Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers

Summary: Abandoned by the Decepticons until she can prove herself again, Alice decides to go against Megatron to find a way for peace. To do so, she accidently enlists the help of Leo Spitz. Can they put the past aside and find a way to attempt to end the Cybertronian War?

Rating: T

Before It's Too Late

Chapter 5: Intoxication

"So... robot assassins." Leo said, sipping some tea and eating some sort of bread. He and Alice were sitting in a small room that served as a cafe in a small market area. Leo had converted some of his money into the local currency and had brought both himself and Alice local clothing so that they blended in. "Are you sure you don't want anything to eat or drink?"

"Yes, I'm sure." Alice said. "I'm a robot. The only thing I need is energon."

"Do you need any now?" Leo asked.

"No, I should be fine for a few days at the most." Alice replied. "I'm not like a human. I don't need constant maintaining."

"Except for your arm." Leo observed with a smile.

"I still don't know what's going wrong with it!" Alice fumed, glaring at the limb, even though it looked human at this moment in time. "I think I might have to take it apart and put it back together again."

"Can you even do that?" Leo asked.

"Of course." Alice replied. "All of us know how to carry basic repairs out on ourselves, just like humans can put plasters on or bandage themselves. I just don't know how complicated this is. I might be able to fix it, I might not. If I can't, I'll have to find a medic and ask them to do it."

"But the only medic the Decepticons have is Scalpel, isn't it?" Leo asked.

"Yes." Alice nodded. "I might be stuck like this forever... unless I successfully manage to get the assassins to take Megatron down. Starscream might welcome me back to the Decepticon cause because it's likely he'll take over the leadership, and then he might get someone to fix me up."

"Are you sure that there will be peace if Starscream becomes the leader?" Leo asked. "And answer me truthfully. I don't want us to lie to each other, Alice. I want us to be able to trust each other."

"No, I don't think there will be a peace if Starscream becomes the leader of the Decepticons." Alice declared, sliding her chair backwards and standing up. "But we have a better chance with him than we do with Megatron. We have a better chance with anyone than we do with Megatron." She looked around the cafe. "Can we go now? I don't really want to stay in one place for too long. We should keep moving."

"Yeah, let's go." Leo sighed, standing up and leaving a couple of coins on the table as a tip. Both he and Alice walked out into the busy market square. "Alice, I just wish you would be completely honest with me. I know there's still something you're hiding from me. Don't you trust me?"

Why haven't I told him? Alice thought to herself. The only thing she was hiding now was that she wanted Optimus Prime assassinated too. So why haven't I told him? If he didn't like it, she could kill him. She didn't need him anymore anyway. She just had to make it to Machu Picchu and find the energy source to bring the assassins back, whether it was under the mountain or the village. She glanced at Leo as they walked along. He was staring straight ahead, looking for any signs that indicated the way to Machu Picchu.

"Look, there's the way to Machu Picchu." Leo said, pointing at a rickety wooden sign. He sounded annoyed.

"Leo, I do trust you." Alice said. He looked down at her. "It's just... if I tell you this, you'll leave me, and I don't want that to happen. I like having you around... and... maybe you'll stick around, once this mess is over. In all honesty, I'm not planning on rejoining the Decepticons. After Mikaela ran me over, I was stuck as a human and it taught me a lot about life... human life. It's so perfect and precious, because you never know when it might end. Humans live to enjoy every minute of their existence, where we continue to recharge ourselves over and over again to avoid the inevitable."

"Whoa... this is getting deep. Get me some beers and we can talk about it properly." Leo joked.

"I'm being serious!" Alice protested and punched him on the arm. "I just want this war to be over... and I want Cybertron to be great again, but I don't see it as my home anymore. I don't see anywhere as my home anymore. I wouldn't mind staying on Earth for a while, maybe just to study the human race... alone."

"You could... stay with me." Leo shrugged. "I wouldn't mind. I like having you around too... which sorta surprises me."

"You like having me around even though I spend most of my time threatening to kill you?" Alice asked.

"For some strange reason, yes." Leo laughed.

"Well... don't take them seriously." Alice smiled. She reached up and touched his jaw. "I don't think I could ever hurt you." Then the honking on a bus horn broke them apart.

"¿Usted está consiguiendo en el autobús? Para Machu Picchu?" The driver asked them.

"He wants to know if we're getting on the bus to Machu Picchu." Leo translated. He turned to the bus driver. "Sí, estamos llegando." He told the bus driver that they were and dragged Alice over to the small shabby bus, dragging her inside and shoving her into a seat.

xXx

"Optimus, are we there yet?" Epps groaned. He hated the heat of the desert, but it was worse here. In the desert it was a dry heat, whereas in Peru, travelling through the rainforest, it was humid and Epps found himself drenched with sweat and slapping the back of his neck and his arms to get rid of the biting insects.

"No, but it won't be long." The Autobot leader replied. Not many people lived in the rainforest, except for the elusive natives and the trees were tall enough to hide Optimus from any overflying planes. "We're about twenty miles away from Machu Picchu. We will be there before nightfall."

"I hope so." Epps grumbled. "I aint staying in the jungle all night. Why couldn't Lennox come on this mission anyway?"

"Because we do not what Galloway to know what is going on." Optimus reminded the human soldier. "Lennox has to remain in Diego Garcia to stop Galloway from suspecting anything. If he found out about these assassins he would want us to use them against the Decepticons – it wouldn't be possible. They'll kill all Decepticons and Autobots that stand in the way of peace."

"But you want peace, so why would they kill you?" Epps asked. "And you're the last of the Primes. If they kill you, they're screwed."

"Epps, it is likely that they would not give me the time to explain that." Optimus mused. "My death sentence will be as soon as they are activated. I just hope that the Decepticon trying to activate them knows that they won't stop until there is peace, which is likely to be when all Cybertronians are gone."

"Damn."

"Exactly."

"We really need to get to Machu Picchu before the Decepticons, don't we?"

"Yes, we do."

"I still think Lennox might be right, and that Alice is working alone."

"I do not."

xXx

"I hate leaving Bumblebee alone." Sam sighed, staring out of the window of the plane. They were somewhere above Mexico. Bumblebee had been unable to get on a plane, which was why he was speeding down American highways, trying to get to Peru as fast as possible and contact NEST to tell them what was going on.

"Sometimes, I think you're in love with your car." Mikaela snapped, folding her arms and glaring at the back of the seat in front of them.

"Mikaela, what is it going to take to tell you how sorry I am?" Sam sighed in defeat and unfolded her arms, holding one of her hands in his. "I can't say I love you. I'm only eighteen Mikaela... we've got the rest of our lives ahead of us. And... well... I don't love you."

"Oh." Mikaela blinked back the tears welling in her eyes. She had never been rejected like this by anyone before. "Well... I wish you had told me sooner, so I hadn't been wasting my time." She snatched her hand away and wiped at her eyes.

"No, 'Kaela... I didn't mean it like that." Sam said. "When I said that I don't love you, I meant that I'm trying to find the right words." He forced Mikaela to look at him. "Mikaela, we have been through so much together that I don't think love is what I feel for you. I think that it's something stronger than love. I never, ever want to lose you."

"Do you really mean it?" Mikaela asked.

"Of course I do." Sam replied, stroking Mikaela's cheek. "Let's just sort out this mess in Peru and go home, okay?"

xXx

"That sign translates as 'Welcome to Machu Picchu'." Leo announced, leaning over Alice to look out of the bus window. "This is a major tourist destination, and it's not surprising why. Just look at all of the history here."

"Great, history." Alice rolled her eyes. "The only thing I'm interested in is finding some robot assassins, okay?"

"Yeah, I get you." Leo said. "Because then we can go home."

"Yes. Home. Wherever that is."

"Alice, I already told you. You can come and stay with me. I want you to stick around." Leo said. "You're not too bad for a killer alien robot."

"Thanks. You're not too bad for a human." Alice countered and punched his arm playfully.

"Will you quit punching my arm?" Leo scowled, rubbing the place where Alice kept hitting him.

"But isn't that a common human behaviour?" Alice asked.

"Yes, for guys." Leo explained. "We do it when we want to... pfft... comfort each other without saying anything and acting like a pussy... like if Sam was all mopey because Mikaela had broken up with him or something. I would just punch him on the arm, and then we would go out and get smashed."

"What do you mean by 'smashed'?"

"Drunk, Alice."

"Oh."

"Yes."

"And do you talk about your feelings after you get drunk?"

"Sometimes... or we just go home and sleep off the bad hangovers we'll have the next morning."

"Wow, it sounds like so much fun!" Alice said sarcastically.

"Can you even get drunk?" Leo asked.

"Erm... if I drink enough energon." Alice shrugged. "But I don't like to do that. It slows down all of my systems the next morning."

"Well that's pretty much how humans feel." Leo smiled as they got off the bus. It's almost how she makes me feel at the moment. What is wrong with me? She's a freaking robot!

"Awww... poor Leo." She grinned. Is it normal to feel that way about a person? She glanced up and caught Leo's eye again... those beautiful brown eyes... I'm intoxicated... I can't even think straight! And then she realised she wanted nothing more than to stand on her toes and kiss him, in the middle of the ancient ruins where they were now stood.

"Right... now we're here, we might as well get to serious business. Where do you want to start looking?" Leo asked. She was relieved about the subject change. It meant she could try and think straight, and concentrate on her mission - removing Megatron and Optimus Prime to end the Cybertronian War. That was all that mattered. She nervously glanced up at Leo again. He wouldn't want her to kiss him. According to Sam, she tasted like diesel. She guessed that wasn't very pleasant for humans, and then wondered when and how Sam knew how diesel tasted.

"The Temple of the Sun seems like a good place to start." Alice said thoughtfully. "All sorts of holy places have been influenced by Cybertronians. Let's head there and see what we can find."

"Right. The Temple of the Sun." Leo looked around. "Which ancient, crumbling building is that one?"

That's all for this chapter...

... and the writer's block is starting to hit -.-

I blame it on the fact that this is possibly the only fic I have ever written with no slash whatsoever. I can write het... but... it just takes me a lot longer. *shakes fist* damn you, Kimmieh-chan, for making the bunnies breed!

Thank you for all of the reviews, guys! Keep them coming. They help me to get past writer's block because I know you're all waiting for an update... they're extremely motivational :D

I Caught Myself.