Thank you all for your reviews and I have heard your plee to update. I was caught up in some things and needed a break. I've finished with Midterms and I'm getting ready to take the ACT on the 8th so don't fear if you don't hear from me for a little while. I've got the back up chapters and I have a renewed inspiration to write as of today (spring break!). I wasn't such for a while how to proceed from where I stopped. In only a few short chapters thought the climax of the Battle of the Valley bed will peak and we'll find out far and long Spike's sudden reluctant involvement within the Transformers paradox will be felt as the old arc concludes and the new one starts. The first story arc of the 2006 movie concludes within a few short chapters and a new onw begins.

Chapter 8

He considered every step he took as he made his way up the slope to follow Thundercracker. The Decepticon was too preoccupied with him task to notice the sound of foot falls or the mysteriously appearing foot prints in the gravel. His motor sensors were on high alert as he used all his skills in espionage to keep up with his target. Mirage didn't like having to be out in the open with nothing but rocks and boulders for cover, but it was his duty as an Autobot to follow orders, no matter how suicidal they seemed to him.

Thundercracker lead him to a small clearing in front of a large rock formation. Mirage watched, ready to spring for the kid, as the Decepticon seeker pulled the large boulder away from the cave opening. Thundercracker disappeared into the cave.

Mirage was ready for anything, anything at all…

"He's gone!" The Decepticon cried out, astonished.

…except that.

Mirage watched, baffled, as the Decepticon ran out of the cave, stopped, and looked in every direction before storming off in a panic.

'Gone?' Mirage asked himself. 'How?'

He picked himself up from his crouching position behind a rock and looked at the entrance to the cave. There were Thundercracker's tracks, but there were also other tracks. From what he saw and what he knew Mirage had a guess that the human had found a small opening and escaped. There were signs of the human crawling on the ground near the cave entrance. From there Spike had gotten to his feet and gone off towards the valley, but then they came back and headed off in another direction. If he continued to follow those tracks Mirage was certain to find the kid.

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Spike walked slowly around the cover of the rocks that shielded him from anything he thought was following him, if any. His heart pounded in his ears and his mouth was parched. His wounds caused him to slow down, but after he got used to the pulsing of pain with each heart beat he was able to quicken his pace slightly. He wiped his hands across the rock and he walked, as if they would steady his balance. He heard foot falls and the crunch of gravel approaching. He ducked behind a rock, watching and waiting.

A large blue and purple Decepticon came running by with a metal container in his hands. He ran right past Spike without even hinting that he saw or noticed anything, to Spike's relief.

The human boy let out a sigh of easement.

"There you are!" A voice from behind Spike said.

Spike jumped at the voice and turn around harshly, his heart in his throat.

There wasn't anyone there. No! There was!

There was a spot in front of Spike that looked like its colors were blurred. The spot blurred even more and suddenly the shape of large Transformer appeared.

Spike's eyes went wide and in panicked he screamed.

The transformers lashed out with his hand and covered Spike's mouth, and most of his torso.

"Shhh!" He whispered hard. "I'm a friend. Look!"

He pointed to a large red faced insignia on his arm.

"I'm an Autobot."

Spike, relieved, nodded and the Transformers let go.

"Where's Bumblebee?" Spike asked, without thinking. "Is he here?"

The transformer shook his head.

"He's been taken off active duty for a while." He told Spike.

Spike's heart fell.

"Because of me?" The boy asked.

The Autobot shrugged.

"Kind of," He said indifferent. "But save the guilt till later. First we need to get out of this slaging place, then you can have your little guilt trip."

Spike nodded.

The Autobot held out his hand.

"Come on." He said. "I can't drive through these rocks and we need to get to the others before the exchange occurs."

Spike climbed onto his outstretched hand.

"Exchange?" Spike asked.

"Yeah," The Autobot nodded as he stood to full height. "The deal was we'd get you back in one piece if we handed over our team physician."

"What?" Spike asked. He was surprised anyone would do something like that for him. It touched him to know there was someone in the world that still cared weather he was alive or a dead, rotting, nameless corpse on the street. But at the same time it make him even more guilty that someone else was being exchanged for him.

"Don't worry," He told him as they turned invisible There was no physical sensation that followed the cloaking, but Spike did have the feeling they were being 'covered' by something that made them invisible to everyone. Including themselves. "We disguised one of our soldiers as the good doctor and they will be exchanging him instead while I secured your safety. Now all we got to do is signal Prime and we're off and this hole things over…Hopefully."

"How can you walk like this?" Spike asked. "I can't even see my feet."

The transformer laughed.

"Practice," He admitted. "And this…"

He pointed to his eyes, though Spike couldn't see that.

"My optics have a special coating that allows me to see anything cloaked with the same type of device that allows me to turn invisible." He added. "I can see where my feet are, even though you can't."

Spike was slightly confused, but didn't admit it. Then something hit him he'd forgotton.

"Oh!" Spike cried. "I forgot!"

"What?" The Autobot asked.

"The bombs!" Spike cried.

"What bombs!" The Autobot asked worriedly.

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Sunstreaker tried to keep his composure as he and Optimus Prime walked the few hundred feet to where Megatron, holding a canister they were to believe held the human they were doing all of this for, was also walking towards the point of no return. Behind Hound's illusion was Sunstreaker's true form and strapped to his back was his twin brother's jetpack, the only one that had survived the crash.

They were less than a hundred feet from each other and he could see Megatron's face, grinning that infuriating grin. His features brought back horrid memories of countless battles. He could feel withheld anger from one battle in particular; his first.

The darkness was so dense down in the ruble and his optics were useless. Three no longer functioning Autobots lay motionless in the clearing where a Decepticon had caught their recon team off guard and took out the leader and both sharp shooters. Their body's lay smoking with large pieces missing out of their bodies, caused by the powerful firearm ripping through the metal of their frames and into the soft wiring of their interiors. His brother, Sideswipe, sat next to him, wounded and shaking. A shot had caught Sideswipe in the arm, which was barley an arm any longer, and he was leaking Energon so badly his body was going into shock and he was shaking. They needed to get back to base! Or Sideswipe may not make it…

"Streaker…" Sideswiped said smiling weakly. "It's ok…I'm…fine."

"Shut up. You're just making it worse," Sunstreaker whispered. He looked back over at his younger brother and smiled. "Don't worry…I'll get you out of here…I promise."

Sunstreaker turned back to look over where he thought the Decepticon might be. Sure enough, there he was. He was standing out in the open, the cocky bastard, in all his high and mightiness, just standing there; daring Sunstreaker to make a move. Any at all. His sleek silver body reflected the darkness around him and in his very Spark. His optics were crimson red and his firearm, a ridiculously large and energy consuming fusion cannon, lay strapped to his right arm as if to spoil any other's attempts at intimidation or fool hearty deeds of misdirected heroism.

The Decepticon laughed. Just out of the blue, to show his own confidence in his victory.

"Damn you…" Sunstreaker cursed. "Damn you Megatron…"

He snapped out of his memory recollection to the present. They were face to face with the Decepticon leader. His features were the same as before. The stood only about 10 feet from each other, but to then it was much closer; more like slightly out of arm's length.

Wordless, Megatron held out the canister, staring at Sunstreaker/Ratchet with a vile look of eager maliciousness.

Sunstreaker was about to take a step towards the Decepticon dictator when a voice rang out through the valley bed.

"Stop!" Mirage stood openly at the top of the ridge. "It's a trap!"

"Mirage!" Prime shouted, surprised and slightly worried that he revealed himself. But then he saw Spike sitting on Mirage's shoulder waving his hands and shouting the same foreboding message.

"There are bombs underneath the ground!" Mirage and Spike shouted together. Optimus and Megatron met each other's gaze as it left the two shouting on the ridge. Megatron looked at Prime's face, the canister, and at Sunstreaker. He grabbed Sunstreaker's arm, not seeing that his fingers partially disappeared under the illusion., and pulled the reluctant hostage over to him. He then threw the canister at Prime. The Autobot caught the canister just as Megatron ran off, pulling Sunstreaker along for the ride.

"Now!" Megatron yelled. "Soundwave!"

The Decepticon pushed a button on his chest.

The ground exploded under Optimus's feet and the valley was filled with fire and smoke. Megatron and Sunstreaker appeared out of the smoking cloud filling the valet bed.

"Optimus!" Sunstreaker cried. "Nooo!"