A/N

Fairly long, but you know what...I wanted it to be even longer. Which I still probably should've done.

XXIII

Mary felt the rush of energy that sickened her stomach and made her wish she was asleep. The world came into view around her. Desert area, rocky cliffs, and almost mountains that reached for the sky. The ringing in her ears subsided, quickly followed by load bangs and shouting. Battle. Mary scrambled forward, heading toward the noises. She couldn't be too far behind Kyle. Maybe he was closer than she could tell but her blurred vision made it hard to focus.

"Kyle!" she called out.

Everything began to clear, and that is when Mary spotted the massive device that spiked out of the ground. It looked like it was growing out of the ground itself, slick and clean like something out of a futuristic film. Mary looked around, spotting the others. Autobots battling the Decepticons, like they were always meant to do. They were fighting around the machine, and that's where she found Kyle running across the land toward the fighting.

"Kyle!" she called out again.

Kyle stopped, spinning around to face her. He was quite far away still but she could see the glow of surprise in his eyes. He shook her head, whispering no. They ran toward each other. Mary embraced him but quickly broke free of the hug in order to slap him. Kyle hissed, rubbing his cheek. His eyes flickered red before subsiding to normal.

"Don't you dare treat me like some helpless damsel or so help me!" she cursed.

Kyle kissed her on the lips, ending her sentence. He pulled away slowly, smirking. She smiled lightly, shaking her head.

"That's cheating," she whispered.

"Well, you weren't supposed to follow, now were you?" he nodded.

"How cute…"

Mary was yanked away from Kyle. She let out a yelp, reaching back to grab whoever was holding onto her collar. She glanced behind, spotting her captor, a Decepticon woman by the name of Airachnid. Kyle snarled, pulling out his weapon, or more like Knockout's weapon. Airachnid smirked in surprise. Kyle smiled, spinning the weapon in his hand.

"Really want to play this game, spider? Kyle hummed.

"You are no Knockout, human," she snickered. "Even if you were, you wouldn't survive."

"But both of us?

Breakdown stepped up behind Kyle, slamming his hammer down by his side. Airachnid rolled her eyes, shoving Mary into Kyle. Mary rolled her eyes too, standing on the other side of him. Kyle smirked, nodding toward Airachnid.

"Anything else?" he offered.

"You think yourself smart, but you are nothing more than a coward. When your guard is gone, you will show how weak and blind you are," she hissed. "And I assure you, I will be the reason your guard is gone, if it is the last thing I do."

Airachnid spun on her heels, rushing back into the battle of bots and cons. Kyle sighed, turning around to face Breakdown. The brute lifted up his hammer, hanging it on his shoulder. Mary stood behind Kyle, looking between the two cautiously.

"Why did you do that?" Kyle snapped.

"A thank you would've been better, but you're welcome anyway," shrugged Breakdown.

"Why?" gaped Kyle.

"Somewhere in there, you're still Knockout," sighed Breakdown.

"More than you think," smirked Kyle, eyes flashing red.

"Knockout!?" perked Breakdown.

"Apparently, those two have been talking," grumbled Mary, crossing her arms.

"About?" mumbled Breakdown.

"Hell if I know," hissed Mary. "Kyle what is going on?!"

"I'm here to set things right," nodded Kyle, glancing back at her. "And you weren't supposed to be here for it."

"Why not! What is your big master plan!" howled Mary.

Something clicked from above. Kyle and Breakdown spun around, watching the great machine spark to life. They quickly exchanged glances then turned to Mary who was completely dumbfounded as she stared up at the sky. Kyle turned back to Breakdown.

"We need to get her out of here!" he gasped.

"Got it!" agreed Breakdown, retracting his hammer and placing it away.

"What?" perked Mary.

Breakdown lifted Mary up, throwing her over his shoulder and running away from the machine. Kyle chased after him, looking backward several times. A blinding light glowed from the top of the machine, spreading a massive purple colored shield outward. It started out slowly then began to quicken, catching up on them running.

"Breakdown, we're out of time!" gasped Kyle, turning back to Breakdown.

"Out of time? For what!?" pleaded Mary. "Kyle, what is happening!?"

"The machine is activated. That shield and everything within it will…we'll return to our original form," explained Kyle. "You can't get caught in that field."

"But what about you?" Mary whispered.

Kyle shook his head.

"Sorry, Miss," Breakdown sighed."

"Sorry?" Mary repeated.

Breakdown lifted Mary up, throwing her rather far. She hit the ground hard, bouncing slightly, but soon stopped. She sat up slowly, turning back. She perked, watching the shield coming down, sealing Breakdown and Kyle on the other side. Breakdown shook her head, mumbling something, and walked away. Mary leapt up, racing toward the shield. She ran her hand along the glass like structure.

"Kyle…why? I thought you said you wanted to live?" she sighed.

"I do want to live," he replied. "But I want you to live more."

"But I want you to be with me!" cried Mary, slamming a fist on the shield and watching the light ripple. "I love you, Kyle. Why wouldn't you love me back?"

"I love you more than I can say, but after what has happened…I can't let you get hurt because of my past. I won't let you die at my hands!" shouted Kyle, shaking his head.

"You didn't hurt me," she whimpered.

"Knockout almost did. He was willing to live but killing you. He wants to return to normal, and I want you to live in peace."

"So you made a deal," snarled Mary, shaking her hand.

"I made a deal," smirked Kyle, nodding. "He gets his form back and in return, he promises the Cons will not harm you. They won't even notice you."

"You know he can't keep that," she gasped.

"He knows I will stop him if he dares to go back on his promise," hummed Kyle, rolling his eyes.

The light from the top of the machine began to stretch out. It reached the edge of the shield in no time. Kyle let out a scream, collapsing to the ground. Mary shouted, pounding on the field. Kyle shook his head.

"Mary…please run…" Kyle pleaded, shaking his head. "Please…"

"I won't leave you!" she shouted.

Kyle let out another scream. He struggled to get to his feet. On his feet again, he slammed his hands on the field. He snarled, glaring at her with red eyes. Mary stepped back slowly.

"Run human…or get caught in a cross fire real quickly. So run human…run while you can…"

"You made a promise!" she shouted.

"I know…and I'm keeping it, aren't I?" he smirked.

Another scream. The light became blinding, covering Kyle's form from view. Mary shook her head, turning away slowly. Then she ran. She took off and didn't want to stop. Tears streamed down her eyes.

"When did it all go wrong?" she whimpered. "When did it all go wrong?"

Something behind her seemed to explode, thrusting her forward. She stumbled, rolling around for a while before hitting one of the rocky walls. Her eyes were opened for a moment, watching the light fade. A red armored robot stood up. Mary whimpered. Everything slowly went black.