Sam stared dumbly down at the Allspark and then up at Megatron's snarling visage as he momentarily knocked Optimus aside and dove forward...
"Give me the Allspark, boy!"
He was frozen in place, hearing Optimus speaking, giving him instructions, but he couldn't hear over all the noise... where was all that noise coming from? So loud, so distracting, but it became distant and muffled as he looked into Megatron's glaring red optics and realized that someone was going to die in the next few minutes. Optimus, Megatron, himself... this was his moment, he had to do what Optimus said but Megatron was so close, would he be able to make it? Optimus would die and so would Megatron, but why did it have to be both of them? What should he do...
It was then that someone else seemed to be controlling him. As his mine became frantic with thoughts, worries, and uncertainties, his body propelled him towards... Megatron? But wait! What if it did nothing? What if Megatron simply absorbed it all and became more powerful? What if Megatron snatched it out of his hand before he reached the chest cavity? What if, what if, what if.
He was already there, lifting the Allspark towards Megatron as if offering a sacrifice. The giant mech reared up, exposing his chest and that's when everything went to hell. The Allspark felt as if it were burning through his skin, tingling painfully like jolts of electricity throughout his entire body and making him weak, yet at the same time he seemed frozen in place, unable to tear himself away from the painful yet oddly comfortable feeling that threatened to consume him...
The Allspark's shell exploded, leaving in it's place a glowing orange orb that was sucked into Megatron's chest cavity, turning his spark that same vibrant orange that seared Sam's retinas, and then he was staring down at himself, as small and insignificant as a bug as he --Megatron-- flexed his fingers, feeling the tingle of the Allspark's energy surging through every inch of his body.
He laughed hysterically, high on the fact that he... HE was a God now. He could do as he wished, he could make life or he could take it away. His first order of business would be too see Optimus kneel before him, the Allspark!
"What's the matter, Sam? Isn't this what you wanted? If you really worried about this happening, then you knew there was a good chance that it would," Megatron sighed mockingly, as if reprimanding a child, and leaned down to peer at the horrified Human gleefully. "You failed them! Hahaha!"
Sam turned to Optimus for reassurance, but his expression was blank. "I should've known better than to trust a youngling who can't obey orders," the Autobot leader said with a resigned sigh. Those words hurt, but not as much as the fact that he'd just doomed the last of one race and the beginning of another to death.
And then he was angry, even though he knew it was his fault... "It's your fault! You shouldn't have come here! The Allspark shouldn't have come here! Don't blame me, I'm just a kid..." He trailed off as a shadow loomed over him, watching with wordless horror as a giant metal foot descended.
"About time I started crushing these Humans like bugs," Megatron muttered as he ground his foot against the asphault for good measure, then turned to grin at Optimus, suddenly feeling quite generous. "I feel that since we are brothers, I should give you a chance to redeem yourself before destroying you..."
He laughed joyfully, with an undercurrent of something sinister that caused Sam to shiver violently as he stirred from his sleep, despite the fact that it was--
"Why is it so hot?" Sam muttered, sweating profusely as he woke from sleep, kicking his blanket off of him but it didn't help much. His whole bed felt like an oven and he could hardly breath from all the heat surrounding him. He started to turn over but an odd tingling feeling left him weak and unable to move... not unlike the feeling he got when a limb had fallen asleep and the blood flow was returning to it.
Uncomfortable, but unable to do much about it, he glanced at the alarm clock, registered that it was 3:00 AM, and abruptly fell back into a fitful sleep.
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Sam slapped the snooze button on his alarm clock and inwardly groaned, relieved to find himself comfortable and even chilly in his bed, though he couldn't remember why he had expected to be hot.
"Sam, you're gonna be late! I'm not driving all the way to your school to sign you in after I spent money to buy you a car!" Ron yelled up the stairs, drinking his coffee and glancing down at his furry bathrobe when a drop stained it.
"Don't be a hypocrite dear. You've got ten minutes to get to work and you aren't even dressed," Judy said, unconcerned as she washed a plate in the sink and set it in the dish drainer.
"Yeah well, at least I'm awake," He retorted, meandering back towards the bedroom. "He probably didn't even hear me."
"Sam, get your rear end out of bed and down these stairs!" Judy called, shaking her head and reaching for the foghorn laying conveniently on the kitchen table.
"I'm up, I'm awake!" Sam shouted desperately, knowing what was coming next. He lay there a moment more, then slid off of the bed with a groan, stumbling as the blanket tangled around his legs and eventually staggering towards the bathroom to brush his teeth.
Even after a month, he was still slightly sore from all the running, falling, crashing, being thrown through the air by explosions, falling some more, running some more. He also felt the same heavy fatigue he felt when he woke up after taking Tylenol PM, despite the fact that he hadn't taken any medicine and had gotten a full night's rest.
"Giant alien robots. I don't believe it," Sam murmured to the mirror around a mouthful of toothpaste, sending a streak of pale blue foam across the glass as he scoffed. He started brushing again, then half a minute later stopped for an even bigger scoff.
"No, that's believeable. What I don't believe is that I'm dating the hottest girl in school when she didn't even know I existed for most of my life. No, wait. I can't be bitter... it doesn't matter. What matters now is that she does notice me, and she likes me... even if it's only because of giant alien robots. No, I can't be bitter! Besides, she only noticed me because of them... she grew to like me on her own... I hope."
"Sam, are you talking to yourself again?" Judy called up. Her hearing was uncanny.
"No Mom, I'm brushing my teeth!"
"Well, hurry up, will you? You've got fifteen minutes"
"Fifteen minutes? That's... that's plenty of time. Why is she rushing me?" He grumbled to himself, drinking a mouthful of water and beginning to rinse. He swallowed and nearly choked on it as a familiar car horn blared twice from outside.
"Why is HE rushing me?"
Just for that, he decided to take a shower.
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With ten minutes to go before he was late for school, Sam ran out the front door and jogged around the yellow Chevrolet Camaro that was secretly Bumblebee, his guardian. His lungs ached slightly from the cold air and his breath created a fog as he exhaled quickly and got into the car, tossing his bookbag in the back.
"Hey Bee," He whispered, yawning as he stuck his keys in the ignition and twisted. Keller had agreed to restore all the property damage caused to the Witwicky's house as a result of the Autobots, and Sam was using that as an excuse as to why his car was suddenly sleek, shiny, and brand new. There was no way he was going to tell his parents that his car was a giant alien robot... mostly because his Mom would put two and two together and know who shattered her water fountain.
"Good morning America--" A woman gushed from the radio.
"Still using the radio, huh?" Sam chuckled.
"You know you can't be too careful in this day and time, Amy. People are always watching. People are so nosy--" A male voice complained playfully.
"I agree," Sam muttered as he watched his Mom walk out on the porch and make "Hurry up and leave" motions at him with her hands.
He gave her an annoyed, exaggerated nod of his head and twisted around in his seat to check the road behind him. It was clear. He grabbed the steering wheel, pressing slowly on the gas pedal, and began to guide the Camaro out--
"What the..." He cried as the car practically tore backwards out of the driveway and began to zoom down the road. "Bumblebee."
"What? You drive like an old woman," The Camaro said cheerfully as Sam put his hands on the steering wheel and glanced around nervously.
"Yeah, well, like you pointed out... people are watching," Sam muttered, making no attempt to drive. "And my Mom's going to complain about what she thinks is my careless driving. No offense, you actually drive very good but my Mom's paranoid even though she's always going ten miles over the speed limit..."
Bumblebee chuckled and let Sam ramble for a minute or two then cut him off. "Another Autobot arrived last night."
"What? Where is he? What's his name? What's he like? Does he know what happened? Where are you all staying?"
Another whirring chuckle from the yellow Camaro. "Slow down. His name is Bluestreak, Optimus told him everything last night, and we're all staying in the Junkyard."
"You didn't tell me what he was like."
"I thought it would be better if you met him in person and decided for yourself."
"Right. After school then. We really need to find a better place for you guys to stay. Someone will be wondering why there are a bunch of shiny new cars in the junkyard."
"Well, Mr Keller offered to give us a safe place to stay, but the location was remote and we'd rather be here."
"Yeah, they probably wanted to study you as well. What is up with the government wanting to turn everything into an experiment?"
Bumblebee was quiet for a few minutes as he remembered his brief yet unpleasant stay in a Government facility. It was hard not to resent them, even knowing why they did it and the fact that they hadn't really known what they were doing. But if Optimus could understand them and be the better person, so could he.
"Their logic is sound. They want to study anything unfamiliar so they can learn to defend themselves against it. Humans are so weak... no offense, Sam." Bumblebee finally replied.
"None taken. I'd think we were weak, too, if I were one hundred times the size of a Human and covered in metal armor like a tank."
Bumblebee chuckled again but said no more as they pulled up in front of Mikaela's house.
"There's Mikaela, already waiting for us," Sam noticed as the female waved, tossed her backpack over her shoulder, and jogged towards the car.
"Hey Bee." She tossed her backpack beside Sam's and hopped into the passenger seat, now more comfortable with Bumblebee than she had been a month ago.
She leaned over to give Sam a kiss on the mouth and they both jumped as something gave them a mild shock, withdrawing and rubbing their lips. "Bumblebee..." They both said at once.
"What? I didn't do anything," Bee denied, and Mikaela just rolled her eyes and leaned back in her seat.
After a moment, she asked why Sam wasn't driving and Bumblebee answered. They both went through the same verbal routine he had; Bumblebee informing Mikaela of Bluestreak's arrival, Mikaela asking why Sam had been late, Bumblebee commenting on how lazy Sam was... and then they both drilled him all the way to the school.
Why do I get the feeling my life has suddenly become much, much more complicated? Sam thought with a smile, listening to his two friends and trying to look like he was actually driving. And why do I suddenly feel like I'm forgetting something? Think. Think. math book... I got it. I'm pretty sure I got it. Yeah, I did. I think. Crap.
Sam pulled his bookbag into the front seat and began to look through it for his math book.
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"Bumblebee, is it? Well all your friends are dead and all that's left is Optimus. I'm sure you'll want to die first so you don't have to watch him die..."
"Sam? Sam Wit-icky? Mr Wit-icky..."
Sam jerked awake and glanced around as the teacher's voice rose on "mister", bewildered. Realizing he was in English, his final class for the day, he flushed and leaned back in his chair, trying to look attentive. There were a couple snickers, then sudden silence as the teacher's look went from stern and annoyed to concerned and surprised.
"Is there something wrong Mr Wit-icky?"
"What? No. Why would there be... no. There's nothing wrong. Why would you ask that? And it's, uh... Witwicky." He flushed again, thinking he sounded like an ass correcting the teacher like that.
He glanced at Mikaela, who was also looking at him concerned, and started to rub his eyes. They felt wet... very wet. He was crying? Why? No wonder everyone was looking at him weird.
"Oh, uh, this? Oh. Sometimes..." He paused, trying to think of an excuse so everyone would stop staring. "Uh, well, kinda embarrassing... my eyes tend to get really watery? And I don't even realize it... especially when I sleep..." Horrible excuse, but it worked. The teacher shook his head and went back to teaching the class, while Trent waved at Sam and then pretended to burst into tears, scrunching his face up in a mock-tearful expression.
Mikaela flipped Trent the bird and Trent frowned, then scowled at Sam. Mikaela only smiled, the smile getting wider and softer when Sam looked her way. He rested his forehead on his arm and wiped his face, wondering what in the world had caused his eyes to water like that.
And then he remembered that horrible, horrible nightmare and groaned, willing it to erase itself from his memory.
The autobots won, he'd made the right decision... why did he feel so guilty?
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This chapter had some timeline inconsistancies, but I caught the little buggers.
