This is where you guys either love me or you hate me... The entire chapter is from other characters POV, not Bravuras, so hopefully you like that kind of thing. As for the rest... you'll see :)

Hotrod was beside himself. He was angry, he was afraid, and there was nothing he could do about it. They'd moved Bravura back into Ratchet's vehicle mode to protect her from the elements. She seemed quieter when she was out of the sun again, only whimpering occasionally.

"Is there nothing we can do for the pain, Ratchet? Like the pain pills?" Hotrod was crouched next to the van, trying to keep himself from peeking in on her every few seconds.

"I wish I could say yes, but I'm not sure if injecting something into her system won't cause an even worse reaction. She's suffering now, but if we introduce anything into her unstable system we run the risk of killing her outright.

Hotrod wanted to hit something. He wanted to blast that glitch Skywarp, and grind his head into shavings. He wanted to switch to vehicle mode and take off down the highway going as fast as he could. He didn't want to run, but he wanted to blow off steam. The only problem was that they had no idea when Skywarp would get back and he didn't want to miss a moment of what they'd do to save Bravura.

Hotrod had estimated five minutes at the very most, but as the eighth minute began to tick past, he was getting nervous. What if Skywarp had betrayed their trust and just killed Perceptor outright? Sure, he'd be signing Bravura's death certificate, but he was a Decepticon. They lived for that kind of thing.

Ratchet had said they couldn't save her arm. He knew this would devastate his little human friend as there was no way to attach a new one. Why did these people have to be trapped in such fragile little bodies? They didn't seem to mind, but that's all they'd ever known. Hotrod didn't yearn to fly, but if you stripped the wings off of a Seeker, the flier would die before living that way forever.

He thought of the shiny silver metal, reminiscent of Frenzy's bright chrome color, as it had burst out of her skin and grown along the outside of her. He wasn't a scientist, but Ratchet kept saying it was encasing her nervous system.

"Why is the metal focusing on her nervous system, Ratchet?"

"The most likely reason is that the human body is full of electrical impulses, tiny but sufficient for their motor function and thought processes. The nervous system delivers these impulses throughout the body. The metal is probably looking for an energy source, and the electrical impulses her brain delivers are the most readily available."

"Is it possible this won't kill her? That maybe… her body will accept it?"

Ratchet's vents heaved deeply. "Have you ever looked up the human brain, Hotrod?"

"No… one second." Hotrod accessed the Internet, and in moments he understood. Those thrashing metal vines would shred her soft brain and leave nothing but a gray mess. Even if her body somehow survived this, she'd be an empty shell. A human shaped block of lifeless metal.

Hotrod slumped, and Ratchet took this as understanding. "You see. If we can't keep this metal from growing into her brain, or her heart, or any major organ for that matter, she'll end."

Hotrod shuddered. He'd been denying how serious this whole thing was, but it was hitting home now. He could lose her. He'd wanted to spend the rest of her life together. He'd wanted to keep her safe and share all the fun of being alive and happy in a safe world. He would probably never get the chance, now.

Hotrod stood up and walked slowly to Mirage, who was watching morosely. He put his hand on the bigger mech's shoulder and sent a private message. Can I borrow your hologram?

Mirage looked down at him, puzzled. What do you need it for?

Hotrod dropped his gaze, fighting another shudder. I want to say goodbye… Just in case. In case she-

She won't die Hotrod. They'll fix her. Have a little faith.

Faith in what? Her fragile little body? Skywarp? Perceptor hasn't even been here three days, how do we know he'll be able to solve this problem in time to save her? If she dies- If she dies I just want to know I said goodbye!

To Hotrod surprise Mirage reached up and put his hands on the younger mech's shoulders. I'll lend you the hologram. But you have to believe in her, and in Perceptor. Don't give up. We're all together in this.

Hotrod nodded numbly, and took the tiny parts that made up Mirage's best hologram. He returned to the ambulance and knelt down outside it, interfacing briefly with the hologram and downloading the image Bravura would recognize. Then he set it on the ground and activated it.

His consciousness split, and he could feel the sun beating down from two different angles. This solid hologram felt different from anything he'd ever experienced, and it took him a moment to adjust. As soon as he had his bearings, he climbed into Ratchet's back end and sat on the stretcher Bravura was curled up on. The metal on the outside of her arm had gained several inches already, reaching almost to her elbow and branching tiny tributaries, like a river drawn on a map. It glinted, and he bit back his rage.

He stroked her hair, something he'd always been afraid to do in his larger form. He didn't know if she was considered attractive by human standards, but he knew her strength and her spirit. Her life was beautiful, and she was brave. She was a fighter. He loved her. He'd had crushes on femmes, back before the war, but he'd been too young to get involved with anybot. He'd never really loved anyone quite like this before.

He leaned over her and kissed her cheek, brushing the wet hair from her face. Her eyes flickered open, and she looked up at him. The normally bright and lively orbs were dull and flat. "Hotrod," she mumbled.

"I'm here, Bravura."

"Dying, aren't I?"

He was shocked when his emotions produced something like a physical response in his hologram. His eyes began to fill with fluid, and it was hard to squeak out a sound.

"Yes, if we can't stop the spread you'll die." He leaned down again, pressing his forehead to hers. A shuddering gasp took him over, and he heard the doors of Ratchet's back end shut, giving them privacy. His mech body outside shivered too, but of course, he couldn't cry.

"I'm scared, Hotrod." Her eyes were tightening, and he could tell the pain was getting worse.

"I'm scared too. We're all scared for you," he choked, shaking again. "But.., d-don't worry, ok? We'll save you. Do you remember the promise I made to you, the day we rescued you from Barricade?"

She nodded weakly, but said nothing, so Hotrod said it for her. "I said we'd never leave you. I promised that you would never be alone, ever again, and I meant it. I love you, Bravura."

She smiled despite the pain she must have been wracked with, and reached up her unaffected hand to touch his face. He covered her hand with his, his tears flowing freely between their fingers. "I love you too, Hotrod."

He broke inside. He didn't know how, but he felt it in his hologram and in his spark. He covered her with his body, wracked with sobs he couldn't contain. It wasn't until her body arched against his and her fingertips pressed sharply into his cheek that he realized something was wrong. He leaned back, murmuring her name, when he saw it. His arm was touching hers, and where he brushed the metal lacing her skin, blue sparks where flying. It wasn't painful, it was actually a very pleasant feeling, but…

"Hotrod, what are you doing?!" Ratchet roared.

He flung his hologram away from her, fearing he'd hurt her. "Nothing, nothing! I don't know!"

"Pull her out, something's changed!"

Hotrod did as he was told, dragging the silent, wide-eyed human out the ambulance and using his mech body to ease her to the ground. Ratchet transformed and was leaning over her when there was a crackle and boom from overhead. Hotrod sent his hologram running back to Mirage and deactivated it. He looked up for Skywarp.

A mech was hanging awkwardly from the back of the Raptor. Hotrod could see from here that they were both covered in ice and very cold, Skywarp came at the ground at a sharp angle, and Hotrod felt his spark jump. They were going too fast, too fast!

"Optimus!" he screamed, running before he even thought about it, Ironhide and Optimus were with him, he knew, and together they managed to catch the out of control jet before he crashed. They were all knocked on their afts, and Hotrod felt a few tension wires snap, but nothing serious.

Perceptor had been flung away, but he was in one piece. He was covered in ice, but the heat of the day was already melting him enough to let him attempt to stand. Skywarp was recovering faster, and Ironhide shoved him off, having taken the brunt of the impact. The Seeker transformed and looked around in embarrassment. "My guidance system was iced over," he said, rubbing a scuffed wingtip.

Ratchet rushed to Perceptor and checked him over, helping him to stand. While the two began murmuring to each other, Hotrod looked back to the stretcher. Mirage was standing watch over her, but the red mech rushed back anxiously anyway. Mirage was staring down in awe.

"What'd you do, Hotrod?"

Hotrod started to protest, but he saw it too, looking at her. Blue lightning was dancing along the metal on her arm, which was growing faster than ever, but her face was rapturous. Despite her apparent relief, he was horrified to see metal spikes waving insistently from her chest. He reached down to touch her, and that's when the world ended.

Skywarp had been watching Perceptor anxiously, hoping the scientist would recover fast enough to save his human, when he heard a mech scream. He whirled, a laser cannon coming to life instinctively, but he saw it was the Autobot Hotrod. He was behind the red mech and couldn't see what was happening to Bravura, so he feared the worst. Bravura was dead. Everyone rushed the Vanquish mech, and the first thing Skywarp saw was the look of horror on Mirage's face. Then he saw why.

Tiny barbs of the invasive metal were waving from points all over her body, twisting in the air and then settling against her skin, shredding her thin human clothes in the process. But the worst of it was the fact that the knock-off Autobot had her in her arms and was pressing her tiny body to his open chest. He was holding her to his spark.

Skywarp felt his logic systems short as his fury exploded. He roared and leapt for the mech, but was grabbed by the legs and swung in the opposite direction. He flew through the air and landed thirty or forty yards away, and the fighter mechs were lining up between him and his human.

Hotrod had no idea what was going on. All he knew was that if he didn't do this, Bravura would die. He was creating something, or bonding with it, or both, or neither. He couldn't tell, but it felt right, and instinctively he allowed the tiny whipcords of metal to interface with his memory core. It needed to know things, to know how to be. It felt like standing in a shower of fine sand… And then it was done. He became aware of what he was doing and was shocked to find her tiny body in his hands. She was covered in writhing metal, and he could feel her spark pulsing against his.

Her spark?

He didn't have time to think. She was pulled away from him, and he shut his chassis self-consciously. He backed away, fear taking hold. What had he done…? He heard a bass roar and saw that Optimus and Ironhide had Skywarp pinned, and Mirage had his huge gun pointed right in the Seeker's face. Good.

Perceptor and Ratchet were crouched over Bravura, connected to each other by hardwire to transfer data as efficiently as possible. Perceptor finally nodded to Ratchet, and they both waved the red mech over.

Hotrod quickly came back to them and crouched across from the two professionals.

"Do you know what you did, Hotrod?"

The Vanquish shook his head, bewildered.

"Somehow, you split your spark and gave some of it to her. You're lucky she's small, and that you already had some kind of bond, or it would've killed you both," Perceptor said, sounding absolutely thrilled.

Hotrod nodded dumbly, the meaning not sinking in fully.

"Do you realize that you've saved her body Hotrod? Maybe even her mind? Look at the metal…"

And Hotrod looked. The whipping cords had calmed, were no longer aimless and sharp, but smooth and deliberate. It had changed in personality somehow, but he couldn't figure out how it could have happened. And then he realized, it had accessed his memory. It had needed a blue print to grow by, and now it had one.

"What about her brain, Ratchet? Her memories?"

Perceptor leaned over and tapped his chest plate. "You can do that too, young fellow. Her brain's nothing but a map of electrical functions. If we can get that uploaded onto your hard drive, you can download it back to her when her body is formed.'

Hotrod's spark was sputtering. "Why me? Why not Ratchet?"

"For one, you're the youngest with the most available memory. Second, your spark is her spark! You're already like one bot, you might as well be the one to do this thing!"

Hotrod stared down at her quiet body.

"We don't have long, Hotrod. In a few minutes her brain will lose its blood supply and she'll die."

Hotrod snapped his crackling optics back to Ratchet. "How do I save her?"

"Ah…" Perceptor began. "You see, we're not so sure about that part. If you do this thing, you could be entirely successful… Or you could destroy her memory completely."

Hotrod's hand balled into fists. "We can't take that chance!"

"No, Hotrod, it's her only chance."

Hotrod stared down at her, remembering the feel of his human body as he sobbed. He nodded slowly without looking up. "Show me how."

That's right, I'm turning her into a robot. Sorry if you're disappointed, but this has always been a secret goal of mine no matter how cliche or tired the idea is. It's done, like it or not :)