Hey, sorry it took so long but I really liked writing this one. It's the longest chapter I've written for this story so far.

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As the Jets discussed their plans for, what was most likely, the Autobots demise Michelle found herself once again rocketing skyward. Still clasped in Skywarp's fist, she tried to protect herself from the powerful rush of air. When she finally uncovered her eyes Michelle almost lost what was left in her stomach, which wouldn't have been much since she hadn't eaten in over 24 hours.

Michelle looked down at the match-box sized cars that were the Autobots. They were too far away for her to call out to them but she felt comforted by their appearance. Even if they had come to destroy her.

The air around her continued to cool as the seekers rose. Michelle started to shiver as her body was exposed to the chill temperature, at the same time her breathing became more labored. They stopped moving when the Autobots were not much more than the size of ants.

"Time for the last stage of our plan. We may have had to skip parts three and four, but the results will be the same. Hand me the human."

Michelle felt that sick sensation again as Skywarp threw her at Thundercracker. She landed hard on TC's palm. He looked down at her.

"You're going to say and do the same things you said and did earlier."

"No."

"No? If you don't we'll kill you."

"You're going to kill me anyway, so no."

Thundercracker emitted a noise that sounded similar to a frustrated growl. "If you do what I want you to, your death will be quick and relatively painless. If you disobey me you will suffer, and I will make sure the Autobrats are watching. Do you want that?"

"Don't you dare hurt them."

"What happens to them is beyond your control, but would you prefer them to watch you go squish?" The hand tightened around her. "Or rip?"

Michelle's shaking was no longer just from the cold. "Rip?"

"How else did you think we were going to kill you? Imagine the pain your Autobots will feel when they watch you get ripped limb from limb." Thundercracker looked more than happy to follow that plan.

"They'd stop you." She said shakily.

"Not while you were in my hands. You see, I know how the Autobots think. No matter what, they'll do nothing if there's a chance that their actions might cause you greater pain."

Michelle paled. She knew that what he said was true and that he would like nothing more than to torment them like that. He'd take the greatest pleasure in torturing her infront of them, especially when they wouldn't do anything that would further risk her life.

"You're a sick bastard." She growled.

TC just smiled, he knew he was going to win. "Do you remember what you have to say?"

"I hate you, I always will." She spat venomously. "You don't deserve to share the same universe, let alone the same planet as the Autobots. I hope you die writhing in pain."

"That's good. The only change I would make would be replacing Autobot with Decepticon."

"You can shove your opinions up whatever passes as an asshole for you guys."

Thundercracker's optics narrowed dangerously and Michelle might have feared that she had gone too far, but she was going to die soon anyway so where was the harm in being a smart-ass to her captor.

"You walk a thin line human. Be very careful with what you say."

"I'm going to die today, you assured me that. So I'll say whatever I god-damn want. You can't stop me."

Maybe it was the cold messing with her brain, or maybe it was the thinner atmosphere, but Michelle felt much like she had when she was sixteen; bold, rude and arrogant.

Thundercracker sneered down at her before falling into a steep dive. Michelle's lapse into hauteur dispelled quickly as they plummeted towards the ground. When they stopped they must have been only fifty feet above the ruined ranch, but to Michelle it looked far further.

Thundercracker, Michelle and Skywarp remained in the air as the trio of Autobots approached. Sunstreaker, Sideswipe and Bluestreak skidded to a halt with a shower of sand and dust. They transformed and George hid behind Blue's ankle.

Sunstreaker didn't waste time on pleasantries. "Put her down Thundercracker."

"No, I don't think I will. She likes being here with us. We're good friends."

"We know you made her lie to us."

"And who told you that? The human? You've already been tricked by one human, what makes you think this one would be any different?"

"Stop talking, it won't work. We know she's still one of us."

The ridge above Thundercracker's optic rose disdainfully as he gazed at the Twins. His grip on Michelle tightened, she understood what he wanted. She wasn't to speak, at all.

She shot him a furious glare, no longer caring who saw the hostility between them. She was still one of the Autobots. She even had the mark to prove it.

The Twins hadn't missed the exchange between Michelle and Thundercracker. Sideswipe grinned dangerously and Sunstreaker looked positively devilish.

"She's already told you she's with us. She shouldn't have to tell you again." Thundercracker sneered.

"But we want her to say it again."

Sideswipe looked straight at her and Michelle felt her heart clench as her anger faded. There was no way that she could let them watch as she was ripped to pieces. She had to play by TC's rules to keep the Twins from being hurt.

"I'll say this only once. Go, and don't come back."

Michelle expected anger or pain to appear on the red twin's face, instead a brilliant grin lifted his lips. It was similar to the ones he used to give her back before they had left. It warmed her heart before sending shivers down her spine.

"You heard her. Go or something bad will happen." Skywarp taunted.

"Are you threatening us?" Sunstreaker growled.

Michelle could tell that he was itching for a reason to fight. Her heart sped up as she pictured the battle. Thundercracker would kill her and then turn on the Twins. Bluestreak wouldn't be able to help because Skywarp would have already shot him before attacking Sideswipe, leaving Sunstreaker with the mixed anguish of seeing all three of them killed before he was either killed or tortured by the seekers.

Michelle's breathing sped up as her imagination conjured that horrible image. She couldn't let that happen. They had to be warned.

"Go!" She screamed, the sudden volume caused everyone to looked at her. "You have to leave now! I don't want you to get hurt."

"That's enough for me, what about you?" Sunstreaker asked still facing Michelle.

"She had me at 'go'."

The smiles on their faces were identical, both promised revenge and pain. Michelle felt her spirit soar as her heart dropped. They didn't believe that she hated them and they were about to fight, and from the looks on their faces, someone was going to die. And judging by the tension in Thundercracker's hand, that someone would be her.

"You failed."

Every cell in Michelle's body went ice cold as the soft words passed over the blue Decepticons lips. She felt the sudden urge to struggle and yell and fight. She was no longer willing to die quietly, not now that she could fix things with Sunny and Sides.

Her cry for help turned into a strangled wheeze as TC crushed her.

Bluestreak had been monitoring Michelle throughout the exchange. Now he leapt into action as her eyes widened and her heart-beat accelerated. Thundercracker was slowly squeezing Michelle to death.

Moving swiftly past Sideswipe, Blue raced for the Decepticon. He couldn't allow Michelle to be killed, especially since the Twins were willing to fight, and possibly die, for her.

He was ten feet away from Thundercracker when a laser shot caught him across the chest. Spinning as he fell Bluestreak saw Skywarp grinning evilly as smoke rose from his gun.

Shock spread through Sunstreaker's circuitry as Bluestreak collapsed onto the ground. Shock was quickly replaced by anger. How dare Skywarp attack his Bluestreak? The seeker was going down.

Skywarp must have realized that he had evoked Sunstreaker's ire, because he was now rocketing into the clouds. But a retreating enemy had never stopped Sunny before. Dashing forward he grabbed Bluestreak's high-powered long-range rifle.

A dull crash to the side told Sunstreaker that Sideswipe had jumped Thundercracker and was probably either turning him into scrap metal or rescuing Michelle. Doing one before the other would be better. He relayed that thought to his brother.

'No shit Sunshine. Michelle's safe, TC threw her as soon as he saw me coming so I had to get her before I could chase him.'

'Chase him where?'

'If you move your sights to the right, you'll see.'

Following Sideswipe's instruction Sunstreaker found himself staring at the aft-end of his brother and Thundercracker. Sideswipe had jumped on the seeker just as he had started gaining height.

'Damn it Sides! I'm trying to shoot Skywarp and you go and shove your aft in my way. Pull him to the side.'

Through the telescope Sunny watched as the pair struggled. Thundercracker's thrusters suddenly stalled and the duo began to fall. Refocusing on his original target, Sunstreaker lined up the shot and fired several times. At least one of them was bound to hit.

Dropping the gun to the ground Sunny bent over the unmoving form of his lover and searched for a energy signal. Nothing.

Pain ripped through Sunny as he blocked his discovery from Sideswipe. This was too much. Not only had the seekers kidnapped and blackmailed his friend but now they had destroyed any sort of future he and Sideswipe might have had with Blue.

Sunstreaker was relieved as the anguish turned into cold rage. Fury was an emotion he was used to, he knew how to use it. The familiar emotion cleared his head and allowed him to plan his assault with detachment.

He was cold, brutal, a killing machine.

It was this cold rage that had caused most of the Autobots to avoid getting him angry. When he was in this state the only thing that could calm him was Sideswipe or Bluestreak. One was in the air, the other was…gone.

When a loud crash reached his audios Sunstreaker smiled. Whoever had just landed wouldn't be getting up for a long, long time after he'd finished with them.

Stalking to the crash-sight Sunstreaker's smiled turned nasty as he saw Skywarp dragging himself out of the crater. Revenge was going to be fun.

Michelle hit the ground hard on her side. Sideswipe hadn't been able to do much more than slow her down as the ground approached.

Rolling onto her back she saw Sideswipe grab hold of Thundercracker's waist as he rose into the air. Higher up Skywarp tried to get out of weapons range. A sharp movement caught her eye and Michelle watched with fascination as Thundercracker and Sideswipe seemed to hover for a moment before plummeting towards Earth.

What had started this fight? Her pain infused brain asked. The scene had been tense, yes, but what had happened? Memories flooded her mind. Bluestreak!

Michelle struggled to her feet, pain lanced up her side. Ignoring it she hurried to the fallen warrior. Collapsing in the sand next to his head, Michelle searched his face for any signs of life.

He can't be dead. He can't be dead. He can't be dead. Her mind chanted as she willed light to appear in the dark optics. Nothing happened.

Michelle felt tears sting at the backs of her eyes but she fought them. How could she have let this happen? If she had just done what Thundercracker had said Bluestreak would still be alive.

No wait, if she had said no to the Twins when she had first met them they wouldn't have had to go through this at all.

It was all her fault. A hollow void appeared in Michelle's chest. It was all her fault that Bluestreak was gone. It was her fault that the Twins would now suffer the pain of his loss. All because she had thought she was so cool all those years ago. If she had known what that one word would lead to, she would never have uttered it.

Tears threatened to spill as Michelle climbed onto Bluestreak's chest. She lightly traced the lines of his paintwork and the Autobot crest, across it ran a dark furrow caused by Skywarp's attack. The colors seemed slightly dulled, as though the body knew that Bluestreak wouldn't come back. No more smiles or laughter or insatiable talking. Blue was gone, and it was her fault. Michelle hadn't noticed the wet streaks on her face until she tried to wipe them away. Unable to stop herself Michelle broke down into racking sobs. She leaned on the rounded body and cried. Heart aching as she remembered how she had met him and how nice he had been. True, she had known him for less than two days but he had been a better friend than many of her other ones.

"Michelle?"

She hiccupped as she turned. George stood next to Blue's head, there was a soft look in his eyes. She knew she should be angry with him for all the trouble he had put her through but all she wanted right now was someone to hold. She slid off Bluestreak's chest, wrapped her arms around George's neck and cried into his dirty shirt.

She was so caught up in her grief that she didn't even notice the large head moving or the black hands twitching. But she did hear his moan. Wrenching out of George's arms she stared into the still dark optics.

Come on Blue. Wake up, I know you can. Please Blue.

Another soft moan came from the mech's throat. Michelle's heart lurched. Soft blue light filled the optic lenses and Michelle leapt back onto his chest. She watched avidly as Bluestreak slowly regained consciousness.

"Michelle? Are you all right?"

Michelle scrubbed at the stains on her cheeks. "Blue, don't ever do that again. I thought you were dead."

A large hand curled around her back and Michelle accepted the hug happily. Now all she had to do was save the Twins and everything would be okay. Right?

"Come on Bluestreak. We've got to help the boys."

Bluestreak shook his head and sat up.

"Um, there's a really big dent in the back of your head." George said and pointed to Blue's helmet.

"That's probably why I feel like I was hit by Motormaster."

Michelle breathed a sigh of relief as Bluestreak started to stand. It was obvious that his fall had left him a bit dazed but not too much worse for wear. A quick look down showed that his head had collided with a very large rock.

"Blue, we have to find the others, I think Sunny thinks you're dead." Michelle tugged at one of his fingers. He nodded and started walking.

The screech of protesting metal came from a large crater to their left. They climbed the rise and found Sunstreaker perched on top of Skywarp, randomly ripping pieces of armor off his body, every now and then he would slam his fist into the purple seekers face. Skywarp thrashed and writhed as he tried to stop the furious Autobot. It wasn't working.

Bluestreak placed Michelle on the ground before climbing into the crater.

"Sunstreaker." He called out warily. The golden head jerked up.

He'd seen Sunny angry before, even in one of his rages but this Sunstreaker was terrifying. His optics were ice blue and unfocused, his face twisted into a mask of fury and pain.

"Sunny, I think Skywarp has had enough." Blue didn't really believe that, but the look of utter panic on the seekers face was enough for Bluestreak to want to get Sunstreaker away from him.

"Blue?" Sunny's ice-like optics were suddenly suffused with warmth and they returned to their normal cerulean coloring. He drew back his fist and knocked Skywarp unconscious then stood up and ran to him.

One moment Bluestreak was smiling tiredly, and the next he was wrapped up in Sunstreaker's arms while very talented lips pressed against his. Bluestreak had been expecting Sunstreaker's relief but not his passion. Of course he had never stopped Sunny from deactivating a Decepticon before.

Pulling away from his golden lover Bluestreak led him back to the open field. He was about to reunite Sunstreaker and Michelle when something large and heavy slammed into the ground near them, showering them with dirt and sand.

The last thing Sideswipe had needed while trying to stop from falling to his death was a wave of desire. But that was exactly what he got, through his spark-link with Sunstreaker. The sudden overwhelming need to hold onto something and not let go was a benefit to his situation. The same urge to kiss what was infront of his face was not.

In fact a very startled Thundercracker had stopped trying to fix his faltering thrusters and they had both plummeted to Earth.

Sand and debris rained down around them as Sideswipe and Thundercracker tried to gain an advantage over the other, while trying to get to their weapons. This was very hard since they were a jumble of limbs.

Eventually Sides gained the upper hand and wrestled TC to the ground. A hard kick to his back sent Sideswipe flying off the seeker. Jumping to his feet he quickly caught the jet and proceeded to beat the scrap out of him.

The fight ended only when Sideswipe and Thundercracker had their guns pressed against each others heads. They looked only at each other.

"Why are you going to kill yourself to protect the human?"

"Because she's my friend and I care for her."

"You're such a fool Autobot, to give your life for a being so inferior to you."

"I'm not the one who's going to die. You're facing three Autobots alone. Skywarp is down and you have very little ammo left."

Thundercracker seemed to consider his options for a moment. "I think I'll take my chances."

Suddenly his arm swung around and aimed at Michelle. Time slowed as they saw the laser-fire leave the barrel. Michelle's whole life passed through her head. All of her regrets and lies came to the forefront and she hoped that everyone would forgive her when she was gone. The only redeeming thought she had was that Bluestreak and the Twins would be together now and they knew that she loved them.

Bracing for pain, her head seemed to explode as the shot reached her.

There, we're very close to the end now. maybe one or two more to go.

Please review.