Well. I just spent five hours writing this, starting from midnight. It's been a long night. I think I should have slept, but this got pretty intense. While you're reading this, see if you can tell my brain was shutting itself off as I wrote. It was fun. I'm gonna go get at least a few hours of sleep, I hope my stupid decision didn't ruin this chapter, cause it's supposed to be a climactic one. Enjoy!

"Alrighty kids, you ready to rumble?" Sarcasm was something Bell always turned to when she was stressed. It also made her talkative, but something told her she wouldn't be getting out of this situation by talking Starscream's head off. "If we're where I think we are, you guys need to run due north, and you should be able to see a big red billboard, just as the streets start branching off; you're looking to make it to the heart of Downtown, okay? Just make sure you're always facing that billboard, and you'll know you're going the right way."

"What are you going to-"

"Just listen to me." Bell cut Suzanne off, she could hear Starscream approaching. "There's a parking garage, behind a complex with an old deli and a pizza parlor right next to each other, a broken fountain, there should be a bridge off to your right, you'll know it when you see it, the top two floors are collapsed, but you don't have to worry about that. All you need to do-"

"Oh you might be hiding, but I can hear you!" Starscream was just outside.

"Damn it, the teller, where you pay, make it in there, there's a door at the very back, behind a set of filing cabinets. Not an actual door, it's a panel, just smack it as hard as you can, it'll lead to a tunnel, a really steep, rocky, downwards slope, pitch black. Slide down, don't try to walk or climb, just slide down, trust me on this. As soon as he tears the roof off of this place, you just run out the back exit, as fast as you can."

"We can't outrun him, he'll just-"

"You just leave him to me. Suzanne, I never make promises unless I can keep them. I've made two today. I'm gonna get you and these kids out of this mess, you got me?" Before Suzanne could respond, they heard the deafening crunch of metal against brick. "You take care of him, he's one of my promises." Bell pointed to Jasper, pulling a small canister from her belt. "Run."

By the time Starscream was tearing the roof off the bakery, they were flying out the back door, arms thrown over their heads as debris rained down on them. Bell sat against the counter, knees pulled up to her chest with her eyes closed, her head bobbing rhythmically, a technique she had learned to calm her nerves; her hands were shaking. This was a suicide mission.

"Promise me, Arabell...do whatever it takes to return everything just as it was"
"Everything'll be okay…we'll all be really happy…right?"
"I will get you out of here alive. Do you believe me?"
If ever we find ourselves faced with a decision, where right mixes with wrong, where the answer is not simple, we shall always look within ourselves to find the strength to make that choice…

Bell opened her eyes.

"Oh, we're back to running are we?" The roof was gone, and Starscream was starting to follow the kids. Bell was supposed to be the distraction.

"Come and get some." Her fingers, no longer trembling, pulled the pin out of the canister, and she stood, throwing the canister straight up with renewed strength. "YOUR FIGHT'S WITH ME!"

"Wha-?" Bell was shooting out the front door as soon as the canister left her hand, ducking between his legs, running in the completely opposite direction of the base, throwing her arms over her eyes.

"MY EYES! I'M BLIND!" Bell smiled, turning left, tumbling forward at full speed, leading him further away from the orphans.

"Yeah, you better believe it!" She laughed over her shoulder, welcoming the rush of adrenaline as an inhuman growl came after her.

"What did you do?" He wasn't thinking rationally at this point, and was turning in the direction he last saw the kids run, rather than listening to her like he was supposed to be. Come on, ugly, just follow the sound of my voice, that's what blind people do! She took a risk.

"Haven't you ever heard of a flash grenade?" Stopping, she picked up a pebble and chucked it straight at him.

"Our optics are far more advanced than your measly organic eyes, human," He snarled, turning around slowly. Good boy. Come here. "We cannot be affected by a mere light show."

"Yeah well, this is what you'd call adapting. It's something we measly humans are particularly good at." Time to go. Bell turned and ran as he barreled towards her. Somehow, she felt like he probably wasn't going to stall anymore.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Bell really couldn't help but grin, despite the fact that she was probably gonna die tonight.

"Yeah that's the thing about being blind. You trip more often."

"Get back here!"

"…You dumb or what? Hell no!" A spark of hope flared up in her heart. He was dealing with being blind a lot worse than she had expected him to. She had a chance to lose him while he was busy stumbling over buildings. "See you in a bit, big guy. It's time for me to get lost." And she launched into a dizzying sequence of lefts and rights. After a couple minutes, she was undeniably lost, but so was Starscream, who was now a stumbling, bumbling mass several yards away. Bell could easily get a visual on him, but he couldn't see her, of course; even if he wasn't blind, she was too small from this distance. He would probably be able to see soon enough; the flash grenade wasn't capable of doing any permanent damage. There was still the issue of her body heat too; she'd stand out like a sore thumb once he got close enough to use heat detection.

"Crap…" Bell slid down against a wall, dropping into a sitting position, gripping her left knee. She could still wiggle her toes, which was probably a good thing. Refusing to look at her leg, she tried to catch her breath. There was nothing she could do, no matter how bad the cut was, and she didn't need something else to worry about right now. "Come on Bell…" She could hear him transforming in the distance. "Get up…" She was reminded of her recurring dream memory, that sequence of thoughts that had run through her head as she sat locked in a closet that night, her parents' corpses laying somewhere outside in the madness. "Get up…" Why should I be any different? "Get up…" Why should I survive? "Get up…" I wish I could go out there and die… "No." I'm not strong. "Damn it Bell, stop. Get up." I'm not brave. "Stop thinking. Stop." I'm…worthless.

"DAMN IT, GET THE HELL UP!" Standing with a pained scream, Bell began running again, forcing her legs into the torturous, endless cycle. But she would never be able to outrun her haunted mind. Have you changed? Have you really? How do you know this time will be any different? What makes you think you can actually save someone this time? The unwelcome thoughts kept wriggling into her mind, and tears were beginning to blur her vision. Why couldn't you save them, Bell? Is that why you're trying to help those orphans? Because you're an orphan too? Because you couldn't even save your own sister? There it was. Her forbidden thought, the thing she no longer allowed herself to acknowledge. Starscream was flying overhead, shredding apart all the progress Bell had made. "Heat signature…" And that's when she saw it, a broken pipe with the impossible: running water, pouring down in a torrent. How could there possibly be running water in this place? Maybe someone really was watching over her. They died while you hid. They died while you hid. You're nothing but a coward. Coward. Coward. Starscream would be on top of her at any second. Coward. Coward. COWARD.

"SHUT. UP!" Screaming to drown out her own thoughts, Bell ran straight through the freezing wall of water, hiding her heat signature and waking her up enough to get a grip on her emotions. Immediately she hit the ground, rolling into a ball as Starscream flew over her; the dark clothes would hide her, in case he was able to see. Now she had the advantage. Finishing her somersault, she pulled a small handgun from her waist; lying flat on the ground, his engines were completely exposed. Closing one eye, she aimed, and pulled the trigger. "Damn it…" He was going way too fast, and she was shivering from the cold, her arms shaking uncontrollably. She aimed again, steading her arm with her other hand, and pulled the trigger. Once. Twice. And the third time's the charm. "Heh…" It wouldn't be enough to kill him, but it was a blow that would leave a scar. Bell had barely gotten onto her feet when the aftershock of the exploding engine reached her, violently tossing her through the air, her head smacking a post before she was able to twist herself around, so that her back hit the wall of the closest building, minimizing the damage. It didn't stop the jolt of pain from traveling down the entirety of her body, and she hit the ground with a dull thud. Without wasting a second, she was immediately on her hands and knees, searching for the gun, coughing, down but not out. "At least there isn't any glass around…" Nonetheless, there was a steady throb in the back of her head, and the feel of blood trickling down her temple was unmistakable. Chance of survival: near zero percent. But her own life hadn't been the one she was trying to save. As long as Starscream was over here, the orphans were safely getting away.

"Holy shit!" Bell blinked, finally collapsing against the wall with her legs spread out wide. Her leg was drenched with blood, and she could tell she had several broken ribs, but hope flickered to life in her heart again. She knew that voice, that tone. Coughing, Bell tasted blood, but smiled and began to laugh anyways.

"Epps? You're my backup?"

"Yeah! What the hell was that, Bell? I never taught you that!"

"I've been full of surprises today Epps. Is Lennox with you?"

"Right here, Bell-" She could hear him coming to kneel by her.

"No, stay where you are, Starscream isn't out of the fight yet. I just wanted to let you know…I nailed the reverse heel kick earlier." She grinned as he laughed.

"Seriously? After all this time, you just suddenly got it? On who?" Bell coughed in embarrassment.

"Uh…Gould."

"For real?" Epps was speaking again. "By the way, you look like crap."

"Yeah…thanks for the update."

"Whoa whoa whoa, look alive boys, incoming! Bell-!"

"I got ya." Curling against the wall, Bell shielded herself from the explosion of the incoming missile, which had, thankfully, not been aimed well.

"You INSOLENT HUMAN!"

"This isn't good."

"GET OUTTA HERE BELL!" It was becoming ridiculously more difficult to get on her feet every time she tried, and her head pounded with renewed strength as she ran along the length of the crumbling wall, and dove into a side alley as another missile hit the ground, closer than the first. Too close for comfort. Bell was finally convinced she was hallucinating as Suzanne jumped through the flames licking the edge of the alley, and skidded to a stop in front of her.

"Arabell! You okay?"

"Crap. I've finally lost it. EPPS, WHAT'S SHE DOING HERE?"

"CAN'T REALLY TALK!" As if to emphasize his point, the ratatatatatat of automatic firearms tore through the night.

"Fine then, LENNOX?"

"We ran into the kids on our way out, she insisted on coming along. Something about helping you keep a promise!" Bell stared at Suzanne.

"The kids are safe?" Suzanne pulled her into a hug, shocking her into silence.

"They're safe, all thanks to you. I really owe you one, Arabell." Bell sat motionlessly, then laughed once, wrapping one arm around Suzanne's shoulders. The kids were safe.

"You dummy. Why the heck would you come back?"

"You're part of our family now, Arabell. I'm taking you back, more or less in one piece, or else I'll be breaking my own promise."

"What promise is that?"

"That I'll never lose someone I care about, ever again." Tears were already spilling over Bell's cheeks. She couldn't function with emotions.

"I've got three things to say: First, you're making me cry. Stop that. Second, I'm not going back, not until they do too. And third, stop calling me Arabell. You make me feel like an old lady."

"Alright then, Bell," Suzanne laughed, letting her go. "You get to call me Suzie. And we're all gonna live tonight."

"You better believe it." Bell grinned, feeling an entirely new sense of kinship. "Tell me, is Starscream still a plane, or is he showing his face?"

"He's walking around on two feet."

"Good. Listen, I'm gonna need your help."

"Whatever you need."

"Help me jump off a building."

"…have you been feeling depressed? Has it been feeling harder to get up every morning, cause they prescribe stuff for that you know. We're all here to help you, Bell."

"I'm not suicidal!" Suzanne giggled, actually looking ecstatic despite the situation.

"You could've fooled me!"

"Suzie. Get me on that roof. I'm ending this."

"I've got you, I've got you." Gripping Bell's hand, Suzie pulled her onto her feet. "What roof?"

"Two buildings down. It's an old apartment, so it should be relatively easy to scale, and it's nice and high too."

"Is it dangerous?" Suzie asked as they ducked behind old buildings, out of the line of fire.

"Isn't everything?"

"Point taken." Without another word, Bell hefted herself onto the lowest ledge of the apartment. "Stairs aren't an option I'm assuming?"

"I'm not gonna risk it. The building could technically collapse at any second, it's not in the best shape, and there are missiles being fired."

"So we're climbing it."

"Pretty much. You coming?" Bell heard an exasperated sigh.

"Sure! Why wouldn't I come?" Bell was joking around, but she was dangerously close to passing out. Still, she forced herself to climb level after level of the apartment, doing some pretty heavy damage to her leg even though she was trying to favor it.

Near the top of the building, Bell finally noticed something that had been bothering her – the red billboard was looming just overhead.

"Aw, seriously?"

"What?"

"I got so lost I led him in a circle. We're right next to the base."

"Then I guess your plan had better work, huh?"

"I guess so." Pulling herself onto the roof, Bell turned around and pulled Suzie up. "I'm gonna need you to give me a serious boost. The building's not tall enough." Rummaging around in the various pockets of her little tool belt, Bell found what she was looking for.

"Like, how much of a boost are we talking here?"

"I'm pretty much just going to need you to throw me."

"…great!"

"It'll be fun. You ready?"

"Yes. Wait no…okay. No no, wait!" Rolling her eyes, Bell backed up to the edge of the roof, facing Suzie, who had her back to Starscream and the havoc he was causing below, proving that she was either brave or reckless. Then again, Bell wasn't much better.

"Just get off the roof as soon as I'm off, okay? Shit's about to get real."

"I'm not ready."

"Too freaking bad." Bell ran straight at Suzie, who locked her hands together at the last moment, caught Bell's foot, and launched her upward with incredible upper body strength, immediately running for the edge of the building, swinging herself over legs first. Bell flew through the air, hurtling towards Starscream. This was going to hurt.

"AGH!" She couldn't help screaming as she slammed straight into cold, sharp metal, and had to fight to get a grip as she fell back towards the ground.

"What? What's that? Get off me human!" Bell had been hoping to land by his neck, but she had slid to his shoulder instead. It was going to have to do. Hanging on with one hand, she pulled the cap off the small cylinder with her teeth.

"Am I fulfilling my role as a pest yet? I think I'm doing a pretty good job, insects always crawl all over you, and leave some pretty nasty bite marks!" Plunging the sharp end into the metal, Bell kicked off with her feet, flipping to catch herself on the railing of a balcony on the apartment.

"Ow! What is that? What did you do?"

"Fire in the hole!" As Starscream flailed, one claw lashed straight out at her. "Aw crap." Letting go, she just barely missed getting crushed, but found herself tumbling down from several stories in the air.

"You just never stop do you?" Epps grunted, catching Bell as she braced herself for the impact.

"Epps," Bell's head lolled dangerously on her neck, and she fought to stay conscious. "There's an explosive in his shoulder." As she spoke, Starscream transformed, flying straight up. The heat from his remaining engines threatened to burn them all to a crisp as they hit the ground. As he flew, a small explosion blew part of the wing off, sending him careening out of control.

"Retreat, RETREAT!" Lennox screamed, several of them already long gone. Starscream passed dangerously low overhead, before managing to straighten himself.

"Epps, let me go," Bell demanded, her voice growing desperate and panicked. "Let me go, Epps, please, Epps, SUZIE!" Forcing herself out of his arms, Bell ran back towards the apartment.

"Bell!" He called after her.

"Suzie!" Rounding the corner, Bell found Suzie lying unconscious on the ground, her hair matted with blood. "Suzie." Starscream was flying levelly at a low altitude now, and Bell realized with horror that he was planning to blow them all to Hell. "SUZIE WAKE UP, WE'RE ALL GONNA LIVE TONIGHT, REMEMBER SUZIE, REMEMBER? DON'T BREAK YOUR FUCKING PROMISE!"

"Aw, quit your screeching already…" Bell found herself staring into those familiar steely green orbs, fogged over with what was probably a concussion. "No one's breaking any promises." Pulling her up, Bell dragged Suzie along, noticing that she was harboring a broken leg.

"EPPS!" He was already there, having followed her, and picked Suzie up without a word, running straight for the parking garage. Bell hung behind, running backwards, pulling out her own handgun while swiping Epps's as well. Give me the strength…

Screaming, Bell pulled the triggers as rapidly as she could, praying she might hit Starscream's fuel tank. One more engine gave out, but her luck was out – a missile was already flying towards her. Dropping the guns, she turned and ran for the parking garage. The last thing she saw was Suzie's terrified face, tears streaming down her face, with her mouth open in a scream.

"BELL!"

Take care of the kids, Suzie.