"Whoa!!" Leo jumped, startled by the sudden appearance of the two small robots. "You two are definitely trying to give me a heart attack."
"That's just because you're a coward," Mudflap retorted, crossing his arms.
"I don't think so. You guys were the ones who forced me into the car in the first place!"
"So..." Skids scratched his head, a look of realization dawning on him. "Oh, I get it. You're scared!"
"Hey, Mudflap, he wants to be a deserter," Skids continued. "What should we do with him?"
"Hmm... let me think..." Mudflap rubbed his chin, his eyes lighting up. "I've got it! We'll just shoot him, stuff him in your trunk, and find a place to bury him."
"Great idea, brother! But why can't he go in your trunk?"
"Idiot, I'm the front end!"
"Hey, hey, hey! Listen to me!" Leo raised his hands, quickly interrupting the twins. "I'm standing right here. I heard everything you just said, you know? You won't actually shoot me and hide the body, right?"
"Can't say for sure," Skids teased. "Go find Sam, you coward."
"Yeah, look at that curly hair of yours. You can't even get your hair right!"
"I'm so cursed!" Leo smacked his forehead and hurried after Sam, who had already walked a distance away.
"Listen, Sam," Leo said, catching up and grabbing Sam's arm. "I don't want to be here anymore. I want to go back to my soft, comfortable bed. Don't blame me, Sam. I'm going to find them and tell them I have nothing to do with this. I'm not your accomplice..."
"Are you finished?" Sam stared directly at Leo. The death of Optimus Prime seemed to have fundamentally changed his temperament. "This was your choice, wasn't it? Leo, didn't you always want to report the 'truth' of this world? This is the truth you wanted. Stop complaining!"
Sam gripped Leo's shoulders and shook him hard. "Wake up! Don't be stupid. You're already involved. But fine, if you really want to leave, then go. No one is stopping you."
Watching from behind, Skids and Mudflap exchanged a look. "He talks like a real man now. I like it," Skids said.
"Yeah," Mudflap agreed. "He's growing up."
That evening, the group huddled around a campfire in the villa's courtyard as Bumblebee returned from scouting. To avoid exposing their location, they had severed almost all outside contact, including communications with Ironhide and the other Autobots.
"You've done your best, Sam," Mikaela said, holding Sam and stroking his head. She was also deeply saddened by Optimus Prime's death.
As Bumblebee transformed into his humanoid form, Sam stood up and walked over. "Bumblebee, if you hate me, I understand."
"No, Sam," Bumblebee shook his head. "You are the person I care about most in this world. Whenever you need me, I will be by your side."
"Optimus died because of me," Sam lamented. "I messed everything up. He protected me, and now he's dead."
"There are some things you cannot change," Bumblebee replied, looking up at the night sky. "Sam, if you live in self-reproach, then Optimus's sacrifice loses all meaning."
"Bumblebee," Sam's eyes flashed with determination. "I promise you, I won't back down this time."
Having faced a sudden tragedy, one either sinks or is reborn through fire. After two days of depression, Sam had finally rallied. Unbeknownst to him, as he spoke these words, a crack suddenly appeared on a wall in a temple on the other side of the planet. It was deep and dark, but within half an hour, the crack vanished as if it had never existed.
"I believe you, Sam," Bumblebee said, standing up. "But first, we must unite, or all our efforts with NEST to eliminate the Decepticons will be in vain."
"Are you for real?" Mikaela asked, walking over with a look of surprise. Her boyfriend had never shown such courage before.
"Yes," Sam nodded firmly. "I'm serious this time. I'm going to help Bumblebee and the others."
"Alright, I'm with you. What's the plan?"
"Wait a second..." Sam pulled a marker from his pocket, rolled up his sleeve, and began drawing on his arm. After a moment, he raised his arm. "Bumblebee, these are the symbols in my head. Do you recognize them?"
"Sorry, Sam. I don't understand them."
"What about you two?" Sam turned to Skids and Mudflap across the fire. "Can you read this?"
"Whoa~" The twins stood up in surprise. "Those look like ancient symbols... probably some form of Ancient Cybertronian..."
"Yeah, definitely," Mudflap added. "There must be an important meaning. They definitely represent something..."
"Like the origin of the AllSpark? Or a way to resurrect Optimus?" Sam guessed. "Maybe a map to find something?"
"Well... maybe..." The twins hesitated, unable to give a certain answer.
"Hey, can you guys actually read them or not?" Sam pressed.
"Read?" Skids looked at Mudflap. "I can't read them. I can only see them."
"Yeah, same," Mudflap waved a hand. "We don't really know how to read... at least not well..."
Sam realized he was asking the wrong bots. "If you don't understand, we need to find someone who does. Megatron and the Decepticons caught me just for these symbols. This is your language—you can't expect me to crack the secret."
"Guys, I know where to find someone who understands those symbols," a voice said as a figure approached the fire.
Leo had returned—or rather, he had never truly left. After shouting about being a state witness in the afternoon, he was now voluntarily joining the uncertain adventure.
"Whoa, look, the coward is back," Skids mocked. "Look at his hair. So funny, like a woman's."
"Guys, I'm a coward. I was terrified, okay?" Leo shook his head and walked toward Sam. "Sam, I heard your conversation. It was too dark and far for me to see the symbols on your arm clearly. Can I see them again?"
"Sure." Sam held up his arm.
"Yes, that's it!" Leo's face lit up with excitement. He hadn't been mistaken. "Sam, I think I can find someone to help."
"Who?"
"Sam, remember my website?" Leo asked.
"Real... RealWorld?"
"That's the one!" Leo nodded enthusiastically. "RealWorld has always had a rival called Robo-Warrior. They're always stealing my exclusives, especially that time in Shanghai. They even plagiarized my headlines! They constantly steal my drafts..."
"Hey, can you get to the point?" Mikaela interrupted.
"Whoa, sure," Leo shrugged. "How could I refuse a request from a beautiful lady? My point is, Robo-Warrior has reports on everything related to aliens. Once, I hacked into their back-end and saw symbols just like those."
"Can you find the physical address for that site?"
"No problem," Leo nodded confidently. "Just give me a computer—as long as it's not an antique."
"Bumblebee," Sam said, looking at the scout.
"Leave it to me, Sam."
Bumblebee immediately transformed into the Camaro. The radio on the center console lit up, projecting a virtual computer. "Come on, kid. Show me what you've got."
"Whoa~ you Autobots can even do this?" Leo exclaimed as he hopped into the car. "Robo-Warrior, come on, let's see where you're hiding, you plagiarizing thief..."
Leo sat in the passenger seat, his fingers flying across the virtual keys. After twenty minutes, he had a result. "Aha! Found you!"
"Hey, big guys!" Leo called out as he stepped out of the car.
"What is it?" Mikaela woke up, having been resting against Sam.
"I said..." Leo puffed out his chest proudly. "Is no one going to welcome the hero?"
"You only found a possible lead; you didn't save the world," Mikaela countered.
"Fine, you're right."
"Leo, did you find the location?" Sam asked, rubbing his eyes.
"Of course. Piece of cake."
"Good." Sam helped Mikaela up and looked at everyone gathered. In a tone more serious than ever before, he declared:
"Autobots, roll out!"
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