Looks at the number of reviews *clutches heart* *LOUD NOISES*

Gia's Soul: Thank you for the lovely review and I agree with you completely about OC stories generally. And Optimus x Anna is slowly being developed though it's kind of now at a point where it's very slowly starting to shift into something a little more than respect/admiration for each other. Hopefully I won't disappoint you with their development.

DISCLAIMER: I have no witty things to say for this chapter. My joy about the change in director for T5 is still overwhelming me. Suffice to say, Transformers will never be mine.

Pain seared through my body as I collapsed against what I assumed was a medical bed. Peoples' shouts echoed all around me as I tried to figure out where I was. Bright light was shining above me, blinding me from seeing anything around me, everything blurring into specks of colour; shifting and unclear. There was not an inch of my skin that did not hurt. I took a deep shaky breath and cringed from the pain that burned through my limbs like a wildfire. With half-numb, half-frozen fingers I quickly ripped off the breathing mask that was still half hanging on my face—the rubbery plastic falling out of my fingers and I blinked desperately as it hit the ground with a dull thud. I felt someone touch my shoulder, urging me to relax. How could I? Where was everyone? Sam? Mikaela? Bee?

"S-Sam," my voice was hoarse with disuse; it felt like I have swallowed a handful of dirt, a bitter taste lingering on my tongue. Everything was chaos and the pain was too much, I tried feebly to call for Sam once more, but darkness overtook me before I could.

(Later)

I had no idea what time it was when I opened my eyes again. It was very silent wherever I was. The only noise I could hear was the beeping machines beside me and my own heart beating. Swallowed a lump in my throat, I blinked slowly in effort to clear my hazy vision. Thank God for whoever was smart enough to remove that stupid light from my face. This time my vision was clearer and I could make out general shapes in the room as they came slowly to focus. A small groan escaped my lips when I tried to turn my head and look around.

"I see you are awake."

I jumped slightly at the calm voice; flinching abruptly when a flash of pain travelled through my body. I twisted my head slightly to the right and saw Optimus sitting beside me. Sam was behind him, laying on a small couch, Mikaela at his side, her head resting on his shoulder as they both slept peacefully. Ratchet and Bee where there too, they seemed to be sleeping too, their bright blue optics now dull blue.

"Optimus?"

My voice was still scratchy, but the words seemed to come easier now. Optimus nodded his head slowly; he seemed relieved that I even recognized him and spoke. Like it was so easy to forget 10 tons of metal alien. I lifted my hand, staring at the white bandages wrapped tightly around it, and slowly brought my fingers to my face. I winced when I accidently poked a bruise on my cheek, but after slowly tracing my face with my fingertips, I sighed in relief. I was hurt as hell, but I was still in one piece. Somehow.

"I—I'm alive," I whispered, awed by the realization. I glanced at Optimus glad to see that he was also fine after his fight with Megatron. Or maybe…"Or we're both dead." I added, bluntly.

Amusement shone in his optics for a moment. "I assure you, Anna, we're both very much alive."

I exhaled slowly, trying my hardest not to hurt myself in the process. I decided to ask the question I was dreading the most, "How long was I out for?"

"Out? Anna you were here the entire time." Optimus intoned very slowly.

If I wasn't in so much pain I would have laughed. "No. Not like that. I mean how long was unconscious for?"

"Oh," he muttered gently. "You were 'out' for entire Earth week. You woke up briefly last night, for about three minutes, before falling back to unconsciousness for another 24 hours."

I cringed. This time it was not because I was in pain, it was of how long it's been. I still wanted to go back to sleep; I felt so very tired, drained of all energy. I clenched my hands, fighting the urge to just give in to my body.

"Anna?" inquired a drowsy voice with a hint of disbelief in it.

I peeked around Optimus' huge frame and saw Sam sitting up, looking at me like he didn't quite believe what he was seeing. I tried to smile at him but I was sure it looked pained and forced.

"Sammy," I whispered back. Sam's body jerked after hearing my voice, now fully awake as he stared at me in shock. Before I could even blink he was out of his seat and running towards me. He quickly pulled me into a hug and I moaned in pain from the sudden movement, still somehow managing to painfully wrap my arms around him. Over Sam's shoulder I saw Optimus smile.

"Sam? Maybe it's best if you release Anna for now. I know you have missed her, however, Ratchet said she cannot be moved suddenly and should relax and rest as much as possible."

Sam completely ignored Optimus, and did the exact opposite and tightened his arms around me. His face was buried in my hair while he simply held me. I sighed softly, glad that at least Sam did not get seriously injured during the fight. After a moment, I felt something warm and wet on my neck, realising in seconds that it was tears. I tightened my arms around him, even though my body screeched in protest.

"Is that tears I feel, Sammy?" I teased playfully, even though I had hard time swallowing down my own tears.

"It's good to have you back, An."

I smiled through my tears, "Did you really think that one near-death experience will really change anything. Please. You know me better then that, Sammy-boy."

I heard Sam chuckle—the sound more like a choke than a chuckle—as I released him, gently falling back on the bed, my vision beginning to blur again.

"I'm…so…sleepy." I blinked tiredly; whatever strength I still had evaporating quicker than I intended it to. I vaguely felt a warm hand brush my cheek and a soft voice telling me that I should rest.

I let my body relax, knowing that when I woke up next, I will still be here with everyone I care for beside me.

(Two Days Later)

"Slaggit, Anna. Stop moving around," Ratchet commanded, his tone annoyed.

"You mummified me for a week. What did you expect? It inches," I grumbled under my breath as Ratchet continued changing my bandages with Mikaela's help. As it turned out, my condition was anything but desirable. In conclusion I had: two cracked and one bruised ribs, a broken wrist, a concussion, a dozen of cuts and bruises, and oh, let's not forget my cut wound that had left a huge hole in my stomach. According to Ratchet the wound was too deep to heal without leaving any marks. Which was essentially doctor talk for 'you're going to have an ugly-ass scar on your body. congratulations.'

Last two days have been, simply putting it: tiresome. Time was mostly filled with more pain and pain killers. I slept a lot due to Ratchet's insistence for me to both rest and generally not move around. I needed a lot of rest and peace, and even then, he said that it would be another month at least until I was fully recovered. I was annoying of course; I did not come all the way to America to spend my days laying in a bed, healing my injuries. But regardless of how upset I was, I cared for my health enough to agree and follow whatever Ratchet wanted me to do.

On the topic of Ratchet—he was a surprisingly brilliant doctor. He knew human anatomy better than I would expect from a huge alien robot. The only problem we had was him tending to me. Considering his size and all, he always had an assistant to help him out. Most of the time that assistant was Mikaela, she liked helping out, and I really rather have her change my bandages then some perverted creep. I'm sure that Ratchet would kick out anyone if he thought that their motives were questionable of course. But it could never hurt to be careful.

"Well, if you stop moving, we can finish much quicker," he argued back. Mikaela stared at us bickering with amused look on her face. "Stop being a pain in the aft, femme."

I rolled my eyes, but decided to say nothing. After another 10 minutes of pain and probing at my body, Mikaela was done and I exhaled in relief.

"Finally," I said loudly.

Mikaela laughed lightly, sitting down on the chair beside me, "Don't forget. You still have your parents to call to."

My body jolted as I groaned, massaging my temples. I peeked at her and shook my head nervously.

"What am I suppose to say to an excuse like 'They've gone camping and there was no reception where they went.' Really? Who was the brilliant genius behind that excuse?"

Mikaela smirked knowingly, bobbing her head from side to side. "Well, we could not exactly say that you nearly died while fighting in an alien civil war, could we?"

"I guess not," I muttered darkly. I looked at her, deciding to change the topic. "How's Sammy, anyway?"

"He's good," she said, gentle smile on her face. "He refused to leave your side for an entire week; he's catching up on much deserved rest."

I nodded, giving her a smile of my own.

After a minute, a distant sound of footsteps greeted my ears. I perked up, knowing that those footsteps were too loud to be human, which meant that one of the Autobots was coming for a visit. I listened closely, trying to determine who it might be. I didn't hide my surprise when I heard a second echo of footsteps right behind the first one. Two minutes later two tall robots walked into the hanger. I beamed happily seeing who it was. Mikaela waved at them, and Ratchet grumbled something under his breath about me needing more rest.

"Optimus! Jazz!" I beamed happily, even if it distinctly hurt my face to do so.

They both returned my smile, Jazz walking closer towards me. I was glad he was all right now, apparently he was the one with worst injuries from the battle, and barely managed to escape death from Megatron's hands. Thankfully, Ironhide managed to find him in time, and together they succeeded in defending themselves against Megatron long enough for Optimus to arrive. His armour was newly repaired and I had to admit that Ratchet most certainly knew his stuff. Jazz looked as good as new.

"Hey there, lil' lady," he greeted me cheerfully. "How are 'ya feeling?"

He bended down so he could be at my level and I tried to sit up to see him better however my pained body had other ideas. My still weak muscles buckled and I plopped back onto my bed, groaning in annoyance of the whole situation.

"Been better," I said through clenched teeth, glaring at the random spot on the wall.

"Have patience, little one," Optimus' voice met my ears. "Your body has gone through a big trauma; it needs to heal before it can function like before."

My eyes widened slightly as I turned to look at Optimus huge frame standing before me. Something about the way he said 'little one' eerily reminded me of the voice that I heard in the limbo. Optimus voice was like a different version of that voice; more kind and compassionate. The voice in the limbo was ancient, more powerful.

I haven't told anyone about my little other-world experience yet, nor did I intended to. It was one of those things that I knew I had to keep to myself; there was something sacred about the whole ordeal, like the words I heard there were for my and my ears alone to hear.

"Anna?"

I blinked and looked back at one human and three Autobots that were staring at me oddly.

"Yeah, sorry," I whispered, giving them a shaky smile. "You're right Optimus; I guess I should be more patient, eh?"

I paused for a minute, remembering something very important that Optimus said before I lost consciousness.

"Actually…" I hesitated. How would he react? Would he be mad? I assumed.

"Could I, erm, talk to you Optimus…in private?" I asked, taking a small peek at him. He seemed surprised by my request and so was everyone else. In the end, everyone quickly cleared out, leaving me and Optimus alone in an awkward silence.

"I'm sorry!" I blurted out after few painfully awkward minutes. He seemed taken aback by my desperate apology and kneeled before my bed, regarding me strangely. I felt tears beginning to gather in my eyes, and I rubbed them furiously off my face, trying desperately to hide them.

"Anna? I don't think I understand?" he said softly and I felt even worse because I knew that he will say none of this was my fault in the end.

"Before I lost consciousness, I heard what you said to Megatron…you, you called him your brother. I'm sorry. Because not only was your brother killed but I was the one who decided to shove the AllSpark into Megatron's chest. Now…now, Cybertron will never get restored. I destroyed your only hope of saving your home. I'm so sorry, Optimus. I just didn't want you to die. You're good; I would have never forgiven myself if I just let you to sacrifice yourself. But I made it all about me like I'm so damn special to decide this, not once thinking about others or the consequences my choice would bring. And I just ended up ruining everything in the end… I never meant for any of this to happen."

Then the oddest thing ever happened. Optimus laughed. He actually…laughed. It was a soft sound that was honestly more of a chuckle than a laugh, but it did not stop me from staring at him in utter wonder.

"Little one, no one is blaming you for anything," he stated calmly. I could hear the sincerity in his voice that made me relax somewhat. And again with the 'little one' comment, it gave me an odd jolt. Like a tickle.

"If anything, we should be thanking you and Sam, you both helped us win this battle, and I own you my life. When the time came you made a hard decision, and I should be the one asking for your forgiveness because you almost lost your life while fighting our war. Besides, Megatron wasn't my brother in a literal sense. We were good friends a long time ago. However we stopped being 'brothers' many millennia ago. Back when he betrayed our race and started the war."

I could hear anguish in his voice and I felt sadness enclose my heart. For so many years they had all seen nothing but war—they've seen their friends and families die needlessly and I felt a heavy lump forming in my throat.

"Our home world may be destroyed beyond repair, and without AllSpark we will be unable to rebuild it but I believe we have found another place we could call home."

I blinked rapidly, hoping that I heard him correctly, "Does that mean you're all staying here? On Earth?" I said quickly, unable to keep the excitement from my voice. Optimus nodded slowly, watching my reaction carefully. Letting out an ecstatic squeal of delight, I laughing happily. I then had to lay still for few minutes, holding onto my ribs while the pain passed.

"Am I right to presume that you are happy, then?"

I gave Optimus a look that said 'duh!'.

"Of course I am! I'm thrilled."

"Does that mean you would have missed us?" his tone was neutral, but something in his tone lingered and made me look at him more closely. It was almost as if he was afraid of my answer. He seemed hesitant, and that surprised me—he was Optimus Prime after all. My option shouldn't matter to him at all. But I guess I was wrong and my option did matter.

"What kind of question is that?" I asked sternly, giving him a hard look. "Of course I would have missed you all. We're friends now."

I did not miss his flabbergasted look and raised my eyebrow. He just shook his head for a bit, before looking back up at me.

"Friends?" he questioned inaudibly, testing the word out.

"What else?" I questioned him, "We just saved the world together, that at least earns you a title of a friend, you know."

"I haven't had any friends outside the Autobot circle in a very long time," he mused, staring at me intently. "You're the first one Anna."

I grinned widely, pleased with that discovery, "Well, we still have a long way to go, young pup."

He gave me a confused look. "What?"

I laughed weakly. "Never mind."

(Two Weeks Later)

Nearly a month had passed since the events in Mission City. Things have been quite lately, everyone enjoying their time together and the peace everyone worked so hard for. Sam and Mikaela got together (finally!). The Autobots have chosen to stay on Earth and after official shutdown of Sector-7 were given a new base in Diego Garcia. I have visited the base with them and it was the coolest place ever, even though it was still under constructions to fit Autobots needs. I was still healing but I could walk around now, not much, but every day was a new achievement.

But most importantly, we were all together again.

I stood next to Optimus who gazed thoughtfully at the horizon where the sun was now setting, bathing the beautiful horizon in some of the most amazing colours I have ever seen. Ratchet, Jazz and Ironhide were in their alt-mods, sitting not far from us.

Ironhide decided that he was going to be staying with Lennox's family. To become their Guardian whilst still acting as a part-time Autobot. He didn't seem to be put out by that. Lennox had war stories to share with him I suppose.

Ratchet was going to stay with Optimus in Diego Garcia and just be your friendly everyday medic and work on his side projects that he previously mentioned to me. Primarily the holoform projects.

Bumblebee, well, the poor guy looked like he was going to be constantly used for Sam's and Mikaela's make out sessions. God give him strength. But there was also serious talk of him staying with us instead of going to Diego Garcia with Optimus and others and acting as our fulltime guardian instead.

Jazz was going with Optimus and taking up his position as Optimus second-in-command again. He kept making snarky comments at Ironhide for his decision to stay with the Lennox family for now. Something about missing all the action.

Optimus has decided to send a message into space, asking any Autobots that are still out there to come for a visit. I was excited, and really hoped to meet new Autobots before my stay here was over.

"With the AllSpark gone, we cannot return life to our planet. And fate has yielded its reward, a new world to call home. We live among its people now, hiding in plain sight, but watching over them in secret, waiting, protecting...." Optimus looked over at Sam and Mikaela that were on Bee's hood. Then his optics travelled down to look at me.

I gave him a smile and wink, leaning against his leg. My boots digging into the dirt, dark jeans stretching tight over the iPod in my back pocket as I enjoyed the warmth of sun's last rays. Long sleeved shirt covering my arms, I crossed them and looked out over the horizon soundlessly.

His optics then turned towards the horizon as well, "I have witnessed their capacity for courage. And tough we are worlds apart, like us, there's more to them than meets the eye." Optimus placed his hands over his hip joints and he gazed up at the sky, "I am Optimus Prime and I send this message to any surviving Autobots taking refuge among the stars. We are here. We are waiting." With that he shifted his foot, seemingly forgetting that I was even leaning against it.

I stumbled clumsily and fell on my bottom, staring up at him while he gave me an amused chuckle upon noticing my bemused expression.

"Whhhaaaat I've Dooooone! I'll face myself!" Optimus' metallic face shifted in confusion.

"What is that slagging sound coming from your aft?"

So eloquent Ironbutt.

"I think she might be sick again Prime." Ratchet added unhelpfully.

"I'm likin' that sound, she should be sick more often," Jazz piped-up.

My face grew hot with embarrassment as I buried my face in my hands. IPod in my back pocket... never again.

(Later That Night)

It was an hour after midnight, and like usual, I found myself wandering into the kitchen to get myself a glass of water. I yawned tiredly, rubbing my still sore ribs, pulling a glass from the cupboard. I filled it with water and sighed in content after drowning the entire thing down. Placing the glass in the sink and giving it a quick wash like usual I opened the cupboard above the sink and placed it inside.

I quietly closed the doors and gasped when I saw a reflection of woman standing behind me. I spun around hastily, but there was no one there. I breathed heavily, my eyes nervously moving around the room.

"Great, Anna. Now you're seeing things." I whispered to myself, shaking my head to get rid of the paranoia. I took a step towards the stairs when a searing pain burned through my skull. I gasped in agony, falling to the floor, my hands clutching my head tightly as I whimpered in pain. Tears began gathering in my eyes as the pain continued. There was buzzing in the back of my mind, reminding me of static television. I moaned as the feeling of my head being squeezed increased… becoming tighter and tighter and—

And then, just like that, it was gone.

I almost chocked with relief, my body shaking heavily, cold sweat dripping down my neck. I breathed deeply, still sprawled on the ground. I was too afraid that if I moved the pain would come back.

Finally my eyes fluttered open, and I felt my skin cool when I realised that there was a distant echo in my ears, a faintest sound I could hear. It was so distant, that for a moment I thought that I was just imagining it, but it was there. And when I realized what it was, a stone cold dread filled my body.

It was a chime of bells...

AN: What's this? Has the author really updated again? In just a little under a month? Impossible.

But in all honesty I'm really trying you guys and I hope this wait was a little more bearable than others. These next two months (February & March) are going to be horrendous so I can't promise lots of updates, but I will try to update at least once a month for you guys. AT LEAST. But I would like to warn you all in advance this time in case I don't.

Now moving onto a much happier topic. THIS STORY NOW HAS OVER 1k REVIEWS. HOLY CRAP. HOLY CRAP. You guys are incredible and I cannot thank you all enough. It's truly every author's dream to reach this marvelous number. I'm so humbled by all of your support so a huge, massive THANK YOU to every single one of you who has ever reviewed, favorited, followed or reccomended this story to others. You guys rock!

I was also, perhaps, thinking about doing something special for this? Like an author Q&A, a sneakpeak into to the future stories etc. Let me know if there is anything in particular you would like me to spoil you with.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: If there was one thing you could change in Transformers Trilogy (Series now, right?), what would it be and why?

A.

REWRITTEN: Sunday, February 1th, 2015