Part Four

Pertain_

Four Hours, Thirty minutes and Twenty Eight Seconds Later:

Ironhide

There was an urgency to all of Ironhide's movements, which not even he could deny. He'd scoured all these blocks, every inch of his part of the city, and he'd come up empty. If he was human, if he had a heartbeat, it would be pounding with more than a sense of imploding gravity.

Sam could be anywhere in this blasted city.

He could see it, when he thought, believed he was dead, when suddenly the youngling appeared to him, hands outstretched, eyes closed, before opening, a soft brown. There was a smile before he bothered to look up to Ironhide's height, as he knew what that meant. He knew right then and there that he was able to save them.

There were words exchanged, and then-

"Home? Sam, earth is not our home."

An easy smile.

"What makes you think they aren't waiting for you? For the both of you? Home isn't a place that appears lost and downtrodden, forced into the ruin created by times long lost. Home is a place where you are happy, safe where you've grown with others who would do anything for you. Maybe for you guys it's different: you've travelled so much for the Allspark to bring back Cybertron, that maybe you've lost what the meaning of home is. Earth, can be your home, until you want to leave again."

Hands outstretched, a laugh from Mudflap, a brief, sad smile, and then a light, blinding the both of them, all of them, blurring all they knew and whatever lay ahead.

"Come home."

This was home.

If he had the choice, whether to believe in the existence of Cybertron, or the fact that this planet was, in fact, the only place he knew of where he felt as comforted as being in the arms of a loving mother, then Ironhide would've happily gone with the former.

At least on Cybertron, he didn't have to feel do much freaking pain whenever he so much as looked at these humans. Especially Sam.

Why?

Six Hours, Fifty Nine Minutes and Ten Seconds Later

Lennox:

"He could be anywhere at this stage," Lennox muttered, unable to make out whether he meant in this world or the next. He rubbed one hand over his eyes, feeling the sweat from the heat of the city wash over him as he lumbered into the hangar, taking in the dismal sight of Ironhide, Rachet, Skids and Mudflap gathered around in one corner, hunched, waiting for the bad news.

"Aside from the blood I found on the floor, the scarf, the hammer, and the obvious signs of struggle I found at the exit, there were no other traces left. Whoever took him was careful not to touch anything other than Sam. Not even the hammer has any sign of fingerprint, which I find bizarre," Rachet mumbled, looking at the floor, wondering if Optimus, who was still skirting around the outside of the city with a patrol team, would be the first to find Sam, dead, or alive.

Lennox sighed, wanting to curse the sky.

Everyone was searching, everyone was out there, trying to find their friend, their ally, but they kept coming up on empty. It just wasn't fair. He pulled his hat off, bowing low in the chair he was sitting on. He was going to go back out, just in case there was a chance, a slim chance they missed something.

"You should know with absolute certainty-"

"They're safe now, they are watching over all of us-"

"I was more than willing to give up my life-"

"- They haven't-"

"Wouldn't ever hate you for what you think you've done."

All Sam. Every one of them Sam.

Sam said something about an angel looking over them once: Where in hell's name was she?

Seven Hours, Eight Minutes, and Fifteen Seconds Later:

Optimus

The red and blue truck raced down the streets and motorways, causing a few angry horns and curses from fellow drivers, but he had no time. No time whatsoever.

He could feel his spark pumping faster and faster, all his circuits were speedily hitting overdrive. It wasn't his fault: it was all the youngling's fault. He let this happen.

Primus, he was saying what happened to Sam was all the youngling's fault. Sam would never do this to himself, unless he was trying to protect everyone else-

He cursed again, picking up the speed again, and then he heard the radio transmission coming in from one of the neighbouring patrol cars fast keeping up with him.

"Hey, Optimus, please calm down. We'll find him, I promise," Epps called out over the radio. There was a hitch in the soldier's voice and reluctantly, Optimus slowed down.

Samuel was right, whatever he had said to Ironhide and Mudflap: this was their home.

They belonged here too, didn't they?

Why was the fact that they were leaving, knowing that when they came back, everyone would be possibly gone, killing him inside? The thought that they could go, leaving them behind, leaving them to wither and die like the flowers he often saw outside the homes of families, caused him so much pain, it was a wonder he was able to hide it. Samuel knew that if they went, they wouldn't see each other again, and so he told them to come home.

The whole of the Auotbot team didn't want to say goodbye.

Maybe they wouldn't have to in the end.

It all depended on if they found Samuel alive.

"There are always choices. I wasn't afraid to make the choice to die. Not because I just witnessed war, not because of the fact the Decepticons were winning. I wasn't afraid to die, because in the end, my death would've meant Bee would've survived, and Carly would be safe, and you all got the chance to see that this planet was- is- your home. Always."

There it was again. His reference to home, and again to choices.

Choices. Always choices, Optimus thought drearily. He didn't even realise how much Samuel had rubbed off on him, how much Samuel meant to him, meant to all of them. Samuel had taught them something that day.

Home was waking up and seeing what was closest to you standing over you and knowing you'd be sheltered for as long as the hands of time had their way.

Samuel was right: all of them did belong here: the proof was in every second he awoke to the world.

Eight Hours, Forty Minutes and Fifty Six Seconds Later:

Bumblebee

It was getting dark, fast, and Bumblebee forgot about the stars. They were shining overhead, glittering over everyone down below them, and again, he heard Carly shift in the seat, craning her head out of the window beside Lennox. He was just as shifty as she, his eyes darting to and fro from each window, but nothing gave anything away. They had been through everything: cameras on the base site, phone calls into and from the base, pictures, files, clothes, searched through guns stock for anything out of the ordinary. No one was missing a hammer, all was in it's place.

Bumblebee felt another twinge, this time deep within, where his spark lay. He wanted to call out for Sam, but he knew it was pointless. There was nothing he could do: they'd been searching all day, and the hope which once shone when they first set out had now dwindled to nothing more but a tiny candle light flickering in the wind.

His hope was dying.

If he could only go back these few hours, he'd never have left his charge. He was the Guardian, for crying out loud! He was the one who was supposed to be saving Sam time and again. How could he have let this happen? He realised he must have whimpered a little too loudly, as he felt a soft, cold hand on his dashboard.

"It's not your fault, Bumblebee. It's not. We'll find him, I believe we'll still find him," Carly whispered.

Sam…

She still believed they'd find him. Why couldn't he believe too?

Was it because he'd seen enough of this- fighting, war, sadness, pain, grief- to see the truth better than she could? Sam wasn't alive.

Sam had been kidnapped, taken away from them. Steadily, the spark inside of him was snapping in two, refusing help, refusing to be saved, knowing that if he dropped out of existence, there could be a possibility that Sam could see him again.

Above Bumblebee, above them all, without anyone in the world to see, a star twinkled, before falling downward.

A/N: This is yet another filler... I'm sorry, I didn't get the chance to thank everyone thus far for giving me their views and saying how they felt about the story... Jeez, I'm just plain evil, am'nt I? Sorry again guys, but I have to tell y'all: you're kindness is much appreciated!

Again here, we have a slight BeeXSam going on, from Bee's point of view... You can only see it with a huge microscope, and only if you look close, as in, really close...

xoxoxox