OK, so I guess the real plot actually begins... NOW.

lol. I hope you guys enjoy this!


Lennox, sitting in the passenger's seat, rubbed at his eyes with his palm facing toward himself. "Ratchet, are you sure we still should be out?" he muttered. "It's late. We haven't patrolled this late in forever. Everyone's gonna be on my ass, asking what we were doing."

A soft growl came from the speakers of the rescue Hummer. "I know it's late. Don't you think I'm tired as well? But I just feel like we... have to check once more. Once more around town, then we'll go back and get some sleep."

"Alright. You know what you're doin' better than me, I guess." He slumped back in the seat, closing his eyes.

Ratchet, meanwhile, was still on the lookout. His optics desperately wanted to just shut, so he could sleep, but he forced himself to stay awake. One more check and they'd be done. As long as they didn't find anything unusual, it'd be alright to head back.

His "eyes" swept the streets, looking for anything out of the ordinary. It was a bit hard to see in this much darkness, but headlights helped substantially. So far he didn't see much, humans were closing up stores... wait. Wait. Was that a human, lying there on the sidewalk? Why would someone be out this late, and just lying there?

"William," he spoke up, his voice crackling through the speakers. "Wake up. We've got a human femme on the side of the road, she looks unconscious. I think she may have been a victim of violence. I'm stopping, I need you to take a look."

"What, your laser scan isn't working?" Lennox scoffed, then immediately woke up as Ratchet skidded to a stop. "Geez! I'm going, Ratchet, did you think I was just gonna sleep?"

"Perhaps I should accompany you in my holoform. I should be sure the girl isn't seriously injured."

"Do whatever you want." Lennox climbed out and shut the door, walking around the front of the van.

Ratchet's phasing human form followed, and they both got to the body at about the same time. Lennox knelt down, while Ratchet's bright blue eyes scanned over her with a laser.

Lennox moved her hair aside. "Yeah, she's out cold. I don't even think she can hear us right now." He then noticed the necklace, which looked vaguely like something he'd seen before - something one of the Autobots had shown him. He flipped it over, and his eyes widened at what he saw on the back. "Ratchet! She's either a Decepticon, or she's working with them!"

When he looked up, Ratchet seemed rather sad, a look rarely seen on his face. "I'm afraid I may know who this is," he commented, getting on one knee to inspect her. "Yes. You don't remember her?"

"Well... she looks a little familiar. Maybe someone I didn't see a lot?"

"I am sure that it is her." He slipped a hand under her neck, and after a moment drew it back. "Yes. Blair Carter, do you remember her now?"

"Oh... oh. She was that kooky girl who kept you guys from tracking filth all over the place."

"More than that." He shook his head. "I believe she and Optimus... well... never mind, that's not of import right now. What is of import is that her memory has been lost to her, stripped right down from everything up until the point when she lost it."

"How long ago did Optimus tell her to leave? Three years?"

"Almost." He sighed, standing up and rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm afraid the date also seems to coincide with the day she lost her memory." He turned around, running a palm over his face in frustration. "Optimus is not going to be happy about this."

Lennox looked up. "Do you think she remembers us? I mean, you guys?"

"I sincerely doubt it. The loss is very extreme... and I felt a small injury, very small, that suggests she hit her head and that is what caused it." He started walking back towards his real form, the Hummer. "I don't believe she remembers anything but the last three years."

Lennox blew out a breath. "Damn... you think the twins are gonna be upset about this? They miss their little Psycho. I think everyone does. Hell, even Ironhide said he wants her to come back. I can't believe he misses her too."

Ratchet snorted, opening the back doors. "As I believe you humans say, puh-lease. He misses having her as a moving target because she was the only human who would agree to it. Perhaps the twins' alias for her is accurate."

"Yeah, from what I remember she sure was crazy. Didn't she dance on top of Optimus's alt form at one point, while Bee was playing the radio?"

"And the song had to be 'Dumb Love', of all the possible choices Bumblebee could have made," Ratchet grumbled. "I'm not quite sure Sideswipe ever stopped teasing her her singing... and for the way she danced on top of Optimus. Apparently it wasn't considered the most decent way of moving in the human mind."

"The twins had a freaking field day with that."

"No, they just made it worse." Ratchet gestured to the back of the Hummer. "Get her in, please. I'll do a better scan when we get back, but if you meet her after you wake up... just treat her as if you've never met her. That's what Optimus will want to do, because he's stubborn."

"Wow," Lennox retorted sarcastically, lifting the woman and bringing her around to the back. "He certainly had me fooled."


In some ways, it was so terribly, spark-wrenching difficult to see her again, especially like this. Broken and not even awake, lying there, and he was reminded of just how fragile she really was. But in other ways, some kind of psychological hose washed relief over his entire being. At least she was still alive; at least he knew he'd made the right decision by sending her away, the decision that would keep her alive.

"Optimus." His medical officer's voice was gentle, a rarity, but it was so obvious that was the way he had to treat the leader right now. "Staring at her when you should be sleeping isn't going to wake her up any faster. She'll come around at her own pace."

"Where... Where did you find her?" His voice was even quieter, and you wouldn't think it was possible for an Autobot, a mighty, massive Cybertronian, to sound so... small.

"She was on the sidewalk, near the grocery. She was like this."

"What's... What's that scar on her mouth? That wasn't there when I left her."

Indeed, there was a mark that stretched perhaps an inch and a half above the edge of her lip, through both lips, and another inch below. It looked almost like her lips were stitched together at that area where the scar ran through them, like if she spoke she wouldn't be able to move that part.

"Likely one of the Decepticons," Ratchet replied. "You know how careless they are with humans."

"I need to go give them a piece of my processor-"

"Optimus." The older bot laid his hand on Optimus's shoulder. "Not tonight. You'll be far too tired with the news I've got for you."

He sighed and put his palm to his face. "What could possibly put me in a worse mood than this?"

Ratchet shook his head, bringing up the medical scans he'd done earlier and displaying them to his leader. "She has severe amnesia, Optimus. I would be surprised if she remembered her own name - if she's not living under some kind of alias, I mean."

Optimus's eyes lingered on the scans for a few seconds more before looking back at his old friend, the other half of his spark. "She... has lost her memory. Is that what you're telling me, Ratchet?"

"Except for the past two years, ten months, and six days... Optimus. Stop staring at her, what would she think if her eyes suddenly snapped open and you were ogling her like that? Focus on me."

He tore his optics away from the lovely, broken form, and faced Ratchet.

"Not so hard, hmm? Now. Optimus, I think that if she remembers anything, it certainly won't be us."

"But she has been living with the Decepticons. She knows who we are."

"She know what our race is," Ratchet corrected. "But listen to me: She does not know who we are."

Optimus looked at her again, and then sat down on the berth, beside her legs. It was much too big a bed for such a small, delicate creature like her. "Ratchet... she is... more than just our friend."

"I know, Optimus. You two were in the middle of finding out the glorious truth of whether or not you were sparkmates." For some reason, this was said with gruff sarcasm. But all trace of it vanished in an instant. "Optimus. If you wanted so badly to know whether you two were meant to be in love, why did you send her away? Was it too spark-breaking for you, hmm, falling in love?"

"I didn't want her to get hurt." His voice had changed, to that small, reflective, sorrowful tone. "Every time a human is hurt because of us, it feels as though there is a knife wedged in my spark. And eventually... the feeling fades... and I go on with life. But if... if anything ever happened to her, to my Blair..." He shook his head, before bowing it almost in shame. "That feeling would never go away."

"Everyone knows how much you care for her, and they all care for her too. They would all fight to the death if she was in any danger, even Ironhide. Nothing would ever happen to her."

"But I would always fear something would. I... I had to..."

"And look where she ended up, Optimus. In the hands of the very ones you tried to protect her from. Perhaps it would have been better if you had just let her stay, ordered Ironhide to guard her-"

"At least I tried to protect her," Optimus interrupted. "At least I didn't just sit by and do nothing. It may have not worked out as I wanted it to, but I tried."

Ratchet let out a breath. "Alright. Alright, Optimus. You want this to be hard? I can assure you it's going to be hard. She does not remember us. None of us, not even you."

"Perhaps now that she's back, she might start to remember."

"That's a big 'if', Optimus. She may not remember right away."

"But she may."

"I understand. I comprehend what you're trying to convey." Ratchet adjusted the IV line going into her arm. "But what if she can't remember, Optimus? What do you plan to do then?"

Optimus stood up, giving her one last glance full of affection, concern. "I'll fall in love with her all over again, if I have to. Perhaps it will be easier the second time."

Ratchet chuckled. "Love never gets any easier, my friend. Are you going to tell them of her return? You... do plan to let her stay this time, yes?"

"Of course." He pulled the door open. "I'll be in the hangar."

Half-hearted slam, nearly rattling the whole room, if not the building. "Oh yes," Ratchet murmured, his face plates forming a somewhat satisfied smirk, "he's not happy."


"Yo, boss!" All in an instant the twins were running up.

"Boss, it really true?" Mudflap started.

"Psycho really back up in dis joint?" Skids continued.

"We's got our Psycho back!"

"Be quiet, you two," Optimus rumbles, his voice dangerously low. He could see the others in their regular modes, hanging back but obviously curious. Bumblebee, Sideswipe, Ironhide. All waiting for an answer. "Look..." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yes, Blair is here."

"Oh yeah!" Skids and Mudflap cried. "Party in da house now, Psycho back on base!"

"Hey!" Optimus shouted. "Before any of you go getting all excited, just know one thing. She does not have her memory. Alright? Anyone not understand that?"

Bumblebee chirped sadly a few times, looking down with sorrow all too evident on his face. "You mean she - don't remember - none of us?"

"Precisely. We're not even sure yet that she knows her name. She has been with the Decepticons for the last three years, and I don't know what sort of things that Megatron may have led her to believe."

All at once the twins made a big display of this, throwing their arms around each other and wailing. "Our Psycho don't know who we is! She don't remember nothin' we done wit her!"

"Calm down," Optimus sighed.

Ironhide stepped forward. "She... really doesn't remember anything about us?"

Optimus shook his head. "We won't know for sure until she wakes up. But Ratchet said there was little chance of her having any memories of us."

Ironhide snarled. "Well, that slags. I wanted to show her how good my cannons were still working without her."

"They're not as clean," Sideswipe pointed out. "Nothing ever is. I mean, good enough to be functional... but remember, when she cleaned us - remember how we used to sparkle?"

"She took the time to get everything right," Ironhide agreed. "Good kid, that one."

"Now," Optimus spoke up again. "We're not going to ask her if she remembers us. Not outright. We're going to treat her like we might remember her but we're not sure. At the same time, please try to make her remember. Don't ask her questions, don't try to prompt her with your words. Do things with her that she might remember. No, Ironhide," he scolded, seeing the warrior readying his cannons, "that does not mean I'm giving you permission to use her for target practice."

"I know what we can do, fo' sho'!" Skids called, thumping his brother on the back of the head. "Why not we ask her to gives us kick-ass racin' flames again, huh? Like she did dat one time! Orange on me, blue on you's!"

Optimus shook his head again. "I suppose I can give you permission to persuade her into doing that. It would probably bring up some pleasant memories. But no one, and I mean no one..." He looked at everyone with the harshest look they'd ever seen in his eyes, silently making sure everyone understood that this rule was not to be broken. "Is going to directly tell her anything. Let her figure it out herself through her experiences. Do I make myself clear? Skids? Mudflap?"

"We ain't tell her nothin'," Skids promised.

"Yeah, we 'spect her enough," Mudflap agreed.

"Sideswipe?"

"I'll take her on a couple rides, but I won't mention it was something we used to do."

"Ironhide?"

"... No cannons, then?"

"Ironhide."

"Okay, okay. No cannons," he mumbled, looking disappointed. "Alright, alright. I won't blast at her with them, I'll just let her see them, and clean them, and maybe load them, like she used to, if she wants..."

"I hope she - hasn't changed - so we can't recognize - my baby," Bumblebee commented through the radio, looking sad.

Optimus nodded. "Yes. I hope so too, Bumblebee."


Awwwz, so sad. Do y'all think she's going to remember any of them when she wakes up?

Okay, well, please leave me a review... and as usual, the longer it is, the more it motivates me to write and post!

Thanks for reading! ^^