This time he knew he was dead. But strangely, there was a calmness about his conclusion as if he had long accepted it. Or perhaps having already died as a human, Sam's body was, oddly enough, able to recognize the sensation. There was no going back now, and all that awaited Sam was Earth. But Sam was left with confusion as he glanced at his surroundings. This was not the ruins of Cybertron with its barren sand and ash that covered the surrounding premise. It was different, yet, at the same time, completely the same.

Sam paused.

He found himself staring at human hands. His hands. He was human again."Why me?"

He was back with the Allspark floating aimlessly beside him. "You are special."

"But why? I've been following Orion Pax, I watched as Optimus Prime gained ranks, lead the war, hell, I watched Megatron's corruption! Why is everything following the same exact course of history as last time? Nothing has changed! Absolutely nothing!" Sam could feel himself breathing hard, the exertion, the frustration, the anger.

The cube spun in midair once. "Everything has changed."

Sam frowned and opened his mouth to retaliate otherwise but was shocked into silence by the sudden realization that slowly dawned upon him. "No," he whispered almost frantically in a disparaging voice. "No, it's not possible."

"It is," the Allspark insisted, glowing lines lightly buzzing against the ashen gray background of the planet. Suddenly all the weird moments of déjà vu didn't seem so innocent any more. The strange memories of moments that have never happened suddenly all seemed to make sense. "But how? I … how many lives have I lived?" Because the only explanation now was that Sam had gone to the past before, that somewhere, centuries ago, millenniums ago, the future had been worse, and Sam had stopped it. But the future had still remained bleak and now Sam was trapped in an encirclement continuously saving a dying planet again and again as the Allspark deemed fit.

How old was he? How many lives had he lived before this one? How many years of memories wiped clean each time he was reborn? What even was he anymore? Was he human, was he a bot, or was he a simple pawn of the Allspark's game?

Sam stared at his hands, grabbing at his face, covering his ears, and cowering away in fear at the mere thought of it all. Was this real? Was any of this even him? Suddenly, Sam found himself consumed by anger as he reached forward intent on crushing the Allspark, but the cube merely floated away, dancing out of his reach. Not that he could have hurt it anyway.

"How long have you done this to me!?"

"Seven times. This is your seventh chance at life, and this will have be your seventh attempt at saving the universe. Each time the planet survives a little longer compared to the last before it all comes back to chaos. Six times before you, your predecessors have failed me."

Sam bit his lip from attempting to swear angrily at the cube, retorting in a burst of anger, but instead hissed quietly under his breath. "Nothing has changed from the last attempt, what makes you think it would change now?"

The cube continued to float innocently. The soft hue of it's sides being the only colored object in the entire dimension at which they stood. "This time, I will let you keep your memories."

This was ludicrous! It was ridiculous and stupid and utterly foolish! He was done speaking with this thing that insisted on destroying everything. Sam was about to leave when he felt a gentle presence against his mind as if it knew his inner thoughts, and really, it probably did. "This is your true form, every time you come here, you have always appeared in this form, so do not fear as you, Samuel James Witwicky, have always been human, and if it will put your mind at ease, the first time I met you, seven life cycles ago, Optimus Prime had long died, and you found me, protected me against forces that you didn't understand. Your family dead, your loved ones gone, and swarms of armies pitted against your life, yet you refused to surrender, and you protected me. For that I am eternally grateful, for the you, so many years ago, the first you, held a powerful spark that I could never recreate, a passion that I still see in your soul today, no matter how many lives you have lived. That is why I chose you. That is why it has to be you, and I know that I have said you failed me, but Samuel James Witwicky, you have never failed me."

All Sam's Cybertronian existence he had hated the Allspark, what it represented and what it had done to him, yet now he felt his own human heart waver in pity for he knew no pain compared to the Allspark. To watch as its savior forgot, the friendship forged dying away with each new future that it attempted to create, each new parallel universe that changed the outcomes of life and death, watching its own children kill themselves, watching everything it loved fight and die because of itself, to know it had spawned war and grew hatred from its own power, and finally, for the one person it had confided in, to hate it.

No, Sam could not forgive, not yet, when the pain still shone strongly, his own human emotions far to bitter to let go, but one day, perhaps, when the two of them finally saved the universe, finally got it right together, maybe then they could rekindle the first friendship struck so many lifetimes ago.

"Because of you, I've lived a life in total war far more than I've tasted peace," Sam whispered softly trying to disperse the sudden fluctuation of anger as the taste of revenge left a copper tang in his mouth. He then let out a deep sigh thinking back to Megatron and all the pent up rage and unforgotten vendettas. It was best not to repeat past mistakes. "But if we're done, I would like to return to my world again," Sam declared, more tired than anything else, and yet.

"Are you going back to a home where nobody's waiting? That world you come from no longer exists. The people you once knew and loved have faded with the dust. There is nothing left for you there," the Allspark continued and Sam was remotely aware that, for all its infinite wisdom and wealth of knowledge, the Allspark itself had strangely become humanly tired of all this.

Sam turned around to stare at the cube and dully noted its fading edges. It suddenly seemed so ancient. "I'll protect everyone I love. I'll make sure there's life back at home and someone to greet me when I finally get there."

The Allspark glowed softly as the dust began to churn, billowing against each other, reversing, and slowly reforming into objects. Solid objects of stone that had once eroded, then buildings that had once decayed. Skyscrapers of crystalline glass slowly building itself up. The sky turning from blackened ash and pollutant red into a shimmering haze of baby blue. The world slowly repaired itself, and Sam sat in the middle of it all in utter amazement. Then it stopped. And the world began again.

Sam turned to the Allspark that continued to float, unseen, among the reconstructed Earth. "Thank you, for this second chance," Sam whispered quietly as he felt his own body beginning to disintegrate with the gentle breeze.

The Allspark then floated towards him. "Good luck, Samuel James Witwicky."

It was burning hot today and Sam could feel beads of sweat racing down his back before being absorbed into the fabric of his shirt. With a frown, he grabbed the edges to wipe the sweat off his brow before resigning himself to his ill fated future. At least his future for the next few hours before Will and Epps could get the dang AC to start working again.

But that didn't seem likely.

So instead, to distract himself from the sun's onslaught, Sam watched Bee draw circles and weaves in the ground, occasionally blowing leaves and debris out of the way through his vents. Sam, standing by the large bot, leaned forward on his knees to see what the mech was doing. The said bot drawing a large b into the dusted ground, and, upon seeing an e follow after, Sam expected another e to follow the first in quick succession only to pause when Bee did not spell his name but rather another word entirely. This word followed by a second than a third until finally, before the end, stood out prominently against the ground.

Sam blinked in confusion. "Hey Buddy. What is this?" he asked Bee, but the tall mech seemed oddly silent. Upon receiving no response, Sam sighed and began to clamber onto the other's arm before reaching his helm and trying to jump onto that as well if it wasn't for Bee stopping him. Sam was briefly thankful that the bionic skin didn't immediately fry off his own before turning his full attention to the yellow titan. "What's wrong?" he asked while staring determinedly into the other's optics. The strange metal ridges shrinking and widening like a puppy's own dropping eyes.

"Not sure myself," Bee hummed quietly back though his frame seemed to sag forward as if protecting his own writing from the scorching rays. "Just something we've been trying to decode ever since the fall of Cybertron, and now that we can read it, leaving only more unanswered questions."

Sam nodded his head in understanding while staring at the strange, chicken-scratch scrawl of the words now etched against the ground in perfect computer font clearly having been driven from Bee's own memories multiple times. He said nothing while the other only continued to stare at the words forlornly as if their secrets would come dancing out if he tried hard enough. But it seemed he had done that trick before, and like every other time, it ended in utter failure. Sam smiled softly, placating the other with another gentle pat on his arm. "You should rest. You definitely deserve it. Besides, I need to go get Prime for a meeting with Say more Slim Jim anyway."

"Don't you mean Seymour Simmons?"

"Whatever," Sam rebutted though Bee only gave him a pointed look. "Revenge is petty," Bee scolded though Sam only stuck his tongue out at the other resulting in the mech's small huff of laughter. Sam then smiled slightly in relief. Bee's happiness was well worth the price of Simmons' angry rants once word got to him. Though honestly the Sector Seven agent deserved a taste of his own medicine.

"But I'll go with you," Bee declared, already getting up and holding Sam in the palm of his large servo. Dwarfed and stumbling from the sudden earthquake of movement, Sam frowned in annoyance. "Give it a rest Bee. I'll be just fine walking around the compounds by myself. The air conditioner may be broken, but the security is on point."

Bee hesitated before leaning down to let Sam hop off his elevated servo. The blessed ground meeting him with a slight huff. "Thanks Buddy!" Sam shouted at the other, and without waiting for a response, ran off for a head start before his bodyguard could catch wind of where he was going.

It was a slight jog before Sam reached the edge of the compound and headed towards the cliff side as the sun began to set. The reds and golds mingled in a haze with the darkening sky in some blurred reflection. The clouds were painted pink like floating cotton over the horizon and Sam sighed softly upon seeing the large semi truck parked against the back drop.

"Simmons wants you to attend a meeting with some officials in about half an hour," Sam stated calmly while walking up to the other and clambering on to the large mech's hood. Optimus said nothing for a long moment as Sam settled down against the nose of the truck before responding, "I will join in a few minutes." It was probably the way he said it that alerted Sam to his sudden forlorn mood or perhaps Sam was just merely good at perceiving the other's sometimes hidden emotions. But regardless, Sam could feel the heavy burden of sadness that weighed upon the other, and for a long moment he just stared at the Prime before once again resting against the fleshed metal and watching the clouds drift aimlessly into the darkening sky. "You don't mind if I stay here with you then?" Sam asked although his posture already dictated his expected response.

Optimus only chuckled good naturedly. It was warm and almost lulled Sam to sleep as the Prime added, "Of course not. Your presence is always a welcome addition."

They stayed like that for a moment longer as the air became cooler and Sam could feel the clinging sweat evaporate into the sweetened air.

"What are dreams?"

Sam startled at the question. The sudden silence gone, yet the peace remained untouched. "I wasn't aware that bots had dreams."

"We don't, usually. But I remember a friend, no, a brother, once showed me beautiful, colorful images, vivid and powerful with emotions that flashed through your processor as you shut down."

Sam smiled softly. "Is that so? Well dreams are hidden desires. It's what makes you human."

There was another, thoughtful pause. "Do you think my friend had such desires?"

Sam closed his eyes, thinking back to the peace, the heartache, and the pain of his past lives. "I'm sure he did."

Optimus said nothing, letting the silence resume as he paused to think.

Dreams are what make you human.

My friend showed me what its like to be human. For just a moment he showed me a dream, the color of a human's soul.

AN- While inadvertently saving Bee's voice, Sam still believes this to be the one thing he did right. Also, Sam finally answers Optimus' question fully in another life. Oh, and Bee keeps his promise not to forget Ante Finem.

Finally! It's finished. Ugh. What a long journey, but there were definitely some fun moments. I would be lying if I said I didn't fully enjoy it, even with my months of writer's block. That being said, I'm still not entirely happy with this and some additional chapters. So, I'm sorry if anything didn't reach your expectations. On a side note, I have a tendency to jump around fandoms quite a bit, but Transformers has one of the most supportive groups I have ever had the joy of meeting. Thank you so much for all your comments and for every single favorite and follow. Your feedback and support was appreciated and motivated me to improve my writing!