Briley had never seen a plan go this horribly wrong. Yeah Optimus' body and the Autobots were here but Sam was gone. He had simply slipped away because of a blast to the back. His heart had stopped beating and Mikaela was crying hard enough to turn the desert into an oasis. "Lord let your will be done and not the will of these idiots trying to destroy what you made," Briley whispered, struggling to get enough air in through the pain. Almost as an answer she felt a surge of heat from her necklace. Carefully she picked up the fallen bag of "pixie dust" as Skids and Mudflap had christened the remains of the Matrix. She slipped her necklace over her neck and stared at it almost nervously. She knew that this piece of the All Spark was the reason she shared a connection with Jazz. She had been so afraid of losing that connection and now she was probably about to give it up willingly.

"Please let this work," she prayed, holding in tears, and slipped the necklace into the bag. Her fingers were still wrapped around the chain when a blaze of power threw her back a few feet. When her vision came back in full her shard of the All Spark was still whole and glimmering slightly, Sam was sitting up and breathing, and the whole Matrix was cupped in his hands. The boy scrambled to his feet, kissed Mikaela on her forehead, and ran to Optimus. He made a stabbing motion and a blaze of blue enveloped the pair.

The next thing she knew Optimus was sitting up saying, "You came back for me boy." Briley felt a grin begin to form on her face only to freeze. A massive mech came out of nowhere with a popping noise, pulling the Matrix from Optimus' chest.

"My Matrix," it crooned in a sickening voice like a cruel mockery of a child reunited with his or her favorite toy. Then it vanished with another popping sound, leaving Ratchet scrambling to keep the Autobot leader arrive.

"Ohhkaaay," Kinsey said, looking vaguely shocked. It was almost funny that Kinsey could face down Rattlesnakes with her bare hands but the sight of an alien robot appearing out of thin air made her look as if she was going to pass out.

"I have no idea what that was but I already hate it," Epps added, looking rather pale himself which was a feat to be reckoned with.

"Have any grenades?" Briley asked in an almost offhand tone.

"Yeah?" Lennox said, raising an eyebrow.

"Can I have a few. I'm short of them and next time I see that thing I want to shove a few up his aft," she said. Lennox looked slightly shocked, Epps started laughing, and Kinsey shook her head as Lennox handed over the grenades.

"I pity that mech when you see 'em again," Jazz drawled, temporarily distracted from his worries. Kinsey started laughing then too, her face brightening. Still despite the good feelings Briley knew that they needed a miracle to win this fight. The Decepticons vastly outnumbered and outclasses the Autobots and their human allies. That was when their miracle somehow arrived in the form of an ancient alien robot that had once been a Decepticon.

Jetfire tossed a small 'Con aside and then saw Optimus. "Amazing," he breathed. "A living Prime." Jetfire was looking worse for the wear. He was probably four or five steps from offlining, leaking energon everywhere on the sand. Briley felt the prickle of tears in her eyes as she looked over the old mech. No one deserved a death like this.

"Not for long if I can't get his energy levels up," Ratchet retorted sharply, not really paying attention to who was speaking.

Jetfire considered what the medic said for a long moment before nodding slightly to himself. "Use my energy," he rumbled. "I have outlived my time anyone and someone needs to teach that Fallen punk a lesson." That was when Ratchet turned fully to look at the newcomer. Something passed silently between the two of them and then the medic nodded.

Briley turned then and joined her comrades. They could hold off Megatron, the Fallen, and their pushy army until the job was done. And that they did. Simmons somehow called a secret weapon of mass destruction down on the Decepticon Ironhide called Devastator which helped their cause greatly. That was when the Fallen arrived. Briley cursed, gauging the distance before pulling the pin on the grenade, winding up, and throwing. It was on heck of a shot. Whether it was pure luck or guided by God, Briley might never know for sure though she suspected there was more than luck going into the throw. The grenade landed squarely in front of the Fallen and exploded just as Optimus came flying out of nowhere. That was a sight that made her catch her breath as the two giants collided.

The soldiers and Autobots focused on keeping the Decepticons away from Optimus in order to give him a chance to finish off the Fallen without outside interference. That task was a monster itself and not without casualties. Burke was separated from his head right next to Briley and she whispered a quick prayer for his soul as she continued to toss grenades with frightening accuracy. Arcee was another casualty whose loss Briley had to lock away so she wouldn't fall apart in the middle of the battle. One of the 'Cons managed to get a hold of her and blast her straight through the spark casing. The fiesty femme never stood a chance. Of course neither did the Decepticon when Chromia and Elita felt the death of their sister. That was when the death blow to the Decepticons was struck. Optimus managed to get the death blow in and the Fallen simply crashed to the ground in a lifeless heap of scrap metal.

The Decepticons broke rank then and retreated full out. The soldiers lifted up a cheer and that was when Briley noticed something disturbing. "Where's Summer?" she asked, turning to look at Lennox, Epps, and Kinsey in turn. Their faces told her everything she needed to know right then. "Oh slag," she hissed, turning to glare in the direction of the retreating Decepticons.

"Don't worry. We're sure as heck going to get her back," Epps said, patting her on the shoulder.

"Yeah," Lennox agreed, his eyes fierce. "But unfortunately first we have to take care of a problem named Galloway." Briley's eyes widened.

"What did you do?" she asked.

"Well technically nothing," Kinsey said sheepishly.

"Really," Lennox said quickly. "We convinced him there was an emergency and he pulled his chute too soon. He's somewhere in Egypt." Briley just groaned and headed for the cargo plane with the other soldiers. Why did everything have to be so complicated?

Teaser;
Summer was a wreck. Her golden blonde hair was tangled in dusty tendrils around her face. Her lips were chapped and bloody and there were dark circles under her eyes. She had ripped her combat pants off at the bottom, turning them into shorts, and had shed her jacket long before that, now wearing simply her tan tank top. "Please let help come soon," she whispered, staring up at the high sun through the grimy window of the old airplane hanger. Then she sighed and slumped against the already warm metal wall, trying not to let the tears prickling in her eyes fall.

Author's Note:And that's the end of this one. The next one ( Transformers: Chasing Summer) should be posted soon today and will take place right after this one. Thanks to MissShelz for reviewing the last chapter! I own nothing but my OCs