I Will Never Leave You

by Theengineerfan176

Raf was not the only victim when he was struck by dark energon. When he was recovering, decepticons attacked his home, along with his family inside it. Rated T for language, and some graphic depictions.

3. Enough is Enough

Hey guys! Sorry this took so long to update, a year is absolutely insane. I just had a severe drought of writing capability, and couldn't think of anything to save my life. This chapter is going to feel very rushed, and I apologise, because it was. It may be 5000 swords but don't let that fool you, others can spread out what I wrote in one 5000 word chapter into 3 7000 word chapters. Don't worry, you can expect better chapters coming up(I kind of wanted to get the beginning over with because quite honestly, it was kind of goofy). Expect a lot of family fluff, especially with Arcee and Bee!(there will be a speical chapter for everyone, including Jack and Miko.) I don't really see too much of it with Raf so I'm gonna give him some well deserved love! Thank you all for reading and feedback is always appreciated! See ya!

Fowler could swear he felt the negative aura the second he entered base. He could smell the tears, the blood, the destruction. It hit him like a semi-truck. It was unlike anything he has felt before.

He was exhausted, anxious, and downright depressed. He knew the second he would walk into his office he would have to be in phone calls for several more hours, maybe even days.

"Shit," he knew he wouldn't be getting much sleep for the next few days.

Walking past the main silo, he saw the bots, sitting down, taking turns holding and comforting the child. All except for Prime and Ratchet, who had their optics glued onto the screen. He understood that what they were doing was important, but at the same time, there was something more important.

Fowler's anger suddenly spiked due to his exhaustion, "You know, the least you could do is go to your team and help with the kid," he looked back at the group and winced, his voice broke down to a slight whisper, "I mean, for Christ's sake, he lost his entire family. He needs love right now. Revenge can come later, okay?"

Optimus's digits immediately stopped typing, falling to his sides as he looked down, "You are right, Agent Fowler…"

Ratchet immediately interjected, "O-Optimus, you can't be serious?! After what just happened, after what they did, you are willing to stop just like that?! This is Rafael we're talking about!"

"Which is exactly why we have to be there for him right now. Making him feel welcome and loved in his new home needs to be top priority. The Decepticons will get what's coming to them soon enough."

The medic looked like he was about to answer, but didn't. He didn't have an answer for him, he knew he was right. He looked between the screen and Rafael, before making his decision.

He turned the screen off, making the room go completely silent, and he walked over to the group.

Optimus gave the smallest smile, happy with his decision, before following close behind.

They saw Rafael asleep, cradled snuggly in Arcee's hands, "How is he?"

Arcee scoffed, "How do you think he is, Ratchet?" She strokes a finger down his back.

Ratchet kept silent, trying to think of something to say, but nothing came. Luckily Arcee spoke further.

"Sorry, Ratchet…. I shouldn't have snapped at you."

Ratchet waved his hand, "There's nothing to apologise for, Arcee. I understand you're angry… and rightfully so."

Arcee gives Raf a loving look, gently using a finger to brush the hair out of his face "What kind of… vile, disgusting monsters would hurt such a small, young child? I want to see Megatron's head separated from his body…"

She felt Optimus place a servo on her shoulder, "We will do everything we can to bring them to justice…. In due time. For now, Rafael needs us."

The femme held the boy tighter. Aggressive, motherly instincts kicking in similar to how she feels with Jack, only amplified, "I'll make sure they never touch a hair on his head again."

"I'm surprised Bumblebee doesn't have him," Ratchet said, looking around for said mech, "Where is he anyway?"

She pointed behind her, Bumblebee was sitting against a wall in recharge, "I took him from him. Figured Bee can't be the only one with him. I think he'll be passed around tonight though," she looked at Optimus, "I know Miko knows, but what about Jack? What if the Deceptions go after them too?"

"As far as we know, the Decepticons are surveying the ground across the globe, but do not know the locations of Jack and Miko's home. The location of Raf's home was found by the Decepticons during the satellite incident. For their safety and ours, it is best we cease contact with them until further notice. Luckily we were able to groundbridge Miko straight back into her home," the Prime said confidently, though it was easy to tell he wasn't sure.

Arcee stood up, looking around at the quiet base, "So what, we're just gonna sit here until we have a plan? For all we know they could be planning another attack, and I don't want to just let it happen."

"For now, yes," Ratchet interjected, "Until we breach and hack into the Decepticon's satellite surveillance systems, we have no choice but to remain here. Luckily we have an abundance of energon to go around."

"But what about human food? In case you forgot, Raf needs to eat, too," Arcee held out the boy, showing his clearly malnourished body.

"From a phone conversation I overheard Agent Fowler in, there should be enough human sustenance to adequately sustain one person for 6 weeks, 3 weeks for two people."

That did little to calm her nerves, though she dropped the subject for now, not wanting to argue any further. She looked at the time on one of the clocks in the base, reading 1 AM, "I need a recharge, and I think you two probably need one too," she walked back to Bumblebee, sitting against the wall next to him. Making sure Raf was safely held against her chest, she went into recharge.

"I think I'm gonna take her advice on that," Ratchet started walking back to his berthroom, "You should too, Optimus. It's been a tiring day and we're in for several more tiring days."

Optimus thought for a moment, "In a little while, Ratchet. I'm going to stay up and make sure nothing else happens while you are all in recharge."

Ratchet rolled his eyes, "I doubt anything else will happen tonight, old friend. You are in dire need of recharge. Now go rest for Primus sake."

Eventually Optimus gave in with a sigh, walking to his own berthroom. Looking around he found all the other rooms had the occupants in them, all except of course Bumblebee and Arcee's. He smiled. He knew Arcee had wanted to be a carrier before the war. She held protective instincts over her charge Jack, and now Raf. He looked back to the main room, seeing Arcee and Bumblebee leaning against each other, Raf coddled in Arcee's hands. She held a small smile on her face. Optimus couldn't help but see them as mother and father.

He turned around, continuing to his berthroom where he fell into a blissful recharge in his berth, rendering the base completely quiet.

—————————————————————————————————————————

Everyone was up by 8:30 the following morning. Optimus and Ratchet quickly went to the many screens to try to pinpoint Decepticon satellite orbital patterns so they may track them and destroy them. Bulkhead and Wheeljack were standing next to each other cleaning their weapons. Smokescreen was leaning against a wall, watching whatever was on TV, while Bumblebee and Arcee were still with Raf, who hadn't woken up yet. Ever since he was hit with dark energon, his body had needed more sleep to compensate for its lack of energy.

Bumblebee looked at him worriedly, "Shouldn't we wake him up? He hasn't eaten anything in a while."

She looked down at the boy. They had noticed that the boy had grown thinner, needing more sleep and more food, "You're probably right, " she used a finger to softly brush the boy's hair out of his face, "Raf… It's time to wake up, ok? You've got to eat something. You're already skinny as is."

The boy groaned, twisting around, "O-Okay, Mom…"

A chill went down the femme's frame. Did he really think of her like that? No, he couldn't…

Raf looked up, seeing Arcee with Bumblebee next to him. His face immediately contorted into one of guilt and sorrow, "Oh… S-Sorry, Arcee… I didn't mean to call you that. Please forgive me…"

Arcee frowned. He was too innocent for his own good, "There's nothing to apologise for, kid. I understand, " She carefully set him on the ground, "Now why don't we go get you something to eat? You're probably starving."

Rubbing his eyes, Raf nodded, "Okay…", He looked up at his surrogate dad, "Hey, Bee…"

Bumblebee smiled back at him, "Hey, buddy," He ruffled his hair with a finger, "We're here to talk to you whenever you need, you know. Anytime, anywhere, okay?"

Raf smiled, "Ok… Thanks, Dad…"

Bumblebee's spark pulsed at being called Dad, a warm sensation flowing through his body.

The three walked to Agent Fowler's office, where the food was. Inside, they saw Fowler asleep, his head on the keyboard of his laptop. Smiling, Arcee carefully took a couch pillow and tucked it under his head. He let out a yawn and grabbed it in his sleep. They all quietly laughed at the sight.

"Why don't you head in and grab something, okay? We'll be out here," Arcee lifted Raf up to the office.

"Okay," Raf walked to the cabinets, seeing 4 different boxes of cereal. Choosing Honey Nut Cheerios, he poured it into a bowl along with milk from the fridge, and walked back into Arcee's waiting hands.

They walked over to the human living area, Raf being gently deposited onto the couch. A random cartoon was playing on the TV. Turning around, Raf saw the Autobot rookie, "Hey, Smokescreen."

Smokescreen smiled, looking down at the child, "Hey kid," he put a finger on his shoulder, "You know… you humans have really odd ways of entertaining yourselves?"

Raf smiled, "Yeah… I know. I can turn it off if you don't like it."

Smokescreen put his hands up, "No no, I didn't mean that in a bad way. I… Kinda like it. I can see why you and Bumblebee enjoy these so much. Cartoons, I think they're called?"

"Yeah. Cartoons."

Smokescreen and Raf went on to have a full conversation regarding the topic. Bumblebee and Arcee smiled, happy that Raf was coming out of his shell, though they knew that he was far from okay. He would likely have night terrors and PTSD, but for now, they just enjoyed listening to him talk, being even slightly happy in this dark time for him.

Behind them, a loud alert flashed on the screens that were occupied by Optimus and Ratchet, "An incoming high frequency transmission from an unknown source…"

Optimus looked at Ratchet, "Can it be traced?"

"No… Its transmission sight keeps changing. It could be Decepticons…"

The Prime closed his fist, "If it's Megatron… I would like you to answer… So I can have some words…"

Ratchet gave him a worried look, but nonetheless turned on location jammers so they can't be tracked, and answered the message.

Two red optics met them on the screen, unshockingly belonging to Megatron, "Hello, Autobots. I hope you are well," his eyes move to Raf sitting, "Oh, and I see your pet is still alive and well. I guess I can't be surprised."

Raf's face paled as he looked into the eyes of his worst fear. He collapsed on the floor, backing up to a corner with tears in his eyes, "N-No… Please don't hurt me…"

Arcee was quick to console him, picking him up and placing his head in the crook of her neck, Shhhh… You're ok. He can't hurt you here. I've got you," her eyes turned to look at Megatron in the optics, "What do you want, Megatron? To see him suffer? Well I'll make sure that you suffer 10 times more than what you made Raf go through.."

The warlord let out a laugh, "As enjoyable as it is, that is not the reason I contacted you. See, I'm open to make a deal…"

Rage seethed through the Prime's body, "What do you want?"

"I see myself as a reasonable leader. If you deliver the human to me, I will turn off the superweapon aimed at the biggest human city in the country."

Everyone's eyes grew wide open, especially Ratchet's, "What do you have to gain from this? He is just a BOY for Primus sake…"

Megatron adopted a serious face, "A boy which has given me numerous problems in surveillance and technology. Your human pets have a habit of causing me problems. Now I originally planned for the human to be killed in the orbital strike on his dwelling, but I knew that if he survived, he would suffer, which is also good."

Optimus looked back at the sobbing boy in Arcee's hands, nodding at the femme and Bumblebee. Understanding the message, they swiftly left the room with the child, "And what if we don't accept the deal?"

A smirk was on the warlord's face, "What do you think, Optimus?"

Everyone in the room was frozen, rage and nervousness rendering them immobile.

Megatron broke the silence, "Why don't I give you a handicap? Perhaps giving you 24 hours to make your decision will help. I doubt the city will be able to be evacuated in time," he laughed, "I'll send coordinates for you to meet us. If you have the boy, the weapon will be destroyed and no other humans will be harmed. If you don't show up or don't bring it him… then millions of humans will perish. I will be waiting," the feed was cut off abruptly, leaving the base quiet and colder than usual.

Swiftly, Optimus went to the window of Agent Fowler's office, looking in to see the agent still sleeping, "Agent Fowler," his loud booming voice woke him up instantly.

"Jesus H. Christ, Prime. You scared the bejesus out of me," he looked around at all the nervous mechs, "What happened?"

"Millions of human lives are in danger. New York City needs to be evacuated within 24 hours," he turned back to the screens with Ratchet.

Fowler spit out the water that he sipped from his bottle, "Woah, what the hell happened?"

Ratchet spoke while looking at the screen, "A deal happened, "he began searching through Autobot satellites in orbit to search for the weapon that Megatron was implying, "Megatron wants Rafael, and claims that if we don't give him up, he will destroy New York. Well the bastard doesn't know what's about to hit him…"

To say that Fowler was shocked was an understatement. He never thought Megatron would go to such great lengths to kill one singular human, a CHILD at that.

"Well, 8 million people can't be evacuated in 24 hours. So what's the plan?"

Ratchet pinched between his eyes, "I'm not quite sure yet… But we have a few of the Iacon relics at our disposal. Perhaps we could use them in an attack… Even if it means using the spark extractor."

Fowler's phone rang in the middle of the conversation, picking it out of his pocket he saw that it was General Bryce, "Well while you're dealing with that, I'm gonna try to stop General Bryce from going nuke crazy and putting the world in a nuclear winter. "

Ratchet turned to Optimus, "You wouldn't reject the use of the spark extractor now, would you?"

Looking back at the hallway containing the Iacon relics, he thought to himself if he really wanted to use such a powerful and deadly device against anyone. Did he really want to drop to the level of the Decepticons? They had gone so long without resorting to such a major attack.

"Ratchet."

"Yes?"

The Prime let out a sigh, somewhat dreading what he was about to say.

"Prepare the spark extractor."

—————————————————————————————

The plan had only taken a few hours to fully formulate, but there wasn't much of a choice. It was simple. While the rest of the team would meet Megatron at the specified location, Bumblebee and Arcee would sneak onto the Nemesis and plant the Spark Extractor, effectively killing everyone on board. It was a heinous and deadly plan, but the Decepticons had shown no problems in using plans such as these.

"Are you certain this device won't injure Rafael in the process?" Ratchet seemed concerned for the boy's safety.

Optimus looked at the device in his hand, "There has been no evidence to show that it can harm organic life. Nonetheless, in case of the possibility, Rafael will be transported in an impenetrable container."

The medic held the boy, who he put into a medically induced coma, "But… What if we give them Raf and… The plan goes haywire?

A stern expression, showing confidence, was on Optimus's faceplates, "Then we will do everything in our power to take him back."

Though the two senior members of Team Prime were fairly confident in the plan, the same can't be said about the rest.

Arcee, along with Bumblebee and Smokescreen, were furious.

The femme paced back and forth nervously, "I can't believe they're this willing to put Raf in danger like this, much less give him to the monster who took his family away…"

Bumblebee put a servo on her shoulder to try to calm her, but he knew that he too was completely against it, "I don't want to lose him… I already almost did."

"You'd figure they would come up with a plan that doesn't involve giving Raf to Megatron… even if it's just for a few minutes," Smokescreen, who had gained a definite soft spot for the young human, said.

The two wreckers, Bulkhead and Wheeljack, hated the thought of potentially putting Raf in danger, but at the same time they knew that they were short on ideas, and that this could put an end to the war once and for all. They didn't say anything about the subject, electing to follow Prime's orders no matter what.

Optimus walked into the middle of the silo, causing the rest of the team to circle around them, ''Autobots," he said in his signature callout voice, "Today is the day that energon stops spilling. Today is the day that Megatron's reign of terror is put to an end. Earth will be at peace, and so will we."

Each bot listened intently, everyone showing different emotions.

"Bulkhead, Wheeljack and Smokescreen, you three will accompany me to the location Megatron gave us. Bumblebee and Arcee, on Ratchet's command, you will groundbridge into the Nemesis and plant the Spark Extractor at its core. Ratchet will man the groundbridge. We must all play our parts swiftly and efficiently if this plan is to end well."

Optimus looked at the container in his hand that contained Raf. An expression of worry was on his faceplates, "And no matter what happens, Raf will not remain in Decepticon hands. Do we understand our assigned tasks?"

"Yes sir," the bots shouted nearly completely in sync.

The Prime nodded, "I wish you all the best of luck. Autobots, roll out!"

The groundbridge opened for Optimus and his squad to enter. Optimus looked back for a second, seeing Arcee and Bumblebee's worried faces, "We will get him back. You have my word."

He ran into the groundbridge with the other 3.

As they exit the groundbridge, they see sand as far as the eye can see. It was the middle of the Sahara desert.

The bots looked up to see the Nemesis, floating ominously, nearly taking up the whole sky.

The elevator was lowered down to the ground, containing their medic Knockout, along with Starscream, Shockwave, and of course Megatron.

The warlord gave a sinister smile, "Pardon me for bringing such a large group. I couldn't risk a surprise attack," he looked at Bulkhead, Wheeljack and Smokescreen, "And I can see you felt the same way.''

Discreetly, Optimus pressed the small button on his wrist, sending the signal that it was Arcee and Bumblebee's turn.

Ratchet quickly recalibrated the groundbridge, and with precise calculations, he was able to open the groundbridge directly in the ship's core.

"Go now! We haven't got a moment to lose," Ratchet lightly shouted at the two.

Bumblebee and Arcee nodded, and quickly entered the groundbridge with the Spark Extractor in tow.

—

[SAHARA DESERT}

"I must say, I am quite surprised that you agreed to such a request. I know how protective you are of your pets."

The Autobots said nothing, not wanting to say something to make them seem suspicious.

Optimus spoke to break the silence, "You have what you want, now turn off the device."

"But of course," he turned on his comm unit, "Soundwave, destroy the device."

—

[NEMESIS]

"Bumblebee, help me get this thing attacked."

Arcee and Bumblebee had just made it to the very centre of the warship. Luckily they were able to avoid detection by Vehicon patrols.

They needed to plant the spark extractor directly in the middle of the ship to make sure that nothing could escape, not even the ship itself.

They managed to find a place to plant it where it is hidden, before Bumblebee opened his comms, "Ratchet, it's ready."

"Good. Opening the groundbridge now."

—

[SAHARA DESERT]

Megatron stared at the boy in the container, "I suppose it is best he isn't awake. Goodbyes would be hard, especially knowing you're giving him up."

Bulkhead seethed with anger, but tried his best not to show it, "Just get out of here."

Megatron laughed, before motioning for Starscream, Knockout, and Shockwave to enter the elevator, "I just want you to know that we won't kill the boy. He'll make a fine apprentice for Soundwave… or an experiment for Shockwave."

The elevator started rising, and with it Raf.

Optimus watched them, closing his fists as hard as he could in anger.

Wheeljack put his facemask down, "So… Now what do we do?"

Also putting his face mask down, the Prime sighed, "We wait."

—

[NEMESIS]

"Master… Are you certain it was worth all this trouble to capture a measly human?"

The boy had still been in a sleeping state, put in that way specifically so he doesn't know what happened.

Megatron smiled, "This boy isn't just a normal human. He is very intelligent for his age when it comes to technology. He could provide quite the tactical advantage, especially when working with Soundwave.''

The silent mech looked at the container, remembering the incident when the boy so easily hacked into CYLAS's laser-satellite weapon. He took the container in his servos.

"I will allow you two to get more acquainted. You will be working together quite often," Megatron walked away.

The warlord walked through the halls of his ship, his hands interlocked behind his back, daydreaming about the things he would do with two technological anomalies.

He felt good. He took something dear to the Autobots. He was certain that this was a striking blow, but he also knew that this would probably make them fight harder and stronger.

He wasn't able to put much thought into it as he heard a strange humming noise emanating from a room he passed.

Curious, he walked up to the door, "Who's in there?"

Of course, no answer came.

Now annoyed, he shouted, "Whoever is in here shall be punished severely for ignoring your master."

He typed in the code to open the door, only to find that it was an empty storage room.

Confused, he began to search for the source of the humming. No matter where he looked he couldn't find it.

"What in Unicron's name is that noise?"

He was about to confront Shockwave for him to investigate, until he looked up.

He didn't even get a chance to find out what it was before it detonated.

The result was instantaneous. As soon as it detonated, Megatron's spark was pulled from his body, and he was killed instantly.

As the blast made its way through the ship, the same result happened to every other mech in its path. Until the blast finally reached the ship's engine and spark, rendering the Nemesis dead.

The entire Decepticon army was killed in a matter of seconds.

—————————————————————————————

Raf was starting to come into consciousness. Rubbing his eyes, he sat up. The first thing he noticed was that it was pitch black.

"Where am I? B-Bumblebee? Arcee? Are you there?"

His voice was heard by no one. Trying to stand up, he hit his head on what felt like glass. He rubbed his head in pain.

"Hello?"

Terrified, he began to tremble. He was filled with confusion and fear.

"M-Mama… I want Mom…" He curled into fetal position and began to sob.

[OMEGA ONE]

"Optimus," Ratchet stared at the screen as the blip showing the Nemesis's spark disappeared, "It is done."

Everyone looked at the screen, half half in shock at what just happened, and half extremely happy. A several millennia long war had just ended in seconds.

Optimus didn't show any emotion, he hadn't decided whether or not they made the right decision or not.

Ratchet was extremely happy, finally, all of the Energon spilled in the Great War meant something.

Bulkhead and Wheeljack were ecstatic, as they openly celebrated the victory.

Smokescreen, Bumblebee, and Arcee were all indifferent. They were more focused on getting Raf back.

But Arcee was a little different. While she was glad that Megatron was dead, she wished she could have dealt with him her own way. Her only regret was not being able to make his death slow.

Optimus approached his team, "Now is no time to celebrate. Our mission is not yet over. Ratchet, open the groundbridge to the Nemesis crash site."

Opening the groundbridge, Ratchet gave them the good to go, "You had better bring him back, Optimus."

Looking back at his old friend, Optimus smiled, "I will bring him back, or I am not a Prime," they all walked through the groundbridge.

Walking into the Nemesis, all they could see was each other's blue optics. They brightened them to illuminate the space in front of them.

"Split up. We'll have a much better chance of finding Rafael,'' Optimus went down a large hallway.

Bulkhead looked around at the seemingly infinite hallways of the warship, "It could take us hours to find him."

Arcee stood next to Bumblebee, "Then we need to work fast. We'll go this way," the two went down one of the four hallways, while Bulkhead and Wheeljack went down one, and Smokescreen the other.

As they walked through the hallway, they noticed the deceased frames of vehicons scattered throughout the ship. Bumblebee spoke nervously, "Are they all… dead?"

"No one survives the spark extractor, Bee."

Bee couldn't help but still be a little scared, "So then what if Raf was…"

He didn't have time to ask the question before Arcee interrupted him, "Then I will never speak with Optimus again."

The scout started to feel somewhat guilty, "Don't you think… maybe this was a little too far?"

"No," her response was instant, "They sealed their graves the second they hurt Raf. But I think we should have done this as soon as we stole the spark extractor…"

Bumblebee thought for a moment. The Decepticons had no trouble hurting or even killing others for their own personal goals, and now here were the Autobots wiping out the entire Decepticon army. Did that make them as bad as the Decepticons, or was this really necessary? His question answered itself.

They made it to the cockpit of the Nemesis. There, they saw several Vehicons, along with the corpses of Knockout, Starscream, Shockwave, and Soundwave.

Arcee saw Starscream, kicking his dead body, "Fragger."

Her look of anger disappeared when she saw the container next to Soundwave, with Raf inside facing away from them. She and Bee immediately ran to it.

"Raf!"

The boy noticed the container being opened, and turned to see 2 sets of blue optics. With tears in his eyes, he smiled, immediately knowing who they belonged to, "Mom, Dad!"

Arcee didn't even take the time to correct him. She was too happy to have Raf back.

Bumblebee was shaking in happiness, "Raf… I'm so glad you're okay…"

The two mechs both held the boy as he cuddled into them, seeking comfort as the two mechs did as well.

In a shaky voice, Arcee spoke into the comm. Unit, "We found Raf."

Optimus closed his optics and smiled, quietly praying to the Primes, "Thank Primus…"

Wheeljack opened his comms, "Is the kid alright?''

"He's even more shaken up than he already was… But physically, he has no injuries," Bumblebee looked at his human son in his servos, hugging one of his digits. He was lighter than a feather was to a human.

"We need to find an exit. When we are all out Ratchet will open a groundbridge back to base," Optimus closed his comm unit along with the rest of them.

Raf looked up at the 2 mechs, "Mom, Dad… Where are we?"

Arcee shivered at being called that again, her spark fluttered faster, "We're on the Nemesis. Megatron got you, but… We got you back, and now he'll never hurt you, or any of us again."

Small, brown eyes looked up at her, "R-Really? You mean…"

"Yes, Megatron's gone, as well as probably every other Decepticon, in this world at least," Bumblebee gave him a smile.

"So… No more war?"

They could have melted at his innocence and cuteness right there on the spot.

"No more war," Bumblebee held the boy against the side of his faceplates, "We're at peace."

So, in the presence of his surrogate mother and father, Raf cried. Not in sadness like he has been, no, this time in joy, for a new family has been created, a family of Autobots.

A new age of happiness was about to start for everyone, and finally, Cybertronians and humans could live together peacefully.