently. In the end they both slept, hands clasped together to drive back the dark of the night.
Watching the pair sleep, Ratchet almost smiled. That is, until he realized Bumblebee was watching him. Of course, such a lapse in his demeanor after such an emotional event simply would not do, so he opted for a curt nod. "Well then," he said, standing from where he had knelt for nearly an hour, "I'm off to check on Ironhide." A yawn escaped the mech in the form of an involuntary engine rev and he stretched aching hydraulics. "After that, I'll be in recharge. Unless the humans spontaneously start keeling over in the meantime, don't wake me."
Optimus chuckled and nodded, "Go get some rest, friend. Primus knows that you deserve it." Ratchet waved a dismissive hand, not even bothering to look back before he disappeared into the rocks. Optimus smiled, lowering his gaze back to the sleeping humans. He was glad that Mikaela had been able to help Sam, but at the same time something was nagging his processor in a very unpleasant way. Now if he could only remember what it was….
Bumblebee provided the answer in the form of a question, "Hey, what happened to Captain Lennox?"
The sound of metal hand meeting metal face plating resounded throughout the countryside.
The Moonlessnight: Wow. I wasn't quite sure how that was all going to work out until it was all over and done with. That doesn't happen to me very often. Anyway….
As with my previous chapters, all the theories posed in this were cannon based fictions concocted by me. I had to reconcile the All Spark with the Matrix somehow. It just did not make sense for me to do otherwise. With that said, I'm off to finish my neglected house work. Until the next update! --smiles--