Love is Dead

SideswipexOC

Chapter Ten

Welcome to the Family

0-0-0

Hey kid, do I have your attention?
I know the way you've been livin'
Life's so wreckless, tragedy endless
Welcome to the family
Hey! There's something missing
Only time will alter your vision
Never in question, lethal injection
Welcome to the family

0-0-0

"So, tell us what exactly happened," Optimus Prime said. Ratchet, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were in his office, discussing what had happened with Alaina.

"Well, we were woken up by her screaming," Sideswipe started. "And when Sunny and I couldn't get her to calm down, we called in the Hatchet." Ratchet growled slightly at the nickname. He projected the x-rays he had taken of Alaina's leg against the wall.

"This is her left leg, x-rays of her tibia and fibula," a laser pointed out the dark splotches that appeared on the bone. "These appear to be metallic in nature, but I'm not totally sure," he told them.

"Well, why don't you do your job properly and find out!" Sunstreaker growled out. The CMO sighed.

"It is not that simple, Sunstreaker. To do that, I would need to perform surgery on her, and only then would I know what has caused her pain and how it can be removed.

Alaina woke up in a hospital bed in the med bay, more than a little bit confused. Her leg hurt with a vague, dull pain and the only thing she remembered was waking up the twins. Seeing the medical chief working on a table a little ways away from her, she sighed in relief. "Ratchet?" After he turned around, she continued, "I just…what's wrong with me?"

"There appears to be a foreign object embedded in your leg, in the bone. For me to know any more about it, I will have to perform an operation," he explained to her. Fear shot through her, making the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

"Why? Can't you like, scan it and see what it is or something?" she asked frantically. He shook his head in a negative.

"No, I'm afraid not. It appears to be Cybertronian in nature, but that's all I could tell from the x-ray. It could be potentially fatal, and we need to know, Alaina." She sighed, and a frown appeared on her face. She thought about it for a long time, before slowly nodding her head.

"Alright, I'll do it. Uh, when will it happen?" she inquired.

"I will be ready for you tomorrow, at 10:30 in the morning," he set the appointment. Alaina nodded, holding her hands together in front of her to stop them from shaking. Once she was sure that he had finished talking with her and was back to work at his table, she allowed herself to show her fear. Reaching out through the bond, she tried to reach the twins.

'Sunstreaker, Sideswipe? You guys there?' she tentatively prodded at them. The response was almost immediate.

'Yes, sweetspark?'

'Yeah, Alaina?' came at the same time, from Sideswipe and Sunstreaker respectively.

'D-do you think you two could come to the med bay, p-please?' she pleaded.

'What's wrong?' they both demanded at the same time. She could feel them drawing closer with each passing second. It wasn't long before they stormed through the doors of the med bay simultaneously.

"What's wrong, Alaina?" Sideswipe asked as he and his yellow counterpart stopped at her bed side. The two of them couldn't help but feel shock at the fact that she had called them to the infirmary by using the bond they shared. Apparently, it ran deeper than they had originally thought.

"Ratchet and I…we've scheduled surgery for tomorrow morning," she told them. Both sets of optics shot to said medic's back, where he ignored them and continued his work.

"For the metal in your leg?" Sunny asked. She nodded, glad that the CMO was allowing her to explain everything on her own.

"Well don't worry about it. We'll be with you the whole time; and the Hatchet is good at what he does. You'll be fine," Sides reassured her. She nodded slowly and he hugged her, his other half hesitating slightly before joining in.

The next day came all too quickly for everyone. Alaina was already in her hospital gown in the med bay, sitting on a berth by 10:00 am. The sooner, she figured, was all the better. Both of her bonded were there, standing in front of her. Ratchet was setting up the room where the operation was going to take place.

"Are you ready to go, Alaina?" he asked after he had finished. Taking a deep breath, she nodded. He picked up a syringe and injected her with the pre-surgery anesthetic. With how she had reacted the first time he had knocked her out, he was taking precautionary measures and putting her on an I.V. drip. He shot a look at the twins when they made to follow after him. "You two need to leave. Go sit in the waiting room if you're that anxious," he snapped.

The two looked at the limp body of the human they were bonded with before leaving the med bay, too worried to put up much of a fight. Ratchet took Alaina into the OR. After he had made the necessary, last minute adjustments, he transformed his finger into a scalpel and made the first incision. He cut deep into her muscles and tissues easily, reaching the bone – and the metal fragment – quickly. As he was making the cut though, more than just blood seeped out. The normally red fluid was tainted with the bright, glowing blue liquid that fueled the Cybertronians – Energon.

Digging deeper, his optics widened when he uncovered the metal shard fully. It appeared to be merging itself with her bone structure. Transforming another digit, he carefully drew the Energon from her leg, keeping it stored in a vial for further study. Examining the metal carefully, he realized that there was no way for him to remove it without harming the bone. Retreating from his work, he carefully stitched up the incision and put a salve on it to speed up the healing process before wrapping it up.

Upon waking, Alaina's vision was clouded by bright yellow and crimson red. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe hovered over her. When they saw that she was indeed awake, they smiled – well, Sunny's was more of a smirk than anything. "You're awake! How're you feeling?" Sides asked her. She shook her head to clear her thoughts before answering.

"I-I'm good. A little…groggy, but good, nonetheless," she said. "And my leg hurts a lot less."

"Good! We just got back from patrol, so we thought we'd come to check up on you," the red twin said. The CMO made his way over. He nodded to the twins and they stepped aside – surprisingly without a work.

"So, I'm guessing you three would like to know about what, exactly, went on during the surgery?" he questioned. The three in question gave him a blank stare in return, making him sigh. "Very well. While we wait for the incision wound to properly heal, you will have to walk using the assistance of crutches…" and he went on to explain exactly what he did in the surgery, and more importantly, what he found. At the end, he finished with a, "and we'll do frequent checkups to see how it is progressing." Alaina nodded, already dreading the visits. After getting the okay to leave, the trio headed back to the Autobot hangar, Alaina sitting comfortably in Sideswipe's palm while Sunstreaker carried her crutches.

Three weeks passed by quickly. Only a faint scar lingered on Alaina's calf as a result of her surgery, and the pains she felt since had been few and far between. She made her way to the infirmary – it was time for a check up with the Hatchet.

"So I trust that you've not had any more pain?" he asked her while running scans on her body. She shook her head.

"No. There are some brief pains, but definitely nothing like the ones before."

"Curious…" the medic trailed off. "It appears as if the metal is just creeping along your bone structure," he told her. Alaina's eyes widened.

"W-what does this mean?" The CMO sighed.

"I believe it is a result of the bond you share with the twins…" he trailed off.

"Ratchet, quit stalling and tell me what is wrong with me!" she demanded. He stared at her in shock for a moment before clearing his throat – or the Cybertronian equivalent.

"The point is this, Alaina. You are turning into a Cybertronian. There's no other way to explain this."

Three more weeks passed quickly. Alaina had had two surgeries in that time period to try and stop the progression of Energon, to no avail. She had to use her crutches at all times now, because her legs were constantly adjusting. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe had been avoiding her like the plague, and she truly didn't know why. It was starting to worry her.

Lennox and Epps had been very helpful in assisting her around the hangar whenever they could. Only a very few select members of N.E.S.T knew about what had been happening to her. Mainly the human medical team, Lennox and Epps, so they could help her if she started to have an attack and Ratchet was unable to be there.

The end of the third week was approaching when Alaina asked for assistance from Ratchet, Ironhide and Jazz. She had finally had enough of her bonded, both of them, ignoring and avoiding her. Since she had been sleeping in the med bay so that Ratchet could better monitor her, Ironhide and Jazz had a plan – well, Jazz had come up with it, and told Ironhide what his part in it was – to get the two trouble-makers to the infirmary. Then the CMO would keep them there. At least, that's what they had told her. When she had asked why they were so willing to help her, she had been told that, in matters of the spark, everyone needed a little help sometime.

When the day came, Jazz pushed a banged up Sides and Sunny into the med bay. Ratchet subtly closed and locked the doors behind them as he walked to where they were standing. Both of them looked around for Alaina nervously. Not seeing her immediately, they allowed themselves to relax slightly.

"What the slag happened to you two?" the CMO asked, pushing them down on separate berths.

"Ironhide was having a bad day, apparently," Sideswipe muttered.

"The fragger scratched my paint!" Sunny whined, inspecting his arm closely. Ratchet glared at them, turning around and picking something up off of his work table and turning back around. Alaina sat in his palm, shocking the twins. He set her down on a berth opposite them, folding her arms. She waiting until the medic had closed his office door behind him to speak.

"Why have you guys been avoiding me?" she questioned. Despite her trying to act tough, her voice cracked on the last word. Sides' optics softened immediately.

"Sweetspark, we never meant to hurt you…"

"But you did!" At that statement, tears welled up in her eyes and Sunstreaker's resolve broke as he felt the pain they had unintentionally put her through via their bond.

"It's our fault that you're like this. In pain all of the time," the yellow mech told her quietly.

"We thought…if we stayed away and distanced ourselves from you, then maybe you wouldn't hurt anymore," Sides finished. The tears Alaina tried so hard to hold back released, making trails down her cheeks.

"You guys are so…stupid!" she shouted. Ignoring the startled looks she got from the two, she continued. "I fucking love you! Both of you! Nothing is going to change that, even all of the pain in the world." All was silent for a few moments, then the twins rose as one and wrapped their arms carefully around Alaina. Wiping her eyes with a smile, she kissed both mechs on their lip plates.

Ratchet chose that moment to come out of his office. Seeing that everything was cleared up, he quickly ushered the reunited trio out of the door. "I don't want to see you two in here again," he warned. As he pushed them out, he made the necessary repairs they needed.

The next day, Jazz and Alaina were in the Autobot's main hangar, talking about music. "So, you gotta listen to it, it's one of the best songs, serious-" Alaina cut off, her eyes widening.

"Alaina? Lil' lady, wha's da matt'r?" Jazz asked. She turned pained eyes up to him.

"G-get Ratchet…please," she begged before her legs gave out and she fell to the ground, crying out in pain. The silver saboteur immediately commed the medic while picking Alaina up carefully. She screamed once more before blacking out.

Ratchet had the med bay doors open and he was waiting by the time Jazz got there. He immediately set her on a table reserved for surgery and injected an anesthetic I.V. into her arm. He scanned her repeatedly, looking for the problem while he sanitized everything he needed. As soon as he was sure the anesthetic had kicked in, he transformed his index finger into a scalpel and made the first incision. His optic almost couldn't believe what they saw; it made him glad that she hadn't been alone.

Energon had built up again. Only, this time it had migrated up to surround her lungs. The buildup had caused a lack of oxygen intake, thus making her pass out. Ratchet carefully extracted the glowing blue liquid while contacting the twins and letting them know what had happened. Containing the Energon in a glass vial, he wasn't surprised when the doors to the med bay opened shortly after. Pointing at a metal berth, he closed Alaina up before disconnecting her I.V. turning around, he saw Sunstreaker sitting where he had previously pointed, surprisingly silent.

"She had Energon build up around her lungs. It caused her to pass out," the CMO explained. The yellow bot nodded. Sideswipe was out on patrol and wouldn't be relieved for another hour yet, so he was her only visitor. He reached out to her through their bond.

'Alaina.' He felt surprise, shock and confusion seep through. 'C'mon femme. You can't be weak like this.'

'Well I'm sorry if I couldn't breathe…what happened to me, anyways?' she asked. He explained her situation to her with a smirk. After, he allowed her to rest.

"She'll be fine," he told Ratchet on his way out.

Yet another week passed by. Alaina was restricted to the med bay; she wasn't even allowed to walk around the base with Sideswipe and Sunstreaker anymore. By then, both of her legs had made the transformation from human to Cybertronian. One day when Jolt was organizing his own tools, she had asked him what he thought about what was happening to her.

"I believe you are becoming a Cybertronian. Primus must not want you to die in a vorn and leave the twins sparkbroken," he told me. It made her realize exactly how lucky she had become. A few hours passed before her twins were relieved of their duties and came to see her.

"Hey guys, guess what!" And she repeated what Jolt had told her. Their reactions were the opposite of what she had expected. Instead of being elated, they appeared worried. "Guys, what's wrong?"

"Don't you understand? This could kill you!"

"You could be forced to take part in a government experiment for all we know!" They took turns telling her.

"We all know that Optimus wouldn't let that happen! And now, I won't die in sixty or so years!" she retaliated. Ratchet chose that unfortunate moment to return from his Energon break. "Hey Hatchet, how exactly is my transformation going to take place?" she asked him. He released air from his vents in a sigh and walked over to the trio.

"From what my observations have told me, they will continue upwards, with your brain being the last part of you to change. I assume your internal organs will change into their Cybertronian equivalent," he paused and vented again. "It will also continue to be quite painful."

True to the medic's word, Alaina's changes were increasingly painful and were also getting more and more frequent. A lot of changes had occurred in a fairly short amount of time, and how half of her body was of Cybertronian make, while the other was still human. Where the two met was extremely tender, but only marked by an angry red line that wound around her mid-section. The twins had not left her side since her transformations had started happened more and more often. Their patrol had been taken over by a reluctant Mirage and an eager Hound on Optimus' orders.

Wheeljack had told the two that he had been working on a surprise for Alaina in his lab. He was rarely seen away from the large room. The humans had learned to stay clear of it after the first few explosions had occurred. No matter how often the twins had pestered him, the scientist would not let them know what it was.

"In as little as three weeks, your body should convert completely," Ratchet told Alaina after running a daily check-up on her. She scoffed and closed her eyes.

"What a wonderful birthday present to me, to be in pain," she muttered to herself. 'Sides quickly looked up what she meant on the web and told his twin.

"When's your birthday?" he asked.

"Uh…October 3rd," she told them. "Why?" she asked apprehensively. Grinning mischievously, they ignored her.

Two and a half weeks passed with her in almost constant pain, no matter how many drugs were pumped through her system. Alaina was in the middle of yet another transformation, and the pain was steadily increasing, beyond that she had felt so far. Letting out a whimper, her body convulsed once, twice, and was still.

"Ratchet! What's going on?" Her twins yelled in unison. The CMO gave them a dark look while he ran constant scans and did what he could for her.

"Her heart has made the transformation; she has a spark now," he told them quietly. "Her brain will be next…"

"Is she going to be okay?"

"I honestly don't know…"

A/N: Okay. Sorry for the long wait guys, but here it is! 9 pages in word, and over 3000 words. It's my longest chapter yet!

So, let's make those reviews match, 'kay?

I haven't been getting many lately, and I fear that people are loosing interest in it...So show me it's not true, kay?

Thanks for reading

-ZH