Wow, I know I don't talk about it as much but thank you all so much for 400 favorites, and even more follows! Also, for finally reaching 100,000 words! Because that's actually pretty amazing for me, and a total milestone! Thanks as always, from my amazing reviewers; Starlit Storyteller, jgoss, The Silvernote, RewindandDomey4ever, SapphireSpark, AutobotCopperShadow, MysticFire101, AquaJinx, CastielLunaWinchester, mostly a reader fangirl99, graceful but forgetful, Bee4ever, CardMaster424, Angel Prime, CrimsonGallade, Guest, CrystalVixen93, Edges05, Storygirl747, Shelbaky(lol), Agent-Cheesecake, NovaShifter15, the everchanging, maria-ioanna984, and sukurawriter!

Btw, I love how you guys were so honest with your opinions on Ethan. He's not going to sweep Charlie off of her feet or anything, he's just there to shake the boat a little. All I can really say for this chapter is...buckle up. (Seriously, slag's gonna go down.)

Chapter Thirty-six: Remarkable Realizations

(3rd POV. Decepticon Main Base.)

The large metal doors to the entrance of the command center had opened, and Starscream glanced up from the maps he was intently looking at. His crimson optics narrowed as Barricade more or less, limped into the command center, silently grabbing the attention of every mech in the room. Even Soundwave, who was rarely distracted by such things, had faltered in his communications surveillance to glance at his comrade. Barricade, to put it simply, looked like he had been dragged from pit and back. His normally pristine black and white armor was so scuffed, scratched, and damaged that it was hard to recognize. He was limping on his left pede, his right arm was out of socket, wires haphazardly welded together, threatening to snap at any moment. Small sparks ignited every time his arm swung, and Starscream wasn't even going to get started on his damaged optic.

"Where have you been? And what in the pit happened to you?" Starscream sneered.

Barricade didn't speak until he had dragged himself fully in front of their current leader. He took a moment to rest his aching joints, before spitting out in a venomous tone, "You failed to tell me the Squishy was with an Autobot."

Starscream raised an optic ridge, "She wasn't. Thundercracker reported that she was there in the battle of Washington."

"I know," The black and white Decepticon snarled, "And I had been tracking her down for days. But she wasn't alone! That fraggin' spawn of pit golden twin was there with her! They were traveling together!"

Starscream scoffed incredulously, "The golden one? Impossible. His hatred for humans is just as tenacious as ours." Starscream then turned thoughtful, "Unless...he's had a change of spark."

"Oh, he's changed alright." Barricade grumbled bitterly, "And I'd gotten my arm torn off because of it."

"Doesn't matter," Starscream snapped, "Your orders were to retrieve that human girl."

"And for what?! What is so important about that slagging fleshbag that I have to risk my life for it?" Barricade snapped right back, his crimson gaze brightening with fury.

Starscream rose from his chair, slowly and menacingly. "Did I ask for you to question the mission?" He started to move, down the steps, and passing the silent Decepticons who were no longer working at the dashboards, "As long as Megatron is in space, working on his other plans, I am in charge. You do what I say, and you don't question what I say." Starscream's sharp digits suddenly found themselves burried into Barricade's chassis, and he let out a low grunt of pain, "Do I make myself clear, Barricade?"

Barricade growled for a moment, before giving in with a resigned grunt. His fisted digits unclenched themselves, in a sign of surrender. Starscream made a triumphant sound, and jerked his claws back, causing the black and white mech to collapse to his knees.

"You're going to retrieve the girl," Starscream then restated, circling around the fallen mech, "And you will not return back here, until you do."

"She is... heavily protected." Barricade breathed out, holding the wounds to his chassis, "It will be impossible..."

"Then we simply get her to come to us," Starscream replied, his optics gleamed again with devious intentions as he stepped around Barricade to walk back to his throne, "Soundwave," He called out, getting the silent mech's attention, "You still have the surveillance from the day Sideswipe had broken into the base inside the mountains, don't you?"

"Correct, my Lord." Soundwave replied, in a cold, monotonous tone.

"Please, play it for us."

The large, holoscreen which was currently filled with scrawling images and codes, were stopped before the recordings from the mountain base had flood the screen. Soundwave swiftly found the recording of the little human femme, sitting there in the darkness, just moments before the silver Autobot had invaded. She had been rocking herself back in forth, while wiping the fluids that leaked from human's optics out of hers, but what intrigued Starscream the most was the small device she seemed to be whispering to.

"Play the audio." He commanded.

He soft cries were suddenly echoing around the command center, as she sniffled quietly.

"Mom," Her broken voice crackled over the speakers, "I can't tell you. I don't want anybody else to get hurt, especially you guys. They're...they're too dangerous. You'd be killed, and I would never forgive myself if I got you guys killed. I'm sorry, I can't tell you where I am," The holscreen fidgeted for a moment, before returning, "...just tell Dad and Colton I love them too. And that...you guys shouldn't beat yourselves up over me when I'm gone...I'm so sorry, I love you all."

The audio was cut off as the ground began to shake vigorously, and the silver Autobot had broken through. Starscream grimaced at the glum reminder of their failure, and Soundwave quickly cut the video off.

"So there you go," Starscream said, turning towards Barricade, who had finally stood up again, "There is her weakness. There is your opening."

"My Lord?" Barricaded asked, confused.

"Her family is still in Washington," He clarified, "And that his how we'll draw her out."

Barricade nodded obediently, and left the command center. Starscream gave a villanious grin as he settled himself down in his throne again. Once the Squishy was found, he could finally move on with the rest of his plans.

(Charlie's POV)

Focus, I kept telling myself, as I walked around in a slow circle. That's what Sunstreaker kept telling me to do, right? Just focus, and I'd be able to catch it. But I wasn't catching anything, and I was starting to get worried. Maybe they hadn't moved yet...or maybe it was no longer working. A surge of doubt flowed through me, and I tried to push it away, but it brought up valid points. Maybe...I was never good at a-

I froze, sensing something.

The small, barely audible sounds of someone shifting in their position. The sudden shift in their weight as they readied themselves to attack, and then I heard two different grunts, as the weight shifted again. Instinctively, I ducked the incoming blow, and moved quickly to my right, hearing the sharp intake of air as their fist flew past me. Their was a soft grunt of surprise, and that was the only alert I needed. I took out one of them down with a quick sweep of my feet, before turning to confront the other one. I had swung a fist out, but was met with air. I felt their presence coming closer. My eyes flew open.

I was standing face to face with Sunstreaker's holoform, both of our hands were raised; mine to defend, and his to attack. But it was as if someone had pressed the pause button on a remote, because neither of us moved. Of course, until Sideswipe let out a loud, dramatic groan. I let my hand fall, glancing towards the other twin who was on the ground, holding one of his legs.

"Are you okay?" I asked, trying to hold in a laugh.

"No," Sideswipe pouted, "You kicked me down."

"Sorry," I chuckled softly.

"It's not funny." He protested.

"You can't even feel pain in a holoform, glitch." Sunstreaker said, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, but I felt it in here." Sideswipe said, putting a hand over his chest.

Cue Sunstreaker's eye-roll, and I just shook my head at his antics, before walking over to help pull him up to his feet. Sideswipe smiled cheekily at me, and I sighed, shoving him lightly in the shoulder. I then turned back to Sunstreaker, "So how was it?"

"You're getting better at picking up on sound," He replied, "Almost as good as a Cybertronian."

I smiled widely, "Wow, really!"

"I said almost." He deadpanned, but I just waved it off dismissively.

"Don't worry schlemiel, I'm sure you'll get to our awesome level of reflexes soon." Sideswipe said, teasingly patting me on the shoulder. I rolled my eyes, and shrugged him off when he started to try to lean on me.

"Although you aren't quite as good as us, your reflexes have certainly surpassed the normal for humans." Sunstreaker mused, "And so is your hearing. Why is that?"

I shrugged, "I'm not really sure. It kind've all started around the same time I discovered I could communicate with you guys mentally."

Sunstreaker looked incredulous, "There has to be more to the story than that. Humans don't just get these sudden abilities out of nowhere, something must've caused it."

I haven't thought about it like that before, and the more I did, the more I realized he was right. The enhanced hearing, the mental communication, and also the healing...they weren't natural for a human. If anything, they were more similar to characteristics of Cybertronians. But it still didn't make sense; all of these new abilities developed sometime after I had recovered in the warehouse...and those were also when the dreams started. A shiver ran down my body, at the thought of those purple eyes and twisted horns. I still haven't told anyone about the alarming dreams, I still wasn't sure what to make of them myself. In one of them, the eyes did talk to me.

Maybe they were connected. I shook the thought out of my head. "I don't really know, Sunstreaker. They just...kind of happened after I recovered in the warehouse." I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, "I can't really explain it, but after I healed from the battle, I just felt different."

"Uh huh." Sunstreaker looked wholly unconvinced.

"Hey, how about we go get some food?" Sideswipe said, trying to change the subject.

As if on cue, my stomach grumbled lightly, and heat flushed my cheeks with embarrassment as both sets of striking blue eyes landed on me. I couldn't help but want to shy away from their gaze, and Sideswipe snickered at me. Sunstreaker just shook his head, and walked out of the small, makeshift training room we've been using the past couple of days. Sideswipe and I followed him out, making our way down to the Food Hall.

My stomach groaned again, but it didn't feel like it was because of my hunger. I frowned to myself, feeling a tiny ounce of pain radiate from my torso. Sideswipe, who had been walking beside me caught my action, and shot me a look of concern.

You okay, Charlie? He asked, his tone of voice matching the look on his face.

I'm...fine, I managed to say mentally, as the pain faded, Sorry, I just had a really weird feeling in my stomach.

You think you need to see Ratchet? Sideswipe questioned.

I shook my head, No, Sides. I'm fine. I gave him a strained smile to reassure him, and he thankfully didn't push the situation. Instead, he had started up a conversation aloud with Sunstreaker. They were talking about something, but I was too distracted to follow the conversation, my mind kept wandering back to this strange sensation building in my stomach. What could this be? Did it have anything to do with the-

"Charlie!"

I was snapped out of my swirling thoughts, and blinked for a moment, before glancing up at Sideswipe, who had called me. Both of the twins had stopped moving, their gazes watching me; Sideswipe with unveiled worry and Sunstreaker's with concern and a bit of wariness.

"Sorry," I said quickly, "I didn't hear what you said."

"You stopped walking," Sunstreaker clarified, "You're zoning out."

"I...I did?" I muttered, now realizing how far behind I was.

"You know what, I'm starting to get the feeling that you're lying to me." Sideswipe said, crossing his arms. "You're distracted, and you keep pressing your hands against your stomach. What's going on?"

I sighed, opening my mouth to speak, but all that came out was a choked off gasped. My stomach churned with dread so sharp that it left a dull ache, and a bitter taste in my mouth. I gasped, my arms snaking around my stomach as I shook my head. Panic was starting to swell up inside me, and my heart pounded faster in my chest. I could see the edges of my vision tint with purple.

"No!" I exclaimed, shaking my head again, "No, don't!"

"Charlie," One of the twins had exclaimed, I wasn't even sure which one spoke.

Everything started to blur around me. The pearly white walls seemed to melt into a dull gray as if something was sucking the life out of it. Everything turned a sluggish gray, and I stared with wide, terrified eyes as the purple crackle of energy swarmed everywhere.

"Please," I barely whispered, "Don't do this to me."

Four pairs of amethyst optics appeared before me, glaring at me in that spine-chilling way.

"Avoiding me is useless." His deep voice rumbled darkly.

I shook my head, burying my fingers in my hair, "Stop! This isn't real!"

"Then what do you make of this?"

A familiar burning sensation in my stomach, and the mark of those horns burned through my sweatpants and into my flesh, rimming red with blood. My eyes widened with realization. And it all suddenly made sense. The nightmares, that I have been avoiding to confront. They were real.

"It's you...you're the darkness something was warning me about. Something told me you would come for me," My gaze snapped up to meet his gleaming optics, "You're...you're-"

"Unicron."

The name alone sent a shiver down my chest, and I could feel a heavy feeling building in my chest, and it felt like it was pressing my lungs. The optics rumbled a sinister laugh that echoed inside my skull. I grunted, squeezing my eyes shut as I tried on focusing to get the maniacal laughter out.

"What do you want with me?!" I screamed at him. Ever since the day I woke up in the warehouse, this spirit of darkness, Unicron, had been tormenting me with a nightmare after nightmare. I just wanted it all to end.

"There is no denying your fate anymore. You are the key to my awakening, puny human." He rumbled again, his optics narrowing, "And once I am fully awoken, I will destroy this world."

I shook my head, "No…"

"Primus will regret the day he cast me out! I am Unicron, destroyer of worlds, and supreme ruler of the universe!"

I screamed as the laughter came again, mixed with the wild whispers from his spirit. They all swirled inside my head, casting a heavy feeling over me. I could see the purple energy moving slowly, slipping it's way up my pants and sinking into my skin. It burned, and it came from all around me. Sucking itself into my already overheated body, and making the red horns glow an eerie purple. I threw my head back and let out a blood-curling scream.

Then, the world seemed to fade back to color. No longer was those haunting purple eyes in my vision, or the crackling purple energy. Instead, it was Sideswipe who was staring at me, looking like he'd seen a ghost as Sunstreaker cradled me. They were saying something, but I couldn't hear it. It was like the sound of the world around me had been muted.

Despite the horror, I found myself smiling at their nearness. It warmed my heart. I coughed, loudly as I felt myself wheeze. My lungs felt like they were crushed, and my throat burned as I coughed.

Slowly, my vision faded to infinite darkness.

(Sideswipe's POV)

"Charlie!" I shouted, as the light left her eyes and rolled into the back of her head.

"Her blood temperature's dropping, along with her heartrate," Sunstreaker cursed, bringing her closer to his body for warmth, "Where the hell is Ratchet?!"

::What's happening to her, Sunny?!:: I thought desperately over the twin bond. Eyes wide as they gazed over her limp form.

::I don't know, Sides!:: Sunstreaker said, his frustration of helplessness and worry for Charlie was nearly overwhelming over the bond, if I wasn't feeling the same exact way.

I couldn't help that sharp pang in my spark at the memory of how she arrived on base. The same exact way, limp in my arms. I was supposed to be her guardian, and I was already scared out of my processors when she disappeared after the battle in Washington. I swore to myself that day that I would never let anything like that happen to her ever again.

And yet...here I was, watching helplessly as Charlie's vitals dropped dangerously.

I couldn't let this happen. I couldn't fail her again.

Ratchet's holoform appeared in the hallway, and Sunstreaker was reluctant to give her unconscious form over to him. He raced her down to the med bay, and our holoforms had already appeared there.

Everything happened in a fast blur after that. There was a lot of yelling and screaming, most of it from Sunny and I as we were restrained by Jolt. We watched Ratchet charged up the metal plates. We watched, helpless to do anything else as Charlie's body jerked uncontrollably from the pulses of energy rushing through her chest. And we watched as he did it again, and again, only hoping that Primus would hear our prayers for once and help us.

We watched, in silent horror as her heart rate dropped so low that we almost lost it on our sensors. Sunstreaker cursed violently at that point, turning around to shove his fist through the wall with a snarl. I would have done the same, if I didn't catch the flicker of her eyes, and the sudden hitch from her chest.

She was breathing!

We could feel the relief rush through the bond, and soothed over our sparks when Ratchet had finally managed to stabilize her. He plugged an IV into her arm, taking some samples of her blood to run more tests and barking at us to watch her in case anything happened. Although it was unnecessary; because we weren't leaving the room until she felt better. And we made good on that promise. When Jolt allowed us, we pulled up chairs to her bed, and sat on either side of her, watching and waiting.

My spark fluttered just at the sounds of her soft breathing, a constant reassurance that she was alive, and that she was okay. There wasn't a sound more joyous and beautiful at the moment.

A new feeling flooded my spark, and had it pulsing with a strange buzz. It was this feeling that had my holoform's fingers skim past her cheek softly, and gently pulled the long strands of dark blonde hair from her face, and behind her ear. It was the feeling that had me smile as her face unconsciously leaned in towards the gentle touch. Because through the bond, I could feel it. Pulsating around with the fear of almost seeing her die, the relief, and the burning need to protect her.

I looked up at Sunny, and he nodded softly. He had it too.

It was love.

Welp, I warned you that slag was gonna go down. Oh yeah and HOLY SCHMOLY THEY CONFESSED THEIR LOVE! *fangirls excitedly* I've been waiting for this moment for a while now, and I was so happy to write it! Thank you guys so much for reading, and definitely make sure to leave a review! I want to know your thoughts on Sides & Sunny confessing :)