Part Nine:

Resurgence

"Are you saying goodbye?"

She laughed.

"Not really. I knew once this was over, I'd have to become scarce."

"Well, you certainly did become scarce a couple of hours ago. Where did you end up? Were you watching the whole time?"

"Naturally there are some things I cannot change. It would-," a chuckle, "Take a God to change Fate."

"But you did-"

"No, I did not, Sam. You did. You were Fated to die tonight. You were Fated to give up."

"But you came to me, in my nightmare. You said that I was the-"

"Well, I wasn't supposed to say you were the Control Pillar, but I guess it's fair to say I didn't want anyone else to die. I told Optimus that, many, many years ago."

"When you appeared to him as Bumblebee was watching over my parents?"

"Yes… I wanted to save instead of let another world slowly destroy itself. Optimus understood, and left Bumblebee as he was."

"So Optimus knew you were the angel protecting me?"

"Of course. He didn't think you were really mad, but then again, he probably considered it," the note of humour in her voice made him smile.

"Will I ever see you again? Will I ever hear you?"

"… I think what has happened for the past few years of your life has amounted to enough saving for a lifetime. Maybe it's time to settle."

"What do you mean?"

"Carly is waiting for you. Maybe you should pop the question, huh?" She sounded sad, but she was forcing happiness. "There is a couple of other things I have to tie up, you know. I might come visit you, in the human world, of course."

"That would be great! I can't wait to meet you in the flesh," he smiled in reply.

There was a pause, before-

"You should know, they are all waiting for you." Hands held out toward him, reminding him of what he'd said to Ironhide, and Mudflap when they were leaving the world altogether, "Waiting for you to come home."

He smiled again, before saying "Thank you, Gabrail. See you soon."

Another laugh, before a flash of light, and then, nothing.

xXx

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Jesus, what the hell was that sound?

It annoyed him, and he groaned, thinking it was the alarm clock.

Wait a second: he didn't have an alarm clock.

Eyes fluttered open, before closing again. That light was blinding him, and he started to feel cranky.

It was too early to wake up. He wanted to sleep a little more.

He groaned again, trying to turn onto his side.

"I believe he is awake now." The voice above him boomed loudly, almost cheerful, but then again, he could never tell when it came to Rachet.

This time, his eyes opened the whole way and he bolted up straight from where he lay, thinking that lovely dream he was having ended way too soon. He felt his head smack against something metalic and he yelped, falling back, hands held against his forehead.

"I think you were too close, Ironhide. He doesn't need another bruise, you know," Mudflap cackled, and this time, Sam didn't move, merely opened his eyes through parted fingers. He saw them all standing over him, which caused him to smile. As he pulled away his hands, he saw them look to him, worried optics flashing. Optimus, Rachet, Ironhide, Skids, Mudflap, Bumblebee, Lennox, Epps…Carly. She sat beside him, happy, her hands reaching out for his, and he took them without hesitation. She smiled reassuringly.

"Hey hey! The kid's finally opened his eyes!"Skids joined in, and for a second, there was a pause.

Sam remembered. A knife. Something sharp, that glinted in the dark. Someone cutting him up, his neck, his chest, arms, legs. He felt the pain, strident and quick, each movement she made precise and correct, hurting him all the more. He could only imagine how he looked, how each bruise, each deep cut had left behind their marks: marks which would never, ever be removed from his skin. Scarred for life.

He watched her hands as they softened his tense touch, seeing what she was doing and trying to relax under it.

But it didn't calm the tremor in his fingers. He wasn't able to move then, now he could, and he wanted to run. He didn't know why. He was surrounded by his friends, and all he could think of, was running. Why?

"Sam? Can you hear me?"

He looked up to her face, beaming as she took in his face. It wasn't a forced smile, she wasn't horrified by looking at him. One of her hands reached out from his grasp, and faintly traced a path down his cheek. He closed his eyes, feeling her fingers, light and graceful, wanting to cry, but knowing that was out of the question. He wouldn't cry. Bumblebee had experienced worse than him.

"It's okay, you're safe. I promise." Without thinking, without realizing, his hands came out from under her and wrapped her in a sweet embrace. He breathed in the scent of her, and she relaxed, knowing he was going to smile, even if it was barely there.

"I thought I'd never see any of you again," he whiepered into her ear, and she closed her eyes, pulling him into her.

"I thought I'd never, ever see you either. But you didn't give up. You came back, you came back for all of us, and here you are," she replied emotionaly. He let a few tears fall, and he clasped her waist, knowing it would be hard for him to let go. This love was real. More real than it had been with Mikeala. This love was bittersweet, but strong.

The angel was right.

"I think a few people were holding me back," he smiled against her hair, and she felt the breath catch in her throat.

"Okay okay! So, are you two gonna get a room or what?" Skids mumbled, and Sam felt another small giggle escape Carly's lips.

"It's okay, Skids. We are mature adults," she replied, reluctantly letting go of her partner. As she did so, something dawned on Sam, and his eyes widened.

"Cybertron-"

Optimus spoke up, after watching the two of them patiently. "How did you do that, Samuel?" The curiousity sang in his voice as clear as day. It took a while for him to answer.

"I believe it was because of a choice I made," he smiled, the answer making him feel as vibrant as the sun which was rising outside.

"-I would've been with the Autobots from the very beginning of all of this, so I couldn't have had the chance to be left out it."

Yes, that was it. He wasn't left out of it. Ironhide looked from him to Optimus.

"I have no idea what you're saying," he commented.

"I once told the angel, Gabrail, that I wanted to be with you from the very beginning, so that I couldn't be excluded from it, from any of what you had to do. She made me see how Cybertron fell from grace, she made me see you as you were about to set out looking for the Allspark, and she appeared to you guys too. I saw her speak to you Optimus," he looked up to him, and he remained silent, "I saw-" He stopped, feeling sad once again. His face fell, and he felt his hand start to shake. He couldn't say it.

"You. Saw. Me." Bumblebee cracked up, coming forward. "It's. Okay. Soldier. We understand. Let the dead man sing." The mixture of words and song caused Sam to look even further down. His voice was gone, and there was nothing he could do about it.

"Sorry I didn't say anything, Bee," he mumbled his apology, clenching his hands. Bumblebee started and leaned back, like he was about to laugh. Sam looked up, watching him, worried.

"I'm feelin' happy now," the radio bobbed along to his movement, heading straight into the bridge, which caused Sam to stop, feeling a rush of emotion.

His hand raised without him knowing he was doing it, and there was a collection of concerned faces. Bumblebee cocked his head to the side, watching Sam's face as it changed from worry to wonder. Sam knew what was happening now, and he laughed inside himself.

"There is a couple of other things I have to tie up, you know." He recalled what she'd said, and he laughed, feeling ecstatic.

"I thought you were gone," he mused, pulling his hand back.

"I wanted to give one more gift, something you were wishing for" she protested, and he had an image of her, huffing, her eyes scrunched up, her mouth a tight line. "I do have the power," she added, "to give it all back."

Now his hand was glowing, and Sam brought it close to his chest, feeling the warmth there, the pure white and blue glow causing him to close his eyes. "It's so warm," he muttered, taking it all in.

"You were right: Bumblebee was only a kid when he got involved in this. You could nearly say you hold the voice of a child your hands. Take care of it, okay? It's still so very innocent," she whispered to him, and he softened his touch.

"Thank you, Gabrail. Thank you so much." His voice was filled with so much emotion, he couldn't hold it all in. It was there, glowing in his hands, and slowly, he let it flow upward, toward it's destination. As soon as it left his fingertips, he felt the light leave him, but it left behind a soft radiance inside him, the remainder of what she was.

It drifted upward, and Bumblebee stepped back from it, conscious of whatever it was.

"Bumblebee, it's your voice. Take it before it goes away," was all Sam needed to say, before the luminous light ebbed it's way into Bumblebee's chest, where it rumbled just underneath his spark. The Autobots watched this all take place, curious as to what the Messenger would do next. For a brief second, there was a silence, however it disappeared as quickly as it came, and Bumblebee coughed out, feeling this warmth envelop him, making him feel happy. Happy. Why? What was-?

He didn't realise he'd spoken at all, until he heard Sam's voice, "When I stopped the Control Pillar, I asked the angel if I could give back your voice. It wasn't something that I expected to be given, considering the way things turned out, but- If it was a choice I would've made, and if I could've done something to prevent it, I swear, Bee, I would've."

There was a peace there. There was a peace in his eyes. There was sadness there, also. A sadness not even his partner could deny. He decided to try out what it sounded like-

"Sam?"

He felt the clear rumble of his voice receptor's mimicking his deep tone. It was exactly the voice he'd had before he had to give it all up. He was taken aback: he'd never expected it to sound so clear. The other Autobots turned to see Bumblebee use his voice for the first time, and Optimus couldn't believe what he was hearing. Bumblebee, one of his own, was given a gift not even Rachet could give.

"Holy crap: it speaks!" Mudflap pointed at the scout, and he turned to look at him. "Did'ja hear that, Skids?"

"Oh yeah: we finally got to hear him talk!" Skids replied, cackling with laughter.

"Bumblebee? Your voice receptors-" Rachet was, for the first time in his life, actually surprised. Ironhide clapped him on the back, trying to pull him out of his reverie. The look on the medic's face made Lennox laugh out of relief: even Epps smiled.

"We'll be celebrating a little better now, eh?" Epps turned to Lennox, who nodded in reply, still smiling. Bumblebee scratched at his head in an embarrassed movement. Sam was the only one not joining in, and Carly could see it. Carefully, she tapped him on the shoulder, and when he snapped out of his thoughts, she smiled softly in his direction.

"Does it feel over, Sam?"

Yeah, he felt an ending now. One not even he could deny anymore.

Truly, everything was now back in its place.

A small tug at his heart made him finally look up to see Bumblebee happy, Bumblebee, who didn't have to use the radio anymore to speak his feelings. Bumblebee wasn't going to be a quiet 'bot anymore, he mused, watching the way Optimus clapped him on the back out of fatherly love. For some reason, however faint, he knew it was coming now: they would return to Cybertron, and when they did, there was a possibility they wouldn't be coming back.

He sighed, quietly, making sure no one could hear, lying back against the pillows, suddenly drained of energy, tired, but watching, knowing that when he did wake up again, there was more than a possibility, that as soon as he opened his eyes again, they would be gone. Disappeared into space, to where they came from.

He knew, at least, that Bee wouldn't be able to forget him: Who would forget the one being who gave you back your voice. One last gift, one last promise, one last Goodbye…

"Goodbye," he whispered, so softly, and quietly, that no one could hear, not even Carly, whose attention was riveted to the Autobots, who were cheering and applauding: the war was over, and the happiness was welcome among them, finally.

That was the last time he ever saw Bumblebee, saw any of them. They were gone the next day.

At least it was a clean break, one without ties.

A/N:

*Sniff*

xoxoxox