Author's Note

And I'm back. Again. Told you it would be long. Glad you all liked the last chapter. Although, I guess it was more of a love/hate relationship.

But now you get to find out what happens. And not all of it is pretty.

First, some reviews.

Sunstreaker's Squishy: Your first question is answered in this chapter. Yes, I am still going to have a girl Leo. And the last question, well, you're just going to have to wait and find out. ;)

SunnySides: Lol, I'm sorry, but Ravage is staying bad.

Darkshadowxsunny-sides: It had to happen eventually.

TatteredAngel42: But cliffies are so fun to write! :)

Alice Gone Madd: The Avengers won't be showing up until the sequel. As for tips on how to make it flow well, a lot of it falls on how you introduce everyone. Your Transformers characters and your Marvel characters are not going to know each other at all, unless they meet after the Avengers movie. Then your Transformers characters will know at least a little something since everyone knows about what happened in New York. Also make sure you describe everything to your readers. Something that has happened to me is that I have readers who have never seen the Avengers movie. Even though a lot of your readers will know the Marvel universe, don't just assume it. Write as if your readers have no idea who these people are.

Bee4ever: Don't worry, they will. It's what happens after that you have to worry about.

grapejuice101: Lol I try.

ZabuzasGirl: Not immediately, but pretty darn close.

storyteller2899: Lol, and it's a long, long way down.

redsparrow1060: Lol thanks.

TF-Moonfire: Lol, told you so. Just wait til you get to the bad thing in this chapter.

Abyss Prime: Because it's fun?

Jimmy 144: Thanks! :)

Luna Uchiha666: Why thank you. :)

Kat: Aw, thank you! :D

That was quite a few reviews for less than a day. Thank you all! Now, go onward and enjoy!


Broken Promises

Not long after Starscream gives Scalpel the go-ahead to start experimenting on her, they find her pendant. Starscream isn't happy at all, crushing it in an instant. He barks out orders to the other Decepticons, telling them to take up posts around the cave entrance and keep an eye out for the Autobots. For once, Starscream looks a little nervous and a trickle of hope spreads through Ari. Surely she was able to keep the pendant long enough for the Autobots to get a fix on her location. They have to be on their way to rescue her by now. If Sideswipe decided to come on his own, then he'll be here any minute. Although she wants to get out of here as soon as possible she doesn't like the idea of Sideswipe taking on so many Decepticons on his own. It would probably be suicide, even for him.

Meaning, hopefully, he waited for the other Autobots and N.E.S.T. soldiers to get back. Or, at least, Bumblebee forced him to. But if that's the case, then she has a while to wait yet before she'll be rescued. And waiting is going to mean a lot of pain.

Starscream wants to be able to harness the AllSpark and create a new army, just like Megatron wanted to do two years ago. At first, they just bring her an ordinary car and order her to turn it into a Cybertronian. She tells them she can't, opting for honesty and saying how she hasn't unlocked all of the AllSpark powers yet. All she has is knowledge.

Then the torture starts.

Scalpel runs wires from the generator in the corner of the room that looks to be what's powering all of the ceiling lights drilled into the cave ceiling. He takes the two wires, holds them close together, and shows her the current of electricity flowing through them as an arc of energy jumps from one wire to the other. "If you von't villingly use the AllShpark for us, zen perhaps zis vill cause a reaction."

He touches the ends of the wires to either side of her head and the electricity shoots through her, causing intense pain to where she nearly blacks out. Her body seizes, jerking around uncontrollably against the straps holding her down, thankfully keeping her from hurting herself.

This goes on for…she's not sure how long exactly. Scalpel gradually electrifies her for longer and longer periods of time. The smell of her burning flesh fills the room, but her increased healing keeps her from ever becoming too hurt. A part of her is thankful for that, but the rest of her knows it means this torture will be able to continue for that much longer.

Eventually she does pass out though, but not for very long she's guessing when she comes to. Scalpel and Starscream are talking in Cybertronian, Starscream holding up the AllSpark shard they stole from the N.E.S.T. base in one hand.

"Do you think it will work, Doctor?" Starscream asks in Cybertronian, the AllSpark knowledge allowing Ari to understand what's being said. She can't speak the language though, unfortunately. She's often wished she could, but her mouth and vocal cords are just incapable of making a lot of the necessary sounds.

"Only one way to find out," Scalpel says, his accent gone in his native tongue. He takes the shard from Starscream and approaches her, holding it close to her body. Familiar blue sparks shoot out, this time coming from her and arcing towards the shard. Slowly, she can feel something leaving her and she becomes tired, like she's run for miles and miles in just a few short seconds and now her body is exhausted from the exertion. When the blue sparks fade away her vision is spotted black and she's afraid she's going to pass out again. She can barely even turn her head as she tries to look at the shard, wanting to find out what just happened.

Scalpel scans the shard and then laughs in maniacal glee. "It vorked," he says, in English this time. "I am detectink AllShpark energy inside zee shard. It can now be used just like zee Cube."

Starscream takes the shard, his own glee written on his faceplates. "Excellent. With this we can defeat those Autoscum once and for all."

Barricade grabs Starscream's wrist, their optics shooting to each other in hostility. "We use the shard to awaken Megatron," Barricade says, his voice leaving no room for argument.

Though Starscream won't back down without a fight. He tries to jerk his arm away, instead just knocking into the table Ari is on. The movement causes one of her bracelets to slide closer to her and with what remaining strength she has left Ari strains her fingers to stretch as far as they can, reaching for the bracelet, while keeping an eye on the three Decepticons making sure they don't notice what she's doing.

"We don't need him!" Starscream yells. "With the shard we can-"

Her middle finger barely glances across the top of her bracelet. She tries again and again to catch enough of it to nudge closer to her.

"No," Barricade snaps, his grip tightening on Starscream's wrist. "The Fallen's orders are to awakening Megatron. Unless you plan on going against the Fallen?"

Ari and Starscream both shudder. Ari has seen the Fallen in visions, but she's guessing Starscream has met him personally. From what she can tell, no one goes against the Fallen without severe consequences, usually the deadly kind. Starscream seems to know that as well and he nods, allowing Barricade to take the shard.

As Starscream leaves the room Ari is finally able to curl her finger around her bracelet and she quickly hides it beneath herself. No one seems to have noticed. The feelings of relief from her small victory are the tipping point though and she can't hold onto consciousness anymore, her mind fading into the black once more.


When she awakens again she is blissfully alone. She was afraid Scalpel would still be here but he must have been called away for something. Probably for discussing how to bring Megatron back online.

Megatron. Ari was hoping she'd never have to see his faceplates again, but it seems she isn't going to get her wish. How bad will things be once Megatron is online and leading the Decepticons again? What is it that the Fallen is planning? She gets the feeling that, once Megatron is back, it'll be like Mission City all over again. Only worse this time.

And, so long as she stays here, they'll use her to get what they want.

Then I guess it's time I find a way out of here.

Her strength is mostly back after the torturing and the draining from the shard. Whatever the shard took back, it must not have been enough to cause any lasting effects, just an initial feeling of loss. It was intense, but thankfully not lasting. Whether she'll be able to stand is a different story, but she won't know until she tries. And she may never get another chance to escape. She hopes the Autobots are on their way, maybe even almost here, but the thought of being tortured again, for any length of time, prompts her to act now.

She pulls the bracelet out from underneath her, thankfully still there and undiscovered. Pushing down on the gem, she activates the blade. It's hard to really see what she's doing so she has to feel her way, turning the blade in her hand so that it's positioned against the inside of the strap keeping her arms pinned near her wrists. Slowly, she starts to saw her way through the thick velcro. It's frustrating and time-consuming considering the angle she has to cut at and the blade slips several times, but eventually the strap snaps and falls away. Now able to bend her arms, she moves to the strap at her shoulders, making quick work of it and then the rest until she is free. She slips both bracelets on and then attempts to stand. She's shaky at first, the blood rushing to her head because she gets up too fast after laying down in one position for so long, but after standing still for a few moments she's steady again. She feels good. Good enough, maybe, for an escape. At the very least maybe she can find a hiding spot until the Autobots arrive.

But one thing at a time.

Getting to the floor is easy. She's slipped off of Cybertronian-sized tables many times and she does so now with ease. Then she makes her way to the edge of the cave wall near the only tunnel branching off of this room. The lights they have jammed into the rock ceiling aren't very bright, leaving a lot of shadows that she hides in.

Though, if she runs into any Decepticons, they will still be able to see her just fine.

With a deep breath, Ari creeps down the tunnel, ears peeled for the sound of Cybertronian feet. At least it'll be easy to tell when they're coming, but she has absolutely no idea what she's doing. What if she gets caught? What if she can't find the exit? What if she does find the exit? Will she be able to slip away without being seen? And if she can, will she even be able to tell which direction to go in order to get back to base?

That last question she actually has an answer to. She'll follow the stars. People in ancient times used them as a map to guide them. She can do the same.

But for now she walks.

And walks. And walks some more. The tunnel seems to go on forever although it probably just seems long because she doesn't have the stride of a Cybertronian. There are several offshoot tunnels, but they are smaller and look unnaturally made because of their perfect circumferences and smooth walls. They are also dark, lacking the lights of the bigger tunnel. Ari guesses that the bigger tunnel she is in is the original, natural tunnel and when the Decepticons moved in they extended the cave to suit their own needs. That means that this tunnel is the most likely to lead her to an exit. It seems to be her best option, and her only option. At some of the offshoots she stops at she can hear voices bouncing off the tunnel walls. So she keeps walking.

Then she hears popping. And banging, booming. It's the sound of battle and it makes Ari grin. The Autobots are here and she starts running, running like her life depends on it and it does because all around her, from the offshoot tunnels, there are shouts and stomping of Cybertronian feet heading her way. The main tunnel fills with about half a dozen Decepticon all heading towards the fight. Fear jolts through her as she waits, just waits, for one of them to notice her. But they don't. They just keep running past her, never looking down, never seeing her. A delighted laugh bubbles up in her chest but she clamps it down and keeps running. That is, until a feline yowl, like a panther, comes from behind her. She glances behind her over her shoulder and Ravage's one, giant optic is staring right at her from where he stands at the entrance to one of the tunnels. She faces forward, forcing her legs to run faster, and, with nothing else left to do, she screams, "Sideswipe!"

Ravage yowls again and she looks back in time to see him pounce at her. She throws herself down to the floor and Ravage flies over her, missing her. He skids in front of her, his claws scratching the rock floor, and knocks into to wall. Ari gets back up and runs.

"Sideswipe!"

"Ari!" she hears a voice call out, Sideswipe's voice, somewhere further down the tunnel. Relief floods her harder than she's ever felt before and she has to choke back a sob.

She can hear Ravage getting back up behind her. "Sideswipe, help!"

"Ari!"

Coming around the bend up ahead, rolling on his feet as fast as he can, is Sideswipe, flanked by Sunstreaker and Bumblebee. This time a sob does escape, tears prickling at the back of her eyes, but she blinks them away and keeps on running. Sunstreaker skates forward in the lead, legs spread wide so that she runs right between them. She looks back to see Sunny tackle Ravage, who had been dangerously close to catching her. When she looks forward again it's just in time for Sideswipe to scoop her up in his arms, pressing her tightly to his chassis. He spins a one-eighty on his wheels and they're zooming back down the tunnel towards the exit.

Ari reaches up and wraps her arms around his neck, holding onto him as tightly as she can. "I knew you'd come for me," she whispers.

Sideswipe tightens his hold on her. "I'll always come for you, sweetspark. Always."

The wind whips by as they race through the tunnel, Sunstreaker rejoining them after not too long. What happened to Ravage she doesn't know, but she doesn't really care right now. She's safe. She's back with Sideswipe. Soon she'll be out of this horrible place and back home.

But first, there are about a dozen Decepticons to get through. The main chamber of the cave is filled with blaster- and gunfire, Decepticons, Autobots, and N.E.S.T. soldiers scattered everywhere. She can see the halo of light coming in from the hole leading to the outside. Thing is, there's a literal war zone between them and the cave entrance.

"Hang on tight," Sideswipe says and he charges forward, dodging left and right around the fighting people. Sunstreaker and Bumblebee beat back any Decepticons who get too close. They get halfway and things look good.

Then Sideswipe is hit in the shoulder from behind, metal and energon bursting out as the blast shoots clean through and Sideswipe falls forward to the ground, protecting Ari with his arms to keep her from being crushed. The impact causes her to tumble out of Sideswipe's grasp, rolling to a jarring halt a few meters away.

"Ari!" Sideswipe yells, looking somewhere behind her with alarm. She turns her head to see two Decepticons running straight at her. She quickly rolls again out of the way just before their feet squish her. Looking up she sees the two Decepticons each tackle Sunstreaker and Bumblebee as Sideswipe tries to get up using only one arm, holding his other arm with the hurt shoulder close to his chest. She gets up, running towards him, but before she's even halfway there Barricade appears behind Sideswipe and shoots him in the back again and again and again. Ari stops dead in her tracks, wide-eyed, as Sideswipe's faceplates contort in pain and he falls face first to the ground again.

"No, Sideswipe!" Sunstreaker yells, his own optics filled with pain as he feels his brother's pain through their bond. Sunstreaker shakes off his Decepticon, stabs him in the head with one of his blades, and launches himself at Barricade. The two fight, but all Ari can see is Sideswipe lying on the ground, energon pooling beneath him.

"Sideswipe?" she says weakly, slowly walking towards him. When she's close she kneels down at his head so that he can see her. His optics are flickering between dim to fully online but they are online. "Sideswipe?" she says again, pressing a hand to his cheek.

Sideswipe's optics move sluggishly until they focus on her and he gives her a small, weak smile. "Hey, Ari," he says barely above a whisper. "I…I c-came for y-you."

Ari smiles back, or at least tries to. Tears build up in her eyes again and she blinks them away again. She needs to see his face. She needs to make sure he's okay. He has to be okay.

Even though, as she looks at the gaping hole in his chassis, she knows he's not. Wires are sparking, energon leaking. Looking up, she sees Sunstreaker leaving a battered Barricade to run towards Ratchet.

"It's going to be okay," Ari says, looking into Sideswipe's optics and stroking the side of his face. "Everything is going to be okay."

Sideswipe coughs a few times, sounding choked, strained. "You…You're a terrible liar."

"I know….I know." The tears come back, one more time, and this time she lets them fall. This is her Sideswipe lying in front of her, so completely broken. Her Sideswipe, who's always seemed so strong to her, so completely incapable of getting hurt, or, at least, nothing so bad that a little buffering and polishing wouldn't fix. Ratchet and Sunstreaker come running up, Ratchet kneeling down next to Sideswipe and he and Sunstreaker flip Sideswipe onto his back. Sunny then stands, on guard, not allowing any danger to get close. The battle continues around them but things are starting to slow down a bit. There are less Decepticons, most of them either already offline, gone, or in the process of retreating. Starscream, Scalpel, and Ravage are nowhere to be seen. Barricade too.

"Sideswipe," Ratchet says, glancing between where his hands are working on the hole and Sideswipe's face. "Sideswipe, talk to me."

"Hey, Hatchet," Sideswipe says, his voice getting weaker and weaker and slightly on the loopy side. "What's up?"

"Well, it looks like you're not doing so good, youngling."

"Uh oh, you're not gonna…use the wrench on me, are you?"

"Hmm, I might have to." Something inside Sideswipe's chassis sparks erratically and Ratchet yanks his hand away with a hiss of pain. He glances around the damage for a few seconds, unmoving, and then he retracts his other hand from Sideswipe's chest, both hands falling to his sides. He looks at Sunstreaker and then at her, defeat in his optics. "I'm sorry."

Ari shakes her head slowly. "No. Th-There has to be something you can do. You-"

"There isn't, little one. The shot nicked his spark chamber. It's hanging together by a thread. I need my tools back at base in order to fix it and moving him is too dangerous. Even if we could move him, his spark would go critical before we made it there. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. But I can't save him."

Ratchet moves away, joining the crowd of Autobots and soldiers now surrounding them. They had won the battle but that hardly matters now. It's written on everyone's faces. In a way, they lost. Optimus talks quietly to them and they all move away to give her, Sideswipe, and Sunstreaker some space.

Sunstreaker kneels beside his brother, taking Sideswipe's hand. "Hey, bro."

"He…Hey, Sunny," Sideswipe whispers. His optics seem so far away now, nowhere near the brilliant blue she remembers.

"You…You're not supposed to do this to me, mech," Sunny says, his usual confident self faltering. "We're the Kings of Pranks, Twins of Terror. Everything we do, we do together. Even this. We're supposed to go down together. Although, I guess we still might."

Sideswipe squeezes Sunstreaker's hand with whatever strength he has left. "No. No, don't you go thinking like that. You'll be fine."

"Sides, I…I can feel you offlining. The bond is breaking and once it's gone…I don't think I'll be able to survive it."

"Sure you will. I-It's happened before. Twin bonds aren't as…s-strong…as sparkmate bonds. There's a g-good chance you'll be alright."

Sunstreaker shakes his head but doesn't say anything more. He isn't going to be alright, Ari knows. This is going to tear him apart. Just like it is her. Tears freely flow down her face and she doesn't bother even trying to stop it now.

"Ari? Where's my Ari?" Sideswipe's head flops to the side, back towards her. She moves closer so that he can see her better and she resumes stroking his face.

"Hey, Sides," she says softly. "You're not allowed to leave me either, Sideswipe. You promised you'd always be here for me, remember? You promised."

"I know, sweetspark, but it looks l-like I'll be b-breaking that pro-omise." His speech is getting more slurred and broken. He doesn't have much time left.

Ari's chest clenches and heaves. It hurts so much. She wants to say something but the pain in her chest is suffocating, choking her. She clenches her hand in her lap. There should be something she can do. She's the AllSpark. Power courses through her veins, power as old as the universe. There has to be something she can do.

And there is.

Ari wipes her tears away with the back of her arm and takes deep, steadying breaths. And then she looks down at her arm and touches a finger to her AllSpark mark. It glows a soft blue on her skin. "Please," she whispers, "Primus, please, I need help. Sideswipe is dying and there's nothing anyone can do to save him. I need the mark from Mission City, the one that healed Sideswipe and Jazz during the battle. It's his only chance." She looks back and forth between her arm and Sideswipe's dimming optics. They're almost completely black now.

"He…He's almost gone," Sunstreaker says. "He's gone into emergency stasis lock in an attempt to save himself, but I can feel his systems shutting down."

"No." Ari grips her arm tightly. "No, you can't do this to me. You can't do this to me!" She bends in half, curling in on herself, and squeezing her eyes tight as more tears come. "Please. Don't take him from me. I…I love him. I love him. Please don't take him from me."

Sunstreaker doesn't say a word as Ari just sits there, crying. It's something she's never fully admitted to anyone, not even herself. She told herself she never would but now Sideswipe is dying and she wishes she had the guts to say it sooner but now it's too late. He'll never know how she feels.

"I love you. I love you, Sideswipe."

Sudden, intense pain shoots through Ari's entire body and she jerks up, mouth gaping like a fish. There is yelling all around her, but she isn't afraid. She knows exactly what's happening and she's so very happy.


The second she wakes up in the desert she's on her feet, running towards the craggy mountains and the six Primes waiting for her there.

"Please, you have to help me," she begs. "Sideswipe is dying."

"We know," the lead Prime says. "Primus heard you."

"Does my being here mean you're going to help me? I-I know I haven't done anything to earn this one, but please, you have to help me. Don't let him die."

The femme kneels on the ground in front of Ari, a soft smile on her face. "But you did do something to earn this one, Ari."

Ari looks at her blankly. "W-What? What did I do? All I did was get myself kidnapped and then allowed them to take some of the AllSpark energy from me and put in a shard so they can wake up Megatron. I'm pretty sure that's the opposite of earning a mark."

The femme chuckles. "Do not worry about that, Ari. Everything has its purpose. But that is not what I was referring to. You earned the mark when you admitted you love Sideswipe."

Her breath hitches in her throat as a blush crawls up her neck. "But how…Why…Why does that count?"

"Because you are willing to love and care for someone so completely who is not even your own species. Your heart is pure. You love him even though you know how impossible a relationship between the two of you would be."

Ari looks down at her feet, fists clenched at her sides. "Is a relationship between the two of us so…impossible?" she asks quietly.

The femme places a finger beneath Ari's chin and tilts her head back up. "We cannot reveal everything to you, Ari. Not even we know all of Primus's plans. But I will tell you this: Do not reject these feelings inside of you. They are not wrong or disgusting. Just follow your heart. It will not lead you astray."

"But what about…Sideswipe?"

"Oh, I cannot tell you how he feels about you," the femme says with a smirk. "That would spoil the fun."

Ari sighs heavily. "Alright. So long as he's still going to be with me, that's all I need."

"Then go to him."


Ari awakens with a gasp, lying on the ground with her head propped in Will's lap. The concerned faces of soldiers and Autobots surround her but they do not matter now. She raises her left arm. On her skin, beneath the AllSpark mark and right next to the knowledge mark so that they make a triangle grouping, is a new mark. It says "healing" in Cybertronian.

"Move!" she orders as she quickly stands, pushing through people until she reaches Sideswipe. Sunstreaker is still at his brother's side, face dour. He glances at her as she climbs up to kneel on Sideswipe's chassis right in front of the gaping hole. "How is he?"

"I can barely feel him now," Sunstreaker says softly, sounding so unlike himself.

"Don't worry, Sunny. I'm going to save him." Ari holds her hands over the wound, palms down. Reaching into herself, she searches for the power of the AllSpark she's always been able to feel, but now there is a part of it that feels more solid. She grabs a hold of it and pulls it to the surface. The new mark begins to glow and blue sparks ripple down her arms to her hands and down into Sideswipe. She pushes the power to go where it needs to go, into the gap, first focusing on the spark chamber. Slowly, all of Sideswipe's parts move back into their proper places, the sparks fixing what needs fixing, wires sealing together again, metal reforming, until the gap is completely closed. She lowers her arms, wobbling side to side. That took a lot of energy, she can feel her eyes getting heavy and her grip on consciousness slipping, but she's determined to stay awake. At least long enough to make sure.

And when she feels Sideswipe take in a deep breath again, she lets go.


When Ari's mind drifts back into consciousness all she wants to to is turn over and go right back to sleep. Although turning over seems like too much effort. All of her limbs feel really heavy, like how she felt after her first training sessions with Chromia and Ironhide. She had never pushed her muscles so hard before and they were unused to so much exertion. It kind of feels like that times ten now. As she starts to drift off again something prickles in the back of her mind. Something important. There's something important she needs to remember. But what? Is it a school assignment she hasn't done yet? No, it's summer now. School hasn't started yet. Is it packing she needs to get done? Well, yes, there's still some packing she has to do, but she can do that when she gets home. Her and Sideswipe had to go to the base because almost everyone else had to go to Shanghai. Thinking of Sideswipe makes the prickling intensify. Sideswipe. Something happened with Sideswipe. Something bad.

Her eyes snap open as the past day's events flash through her head. "Sideswipe!" she yells, forcing her tired body to sit up in the bed she's lying on. "Sideswipe!"

Ratchet's holoform appears right next to her. "It's okay, little one," he says soothingly, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, you're safe now."

Ari grasps his hand, taking comfort in Rachet's presence, and takes a clear look around. She's in the Med Bay back at base, lying in one of the hospital beds on the human platform. And across the room lying on a berth is Sideswipe, optics offline, with Sunstreaker sitting in a chair next to him.

"Is…Is he okay?" Ari asks, never taking her eyes off of Sideswipe.

"He's still in stasis lock right now," Ratchet says. "I've made sure his systems keep him under as I look him over. You managed to fix most of the severe damage, there was very little work left for me to do, but I decided to do a full diagnostic just in case. All in all, you saved his life."

Sunstreaker looks away from his brother and her eyes meet his optics. There is a strange vulnerability she's never seen in them before. Honestly, it's a tad unnerving. This is hotheaded Sunstreaker. He's strong. Confident. Always sure of himself.

Then again, she's never seen him almost lose everything he's ever cared about before.

Ratchet clears his throat uncomfortably. His holoform blinks out and he transforms into his bipedal mode near the door. "I'll just leave you three alone. Call me if there are any problems."

After Ratchet leaves Sunstreaker doesn't say anything. He just goes back to looking at Sideswipe. Ari isn't sure what to say so she decides to say nothing at all. When she stands up out of bed on wobbly legs she looks down at herself, grimacing at the hospital gown. Then she shrugs. New clothes can wait. She carefully shimmies down the human platform and makes her way over to Sideswipe's berth, expertly climbing up until she is lying on his chassis, the side of her face pressed to the area above his spark. She takes comfort in the heat and the slight thrum she hears and feels.

He's alive, Ari. He's alive.

"Thank you, Ari," Sunstreaker finally says and her eyes snap to him in shock. This is the first time Sunny has ever called her by her first name. "Thank you for saving my brother."

She smiles softly. "You don't have to thank me for that, Sunstreaker. I wanted to save him just as badly as you did." She blushes, looks away. "You heard what I said before…didn't you?"

"Yeah. I did. You said you love him."

She brings her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. She thinks about what the femme Prime said, how she should follow her heart. Her heart tells her she loves Sideswipe. It also tells her she's afraid. "Don't…Don't tell him I said that, okay?"

"Ari, I know how he feels. I'm his twin. I can sense it. He-"

"No." She looks at him, trying to convey with her eyes how serious she is. "It doesn't matter how I feel or how you think he feels. The truth of the matter is, him and me? We just…can't. Cybertronians are supposed to be with other Cybertronians. It's hardwired into your processors and sparks. Your sparks are always searching for the other spark it's supposed to be with, right?"

"Yeah, but-"

"I don't have a spark, Sunny. And there is someone out there, a Cybertronian, who does who's supposed to be with him." She shakes her head, looking away again. "Just drop it, okay? And don't you ever tell him what I said."

Sunstreaker sighs heavily. "You two are so stubborn. But alright. I won't tell him if you don't want me to. I owe you that much."

"Thank you," she whispers.

"Just get some sleep, Squishy," Sunstreaker says. She smirks slightly. "It'll be a while yet before Ratchet brings Sideswipe back online. You need to regain your strength."


Something nudges her shoulder, rousing Ari from her sleep, but she doesn't want to wake up. She's nice and comfy and warm.

"Come on, little one," Ratchet says, shaking her shoulder again.

"No," she groans. She still feels really drained. Sleep. She needs more sleep. Her mind drifts and she inches closer back to dreamland again.

"Just leave her," Sunstreaker says. "Sideswipe will wake her up once you bring him out of stasis. Just do it."

"Very well."

Something clicks. And then the surface she's on suddenly moves, tilting up quickly. Ari's eyes fly open as one of Sideswipe's arms presses her securely to his chassis, his other arm extending out with its blade protectively.

"Sideswipe," Ratchet says, palms held out placatingly. "No one here is going to hurt you."

Sideswipe doesn't seem to hear him, locked in some kind of fight-or-flight mode leaning very heavily towards fight. Sunstreaker stares at his brother intently, probably trying to reach him over their bond. Recognition starts to flicker in his optics.

"Sideswipe," she calls up to him softly, stroking a hand on his chassis. "Sideswipe, it's alright. I'm here. We're safe."

His optics move down to her and he blinks slowly. "Ari?"

She smiles. "Yeah, it's me. It's okay, Sideswipe. You can put the blade away."

He looks at his blade as if he hadn't realized it was out, then at Ratchet and Sunstreaker. The blade retracts and he lowers his arm. "Sorry."

"It's alright, youngling," Ratchet says. "How are you feeling?"

"Alright, I guess. What happened?"

"What do you remember?"

"I remember…Ari getting taken." His grip tightens on her and she presses herself closer to him. "I remember going after her, finding the cave, the infiltration. Me, Sunny, and Bee found her. We were heading out when…." His brow furrows as he struggles to remember.

"You got hit, Sides," Sunstreaker says softly. "Bad. You were offlining."

Sideswipe's optics widen in shock. "Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"And I'm alright now? Ratchet fixed me up?"

"Actually," Ratchet says, looking between her and Sideswipe, "Ari did."

Sideswipe's shock turns to her. "Seriously?" he repeats.

"You…You were dying, Sideswipe," she says, pressing her forehead to his chassis and closing her eyes. "So I begged Primus to give me the power to save you, like the Cube fixed you back in Mission City. And he gave it to me." An image of Sideswipe, gaping hole in his chest, optics fading, flickers in her mind, calling the tears back. "Don't you ever, ever, do that to me again, you hear me? Ever."

"Hey, hey." Sideswipe lifts her up so that their heads are level with each other. She looks at him with watery eyes as his thumb strokes her face, wiping the tears away. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't able to protect you. I'm sorry the Decepticons got to you." He frowns, a rare sight for him. "I broke my promise to always be here and to always protect you. I almost left you, Ari."

"That wasn't your fault," she whispers.

"Yes, it was. I failed as your Guardian."

"No, you didn't, Sides." She lifts up a hand to stroke the side of his face. "I couldn't ask for a better Guardian. Just…How about from now on we protect each other. Deal?"

He half smiles. "Deal."

He brings her closer so she can wrap her arms around his neck and they cling to each other for a long time. Both thought they'd never see the other again. There are going to be many difficult obstacles coming their way. The Decepticons have an active shard which they plan on using to bring Megatron back online. Which she still needs to go tell Optimus about. The Fallen is planning something, something big, and they have no idea what it is.

But they're together again, and so long as they're together Ari can face anything.


Author's Note

So, more to hate or more to love? Yeah, I know, I'm evil.

Anyway, next chapter Ari will be heading on to college! A lot of you have been wondering what I'm going to be doing about the Leo situation, and now you shall find out.

Hope you enjoyed, PLEASE REVIEW, and see you all next time!