All right, here we go. Here's what happens after 'What Remained Behind'. If you want to know what happened before this, read 'What Remained Behind'.

In the Aftermath

A few days of westward travel across several borders, all of which they avoided by cutting through open desert, brought them to a port city west of Gibraltar. Waiting until late at night before pulling into a secluded area, they all transformed for a good look at their way home. Megatron balked. "Wait, we're taking a boat?" Optimus gave him what could only be described as 'one of those looks'. "Of course we're taking a boat. What did you think we'd be doing?" The silver Decepticon glared right back. "Well, excuse me! I don't exactly have a very good track record with boats, if you remember. The last one I rode in threw me overboard!" Zephyr walked up next to him and took his arm, trying to calm him down. "That's because they thought you were dead." He nodded, shutting up. Turning to the rest, Optimus issued his orders. "We're going to hide out here until around midnight. See that one freighter over there?" He pointed toward a freighter that was loading up at the far end of the dock. "I looked in their computer systems and they're bound for America, just like us… plus a good portion of their cargo appears to be vehicles. They leave at dawn." A moment later, he looked to the rest again. "We're going to be waiting in vehicle form until it's time to go. Don't break cover unless your immediate safety… or Sam's… is threatened. Especially you, Bumblebee." He turned to where Megatron and Zephyr stood. "You two would be conspicuous even in vehicle form. Zephyr, switch into Sarah at least until we get back to America. You'll have an easier time hiding that way. Megatron will be able to protect you if anything happens. Megatron, I don't know how you'll be able to hide yourself." The former Decepticon shook his head with a smile. "I'll find a way. Even if it's just climbing around on top of those cargo containers. Anything is possible to the truly resourceful!"

Things went off without a hitch, and soon they were on board the freighter they had chosen to be their ride home. Dawn came and went and soon they were out on the open sea, tucked away in their chosen hiding places on the spray-swept deck, dodging the ship's crew… at least the humans and Megatron were. As for the rest, they simply sat in vehicle form and were ignored completely. Morning faded into afternoon and on into night. With night's arrival came a slackening on the ship's security, allowing those who wished to do so to come out of hiding. Slipping away from where Megatron sat huddled behind a pile of cargo containers and quietly swore to himself repeatedly about various things related to their current method of travel, Sarah sought out Optimus. She had no idea where he was, so she quietly wandered around the boat. Coming across the vehicle forms of their newest allies, she took a few minutes to actually take a close look at them. Sideswipe was the most visible even in disguise. His vehicle form suited him; the cool silver contours matching his hotshot personality almost perfectly. He'd taken his name from the incident that had brought him to her; he'd been sideswiped on the highway and very nearly been totaled upon crashing into the median. Looking over to the side, she saw the Chopper Sisters sitting together. Arcee's hot pink paintjob bore the initials of her owner, one Rachel Carson, and those initials had been the source of her name. Sarah had met her once; she'd been just as dynamic as Arcee was. Moonracer was built for racing, and she wasn't a straight purple as much as she was the color of the sky just after sunset, a starry night dominated by a large, beautifully rendered crescent moon. Once again, she had taken her name from her paintjob. Chromia had done the same, judging by the fact that every sleek line and curve was trimmed with glittering chrome. Off to the far side, Skids and Mudflap snored loudly enough to wake the hearing-impaired dead. Skids had come to her after his driver had made the mistake of driving after an especially heavy rain, and had skidded straight into oncoming traffic. Mudflap, however, had been on a dirt road when the vehicle ahead of him, lacking his a pair of his namesakes, had sprayed a huge, thick clot of mud onto his windshield and caused his driver to lose control. They had followed the example set by Sideswipe and taken their names from the incidents that had brought them to her. She had given them all life. Did that make her their mother?

Moving on, she continued her search until she located Optimus where he stood and watched the starry night sky, silently contemplating the utter insanity that had been the past few days. Death and resurrection… the Fallen… the key and the machine it powered… He was glad he'd salvaged the little thing, since it was the last remaining link to the origin of his people and their planet. Holding it in his hand, he stared at it contemplatively, almost imagining that the blue jewel at its core winked up at him knowingly. Such a strange little thing… "Hey," a voice said. His startled jump was almost comical as he spent a fairly breathless moment fearing that he'd been discovered. Turning, he saw Sarah trying with all her might not to laugh. "…Sarah," he said in return as she stepped closer to stand beside him. A moment passed as they both watched the starry sky. "You really need to talk to your brother once we get home. He blames himself for what happened to you." Optimus turned to look at her. "Why does he blame himself for something he had no hand in? There was nothing he could have done!" Wishing she didn't have to crane her head so far back to look him in the eye, Sarah shrugged. "He believes he could have prevented it completely if he'd just been a little faster. You know how unreasonable he can be when it comes to his own limitations. I've tried telling him, Ratchet's tried telling him… Heck, even Sam's tried, and you know how badly Megatron still scares him! I'm thinking he'll only believe it coming from you." A moment of relative silence followed, broken only by the crash of waves breaking against the ship's hull. "…Sam blames himself too," Sarah said eventually. "He thinks it was all his fault because he was stupid enough to get caught. I keep telling him that we were all taken by surprise by the Decepticons' sudden return to Earth, but he keeps not believing me. That's why he started avoiding you after your initial resurrection. He's scared to death that you'll blame him too." Optimus just quietly shook his head at that. Apparently stubborn refusal to see the truth wasn't a trait confined to one particular species.

"…I figured out where the imposter came from." The sound of her voice startled him. He'd thought she had left the area, to go rejoin her mate. "You did?" She paused, seeming a little embarrassed… or guilty. "I guess you could say it's my fault." He looked down at her again. "What, now you're blaming yourself too?" That statement drew a sigh from her. "Back when I first gained my power and became linked to Megatron, I didn't really have much control over either one. Like, none at all. You see, when Megatron let go of his anger, his hate, and all those other negative emotions, he effectively cast away the part of himself that was associated with everything he had been, namely the leader of the Decepticons as everyone had come to know him. A rather sizeable piece of his spark… sent out into a storm of berserk All Spark energy… The energy treated that fragment like it was a whole spark and built a body for it, based on what the 'donor' saw himself as. But there must not have been enough resources to properly complete the process. That must be why he's not a perfect replica. However, there was enough to transfer the things that really mattered. I was able to have a few words with him, as you know, so I know that all his knowledge is intact, and all his memories are intact too, right up to the moment of separation. The thing is, he's been stripped of all inhibitions, all ability to care what he destroys or who gets in his way… The imposter is a true monster in every sense of the word. And all because of me." Optimus, for his part, didn't bother arguing the point. He couldn't show her that it wasn't really her fault at all, just like the others couldn't show Megatron or Sam the same. No, all three of them would have to see it for themselves. "It's almost time for the morning shift to start," she said eventually. "Time for me to hide again before somebody comes and finds me just standing in the open."

Wandering off, she came across where Sam sat with Bumblebee and gave a smile as he met her gaze. He'd heard her talking with Optimus, but hadn't quite been able to catch the words. "…Does he blame me?" Sarah shook her head in mild exasperation. "Of course not! 'Stupid enough to get caught', huh? Going by that logic, Optimus's death would have been his own fault for letting his guard down. For the millionth time, the imposter is the one to blame!" Bumblebee agreed wholeheartedly. "It's the truth, you know. The imposter is the reason all of this stuff happened, not you. If you have to blame somebody, blame him! Besides, it all turned out just fine. We went looking for a way to bring Optimus back and ended up saving the whole universe. You can't argue with that!"

Returning to where Megatron hid, she was somewhat unnerved to find him shivering. He was sitting there and he was actually shivering where he sat. The quiet yet unmistakable sound of her swift footsteps immediately drew his attention. "I'm all right," he said, correctly anticipating her question. She just tilted her head slightly, not believing him in the slightest. Something was wrong, but she couldn't tell just what, even with her powers. She wanted to know, but this was neither the time nor the place to do so. Such questions could wait until they got home. They had to, since only Ratchet's expertise could answer her questions this time around and she wasn't about to bother him when they were all supposed to be hiding out. "You may or may not have already known this, but we reach land tonight. They'll pull into dock in the early evening and, like before, move the cargo at dawn. Once again like before, Optimus will give the signal and we'll all sneak off together." He shivered again and she discounted it this time. After all, it was pretty wet and cold where he was seated. Ignoring the selfsame wet and cold, she walked over to him and scaled his massive arm as if she was climbing a mountain. His armor was downright frigid, but she ignored that too. Eventually she sat perched on a spur of shoulder armor, leaning up against a wing panel, much like Rumble used to do to her before keeping little Galvie out of trouble had turned into a full-time job. "Just a little longer, all right? One more day until dry land. Who knows, we might even reach our destination early. You're not the only one who's sick of this boat. I think we're all about ready to get back on dry land." Moving slowly and gently in an effort not to jostle his beloved, Megatron turned to look at her with a broad yet gentle smile. "It will indeed be good to get off this boat. Once we do, we've still got a long way to go until we reach home. We have to cross the entirety of America, after all. Would you like to ride with me when we do?" Even though she could sense how badly he wanted her to say yes, she had to say no. "That wouldn't be such a good idea, actually. You're our only air support unless I transform, after all, and having me with you would only slow you down. And I can't fly with you either. I don't have a disguise scanned, remember? I'm going to ride with one of the other boys, just like we did back in Egypt. I'll probably ride with Optimus, in order to make sure he's fully all right after what went on back there. I'm betting he's still having a hard time of it, so I plan to keep watch. I'm sorry, but we'll just have to wait until we reach home again." Reaching out with one hand, she affectionately stroked the wing panel she was leaning up against. "But once we get home we'll have loads of free time to do whatever we please." A tired-looking smile took shape on his face. "That'll be pretty good…" It was all she could do to smile back, given how worried his seeming fatigue made her. "Are you sure you're all right?" He gave a sigh and looked down in an expression of equal parts disappointment and exasperation. "Slag it, I never could lie to you… I've been feeling pretty off ever since the Fallen tried to crush my spark, even though you fixed me up. Some energon and a nice long nap should have me back to normal in no time flat." She sighed as well, stroking his wing panel again. "Well, I certainly hope so, because otherwise we're both doomed, in a pissed-off medic sort of way. If I tell Ratchet about this now, he'll get mad at me for breaking cover. If I tell him when we get home, he'll get mad at me for not telling him such an important thing right away." Megatron shuddered again, this time at the thought of Ratchet getting angry. "Now you've got me hoping so too. I've known Ratchet a lot longer than you have!" Sitting back in preparation for staying with him a while, Sarah gave a smirk. "Now I'm wondering which form I'll be safer in. Should I switch to my real form once we're off the boat and make myself a viable target for thrown objects, or stay like this and risk him possibly deciding to throw me instead of a wrench? Ironhide said that one time Ratchet got so mad he actually ran out of wrenches, then switched to throwing other stuff and inadvertently cleaned out a whole room. Other tools, chairs, tables, smaller Autobots…" Megatron couldn't hold back his laughter at that image, drawing a smile from her. If they were really both doomed to face Ratchet's wrath at some point in the semi-immediate future, the least they could do was go to their fate smiling and laughing together.

That should answer a few questions, if anyone had cared to ask them.

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