Part Two:
I'm Been Searching_
All of a sudden, Bumblebee revved the engine, and hit the road fast, pulling Sam out of his reverie. "What? Is everything alright, Bee?"
"Base. Now. Opt-i-mus," the radio chanted in answer. Sam gulped, thinking of all those bodies, knowing whatever Optimus wanted, it had to do with those bodies.
"… It is not over, Sam. There is still something that all of the Autobots should be aware of."
"What?"
"You can figure it out, Sam. What do you honestly think?"
Oh God, he thought. He hadn't thought about those dreams. The ones that had figured in real life. The ones about him, Archibald Witwicky, and whatever lay ahead of them. Something was wrong, something was coming. Something with the intention to surface truths best left dormant.
"Something up, bucko—Heart rate's getting faster, kid," Bumblebee droned, as they took the fast lane down the highway.
"I'm fine, Bee. Don't worry," Sam said, absentmindedly, eyes staring into the road.
What did he honestly think? Hm, he thought slowly he was going nuts. He thought he wanted to ignore all of this, but he couldn't, could he? It was like Simmons once said about him—That kid's a bad robot, end of the world magnet—Great. So, even after all that occurred, there wasn't even an end in sight?
Maybe there was.
The funny thing about all of the war was that it was all for a planet he only got the chance to see two weeks ago, and it doesn't exist anymore, right? He graduated in Astronomy, for Chrissakes, he should know—something was digging at his brain—
The Camaro swerved to the right a little too fast, causing a few horns to blare, and Sam cursed. "Jeez, Bee! Can we get there in one piece?" The car revved in answer. Sam held the dashboard in case his friend tried any other tricks.
-Something was digging at his skull, prodding him on. He knew there was something very weird going on. He just couldn't put his finger on it.
"You can figure it out, Sam. What do you honestly think?"
"Come on, can I not get a hand with this?" Sam mumbles, too low for Bee to pick up, as they pulled into the yard belonging to the government buildings, where he could make out Lennox's shape against the backdrop of the setting sun.
"So what's next? What will happen now? Is it all over?"
"Does it feel over? Do you feel an ending, Sam?"
… No, I don't feel any type of an ending. Why? Why? Why? He pounded, frustrated at his skull, waiting for the obvious answer, but none was coming loud and clear. Sam dug himself out of the Camero, feeling his legs slightly wobbling after the dodgy pick up with Bee. Bumblebee transformed as he walked into the hanger through the wide open doors. Lennox was there, turning around to face them as he walked in.
"Where've you been?" Lennox was pissed. Oh dear.
"Why? What's wrong?" Sam walked toward Lennox, feeling himself gulp.
"Well, you wanted in on this, right? So, now you are going to tell Optimus what the hell that was about earlier, and you are going to say it now," he could feel Lennox's hand on his shoulder, and he could make out Epps standing a few feet away, making a face for him.
"Hey, maybe it was a coincidence-"He started, but was cut off.
"Sam, when in God's name have coincidences ever happened with you?" Lennox pointed to his face, and he rolled his eyes. Sam gulped again.
"What do you mean?"
"How did you recognise those bodies, the bodies of my men, whom I should've been able to recognise, whom I've known ever since we started off together in Afganistan, Qatar, Iran, Iraq? How did you know who they were?" Lennox was on edge, and it made Sam's heart rate speed up, as they waked past the graves of the dead still lying here and there. Sam tried not to hear their screams, but he pulled away from Lennox, the grip fast becoming too firm.
"What? What do you mean? Epps' right, it's coincidence-"
"Coincidences like this don't just happen, Sam. You did not know these people, you didn't know their names-"
By this time, Sam had to climb over something covered in oil, which had not been cleared yet, and he had a fun time slipping along the mess, hands covered in the slick liquid by the time he reached the top of the tiny mound. Lennox was right behind him, and he dodged out of the way as quick as he could, ignoring Lennox's protests as he continued to walk along.
He tried to keep his gaze straight ahead, making out the unmistakeable red and blue flames of Optimus' truck, standing by itself. Knowing what was under his feet, begging for someone to listen, he started to feel dizzy, and he stopped, the world slowly spinning-
-No one can hear me anymore, a small voice whimpered, the metal crowbar jammed too tightly in her leg to even bother moving—
HELP ME! A voice strained against the barricades of steel over him, his hands searching for that shimmering light above him—
It was too cold, why was it so cold?—
I'm scared, please let me out—
Blood, too much blood—too wet—too red—too much pain—
"Sam? Hey, are you okay?" Lennox hovered over him, one hand pressed to his chest, the other on his shoulder. Sam came to.
"Five bodies underneath us- Two of them- two of them are burned, you won't find anything," Sam chattered, feelings overcome with so much emotion, his hands were shaking so much. He could make out a flurry of yellow and black in his blurred vision- Bumblebee. There was red and blue, too- Optimus. He pointed ahead of them, to a place on the ground- "One body, female-" he pointed off in the distance, "Over there, there is at least- ten of them- cramped together, you'll know you've found all of them when you see a silver crowbar sticking out, it's covered in blood." He gulped, sitting down, head in hands.
He needed to get out of here. Now.
Now.
"Samuel? Are you alright?" He could make out the steady, but sympathetic voice of Optimus and looked up to see him transformed.
"I can't stay here, it's driving me nuts-"He stopped, feeling another wave of nausea overcome him, and, hands shaking-
"If no one can hear me, then that's okay, I suppose-" the steady lull of quietness, after the chaos that was all noise-
Hands, stilled, white and pale-
Eyes staring straight ahead, no longer fearing what was death. They'd seen enough of it already.
Arms mangled, twisted, contorted to fit into the tight, cramped spaces in between-
Screams, wails, loud enough to pull your ears apart before you even tried to understand what they were saying—
"I have to go, please-"
"Sam, come on, let's go," Epps grabbed Sam's arm, but Sam's feet, for no reason, wouldn't move. Sam couldn't budge-
Why was all of this happening? What was going on?
"Does it feel over? Do you feel an ending, Sam?"
No. No, he didn't. There was no ending, not with all of this. Was he slowly going crazy from this?
"Sam, come on, move your feet! Jesus, Lennox, give me a hand!" Epps was calling out for his friend to help him, but it was too late, already, Sam's legs gave out under him, and he felt himself sinking, the floor rising up to meet him. Epps had his elbow, beginning to pull him up, when all of a sudden, there was a large metal hand coming up from underneath them, softening Sam's fall.
A hand with red and blue flames on the opposite side.
All he could think was how none of this could be an ending, and if it was, then there was something fatally wrong, because he wouldn't be feeling this way otherwise.
"No," he whispered, "Something is wrong. Please, just tell me."
She was there again, and he could feel her strength seep into his back, into his fingertips.
"You know what is wrong, I know you can figure it out, Sam," she urged, her face close to his, as if she wanted no one else to hear. "Think about what happened as you died-"
As he died?
"Samuel? Can you hear us?" Optimus was calling him, and abruptly he felt all of her trail away from him.
"Tell me, please. I don't want to have to think of this alone," he pleaded. He could feel that sad smile she gave.
"Don't give up just yet."
"Samuel?"
"Optimus, I believe he should be in bed. He should've stayed there when I urged him to." Rachet?
Why were the voices of the dead still here? Why were their last few moments spoken to him through their screams? What was going on?
"We need to know what's causing this-"
"What would you even call them? Hallucinations?"
A hand closed over him, protectively, causing Sam to be drenched in darkness, where he felt so alone, and yet safe. In the darkness, he couldn't make out what they said, and it gave him a feeling of easiness. Now he could think, before he moved.
The dead were still here, waiting for something. What?
Why could he hear them, and know who they were?
"Can you hear me? Can you see me?" he whimpered into the dark. There was no stir, except for the faraway voice chanting-
"We know you know."
Know what? For crying out loud, he was going mad! He was slowly losing his mind, and his heart skipped a beat as he gulped.
He closed his eyes, thinking hard. After he died…. After he died…. Just as he died, he knew he was doing good by destroying Cybertron. Yes, he was destroying Cybertron. Cybertron.
Cybertron.
Destroying Cybertron.
He could see those blinding lights, like a thousand suns, blurring his vision, just as he died, the lights flaring in the sky blanking out completely, causing everything to plunge away, the planet above him sinking away into the universe. The control panel fizzled out, the red light dimming.
Cybertron.
"Am I getting close?" he whispered, too low for anyone to hear.
"We know you know."
Cybertron.
The voices of the dead-
"Just because you can hear them doesn't mean they have to do with what's at hand, Sam. You survived death: this is the price you have paid for overcoming the inconquerable." The angel.
"So I can just hear them?" he quietly asked.
"Yes, and they need to speak to someone who can listen. The Messenger."
"Great."
"You can do this Sam. I believe in you. I always have."
Cybertron, he repeated in his mind. He knew it had been blown to bits two weeks ago. What if it hadn't? What if there was still a chance of saving that which was destroyed? What if Cybertron could be brought back?
That was it, he felt with a surge in his heart. That was what she wanted him to say.
He felt movement outside, and he found he was able to move his limbs easily now. Because he wasn't tied down by the spirits of those who couldn't rest. He moved his hand, scrambling around in the dark, his heartbeat racing, his breathing fast. He felt Optimus stop, and light flitered through the creases of his hands.
"Optimus!" he shouted. How the hell was he going to say it? Jesus, how could he break the news?
"Tell the truth," she whispered, her hands falling down to his sides, and he felt all his energy filter toward his lungs. He had to say it now, because he knew it.
'Is it what you were trying to say all this time?' Sam thought.
"Maybe- What would your heart say?"
He closed his eyes, but before he done it, there was a single thought-
"Yes," he believed firmly this was what was wrong. His conscience was telling him he was right. "Optimus! You need to know something! I need to tell you now! Optimus!" By now he saw the lights, as he was settled down on something metal, and when he looked down it was large floor, and he felt the heat of that white light above him. Even as he looked up, he couldn't see a thing. He was blinded.
"Samuel? What happened back there?" His voice was fatherly, almost soothing, and he saw the light was pushed away. Looking up, he took in how tall Optimus was, and he felt his lungs strain.
"Optimus, that doesn't matter, you need to-"
"Sam, you were having a fit in there," Lennox approached him, eyes knotted with worry, once placed on the floor beside him. One hand went to his shoulder, holding it for support.
"Please, you guys need to hear me on this one, okay? This is extremely important!"
"As important as figuring out if the boy really isn't crazy?" Mudflap appeared from nowhere, his red plates shining in the white light, as he jumped over to where Sam stood. Behind him, he could see Skids sauntering over too.
He looked back up to Optimus, and saw Bee hovering behind his leader, eyes plated firmly on his friend, and Sam's heart jumped, feeling anxious. Did everyone see what happened in the hanger?
"What is it, Samuel?"
"When I died- just afterward, did Cybertron disappear completely? I never got the chance to ask," Sam supplied, taking a deep breath, and he figured when no one answered, he got the idea: he was as mad as they thought. He laughed. "No, I'm not crazy, and if I was, that happened a long time ago, Optimus, I swear." Abruptly, he felt the tension ease from his body, feeling in its place a surge of- what?- patience, come over him.
The Autobots sensed this, and Optimus answered- "Cybertron evolved into a black hole, Samuel, and swallowed itself."
"That's impossible, Optimus. Earth would've gotten sucked into Cybertron's black hole if that were true," Sam answered, understanding then that that was the proof he needed. "Black holes," he continued, "Swallow everything around them, it pulls everything closer, planets, stars, moons, the sun, everything is swallowed, no matter how far away." He clenched his fists, before looking back, almost defiantly, into Optimus' eyes. Could Optimus understand what he was getting at?
"Optimus," he said, "Cybertron is still out there. Otherwise-possibly- we would all be dead. Cybertron is out there somewhere-"
"Sam, Cybretron literally swallowed itself, and everyone here is willing to account for that. It may not have been a black hole-"
"When a star dies, it turns into a black hole. I've never heard of moons turning into black holes, and to be honest, I've never heard of planets doing it either, so that means Cybertron has to be out there, 'cause- no, listen to me please- if a star could do what we all believe Cybertron done the day the battle in Chicago started, then that would mean that Cybertron is a freaking blinking light in the sky, which is impossible, because then that would mean the transformers don't exist, even though they are standing right in front of us, geddit? Cybertron is not a star, Cybertron is a planet, Cybertron is still alive, out there, somewhere," Sam took a breath, finishing the longest sentence he ever had to in his life, awaiting the reply of the others.
"So, if we take into account what you say, Cybertron is still out there, then?" Mudflap asked, and Sam was surprised, considering the Autobot never was known for having a brain.
"Yes, Cybertron is out there, we just need to find it-"
"Considering what you say, what makes you believe we want to leave?" That was a good question, coming from Optimus, and Sam answered as easily, as if he was programmed to say what came after the revelation.
"I just thought you wanted to know. If you were me, Optimus, and I saw Earth warp itself right before my eyes like that, even afterward, I'd want to save it, even if I didn't want to leave the place I'd started to call home."
Rachet and Ironhide simply stared at the boy hovering on the edge of the platform. They didn't speak, merely even changed their position from where they were standing. They lost their voices the moment they heard him speak logic. He was right. Perfectly. Why hadn't they thought of it?
"It is truth, Optimus," Ironhide said finally, when the heart wrenching silence was finally over. Sam gave a sigh, letting all the air out of his lungs.
Optimus was still trying to grasp this new found knowledge, as was Lennox, and Epps. Bumblebee simply looked at Sam with worry. Sam looked up and caught the scout's expression, before chuckling.
"It's okay, Bee. Really, I'm not going crazy, I promise. I was told when I'm near a dead body, that I just so happen to see their last few moments here, and then I see…" he trailed off, remembering all those people he'd identified, each with different lives and people to live for. Now, they were gone. All of them. He bit his lip, trying not to cry. "… I just see them smiling, happy, without all this mess they've now left behind. I can see who they are, where they live, their families, their names printed for my eyes to see." The silence resumed its deafening thrash, before Sam decided to man up.
For Chrissakes, this was what he wanted: to stand in death's face with all his friends, his family backing him up.
"Look, Lennox, if you want me to identify the bodies, I've no problem, I swear. It's just, I didn't expect that this morning, and when it hit me earlier, I just- reacted, and I know: they faced worse than me. I've lived, all things considered. It's time I started to grow," there were tears in his eyes, as the flashes of those faces blurred through his already over-used mind. But he wasn't going to cry, because he knew the most obvious fact was staring at him in the face. "But you should know, that I know with absolute certainty, beyond a shadow of a doubt: they're safe now, they are watching over all of us, and they are telling you that they don't blame what happened. They don't blame any of us."
Lennox looked away, his eyes shining with sadness for one split second, before taking a deep breath. It was rare to show such vulnerability, especially for Lennox. He couldn't show weakness. He just couldn't. "And how do you know for sure?" he whispered.
"I know for two reasons," Sam's eyes stared into Lennox with both a firmness and a subtle softness, "One: they care about you guys, and are all for this cause. They made friends here, whether they may have surfaced from happy or desperate times. They stuck with you guys, even when the Autobots were told to leave here. They didn't leave you when we needed them in Chicago, they stayed even when they knew there was going to be so much pain. And two, the reason I shouldn't be giving because it doesn't make any sense in these circumstances, but I'll say it anyway: I didn't blame anyone when I died. I was more than willing to give up my life for the sake of saving everyone else's."
"And that makes it all okay?"
"No, and it's not meant to make you feel any better. But it is meant to show you they haven't, and will not, ever hate you for what you think you've done."
"And how do you know that?" This was turning into a freaking inquiry, but Sam sighed patiently, before looking to Optimus, who was also awaiting an answer.
"Because when Optimus died, I believed everyone hated me for it. I hated myself for it," he added, looking away.
"So now we know you can speak with the dead," Epps tried to be light hearted, but he wasn't smiling.
"Yup, now we know I not only attract bad news, Decepticons, and anything remotely human that wants to kill me, now I also talk with the dead. Wow, I am a nutcase, huh?" Sam smiled gently, before losing it altogether. Jesus, he was losing his mind, and not in the nicest possible way. Hm, maybe he should be taken away by the men in white coats. Even the thought of it all surfaced his feelings over the Messenger issue, and he shook his head. Bumblebee came right behind him, and bent forward, optics zooming in on Sam, whining in protest.
Great. He just delivered another bad message.
As he stared into the infinite depths of the dark corners, Lennox spoke up, "What do you want to do, Optimus?"
"I want to understand what is going on. If Cybertron really is still out there, then where did it end up?"
"Does this mean you have to go? Like, as in, leave this planet, and never come back?" Epps' voice held the right amount of sorrow for all of the humans listening. Sam's shoulders slumped. What could he do now? Did he effectively send them on a goose chase?
He could feel Bumblebee lending his hand out to him from behind, but as Sam was about to turn toward them he heard a voice he wasn't all that excited to hear.
"That would be a brilliant idea, Epps. That way we could get rid of all of your walking, talking skyscrapers," Charlotte Mearing's voice was as sharp as it was scary, and Sam looked up to see her approach briskly, her hands swinging on both sides. He was about to take a step toward her, when she spotted him. "Ah, Mr. Witwicky, what on earth are you doing here?"
A/N: Ooooooooohhhh! Guess who's FINALLY made a-gulp!- appearance? Oh dear, Mearing has reared her ugly head... Sorry, it's just after DoTM, I never had a particular fondness toward her, and I suppose I could say the same for Galloway (Sorry if I spelt his name wrong!)
And Sam FINALLY figures it out! I never thought I'd get to it, but... GAH! FINALLY! I can't wait for the next few chapters to be uploaded, so... See you soon, and thank you everyone for reviewing, I honestly didn't expect this to be good! XDD
This is for those lost in the arms of Death...
xoxoxox