I'm back! I am terribly sorry for the delay, and please accept my apologies. Please review and tell me what you think!
As always, I own nothing.
~Mel

"The longer he's on our trail, the harder it's gonna be to lose him," Alise said to the holoform next to her, still holding his hand. She scanned the road in front of them, looking for the possible solution. "Should we turn around and head back towards the desert?"

Bee shook his head. "We need something to divert his attention from us, not have him continue chasing us in the open. Plus, we need to stay close to the battlezone; we can't leave the others."

Alise nodded in understanding. "We have to get somewhere soon. I don't think he's gonna hold off much loNGER!" As Alise was speaking, Starscream fired at them once more, the blast hitting the ground not that far from Alise's side of the vehicle. She allowed her heart to calm down a moment before continuing, her voice sounding out of breath. "We need to get into the town. The buildings could give us some shelter."

"Or the element of surprise." With that, Bee steered sharply to the left, entering into the cover of the buildings next to them. Clothes and sheets were hung up above the alleyway they were currently in, giving them a chance to stop and hide as they were able to remain in Starscream's blind area. He passed over their heads for a few miles, however he was quick to start to turn back around.

Suddenly, Alise's passenger door opened, and Bee urgently told her to get out, and she was quick to listen to his directions. When her feet touched the sand and she was a few steps away, Bee quickly transformed, but was crouching down beneath the shade and the hanging laundry of the buildings around them. Alise, now taking cover in the broken doorway of one of the failing structures, watched as Bee waited for Starscream to fly over them once more. When the 'con unknowingly traveled over their location, Bee opened fired.

The noise of Bee's cannon firing at such a close distance made Alise have to have to cover her ears, but she watched as he fired the first three rounds at an unsuspecting Starscream. The first two were a bit off, but the third was a direct hit, right in his underbelly. The flying con jolted in the air, not expecting the blow to the susceptible part of his body. Coming out from the doorway more now, the interpreter watched the con fly away from them with no signs of coming back, having difficulty maneuvering and seeming to be in pain. They watched him travel out of their range for a few more moments, before turning to each other.

"You think he's coming back?" Alise asked the yellow bot in front of her.

"'He won't be comin' back around here again, let me tell you!'" a sassy woman's voice erupted from him, and as Alise smiled up at him he began to transform back into the Camaro form. Opening the passenger door for her when he finished, she climbed in, glad that the current danger had passed. When she was settled, he started to continued their journey, this time, more into the small ruins of the desert town.

Around the two, it was eerily uneventful, though they could clearly hear the action in the distance. They could see smoke in the distance that they traveled, but as they slowly crawled through the town, they both became very uncomfortable. Alise found herself resting her hand on the seat she was sitting on, knowing that as long as she was with Bee, he wouldn't let anything happen to her.

Suddenly, there was movement around them. Alise looked to her left to see men coming towards them, four to be exact. At first she thought they were natives trying to escape the warzone, but she quickly noticed that their garb didn't look anything like that of the Middle East, and that they were military uniforms instead. American ones. Bee stopped, expecting a welcome from the men.

However, they began to surround the Camaro, pointing their guns in Alise's and Bee's direction.

"Exit the vehicle!" the one closest to her started to shout commandingly at her, pointing his gun in her direction. Alise looked at the man. She knew his face, and that he was a lieutenant by the patchwork on his uniform, but not his name, which didn't really surprise her. With the new recruits NEST started to add as its importance grew, it started to change from her knowing almost everyone on the island, to there always being those small clumps of soldiers she never got to meet. Though she may have passed them a few times, they never communicated. And they wouldn't be able to identify Bee as an Autobot either, considering he had never stepped foot on the island.

However, Alise noticed that the man's eyes weren't fixed on her. They seemed to be scanning the window, and not locked on anything, even her.

"I repeat, exit the vehicle!" His voice was even louder than before.

Alise thought it was odd for a moment that he was getting all worked up over seeing her in the car, but then something clicked.

"Bee," she whispered. "Can he see me?"

"'No,'" the radio quickly stated, and Alise then understood why the soldier was so fierce. Bee tinted the windows, and he had no idea who was in the Camaro.

"Bee, roll the window down a bit," she said calmly, looking straight ahead.

"'Oh, helllll no!'" the radio sounded. This startled the men outside, and the soldier next to her window began to yell again.

"Who are you talking to?" he demanded once more. "I am giving you five seconds to exit the vehicle, or we open fire!" Alise scowled at the radio.

"Bee, they're gonna start shooting if I don't say anything," she said in a harsh whisper. "Just a little, not the whole way."

Bee didn't respond for a moment, but the soldier outside had begun to count down to five, so he gave in to the urgency. With hesitancy, the yellow Autobot rolled down the passenger side window slightly, enough so that a little more than her face was showing.

When the soldier saw her face, he was greatly taken back. The last person he was expecting to see was a young woman in the car all alone. More so, he glanced into the car and noticed that no one was in the driver's seat, greatly confusing him as to how the car was operated. He kept his gun raised.

"Ma'am, who are you and who were you just speaking to a moment ago?" he asked more calmly than before, but he was still on guard.

"Lieutenant, I'm affiliated with NEST," the girl said calmly, "and I'm trying to get to Major Lennox or Master Sergeant Epps as quickly as-"

"I don't recognize you from the plane ride, or this vehicle," he said bluntly, his voice low and lacking any concern. "Why are you here, and how do you know the names of the Major and Master Sergeant?"

Alise narrowed her eyes, his attitude hitting a nerve. He wasn't even letting her explain. "I didn't get here on the plane, lieutenant," she told him snidely. "And quite frankly, how I did is a long story I don't care to tell you right now. Maybe some other time. Right now, I need to talk to Lennox and Epps, immediately. Tell them Alise is here, I can guarantee you-"

"Exit the vehicle," the soldier told her suddenly, as if she was hostile.

"Lieutenant-"

"I said, exit the vehicle." This time, the man raised his weapon at her, making her eyes widen. The seat belt around her tighten, and she knew this wasn't going to end well. Bee wasn't going to react well to that.

"Please put the gun down, soldier," Alise said calmly, trying to get him to listen to her.

"Exit the vehicle."

"Sir-"

He cocked his weapon. "Ma'am, I am not messing around here."

"And neither am I, sir. You need to let us through or things are gonna get messy."

"Is that a threat?"

"Only if you make it one."

Suddenly, the soldier's appearance turned dark. "That was my final warning." Suddenly, the man pointed the gun inside the vehicle, right at Alise's head, the barrel of the gun touching her temple.

Alise gasped, the cold metal making her shiver as it made contact with her skin. Oh shit, she thought to her, because without a second's thought, this sent the autobot she was sitting in into action.

The passenger seat hit the man so fast he didn't have time to register that it did until he was knocked to the ground. The other soldiers aimed their weapons at the Camaro, which had started to drive away, but it was too late. Bee was already starting to transform in front of them. Alise was released from the passenger seat and placed on the ground in the movements of the quickly turning gears and shifting metal. In record time, Bee was in his bipedal form, and he roughly knelt down in front of the soldier who pointed his gun at Alise, raising his cannon at him. The human man looked as if he was about to piss himself.

A low growl came from Bee's chest, and his canon began to charge. From behind him, Alise, exhausted with the situation and everything that was happening in general, shook her head and let out a hot breath. Walking over to the Bee and the soldier, and ignoring all the other soldiers who had raised their weapons towards the two, Alise stepped in between the two conflicting parties, and looked down at the man on the ground.

"Soldier," Alise said to him, her voice sounding more annoyed than anything else. However, she was pissed. "My name is Alise Lucinda Brown, and I have been an interpreter at NEST for over two years, and that number isn't getting any smaller. I was the first person on this planet to have contact with the Autobots and have gone through extensive lengths to ensure that they complete their mission of saving this world and everyone in it. The Major and Master Sergeant aren't only my coworkers, and your superiors, but my personal friends, and I think they'd like to know that I'm in the middle of a warzone.

"And this," she gestured to Bee behind her, whose weapon was still raised, "is Bumblebee. He's a soldier for the Autobots, and has been for more than a few of your lifetimes, and the reason you haven't had the pleasure of meeting him is because he has been away guarding a certain Sam Witwicky, after he killed Megatron." Alise saw the soldier's eyes widen in recognition. Even with the newbies, there wasn't a man on the NEST base who didn't know Sam's name. "Yes, that Witwicky. So you could say he's been a bit busy. Oh, and he's my boyfriend."

Alise didn't like to use that term because Bee was so much more than to be referred to with such a human label, but it seemed appropriate at the time. She saw the soldier's face look oddly from her to the face of the bot in front of him, and his face was contorted as if she had just stated that to him in another language. She smiled at him sweetly before she continued.

"Yes, boyfriend. But again, that's something that I don't really want to explain to you at the moment. So with all of these facts before you, I hope you've learned to do a little more fact checking before you go and start pointing guns, at civilians' heads." She leaned into his face a little more. "Do I make myself clear, lieutenant?"

The soldier below her didn't nod or make any sound or motion of agreement. Instead, while still keeping his eyes locked with Alise's, he reached for his walkie on his shoulder.

"Todd to Major," he spoke into it, turning his head to look at Bee, but almost immediately turned back to face Alise.

"Major to Todd," Lennox's voice sounded to them. "Talk to me."

"I think there's someone here you'd like to talk to."

Alise and Bee, who was back in his Camaro form, were being escorted to where Lennox, Epps, and the rest of NEST were currently located by the soldiers who they were with. They were slowly making their way over to the battlezone through the ruins of the village they were surrounded by, the soldiers guiding them back the way they came from. They were still a few miles off away from the location of the rest of the troop, but they were making progress.

Bee was continually scanning the area around them for enemy movement, but nothing so far had sparked any interest in him. They had alright covered about a mile and a half, and the soldiers told them it was another two and a half or so until they reached their destination.

"You hear anything from anybody?" Alise asked Bee as she watched the buildings pass them. After their little spat with the Lieutenant now escorting them, Bee had rolled up the windows and tinted them once more. All of a sudden, the holoform appeared in the driver's seat, surprising Alise a little, but figuring it would be easier to explain to her in than through the radio.

"Hide's been updating me since we've gotten here," the blonde form explained to her. "He told me there's heavy Decepticon activity at the pyramids and that anything could happen at this point. NEST is beginning to spread out, and getting into occasional fire wars with smaller cons, and they're waiting for us, and Sam and the Matrix to get there. He should be getting there any min-" He stopped mid-sentence, eyes wide and suddenly glowing a bright blue. The Camaro stopped moving, and the soldiers outside looked at them, confused.

"Bee, what's wrong?" Alise asked quickly, knowing that something wasn't right.

"I picked up Sam and Mikaela on one of my scans," he explained just as fast. "They're in a hold up with Ravage. I gotta get to them, now." Alise gasped, her blood going cold. She nodded quickly.

"I'll stay with the soldiers and try and get to Lennox. Go, now!" she opened the door and saw him looking at her, wide eyed once more. She knew the reason he was hesitant for a moment. "God dammit, Bumblebee, I will be fine! Sam needs you!"

She saw a change on his face. He knew she was right, and this was Sam they were talking about. He didn't need more incentive.

The door shut in front of her, and she told the soldiers to move back as Bee transformed into his bipedal form. He only looked back at her once before running off in the direction of the two teens, kicking up sand as he did so. When he was no longer in sight, she turned around and explained what happened to the soldiers with her, and with that they continued onward.

For another mile or so, their trekking was uneventful. Besides some gunfire in the distance, nothing was out of the ordinary (as much as if could be for their situation.) They were all silent for that mile, the only sounds being the wind whipping past them and the sound of their shoes walking through the sand.

However, their peace was broken when all of a sudden, the Lieutenant, leading the group, paused and raised his hand. Alise didn't know what the signal meant, but other three stopped dead in their tracks, so she did the same.

"Listen," he whispered to the group, and after a moment, she could hear it. It sounded like digging, scraping, very quick movements, tunneling. And it sounded like it was getting louder... And all of a sudden it hit her what it was.

"MOVE!" she shouted to the group, and not a moment after the five scrambled from the spot they were in, Scorponok, the con she had seen, heard, and learned about many times in the debriefings at the NEST meetings, appeared from the sands below in front of them, snapping his metal claws at them and looking as if he was prepared to charge.

The soldiers assumed formation in front of Alise and began to fire at the beast, but unsurprisingly, their weapons did very little but piss him off. He let out a roar, and dove into the sand, the same noise of his traveling they heard from before returning, a hill of sand coming towards them at top speed.

"Get to the building tops!" the Lieutenant shouted, and the five began to run in the direction of the nearest ruins, the wall chasing them. Two of the soldiers had already made it to the top of the crumbling house when the con resurfaced, and Alise turned and faced him. However, something horrifying appeared on his features; recognition. In that moment, Alise knew why he was chosen to attack them, not just because they were isolated; he was after her.

She quickly turned to the party.

"He's after me!" she shouted to them on both of the levels. "You have to get out of here, now!"

The Lieutenant, who was behind her, grabbed her shoulder, as if he knew what she was about to do. "We're not leaving you! We have direct orders to take you to the Major and Sergeant-"

She quickly shook off his grip. "Don't worry, Lieutenant, it's not your fault! It's more like I'm leaving you. Trust me, Lennox and Epps won't blame you!"

"Brown!" the man shouted, but it was too late. She already took off.

Alise knew she wasn't going to get far with a Decepticon on her tail, but she just wanted to get him away from the soldiers who would have definitely been killed if she didn't intervene. The sound of the con following her seemed to grow louder in her ears as she continued to run with all that she had, not really going in any real direction. She tried criss crossing in between buildings, hoping he'd hit something underground, but she wasn't so lucky. Instead, it was quite the opposite. She had it a wall, literally, and the short pause was already enough for him to catch up with her and resurface from the sand.

Alise didn't have to turn around to know he was right behind her, and she took her time when the time finally came to face the con. Only, when she did, he was closer than she thought. Much closer. He wasn't even three feet away, his face aligned with hers as she backed up into the building behind her, trying to find something to grip out of fear. The con seemed to smiling at her, an expression full of insidious intentions.

"Aaaa," Scorponok whispered menacingly, his insect-like face closely facing hers, making her back up closer into the building even though she could go no further and closing her eyes. Taking one of his claw-like fingers, he drew in closer to her chest, and Alise was confused when she felt a delicate pull on her neck. Opening her eyes for a moment, she looked down and saw that the con had the bumblebee charm of her necklace between his sharp metal fingertips. Turning it around, he saw the Autobot insignia engraved into the back, and an expression that resembled a smirk appeared on his face as he put two and two together. "So I see the piss stain of an Autobot claims you." He chuckled a bit, the sound deep and vibrating. "What an honor that must be for vermin like yourself."

For a moment she was silent, the only sounds she was making being the short breaths coming from her. Alise was petrified, so she surprised herself when she heard the words, "I didn't know you were so talkative," leave her mouth. It was the truth though. To her knowledge, there had never been a report of him communicating with humans before.

The con chuckled to himself. "And I didn't know humans could be so idiotic when facing those who are their superiors in every form."

"I recognize you," he continued. This made Alise's blood run cold, only confirming what she already knew. Hearing him say it outloud though, she knew it had to be bad. "You're the insect Starscream wishes to mame. I will admit, however, that it is quite comical to watch him labor over that hand of his you injured."

Alise didn't respond.

"However, I will savor seeing his expression when I tell him I was the means for your demise..."

As he said this, gears turned in his arm, as if preparing for a strike. They got closer to Alise's frame against the wall, his claws snapping in her face.

"Oh, he will be so angry that it wasn't him to do it himself. And think of how devastated the rotting will be Autobots when they learn that one of their pets has been killed." Alise who had her head turned to the side so she wouldn't have to look at him, dared to look him in the eyes. They were full of malice, those red orbs burning into her head. "And Bumblebee, the pitiful scout. He'll just rust and turn to scrap. Pathetic excuse for a Cybertronian..."

"At least he's not hiding in dirt," she spat at the Decepticon, an idea she knew wasn't smart, but she couldn't help it. The con paused for a moment, listening to what she was saying. "Ain't that right, Snippy? What happened? Big bad NEST caught your tail? I know your file. You're just an overgrown, hedge trimmer!"

The smirk disappeared from his face, and Scorponok growled at the interpreter, her words angering him greatly. His eyes glowed a bright red, and instead of saying anything more, he simply raised his claw, ready to strike. Alise closed her eyes, preparing to the grisly death that was about to overtake her, when suddenly, she heard the crashing of metal in front of her, and a gust of strong wind fly by.

She didn't want to open her eyes right away, as if something more terrifying would be in front of her instead of the scorpion con. However, when nothing caused her bodily harm after a few moments, she dared to slowly open her eyes.

The sun was directly in front of her, blinding most of her vision. However, she was able to see the figure of a large human coming towards her, but only a dark outline she was not able to recognize. Fearing an oncoming danger, she tried to sink into the wall again, but that worked just as well as last time. She closed her eyes once more, and didn't open them until Alise heard a familiar voice.

"Why is it always you, who gets herself in these situations, girly?"

Her eyes shot open, and as the man came into view, she was able to see who it was.

"'Hide?"

Sure enough, it was the holoform of Ironhide coming towards her, looking as large and tough as normal. As a chill of relief passed through her and she was able to stand up straight again, she saw the look of exasperation yet amusement on his face. It had been awhile since she had seen the weapons specialist in his holoform, and it hadn't changed much since the last time she'd seen it. In fact, the only noticeable difference was that the holoform seemed to have acquired some more facial hair.

Alise let out an audible breath of relief, and began to shakily make her way over to the Autobot in human form. Hide met her halfway, and when the two reached each other, the young interpreter embraced the large holoform as he did the same, feeling safe in the arms of a being whom she considered one of the closest friends and family she had. She held onto him for a moment, and then they released each other. She looked up at the figure that towered over her.

"How'd you find me?" she asked him breathlessly, still surprised that he was there with her.

"I observed your location through your tracker," he explained to her, "and I noticed that your boyfriend was three miles away. As history has shown us, that is never a good sign, considering our current situation." He then raised his brow at her. "I also heard a certain distress call illustrating your escaping your escort party."

Hearing this, she gave him a guilty shrug. "The con was after me," she answered him. "I wasn't going to put those other men in danger. But anyway, your timing could've been better. Where is he?"

"Little fragging coward retreated to the sands," he scoffed. "One hit and he fled like a sparkling. I can't get a reading on him also, so I believe he won't be returning." Hide looked to the side for a moment, as if keeping an eye out for an unseen force. "However, it is not wise to stand out in the open like this. I would advise that we return to my vehicle form. I will take you to Lennox and Epps. They are awaiting your arrival." Alise nodded in agreement.

Placing a hand on her back and quickly guiding her through the dust rising from the ground, Hide continued to monitor the area around them, making certain that there were no enemies hiding to strike. After a moment of fast paced walking, Alise saw the form of the Topkick come into view, and she couldn't remember a time that she was happier to see it. The door opened when they reached the vehicle, and the holoform gave her a boost into the seats inside. When she was settled, the door closed, and the holoform disappeared.

Even though she was safely in the care of Hide, Alise was unnerved. She knew she had to talk to Hide about what was on her mind, or it would eat her up. Something that she didn't want to ask Bee about.

"Hide?" she asked softly, but decidedly. "I need you to answer something for me, okay? And I need you not to bullshit me like Bee would. Can you do that?" The Autobot was silent for a moment, but then agreed through the speakers. "Scorponok said that he recognized me because Starscream wants to... mame me. And then when he was pinning me against the wall he found my necklace and he knows about... Bee and I." She felt the atmosphere in the cabin grow thicker considerably. "Hide... how much trouble am I in?"

Ironhide didn't speak again right away, but when he did, his voice was grim.

"Much more than you can handle."

With that, the two began to drive towards the battlezone.