Charoite tried to peel her Megatronus Prime sticker off her sleeping pod, but the corners barely budged.

"Well," she sighed, "Hopefully whoever stays here next is a fan of Megatronus Prime."

Charoite decided that she might as well leave the decorative tape on the walls. Maybe it would at least somewhat make up for what she put B and the rest of the Autobots through.

She took a piece of paper from her shelf set and penned a note:

Dear Autobots,

I haven't been completely honest with you. Sentinel did strand me on the surface, but I didn't nurse myself back to health; the Decepticons did. Not knowing who they were, I was tricked by Megatron into believing they were heroes, and he convinced me to spy on you all. I promise you I didn't give any information away, though to be fair, there wasn't much that could have been given away, anyway. Megatron may have taken advantage of me, but I should have told you about my deal with him when I found out the truth. Instead, I was a coward, and I kept calling him and coming up with nothing. I hoped he would just fire me as a spy. Words can't describe how sorry I am for what happened to you, B. I'm also sorry for dragging the rest of you into another battle with the Decepticons. I'll do everything I can to help pay for B's procedure. Thank you, Optimus, for taking me in, and for your kindness and understanding. Elita, maybe you were suspicious of me for a reason other than me having been involved with Sentinel. I'm sure you're a great commander. Goodbye, everybody.

~Charoite

Charoite pulled out the holographic device and crushed it in her fist. She threw it in the trash can and left for the elevator to see B one last time.

The door to B's room was open. He was asleep, curled up tightly on the floor instead of in his pod.

Charoite took light steps inside and sat down in front of him. She fought the urge to lie down next to him, to embrace him, sob uncontrollably and shower him with a thousand apologies. She stroked his head, feeling his antennae raise as he remained asleep. She dropped a gentle kiss on his cheek, then stood up, wondering if she caught glimpse of a smile.

She left the room, took the elevator out of the building, then flew off in her plane mode, which upped her flight speed, and hid the tears she finally released.

"For real, DB-2, for letting me stay here, I just wanna give you my most sincerest thanks ever. For real." Sitting with her back against her friend's couch, Charoite giggled as she put down her third glass of Hard Cybertrex. "I don't deserve it!" She hugged her knees and began to cry.

DB-2 gave her a reluctant smile as she pushed the glass out of Charoite's reach. She sat down next to her. "No problem. I don't think you need to beat yourself up for it, though. You didn't know the 'Megatron' thing would lead to this, and you don't deserve anything bad because you trusted someone who ended up not being who they said they were."

With a hiccup, Charoite pointed at DB-2's face. "Look, listen. You…are lucky. Like, reeeeeally lucky."

The dark purple and black bot gave her a pleasantly confused frown. "Uh, thanks? How?"

"Your life. It's really simple, you know?" Charoite grinned as she hiccuped again. "You're just a friggin' store clerk, like I might be again. You didn't work for a beloved ruler celebrity guy who you dated before you found out he was a monster. You didn't end up stranded by him and being manipulated by some guy. You don't have to deal with someone you reeeeally miss having an injury because of you."

DB-2 rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. It wasn't because of you! It was probably that hexagon guy you said had him gagged. Or maybe one of the other Decepticons was simply just trying to fight and they didn't know this would happen. Or maybe it was a freak accident."

"And he won't be able to tell anyone for who knows how long?" Charoite burst into tears and laid her lead in DB-2's lap.

DB-2 sighed and patted Charoite's head. "Well, that may be, but it still isn't your fault."

Charoite chuckled. "You're right, and I need to make sure I stay feeling better, you know?" Charoite sat back up and reached for her glass.

"Uh, I think you've had too much already." DB-2 stood up and picked up the glass. "You want me to go with you to Décor Galore tomorrow to see about getting your job back? You know, for moral support or whatever?"

Charoite nodded.

"Okay, cool. Well, goodnight, I guess."

"Nighty-night!" Charoite replied with a giggle.

The next day, Charoite, grateful energon cubes were able to cure her hangover, flew with DB-2 to Décor Galore. Charoite had forgotten how much fun simply just being there was. She fantasized about which items would look best with this or that color or in this or that type of room.

With DB-2 standing at a fair distance, Charoite took a deep breath and knocked on the door marked, "Employees Only."

As she hoped…and dreaded, the manager, J-8, a vibrant green bot, opened the door.

"Hey, J-8," Charoite forced a smile and waved, "Long time no see."

J-8's face dropped. His eyes widened. "Oh, uh, Charoite! Hi! Yeah, it's been a while. Haven't seen you since, well, uh, yeah…"

Charoite quickly became fed up with the awkwardness. She let out a sharp breath. "Look, J-8, I know this is awkward, but I was wondering if there's a chance I could have my old job back? I know a lot of bots hate me and everything, but I promise I knew nothing about Sentinel."

J-8 pinched the bridge of his broad nose. "Look, Charoite, can this wait? I'm in the middle of an interview with this guy, and it's probably gonna take a while since he can't talk."

B rushed up to the doorway. His mouth dropped open.