Got back home earlier than I thought I would, so I should hopefully have a couple more up tonight. Written whilst listening to I Want My Tears Back, Storytime and Last Ride of the Day by Nightwish. Anyway, on with the chapter!

No. No. This could not be happening.

Cyclonus barely had time to register Twilight's words before he saw the flash of an energy blast and felt himself hit the ground. Expecting to feel great pain, he had lay there for a moment, but nothing happened. It was then that he realised what Twilight had done. He saw the whole in the wall, and through it he saw something he wished he could erase from his memory.

Not giving the now-unconscious Ultra Magnus a second thought, he pushed himself onto his feet and ran to the femme. He stopped short as he saw in detail the damage that had been done to her. There was a huge hole in her right side, where her hip and part of her tanks had once been.

Energon stained the floor of the room she had been thrown into, and bits and pieces of her frame were scattered around. She had lost too much energon already, and it was still leaking from snapped lines. Cyclonus closed the distance between them, holding her shoulder and gently shaking her.

"Twilight! Twilight! Come on!" Her optics onlined, and her mask snapped back.

"C-Cyclonus? Oh, good, you're okay. Wish... Wish I could say the same for myself." He frowned.

"Why in the Pit are you worrying about how I am? Don't joke about this! Why do you have to make a joke out of everything concerning your health?" She laughed, but the sound was strained.

"Don't cry, Cyclonus."

"I'm not crying!" He snapped in a defensive tone. She continued to laugh.

'Hook! Twilight's been gravely injured! Requesting medical assistance immediately!' He heard the Constructicon sigh.

'We've got our hands full out here, Cyclonus.'

'If you do not get here ASAP, she will offline!'

'How serious is it?'

'Fragging serious! She's had a hole blown through her tanks!' A violent string of curses could be heard within the link.

'I'm sending Scavenger and Long Haul to your location as we speak. Stay with her, her energy signature's too faint for us to track anymore, they're following yours.'

'Understood.'

'It's not like I'd leave her side.'

"H-Heh, ironic, isn't it? My team offlined here two years ago, now I guess it's my turn." His optics locked on hers in a fiery, defiant glare.

"Do not speak like that! You are not going to offline here! The Constructicons are on their way!"

"They're not going to get here in time, Cyclonus. Even I can see that."

"Stop talking like that! Are you not afraid of death?" She laughed, but that provoked a painful bout of coughing. She weakly managed to bring a hand over her mouth. After she'd stopped, she answered.

"O-Of course I am... Who isn't? But, there's no p-point in getting my h-hopes up."

"Please, Twilight. Stop this. You will live." She cocked her head to the side.

"D-Did you just say please? Hm, miracles can happen, it seems." He smiled weakly, but it didn't reach his optics. All of a sudden she rolled onto her side, motioning with her hand for him to look away as she purged her tanks. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she sent him a crooked smile.

"A-Apologies, Cyclonus. I... I didn't exactly ever want you to see me like this." He laughed quietly.

"Since when did you care about appearances?"

"I guess... For you... I'll make an exception." Her words did nothing but confuse him. She coughed again, bringing up yet another mouthful of energon.

"H-Hey, Cyclonus... If I don't... If I don't make it out of this-"

"Stop. Now. I'm not hearing it."

"If I don't make it out, will you do a few things for me?" He sighed.

"Anything." She smiled, bringing a hand up to hold his cheek. He trapped it in place, putting his own over the top.

"M-Make sure I'm cremated, not buried. If I do offline, I want to be rid of this Primus-forsaken frame once and for all. If it wouldn't be t-too much trouble, spread the ashes around my t-team's grave markers, I'll send you the co-ordinates." He nodded.

"I'll do it. But I'm not going to have to, because you're going to survive." She laughed hoarsely.

"One m-more thing, if it's not too much t-to ask?" He waited for her to continue.

"D-Don't remember me like this. Wounded, weak, vulnerable. Fragile, of all things. If - on the off chance - someone ever asks you about me, tell them what I was really like. And if... If you ever - oh Primus this is going to sound ridiculous - If... If you ever find yourself... Thinking about me, I am honestly begging you, remember who I used to be... Remember me for who I was... before this."

He nodded again. No words could describe how he felt. How in the Pit could fate be so... Cruel? He couldn't tell her, not now, he didn't want that to be the very last thing on her mind.

"Why do you insist on f-fooling yourself with false h-hope that I'm going to survive this?" Her question surprised him, but his answer was quick, voice not once faltering.

"You've saved my life twice now, Twilight. And... And I can do nothing to repay you." She smiled, taking his other hand with her free one.

"You're repaying me now. As sentimental as this sounds, I can think of few other mechs who I'd wish to spend my last moments with. You've respected me from day one, Cyclonus. You were probably the only mech at base - besides Galvatron, Soundwave and the cassettes - that didn't see me as some sort of lowly whore."

'So,' Twilight thought to herself,

'I'm never going to get to tell him after all... Geez, life sucks sometimes.' Then she felt it. A sudden pull on her spark, dragging her into a whole new world of pain. She couldn't stop herself from crying out.

Cyclonus' voice wasn't entirely reaching her audios, and she could tell by the faraway look in his optics that he was talking in a comm. link to someone.
'Hook, most probably. Well, not going to do much good now.' She quickly contacted Soundwave.

'Twilight.' He knew something was wrong.

'I'm afraid this is where I take my leave, old friend. Life's been a hell of a ride.'

'Negative. Twilight; survive. Constructicons; repair.'

'Not sure how much good that's going to do, Brother. Got a hole blown right through me. Soundwave, can I ask something of you?'

'Affirmative.'

'Tell... Tell Cyclonus how I feel - felt - about him. And... Tell Rumble and Frenzy not to cause too much havoc. And tell Ravage not to get caught up in their tricks. And... And tell Laserbeak and Buzzsaw not to over-energise.' She started to choke up, holding back tears.

'Primus, I love you, Brother. Just tell the cassettes I love them, too. I'll miss you all. I'll tell the trine you say hi. And if it's possible, I'll give Starscream a few hits round the head from you guys.' She spoke her last sentence to him in Cybertronian.

'Goodbye, Brother, I love and miss you all.' Her hand fell from Cyclonus' face-plates and the other slackened in his grip.

"No... No. No! Twilight, no! Stay online, please! Primus, if you want me to beg, I'll beg. I will get on my knees and beg, just please, don't take her. I am begging you, Primus, please, don't take her from me, from Soundwave, Pit, from those moronic cassettes! Don't take her." As he glanced around the room, a flash of green caught his eye. He thanked whatever higher power that was listening as he grabbed the first aid kit and contacted Hook.

'Is there anything I can do to stem the flow of energon until you get here?'

'I'll talk you through it. Lift her up onto a table or berth.' He nodded out of habit, gently picking her up. Twilight smiled weakly. Where he was taking her, she didn't know, nor did she care. She didn't have long left, not long left at all. Her last thought sent a final warmth through her spark as her visor and optics flickered and died out.

'I cannot think of a more fitting place to offline than in your arms. I love you, Cyclonus. Goodbye.'

...

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers or any of the characters I use in this story apart from Twilight.