-1And now for a bit of fluff…

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Sarah was the first of the two to awaken, mere hours later. That wasn't a surprise, since the more she used her powers, the less they drained her, as if each use was helping her body to get used to handling such energies. Still, Ratchet kept her in the repair bay for observation after the spectacular transformation she'd pulled. Everyone had expected her to object to that since she hated that kind of attention, and it unnerved the lot of them when she didn't. No, she didn't so much as say a word. All she did was sit there quietly, out of the way, badly shaken and deep in thought about what she had done. She saw Ratchet call Optimus off to the side and whisper something to him, some secret that had to relate to Megatron somehow since the Autobot leader immediately glanced at his silent form in absolute shock before then proceeding to look angrier than she'd ever seen him.

She'd never really thought about what it would mean to lose her humanity, she now realized. The form she'd taken… It had felt so natural, so right, that she had fought off three Decepticons and rescued a friend before she even realized something had changed. Even now, some part of her wanted to go back to that form, as if that was what she was truly meant to be. Was that the All Spark inside her having its say in things? And why didn't she feel more fear? Ratchet had said her brain had become mechanical… Had the process altered her thoughts and feelings? Were these thoughts hers? Or was the All Spark twisting her mind to suit its purposes? So much had changed, her life, her world, herself…

Even Ratchet couldn't tell whether Megatron was sleeping or unconscious. This worried him a bit, but it made sense given what he had gone through. So there he lay, silent and motionless, dead to the world, the only sign that he still lived the soft hum of his inner workings, much like a human heartbeat. In all likelihood he would awaken in time. It didn't escape Ratchet's notice how Sarah watched him where he lay. Her gaze never wavered, not for a moment. The two were very close friends and everybody knew it, but Ratchet had a feeling that there was more to it than that. Neither of them were aware of it, but what they had between them seemed to be changing, deepening, evolving

WhiteWhite everywhere. A haze enveloping him, hiding everything so he couldn't tell where he was or what was going onA voice echoed in the silence, a voice calling his name. "Megatron…" He could see her faintly, that small, frail-looking organic form, those bright eyes, that faceShe seemed to be beckoning to him, asking him to follow her, but he couldn't. His legs didn't seem to want to work and she was receding into the distance, still calling out to him, disappearing into the haze. He had failed to protect her from the other Decepticons and now he was losing her. She'd been the first to trust him, the first to believe in him, and that had meant so much, but now she was leaving, he'd failed her, he'd lost herGrief and despair flooded him, anguish so powerful he thought his spark would be crushed beneath it, as he futilely reached out after her fading form

"No… Sarah…" Ratchet was surprised to hear the sleeping Decepticon cry out as if in pain, squirming feebly where he lay, caught in dreams… or in nightmares, as the case seemed to be. "Sarah… I… Where are you…? Don't go… I… Sarah… No…" It sounded as if he were in pain, either physical or emotional, and the Autobot couldn't help but get the feeling that Megatron was beginning to feel it too; the change taking place between him and Sarah. He also got the feeling that, unconscious or not, he would be comforted greatly by her presence, so he decided to go find her and bring her there.

The first thing he noticed was that she wasn't where she had been sitting for the last few hours. She'd been deep in thought the whole time, so deep as to almost qualify as being in a catatonic state, but now she had disappeared? Maybe she'd gone to see the others, or… "It's all right, Megatron…" And there she was, in the last place he had expected to find her, which was also where he wanted her to go. He saw her clambering over the side of the table where the Decepticon in question lay. "I'm right here beside you, and I'm not going anywhere." Pausing a moment, she looked to Ratchet and gave a knowing smile, as if to tell him that she had already known what he would have asked of her had he gotten the chance to. A few moments later she was curled up like a kitten in the hollow between his neck and left shoulder, pressed up against him as if he were warm flesh and not cold metal. His outcries ceased as nightmares gave way to quieter, more peaceful dreams, and she herself seemed calmer as each took comfort in the presence of the other. It looked to Ratchet as if she was starting to feel it too, how things were changing between them.

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Megatron claims no responsibility for what goes on in his unconscious mind… and neither do I.