Holy fish, this thing is LATE!! I am so, so, so sorry! I tried to upload this three times yesterday, but it JUST WOULD NOT WORK! It says something on the main page about a hard drive failure and people not being able to log in, but anyway I'm very sorry. Thank you for not brutally murdering me, and here, at long last and one day late, is chapter 5!

Hotshot94: I like it when people like how I mess with characters... thankee!

White-Winged Angel: Yeah, Cyclonus is functioning. It's typically a bad thing when your main character dies, and besides, I didn't want to deal with the flames. ;-)

Shade- S.E.C of Nothing: I like the whooshreview noises! And I'm glad you like the fic.

Duel Mistress K: Yeah, I know, Demolisher the ape. O.o;;;;;;;; Freaky. I've decided I'll just have him act normal in my fic. He can run around like an ape in the parts between chapters.

Saikoro: Thankee muchos.

The-Crab: Yay! You'll recommend it! That means MORE reviews! ((heheheh...)) I kinda liked the idea of the death voiding the contract myself, but only because it's kinda clever and I didn't want to do something like a Heroic Battle Scene. I'm not very good at those. You like the other slave ideas? Hmm... I hadn't thought about writing any of them in... ooh, inspiration!! Thank you, now I have another fanfic in my head I'll never write!

Ducks Quack: ((hides Demolisher in my closet)) Eek! Don't hurt him, this fic'd be dead without him! Besides, I like 'im. He's my... ((counts fingers)) Erm, about my third fave character in Energon. LET HIM LIIIIIVE!!! But thanks for the reviews.

It seems that, between the fourth chapter and this one, there has been a change in plans. While writing this chapter, I was thinking for some yet to be discovered reason about Galvatron in the G1 series. In the movie Unicron controlled Galvs through this device that gave him nasty jolts when he disobeyed him, and somehow those two ideas got twisted together, and I ended up with a ((fanfare, please)) PLOT IDEA!! And so, there are several more chapters of fanficcy goodness. The way things are going. I'm never going to get back to Sanctified By Oppression. Or any of my other fics, for that matter. Eh, ah well. The point is, this is indeed not the last chapter, but maybe somewhere past halfway.

Disclaimer: Hasbro owns Transformers, the two quotes I stuck in have their sources written below them, the basic plot of this fic belongs to me, and (in case there was any question) the poem I keep dishing out little pieces of was written by me.

Onward, allies and friends, towards a new day! a bright future! and Chapter 5!

.....

We are discovering, and soon will demonstrate with more rigorous scientific proofs, that one of the reasons why people fail to grow, why they fail to fulfill many of their potentialities as persons, why they frequently fall ill, is because their daily mode of existence among people is characterized by impersonality, by playing roles, by self-manipulation and manipulation of others, by failure or inability to be and disclose themselves to respond in personal emotional honesty to them.

((Episcopal Church, Basic Reader in Human Relations Training, Part II, pg. 28))

.....

Don't let the panic catch you

You know you can move

If you can escape your body

Leave your cold statue to drift

Never to move freely

Until you can accept

That there's more than one way to move

You're freer than you think

.....

It was always the worst during battle.

Not being able to fly, that is. It was worse when Cyclonus fought on the ground. Seeing a burst of laserfire flying towards him, and knowing he could escape it if he could get into the air, but he couldn't.

And so he was hit.

...

Cyclonus sat in the shallow Energon pool, his back against the wall, letting the currents flow over him. He had been badly damaged in battle, so even though it hurt like the inferno Cyclonus had to stay in the Energon until it repaired him.

Cyclonus idly dipped his right hand in the Energon. A painful jolt shot up to his shoulder, but he ignored it, swirling the liquid Energon with his hand. He had felt worse, and besides, there wasn't really anything he could do about it.

He was bored. Very very bored, and thus looking for sources of amusement. 'Megatron can somehow control Unicron,' he thought. 'In this pool, I'm connected directly into all of Unicron through the Energon in him. Maybe I can control Unicron too.' Why not? He didn't have anything better to do.

"Okay, Unicron, listen up!" Cyclonus said. "Since you're dead and need the Energon I'm sitting in, you gotta do what I say!" Fuzzy logic, but who cared? It was Cyclonus logic. "Now I order you to make me my old body, with a propeller so I can fly! No, scratch that, I want wings! Make me a seeker!" Cyclonus sat back, waiting for the magic. "No? Okay, then, in that case, just make my original body. Fine. I'll wait. You're obviously putting all your efforts into repairing my current body, even though it's stupider that my original one. So I'll just wait till you're done, okay?" Cyclonus sat back contentedly in the Energon pool, assured that as soon as he was fully repaired he'd be able to get his old body back.

Yeah, right. And now Cyclonus was bored again.

"Hey Snowcat," Demolisher said, walking up. Hmm. Maybe Cyclonus wouldn't be bored after all.

"Come to visit a victim of war?" Cyclonus asked. "You always were nice like that. Didja bring me flowers and a card?"

"Flowers and a card??" Demolisher shook his head. "You spent too much time watching TV in the last ten years."

"There wasn't anything else to do on the moon. What's the point of a defense outpost if there's nothing to defend against?" Cyclonus said lightly. "Did you come to tell me I won the Purple Heart, then?"

"No, just coming to tell you Megatron gave you the rest of the day off. Oh, and he said I'm supposed to watch you to make sure you don't do anything stupid." Demolisher sat down in from of Cyclonus and leaned forward, staring intently at him. "You, Snowcat, must be watched especially closely."

Cyclonus glared at Demolisher, then reached up and poked him between the optics with his Energon-soaked hand, giving him a nice little shock. Demolisher let out a satisfying yelp and fell backwards. Cyclonus chuckled quietly.

"That wasn't very nice," Demolisher pointed out unnecessarily, scooting backwards a few feet.

"Since when were Decepticons 'nice'?" Cyclonus asked. "Whatever gets the job done goes."

"Guess so," Demolisher said, then suddenly changed the subject. "Hey, we never finished our conversation last week."

"That was your fault, Mr. Revenge."

"No, not that one. The one about you not being able to fly."

Cyclonus' fuel pump almost stopped. "Oh. That. You know, it's not that big a deal. I worked it out myself. I'm okay with it now, really." Demolisher didn't even bother to say anything. "Okay, fine! So maybe I'm not. Why do you care?"

"Because we've been keeping each other's skidplates safe for the last few million years, and I guess this is the same minus the laser fire. I got the point last time that you don't exactly like not being able to fly?"

"No," Cyclonus admitted darkly, then added, "Getting Megatron's temper up was probably one of the stupider things I've done in recent memory."

"Megatron probably would have done that anyway," Demolisher said. "He doesn't seem to be the kind of person who likes to reformat for no reason at all."

"Maybe, but I was the one who lost a propeller," Cyclonus grumbled. "Yet another thing in the long list of failures that fill my life."

"What does that mean?" Demolisher asked suddenly, leaning forward slightly.

"What does /what/ mean? ... Oh. Oops." Cyclonus searched his mind for the first evasive answer he could think of. "It's a long story." Good enough.

"I have time," Demolisher said, propping up his head on one hand, then realized he was in poking range again and sat up.

Cyclonus squirmed a little, looking exactly like a kid in the principal's office. "It's not really your business. It's my life."

Demolisher's optics brightened. It was almost as if he'd been waiting for Cyclonus to say that. "May I remind you who recently dug through my life?"

"Oh yeah," Cyclonus said sheepishly, and sighed. "You don't really want to hear."

"Try me," Demolisher said. "I should have told you what the Autobots did to me millions of years ago. Who knows, we might have been able to find a way out of it, if you had been helping me. So now it's your turn to tell me what the slag's wrong with you!"

Cyclonus squirmed again, avoiding Demolisher's gaze. "Like I said, it's a long story."

"Like I said, I've got time! C'mon, Cyclonus. How bad can it be?"

Cyclonus' head snapped up to stare at Demolisher. That was the first time in over a month he'd been called anything but Snowcat. Transformers didn't make slips like that. Names were programmed, and if someone's name changed, everyone else auto-reprogrammed themselves, so they always called each other by the right name. Demolisher had called him Cyclonus on purpose.

"Okay, you win," Cyclonus muttered.

And so, Cyclonus ended up telling Demolisher everything.

...

Demolisher stared at Cyclonus. He had no idea his friend had had so much trouble in his past. He tried to think of something to say.

"... You have issues."

That got a short laugh out of Cyclonus. "And there's more to the story than that. Being sent to so many shrinks I lost count, and even once sent to these five master shrinks. Nobody's ever been sent to them without ending up in their sanitarium." Cyclonus let out another short laugh. "Except me. They couldn't agree what was wrong with me and ended up psychoanalyzing each other. Last I heard, two were in their own hospital and the other three were dead."

Demolisher shook his head in amazement. "Do you realize what you've been doing? Masking insanity with insanity."

"Erm... what?"

"Nothing. I'm just talking to myself..." Demolisher trailed off.

So, the secret was out. Now Demolisher knew how completely messed up Cyclonus was, and could get him sent to a shrink, kicked out of the Decepticon army, anything. He could now see past any mask Cyclonus used. But, somehow, he felt better. At least he wasn't handling this alone anymore.

"Toldja you didn't want to hear all that," Cyclonus said, just to get the conversation started again.

"What makes you say that?" Demolisher asked. "I wanted to hear that. I mean, I didn't know much about your past before that. I was kinda curious."

"It's not like there's anything you can do to help me, though," Cyclonus said quietly. "I've dug myself in too deep."

"No you haven't!" Demolisher said, standing up. "Why the inferno do you think that?"

Cyclonus looked up, puzzled. "Because it's the truth."

Demolisher shook his head. "No way! There's a way out."

"What way?" Cyclonus asked coldly, also standing up, but in reality he was curious.

Demolisher thought. He was getting ahead of himself. He hadn't found a way yet.

"Well?" Cyclonus asked. Energon swirled around his feet, shocking him. He had almost forgotten he was standing in the Energon pool. Cyclonus stepped out. He was almost fully repaired, anyway.

Demolisher made a blind stab at a thought. "Have you ever tried... just forgetting about all that stuff?"

That took Cyclonus by surprise. "Tried /what/?"

An idea slowly started forming in Demolisher's head. "Just letting it go. Most of that stuff happened millions of years ago."

Cyclonus thought about the idea. Yes, that might work. Sometimes, he just wished he could forget about it all. But then...

"No," Cyclonus said, shaking his head. "I can't do that. I'm Cyclonus, I mean, Snowcat the Joke Boy. I can't just stop acting that way, or people really will think I'm crazy."

"So?" Demolisher said. "They already do. Besides, you've just been given the opportunity to change."

Cyclonus' optics flickered in confusion. "I have?"

"You were remade into Snowcat. You have a new body and a new name. You don't have to be who you were. Just pretend the past never happened."

Cyclonus thought. Yes, Demolisher was right. He didn't have to act anymore, did he? He could leave the past in the past. He could be the way he was before he had started acting. He was free.

"Demolisher?" Cyclonus said slowly. "Did I ever tell you I loved you?"

"What?!?" Demolisher yelled, taking a few steps away from Cyclonus.

"I didn't?" Cyclonus asked. "Good. 'Cause I don't. But thanks anyway."

"Um, no problem," Demolisher said.

Cyclonus grinned like a fool under his facemask. Maybe he was a fool. But he was a happy fool. And as far as he was concerned, he always had been one. The past had simply never happened. He hadn't snapped in battle when he joined the Decepticons. He hadn't lied about who he was for the past few million years. He was, and always had been, Snowcat.

"I've gotta go do something. See ya!" Snowcat transformed and raced off. "OW! Stupid rocks! STUPID SNOW VEHICLE!" But he didn't really mean it.

Demolisher watched Snowcat race off. 'Better go tell Megatron that Snowcat... um, Cyclonus... whoever!! Is repaired.' Demolisher went through another tunnel, in search of his leader.

.....

Never to move freely

Until you can accept

That there's more than one way to move

You're freer than you think

Go ahead

Shed your statue

It doesn't hurt

.....

A healthy person is one who has the ability to make himself known to at least one other person significant to him. Only in letting himself be known to another does he really begin to know himself.

((George Henderson, HUMAN RELATIONS; From Theory to Practice, pg. 14))

.....

"Megatron!" Megatron turned around. Demolisher had called him.

"Ah, Demolisher. I assume Snowcat has been repaired?"

"Yes sir!" Demolisher said.

Megatron nodded. "So, physically, he has been mended. How is he mentally?"

Demolisher's optics widened. "What??"

Megatron laughed. "You didn't assume that I don't know what's going on with my own soldiers, did you? I sent you instead of someone else for the express purpose of helping him past his little problems. I suppose you did so?"

"Um, y-yes, sir," Demolisher stammered. "At least, I think so."

Megatron nodded. "Good. What exactly did you tell him?"

Demolisher weighed his options. He could tell Megatron and possibly have Snowcat get annoyed at him, he could not say anything and get scrapped by Megatron for insubordination, or he could lie and get scrapped by Megatron a week later for insubordination. "I told him he should just pretend that stuff never happened and get on with his life."

Megatron nodded thoughtfully. "Fine. Good job Demolisher. I expect a full report on what went on and what Snowcat told you." Megatron could almost feel the horror radiating off of Demolisher.

"Don't look so down, Demolisher," Megatron said smoothly. "Anything you tell me will only be used to help Snowcat. You'd be doing him a favor. And besides, I just gave you a direct order so you don't really have a choice."

"Yessir," Demolisher said unenthusiastically, kicking a small rock out of the way as he walked down the tunnel to get the report started.

'Or at least,' Megatron thought, 'he'd better be getting his report started.'

He headed the other way to his quarters, and almost collided with Snowcat. Megatron jumped out of the way. Ah, this would be a perfect opportunity to see if Demolisher's little remedy worked.

"You repairs are finished, Cyclonus?" Megatron called.

"Yep!" came the reply. "And my name's not Cyclonus, IT'S SNOWCAT!"

Megatron couldn't help smiling in satisfaction. So, Snowcat had let go of his old name. Maybe he'd also let go of any issues he'd had.

Megatron reached his quarters. To anyone else, it looked like a solid wall. Megatron stepped through it as easily as if it had been thin air. And it was. A hologram covered the entrance. It was anyone's guess how Snowcat had found it and gotten in to hang that datapad.

Megatron pulled a datapad out of a niche in the wall to the right of the entrance and turned it on. He crossed the room, sat down in a chair, and started writing.

"Demolisher does seem to have had a positive effect on Snowcat, as I expected. He's let go of whatever past he might have and is back to living in the here-and-now. Unfortunately, Demolisher suggested that Snowcat simply deny his past ever happened. That will work as a short-term solution, but Snowcat won't be able to escape his history forever. Frankly, I'm surprised Demolisher didn't come up with the obvious solution: for Snowcat to simply accept the past. Perhaps Demolisher's a little distracted by something. He's been losing his focus from time to time in battle.

"I can't tell Demolisher what to tell Snowcat, and Snowcat won't listen to me unless something drastic happens. Snowcat will either have to figure out how to solve his problems on his own, or a crisis that involves him must emerge, though I can't imagine what that would be. We'll just have to wait and see what happens.

"I hope Snowcat's problem will clear up quickly, though. I still like the idea of using him as an interrogator..."

.....

Cyclonus/Snowcat's problems are not over yet, no. But he'll be better by the end of the fic, yes. Next chapter is (hopefully) Friday, and please review. I appreciate it, yes...