Hello everyone! Here's another chapter for your viewing pleasure! Please review and tell me what you think!

We're finally on the Revenge of the Fallen arc! This chapter is taking place a little over a year after the last chapter. I just wanted to make that clear so no one gets confused. If I don't post in the next couple of days, it's because I'm going away on Monday and won't be back 'til Thursday. There's a chance I can post another chapter tonight or tomorrow, but… there's a larger chance I can't. Will see what happens!

Also, a few other notes: Though in the movie it never specifies where Sam is going to college, I'm saying Princeton because that's where it was partly filmed. Plus the thought of Sam getting into an Ivy League school from some government strings being pulled amuses me. Also, I'm saying Arcee is just one person. I know there's this big thing about whether Arcee has two sisters with her or if it's just Arcee in three pieces, but I'm just saying the later. Just thought I should let you all know.

Hope you all enjoy!
As always, I own nothing!
~Mel

"We're moving?"

"Possibly."

"Possibly?"

"There's a small chance."

"Where?"

Lennox took a large sip of his coffee. "D.C."

Alise's eyes widened. They could be moving back to the states?

"American soil?" she said. "Wow. When?" It was currently nearing the end of August, and Alise wasn't going to lie that after all this time, it would be nice to live in the states again.

They had been on Diego Garcia for more than a year now. It had already been over a year since Bee had visited, the anniversary of Mission City was months before, and her 25th birthday had already passed. Not much had changed on the base in the year's time. Ironhide was still rough and tough; Optimus was still the great leader he always was. The twins and Sideswipe were still reaping havoc on the base and none were safe, and Ratchet was still the cranky yet wise old bot he was. Jolt was also as unsocial as ever.

However, there was a new addition to the Autobots. About four months ago, Arcee, the femme who sent out the response to Optimus's signal a year earlier, had finally arrived on base. Extremely happy to have another female on the island, the two were quick to become friends. Alise liked Arcee. She was friendly and kind, but fierce when she needed to be. Alise learned that she could become three different components at the same time, all of which were motor bikes in their vehicle forms. She asked Arcee if it was ever difficult to control three persons at once, but Arcee just said that Cybertronian minds were able to process multiple waves of information at the same time, so it wasn't too hard.

Alise was still talking to Bee on the phone every night, and the other Witwickys every third Friday of the month. She was also writing letters back and forth with Camila, who now had the mailing address. It had gotten easier over the passing months being away from her second family. Though there were still many times that being away from them made her sad, like when Will or Epps made a comment she knew Sam would have thought was funny, or when Ironhide and Sideswipe got in a fight that Bee would have had to intervene in someway, she knew that this was where she was supposed to be, where she was needed. However, it wasn't bad being at the island. By this point, all of base's occupants, both human and Autobot, had become like a large family, Alise included. They had their days when they wanted to strangle each other or bring out the cannons, but that's what families did, and they always got over it.

"Well, again, it's not official," Will clarified. "It's just a possibly. Now that the big men upstairs realize that the Autobots are needed, they want to move them closer to the home front. But those big heads need approval from their big heads, and who knows how long that will take."

"But it's possible enough that they're talking about it," Epps added. "And that's a good sign all its own."

"Awesome," Alise said, taking a sip of her tea.

"Yeah, awesome's right. It'll be nice not sweating like a pig every goddamn day on this island."

"Amen," Lennox added, raising his mug and taking a sip. Alise laughed.

"You two spent how long in Qatar?" Alise said humorously. "How did you two survive?"

"Basically, like this," Will said. "Complain, drink some water, complain some more, complain with friends, hope the complaining will somehow better the situation, complain that it's not..."

Alise rolled her eyes. "Remind me to never invite you back to Arizona." The two laughed. There was a moment of silence before Epps remembered something.

"Hey, when are you leaving again, Lise?" he asked her. She smiled.

"Next Wednesday. It's going to be one fun cargo ride. 22 hours in a closed vessel is always a joy. And this time I don't even have 'Hide with me."

Epps laughed. "Enjoy it. Well, tell Sam we said congratulations. Princeton's a big deal."

"I'll say," Alise laughed. "Princeton is a big deal. Especially for Sam to get in. But I heard that a bright and shiny government recommendation can really do wonders for your application..."

Lennox smirked. "I'm pretty sure the government owes Sam a lot more than that. It's the least we can do, him kinda saving the world and all."

"Wasn't like it was very hard either," Epps added. "Sam's no genius, but he isn't as dumb as a rock either. It wasn't like they couldn't or wouldn't take him."

"Good to know," she laughed.

Alise was very excited to be going back to the states. She was going to be there for two weeks, and it would be the first time she would be returning home in over a year. She wanted to see Sam off before going to college, knowing it would be harder to see him or the other Witwickys after he left. Because they only had webcam day one Friday a month, that meant that Sam would get one month, and Ron and Judy would get another, meaning she'd see both of them less than she already did. So she wanted to see them in person beforehand, for whatever short period of time it was. She also wanted to be home to see Mikaela, be able to enjoy California, and of course, see Bee again.

Lennox took another sip of his drink. "So when are they expecting you?"

Alise smiled. "They're not. This is all a surprise."

"Really?" Epps said, laughing. "Wow, some surprise. They're gonna be thrilled. I bet Bee's excited for you to be coming back."

She smirked. "Bee doesn't know either."

Lennox's eyes widened. "Damn. How are you gonna pull it off? Isn't there a tracker in your necklace? You're not gonna leave it behind are you?"

"No, no," she explained. "'Hide's helping me out on this one. Since he's the only other person who has access to my tracker, he's going to scramble the signal and make it look like I'm still in Diego Garcia. How he can do that, I don't know, but he says it's possible. I'm just going to let the alien robot do what he says he's gonna do."

"Doesn't that worry you that someone else could do that? Or find you through it?"

She shook her head. "No one else has the code to access it, not even Ratchet or Optimus. Bee said he made sure to do yada, yada, yada, so that no one else could find me. If he's not worry, I'm not." She took a sip of her own drink. "I should be getting to San Diego around 8 in the morning, and then I'll hail a cab to South Gate. I should get there about 10:30 or so. They said they were leaving around noon, so we'll have a little time before they leave." She paused for a moment. "I don't know if I'll be going with them to Princeton or not, though. I think they're driving out and the ride has to be at least 40 hours. Though it may be shorter if Judy's driving. I swear to god she has a lead foot." The two soldiers laughed at her comment. "Plus if they're not expecting, me there probably won't be any room. I don't even know if Bee's going."

"Well, you seem to have it worked out for the most part," Will said. "It's a shame you couldn't go earlier though. See him a little more before he leaves."

Alise shrugged. "Yeah, but I guess you gotta take what you can get. Seeing him for two hours is better than not seeing him at all."

Will nodded for a moment, and he then sighed dramatically. "Two weeks. Oh, what will we do without you?"

"I don't know. What are you doing without me?" Alise laughed.

Epps shook his head. "We're flying in not one, but two interpreters to take your place. Wash can handle any Spanish if he," he gestured to Lennox, "isn't at the meeting, but we needed one to cover Russian and another to cover French. Three people, have to cover your job. How does it feel to be such an important package deal?"

Alise smiled brightly. "Just lovely. Sorry my leaving is such a pain."

"Don't be," Lennox laughed. "This is making up for Christmas."

Alise gave a sad smile. She had really gotten a taste of what the soldiers had to go through when their planned holidays were taken away from them last December. Alise was supposed to go home for Christmas for two weeks. Judy was making a huge dinner, Sam and Ron had decorated a large, beautiful in the living room, and she was told there were even presents under the evergreen with her name on them. Everyone was so excited for her to come home, and she was excited to be going home. She missed her second family dearly.

However, the day before she was leaving, the Decepticons started to carry out attacks. This soon became know as Hell (or Pit, depending on the species of the speaker) Week. Every day for eight days straight, the cons were attacking rural to suburban areas multiple times a day in all parts of the world. The troops and Autobots were being split because of the attacks, some needing to go to one part of the world, some going to another. This was neither ideal nor safe. And because of the constant motion, the soldiers were loosing sleep and becoming weak. It was amazing no one was seriously injured, or even killed. Everyone, including the maintenance and interpreters, were being worked to the bone.

A large portion of attacks happened to be in Russia. The country seemed to be a hot spot for the cons, but no one could explain why. Because of all the action going on, and because no one else could speak Russian and interpret to the Russian officials, Alise had to stay. At the time she wouldn't complain or even think of leaving. Everyone was on edge and they needed her. But by the time Hell Week was over and everything was cooling down, it was already three days after the 25th, and she couldn't go home.

She was very upset. She didn't let more than disappointment show to the other troops and Autobots, but when she got back to her room, she couldn't stop herself from letting the tears fall down her face. The Witwickys were tremendously disappointed also. Bee had told her on the phone later that night that Judy wouldn't stop crying and that Sam wouldn't even go out on a drive that he normally took to clear his head. Not the Bee was really up for taking him on one. He was probably the most heart broken of all of them.

The comment brought up some sad memories, but Lennox was also right. This was going to make up for it. She seemed to be the only one on the base that didn't go home yet. Well, her and Epps. He hadn't gone home yet either, and he was looking for some time off also.

"Yeah," she agreed. "I'm glad to be getting this little vacation."

"God know I'll be taking mine soon," Epps mumbled. Lennox and Alise laughed, both nodding their heads. He deserved to take his vacation soon.

With this in mind, a soldier came over to the table and saluted the two, making them true their attention over to them.

"Major, Master Sergeant," he addressed them. "You're needed in the tech area. The General is requesting your present with an urgent message."

"Thank you, lieutenant," Epps said, and the soldier walked away. The two got up and brushed off their uniforms starting to leave. They started to reach for their mugs to put them away, when Alise stopped them.

"Get to your meeting, guys," she told them. "I'll clean up."

They both sent her grateful smiles.

"Thanks, Lise," they told her, and then the two went off to the tech area. She got up herself and started to clean up the area. As she did, she tried thinking of reasons for the call. The last time, and the only times, the General called with an urgent message was when there was a Decepticon reading somewhere. This most defiantly wasn't the first time. There had already been five in the last eight months.

Taking the mugs and putting them in the kitchen window to be cleaned, she then started to walk back towards the main hanger when something caught her eye. Sitting at a table alone, drinking a cup of tea and reading a paper, Alise saw Latif. She smiled as she watched the man read, and she walked over to him.

"Hello, my friend," Alise said in Swahili, making him look up. He saw her, and smiled.

"Alise, my dear," he responded in French. "How are you?"

"I am well, thank you," she said, again in Swahili.

It was something all interpreters seemed to do, teaching each other phrases. Alise had been doing it with her coworkers since she worked back in Arizona. She and Latif started a few months ago, him teaching her the Swahili alphabet and simple phrases, and her doing the same with him in French. The two would always answer each other in the opposite language, just as they did now.

"Your accent is very good, Latif," she complimented him with a smile.

He laughed. "The area of Mombasa I grew up in was mostly French populated. Many tourists that would come through were from France also. I heard the language ever since I was a young boy and yet I never learned." He took another sip of his tea before continuing. "Your pronunciation is very well also. I am happy to see that you are catching on so quickly."

"Thank you, Latif."

The two then sat on in silence for a few minutes. Suddenly, an alarm was sounded, a familiar one. Both of their heads looked up.

"That can't be good," Alise said. "I'll be right back." Latif nodded.

Alise quickly went to find Lennox or Epps. The alarm meant everyone was being shipped out, Autobots and soldiers. She always got a nervous feeling in her stomach when the alarm sounded. It meant that no matter where they were going, there was a chance they wouldn't be coming back. She knew she had about five minutes to find one of the two before they had to go.

She walked into the main hanger where all the soldiers were assembling and being briefed. In front of the group was Epps giving orders to the troops, Lennox aside of them. When he saw her in the back entering the room, he gestured for her to go over to the side where he started to walk.

"What's going on?" she asked quietly when he made it over there.

"There's a large Decepticon energon reading in Shanghai," he explained quickly. "We're shipping off now. We'll probably be back tomorrow." He gave her a quick smirk. "Think you can hold down the fort?"

"I'll do my best," she said. "You guys be careful, alright?"

"Always are."

By this point, all the soldiers were starting to pile into the NEST choppers. As Lennox started to walk away, Epps caught Alise's eye and gave her a wave. She held up her hands.

You be safe, she signed over to him. She had been showing Epps the sign language alphabet and a few words ever since she arrived. Just like with Latif, she enjoyed teaching him, and he was actually getting good at it. He smiled.

Yes, mom.

She laughed, but gave him a look that told him she meant it. He looked back over and laughed, but nodded and then started to walk to the chopper also. Just as she was about to go back to Latif, she turned around and saw Ironhide coming over towards her. She filled the rest of the space between them.

"You be careful, too, rust bucket," she told him. He grunted at her.

"As if some Decepticon punk could harm me, girly," he told her in response. She laughed.

"Fine then. I mean it though." A smirk came across his face and he nodded, and then went over to the Autobot carrier.

Alise walked back over to the cafeteria where Latif was still sitting. She walked to the table and sat back down.

"What is happening?" he asked her.

"Everyone's shipping off. They're going to Shanghai to investigate a Decepticon reading. Looks like it's only going to be you, me, and Parker tonight."

Latif chuckled. "I believe your forgetting, Mr. Tan, Alise," he said with a smirk.

Jack Tan was the fifth interpreter on the base. He came from Singapore after working with the American military for in other interpreting matters. He spoke Cantonese, Mandarin, and Japanese. He wasn't a very social person. The first time Alise met him he hardly looked her in the eye when he spoke, which again was very little. She wondered how a person who didn't like talking to people could be an interpreter, but she heard he was excellent at his job. She laughed.

"I will be more than willing to ask him," she told Latif. "But do you really believe he will want to join us?"

He laughed also. "No, but it cannot hurt to ask him. People are known to surprise us, Alise."