So, this will probably be the last time that I update before I go back to college since I go back Saturday (yay so excited to go back to hell...NOT!). After this, I can't say when I'll update again, but I'll try to make it as soon as possible. At least Transformers Prime is coming back on Friday, so you can enjoy that until I update again.

Chapter 37: Making Headlines

Daniel McHugh wasn't surprised when he got a phone call early the next morning from the WCBS news station wondering if they could send someone out for an immediate interview. Daniel, however, was more than willing to oblige. As he spoke on the phone with a representative of the news station, he glanced out the window only to see that the roads had been cleared from the snowstorm the previous day.

"How does 10:30 sound for you?" the representative asked.

"That's just fine, though, may I ask who will be coming?"

"We'll send one of our investigative reporters, Lawrence Cutler. Is your living address the same as the return address on the envelope you sent us?"

"Yes it is."

"Excellent, he will be there in an hour," the representative stated, "Have a good day, sir."

"Thank you, you as well," Daniel replied before hanging up and setting his phone down. For the first time in what felt like months, he actually felt good about what was happening. He could see dollar signs when he closed his eyes, he could taste victory when he swallowed. The transformers had caused him so much grief that he could hardly wait to make them pay. He lost the mine because of them, but he wouldn't lose the publicity he would gain from exposing their secret. And, if things went according to plan, he could still gain a valuable profit. But since the gang had abandoned him, all the money that was to be gained would go directly to him; there was no profit to be divided.

Daniel proceeded to tidy up around the house and put on a nice outfit. Just as he finished, the doorbell rang. He checked the time and saw it was 10:30. Grinning, he went over to the door and answered it. At the doorstep was a well-shaven, well-dressed, sandy haired and golden eyed man. "Good morning, sir," the man stated, "I am Lawrence Cutler, I'm a reporter at the local news station, WCBS, I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about the videos you sent us."

"Of course," Daniel agreed as he shook the man's hand, "Come inside, Mr. Cutler."

"Please, call me Larry," the man replied as he returned the shake before stepping inside.

They went inside and Dan offered him a seat in the living room before asking, "Is there anything I can get you, coffee, tea?"

"No, I'm fine, I'd rather cut right to the chase," Larry stated.

"Very well," Dan remarked as he sat down. He watched as Larry pulled out a tape recorder and he pressed the record button.

"For the record, the information you give me now, am I allowed to use?" Larry asked.

"Yes."

Lawrence nodded, "Those tapes then, did you record them yourself?"

"In a matter of speaking," Daniel answered, "I discovered the base by sheer accident. I will admit that I broke some laws, however, after my wrongful arrest; I felt it necessary to clear my name. I had cameras positioned around the home of Aurora and Angelique Carlson because I knew that they were hiding mechanical creatures of some kind—

"Were the cameras inside or outside of the home?"

"Both," he answered, "Though, I did not set the cameras up and I will not comment on who placed the cameras around the household. Needless to say, one of the mechanical beings, one who seemed to resemble a dog, discovered one of the cameras and took it into the base that the robots live in. Not only did this blunder allow me to discover where this base was, but it allowed me to actually discover that transformers were real."

"Yes, I did notice that the robots from the video bore a striking resemblance to the Cybertron characters. Are you aware that you may face legal penalties for breaking and entering and possibly invasion of privacy?"

"I am fully aware; however, if anyone sees the disturbing nature of that one video where that man is beaten, I feel my actions will be justifiable."

"And that man is Kyle Taylor, former gang member, am I correct?"

"Yes…but I decline to comment on what he was doing there."

Larry wasn't an idiot; he knew that even though Daniel was trying to come off as the protective citizen, he was really up to no good. However, he could care less as to what kind of trouble the former chairman of the village board was getting himself into. If these videos were real, which was what he really wanted to find out, then they could jumpstart his career. Journalism wasn't an easy career field to succeed in anymore, but if he could report the story that would confirm the existence of the transformers…

Daniel watched as Larry stopped the recording before saying, "I don't really care to get involved in what you did illegally; I just want to get that straight."

"I understand."

He pressed the record button again, "Would it possible to see this base?"

"I couldn't get you in there, legally," Daniel answered, "But there probably are ways…"

"I think that snowstorm should have lasted the rest of the school year," Angelique groaned as she stepped inside the hangout.

Aurora and Joey looked to her as she came in before Joey asked, "Why, you got a lot of homework?"

"I did, but I got it done."

"Then why are you complaining?" Aurora asked as she eyed the clock. It was 5:30pm.

"Well, it's not completely done. My U.S. History teacher wants to give us a quiz on current events in this area tomorrow, so I have to watch the boring old news and suffer through watching the news reporter that bobbles her head when she talks."

"You could do my Calculus for me," Aurora stated.

"No, thank you," Angelique said as she sat down on the couch, "I'll watch bobble head."

"Maybe something exciting happened," Joey remarked, "Though, in a town as small as this, that's doubtful."

"Hey now, the transformers did come to life in this small town," Aurora responded.

"That's true. But no, I was looking through the town police blotter early today just for the heck of it, and I must say, the crimes people are arrested for are ridiculous," Joey said, "For instance, someone was issued an appearance ticket because they threw dirt on someone's car and were being disorderly. I think that is ridiculous."

"Welcome to Smiths Landing," Aurora stated as the doors to the hangout opened.

"Did you ever hear about the naked lady that attacked a school bus?" Angelique asked.

"Sure, we come in and that's the first thing we hear," Starscream remarked.

The girls looked over only to see that Megatron, Optimus, and Starscream had entered the hangout, obviously finished with their work for the day. Joey brushed him off before looking back to Angelique and saying, "Okay, I didn't hear about that, but now that you brought it up I want to know."

"Alright, this happened a couple months back," Angelique explained, "I'm not sure what bus route it was, but apparently the bus was stopped at a stop sign or something outside of town. There was a house near the stop sign and I guess a woman ran out of the house completely naked and tried to get on the bus, but the driver kept the door closed. She ended up ripping one of the windshield wipers off the bus and running off."

Joey stared for a moment before saying, "Those poor kids…was she arrested?"

"I don't think so," Angelique said, "Apparently she had some kind of mental illness and she had forgotten to take her medication or something."

"Wasn't she a DEC officer?" Aurora asked.

"DEC?" Joey asked.

"Department of Environmental Conservation," Aurora clarified, "They enforce environmental laws, you'll see them patrolling around in the summer."

"Yeah I think I heard she was," Angelique stated with a shrug.

"Well that's only mildly disturbing," Megatron remarked as he sat down next to her, "Is your homework done?"

"Nearly, I just got to watch the local news."

"And you, how's your homework going?" Optimus asked as he sat down next to Aurora.

"I will be done if I can ever get my fried brain to remember what six times seven is," Aurora replied.

"It's the same as the answer to life, the universe, and everything," Angelique stated.

"Oh, right, 42, thanks."

Starscream, Megatron, and Optimus exchanged glances but before they could question how 42 was the answer to life, the universe, and everything, Joey remarked, "It's six o'clock."

"Bobble head time," Angelique stated as she turned on the television.

"Good evening, I'm Matt McClusky," said the male co-anchor.

"And I'm Kate Alexander," the female co-anchor remarked.

"Looks like I missed the headlines," Angelique stated.

"Too bad, you could've watched the headlines and been done," Joey remarked as Starscream sat down beside her.

"We'd like to begin with our top story and for that we'll turn to Lawrence Cutler. Lawrence?"

The camera switched to an image of Lawrence Cutler. "Thanks Matt," Lawrence stated before beginning his report, "While we may have thought we heard the last of Daniel McHugh, it turns out we were wrong."

"Uh-oh," Aurora exclaimed as she turned her attention to the television.

"Earlier this week, we received an envelope from the illustrious Daniel McHugh which contained video evidence supporting his claim that there were robots attacking him the night of his arrest. What we are about to show you is the actual video footage that he has sent us. I must warn you, though; some of the footage is disturbing."

And he proceeded to show some of the footage from where Megatron and Starscream were torturing Kyle in an attempt to make him talk. Megatron noticeably clenched his fist, Joey watched as Starscream clenched his teeth together.

After a bit, the camera switched back to Lawrence who said, "While Daniel McHugh did accept an interview, he was reluctant to discuss just how he obtained this footage of robots that strangely resemble Megatron and Starscream from the Transformers Cybertron cartoon. This base where the robots are residing is supposedly located underground on the property of Steve and Emily Carlson of Smiths Landing. You may remember their daughters, Aurora and Angelique, who claimed to be kidnapped by McHugh earlier this year; however, we have been unable to reach the Carlson family for an interview. We'll continue to follow this story and provide you with whatever information we can. Matt, Kate, back to you."

"Do you um…do you think I'll still have to take that quiz tomorrow if I'm part of the news?" Angelique asked, but when nobody answered her question, she proceeded to turn off the television.

The hangout was eerily quiet for a few moments before Joey finally shook her head and said, "I'd play the blame game, but obviously that'll get us nowhere. What are we going to do? Daniel McHugh released the tape of Kyle being tortured to the media. This could end up going worldwide if we don't do something."

"I believe revealing our existence would be a bad idea," Starscream stated.

"We're going to have reporters trying to shove microphones down our throats," Angelique remarked.

"If you guys continue to give us rides to school, people are going to recognize you now," Aurora said.

"We won't have time to relocate the base," Optimus mused, "But keeping others out might become impossible. The location of the base has been revealed to the entire town of Smiths Landing."

"And then some," Joey stated, "I'm sure this news station broadcasts in other towns across the county."

"The tri-county area actually," Angelique said, "So three counties know."

"And if we try to face the problem?" Starscream asked.

"Well, like the reporter said, Daniel McHugh wouldn't discuss how he obtained the footage, so obviously he was doing something illegal," Optimus said, "Though, after watching that video, people may not care he used illegal methods to obtain the footage."

"Damn it, I say we try to face them head on. We shouldn't have to hide and lie. We could explain our side of the story. Besides, think about how many fangirls all of you would have on your side," Joey stated.

"Oh no, I cannot deal with that," Angelique remarked.

"Optimus, you once told me that it's obvious our secret won't stay a secret forever, but they don't ever have to find us," Aurora said.

"Leaving is an option," Optimus replied.

"And just where would we go?" Megatron asked, "If we leave, we still risk being found, our faces are on the news. I agree with Joey, we shouldn't have to hide and lie. If we're going to be citizens of this planet, we should be able to freely participate on it."

"If we reveal our existence, the humans will never leave us alone. As I warned Aurora, they may try to take us apart, they might try to use us for our resources, they might want to use us to fight their wars. And even though we always have a choice, if we say no, someone might still come after us and try to force us to help them," Optimus explained, "Aurora, Angelique, and Joey would not be safe. People would want to know how they became gynoids."

"Or they may not," Megatron said, "We ourselves do not have to assist the humans. For all we know, our kind could be scattered all over the globe. There may be some transformers that want to help the humans. It doesn't necessarily have to be us."

"You and Starscream will have a harder time explaining yourselves," Optimus said, "After that footage being aired; you've already left a bad taste in people's mouths."

"It may not be that difficult," Joey said, "Kyle may not want to press charges. He's already in enough legal trouble."

"And I'm sure we could convince him not to," Starscream stated as he made a fist.

"Wouldn't Daniel be surprised if we beat him at his own game," Megatron said with a sly grin.

"I'm not so sure about this," Angelique remarked.

"Let's take the night to think it over," Optimus suggested, "Megatron, we'll meet in the morning to choose a course of action."

"As you wish," Megatron replied.

And it was left at that.

Aurora and Angelique were hardly surprised when their parents came down into the hangout later that evening. Optimus, Megatron, and Starscream had left to discuss the possibility of revealing themselves with the other Autobots and Decepticons. Aurora and Angelique's parents, however, wanted to know the course of action and just what was going on. It took a little while, but the girls managed to explain to their parents that they weren't sure what was happening yet, the rest of the transformers were still trying to decide.

"So, if reporters come to our house, we decline interviews for now?" their dad asked.

Aurora nodded, "That's probably the best thing. We'll let you know if anything changes."

"Alright," their mom said, "We should probably get in contact with a lawyer."

"Yeah, let's get to work on that," their dad said, "We'll see you kiddos around, but be careful. If anyone gives you trouble, let us know."

"Will do, dad," Angelique stated.

And with that, their parents headed back up to the house. When they were gone, Angelique sighed heavily before asking, "Are all your friends texting you wanting to know what's going on?"

"I've had a few text me," Aurora said, "I've been ignoring them."

"Same here, but I'm also getting people blowing up my Facebook wanting to know what's going on."

"Maybe you should deactivate it for now."

"Maybe," Angelique replied before sighing, "Do you think that they might try to take the transformers away?"

Aurora shrugged, "It's entirely possible. I really don't know what's going to happen from here on out."

"But they can't take them away," Angelique tried to argue, "I mean; they're just like humans underneath all that armor. If they take Megatron away—

"They might considering what he and Starscream did to Kyle."

"But I haven't slept with him yet!"

Aurora face-palmed before saying, "There are bigger problems than that right now. If you're willing to sacrifice that romantic night you wanted with Megatron, there's still tonight if you're that worried."

"Are you worried?"

Aurora paused for a moment. For an instant, she felt her heart break at the possibility of Optimus being taken away from her, of her being taken away from Optimus. "I wouldn't let Daniel McHugh build the mine here," she stated before turning and heading for the exit, "I'll be damned if I let him take the transformers away." And with that, she left the hangout.

"Starscream?"

He kissed the top of her head as they lay together in the darkness of his room. They had gone to bed a couple hours ago, but neither of them had been able to fall asleep. "Try to get some sleep, Jo," he whispered.

"Do you ever feel afraid?"

"Sometimes," he admitted into the darkness.

"I'm not going to let them take you away from me," she breathed.

"Do you love me, Jovina?"

Joey paused. They had been together months now, long enough for her to debate her feelings for the Decepticon second in command. Neither of them had ever said how they felt, though Joey was well aware of just how much she loved Starscream. She had thought about telling him before, but she never worked up the courage. She had wanted him to say it first, but figured since he was a Decepticon, he never would. But now he was asking.

"Yes," she answered, "With everything I've got."

He kissed her forcefully, slowly, deeply. "They can't tear us apart," he breathed, his optics meeting her gaze, "No one can."

She snuggled closer to him and he held her tighter in his arms. "Starscream," she whimpered, looking up at him, "All my life, I've had to fight for everything I wanted, and even if I got it, it never stayed, no matter how much I loved it or cared for it—

"You don't need to fight anymore," he said, feathering kisses over her face, "You have me. You have me, all of me. I'm not going anywhere, Joey, and neither are you. Let me fight for you."

"Starscream…"

"Everything is going to be alright."

"Starscream…"

"I'm right here," he said, "I'll always be right here."

Optimus reached across the berth, feeling emptiness where Aurora was supposed to be. He let his optics come online, creating a soft glow of gold as he checked the time. It was just after 10:30. He and Aurora had gone to bed an hour ago, but she wasn't there. He sat up, scanning the room as he did so. "Aurora," he breathed as he observed her pacing across a small span of the floor.

"What's the worst possible thing that could happen?" she asked, hugging herself as she continued her pacing, "The worst possible thing."

"Come back to bed, Aurora," Optimus said, "You need to sleep; you have school in the morning."

"What will people say? They're going to ask questions. What do I say?"

He got up and crossed the distance between them until he held her securely in his arms, lips pressed against her neck. "You don't need to say anything," Optimus breathed.

"I don't want to be taken away from you."

"Then hold onto me and don't let me go."

She looked to him, the worry in her eyes dissipating slightly. He pressed his helm against her forehead as he held her tighter. "I love you," she breathed, tears escaping from the corners of her eyes, "I love you, I love you, I love you."

He kissed her tears, the corners of her eyes. He kissed her lips, murmuring how much he loved her after each gentle caress. "Don't worry, love," he breathed, "Don't worry, don't cry, just hang on."

"Optimus…"

"Come back to bed with me. I'll watch you through your dreams; I'll wake you before fear takes you."

She leaned against him and he lifted her in his arms before carrying her back over to the berth. He felt as she snuggled against him and he waited until she had fallen asleep before he allowed his optics to go offline.

"Megatron, are you awake?"

The Decepticon leader allowed his optics to come online at the sound of Angelique's voice. Her back was to him. "Aurora said they might take you away," she said before he could acknowledge that he was awake.

He vented a sigh, wrapping his arms around her as he pulled her against him. "I don't want things to change," she continued, "I'll hide and I'll lie, but I don't want to fight if I have to risk losing you."

"Angelique…"

"Megatron, I am afraid," she admitted, voice breaking. He rolled her so that she was facing him and he beheld her tearstained face. "I'm not like you," she went on, "I'm not strong or brave or without fear. I can't be without you."

"You don't need to worry, Angelique," Megatron said, trying to reassure her.

"But if you tell—

"If we tell," he said before he gave her a light kiss, "Things will change, that's for certain. But nothing will change between us. You will remain by my side, no one will be taking me away and no one will be taking you."

"But you don't know that."

"Yes I do."

"How?"

"I won't let them."

She didn't say anything and Megatron kissed her forehead. "Go to sleep," he whispered, "There's nothing to be afraid of, I promise."

"Can I just hold onto you until all of this is over?"

The Decepticon leader gave a soft smile before he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. "You can hold onto me," he said, "And you don't ever have to let go."

The directions were more than crystal clear and both Aurora and Angelique felt like throwing up as they approached the living room. It was still another half-hour before they had to leave for school. However, as they had been waiting for the time to go by so that their parents could give them a ride to school, there had been a knock on the front door.

"Hey kiddos," their father said, "There's a reporter here, want me to shoo him away?"

"No," Aurora stated, her face suddenly pale, "Let him in."

"We've reached a unanimous decision," Optimus said as he addressed Aurora, Angelique, and Joey, Starscream and Megatron by his side. "Should a reporter happen to show up at your residence, you will let him in and we will speak to him. It's time we got this whole thing cleared up."

"Are you sure, Optimus?" Aurora asked.

"We can't hide forever," Megatron answered, "This would have to happen at some point. It's best we get it over with now, rather than later."

The front door opened with a groan. "Hello, my name is Lawrence Cutler, I am a reporter for WCBS, are Aurora and Angelique home? I was hoping I could ask them a few questions before they left for school," a man said.

"Yeah," their father replied, "Right this way."

Aurora and Angelique looked up from where they were seated in the living room as Lawrence Cutler walked in. Both girls exchanged nervous glances as Cutler began to repeat his introduction, but Angelique cut him off as she said, "I know, we heard. You may have questions, but not for us."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"You want to find out?" Aurora asked, knowing this was the point of no return.

He nodded.

Angelique sighed heavily as she stood up, "Its best you come with us."

I'll try to update soon.