I think we all know what will happen in this chapter. I had to put Mel through losing Ironhide, now I have to put her through the hell of losing every Autobot she had ever known. I feel like a sadist.

And dear God, we passed 600 reviews. Wow. Thank you all so much for this! I really can't tell you enough how grateful I am, really.

Also, during this chapter, listen to 'When You're Gone' by Avril Lavigne, for added effect, because I did cry while writing this and rereading it again. :/ Sorry for all the sad chapters, but this is the way the story goes...

I went into the core of the space center, following Simmons and his blond, neck-broken assistant, Dutch. Sam told me who was who, but I knew Simmons from years ago. Although I didn't know what he was doing in a wheelchair.

How the world could darken so suddenly… People no longer having the ability to walk. People no longer having people to talk. People no longer having their loved ones by their side. Everything had to be taken away. Just… why?

"I wanna talk to whoever's in charge here." Simmons exclaimed as we were passing through the center of the building. Simmons suddenly skidded to a halt with his wheelchair, the tires screeching. Sam stumbled upon a table, his arm falling out of its place. I looked at him in horror as he seemed to put in back into place, his arm painfully cracking. "Well, well, well… Charlotte Mearing." I turned my head towards Simmons only to see him eyeing Charlotte.

"You two know each other?" Sam asked, eyeing the as Simmons had a strange look on his face.

"Agent Simmons. Former Agent Simmons. So, I see-" she eyed him, "You survived Washington-"

"Washington, Egypt, heartbreak, I survived, I will survive." He quoted the famous song. "They're bringing everybody in, kid." He addressed Sam.

"Who is everybody?" Sam asked.

"All of the Autobots, they're putting all the intel on the table." Then Simmons roamed around Charlotte as she straightened her back, staying in her place, well knowing he was eyeing her from every aspect. "And if you think deporting nineteen Autobots is gonna solve a damn thing…"

"It's out of my hands." Mearing said, walking towards the inside of the building as we all followed her.

"Moving up in the world, huh? Your booty looks excellent…" I looked at Simmons, who seemed to be smirking, as Mearing gave all of us a deadly glare, making us turn around to stop listening to their conversation.

She whispered something to Simmons none of could hear as I saw Wheelie and Brains in a metal cage, being exported from base.

"Sammy, listen to me. Don't let them exile us." Wheelie gripped the bars of the cage, his red eyes pleading, his voice filled with sadness.

"Don't let them take us, Sam!"

"It's a Decepticon trap." Wheelie sadly said as he was taken away, caged in like a beast. I could only look at them as they were vanishing from my line of sight.

"Director, Autobots incoming." A technician said from his post by the computer. Mearing said nothing in return as I heard a chopper incoming.

"Alright, get in the white Suburbans, we're going to the Xanthium." She ordered as we could do nothing but comply. Like mere slaves, we followed the leader, Charlotte, as she led us to the Chevrolet SUVs as we got in. In less than a minute, all of us had arrived in front of the Xanthium, where the Autobots had been waiting for us.

All of them were transformed in front of us, ready to say their goodbyes, as Sam and Optimus walked to another corner and started their discussion there, away from all other ears.

Nicole rushed to Bumblebee, his holoform emerging quickly, embracing her in his arms, hugging her tightly.

Mikaela and Jolt met halfway, the two of them hugging as well, not on a romantic level, but both of them fell into each other's arms as they knew that they would see each other for the very last time.

Leo and the other pair of twins, Skids and Mudflap, talked and tried to make some jokes, for the last time, but this wasn't the time nor the place for immaturity. It was time to say final goodbyes.

And I? I had nobody to run to.

God, I remembered how everything was so much easier when I was younger. Pain wasn't emotional, it was when you scraped your knees. Goodbyes meant until tomorrow, not forever.

I sadly bowed my head, looking at my feet as I walked to the white fence on the left. I put my hands on the rail, pain filling my heart, threatening to get to my soul. I stared at a blank space as my eyes filled with tears, slowly and painfully. I inhaled through my nose and exhaled through my mouth, trying to calm myself. But no, my tears slid from my eyes, tracing over my cheeks and trembling jaw, falling to my feet. How I felt so lonely, so alone…

Morbid images of Ironhide's death invaded my mind, followed by the images of us; him helping me, caring for me, feeding me, staying by my side, loving me…

And then the most sacred memories came to my mind, harassing me, torturing me with their goodness, as illogical as it sounded. He had been so good to me…

I whine escaped my throat as I bent over the rail. All the time Ironhide and I had spent together, all the things we did together… all of it was just memory. And we wouldn't create new memories. Ever again.

And then I heard it, Bumblebee playing his songs to his loved one, trying to comfort her ongoing tears. "It's nearly time for leavin', leavin'… I know that it seems like it's easy for me, oh I wish you could feel what's going on inside of me. It's the hardest thing I ever have to do, to walk away from you, when I wanna hold you… Another day is years away…"

Listening to his songs only made my heart break. My arms felt so weak, my legs even weaker… I could hear Nicole and Mikaela sobbing, as I started with my own bodily shaking sobs that echoed loudly. I had no one.

I gripped the metal rail tightly as I noticed something.

Though my tears, I could see the swollen stomach I had. I wiped away the tears that kept on coming, trying to focus. My hands drifted to my stomach, touching it. And then I realized it.

It wasn't swollen or bloated.

I was pregnant.

My other hand trailed to my mouth, a smile turning into a grin had formed. I hiccupped, looking down at myself with a smile, caressing my own stomach. But then another realization had kicked in.

It was Ironhide's baby.

My smile had vanished, just like that. My eyes widened as my breath caught in my lungs as I grabbed the rail with my right hand, falling mercilessly to the ground on my butt, but still clinging to the rail. A cry of desperation escaped my own throat as I shoved my head into my hand that had been holding the rail, the other hand, touching my stomach as I was sobbing loudly, praying to a deity to set me free from this misery.

I cried in silence on the cold metal floor, as I felt someone's presence near me. I couldn't face anybody. I had been so alone… how can I raise a child on my own?

That someone's hand had touched the one on my stomach. I raised my head from my other hand, seeing through my watery eyes who the figure was.

And it wasn't just one figure.

All the Autobots came to my aid, their real forms standing behind their holoforms.

Ratchet had been the first one to touch me. "So you figured it out." He said, smiling at the end of his mouth while crouching.

My chin trembled as I dared speak. "Why d-didn't you t-tell me?"

"It wasn't my secret to tell." Ratchet said, getting up. "Do you need a hand? It's not good for you to sit on the cold metal." he outstretched his hand towards me.

I turned my head away as I looked at the space before me. Dusk had finally come, the sky colored in reddish and dark orange colors. The Sun's golden rays had died out, just like everything on this planet would.

My eyes hurt. My chest hurt. My arms and legs hurt. My heart ached. Everything hurt.

Another figure came as Ratchet moved a step back. "Mel," I recognized the voice, but didn't look at its bearer. "We're here, we're not going anywhere." Sideswipe said, putting his hand on my shoulder. "Please talk to us."

I turned my head slowly towards him, my tears leaving wet tracks along my cheeks, as Sides offered a friendly smile, to lighten the mood. I sighed, exhaling through my mouth, trembling along the way. I couldn't say anything, even though he pleaded for me to say something.

"We know it's hard." His twin brother joined in. I sniffed, trying to breathe through my nose again. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. The two twin brothers crouched before me. The rest of the Autobots slowly backed away, leaving me with the two of them alone. "Look at us." He said.

I brought my gaze to his eyes. "We know what it feels like." Sideswipe said, a strange sadness in his voice that I had never heard before. "We know exactly how it feels like." He said, avoiding my gaze as he looked to the ground.

How would he know what it feels like? After much silence, I croaked out. "How?"

He sighed heavily. "We… we lost our mate once." My heart sank to my stomach.

Their real forms transformed into the Lamborghini and Corvette, as their engines purred, coming closer to me. Something in the engine purring was oddly soothing to this tragic situation.

I managed to cough out through my tears as Sideswipe sat beside me, his one leg bent at the knee, bending forward. "What happened?"

"She… She ran… to protect us." Sideswipe said, reminiscing, reliving the painful memory.

"It was eons ago…" Sunstreaker started, still crouching in front of me. "The War had broken out, then and there. We were at the beginning of adulthood, celebrating…" he continued. The words were so heavy, even for him, to speak out.

"You… you don't have to tell if it's painful." I said, touching his forearm with my hand. But he and I both knew it was way beyond painful.

"No, it's just that… we haven't told this to anyone." Sideswipe said, pausing, and then continuing with the story. "So we were in this large room, y'know… and Sunny and I were in the middle, celebrating with high grade energon. Goldstreak," I assumed that was her name, "was bringing out an energon cake for us. She wasn't the best chef, but still…" he chuckled, thinking about her, he shook his head. "She put the cake in the corner of the room…" he paused, the words almost visibly hurting him. "And… then the Decepticons came in." his voice fell.

"The room was filled with some other bots and Sides and I already had our swords out. The fragging 'Cons told us to not move."

"They told us if we moved they would kill us." Sides said.

"There was an exit in the back of the room. But we couldn't get there."

Sides said with a sincere sadness in his voice. "Goldstreak opened our bond, telling us she'll make a distraction, so that Sunny and I could make it out alive."

"We told her not to do anything, but then she just… ran." Sunstreaker said, his voice falling to such a deep and pained level. "Ran straight at the 'Cons…" He had to force himself the say the words. "The 'Cons turned around, their weapons cocking…"

"The rest of the guests ran to the back as Sunny and I jumped at them."

"But they got to her first, shooting her point blank in the sparkcase."

Sides continued after a dreadful silence. "Her body froze on impact and she fell back…"

"Sides and I offlined them, but when we came to Gold…" he exhaled loudly. "She was barely holding on. The shot went right beside her spark, shattering it instantly."

The story made my eyes water and send chills up my spine. "I picked her up in my arms." Sides said, as if in a trance, as if he was holding her in his arms right here, right now. "She was leaking energon… She knew she had no more than a couple of hours to live at most... but she had a smile on her face." He said, his lips forming a tiny small at their ends. "She told us she loved us. That she truly loved us."

"She said we made her life worth living, as unlived as it was. She told us she would see us again in the Well of AllSparks and that she didn't want us to mourn her death." Sides continued. The words were just too familiar as my eyes watered up again.

After a long pause, Sunstreaker finally spoke up. "But the images… they never truly fade away."

As if on cue, Sides continued. "You just find yourself standing in a corner of an unlit room, trembling, hoping that somehow they'll find you in the dark and console you. But they never come."

"They can't save you and then hours pass in silence, while you think about them. Everything about them."

"And it doesn't get easier. It rarely ever does. You wonder at times if this fight is worth fighting. But then you remember the pain your enemy caused you to feel, the wounds that will rarely ever heal and you realize that it's worth it."

"That you live for the ones who had died. Because if you don't…Nobody else will. And you just know that they won't come back, that they never will, but you can't help but hope that one day they do come back, and that everything becomes the way it used to be."

"But then the inevitable comes… They will never come back. But you see, the pain, it will never truly end either. Not if you stop thinking about them. Not if you think about them your whole life. The pain will always be there. You just have to live through it."

I couldn't take it anymore. Their words were so… so full of pain. Pain mixed with sadness. The tears spilled from my eyes, onto my lap.

"At first it was hard, Mel." Sunny said. "Sides and I couldn't think of anything else but her. Of everything we had with her."

"But we knew, in order to carry on, we had to let go."

My mouth formed a small 'o' as I tried to protest. "How am I supposed to let him go? I love him so much, Sideswipe…"

The Corvette's stereo resounded. "In another life, I would make you stay… And the days feel like years when I'm alone, and the bed where you lie is made up on your side… Do you see how much I need you right now?"

The lovely voice echoed just so the three of us could hear it, as the two alt modes purred closer to me. "When you're gone, the words I need to hear to always get me through the day and make it okay… I miss you. I've never felt this way before, everything that I do, reminds me of you."

The song cut deep, the words never truer. "We used to think about her all the time." Sunny continued, this time not living up to his name.

"I miss you, we were made for each other out here forever, I know we were… I can hardly breathe, I need to feel ya here with me…"

I started to speak out, the song's sad lyrics only made it harder. "I… Sunny, I just can't stop thinking about him."

"At first, we couldn't stop thinking about her either." Sides said. "And even though we don't think about her as much now, with every day we miss her more."

"With every day, we're closer to seeing her again." Sunny tried to brighten up the atmosphere. "Time helps. A lot."

"Let's get you on your feet." Sides said, offering a smile as he got up, outstretching his hand towards me. I took it, but hadn't the strength to get up. Sunny got up from his crouching position and slowly raised me up by the armpits.

"Sides, we have to go." Sunstreaker said, his voice slowly returning to normal. I didn't want them to go.

Sides regained his usual happy-go-lucky mood, yet remained a little saddened. "Just let time do its thing, Mel." He sincerely said.

"But Sides…" I started.

"Hm?"

"You aren't carrying his… sparkling." I looked at him in the eyes.

Sunstreaker approached me, his eyes wide. "You're… sparked?" my lips formed an upside down smile, threatening to cry again. "No, don't cry." He said, waving is hands in front of me. "This is a blessing, Melissa."

I didn't feel Sides' warm touch on my shoulder anymore. I hadn't noticed it until it was gone. "Sides?" I looked at him.

He stared at the ground. "…Goldstreak was carrying, too." His holoform eyes watered, as pang of such pain hit my heart.

"You were going to be… dads?" I asked.

"Yes…" Sunny answered. "Until those 'Cons showed up and… and took away the only thing we ever loved."

There was so much more to these two, so much more I didn't know. So much that I couldn't even guess.

"But, Mel, it's you that matters here." Sides regained himself. "Take care of that sparkling and take care of yourself… if not for yours, then for Ironhide's sake." He said.

I nodded, giving him a hug. "Thank you." He hugged me back.

I turned to Sunstreaker, letting go of Sideswipe. I hugged him, too. "Thank you so much, Sunstreaker." This time, he allowed himself to hug me back, without any awkwardness.

"Take care, Mel." The two said in unison, their holoforms disappearing as their alt modes purred away sadly, side by side.

Poor fellas. They had so much pain… and had so much to tell.

I thought the engine purring had gone, that Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were gone into the Xanthium, but the hum of another engine told me otherwise. It was another Autobot that came in the form of a blue motorcycle.

Chromia.

She transformed right in front of me. I just looked at her. She opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it. She was at a loss of words, but so was I.

"Melissa." she said, making me look up at her again. "I know it's hard." That makes both of us. I just nodded. "But you have to stay strong. In the worst of times, you are the one who needs to take care of the rest. Trust me, because I know what it's like to be at the rock bottom and still have people look up to you to save them."

I didn't know how that was connected to me. I let her speak. "You see Melissa, once the Xanthium gets us off this planet, who of your friends are going to choose for a leader? Someone will have to keep their hopes up, someone will have to keep them from self-termination."

"Chromia..." I didn't want to hear this. About everyone dying. No.

"Just let me finish." I nodded, looking into her blue optics as she looked into mine. "You're not the only one who lost a dear friend. I know what you are going through, up to a point, but don't grieve for him. He wouldn't want you to do that." She wasn't anything if not straightforward. But she was right, Ironhide would never want me to grieve, especially if he was the reason.

I let her continue her speech. It was the last chat she and I were ever going to have.

"I've known him far longer to know what he's like. But you are his match, Melissa. He really loved you. You were his everything." She sincerely said, her saddened optics looking to the ground. "I just hope he's resting in the Well now. Primus knows he needs it." she said, turning her head around to look at Optimus, who signaled her with his head to get into the Xanthium. She turned back towards me. "Well, Melissa, this is where our roads part."

"You know, Chromia..." I found myself saying. "You weren't so bad after all." I said suddenly, hoping she'd catch on.

And she did. "I wish I had the chance to get to know you better too, Mel." She used my nickname. A small smile tugged at the end of my lips. She finally called me with my nickname, a name reserved for friends only.

"You too, Mia." I said as she walked off, into the Xanthium.

I walked away from the rails as Optimus approached me, bringing himself down to my level. "Melissa, I am very sorry for your loss, I understand that Ironhide meant a lot to you. Ratchet has informed me of your state." I guess my pregnant 'state'. "I've seen femmes lose their mates and offline themselves, while carrying their sparklings. So I ask this of you, keep Ironhide's name and his legacy going." He said in his baritone voice. "I understand that true loss has no words, so I'm not going to spend your time telling you the things you already know. Know this, Melissa, you are never alone. He is always with you." Optimus said, eyeing me one last time as he got up and stood straight. He cast me one last look as he walked away, the rest of the Autobots following him.

All of the humans said their goodbyes, all except Bee and Nicole.

I had a thought in my head.

People say you don't know what you've got 'till it's lost. Truth is, you knew what you had, you just never thought you'd lose it.

First off, sorry to all the Sunstreaker and Sideswipe fans out there! I had to do it for the sake of the story. :/ I also used the sentence 'she ran to protect us' that Rossi from Criminal Minds said. I absolutely loved that line and had to use it here.

So, how'd you like this? If someone knows a story in which the emotions of the characters make your own emotions come to life (such as sadness, happiness, anger etc.) I would really like to read that. If you do have a story which you liked, I would like you to share it with me. I do like reading and reviewing stories and don't forget that I do Beta reading. All the info is on my profile.

Songs:

Avril Lavigne – When You're Gone

Toše Proeski – The Hardest Thing

Katy Perry – The One That Got Away

Okay, now, one MAJOR thing you should all know. Goldstreak is my OC, and she is going to be featured in my Sunstreaker/OC story, which is yet to be written. You may NOT use her under ANY and ALL circumstances unless I give you written permission of it. You may not use her name or anything like it, because that would be copyright infringement and we do not aim for that here. Your story can be taken down on copyright grounds. And even though you may not know anything about Goldstreak yet, because the story hasn't not been written yet, TWOF will not tie to Sunny/OC.

So if Sunny/OC/ wins at the poll, you'll be meeting Goldstreak soon.

With that said, these Author's Notes are coming to a stop, and I now leave you to put in your thoughts on this chapter. :)