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The next day seemed to have come quicker than I would have liked. I had told Cade and Drift to let Celia and Marli when they showed up, though they were hesitant to agree. Emotionally, I wasn't really prepared to deal with the two of them again. After what Celia had said, I didn't want to be bothered for the longest time.

But I couldn't back down. It would seem cowardly. Celia and Marli needed some kind of closure, and it wouldn't come from me being too terrified to even look them in the eye.

"Desirée, they're here," Cade called. Opening the bedroom door, Cade gave me a knowing look before letting Celia and Marli in. Marli gave Cade a thankful smile before the door shut silently behind them.

"Hey," I said softly, laying stiffly in my bed.

"Hey." Marli tried for a friendly smile, but I could see the pain in her eyes. It made me feel terrible. Celia didn't look at me, her arms crossed over her chest. "Did you have a nice rest?" she asked.

I have a slight shrug. "It could have been better," I said softly.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Marli said, giving me an apologetic look. Shaking her head sharply, she sighed. "Wanna start?"

I nodded.

Marli did most of the talking. Whatever happened between Marli and Celia after they left the first time, Celia kept her mouth shut and only asked questions when it was necessary. I wouldn't have minded hearing what Celia had to say, but I was scared that she'd say something that would cause another emotional episode. I wasn't really up for that.

Marli mostly spoke of what happened after their capture. Hours of interrogation, the beginning trials of the experimentation, their reactions to what the scientists did to them.

I tried to comprehend what Marli was saying, how severe it sounded.

Injecting weird liquids into their system; forcing them to take weird pills; if their bodies reacted negatively to the medication, they would be forced to endure the reactions and pray their bodies didn't shut down.

Marli had said that the scientists were actually asking if there would be any new subjects, being promised more human subjects the more Autobots were slaughtered. From what she overheard, Marli heard a man's voice talking to one of the scientists, saying they'd be given a "woman with bright blue eyes" as their next subject, they'd just have to be patient.

"Did you recognize his voice?" I asked softly.

"No." Marli shook her head, looking conflicted. "It sounded familiar, but I couldn't pinpoint it."

"They were promising you," Celia said flatly. "The scientists were promised you as their next test subject, they just needed to kill the right Autobot."

I felt my stomach lurch, and it wasn't from the baby.

Cemetery Wind was willing to turn over actual humans for experimentation, but only if the right Autobot was killed. It was nauseating. I wondered if they thought of us as humans at all!

If they did look at us as humans, they wouldn't have been experimenting on Marli and Celia, right? They would have done something else...something less severe.

Unconsciously rubbing my swelling stomach, I frowned deeply.

"Well, we're working on putting them on trial," I said softly, borderline whispering. "Joshua Joyce is..."

"Joshua Joyce," Celia snapped. "You're friends with Joshua Joyce?!"

Shaking my head, I pursed my lips. I saw Marli put a comforting hand on Celia's forearm.

"I'm not friends with him," I said. "He's kind of...an ally." I grimaced at the word. Ally didn't seem like the right word.

"How can he be your 'ally'?" Celia asked. She shook her head. "He was the one in charge of KSI! He was responsible..."

"I know he was responsible!" I exclaimed. "Celia, please, just stop getting upset with me and listen to what I have to say. I know Joshua Joyce was in charge of KSI and was helping Cemetery Wind kill the Autobots. But Joyce helped us in the end, he gave us a reason to give him the tiniest bit of faith."

"What did he do?" Celia's eyes held a fury she was desperately trying to hold back.

"Joshua saved our lives," I said. "He saved our lives. There was a bomb that Cemetery Wind had given him. He was going to detonate it one of the biggest cities..." I held back the tears that were burning in the backs of my eyes. "Joshua Joyce hasn't made the best decisions. What he's done over the years are unforgivable. Because of him, the Autobots who were slaughtered will never come back. But I am willing to look over his past and focus on what he's willing to do for us now."

"So, he's going to put them on trial?" Marli asked softly.

"The government, to be more accurate." I rubbed my stomach. It almost felt like the baby was moving, but it felt like it was too early for the baby to be moving so soon.

"The government?" Celia scoffed.

"Celia, just shut up." I looked at her tiredly. "Please, just shut up. I know you're angry at me. You have reasons to be angry at me. But, for once, just listen to what I have to say."

Celia seemed surprised by my outburst.

"We are all trying to adapt to normal society. I know what you endured is terrible, but having a bitter outlook on it won't make it any better." I felt anger boiling up in me, and I was trying to not to raise my voice, I didn't want to cause a scene in front of Cade and his family. "Joshua is gathering as much information as he can so we can put the ones responsible in charge on trial," I hissed. "We are working our asses off so we can get through this. Maybe having this can help put you in some sort of ease."

"What you're doing is brave," Marli responded, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. "If it isn't too late, I'd like to help."

Nodding, I gave Marli a tight smile.

Marli gave Celia a pointed look. "Isn't what they're doing brave, Celia?" Marli asked sharply.

The way Marli spoke to Celia was that of a parent scolding a child. Celia looked down almost shamefully. I wanted to sympathize for her, but the woman I had been friends with when NEST was still operational was gone. A bitter woman had taken Celia's place.

"It is brave," Celia said in a low voice, "but it's also idiotic."

"How is it idiotic?" Marli asked defensively.

"What if you don't win? You're asking the guy who was in charge of KSI to handle the information for a case. He could manipulate it, make it seem like you guys were still the bad ones all along. He's a businessman, Desiree. A very powerful businessman. He will do anything to cover his tracks."

"I've seen goodness in Joshua," I said sharply. "I may not like him, but I've seen goodness in him."

"Just think about it."

With a defeated sigh, Marli and Celia left without a word. Marli had thrown an apologetic look my way, but left without a word. I didn't know if I'd ever see them again.

Marli volunteered to help with putting the government on trial, I thought. But who knows how long that's going to take! Maybe...Maybe not seeing each other for a while would be for the best.

I chewed on my bottom lip.

If, for now, that would be the last time I'd see Marli and Celia, that would be a good thing. One less thing for me to stress over.

But then I'd have to worry about Elita.

Elita and I didn't have the best relationship. I tried being friendly to her, but she seemed to reject me immediately. Once Marli and Celia were gone, how was I going to deal with Optimus's delusional ex-girlfriend?

QUICKY A/N:

JUST LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS THINK OF THIS UPDATE.

YOU KNOW NOTHING IN THE TRANSFORMERS MOVIEVERSE IS MINE, AND THE FOUR OC'S ARE NOT MINE EITHER.

I APOLOGIZE IF THESE FILLER CH.'S HAVE BEEN BORING, BUT WITH NO NEW TRANSFORMERS MOVIE TO HELP MAKE THE STORY INTERESTING, THIS IS ALL I CAN DO UNTIL ANOTHER ONE COMES UP. BUT THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HAVE BEEN REVIEWING!

BUT I PROMISE YOU THAT THIS FANFIC WILL HAVE A SEQUAL! I MIGHT EVEN ATTEMPT TO MAKE THIS SOME SORT OF FANFIC TRILOGY, BUT I FEEL LIKE THAT WOULD BE PUSHING IT.

ANYWHO, ENOUGH OF MY RAMBLINGS (THOUGH I DO APOLOGIZE FOR HAVING THIS UPDATE GET UP SO LATE. I WAS WATCHING THE WALKING DEAD WHILE WRITING THIS...)! I HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS UPDATE AND LEAVE REVIEWS ON WHAT YOU THINK! THEN, WE CAN FINISH THE ELITA-1 ARC AND DESIRÉE'S LATEST PREGNANCY.

STAY SNAPPY.

THANK YOU, ONE AND ALL.

READ, REVIEW, ENJOY!

YOURS TRULY,

~SMITHY