AngelicCrossplay: I think I would have learned by now, but unfortunately I have not. Here's to another story~! I hope you all enjoy. And yes, even I have a soft spot for Bot!Sam stories… So I apologize to anyone who might have expected another update to His Gaze Denotes Love. I'm still working on part three of chapter four, so do not fear!

Disclaimer- I do not own Transformers, because it actually belongs to Hasbro/Takara, Michael Bay, and Paramount Pictures. I am not making any monetary profit, rather the only profit I can claim to achieving is the strengthening of my writing skills. The title comes from the awesome song Liberi Fataliby Nobuo Uematsu, which I also don't own. The meaning is 'from the days of destiny,' from the English translation I found. I thought it was fitting. But yes, I don't own that either. Also, the concept of seekers having programming that causes them to drop everything and protect/care for a sparkling in distress does not belong to me. I can't exactly remember who owns the idea, but it certainly isn't mine. I am integrating some of that idea into the story here because I find it to be a really cool idea that I wish was canon. XP

Dedication: to all those who enjoy this, and to my good friend Sarah, who is my Sideswipe. I would not have it any other way.

Summary- An AU story that takes place during and after ROTF with G1 characters included. Megatron's blast didn't kill Sam instantly. After Optimus is revived, Sam finally succumbs to his life-threatening injuries. The first Transformers decide to give Sam a second chance… as a sparkling seeker.

Note: I will have a poll up on my profile later on where one can vote on who Sam will be paired with in the distant future. I don't really know who I want with him right now. XD Established pairings: RatchetxWheeljack, ThundercrackerxSkywarp, future SkyfirexStarscream. These characters that are mentioned here are critical to the story's plot, and will have a hand in raising Sam. This means that they will be out of the running for Sam's affection later on.

Diebus Fatalibus

Chapter One: Lift the Wings

"Speech"

'Thought'

'Cybertronian speech'

'Song lyrics'

In the sands of Egypt, Outside the Pyramids-

Normal POV

The sand burned. No, it was not the sun that burned Sam Witwicky, but the damned awful sand. It got into every orifice- coating the inside of his mouth and his tongue, stung the delicate lining of his nose, littered his ears, and irritated his eyes.

And most of all, it set all of his wounds aflame with even more pain.

He was dimly aware that he had just flown meters through the air after getting clipped by Megatron's fusion cannon. No, it wasn't a direct hit- he would have been dead- but the blast had collided with the rocks and sand near his feet, with the offending projectiles ricocheting off and slamming against him. He had fallen to the ground after sailing quite a distance, and could feel the horrible, agonizingly painful sensation of an invading presence; a large piece of rock was lodged in his chest, perilously close to his heart. Even worse was the blood, it was everywhere. It was gushing out of every wound, every scratch was now considered a dangerous adversary, soaking into his clothing and feeding the grains beneath him.

He had heard Mikaela screaming for him to get up, could now see her pretty face over his begging for him to arise. There was still a battle going on, and loud booms from the many cannons and explosives colliding with their targets made Sam wonder if he was going deaf. He certainly was numb to much of what Mikaela was saying, but the important mission he had given himself weighed heavily on his mind.

Bring Optimus back.

It took forever, it seemed, to pull himself into a sitting position, then to his knees. Swaying, threatening to topple back onto the shifting bed of gold, Sam could only concentrate on the mission at hand. He had to bring Optimus back, for the earth, for the Autobots, for everyone, for himself.

It was his fault Optimus had died.

The least he could do is bring the planet's savior back to where he belonged, with the living, and to his friends.

If he could do that, then he wouldn't mind dropping on the ground and taking a nap.

He rose to his feet, and upon taking one step nearly fell once more. His left leg was mangled, and oh did it ever hurt just to stand! Even if he had to crawl, he needed to make it to the Prime's side.

With every step he took, drops of blood rained down. He could barely hear Lennox's cry for medics, or Mikaela demanding to be by his side, but was instead held back by Epps. He was concentrated on his goal.

'I'll bring you back.'Sam dropped to his knees before the Prime, and with the sock filled with the Matrix's essence gripped between his teeth, he clambered onto Optimus. If he had to describe the journey, to him, he would compare it to climbing Mount Everest. Incredibly exhausted, mortally injured, and somewhat deaf, Sam was only living for one reason presently. After he made it to Optimus's chest, he dropped the sack of Matrix grains, which burst on contact and formed into a spiraling diamond-shaped metal object. Sam could hear the whispers of ancient voices stemming from it, but paid no heed.

He had a job to do.

Matrix in hand, he raised it above his head with a cry and thrust it into Optimus's spark chamber. Electricity arced and spread in waves across the great leader's chest as it jump-started Optimus's spark, turning the once dull spark chamber into a full house of glowing blue energy. It was quite unlike anything Sam had ever seen before, and he watched with awe.

With a gasp, gray optics became a valiant sapphire blue; the Prime's systems were activated and Sam could hear and feel the vibrations of them as they began to work. Optimus coughed, spitting out a piece of metal, and jarred Sam from his position on his chest.

Sam let out a pained moan, his chest hurt even more now and since his goal had been accomplished, awareness came back to him slowly, heightening the fact that he was bleeding to death and feeling it too. The sensation of energy slowly seeping out through blazing fields of pain made Sam aware of just how tired he was. The life he had was leaving him, and the thought weighed down upon him like lead weights as Sam slid off Optimus's chest back onto the sand.

"Boy… You came back for me." Sam looked up to see the grateful optics of Optimus Prime, which made his heart swell with pride. He had accomplished something that would benefit everyone now, the Autobots had their leader back, and he would save the day, he just knew it. Optimus was the superhero who was back from the dead to fight the ultimate evil… usually stronger.

But this situation proved to be different.

Sam and the other Autobots were too late to do anything when long and ancient face of the Fallen made himelf apparent right next to Optimus. Having the ability to warp, he had shown up in a matter of seconds and tugged the Matrix back out of Optimus's spark chamber. The Fallen crooned sinisterly, "my Matrix," and with a sneer, he warped with it back towards the sun harvester, leaving Optimus to fall to his knees and groan as his beacon of energy was taken away, clutching at his chest in obvious pain.

It tore at Sam, who felt as if everything he had just accomplished would be for nothing unless something happened. A powerful uprising of emotions within him made him determined to live until Optimus was functioning normally, he couldn't watch him die, not again! "OPTIMUS!!!!! Get up!!!" He cried, even though it hurt so badly to do so.

If it hadn't been for Jetfire's sacrifice, Ratchet's ingenuity and Jolt's mastery over his electrowhips, Optimus would have succumbed to death yet again. But no, now with the added power of Jetfire's parts and weapons, Optimus looked ready to perform the hero's most valiant task- defeat the villain to save the world. With one of his signature quotes uttered ("Let's roll"), Optimus took flight to engage in a fight that proved to be awe-inspiring to all optics that weren't currently trained on beating the slag out of a Decepticon.

It was through this acute sense of faith and trust that Sam knew the battle would be won, and he smiled softly. It wasn't a smile of regret, or sadness. It was one of acknowledgement.

His end was near.

Mikaela shrilled loudly when she saw Sam fall to the ground from her view, stuck in a forced hold in Epps's muscular arms. "Sam!!!! Someone help him!"

Human medics ran up to the boy's body, with a helicopter landing nearby, ready to take Sam to a medical facility. He was gasping for breath now, finding even what seemed to be the most mundane of tasks such as breathing to be difficult. There were cries of alarm all around him, as he could see the horrified looks upon his parents' faces, Mikaela's, Epps's, even Will's, and the heartbroken expression on Bumblebee's face, who seemed to be the only bot who had noticed Sam's state. He cracked a smile, his only message he had left to give them: 'everything will be alright.'

That was the last time he saw their faces before he was shuttled into the helicopter and airlifted away from the scene of battle. Sam could hear the sounds of the equipment the medics used to try and save him, the harsh noise of the blood pressure machine, the slowing of beeps echoing from the heart monitor, and the whirs of the propeller blades that kept them aloft. He could hear their voices and the other noises gradually fade away…

"We're losing him!"

"Blood pressure dropping…"

And then everything went dark, even though he could clearly see the faces of all those he cared about flash through his mind one last time before he stopped fighting, he stopped trying to live, and soon all was quiet.

The senior medic solemnly looked down at his hands even as he quietly asked, "the time of death?"

"1:06 PM."

"We should bring the body back. Message relay says his parents were there." Another medic remarked from behind steel-rimmed glasses.

"I suppose we c-" the senior medic was cut off when the lights within the helicopter began to flicker on and off, machines began to fail, and things shook inside the machine. "Everyone remain calm!"

As soon as the medic finished his sentence, everything went completely dark after a wave of silver particles slammed into the side of the helicopter, even phasing through the interior. It knocked out all of the lights, just for a moment.

When the lights flickered back on a moment later, Sam's body was gone.

In a realm beyond reach, it wasn't often that the original Transformers had company. They had taken Sam's destiny into their servos, and so, brought the boy's body to them.

"His body is still warm." One muttered as he scanned the boy's body, whose wounds were still sluggishly bleeding.

"His death was not in vain. He has saved Optimus, our last descendant." Another murmured in a gravelly voice.

"Yet he was so young. If he were one of us, he would still be a sparkling."One of the large cybertronians looked at Sam's face with a mournful sigh. The loss of sparklings made the war-torn world of the cybertronians a much darker place. "He shouldn't have died."

"I agree. Even so, I can see his soul has not left his body…" One of the others who hadn't spoken yet had decided to add to the conversation. "We could do something about it."

"Are you suggesting that we bring him back?" A shorter Transformer asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"It is the least we can do." One of them remarked. "Let us give him life once more."

"But his soul is already leaving his body. It will not go back to it." The first Transformer that had spoken pointed out. "The human soul is quite similar to a Spark… the energy it gives off is much lower than a spark, but it needs only to be strengthened. If we could provide the energy…"

The transformer who had mourned the loss of sparklings seemed to brighten at this. "Then he could be brought back. As a sparkling, I hope?"

The others were amused by the previous comment, but did not show their amusement. Finally, the remaining transformer who had not yet said anything spoke in a commanding tone. "It shall be done." Bending over Sam's fallen body, he sent a burst of energy to Sam's drifting soul, energizing it and causing it to grow in size. It had been a white speck to the optics of the Primes, but now it was a small (but still bigger than it was before) blue spark, that began to bob up and down. The transformer who adored sparklings cooed to Sam's spark, which zipped from side to side in excitement. But before it could wander towards him, it was caged within a casing that was tinted purple. Confused, it began to beat upon the glass-like substance, trying to get out.

"He needs a protoform," one commented. "I recommend a Seeker form. There are very few of them now."

The one who had changed Sam's soul into a spark watched Sam's spark flutter and zoom from within its casing with interested optics. "One who longs to fly free. I agree. He shall be a Seeker." With mutterings of approval presented by the others, the transformer began to form a body. He started by summoning all the materials they would need to form each and every part of Sam's new body. Once the parts arrived, he commanded the others to do certain tasks as he began to start working on integrating delicate circuits together, forming Sam's core processor among other parts of the neural wire network that would allow Sam to think and command his body to move. Another mech began to help him, which sped up the process, however this was still a delicate procedure, so the two of them worked carefully.

Another started work on the vital components of a transformer's body- filling up a fuel tank with energon before attaching it to other wires that would circulate it and mech fluid through other wires. He would then start on the heating and cooling systems once he was finished.

Two transformers were fashioning the external parts, such as the servos and stabilizing servos, the legs, arms, torso, and the head, carving features that would impress and endear others to his new body, adding sensor nodes to the metal flesh. Then they would install what was essentially the muscular system of the Transformer, the parts that would support the external parts and protect the essential internal pieces of cybertronian anatomy.

The second to last Prime made small yet powerful data chips that would allow the storage of memory files as well as the transforming cog, and the gyro (that would allow Sam to fly in his alt mode) while the remaining Prime installed the core programming that held such systems as the self-repair system, firewall and security systems, interface data (THAT would be locked away until Sam was at LEAST in his third frame), optical system, audio system, among many others. When the others weren't looking, the mech who was in charge of the data chips created one that would be stored in a small chamber in his arm that could be used to store a few spare data chips. It held Sam's name, and stated that he was to be raised by the Autobots, when he would regain his memories, among other things. It would prove to come in handy later.

The whole process took joors to finish, but when it was finished, Sam's spark chamber was finally integrated with the body, and came online. When the weary Primes gazed upon the tiny sparkling, they felt a great sense of accomplishment fill them when he turned to them and made adorable clicking noises. While he was online, Sam's old memories from his time as a human were nearly gone. Only life-changing memories of great importance had imprinted upon Sam's soul, and those were locked in a memory archive of high security. They would only be accessible when Sam was older, around his third frame, as they surmised that he would be ready to receive them. For now, Sam was a child again. An incredibly cute one, at that.

The sparkling was a silvery-white mess with blue lining his little wings, light green paint around the area where the cockpit of his future alt mode would reside, black covering his head, servos, and stabilizing servos. His optics were a bright and shining blue, showing the true nature of his soul- he was an Autobot down to his spark. Sam chirped up to them from his spot on the ground, holding up his servos in the hopes that someone would pick him up.

A Prime made moves towards indulging the little mech, but was denied by the gentle servos that gripped his wrists. "You cannot allow him to become attached to you. It is time that we send him back to where he belongs."

"I suppose you are right."The mech replied reluctantly, not happy with the development. At least they had managed to accomplish what they set out to do.

Sam, who was unhappy with the fact that no one was picking him up, began to cry in distress. They winced- they were happy that there was not an adult seeker nearby, or they'd be slagged. They were so distracted by the thought that when they gathered enough energy to make a Space bridge to send him away in, that they accidentally changed its destination without realizing their mistake until the distressed cries of Sam disappeared from sight and sound.

"Did we just send him to Cybertron?" One asked, with an expression of self-depreciation present on his facial plates.

"We did."

An astrosecond of silence reigned until all of the mechs swore in unison, "oh slag."

With all the joors that had passed while Sam's new body was being made, several things had taken place. One was that Megatron had his aft handed to him and was still recovering from his beating in his room from their stronghold on Cybertron. Starscream was repaired by an unwilling Hook, but repaired nonetheless. Currently, he was flying in the sky above the many buildings over a distant (yet still not far if he flew at his fastest speed back to the base) part of Cybertron, trying to forget the reason for his pain in his spark.

He remembered upon arriving back on Cybertron when he was tackled by a sobbing Skywarp and a distressed Thundercracker, he had demanded to know what was wrong. He ignored his injuries in favor of comforting his trine, because he for one had never seen Skywarp cry such large amounts of lubricant before, and the tears were tinged with energon, judging from the pearly pink sheen. That indicated a great amount of emotional stress, which in turn affected the mech or femme's body. Skywarp only choked out, "t-the sparklings… they're all dead… all of them."

Pure dread had gripped Starscream's spark as he immediately shifted into his alt mode, despite his pain, and flew to the wide room that had housed the sparklings that they had managed to find and try to raise. But due to the lack of energon on Cybertron, all of them had perished. Starscream had screeched his pain and had to be put into stasis lock in order to treat his injuries (as well as save the audio receptors of everyone in the vicinity- he wasn't called 'Screamer' for nothing). Thundercracker watched over not only Starscream, but the depressed form of his sparkmate, trying to hold it together for them both.

When Starscream had awoken earlier that orn, he had flown off to try to forget his pain. He remembered spending so much time putting together the bodies for the sparks that they would house, putting precious time and resources into building Cybertron's future while Megatron was dead.

Now they were all gone.

But as Starscream would learn, not all was lost.

He'd been flying lower than normal, almost wanting to destroy anything (Primus, he'd even take on Prime in his advanced state from the last battle if he knew he would make it out alive) to get rid of some of his sadness and anger, but he would be better off saving that rage for the Autobots, whenever they chose to attack next.

When the sounds of heavy crying reached his audio receptors, Starscream nearly crashed into a building in his shock, only managing to avert the metallic structure at the last minute. Landing on top of a collapsed tower, he strained his receptors, trying to pick up the noise. Surely it couldn't be a sparkling… they were all dead, and there was hardly a mech to be seen out in this destroyed sector, let alone a femme. He was going to dismiss it as a malfunction of his circuits until he heard the crying start up even louder. Determined to find out the source of the crying, Starscream searched extensively among the ruins slowly as he could.

He'd almost given up until he was able to lock onto the heat signature that the young cybertronian had; and to his surprise, it really wasa sparkling- a very, very young one that looked as if it were created barely more than an orn before. Before he knew what ran through his processor, he had powered down, landed, and had the sparkling in his arms within a klick, instantly trying to soothe it.

That damnable part of his core programming had done it again. Starscream couldn't deny that he did have a soft spark for sparklings, but he didn't like everyone knowing. Doubtless Megatron would take advantage if he knew. And that was something Starscream couldn't risk. He would have to leave it.

But as he stared at the tiny mech, he could feel his previous thought leave his mind within an astrosecond. The small face of the blue-optic'd sparkling had broadened into a smile as it clicked at him, happy to see that someone finally found him. The sparkling reached forward and curled up against Starscream's warm chassis, content as it continued to click and warble endearingly. Starscream found his resolve weakening even more when he discovered the sparkling had little wings, proving that he was a Seeker, just like him and his trine.

Starscream's claws lightly touched the tiny wings, running up and down them and its back, knowing that it soothed the sparkling. He was right when the sparkling cooed in happiness as it rested its head against Starscream's chest, over where it knew the spark chamber to be. It was confident that he wouldn't be left alone again, and was fully prepared to go recharge in his new guardian's arms.

The Seeker couldn't believe that there was an actual living sparkling right in his arms. He'd thought that all others had perished, since there were so few femmes left and war wasn't an ideal time for two mechs to have a sparkling. It was the only reason Thundercracker and Skywarp hadn't had a sparkling of their own yet- that, and the materials required to build a sparkling's body were harder and harder to find now that Cybertron's population was a far cry from the millions of mechs and femmes that lived there. Femmes were in even shorter supply; for every femme that could possibly be living, there were at least 20 mechs to proceed her. Megatron had most of them killed when he raided the sectors so long ago. This was a really glitchy thing of him to do, as femmes had the ability and abundant materials from the kibble on their own bodies for the sparkling to use and form its own chassis. Mechs who wanted to have sparklings had to build bodies to house the developing spark in. Starscream couldn't tell if this sparkling was built by its creators or if it was born from a femme's body, but either way, he wasn't going to leave the sparkling alone.

He sent Thundercracker and Skywarp a message via their integrated private commlink that he had set up for extensive use between his trine. He told them his position, and didn't say much, only that they had to be there within five breems or he would frag them up.

Needless to say, they arrived in three breems.

As Thundercracker's thrusters touched the ground, he transformed, along with Skywarp, who seemed to have calmed down from his earlier emotional breakdown. Giving Starscream a confused look, he asked, "what is this about?"

Starscream let the recharging sparkling in his arms come within optic-view. "Does this answer your question, Thundercracker?"

Skywarp nearly screeched louder than Starscream on a bad day. "Is that… a sparkling?! Is it alive?!"

"Shut up, you fool! Of course it is." Starscream hissed at him as he held the sparkling protectively. Even though he knew the other seekers meant no harm, he didn't want the sparkling to online its optics just yet- it needed to recharge.

"But how?" Skywarp asked, shocked beyond belief. "It… does it have any Creators around?"

Thundercracker scanned the area and found no other signs of life. "It doesn't seem like it. There are no others around here besides us."

"Does this mean… we are to care for it?" Skywarp asked hopefully, red optics shining with uncharacteristic hope.

Starscream was silent for a few astroseconds as he gazed at the sparkling's tiny form. The sparkling was so young, so fragile; if he added a slight amount of pressure to the arms he had wrapped around the little mechs' body, it would snap faster than Skywarp's all-time record for stupid comebacks to one of the seekers's insults. He turned to look his trinemates in the optics, and answered his wingmate with a serious tone to his voice. "He will be our charge… for now. But if Megatron finds out that he is alive… I fear what will become of him."

"We'll tear him apart if he harms the sparkling," Thundercracker's deep voice grumbled from within his vocal capacitor.

"He'll be safe as long as no one else learns of his existence." Starscream murmured pointedly. "That means that he is hidden from view at all times. Everyone else knows about the fate of the other sparklings." At the last statement, all of the seekers' optics dulled, each feeling the loss grip their very sparks with great depression. But when they looked at the shifting sparkling, who made a squeaking noise in his recharge, each of them were forced to the present. There was still one life they could save.

"We'll do what is best for the sparkling," Thundercracker pledged, with Skywarp nodding fervently, joining in with Thundercracker's next sentence. "Whatever happens, his wellbeing comes before our own." Their optics seemed to glow with an inner fire of great determination, prompted by the vulnerability of the sparkling and their last failures. The would not fail again.

Finally Starscream added to the pledge, his own optics glimmering in the same way, with each of them saying the exact same thing in almost perfect unison- the effect of their programming and their deep bond within their trine- "for he is the future, and we shall treat him as our own."

With their pact made, the three seekers took off towards the base, with Sam safely recharging in the arms of Starscream, oblivious to what his future might hold…

End of Chapter One

AC: and the first chapter is done~! Nope, not even the first Transformers/Primes are perfect. We ALL screw up sometimes. I'm pleased with how this turned out so far. Expect this to be a very longfanfic. I tend to write long chapters when it comes to my favorite subject matter- transformers. This is probably the shortest chapter you'll see in this fanfic. Right now my mind's going a million miles an hour, so I might just plow ahead and write another chapter within a day or so… time permitting. Anyway, please tell me what you think. I thrive off of reviews and constructive criticism. Any questions you may have either put into a review or send in a private message- I will do my best to answer. Until next time!