"...ought to be it."

"Really?"

"Really. From here, his self repair systems will take care of the rest, and he should be coming out of stasis lock shortly. You did well, little one."

"...okay."

"Now then, why don't you climb up here? There's no sense hovering over him."

"I – I think I'll just stay right here."

"...very well."

Heavy footsteps faded into the background, static slowly clearing from his audio receptors. A simple self diagnostic outlined everything that was wrong with him, but that repairs had already been made. That didn't stop everything from hurting, though. Slowly powering up his optics, the first thing Demolisher saw was Sideways, who was hunched up against his shoulder armor. He was looking the other way, oblivious to Demolisher's return to consciousness, idly scratching dried Energon off of his arms. Anything else was blocked by his wheels, as he was currently laying on his back.

"I bet that was some explosion," Demolisher said, causing Sideways to whip around so quickly he almost toppled off of his shoulder. The silver 'Con only looked at him for a moment, before turning and scrambling up to the top of his cab.

"Hightower!" Sideways yelled. "He's online!"

Hightower's response was lost when Demolisher experienced a surge of feedback, echoing across his audios painfully. His diagnostics queue got longer, but at least everything was coming back to him with a repair status.

Sideways carefully slid back down, looking him over as he did so.

"You had a mine go off under your armor," Sideways said, before Demolisher could attempt to ask. His fingers traced the seam of his armor, indicating where he had been damaged the most. "They cut off your primary motor functions and severed three of your vital fuel lines, which sent you into immediate stasis lock. And, um, most of the compound went up when you set off the mines. Everything is pretty much still on fire, but the Autobots are gone. "

"We saw the explosion from five miles away," Hightower was leaning over him now, giving him an appraising look. "You couldn't have made it any easier for everyone – Autobots included – to find you."

"Well, I'm fine aren't I?" Demolisher said, despite how much every part of him ached. "It could've been worse."

"It was worse, Demolisher," Hightower shot back. "You would have died if your little friend here hadn't come back for you."

Demolisher fell silent at that, looking over at Sideways. The silver 'Con did not return the look, merely staring down at his own dirty hands, shifting uncomfortably. Demolisher had something of a revelation, figuring out that it was his vital fluids all over Sideways' arms.

"You heard him, did you not?" Hightower continued. "Three vital fuel lines. Someone your size would bleed dry in under ten minutes, and yet this one was swift enough to seal the ruptures and stabilize you. Impressive for a courier."

Sideways continued to avoid looking directly at Demolisher, wincing slightly at Hightower's emphasis on his function. Despite himself, Demolisher felt a hint of pride, knowing Sideways had actually read the data files he'd been given in Egypt. It was obvious, however, that the Constructicon medic was suspicious of Sideways, and had no doubt grilled him harshly over his actions and his intentions. Hightower's overbearing and condescending personality had more than likely driven Sideways to hide where he hid best: with Demolisher.

"Let's get you up, now," said Hightower, suddenly back to business. The medic backed off, folding down to his alt mode. The crane's tower swung around, and Hightower slowly dropped the hook, stopping it once it was a few feet above Demolisher. Grabbing it with one hand and using the other to steady Sideways, Demolisher heaved himself up as Hightower pulled back.

Taking only a moment to situate his wheel, Demolisher stretched out, letting his systems recalibrate. Hightower transformed back to his root mode, circling around his teammate to check for any more unseen damage or complications. Waiting for Hightower to complete his inspection, Demolisher looked out across the compound, seeing nothing but fire, smoke and dust.

"The mines went all around the perimeter," Sideways said, and Demolisher looked down, having forgotten the small 'Con was still sitting in one hand. "I don't think they were all supposed to go off, but..."

"You're clear," Hightower announced. "All that's left is to wait for your self repairs to be complete. I also patched up the damage to your little friend, who can't seem to explain to me just why Scorponok saw fit to run him through."

"It's complicated," Demolisher said, getting a sharp glare from his teammate. "It also involves Barricade."

"Then I suppose we'll never know," Hightower sniffed, though he eyed Sideways with nothing less than derision. Sideways seemed to return the sentiment, probably resentful of constantly being referred to as Demolisher's 'little friend'. "In the meantime -"

"Hey, Demo!"

Hightower whirled around, ire moving from one giant to another. "Oh, now don't you go and rile him up! He still needs to heal!"

Demolisher barely had time to set Sideways down on the ground before Scavenger was right in front of him, hastily shoving Hightower to the side. It was like looking directly into a mirror; below, Sideways was staring up at them with an open mouth, acting as though he hadn't believed Demolisher when he said he had a twin.

"You know Scrapper's not going to be happy," Demolisher said, skipping the greetings. "We're supposed to have different paint jobs."

"Oh! But it is different, you see?" Scavenger backed up a few feet, looking down at himself. "I mean, we're both red and white, but -"

" - you inverted the colors," Demolisher could only laugh. "No, Scrapper won't buy it."

"Well, I like it," Scavenger said defensively. "Besides, he can't complain if he doesn't see us together anyhow."

"We're leaving in three hours," Hightower said loudly, reminding everyone he was still there. "Just be ready to go by then."

With that, the medic turned on his heel and stormed off, more than likely irate for more reasons than they could count. Sideways shuffled uneasily in the dirt, which caught Scavenger's attention.

"Oh, you're Sideways!" Scavenger leaned down, but the movement was too quick, and Sideways retreated, more than a little intimidated. Demolisher could see that his twin looked a bit put out by that, as well as confused. "I, um, hear you've been through a lot with Demolisher here."

"Yeah," Sideways managed to say, watching Scavenger closely. While Demolisher was much more reserved and closed off, Scavenger was open with his emotions, letting them play out across his facial plates. If he had to guess, Demolisher assumed that was what would put Sideways off the most – seeing something that looked him, but did not act like him.

"Well at least no one was offlined, right?" Scavenger seemed at a loss for what to say to Sideways. "I mean, the mines did some damage, but -"

"It really hurt," Sideways said suddenly, looking up at Demolisher directly for the first time since he'd come out of stasis lock. Scavenger shot Demolisher a questioning look, but he was too busy staring down at Sideways, the pure desperation and fear in his optics rattling him. Sideways had not been damaged in the explosion, so what had hurt?

"Of course it did," Demolisher said slowly. Sideways did not back down, and the Constructicon felt like he was being challenged, or at least questioned, but he didn't know why. He had the dreadful, sinking suspicion that his pain had been so great it had gone out across the symbiotic link, and Sideways was now aware of it.

Scavenger started to comment, but at that moment Long Haul sauntered into view, followed by Rampage. Something in Demolisher's spark twisted at the sight of Rampage, and he felt terror, pain and incomprehensible rage all at once. The memory of Sideways' torture at his hands surged across his systems, and Demolisher was moving before he knew what he was doing.

Rampage only had the time to look up before Demolisher's top wheel came crashing down on his head, metal crunching loudly as he hit the ground. Everyone started yelling at once; Long Haul stepped forward, only to be held back by Scavenger, and Hightower made it far enough to see what was happening before freezing up.

Rampage's hands scrabbled at Demolisher's wheel, struggling to free himself. After a moment, the wheel lifted back up over his head, but Demolisher immediately grabbed him by the neck, hauling him forward before slamming him to the ground again. He heard Long Haul shouting at him to cut it out, and Scavenger pleading for the same, but he ignored them all. Grabbing Rampage's head, he jerked it up, feeling a surge of satisfaction as he heard the other Constructicon howl in pain.

"Look at him," Demolisher commanded, twisting Rampage's head until he was looking directly at Sideways. The silver 'Con went rigid when they turned on him, hyper aware of the fact that every Constructicon was now staring right at him. His optics darted between Rampage and Demolisher, full of horror and wonder at what was happening. "Look at him and understand what you did to him!"

"Get off!" Rampage hollered, one tread slapping uselessly against Demolisher's arm. "I didn't do anything to your slagging pet! I've never even seen him -"

"I said look at him!" Demolisher did not relent, sharp shovel fingers digging into Rampage's exposed cables. He writhed at the pain, attempting to buck him off, but Demolisher held fast. "If you don't remember him, then may be Swindle will."

Rampage's struggles stilled, and Demolisher could see Long Haul exchanging confused looks with Scavenger and Hightower. Sideways quailed under Rampage's gaze, but after a moment recognition clicked in.

"Oh yes, you're the little thing that Dead End gave the parasite to," Rampage said, his tone so upbeat it was as if his neck wasn't getting slowly crushed by Demolisher. "I imagine that hurt."

Rampage began to laugh, which ended in a howl of pain as Demolisher's other hand reached down and twisted his spinal structure, just above his jackhammer legs. He twisted again until Rampage spat up Energon, hissing and gurgling in pain.

"What do you want me to do?" Rampage demanded, claws clenching around fistfuls of dirt. "Tell him I'm sorry? Say I'll be his frie-"

Another twist, and this time Rampage choked on the back wash of his own vital fluids. Demolisher waited until he was finished spitting it up to speak.

"I only want you to understand what you did to him," Demolisher said, tone low and threatening. It was not easy to intimidate a mech like Rampage, and Demolisher knew this would not change his behavior, but it certainly made him feel better about a lot of things. "Understand what you did to me, and the hell you've caused."

"No one told you to spare his useless existence," Rampage snarled, renewing his struggles to get free of the excavator. Demolisher only tightened his grip, grinding just enough to get Rampage to sputter.

"Give me a reason to spare yours," Demolisher rumbled, and Rampage's optics darted up to look at him, seemingly convinced that he was being entirely sincere. But Demolisher had no intention of killing his teammate, only hoping to make him aware of the fact that fear did exist, and not just in other units. Tightening his grip on the back of Rampage's neck, he hauled him up and flung him away without a care as to where he landed.

The red mech crashed to the ground in a heap, Energon oozing from his wounds. A moment passed where no one moved, and then Long Haul was at Rampage's side, while Scavenger joined Demolisher. His twin had picked Sideways off the ground, holding him between both hands.

"Scrapper's gonna be mad," said Scavenger, watching Long Haul heave Rampage up so Hightower could look him over. The medic spared the twins a brief, stunned look, before turning his attention to the newest patient. Demolisher hadn't done any lasting damage, and he was certain his threats would be forgotten by Rampage before the morning came.

"Let him," said Demolisher. "It will be nothing when he finds out Rampage has been dealing with Swindle."

"How'd you find out about that?" Scavenger asked, looking down briefly as Sideways squirmed in his hands. Demolisher resisted the urge to snatch the Audi away, knowing it would be easier for the three of them to speak if they were all on the same level.

"Doesn't matter," he said, looking up at the smoke rising into the air.

"Yes it does," Sideways said, startling both of the excavators. His optics were fixed on Demolisher. "Everyone knew except me?"

Demolisher said nothing for a moment, feeling sore now that his systems were coming down from their high. "I only ever told Scrapper. The trouble with being a Constructicon is that if one of us knows about it, then the rest do. We don't have a lot of secrets."

"Amongst yourselves," Sideways said darkly, scowling. "You said you severed the link."

"And I did," Demolisher said. "Sideways, I never told you because I thought I could fix it before you ever found out. It didn't seem to be affecting you, so -"

"Well it did when you blew up!" Sideways suddenly shouted, and Scavenger looked down at the small 'Con in his hands in surprise. "I thought I'd gotten hit it hurt so bad! It felt like I was on fire until I figured it out, and then I thought if you died, I was going to die because of it and -"

"Slow down," said Demolisher, keeping his tone as even as possible. "A symbiosis never killed anyone."

"Well excuse me for panicking," Sideways snapped. "I know – I know what you saw, because it was all I could think of. That parasite – I thought I was the parasite – the drone. I got confused – I just – I didn't -"

"You still managed to save Demolisher's life," Scavenger cut in, before the Audi dissolved into hysterics. He sent his twin a questioning look, not knowing the full story behind the parasite.

"Rampage will receive further reprimand from Scrapper for what he did," said Demolisher, moving closer to prevent the others from hearing. Sideways slunk back somewhat, before he realized he was completely surrounded by the twin excavators. "I will gladly kill Swindle on sight, and Dead End I will tear to pieces just to hear him scream."

Sideways finally began to calm down, and his anger seemed to drain out of him, leaving him half limp in Scavenger's hands. When he looked back up, he could see Demolisher's and Scavenger's top wheels were leaning against one another.

"Did you mean it?" he asked quietly. "About it being hell?"

"No," Demolisher shook his head. "But Rampage doesn't need to know that. It will take some getting used to, Sideways, but I do intend to find a way to fix this."

Sideways now looked beyond miserable, staring at his hands again and refusing to look anywhere near Demolisher. "I'm not a drone."

"I know that," Demolisher said, for once feeling nothing but infinite patience with the silver 'Con. Scavenger thankfully remained silent, simply holding his hands steady as Sideways lamented his situation. "I didn't do this on purpose, Sideways."

"I'm not your pet," Sideways moaned, shaking his head before gripping it between both hands. "I don't want this, I don't-"

"Sideways," Demolisher interrupted him. It was obvious Barricade's words in Sri Lanka bothered him as much as it had Demolisher, as Rampage had so eloquently reminded them. "Remember that you are not the only one affected by this. But, like it or not, you belong to me for the foreseeable future."

"It's not so bad, is it?" Scavenger cut in, seeing Sideways wilt at Demolisher's declaration. "So long as you have Demolisher, you'll have me as well."

"I can't protect you from the war, Sideways," Demolisher continued for his twin. "But I can promise no Decepticon will harm you again. Perhaps for a steep price, but it's already been paid, hasn't it? Until this is sorted out, we have a purpose and a duty to fulfill. We must find the shard, we must find the Matrix, and we must revive Megatron.

"All things considered, our problems are very small. We are Decepticons, Sideways, and our mission cannot be ignored. If the Fallen is to return, then we must be prepared, symbiotic connection or not. Do you understand?"

Sideways nodded, once again seeming to come out of his shell. Scavenger shot him an amused look, more than likely refraining from commenting on his little speech. Satisfied with Sideways' consent, Demolisher backed away from his twin, who then set the Audi back down on the ground. Demolisher turned in time to see Hightower headed their way.

"Your little stunt aside, Scrapper's just relayed us our new orders," Hightower said sternly, trying to assert his command over them. While he was second to Scrapper, none of the Constructicons really saw him as an authority figure, just as their mildly insufferable medic. "Demolisher and Sideways are to inspect the pyramids in Xi'an, China. The rest of us are headed back up into Europe. Soundwave imagines he has an idea as to where Megatron's corpse is located, and wants us to be prepared for departure once it's been confirmed."

"Six years apart," Scavenger sighed as Hightower left them alone once again. "And two hours together. I think we've got something backwards."

"It'll be alright, Scavenger," Demolisher said. "Aside from the Autobot pests, things are starting to go our way."

"You better be right," Scavenger said, minding Sideways as he rolled forward so he could join the others. Rampage was shooting them dirty looks, but Long Haul was keeping him at bay, feigning interest in his wounds.

Demolisher wanted nothing more than to be right; it was just thousands of years worth of experience that told him not to get his hopes up.

A/N: Wanna know what I just noticed? That I've been spelling Demolisher's name wrong this entire time; apparently it's DemolishOR. I'm totally fired from the internet. Leave it to me to figure that out right before the story ends.

Poicephalus: You're certainly right about Sideways' luck, especially since it hasn't gotten any better. Thanks for reviewing, I'm glad you're enjoying the story!

Ripper22: I agree that Soundwave is awesome, and I also agree that he's creepy. The next chapter will be the last one. Thanks for all your reviews!

Ouchimoo: When it comes to Decepticons, the phrase 'No, we CAN'T just all get along' comes to mind ;)