Thanks for the fave/follows. Not much to say really than other than hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter and it won't be as bad as the last one.

Chapter 55 Come Undone

(Daufuskie Island – 11:30pm)

Once they were alone together, Blitzwing had half expected Cynthia to finish what she had started. Mentally, he prepared himself for any verbal lashings and possible kicks that she had in store for him. He almost hoped that she would approach him first about the issue because he was hesitant to do so at this time. Though the triple changer had some confidence when Helen and the rest of the family members were with them, that strength had all but evaporated now. Now, there was no longer a need to maintain the charade. He knew how angry and hurt she was by his betrayal and he was expecting her to do something. Instead, she was lying on the bed and ignoring him completely. That was something Blitzwing had actually preferred to not happen.

Cyndi was lying on her side of the bed with her back facing him. Grudgingly, she was more than aware of his presence. A part of her wanted to continue displaying her hatred and ire towards him but another part of her was so subduded and watered down by her sorrow that she chose to ignore him. The woman settled herself on the very edge of her bedside, wanting to be as far away from him as possible. Her bluish gray eyes momentarily drifted over to her nightstand, seeing the seashell that he gave her earlier that day. Some tears sprung up but she suppressed them as best as she could, since she did not want him to know she was hurting.

Cautiously, he seated himself on the available bedside. The bed creaked and groaned a little beneath his weight and he cringed, hoping that Cyndi would not feel or hear his approach. When she did not react or stir to this, he was subtly encouraged to try to speak to her. He was so anxious and guilty about the fight that he was physically ill. All he wanted was to have her forgive him and come back.

Then he froze up when he saw Cynthia move her arm towards the lamp that sat on the nightstand. She turned it off and the room instantly dimmed. The only light that was visible now was the tiny nightlight in their bathroom and a stray beam of moonlight that managed to wiggle its way past the curtains. Again, she stirred, moving her body underneath the covers and then she stopped a few seconds later. After that, silence prevailed between the two of them once more.

"I can't do zis anymore," Icy said to himself. "I have to try to talk to her. I feel as if I'm going to purge my fuel tank if don't try to make amends vith her. I have to do zis… Ve're both suffering because of my urges. I need to end it."

Neither Hothead nor Random said anything back. They remained uneasily quiet within his head. The two more outgoing personalities were as nervous as he was about the matter. He sighed internally upon realizing that they most likely would not be participating in talking for the rest of the night. The calmer persona almost hoped that they would take turns in talking to her.

Swallowing hard, Blitzwing inched closer to her. He cleared his throat and hoped she wouldn't end up tearing his larynx out in midsentence.

"Cynzhia?" he made sure he sounded clear and serious but not confrontational.

There was no reply received from her. The room was so silent that he could've sworn he heard his heart beating. He wet his lips and decided to wait a few more seconds before attempting again.

Before he could part his mouth to speak once more, he heard her sniffling and attempting to stifle her cries. His instincts to comfort and console his woman controlled him and he ignored the threats of bodily harm she warned him of earlier if he touched her and he scooted over to her side. Gingerly, he set a hand on her shoulder and huddled closer to her.

"Leave me alone!" Cyndi tried to sound stern and commanding but her whimpering and sobbing didn't help. "Get your disgusting hands off me..!"

"Cyndi, please," he urged. He hushed his voice so that her family members would not hear any commotion. "I cannot stand to see jou like zis… I am so sorry zat I hurt jou and more zhan anyzhing else, I vant jou to forgive me."

"I'll never forgive you! Go to Hell!"

"Sveetspark, please! Zis is hurting me as much as it is hurting jou… I love jou, Cynzhia!"

"How could you love an ugly and unpleasant woman like me then? You should've went off with those girls like you wanted to. You even said they were more beautiful than I am…" There was no restraint on the tears now. "Just shut your mouth and go to sleep! You have no idea how hard it is for me to be in this bed with you!"

"No, zat's not true." He shook his head stubbornly. "I vas angry and very frustrated and zat's vhy I said zat. I von't deny zat I said zhose horrible zhings to jou but zhey vere not true. I am disgusted vith myself for saying zhose zhings too and if I could travel back in time to fix it, I vould do it vithout a second zhought."

"Please, I want to be left alone. I don't want to talk to you and I am so very close to ripping your hand off and shoving it up your ass…"

The imagery in his head was not pleasant to say the least when Blitzwing imagined that scenario. Internally, he suddered at that thought and he wondered if she actually had the power to do such a thing to him. But he chose to not heed her threats and he didn't remove his hand.

"I vill say 'I love jou' as many times as necessary to convince jou it is ze truzh," he said. "I vill also tell jou 'jou are beautiful' until jou believe zat as vell."

"Right now, there is nothing that you can say to make me feel better," she uttered. There was such coldness in her voice that he thought he was speaking to another woman. "And don't worry about planting an entire field of yellow lilies for me either because I will bulldoze them over. You failed miserably and you are not going to be forgiven for your own stupidity." At last, she turned over to face him. "I think I get why Blackarachnia never accepted your love too… You're a hopeless and pitiable screw-up. To me, it sounds like the woman was far wiser than I was in choosing you."

He decided to quit for the day after she finished speaking. Now she was just being spiteful and cruel. Blitzwing tried to maintain a stony expression but her words did hurt him a great deal. His anger was swelling as she rejected his truthful words and slandered his worth as a living thing. At last, Hothead was fighting violently for control but Icy restrained him, not wanting to fight fire with fire. He believed the wisest thing to do for now was to let her vent her anger and cool off some more.

His hand drew away from her shoulder and he lain down on his respective side of the bed. He reclined on his back, choosing to not turn his back on her as she did to him. Even in the darkened conditions, he could still see the back of her head clearly.

"Goodnight," he said, trying to restrain himself from talking back in a smarmy tone.

"Yeah, I'll try," was her brief answer.

Blitzwing exhaled heavily and shut his eyes. Chances were that the both of them were going to have a hard time sleeping that night.

(the next day, Detroit – 10:30am)

Prowl had no desire nor did he have the patience to wait any longer. He had already rehearsed to himself what he was going to be informing his fellow Autobots about what evidence he was going to present to them. Though he had no physical evidence to show them, he felt that the veracity of his words and testament would be enough to convince and prompt them to action. With each cycle that went by and the longer he withheld the information from them, the more impatient and restless he felt. The ninja-bot was even becoming irked that for as long as the matter would not be brought before his comrades, the Human traitors would continue to serve their Decepticon masters.

On silent stabilizing servos, Prowl walked at a brisk and hurried pace. He entered the base's living room, spotting the four Cybertronians he called his teammates and their organic charge all convened in that area. More than anything else, he was thankful that they were already together and he could begin right away without calling the others back if they had went their own ways earlier. Not only that, he preferred that everyone would hear what he had to say so that they could be on the lookout for the three suspicious siblings.

"If by some chance they chastise or scold me for going against Optimus' orders to wait despite what I've discovered, it still won't stop me," the gold and black Autobot told himself. "If indeed they are aiding the Decepticons, which I believe they are, they must be prosecuted and removed from their service before they could be used against us or the citizens of this city…"

Bumblebee managed to pick up on the sound of Prowl approaching from behind. He turned his helm to the side and locked optics with the slender and agile mech. The youngest bot smirked at this.

"Done so early with meditating, Prowl?" the cheeky Autobot prodded.

Sari, who was sitting on her faithful guardian's right shoulder, had failed to notice Prowl since she had been engrossed with watching the television. But when Bumblebee had spoke up suddenly, she was snapped from her trance and looked over her shoulder. Indeed, Prowl was approaching the group and he appeared as serious and as poised as he always did. The child shot him a warm smile and waved at him, greeting him a good morning.

"Morning, sleepy head!" she said cheerily. Her smile was as bright and as sunny as ever. "Glad you could join us!"

Bulkhead, Optimus and Ratchet faced Prowl, extending their morning greetings to him. Prowl brushed them off unintentionally as his processor was still mulling over the matter he had to bring before them. His Autobot compatriots noticed that he seemed more somber and broody than usual. Though they could not see his optics behind his visor, they could sense that something was pestering him and festering in his processor.

"Prowl," the Autobot leader said, "is there something wrong? You seem troubled."

"I have disobeyed you, Optimus," Prowl confessed immediately, seeing that sooner or later, he would reveal that he went against his superior's orders.

Almost instantly, the atmosphere became tense and suspenseful in contrast to the subdued yet content air that had prevailed just a few minutes before. Bulkhead and Bumblebee gave one another wary and somewhat nervous glances, silently asking themselves what Prowl had exactly done. Sari's eyes perked in confusion and she stared at Prowl expectantly. The old red and white medic hardened his gaze and steeled his spark.

Optimus was caught off guard by Prowl's remark. What shocked him even more was the emotionless tone in his voice when he spoke to him. More than anything else, he appeared to be totally serious in whatever matter he needed to voice to the young Prime. He did not know what the issue was exactly but he had a feeling in the pit of his fuel tanks that it was matter that needed his attention right away.

"Well, um…" Optimus hesitated for a moment, still wondering what it could be. "What did you do, Prowl?"

"I went against your orders regarding the three siblings that we suspected were in league with Megatron," Prowl said. "I defied your orders and went to their home and investigate it."

For a moment, Optimus feared it was a far more grievous and steep offense but he surprisingly did not find himself particularly angered at this reveal. Instead, he was just slightly annoyed that he was not informed of this little secret mission. In a way, he felt that he sympathized with the ninja bot due to the fact he had a secret hidden from his allies. However, he would not tell them that he had encountered Blackarachnia in an abandoned slum a few nights ago.

"Did anyone see you?" Ratchet questioned. "Are you sure that no one had seen you snooping around?"

"No, no one saw me," he replied. "To be especially stealthy and covert in my operations, I used my holoform. I entered the apartment that the Preston siblings live in but luckily, they were not home."

"So you broke into their home and snuck around?" Bulkhead pieced together. "Isn't that illegal on this planet?"

"I walked through the door when I manipulated my holoform and I took nothing from their home because I did not want to alert to them that someone was there. I'm sure they have a feeling that we're onto them and I want them to try to shrug off those insecurities in time and forget about us discovering them. I'm sorry but I could not wait anymore. Optimus, I know you told me to wait until we had a greater amount of reason and evidence to investigate them more fully but ever since the surviving MECH guard, Nathaniel Albright, told me what he knew about the boy Silas captured alongside Starscream and the two women who might be coming to rescue him…"

"You went to visit him in the hospital?" Optimus interrupted.

"Yes. I'm sorry that I had to lie to all of you like this but I believed that we needed to take action as soon as possible. But I am now telling you the truth now that I've received some results from my investigation."

It was not the first time Prowl had acted on his own accord and disobeyed Optimus; he had saved the Dinobots from being melted down and shipped them off to an uninhabited island in Erie to live out their lives in secrecy and solitude. Though he was a free and independent spirit who often opted to work alone unless it was necessary, Prowl was still a valuable teammate and friend to the earthbound Autobots. He was also loyal and despite his sometimes rebellious actions, he never showed any signs of defaulting or sympathizing with the Decepticons. Not only that, when he had went against the orders of his leader, he often had a good reason to do so.

"Well, don't be shy," Bumblebee butted in, intrigued and hungry for the information that his friend spoke of.

"First off, when I entered the apartment, it appeared that the occupants left in a hurry," Prowl explained. "Their kitchen was in a state of disarray. I looked underneath the kitchen sink and saw an assortment of oil bottles, some half empty and others unopened. Their couch seemed to be weathered and beaten up, particularly on one side of it. I then decided to go back to their bedrooms to see if I could find any evidence of any sort in there. Two of the three bedrooms wielded no results but when I went into the remaining bedroom, that's where I made two significant discoveries. Firstly, I discovered that the young femme who disappeared for that day half an Earth year ago, had purchased those oil bottles under her sink. I came across a receipt on her dresser, proving that she made the transaction…"

"Well I assumed the femme bought them unless if she stole them." Bumblebee scoffed loudly. He had interrupted Prowl before he could announce the second discovery. "What in the Pit are you trying to get to here?!"

"If you didn't run your mouth like you just did and remained quiet and attentive, Prowl would've gotten to the point by now!" Ratchet angrily snapped at the peppy young bot.

Grumbling to himself, Bumblebee unwillingly fell silent, allowing his friend to go on. He didn't want to admit it but he saw truth in the old medic's words.

"Trust me, the finding of the oil bottles ties in with discovery number two," the ninja bot promised. "Now you'll all have to believe me on this and not question if my scanners had been seriously malfunctioning…"

"Oh come on," Bulkhead brushed off the tension in Prowl's voice, dismissing it and not thinking it to be something very paramount. "I think we can all take it!" The big green Autobot rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Can't be that bad or ridiculous…right?"

"I detected an airborne chemical signature in Ms. Preston's bedroom that I did not expect to see at all. To be specific I detected pheromones. To narrow it down even more, they belonged to a seeker."

Contrary to what Bulkhead believed in how he'd handle the reveal, his jaw ended up hanging widely. Mostly everyone had remained quiet to listen to Prowl but now the atmosphere was as silent as a haunted wasteland. One could even hear a pin drop or the faint thrumming of the Autobot's sparks. Though Prowl had asserted that his scanners were far from defective, they all wondered if perhaps he misjudged his own soundness and confidence in them. They never would've guessed that. It never would've even briefly crossed their processors.

"Pheromones?" Sari spoke up. She scratched her head as if she was presented with a challenging question on a pop quiz.

"Sari, cover your ears," Bumblebee instructed.

"What? Why?!"

"Please, just do it!"

"Bumblebee, I'm eight years old, I think I can handle it!"

"You've corrupted her enough already and this is a learning experience for her," Ratchet intervened. He never thought he'd side with Sari in an argument like this before. "She may as well listen in with everyone else."

"Thank you, Ratchet." The red-haired little girl smiled sweetly at him but then sassily stuck her tongue out at her guardian.

"How is that possible?" Optimus said, still wondering if he had heard Prowl wrong. "Just how did that happen?"

"I wish I knew too," Prowl sounded disappointed in his inability to provide a rational explanation. "But somehow, a Decepticon managed to fit in there and was more than likely living with the siblings for sometime."

"When you said 'pheromones'," Ratchet wanted to clarify and confirm what he was now assuming, "you meant…mating pheromones?" The motorcycle only nodded his helm once. "Fantastic. That means we have a lovestruck Decepticon on our servos."

Sari finally understood what was going on. She bit her lower lip and began to snicker lowly. Her laughter then built up for as long as she entertained the image of a Decepticon with hearts in his optics and a huge box of chocolates in his arms in her head. For as long as the silly picture remained in her mind, she giggled louder and harder. Then it got to a point where she was howling loudly for all to hear. She kicked her tiny feet and folded her hands across her belly as the laughter began to wind her and rob her of her breath.

"Prowl..!" she gasped and wiped a tear away. "Do you know who it was? Please tell me it was Lugnut or Megatron!"

"Unfortunately, I couldn't pinpoint who it was exactly," he said.

"And that is certainly no laughing matter," Ratchet coldly chided the organic child. "A Decepticon in love is a potentially dangerous thing. True, they sometimes forgo and dismiss feelings of love since some believe only destruction and fighting are the only things that can reside in their sparks. But sometimes, they fall in love and when they do, it can get very ugly. If two mechs fall for the same femme, they will often kill each other for her affections. Believe it or not, sometimes the femme will make them battle each other to the point of offlining so she could choose her mate. Their ways of courtship are deadly."

So much for the adorably sappy and clichéd assumption she made. Sari's cheerful and amused smile quickly melted away as she imagined two male Decepticons ripping each other to pieces for a female who watched them with a wicked smile from a distance. Very quickly, she felt humbled and sullied as Ratchet's miniature lecture sunk in. She slumped in her seat and turned her eyes to the floor.

"Granted, not all Decepticon relationships are carried out to that extremity but it has happened before," he further noted upon seeing Sari grasping the information.

"Okay, so these pheromones…" Bulkhead at last collected himself enough to speak out on the matter and include himself. "You found them in the girl's apartment?" An imaginary lightbulb lit up above his head. "The bottles of oil make sense now too! But it doesn't make any sense how a Decepticon managed to fit in there and lived with them for awhile!"

"Megatron does have my dad," Sari sorrowfully reminded them. "Maybe he made something for him that could somehow sneak a Decepticon into a Human's home? Maybe something like a shrink ray?"

"It is entirely possible," Prowl settled for her explanation. "The atmosphere in that bedroom was very odd. Although I was invading their home I especially felt like an intruder more than anything else in the bedroom. I felt like I was in a nest and I even felt uncomfortable being in there. I didn't want to snoop around in there too much longer if I didn't need to."

Optimus simply couldn't believe what was unraveling before him. He saw no reason why his friend would lie about this evidence, particularly the part about the pheromones. As long as he reviewed this shocking information, he felt like a huge fool. He felt incompetent and weak. Prowl had disobeyed his commands to wait and see what more would present itself in time. He had urged patience and not to jump to rash choices and make hasty conclusions too early. If Prowl had went along with Optimus' orders, it was very likely they would've never had the information they had now. They would've been kept in the dark and it was also entirely possible that the situation would blow up and become catastrophically out of hand in the future.

As he had felt before, Optimus didn't become angry with Prowl's independent investigation. More than anything else, he felt thankful that Prowl went out and uncovered what he had. His pride was a little sore as a result of this but he had no desire to let his hubris get the better of himself. The last thing he wanted to become was another Starscream or a Megatron for that matter.

"I believe we have enough evidence now, thanks to Prowl's doing," the Prime voiced. "According to this information that's he's provided for us, the situation has become far more pressing and delicate. I am now fully convinced that the Preston siblings, in particularly, the eldest, have a connection to the Decepticons. It makes my spark heavy to conclude this but it's becoming more obvious."

"I bet any money it's Blitzbrain," Bumblebee cackled. "Remember when he and Starscream fought over the girl a few months ago? He also let her go easily and he flirted with her!"

"I'm thinking Starscream," Bulkhead countered. "Starscream didn't want to let go of her either. Or maybe like Ratchet said, they're fighting each other for her!" He paused for a moment. "But then that means a Decepticon is in love with a Human! How does that happen exactly? And how and why would the Human return it?" The husky Autobot rested his faceplate in the palm of his servo. "This is just getting weirder and weirder…"

"That seems to be the case…" Ratchet admitted. "As unbelievable as it sounds and seems, this does seem like what we're dealing with. We should now be especially wary of the Decepticons' actions when we eventually cross paths with them again. One of them is producing the pheromones and sooner or later, we will find out who it is."

Optimus nodded in concurrence.

"But for now, I think our next order of business is to monitor that apartment," he decided. "Apparently, the siblings appeared to have gone somewhere but I'm sure they won't stay away from their home for long as long as they don't suspect someone intruded in their residence. When they do come back, we will take action. I now believe we have enough reasons to bring them in for questioning. In particularly, I think we must confront Cynthia."

(Daufuskie Island – 6:00pm)

Once more, Helen remained enchanted by the mysterious young man who was her eldest child's beloved. At first, one would think that she was falling for her daughter's love interest but in truth, she was intrigued since it had been a long while since Cynthia had a boyfriend. The elder woman also was entranced by him because of his accent and his peculiar quirk of talking in three different voices at random intervals. Though she barely knew him and was not informed of his existence and connection to her daughter until she met him a few days prior, Mrs. Preston longed to see the two together as a married couple. In her head, she was already wondering who she'd encourage Cynthia to invite to the imaginary wedding.

Robert was a stark contrast to his wife however and he continued to be wary and suspicious of Johann. Though Helen attempted to convince him that he was a harmless, charming and polite young man who had emigrated from Germany, the lawyer would not have it. The fact that none of his children informed him or Helen about him unsettled him and made him seriously wonder if something was afoot and they weren't telling him about it. He couldn't quite put his finger on it but it seemed his children and the man seemed to all be behaving a little oddly since they left the cabana the previous day. The four of them had said nothing to him yet he sensed that something was wrong somewhere.

"So, Mr. Blitzen," Robert said, striking up a conversation. The family had just finished their meal. "You have said that originally you were a native of Germany?"

Blitzwing hesitated for a moment. His efforts and time had been mostly preoccupied with winning Cynthia back and he barely gave any thought to his fabricated lifestory as a Human. He cursed himself, wishing he had at least done a little more research to make his story more credible and believable. He knew he had won Helen's trust and admiration but Robert remained a completely different story.

"Vhy, yes, jou are most certainly correct," Random smiled, trying to sound friendly and inconspicuous. "Born and bred zhere aczually!"

"Now I'm curious…" Mr. Preston began. "Where exactly did you come from in Germany?"

"Berlin, Stuttgart, Munich..!" Hothead began to yell out the names of random Germanic cities in suggestion. "Jou have to come up vith somezhing!"

"I am from a tiny town outside of Munich," Random said slowly, furiously racing against time and trying to come up with a decent story of his life. "I lived zhere all of my life…"

"What prompted you to come to America, if you don't mind me asking? Specifically, why did you choose Detroit?"

"Vell, my parents died vhen I vas about nineteen years old," Icy took his turn. "It vas difficult for me to deal vith and I struggled to provide for myself. I saw an opportunity to make a better life for myself here in zis country and I took zat chance. As for ze Detroit portion of jour question, I vent zhere because of ze booming robotics industry in ze city. I figured I could find a job in zat particular industry or may be even some ozher sort of income if need be."

He forced himself to wear a smile to reinforce his innocence.

"Oh, your mother and father died?" Helen frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that, dear."

The truth about his parents being deceased was also true but he wasn't going to be telling them that they were actually seekers.

"Zhank jou for jour kind concern," he said. "I still do zhink about zem but zhey cannot be brought back. I've accepted zat."

"And then you ended up coming to Detroit as you planned and you met my daughter," Robert deduced. There was a smile on his face but it was not warm.

"Dad, it's okay," Cyndi said. She was silently watching the conversation between Blitzwing and her parents. Mandy and Darien had blatantly ignored the disguised 'Con, choosing to not even acknowledge his existence. "Everything's okay…please don't act defensive and mean."

Robert then allowed the friendliness of that smile to shine through. He was merely testing the reactions of his daughter and her boyfriend. There was still that distaste and sinking feeling of suspicion he felt towards this Johann fellow but for now, he saw no legitimate reason to rightfully hate him.

"Oh come on, Cynthia, you know how much I jest and joke," he chuckled. "Fathers are supposed to frighten and intimidate their daughter's boyfriends anyway."

The couple didn't really find his statement funny. They were lost in their respective heads, still trying to deal with the reality of the massive and public fight they had yesterday. Both were stressed by the heartache, anger and other explosive and taxing emotions that resulted from it.

Then Cynthia placed a hand on his shoulder. Blitzwing's heart swelled and soared at her touch and he instantly smiled at the action. His eyes flitted to her direction but she was not looking at him. Instead she was focusing on her father.

"It'll take a lot more to frighten and intimidate him," she said.

"I would assume that one would have guts of steel if they wanted to travel to a city where extraterrestrial robots battle one another," Robert shrugged. "I still cannot believe I allowed my children to go there. Yet so far, I have not entirely regretted my decision."

(9:00pm)

Halfheartedly, Cyndi allowed her sister to take her hand. The brunette wanted to take a solo walk around the island in an attempt to try to heal the deep emotional wounds she had received. However, Amanda had to intervene and deny her of going on her solitary quest. Spiriting her away from their parents, brother and the one who had shattered her sister's soul, Mandy guided her sister to the small crowd that was gathered around the makeshift stage where a local band was performing. The younger sister believed that some music and some quality time with her would help to lighten Cynthia's heart.

With the sun setting steadily over the salty waters and the sound of a band playing soft and relaxing melodies on a warm and tranquil beach, one would've and should've felt at peace. To a brokenhearted individual though, this may have been one of the most painful settings to spend their time in. Rather than lift her spirits and dispel the oppression of sorrow, Cynthia felt as if she wanted to cry.

Amanda settled for standing around the outer rim of the crowd. They could still clearly hear the music and she was confident no one would bother to eavesdrop on any chatting that she would be doing with her sister. She still held onto Cyndi's hand, not wanting to let her go and subliminally reminding her that she would always be there for her.

"I've wanted to spend some time alone with you but that jerkoff or Mom and Dad kept getting in the way," she said to her. Cyndi didn't seem to notice her speaking but she decided to continue. "I pulled you away because I want to see you happy and not miserable, okay? I figured some music would help calm you down."

At last, she got a reaction from Cyndi. She leaned against Amanda and buried her face into her shoulder. Quietly, she wept on it. Amanda wrapped her arms around her and placed a kiss on the crown of her head.

"Do you want me to kick him in his balls for you?" she asked.

"N-no…" the other Preston sister said in a muffled voice.

"Please, don't cry. I can't stand to see you cry. You start to get me choked up too when you do that." Mandy cleared her throat and wiped away some pooling moisture out of the corner of her eye.

"God, Mandy, it hurts… it hurts so bad! I feel like throwing up every single time I think about those women! His words keep playing over and over in my head and they're torturing me! What if I am ugly?! What if I am an unpleasant, ugly, grotesque beast?!"

"No, you are not, Cynthia. You are my sister and my best friend. You are the most beautiful, kindest, smartest and wonderful sister I could ever ask for. Don't listen to what he said. Ignore it. He's the ugly monster, not you."

"I gave…" She swallowed hard. She needed to confide in her more about why she believed he had done what he did. "I gave in to him before he turned Human. It was the night when I didn't come home. Then when he became like us, he became obsessed and addicted to the thought. I told him to wait until we got back to Detroit but he got impatient and fed up."

Amanda gasped a little too sharply than what she had wanted to at that moment. She knew Cynthia had been gone for that whole night with him but she didn't realize that they actually made love. Though she had previous suspicions that he was trying to deepen the intimacy with Cyndi back when he resided in the apartment, when she told her that it actually happened, she didn't know what to think. At first, she thought it was not possible and from what Lockdown had told her before, Cybertronian courtship could be fatal for organics.

"Jesus Christ…" she murmured.

"I know," Cyndi leaned even harded into her. "I ruined my life."

"No, no, no! I didn't mean it to say it like that. I just can't believe you made out with an alien! How is that possible?!" Mandy stopped herself before she could ramble on any more and possibly draw unwanted attention. "Okay, I should shut up and not talk about that. Sorry. Look, I understand your pain too. Believe it or not, I suffered from a case of heartbreak recently too… in fact it was on the night you disappeared with that bird-brained fool."

Without any thought at all, Cynthia instantly had a feeling with what Amanda meant by that. She felt like an idiot at that moment, feeling as if she failed her sister by not noticing earlier and not asking why she seemed irritable and sensitive the night at the hotel. Now she mourned over her lack of vision.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Cynthia whispered. "I didn't know you told him how you felt about him…"

"I treated it as a personal failure," Amanda answered. "I kept thinking to myself that I wasn't good enough and maybe I was immature the longer I thought about it."

"You should've talked to me about that…"

"Don't worry, I'm okay. I'll get my revenge. Say, I think we should get hot doc Knock Out to help us get revenge on those two nasty guardians of ours. I think he'd look forward to it if you ask me." Cyndi said nothing in reply. "Okay, maybe not. I'm sorry, I should just let you cry on my shoulder and hug you. I'm sure that's all you want."

"I wish you would've told me about it, Mandy."

"We'll talk about it when you feel better, okay? Your heartbreak was way worse than mine was."

The two fell silent and they quietly agreed to listen to the music. Amanda did not let go of her sister and continued to hold her in her arms. Likewise, Cyndi didn't stir in her grasp and allowed her head to rest on her shoulder.

"Now we'll try to stay blind to the hope and fear outside," the band's singer recited the verse. It was not the group's own song but it was a cover from a song that neither sister had heard before. "Hey child, stay wilder than the wind and blow me in to cry. Who do you need? Who do you love, when you come undone? Who do you need? Who do you love, when you come undone?"

(…)

"What do you mean you don't want to go pheasant hunting again?" Robert was shocked by his son's response. "Normally, you love to go!"

Ever since the incident with MECH and he was forced to shoot Silas, Darien never wanted to pick up or discharge a gun again. It was true that he had killed the man who had his eye on shooting his sister but his conscious still tortured and haunted him. Never in his life did he think he would end someone's life, even if it was in the act of protecting others. He dared not to tell his parents about the matter but his young and scared soul yearned to disclose to them about everything that had been going on. The only people who could rely on and disclose his thoughts to were Cynthia and Amanda and they themselves were as trapped and frightened as he was.

"My opinion on firearms has changed since I lived in Detroit," he stated tonelessly to his father.

"If anything, I would think that you'd be even more adamant in using a gun," Mr. Preston reasoned. "I would've thought you'd like me to maybe even give you a pistol so you could use to protect yourself and your sisters. Maybe you could use it to shoot one of those metal titans in their eyes if they tried to kill you."

"I don't believe in shooting living things unless if it's an absolute necessity."

"Oh, Darien, knock it off. It's not like we went into the nature reserve to shoot as many pheasants as we could to brag to others. We did it to make sure their population wouldn't become a nuisance. We would kill one and only one and bring it home for dinner."

"I think it's very admirable and alright," Helen defended her little boy. "Darien's turning into a sensitive and responsible young man. He's changed since leaving Greenvale and I'm proud of him becoming his own man."

Darien was hoping his mother would step in and shut Robert down before he could extract more explanations from him about his refusal to go hunting anymore. He felt his blood pressure lower and his tension dissolve, feeling a little more and safe from his lawyer father's inquiries.

"I just think it was odd that you changed dramatically about pheasant hunting is all," Robert said, diffusing the situation before it could become a bigger argument. "When you were fourteen, you couldn't wait til it was in season. If you don't want to go whenever you come back home, that's fine. I'll admit that as I keep getting older, my desire for it waned as well."

Pretending as if he wasn't paying attention to the conversation, Blitzwing eyed the crowd that stood before the band. In truth, he was eavesdropping on the topic but excluded himself from being involved. While his ears were focused on the three family members, his eyes were glued on the two familiar women in the crowd. He felt his heart aching when he saw Cynthia turning to Amanda for comfort because he knew very well that he was the source of her misery and woe.

He buried his face into his hand, cursing himself once more for his actions and wished that she would be the one crying on his shoulder and seeking solace and warmth from him. His instincts screamed at him to go over to where they stood and join them but he knew he would receive a frosty reception, especially from Amanda. Making a scene was also something he had no desire to repeat.

When he removed his hand from his face, he then spotted something that made his body hot with anger. Blitzwing felt his hands clench into fists and his eyes narrowed at the sight of a third person who appeared to be conversing with Amanda and Cyndi. It also appeared that Cynthia was no longer leaning against Mandy and hiding her face from the world.

Without wasting another moment, he strode over to the audience to break up whatever conversation was going on between them and this unknown stranger.

(…)

Out of the kindness of his heart, a young man had approached the two females whom he assumed were sisters or friends. He had been watching from afar and heard nothing of their conversation but he could tell that something was troubling the one woman. He had no intention to stir any trouble or attempt to get particularly close to them since he wondered if perhaps they might've had boyfriends nearby. To his eyes, he thought they were attractive but he didn't want to make any advances. It was concern and concern alone that motivated him to confront them and he was determined to keep it that way.

Needless to say, Cynthia and Amanda were surprised and flattered by this stranger. He appeared to be a little older than Mandy but no older than Cynthia. His hair was black and he had maroon streaks going throughout his hair. His eyes were brown and he looked to be about Darien's height. Amanda had thought him to be fairly handsome but on the other hand, Cyndi didn't even want to acknowledge his very presence due to her miserable mood.

"Well, thank you for caring," Mandy said, smiling softly at the young man. "My sister and I do appreciate it. She's been going through a lot lately."

"Not a problem," the young man, whose name was David, assured them. "I didn't want to come off as a stalker or anything when I came up to you but I had to do something."

"You're very sweet…"

David found himself blushing at the blonde's words. He felt his heart racing a bit faster as long as he stared into her pale green eyes. She was becoming more and more beautiful to him for as long as he kept his eyes on her.

"And you're too kind," he laughed nervously and began to blush a little.

When he turned his eyes away from her for just a fleeting moment, in the dying sunlight, he spotted the figure of man approaching them. The blush on his cheeks left him and he began to pale with fear. David could tell this man on a mission and what frightened him the most was that as he was coming closer, he had a tall and toned frame and the angriest pair of eyes he had ever seen.

"Who are jou, jou little runt?!" the man roared, causing some of the audience members to glance over at him.

Upon hearing Blitzwing's furious tone, Cynthia and Amanda felt their eyes widen. David instantly suspected that they knew this fellow and he swallowed hard. Deep in his bones, he knew it was highly possible he was going to have the crap kicked out of him.

With an equally ferocious stance and facial expression, Mandy spun around to face Blitzwing. Cyndi crossed her arms and stared down at her feet, still preferring to ignore everyone and everything. David shuffled about nervously in place and wondered if it was best to slip away or try to explain himself.

Blitzwing reared himself to his full height, towering over the small group. His eyes were narrowed and he wore a very unfriendly frown on his face. Though he was not in his real body, there were still remnants of his Cybertronian nature in his blood. Part of that heritage was now manifesting itself in the form of a terrible and jealous fury.

"I said, who are jou?!" Hothead repeated loudly.

"Get out of here…" Amanda hissed. Her tone was low and dangerous. "This is none of your business. Nothing is happening here. He came over to check on us because he saw Cynthia crying on my shoulder!"

"She's right!" David nodded his head quickly. "Look, I'm sorry, I'm not here to steal your girl or anything, I just wanted to see if they were okay!"

"Everyzhing is fine, now get moving before I punch jou so hard in ze face zat jour children vill feel it in ze future!"

"Oh don't tell me you're acting jealous from us talking to a kind stranger?" Mandy stood on the tips of her toes, glaring at him. "You know what I think? I think Cynthia should start smooching and making out with him right now in front of you so you can feel what she felt!"

Mentally, David connected the dots and deducted that Cynthia had an unhappy connection with this irate man. This had to have been the source of her problems and making her so quiet and unresponsive since he first approached the two females. Now he felt even more shaken and threatened when Amanda made that unsavory suggestion to him.

"I…I think I'm gonna leave now…" David whimpered.

He hurried off, fearing that he was going to end up getting destroyed by the large man. Blitzwing continued to stare him down for a few seconds before he felt his urge to attack David lessen. Within his throat, he growled deeply and shook his head in disgust. Then he refocused his attention on Cynthia and Amanda.

"Cyndi," he said, Icy's calm yet stern voice emerged, "vhat happened zhere?"

"She doesn't need or want to talk to you," the blonde interrupted. "I can answer that question as well as she can and frankly, I already answered it for you!"

"Did jou hear me say 'Amanda'? Because I did not… I vas not talking to jou, child."

"Nothing happened, I didn't say anything," Cynthia spoke up at last. She had only spoken in order to prevent them from fighting one another. "Please leave us alone."

Blitzwing's temper died down when he heard her voice. Even though she told him to go away, it was enough to convince him that nothing had happened and Amanda wasn't hiding anything. He glanced at her one more time before he unwillingly left her side. At the moment he did not have the desire or strength to win her over and have her break down in hysterics again. The attempts at reconciliation were going to be private sessions and he planned on having them remain that way.

"Seriously, can I please kick him in the groin?" Mandy spat. "He chased him off! Can you believe the nerve of that big dummy?! He has the right to get with as many girls as he wants but you can't even be in the presence of another man?!" She exclaimed in an exasperated and frustrated tone. "I'm gonna kick his ass! You're letting him off way too easily with this, Cyndi! You need to make him hurt for what he did!"

Cynthia could scarcely comment. She allowed her sister to rant, rave and vent while she watched him walk over to rejoin the family. At this point, her anger was still there but it was being drowned and overwhelmed by the sadness and self-pity she was embroiled in. Everytime she even looked at him, she became more sorrowful and less furious.

Before she would know it, a week would pass and she wondered just where she would stand emotionally then. Her heart would remain unfixed and battered and she would still be forced to serve the Decepticons she abhorred and never wanted to aid. More than anything else, Cynthia hoped that she wouldn't end up swallowing a bottle of sleeping pills and downing a bottle of wine. Or having her wrists hook up with the kitchen knife…or placing a gun barrel in her mouth and squeezing the trigger.


So anymore I'm starting to become annoyed. People just like to spam the review section with pitiful requests to read their stories and that really rubbed me the wrong way when I read that (and no, honey, I did not read your story. Read the reviews and was instantly discouraged. Nice try though.) If my story is becoming nothing more than an advertisement board then I wonder if it is worth it to continue. I find it increasingly difficult to write in the Transformers section anyway and I'm starting to see I'm losing my touch with writing. I know this story kinda drags on but I'm trying my hardest to make it interesting and engaging but my work just seems to be reflecting pure shit anymore. There will come a time where it'll pick up. I really hope this hasn't become a crap story(yeah I'm encouraging flaming/critiquing too if it'll help me improve. I ALWAYS welcome constructive criticism!) If it is getting awful, please say it so I can make it redeemable and enjoyable for people. The worst thing I could do to you guys is give you a story where you don't want to read it or make you regret in reviewing/faving/following it. Anyways, Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to everyone :)