The Decepticon collapsed atop their berth and exhaled heavily. Internally, Blitzwing was having a crisis. Cecile had given them a Shatter Crystal and here they were, refusing to give it to Shockwave. All three were in simultaneous agreement that Cecile's present was theirs to keep and protect, but that if Shockwave ever discovered the truth, there would be a price to pay. And it terrified them.

"Oh, what are we to do about any of this?!" Hothead yelled at the two.

"Giving it to Shockwave is out of the question," Icy remarked. "Cecile gave it to us. We aren't giving the necklace to Shockwave. That is simple."

"Yeah! Stop worrying, Hothead!" Random giggled. "He won't find out!"

"Until he does…" Hothead grumbled.

"It is very unlikely to happen," Icy commented. "The likelihood of Shockwave or anyone discovering this little secret is one step off to none."

"I still believe we should be careful…" Hothead added.

"Well, obviously," Icy said simply. "We can't afford mistakes in this. Cecile is a human and should we be discovered with her…"

Random made a sliced neck motion in their head and Hothead had to suppress a shudder, being too proud to admit that the thought terrified him. They all knew better than to cross one of Megatron's oldest servants. He hadn't been called the Intelligence Officer for nothing. And while perhaps he wouldn't kill Blitzwing, he would certainly kill Cecile. And this thought terrified them all.

"We will be!" Random brushed it off, trying to dismiss the grim thought of their newfound beloved passing at the hands of their current leader. "Cecile is our sweetheart! No harm will come to her."

"I hope not…" Hothead mumbled softly as Icy internally agreed.

In a different part of the Decepticon base were Lugnut and Shockwave. The latter was repairing a broken console while the former looked rather sheepish beside him. If one with no recognizable face could look sheepish.

Both cyclopses heard the door swoosh open and in came Blitzwing (Random specifically). Lugnut noticed just how… oddly happy Random was. The con was never happy to be awake at this time, so seeing the Decepticon jittery was… strange. Had it been any single event, Lugnut may have brushed it off as Blitzwing's insanity, but he knew better.

"Blitzwing seems to be in good moods," Shockwave commented as said con was out of audio-processor shot. Lugnut agreed.

"It's rather strange if you ask me," Lugnut murmured. Shockwave looked at Lugnut with intrigue.

"How so?"

"I've known Blitzwing for stellar cycles. And his cheery mood in the early hours is uncommon, as well as his escapades. He has always been curious about this planet, but I fear he may have come into some trouble." Lugnut replied honestly. Shockwave stared at the approaching form of Blitzwing.

"Let's not jump to conclusions. Blitzwing is a respected Decepticon, and if he ran into trouble, he would no doubt report it to us." Shockwave dismissed, but internally thought about what Lugnut said and was curious. Certainly, the big lug was foolish and a brute, but he wasn't without optics. And if Shockwave knew anything about spying and what he learned as a double agent, he knew that those who had lasting comradely knew the habits of their partners well.

"I suppose so…" Lugnut replied. "But I still think we should watch out for him."

"Lugnut, you have the sentimentality of old downgraded motor oil, Blitzwing is a feared Decepticon among our ranks." Shockwave disagreed. "He isn't a sparkling in need of a sitter."

"Shockwave, Lugnut." Blitzwing greeted them. As he said this, he showed them a small purple crystal, one that Shockwave recognized instantly. It was a Shatter Crystal. Shockwave was pleased as he took the shard from Blitzwing and placed it in the container where he kept all the others.

"Excellent work. With this, we are one step closer to getting our revenge." Shockwave complimented. Blitzwing managed a smile.

"And for that, I am pleased." Blitzwing said.

"The Autobots did not see you?" Shockwave asked quietly. Blitzwing stiffened instinctively but shook his head.

"No."

"Good." Shockwave said tersely. "Well, we have much work to do. More Crystals to collect and we must beware of the Autobots. We may have a common enemy in the form of Megatron, but we are not friends."

"HA!" Hothead laughed. "As if those bumbling defects could hurt me!"

"Your spirit is strong but as painful as it is to admit, they have bested us before. We must be smarter than the fools." Shockwave admitted. Blitzwing straightened as he nodded once.

"Of course." Icy returned. "But we won't be defeated again."

"I concur," Shockwave said smoothly as he looked out into the early morning sky through the massive windows.

"If you will excuse me," Icy said politely, before turning away to leave, but before he could take another step, Shockwave stopped him.

"If you will indulge me, Blitzwing," The older con's voice froze Blitzwing in their steps. And the triple changer found that they couldn't just run off without looking absolutely suspicious. However, as they checked their internal clock, they saw that they were running late for their date with Cecile and panicked ever so slightly. Icy turned to Shockwave with a smile and no hint of deception or fear in his eyes.

"What is it?"

"Can you tell me of your escapades sometime?" This request surprised Blitzwing immensely and also shot a jolt of terror through him. What if Shockwave already knew? What if he found out about Cecile? How would he cover up all this-

"O-Of course." Icy said, a tad too quickly, which he scolded himself for immediately. Shockwave just stared at him, no emotion showing, which uneased Blitzwing.

"Is there something wrong with them? You act as though I have caught you as a young mech in a berth with a femme." Shockwave remarked. All three alters, if they could, would have been sweating like a sinner in church.

"Oh no! It's just that, well, they really aren't that eventful." Blitzwing lied point-blank. "They mostly just consist of us scanning areas, studying some organics. Nothing too special."

The confidence would have thrown anybody off the scent and Blitzwing knew rationally that Shockwave had no reason to suspect anything of them. The very thought of Shockwave being able to guess that every night, Blitzwing went to Detroit to spend the evening with a human femme whom they now called their sweetspark, a taboo among taboos, was ridiculous. But yet Blitzwing couldn't shake that… Shockwave still suspected him of something.

"Noted," Shockwave said tersely before he turned away. Blitzwing left the room. As they retreated, Shockwave watched their back with a stare that could look into anybot's spark. He hummed quietly before shaking his head as if to brush off some foreign thoughts and attended to other matters.

"Come on!" Raine laughed aloud as he skated around Cecile with joyous energy. She laughed nervously, but as Raine held her hands to stabilize her, she couldn't help but feel safe. "I know you can do this!"

"Raine! I can't see, how am I supposed to skate?" She exclaimed. Raine laughed.

"You can walk!" He teased. She rolled her eyes and blew raspberries at him.

"Only with a sensor!" Cecile chortled. Raine giggled as he skated around her once more before standing behind her and putting his hands on her waist, which made Cecile's pale skin turn red with blush. She wasn't sure if he would notice, but the way he held on tighter certainly implied this.

"Awww, Cici, you are so cute~ Come on, I can help you!~" He sing-sang as he helps her forward, holding her up and preventing her from falling several times. She clung to them as her legs slipped out from under her, but Raine always was able to catch her.

"See? You have nothing to fear, my darling~ I'll always catch you~" He whispered seductively. Cecile pushed his face away from her neck, where he had been nuzzling her. She giggled and blushed like mad as she managed to get her balance enough to face him.

"Okay, but after this, we do something I want to do!" She bartered. She could hear her love hum in mock thought.

"I dunno, Cici… sounds like a deception to me!" He sang. Cecile laughed but shook her head.

"No, mon amour, it is the truth! I will do my best here!" She promised, which made Raine perk up in delight. He carefully but quickly grabbed her hands yet again and giggled.

"Okay then! Here we go!" He announced before leading her through a skate. And to Cecile's surprise, despite his chaos, he did not push her outside of her comfort zone. He always seemed to know just when to lower his madness for her, and that made her unbelievably happy to know that someone cared so much that they would mind her feelings without even asking her about it. And as they practiced, she felt herself become more confident on the ice, engaged in a simplistic dance with her amazing partner.

"This is actually kind of fun!" She laughed as he spun her around, which momentarily frightened her, causing a small shriek from her, which made all movement stop as she felt the secure grip of Raine hold her close to him.

"Did I hurt you..?" He asked softly yet pleadingly, almost desperate for forgiveness. She shook her head and smiled warmly.

"No, absolutely not. I was just frightened for a moment." She explained, before feeling a sudden pang of depression. "I scare easily, don't I..?"

"Yes, but you aren't fun to scare!" Raine exclaimed, sounding very disappointed and horrified at himself. "You are for us to protect! You mean the world to us, you know?"

"Of course…" Cecile agreed, smiling lovingly. "And you are the world to me as well…"

"Thank you…" Raine said once more with his incredibly soft tone, one that Cecile knew that he could ask her anything and she would do what he wanted. She would give him the world if he asked.

"Cici…" Raine sounded ready to cry but didn't as he hugged her tightly, and she hugged him in return.

"You still have my necklace..?" She asked softly, almost scared to hear his answer. But Blitzwing did not disappoint.

"Of course." She heard Lucius's voice speak as she felt the necklace in his hand. "You gave it to us. We would never give it to anyone."

"Thank you…" She whispered warmly. Lucius could only smile softly in return as he held her close, which drained his energy immensely but he couldn't help it, being close to his sweetspark was worth it.

"Anything for you…" He whispered as the two continued skating with Raine once more at the forefront.

It was late when Blitzwing transformed out of stasis and back into their robot form. The holoform was incredibly draining and they weren't getting nearly enough sleep for it to be lasting. They knew that they needed to rest more if they wanted to spend time with Cecile without being exhausted, but none of them could stand the wait, no matter how painful it was.

"This is going to be the death of us…" Hothead said grumpily, but Icy and Random knew Hothead was just blowing out smoke. "Spending any time with Cecile is… wonderful, but it is so taxing on us."

Icy had to agree. Random blew it off.

"Nah! We'll be fiiiiine!" He chuckled to himself but knew that deep down, denial wasn't going to help them. But he buried himself further into denial. However, before any more words could be spoken, the rustling of branches alerted them. Hothead fronted as he bore his canons towards the sound.

"Who's there?!" He yelled. "Show yourself or I will light this forest up and you with it!"

But no one answered. Instead, Hothead was face to face with a deer as it noticed them and then scampered away. They exhaled. Blitzwing was too on edge especially after the conversation with Shockwave. Blitzwing transformed into a jet as they blasted off back to home base. But they had another issue.

At this rate, all of the alters were inclined to agree with Icy. The holoform wouldn't sustain a relationship with Cecile indefinitely. At some point, she would discover their deceptions and then where would that leave them all? Blitzwing didn't want to involve Cecile in Decepticon conflicts as they were on a mission to kill Megatron. And it was painful to admit that, but Icy was right.

"No! There has to be another way!" Hothead fronted, causing them to transform into a tank and start to plummet to the ground. But before they could crash like they had twice now, Icy resumed control and pulled up.

"Should we maybe land to talk?" Icy suggested. In their head, Random and Hothead nodded. They were about 50 miles away from Detroit and landed in a forest away from human eyes. Icy transformed into robot mode and exhaled. "Hothead, there's nothing we can do. I don't want to break her heart, but what else are we supposed to do? When will she discover us? Or worse, when will someone discover us?"

"No! We cannot just give up!" Hothead yelled. "We need to figure something out. We're smart enough, I know we can! We'll think of an idea!"

"The best idea we all can agree on is the fact that we must use the holoform to interact with her. But we all know that the actual best idea would be to leave and part on amicable terms with her." Icy said coldly, but inside he felt their spark break at the very idea. None of them wanted that and they knew that Cecile wouldn't either.

"Better than us turning human?" Random suggested genuinely. If they were in separate bodies, Icy and Hothead would have been looking at Random with surprise. "If we could become human, then we would actually have a shot at being with her!"

"Random, there is no way that is happening." Icy said quietly. Hothead had to agree.

"As much as the idea sounds logical, it is impossible!" Hothead replied, frustrated. "No one has that power!"

"And we cannot create it either." Icy exhaled, his voice was so close to breaking. "We all know what we must do."

"No!" Random cried out. "I refuse! Cecile will be heartbroken! We cannot simply abandon her!"

"What choice do we have?!" Icy yelled, shocking the other two as the calm alter rarely ever got angry if ever. "We cannot continue this without consequences! And there will be consequences! We've been in denial! Shockwave probably won't care so long as it doesn't interfere with the mission, but we all know what we truly fear!"

Random and Hothead were silent as they both realized what Icy implied.

"Megatron…" Hothead voiced.

"Exactly." Icy spat. "And what do you think will happen if Megatron of all Decepticons discover that we are in a romantic relationship with an organic? What will he do? We would be powerless to stop him when he returns, and he will return!"

Hothead and Random didn't know what to say. Random felt like he could sob as their sparks started to crack and break from the sheer pain. And especially after such a lovely date they had with Cecile that day. How could they do this to her?

"What happens when Cecile discovers what is the truth? She would be in danger and she would hate us." Icy said quietly, his voice without emotion. Random fronted to say something, but paused when he felt the Shatter Crystal necklace in his servo. He hadn't a clue when they had grabbed it, but Random sat down and stared at it with heavy emotion.

"What about this…?" Random whimpered, gesturing to the necklace. Icy and Hothead did not speak. "Cecile gave this to us! She trusts us! She won't find out, and no one else will! We love her and I refuse to give her up."

"Random…" Icy started.

"No! If we were a human, this would be so much less complicated! That's what I want – to be human so we can be with Cecile!" Random exclaimed, clutching the necklace and holding it closely.

A bright light surrounded Blitzwing as all three looked at themselves in shock as the light engulfed them. A rush of energy filled them as Blitzwing reopened their eyes to see that there was only azure blue light. They could feel everything of what was happening to them, but yet still had no idea. It was all so new. But before they could do anything, the light vanished and Blitzwing reopened their eyes.

Random stared down at the snow, which suddenly seemed all the more closer. He paused as he blinked once and then he felt a sudden harsh blow of the wind, which stung at their body. It felt… cold. Immensely cold. Blitzwing shivered as they held themselves and rubbed their arms, but paused when they felt fabric and their servos clutch something soft. Icy fronted and stood up, looking around. The trees were also taller than him now, and everything seemed to be...

"No..." Icy whispered, lifting his servos to look at the bare skin before his optics. Yes, skin.

They were human.

"No way!" Random exclaimed with a massive grin as he raced over to a frozen over pond, where he could see their reflection.

They were indeed a human with tanned skin and long light hair which fell in their face. They were now the same size as the holoform. As far as Random could see, they were dressed in cloths and robes that were pretty tattered up and didn't look too well maintained. The colours were the same as their Cybertronian form's colour scheme. Blitzwing immediately felt the chilly air hit them again as they shivered and exhaled, noting their breath was vapor.

"Wow!" Random exclaimed in delight and intrigue. Meanwhile, Icy and Hothead were freaking out in their head as Random continued to admire himself. "This is amazing! Wait!"

He reached down and touched the snow, feeling the cold and even though it hurt it still felt amazing! He looked back at the reflection and then back at the snow covered ground. Then the thought hit them all as they stared.

They were a human. An actual human!

What happened?