*I don't own Transformers or anything affiliated with Transformers. I only own my original characters and plots. All rights go to Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg.*

The smell of freshly made pancakes, maple syrup, and just a hint of chocolate filled the air. Just the smell alone made me increasingly happy, and it was also enough to bring a smile onto my face. It's been so long since I've had a home cooked meal. We didn't even cook last night; we just ordered Chinese and watched movies the rest of the night. I was just glad that my first home cooked meal in four months was breakfast, especially since my dad was cooking it. Whenever he came home I was always looking forward to him cooking breakfast the next morning.  He always made these delicious chocolate chip pancakes that no one else could. I wasn't normally a big fan of breakfast foods, but I could definitely make an exception for these.

I was growing rather impatient though. The one thing I absolutely hated about these pancakes was waiting so long for them to cook. Dad claimed that they had to be absolutely perfect, and that was one thing that hasn't changed about him in these four months. 

"Quit fidgeting, Brenna," my dad laughed. "You're gonna break the stool and I'm gonna have to pay for it."

"I don't care. I want my pancakes. This is the first home cooked meal I've had in four months. Can you blame me?"

He just shrugged and carried on with his cooking. About two minutes later my grandparents walked in, both of them looking seemingly ready to start the day.

"What's got you in a sour mood this morning?" my grandpa asked me as he sat down beside me.

I groaned. "I'm not in a sour mood. I just want my pancakes."

"Here, brat." After waiting almost ten minutes, my dad finally placed a plate full of pancakes in front of me. There were three stacked on top of each other with butter and syrup on the side, just the way I liked it. Most people lathered their pancakes in syrup, but I couldn't. It was too sweet for me, so I preferred just dipping it.

"Thank you, daddy," I chimed as I began eating. And another sense of home has been brought back to me. It's been far too long.

"Do your makers get some?" my Nana asked. I had to laugh at her.

"Yes. They're right there. Help yourself," my dad told his parents.

"What a jerk," my Pop-pop grumbled before getting up to make himself a plate.

"Hey now. You make me get my own food. And I'm trying to give Brenna a sense of her old life back. Whenever I was home I always brought her food to her. That's not gonna change now," he told his parents.

I just smirked and continued eating. Not only were these pancakes giving me a sense of home, but they were also distracting me from missing Optimus. I just hoped he was back soon. I honestly didn't think I would be able to take being away from him any longer.

"Oh!" my dad exclaimed, nearly causing me to stab myself in the roof of my mouth.

"What?" I yelled back. I did not do well with people scaring me.

"Okay, so I've received word that Optimus is on his way back and should be here soon," he told me with a smile. It wasn't just any smile. He was trying to taunt me, but I wasn't going to buy into it.

"How soon is soon?"

"Well, he left at four in the morning and it is now ten in the morning. As an Autobot with certain illegalities expunged, then I'd say within the next forty-five minutes," he answered.

My mood for this morning was now much better than it was when I first woke up. Optimus was going to be here soon and I just couldn't freakin' wait. I just hoped that my dad wouldn't try to make things awkward. Knowing him, he'd try to bust me out about last night's conversation. If that was the case then he was going to be receiving one mean purple nurple.

"I'm glad."

He only smirked. "I'm sure you are."

After his smart remark I just continued eating, as did he and my grandparents. I was kind of glad neither of them decided to ask about our little exchange. It would have been even more embarrassing talking about it with them.

We spent the next twenty-five minutes just talking and laughing, much like we did yesterday. It wasn't until after I put my dish in the sink that I felt it, that feeling that I haven't felt since Optimus and I were on our way to Washington for the first time. It was a terrible feeling that sent me fighting for my life for three months, and I hoped I would never have to feel it again, especially with Optimus gone. It almost made me sick to my stomach, but I held back as best as I could. I just needed to warn my family before something happened. I wouldn't know what to do if I lost the only family I had left.

"Something's wrong," my Nana and I spoke at the same time. I shot her a look. Sometimes I forgot that we both had the ability.

"What do you mean?" my dad asked.

"Something's wrong, and I'm pretty sure it has to do with the Decepticons. I think they're coming back for me," I answered him. The fear and the adrenaline was now beginning to surface inside my body, and as much as I tried to keep it at bay I couldn't. I had no one here to protect me or my family.

"The Decepticons?" my Pop-pop spoke this time.

I only nodded in response. It was then that I knew what I had to do. If I stayed here then my entire family would be slaughtered and I could not let that happen. I just got my dad back, and I did not want to go through the pain of losing him again. If I could hold the Decepticons off just long enough for Optimus to get here then I would be okay. I just refused to let anything happen to my family.

"I have to go," I said before heading over to the kitchen door. I was almost out until a strong hand pulled me back. It was my dad, of course, and the fear in his eyes was almost enough to make me want to stay...almost.

"What do you mean you have to go? Where the hell do you think you're gonna go?" he exclaimed. He was angry, but he was more scared than anything else.

"If I stay here then you'll all die. I can't let that happen! You're my only family! Please just let me go," I pleaded with him. He only tightened his grip around my wrist.

"I'm not letting you walk out that door. I just got you back! Just wait until Optimus gets here. He'll take care of it," he tried to assure me. I wasn't having any of it.

I sighed and attempted to remove my wrist out of his grip, but he was too strong for me. "Listen, dad. I have to go! I don't know when Optimus is going to be back and I'm not taking any chances. I'm just going to hold them off until he gets here. I'm going to be fine, okay? Just trust me!"

"No!" he yelled. "You're all I have. I can't lose you, Brenna."

"Brenna," my Nana started. I sent her a look. "Listen to him."

I shook my head at her and did something I never thought I was going to have to do. I raised my hand up and aimed it my dad's hand. A slight twitch of my fingers was enough to get him to release the hold he had on me, and also enough to make him cry out in pain. I most likely broke his hand, but having a broken hand is much better than being dead.

As quickly as I could, I ran out of the kitchen and into the living room. I grabbed my boots and put them on before running out the front door.

The sound of screams and gunfire immediately filled the air around me, and I panicked. I should have been able to have heard all this back in the house, but I guess I was too busy arguing with my dad to pay attention. I was now not only fearing for my family's lives, but I was also fearing for the lives of the very many Burlington, Vermont residents. The Decepticons were hear looking for me, and the fact that they were murdering people just to do that really made me sick.

Luckily my grandparents' home was only about five blocks away from downtown Burlington, which is where all of the action was going on. I ran, which took me less than three minutes. So many people running from the chaos attempted to stop me from going any further, but there was no way I could stop now, no matter how scared I was to face these vile creatures alone. I just couldn't let anyone else get killed because of me. It hurt just listening to the screams. I can't imagine how I'll feel if I actually do see it happening.

I nearly collapsed when my attention fell upon Main Street. There were about seven Decepticons lingering throughout the square. Debris was everywhere, there were several fires starting up in most of the buildings, cars and trucks were overturned--some were even on the verge of exploding--and lastly, numerous people lay dead or injured in the street. My fear only heightened at the sight, but I knew that I couldn't turn back now. Instead, I ran inside one of the now vacant shops and hid myself while I thought of what I could do to stop these shit heads.

I watched and watched as the Decepticons continued killing the innocent humans trying to escape. It was almost as if they were enjoying it; it was like a sport to them. This only made me angry, angry that they took so much pride in killing my family. All I wanted was to kill them, and that's exactly what I was going to attempt to do.

The two closest Decepticons to me stood about fifteen feet away, shooting inside a Peebles store. Behind them was a large, burning pickup truck. It didn't take but seven seconds for my mind to register what I needed to do; all it needed was a little more juice and it would do its job.

I paid no attention to the pain in my injured arm as I hoisted the burning truck up off the ground and swung it in the direction of the Decepticons. I heard a loud, throaty shriek when the vehicle made contact before hearing a loud explosion from both the truck and the Decepticons. The explosion sent a shock wave through the air--a shock wave powerful enough to blast the windows in the shop I was hiding in and send me flying back about five feet. I cried out in pain as my back pancaked against the wall. Glass sliced at my exposed skin, drawing blood and opening up my previous wound. I was in an intense amount of pain at the moment, but I couldn't give up. I had defeated two Cons; I could defeat five more.

I got up from the floor as quickly as possible, only to stop when I noticed two of the Cons making their way towards the shop I was currently hiding in. The other three were nowhere to be found, which made me think that they had either run off to look for me, or they had been killed; by what? I have no clue, but a girl could only hope.

I ran behind the counter and ducked down to prevent from being spotted by the menacing robots. A loud shot rang through the air, sending debris and clothing items flying through the store. I nearly screamed as a piece of drywall landed on my foot, but I refrained from doing so. The action would have only gotten me killed.

Several grunts and several foreign words could be heard as the Cons conversed behind me. I had no clue what they were talking about, but all I knew was that I needed to find a way out of here and I needed to find one fast. At the moment I was just in too much pain to even think, so I just improvised. I threw my hands up in the air and just started swinging. Objects began flying, and that's when I stood up and began running--well, running as best as I could with an injured foot. I was almost positive it was broken, but I couldn't worry about that right now.

I managed to make it past the Decepticons and outside onto the ruins of Main Street, but my luck did not last long. In my haste to escape the Cons, I tripped over a slab of brick in the middle of the road and fell backwards. The two Cons were now making their way back out of the shop, and almost immediately their eyes landed on me. What looked to be a sinister smile fell upon one's face, and I shuddered with fear.  I began swinging my hands just to attempt getting away from them, but it was no use. I was far too weak to try to fight them off, much to my despair.

I began scooting back as they came toward me. They looks on their faces indicated that they finally found what they've been looking for, and if it was possible I grew even more frightened. I did not want to be captured by them. They were either going to kill me or try to make me a weapon; I didn't want either. What I wanted was to get the hell out of here.

"Brenna!" a familiar voice called, catching the attention of both me and and the Cons. Relief spread through my body at the sight of the blue and red mech making his way onto the battlegrounds. The Cons poised their guns and aimed to shoot, but Optimus was just too fast for them. He shot them down instantly, each with a single bullet to the spark.

He turned towards me and began rushing over, only to be tackled by a Decepticon. I gasped as I watched the two wrestle around and was more than ready to try and help until I felt an enormous hand wrap itself around my body. An immense amount of pain shot through my body from the tight grip, and I screamed loudly. I was in the hands of a Decepticon, and the frightened look on Optimus's face only confirmed that. I screamed his name over and over again, hoping he would come help me, but he now had two Decepticons fighting him off, preventing him from ever reaching me.

The very last thing I saw were his fearful bright blue optics before I was whisked away to an unknown--and a possibly final--destination.