Chapter 35

The decepticons were massing together in the sky, becoming one unit as they swept across the sky with the force of a hurricane. Demona sensed the shift in battle. The remaining autobot aerials cursed violently and were forced to break formation and split to avoid being run through. She needed to join them, to help. There was too many seekers for the two of them to take on alone.

But the burrowers were swarming below. They gathered and lunged after Hotshot and Prowl, determined to offline them. Demona put herself in their path and sliced the first one to come at her in half. The others kept coming, relentless. She prepared herself for a long, hard battle on the ground...then her optics raised to the red wall. The army of burrowers had broken into two groups. One was rushing towards her, the other was scaling the wall in a rush to get to Optimus and his group on the edge.

Decepticons above them. Burrowers below. And not nearly enough autobots to stand against them.

Venting sharply, Demona twisted and cut down another mech. She pulled at her creations and her bonded. Flashback was still trying to get Backlash to Ratchet, but they had been forced to stop because a few burrowers had gotten past them. Backlash was weakening. The pain had been sharp and crippling, but now it seemed to numb over as his strength drained. Panic seized her.

Jolt, though he had yet to arrive with Sundance, felt it too. Anger and fear curled around his spark and squeezed. Sundance was reaching through to all of them, wrapping herself protectively around their sparks. They were on their way, but Demona didn't know if they could last long enough for them to get there.

Her optics shifted over the canyon. Jetfire was closing in on a decepticon. His massive, black alternate sliced through the air effortlessly, every bit the warrior he had been in the old stories. Powerglide was pulling up into a series of complicated twists and turns in an attempt to outrun a set of heat seeking missiles that were hot on his tail. The burrowers on the wall were getting closer to their goal.

"Pit," She hissed, focusing on the ones that were getting closer to her. Their optics were all on her now. She slid into a defensive stance as they circled her. They dove and rolled around her feet, trying to tear open her legs and back. She reacted, twisting hard at the waist to slash at them. They fell back, then came at her even faster. Demona moved as fast as she could, managing to block or evade most of the attacks.

Theres too many. She clenched her dentals when a sharp pain pierced her side. One of them had climbed over the others and was holding tight to her back. His claws were clenched around her armor, trying to wrench it from her body. His serrated dentals were clamped down around the exposed lines and wiring in her side. She reached down and shoved her wrist blade into his head, splitting his helm in half. He sputtered and fell limp to the ground.

Another got her claws around her ankle, and was quickly stripping through the joint. Demona vented sharply, kicking the femme backwards so hard she stumbled into another and knocked them both flat on their afts. She twisted and turned, dropping six more before an angry shout sounded from up high. Demona chanced a look at the edge of the canyon. She cursed violently under her breath when she saw that the burrowers were spilling over the edge and overcoming the mechs standing there.

Demona slashed through another burrower before she shoved off the earth and transformed into her aerial. She shot up high into the sky, angling her form towards Optimus and the others. Her spark clenched with fear when a larger burrower got behind him and nearly pierced the back of Optimus' knee. The Prime stumbled but managed to remain standing. He tried to grab the mech, but another jumped on his back and tore at his throat cables. She could feel the panic that was growing in his spark when he realized that he could do nothing to stop them.

Demona closed in on them, transformation routines already cycling as she prepared to shift and and tear them to pieces. Her hidden optics were fixed on Optimus, watching as he backed up, moving closer to the edge. The others were too busy fighting off others to warn him. She was close now, seconds away from reaching him-

An engine roared nearby. Her focus snapped when she sensed someone flying straight towards her. She barely had enough time to see who it was before the seeker slammed into her. Her processor and systems reeled when the sharp nose of his alternate pierced through her side and his weight crumbled one of her wings. The impact was hard enough to send her flying forward, and, unable to catch herself, she hit the wall with a 'boom' that echoed through the canyon.

Demona gasped, agony tearing through her. Her systems whined sharply and began to shut down. The decepticon was still there, hovering as if he was watching her to make sure she didn't get up. Demona struggled, forcing herself to stay online despite the red warnings that were beginning to fill her vision. Keep fighting. Get up.

Her spark weakened. Her creations screamed for her, reaching through the bond towards her. They felt far away, but she made herself reach back. I'm alright, she tried to tell them. It will be okay. She tried to transform. Her armor ground against her frame and whined in protest. The seeker kept watching. When she couldn't finish the shift, leaving her crumpled wings still fanning out from her back, the seeker laughed.

"I thought you were supposed to be strong. Big femme with a big creator." He said. Demona shuttered her optics, letting her head lower. She tested her limbs, wiggling her fingers and toes. Nothing was seriously broken outside of her wings. Finally, She thought bitterly, some luck. She clenched her fists and ground her toe claws into the red stone. The mech was still talking, "The tool that turned against its master. I expected more out of you, Demona."

The weakness fled. Anger took its place, feeding into her spark and filling her limbs with new strength. Her optics brightened, raising slowly to stare at the mech. She snarled, "I am no tool."

"Ha! You were created to be used-" He cut himself off with a strangled shout when she reached forward and clawed her hand around the nose of his alternate. She squeezed so hard that her fingers dented his armor, and she yanked her body free from the rock to swing her feet up and rip his belly wide open with her toe claws. He screeched, tilting away sharply. Demona refused to let go. She held on, raising a hand to form into a fist. She brought it down against his side as hard as she could, bashing in the armor. She gripped his wing then, pulling at it until it caved.

The seeker began to lean wildly to one side, squealing like another seeker she had fought and offlined years ago. The memory of Starscream only made her angrier, and she tore the wing off completely with one yank.

The seeker crashed into the wall. Demona shifted to the outside before contact was made so she couldn't be crushed. She locked her toe claws in the rocky wall, optics raising once again to the edge. She reached through to her family to reassure them that she was back on her feet and still fighting. She was directly below them now.

Optimus had managed to get his hands on one of the burrowers but two more appeared to take it's place. He took another step back, right over the edge. Demona moved, crawling over the smoking seeker to find good foot holds in the rock. Optimus fell. He managed to catch himself on the edge, but the burrowers hanging off of his legs scrambled up his body and started to claw and bite through his wrist. He was forced to let go, and he came tumbling through the air towards her.

Demona locked her joints and reached back in time to snag her fingers around his arm. She clenched her dentals when her body jolted downwards, forced to take his weight. Her claws slid on the stone, but she held strong. She sensed his shock and felt his optics on her. She squeezed the armor on his wrist and whispered, "You...should pay more attention to your surroundings." Her voice was strained, "we would be lost without you, Prime."

"Demona..." He was staring at her with wide optics, like he couldn't believe that she was there. His optics softened, "Let go, youngling."

"No."

"I'll take us both down. Let go."

"Is that an order?"

He said, "Yes."

Her limbs trembled. It felt like they were being pulled from her body. She only held on to him tighter, "I guess we've spent too much time on the moon...I haven't had to follow any orders in so long that I don't care about them anymore."

"Demona."

"No." She shuttered her optics and started to pull him upwards. It was hard, her arm and back burned with the effort. "I'm not going to let you go, so quit telling me to." She pulled at his spark, shortening the distance between them. He responded, flooding her with his strength. She opened her optics and focused on a groove in the wall that would be strong enough to hold him. Long, painful minutes passed before she brought him up high enough to reach it. He raised his other arm and clasped his hand on it firmly. She supported him until he found foot holds. Once she was sure he wouldn't fall, she let go.

She almost sagged with relief, leaning into the wall. He pulled at her spark, sending her waves of gratitude. She tugged back, then started the climb back up. Optimus watched her for a brief moment before following.

"Mom was hurt pretty bad," Flashback said quietly, still huddled in the crevice. His hands were fisted carefully around Backlash's black armor. His optics were turned down, studying his brother's expression, "some decepticon slammed her into a wall and made her crash."

Paradox stilled. Her pale optics fixed on him. When she spoke, her voice was calm, but quiet, "Is she alright?"

"...Yeah." Flashback shifted his brother carefully and looked out of their hiding place. "I have to get back out there. She can't fight all of those burrowers by herself."

"You can't leave him." Paradox said, lowering her optics to Backlash.

"No." Flashback vented softly, "but I have to...for a few minutes." He shifted Backlash to the ground. He looked at Viral, "You'll protect him." It was more of a order than a question.

"Yes," Viral hissed, "no one will hurt him while I'm here."

"I'll stay as well," Paradox said, meeting his optics, "I won't be much in close range, but I can cause a distraction."

Flashback lifted a pistol from its holster. "You've got good optics. I know you're more of a slash and dash kind of warrior, but I bet you're not bad with a gun, either." He offered the weapon to her, "anyone with an ugly face comes close, you blast their processors out."

She took it silently. Flashback vented quietly, "I'll get help." He ducked out of the crevice then, and took off running towards the end of the canyon. His feet pounded on the earth, and he wondered if he was insane or not, leaving his wounded brother alone with a cripple and a crazy. His spark was uneasy about it. He wanted to stay with Backlash, to make sure he was safe. But the burrowers that had slipped past were a problem that needed to be taken care of as soon as possible, and he couldn't do that while carrying his brother and two femmes.

Flashback paused in his footing when someone shouted out to him. He turned on one heel to look back, blue optics falling on Hotshot and Prowl as they helped Skyfire to safety. Since neither of them had really been damaged yet, they were moving the big aerial along a lot faster than Flashback and his brother had. Hotshot had an arm up and was waving at him. Venting heavily, Flashback turned back around and trotted to them.

"Wheres Backlash?" Hotshot asked, "Your mom said that Scourge beat him up pretty bad."

"I had to hide him and the femmes somewhere," Flashback explained quickly. He pointed ahead, "A few of those fucking burrowers got past mom and are making a beeline for Ratchet's camp. They'll offline everyone if I don't get there first." He hesitated, "but Backlash is in bad shape...I was going to ask Ratchet to run out here and patch him up."

Prowl looked between them before ordering, "Hotshot will take him there while you handle the burrowers."

Flashback blinked. "But don't you need both to help Skyfire...?"

"Hey, Prowls pretty tough. If he says he can handle it, then I believe him," Hotshot said.

"Your family is priority," Prowl added, "you're the only ones that can keep up with the burrowers, and right now they're a bigger concern than the decepticons are."

Flashback nodded, "Alright. He's back there in that crevice." He pointed, "its hidden, so you'll have to look for it. If Viral freaks out on you, tell her that I sent you, and make sure she knows that you're only there to help Backlash."

"Got it."

"I mean, she just full out ripped Scourge apart and beat his processor out in the dirt with her bare hands. I'd hate to see that happen to you." Flashback started to move back as Hotshot left Skyfire's side to rush back the way they'd come. Flashback glanced at Prowl, "Thanks, Prowl. I owe you for that."

"If we survive this war, you won't owe me anything." Prowl muttered.

Flashback nodded to him then wheeled back around and rushed after the burrowers. He moved more freely now, confident that his brother would be safe. They were hanging on by a thread, but at least they were still hanging on.

Flashback made it to Driller's still frame before he was forced to stop. His optics fell on the big beast, stretched out on its side. He tensed when he saw someone standing beside it, bent over Driller's back with a hand deep in the monster's spine. Flashback back peddled and slid into the shadows when he saw the mech's single, blood-red optic. Cursing violently under his breath, he squatted down and glared at Shockwave.

He pulled at his mother. 'Shockwaves here,' He told her. A second passed as dread and anger bled through their bond.

'Where?'

'Over where Driller fell...' His optics widened when Shockwave pulled his hands out and gave a low mechanical growl. Driller, to his surprise, responded. He groaned back, then shifted his entire body like he was trying to get back up. Fuck. Frag. Slag. Shit. Flashback clenched his fists on his knees, 'Our problem just got huge.'

'What is he doing.'

'He's fixing Driller.' Flashback kept going through every curse word he could think of in his head. He dropped down further when Shockwave's gaze suddenly lifted and swung in his direction. The decepticon stared for a moment before turning his back on Flashback. He put a hand on Driller's armor and slowly slid it up as he walked alongside the beast. He spoke to Driller once more before stepping back to shove into the air. He transformed in a liquid, slow motion that screamed predator, and took off into the air.

Flashback climbed to his feet and darted out of the shadows and back into the open, pushing himself even harder to get to the rest of the autobots in time.

He turned around a sharp, rocky corner and came face to face with the two burrowers, who were busy trying to get around a pair of young mechs. Flashback nearly slammed to a stop when he took it all in.

The mechs were back to back, doing their best to protect themselves as the burrowers dove in and out at their legs. One of the mechs was tall and lean with red armor. The other was short and stout with dark armor, with a huge gun in his hands. Flashback threw his hands up in the air, "What the fuck are you two doing out here?!" His shout drew their attention. The burrowers turned and hissed at him, recognizing him from their time spent on the moon. They were more hesitant now, since there was only two of them against one of the mechs that actually knew how to fight them.

Solaris whooshed out a sigh of relief, then smiled shakily at him, "Flashback!"

"Where the pit have you been?!" Warhammer shouted.

"Trying to keep everyone from killing your afts! What the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be hiding with the others!" Flashback pulled out his last pistol and shot one of the burrowers through the chest without looking. The second squealed and tried to get around his legs. Flashback smacked him in the helm with the butt of his gun. The burrower staggered backwards, rubbing his head tenderly.

Warhammer glared while Solaris pointed at the sky, "We saw Shockwave come in from the rear! We were going to warn you guys when those things attacked us."

Flashback shot the second burrower when he moved to attack again. He holstered the gun and approached, shaking his head. "Yeah, I already let mom know. She and the others are probably on the lookout for him now." He grabbed them by the shoulder and turned them around so that the three of them were walking in the same direction.

"What are you doing?" Warhammer growled.

"Getting you two out of the open before you get your big, dumb heads shot off." Flashback blinked then glared when Warhammer pushed away and turned on him.

The big mech said, "No. We're going to fight."

"You need all the help you can get," Solaris chimed in, "we can do something. We're strong enough."

Flashback drug his hands down his face then took a deep breath so he wouldn't explode. It didn't help. He shouted, "Are you slagging crazy?! You have no experience whatsoever! This isn't a game, mechs! You could offline out here!"

"So could you!" Warhammer argued. Flashback clenched his fists to keep from punching him right in his big face.

"Thats not the point! Have either of you even ever seen a decepticon? I know you don't know a damn thing about Burrowers either. You have never been pitted against something thats hell bent on ripping your spark out of your chest! You're nothing but cannon fodder out here!"

"Give us a chance, Flash."

"A chance to what? Offline?"

Warhammer got in his face, fisting a hand around his chest armor. Flashback bit down on the urge to throw him on the ground. The wider of the two ground out, "You were in your second frame when you started fighting, weren't you? You and your scrawny brother."

"Thats my point! We've been at it just a tiny bit longer than you have."

"And this is our point," Warhammer let him go, "everyone keeps telling us that we don't have a chance in the field, but how can we if you don't even let us try? We can fight. Both of us. We can make a difference."

Flashback quieted for a moment, thinking over his words. "But can you kill?" He asked.

"If it comes down to it, yes."

Flashback clenched his dentals, then turned away from them, "Slag it...I can't-dammit! I can't let you do this."

"Why?" Warhammer demanded.

"Because I can't watch my best friends die!" Flashback shouted, turning back on them, blue optics narrowed. Their optics widened and they stared at him in silence for several seconds. Flashback vented sharply, "Dammit, its hard enough watching Backlash fight...Pit, any moment he could make a wrong move and become helpless..." Like today.

"What do you fight for, Flashback?" Solaris asked suddenly.

"For my family." He said without thought.

"And if someone told you that you couldn't fight for your family, what would you do?"

"...I'd fight anyway." Flashback shuttered his optics then, hating himself for it, said, "Fine! But you two will stay with me so I can keep an optic on you."

"Fine." Warhammer repeated. His optics lifted then narrowed. The earth trembled. Flashback turned slowly to see what he was looking at, though he had a good idea of what it was. His optics fell on Driller as he rose up, stretching high into the sky.

Flashback looked at Solaris, "Send a comm to Ratchet. Decepticons and burrowers are here. Backlash was badly wounded, and he needs medical aid stat. he's in a crevice between both of Driller's tunnels." Solaris nodded. Flashback looked at Warhammer, "I hope you're packing like your dad, because we're going to need some big ass guns to bring this fragger down for good."

"What about these?" Warhammer reached into his subspace and brought out a handful of round metal objects. "Bombs, courtesy of Wheeljack."

"Those will work," Flashback nodded, taking one of them.

Backlash was lost. He was weightless, lost between stasis and consciousness. His optics flickered online and he could see, his gaze slowly sliding over the dirty face of a malformed femme to settle on bright blue green optics. They were squinted, like their owner was smiling. He could feel pressure in his side and back, but couldn't tell what it was.

"Backlash, I remember!" The one with the blue green optics said, sounding far away, "I remember now! You tried to save me. Stayed with me all the time, never left me alone! I was hurt, and I couldn't tell you then, but I can now."

Backlash just stared at her, trying to understand. The armor of her helm and body was bright green. Something was alarming about it, and he tensed slightly when he finally remembered her name. Viral. Things came back to him, memories that were dim and faded. He could still make them out through the haze in his processor. She was leaning down over him, and as he watched, her optics seemed to grow a little brighter and less malevolent. Green began to give way to blue, and she said, "You never left me so I'm not gonna leave you, okay?"

Backlash swallowed thickly. Things spun around him, and he couldn't figure out why. Why was he so weak? Why couldn't he see clearly and why did she sound so far away when she was right above him. The other femme reached forward, pressing her palm to his helm. She asked him something, but he couldn't hear it. All of his focus was on the other one, who was still talking. "And when you're better, we can be best friends again! Maybe I can be Lotus again!"

Lotus. Some feeling came back, though it was concentrated in his chest, within his numb spark. She cocked her head like she was listening, optics growing soft. Lotus. His optics threatened to close when a sudden wave of exhaustion took him. She leaned down closer, and said, "You like that name too, huh? I like it a lot more than Viral. I want to be Lotus again. I want to be friends again."

I remember. Backlash blinked slowly, suddenly far away. He saw her years in the past, when she barely stood more than four feet tall and had a big, innocent smile on her face. Her dentals weren't serrated or sharp. Her optics were soft and blue, and she had the same lime colored armor, except it was complete and gave her more of a soft, graceful shape than the skeletal one she wore now. She was proportionate, without claws. She was staring at him, because he was the only one her size, and she knew it. He had been hiding behind his brother's feet, who was standing between their creators. His mother was welcoming them, the little femme and her femme creator who stood quietly beside her with the same soft expression. She had waved at him, but he had been too scared to respond. He'd never seen anyone outside of his family, and didn't know what to say or think. 'I'm Lotus!' She'd said, 'who are you?' She had started walking towards him. Flashback grinned down at him and pushed him forward and into the open. Stuttering, he'd managed to speak his name. She'd grabbed his hand then, and practically dragged him away from their families, 'Lets explore! I've never been in a place like this before-show me everything!'

"Backlash?"

He came back, pulling from a memory he'd forced himself to bury for most of his life. His optics came back into to focus, on the femme. Blue optics. There was only a tint of green to them now. His chest burned with pain and hope at the same time. Is this real? Her head tilted the other way, "What do you mean?"

Backlash clenched his jaws weakly, then willed himself to move. His hand raised in the corner of his vision, coated in energon. He couldn't remember if it was his or someone else's. He brought his fingers to her cheek. You're not supposed to remember anything. I...tried to make you remember for years. But you never did.

"I can't hear you." She said, "stop talking and rest. You don't make any sense."

We were friends. You said we were 'best' friends. She stilled. He tensed, feeling something rise in his throat, blocking his air ways. The other femme leaned forward quickly and lifted his head, turning it. The first femme's optics widened when something warm and bitter slid past his dentals and spilled out unto the ground. His optics shuttered.

"Stop talking!" She said, voice high with panic, "Backlash, stop talking!"

Backlash shuttered his optics tiredly. Hands grasped him around the shoulders. He became aware of another pair on his side. His spark pulsed with pain, fading and brightening in rhythm. He felt it gain strength only to lose it a second later. The process repeated, and he realized that he was close to stasis or even offlining. The hands on his shoulders tightened. The second femme leaned down over him, lifting a hand to grip his chin like she was trying to get his attention.

"You can't do anything?" The femme asked, "why is he-" She was interrupted.

Movement. Someone shouted. Backlash onlined his optics when the hands disappeared. Without the support, he fell unto his back again. His optics raised to settle on a big, dark shape that was standing outside their crevice. A burning red optic glared down at him. A large hand reached inside and batted both femmes away effortlessly then lowered towards him. Backlash tensed, instincts telling him that he needed to get up and fight.

The world shook when he made himself roll. He braced an arm on the ground and pushed himself up. The hand dropped to his leg and closed around his calf. With a harsh yank, Backlash hit the ground and was dragged out into the sunlight. The green femme screamed in rage.

Backlash tried to sit up, but the same hand raised to his head and closed around his helm and lifted him. He weakly gripped the mech's wrist as he was brought face to face with the same decepticon that had shot a hole through him.

Shockwave.

Backlash didn't have the energy to make a sound when the mech squeezed, sending a shot of pain through his processor and down his spine. Something cracked loudly, and suddenly his optics were exposed to the sun. White light flooded his vision and he was forced to shutter his optics. The pieces of his red visor fell down his armor to hit the ground.

Viral screamed, crouching low inside the crevice Shockwave lifted her mech up high into the air. Something pierced her spark when the decepticon squeezed his hand over Backlash's helm. Her mech's body jolted slightly. She heard his visor break and saw the pieces of red glass drop to the ground. Rage thrashed inside her, threatening to pull her apart if she didn't move.

She lunged into the open, dropping to all fours because she could move faster that way. Her claws dug into the ground and pulled the rest of her body forward as she flung herself at the mech, not even bothering to sneak behind him. She landed hard against his chest, putting herself between him and Backlash. Her claws closed tight around his throat and she leaned down to scream in his face, baring rows of serrated dentals.

"Put him down!" She ordered, "Shockwave! Put him down!"

Shockwave met her gaze, showing no fear even though she was ready to tear his throat cables out at any second. He shifted Backlash, then threw him. Viral twisted to watch as Backlash hit the corner of the crevice and slumped down, red optics half way open and dim. She turned to drop and rush to him, but froze when she felt something press to her side. Her wide optics dropped to see the nose of his cannon planted against her green armor. The weapon was already humming with energy. Viral panicked. She let go and tried to shove off of his chest and get away but his hand clamped down around her helm, holding her to him. Her optics raised to his, and he held her gaze without feeling. She screeched in agony and fear when she felt the heat of the blast tear her apart. She jolted violently, the screaming of her systems piercing her audios.

Everything slowed down, the world darkened. She rasped, the pain numbing over rapidly as parts of her body began to shut down. She felt the pressure in her body like something was building up inside of her. It suddenly released, and she felt something spill down what was left of her armor. She tried to reach up and cut his throat, but she couldn't move. She couldn't do anything as he peeled her off of him and tossed her like she was trash.

Viral didn't feel the impact when she landed, head tilting back because she didn't have it in her to hold it up anymore. Her dazed optics slid over a sky dark with smoke, to land on her mech. Shockwave walked past her to advance on the other femme, who was shouting, but Viral couldn't understand what she was saying. Her optics stayed on Backlash.

He was staring back.

Viral twitched her lip plates upward. She tried to speak, but all that came out was a harsh gasp. He moved, forcing his body to work as he pulled himself towards her. Viral wanted to meet him half way. He was still hurt very bad, and she should stop him from straining himself. She couldn't feel anything anymore, and she didn't know if she had much strength left, but she could do this. For him. Her claws reached up slowly and she scratched the ground, trying to mirror him, but it wasn't enough.

"Stop."

Viral blinked slowly at him. His voice was quiet and harsh, but not the kind of harsh she was used to. She scanned over his face, seeing the curl of his lip plates, showing his dentals in an agonized snarl. His optics were bright and shining with the same kind of pain. She realized suddenly that this was the first time she had seen them since they were sparklings. They were still as beautiful as she remembered them, red and clear. This made her smile. She tried to crawl to him again, but nothing was working. "Backlash," She rasped, her optics dimming, "I..."

"Stop," He repeated, his voice cracking. He reached her, pushing himself up on shaking arms.

"I...I need to tell you something," She smiled a little wider when he sank down close beside her. One of his arms reached out and closed around her, pulling her closer until she was pressed against his side. "I just remembered. And I need to tell you."

"For pit's sake, just stop. You're...losing too much energon...Primus...why did you do that?"

Ignoring the question, she continued, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I hurt you. Thats what I want to tell you. And..." Her optics flickered. For a terrifying second, she couldn't see him, "I want you to be happy. You need to be happy again. Please be happy."

He was warm. And she was beginning to feel cold. She stared at his optics until her sight darkened. His hold tightened on her, and he said, "No." His voice shattered, "No, no, no. Lotus."

She sank into his warmth, falling still as her spark finally stopped hurting, and her processor quieted.

Cried like a baby. Seriously.

Demona and her family, friends, the burrowers, and the story belongs to me. Transformers does not.