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"Hey, Arcee. Welcome home."

That voice...she hadn't heard it in many centuries. At least a thousand years.

Bright light surrounded her, but so did a thick fog. Or maybe the fog was all in her head. It was hard to think straight. Figuring out who had spoken seemed to take forever.

It couldn't be him. It just couldn't_._

"T...Tailgate?"

"I'm here, Arcee. So is Cliffjumper."

"Hey, 'Cee. We've missed you." A second voice, lost to her less than a year ago.

"Cliff...?" She shook her head, looked around for a way out, but could find only diffuse light that seemed to go on forever. "This can't be happening. You're dead. Both of you."

"We noticed that, actually." Tailgate chuckled, his echoing voice coming closer. Finally, the fog parted and he appeared. Body type similar to Cliffjumper's, but gray instead of red; a sight she hadn't seen in so long....

"What the hell is going on?" she snapped. The last thing she remembered was fighting Airachnid--

"No," she whispered. A chill rushed through her.

Airachnid had shot her in the chest, point-blank, a sustained burst at the maximum setting that burned through her armor and into vital components. Then the evil bitch had stabbed her fingers, the tips sharper than any razor, through the wound. The damage was severe, maybe even fatal.

Arcee clenched her fists. "No!"

Cliff appeared behind Tailgate, the fog swirling around his red and gunmetal body as he stepped out of it. He had both horns now, even though one had been torn off in his final battle. He smiled as he walked over to her and put his arms around her.

"You've returned to the All-Spark, as we already have. You're home."

"No, I'm not!" She pushed him away, and he staggered before regaining his balance. "I'm not dead, goddamn it! I'm not ready to check out!"

"Neither were we," Tailgate said. "Most people aren't given a choice." He shrugged. "I'm not thrilled with the way I went out. Blowing up Airachnid's base and getting caught in the explosion would've at least been heroic, but instead I was tied up, hanging from the ceiling, barely functional, when that asshole stabbed me right through the spark. At least it was quick; there's that, I guess."

Arcee closed her optics and snarled. She didn't want to remember Tailgate's death. But it had happened right in front of her, and that horrible image would remain burned into her memory forever.

"It was the same for me," she finally admitted. "I hit that bitch with everything I had, and Jack blew her up_, for fuck's sake--but she got away. Again." She turned, looking around frantically. "Jack?"_

"So, she killed you, too?" Tailgate hung his head. "I'm so sorry it ended that way, 'Cee."

"It didn't_." She opened her eyes and glared at him. "I'm_ not dead! If I were dead, I wouldn't be conscious and talking to you now."

"Come on, don't look at me like that. I've missed you so much."

"I miss you both, too, but this isn't real. I'm imagining this. And I'm not staying."

"It took us a long time to accept it," Cliff said. "But we don't have a choice." He held his arms out to her and approached her again. "Come on, 'Cee. We're back together. Let's just--"

"Step back." She held her left hand up and clenched her right fist. "I won't accept this." She backed away from him and looked around again. "Jack! Please, be out there somewhere. Please...."

"Arcee, there's nothing you can do. Just let go."

"No!" She whirled back toward Cliff and snarled. "I've only recently found something to keep me going besides the next battle. I'm not letting go of that."

"Is it this 'Jack' you keep calling out to?" Tailgate said. "Who is he?"

"My boyfriend," she answered without hesitation.

Tailgate cocked his head. "Your what?"

"It's a human thing." Cliff chuckled. "I guess 'Cee has gone native on us."

"I love him. He's my soulmate. Even if I had nothing else to live for, I have him. And I won't let go."

"I'm so sorry," Tailgate said with a sigh. "I won't pretend to understand how much this guy means to you, but it's obviously a lot. But it's too late. You've already passed over to--"

"_Bullshit!" She pointed at Cliffjumper. "How did you die? Did you take a bunch of 'Cons with you?"_

"I don't remember. I hope I did, at least."

"You don't remember, but Tailgate remembers his death?" She took a few more steps back. "He remembers because I saw it happen. But you? I wasn't there. I didn't see how you died, so you don't remember it. This is all in my head. I'm badly injured, but I'm not dying. Not yet. This is just something my mind is conjuring up in--"

She cut herself off. She had almost said, in my last moments. But that would be accepting death. It would mean giving up. And she couldn't do that. Not when she had--

"Arcee?" Another voice, behind her. Soft, gentle, without the slight electronic sound Cybertronian voices had. Human.

Jack.

Arcee whipped around and there he was, emerging from the fog, looking around, trying to find her. A sense of relief flooded her and she broke into the biggest, brightest smile of her entire life.

"Jack!"

He continued looking around and calling her name, his eyes growing more afraid, his movements more frantic. He couldn't see her.

"I'm right here, Jack."

His head turned toward her, continued past, his gaze not even landing on her.

"Arcee...." Tears trickled from his eyes and he sank to his knees. "Don't leave me!"

"I'm not! I'm right here!"

"I love you, Arcee! Please, hang on." He leaned over, braced his hands on the ground, and wept. "Please...!"

"I'm staying with you, Jack! I love you!" She turned to Cliff and Tailgate. "You guys are among my closest friends, but you're not real. You're not really here. And neither am I."

They stared at her, their expressions hurt, sad, wistful. They reached out to her, took a step forward....

She turned away, walked over to Jack, crouched in front of him, and placed her hand gently on his back.

Her hand passed through him. He cried even harder.

She tried to put her arms around him, but he was as insubstantial as a dream.

"Jack!" She stretched out on the ground, tried to move her face in front of his. "Hear me, please! I love you! I don't want to leave you!"

Suddenly, he faded away. She stood, trembling with fear and building rage.

"No...!"

The light around her grew brighter. She clenched her fists, looked up into the sky, and screamed, releasing one final burst of rage.

"I can't leave him! I won't_! I love him!"_

The light increased until it blinded her.

Then everything faded away.

#

"How is she, Ratchet?" Jack stopped pacing, stared up at him, and tried not to be afraid of what his answer might be.

June stepped up beside Jack and wrung her hands.

Ratchet glanced over his shoulder at the tunnel leading to the med chamber. "I did everything I could, Jack, but--"

"What?" The helmet slipped from Jack's fingers and he stumbled backward. His mom grabbed his shoulders to hold him upright. "She's...you couldn't save her?"

"What?" A look of utter confusion crossed Ratchet's face, then realization dawned and he shook his head frantically. "No! I didn't mean it that way! If you had let me finish--"

"Okay, just a misunderstanding, then." June put her arms around Jack and arched an eyebrow at Ratchet. "If you could answer the question, please, Doctor?"

"Of course, Ma'am." Ratchet crouched in front of Jack, leaned over to awkwardly put a fingertip on his shoulder, and tried to reassure him with a smile. "Arcee will live. She lost a lot of energon--nearly all of it; she used most of it up drilling the tunnel to the surface from inside Airachnid's lair, and bled out most of the rest after that wretched creature stabbed her. We used up our reserves to replenish her supply."

Jack sighed with relief, leaned over and braced his hands on his knees. June hugged him, let out a sigh of her own, and smiled.

"Thanks, Ratchet," he said once he'd regained control of himself. He stood upright and took in a slow breath. "You said you used up your reserves?"

"I'm afraid so, Jack. We had just enough for Arcee." Ratchet patted Jack's shoulder again. "It was worth every drop."

Damn right, it was. Still... "So, now, if any of you are wounded--"

"We've already thought about that, as much as we'd prefer not to. Also, even if none of us ever receive another scratch, eventually, our bodies will use up what energon we have left." Ratchet stood and looked around, as if unable to focus on anything, and for a few seconds he looked completely, utterly lost. He looked over his shoulder, at the tunnel that led to his lab, and pulled himself together. "Which is why I must perfect the synthetic energon formula as quickly as possible."

Jack nodded, turned to head for the med chamber, and hesitated. "I know you said she'll live, but about what you said before that...."

"Yes. That." Ratchet looked toward the med chamber and closed his eyes. "Arcee is badly wounded. Airachnid did more than stab her; she injected something through her fingertips that severely damaged vital components and affected many of Arcee's primary systems. It's what humans call nanotechnology. I was able to purge the nanotech agent, but by then the damage was done."

An ice-cold fist wrapped around Jack's guts and he took in a shaky breath. "What do you mean? How bad is she?"

"Her Transformation Cog and several other critical parts are damaged beyond repair; she can't transform and, in fact, she wouldn't last long in a combat situation. She can still move, but only if she's careful. We don't have the replacement parts she needs, and we lack the facilities to manufacture new ones." He looked away and sighed. "I'm sorry, Jack."

"You did everything you could. Thanks for giving it to me straight."

Ratchet nodded and trudged off to his lab.

Jack picked up his helmet, walked slowly through the tunnel to the med chamber, and found her stretched out on the floor. His heart raced and his hands shook. What had Ratchet meant about Arcee's primary systems? Some of them, or all of them? Had her memories or cognitive functions been affected?

Oh, fucking hell, what if she has brain damage? What if she doesn't remember me? He pressed his lips together and squeezed his eyes shut. Don't start crying in front of her. Not until you find out how badly she's hurt.

She turned her head toward him. Her blue, softly glowing optics found him and she smiled.

"Arcee?" he whispered.

"Hey, Jack. I assume Ratchet gave you the news?"

June patted his back and slowed, letting him have a private moment with Arcee. He hurried over to her, pulled his gloves off, dropped them into his helmet, and placed it on the floor.

"Not in much detail, but yeah. He said you'll be okay."

"Well, I'll live, and I'm still intact up here." She lifted her right arm slowly and tapped the side of her head. "'Okay' might be overselling it a bit. I'm still in a lot of pain, and I'll be out of action until we can get our hands on some replacement parts. Which means, I'm pretty much permanently out of commission."

Her lips quivered and her face twisted up. If she'd been physically capable of it, she probably would've burst into tears.

"Oh, Arcee..." Unable to hold his own tears in any longer, he gave up the struggle and let them flow.

"Hey, take it easy. At least I'm still alive. Even if I can't operate in the field anymore, I'll always be here for you." She brushed his hair away from his face with her fingertip. "Come here."

He approached, wiped his tears away, and leaned closer to her face. She lifted her head, meeting him halfway, and kissed him gently. She closed her eyes and put her hand behind his back, embracing him awkwardly. When they parted, she smiled shakily at him.

"I'm glad that's one function Airachnid didn't damage."

Jack laughed and stroked her cheek. "Isn't there anything we can do? I mean, Groom Lake built a new pair of arms for Starscream, so can't they make the parts you need?"

"His arms are pretty crude, and they're not nearly as complex as something like a T-Cog. Ratchet looked into it, but none of us think it would actually work. Even if they could do it, it'd probably take years to build something that'll do the same job and be small enough to fit in me."

"Well, there's got to be something." An idea suddenly hit him. "The Nemesis would have a manufacturing facility, right? A lab or factory or whatever, for building spare parts for the 'Cons?"

"Yeah, but thanks to that ship's stealth systems, we can't even find it, much less board it and mount a full-on assault."

"We can figure something out. Starscream should be able to track it, or tell us where it's likely to be."

"If his information is accurate, it's still too dangerous."

"For you, I'd do it anyway."

"I know you would, but please don't." She pushed herself upright, grunting and wincing, and took a moment to recover from the increased pain her movements had caused. When it subsided, she held her hands out and Jack stepped between her legs and put his arms around her. She slipped her hands behind his back and rubbed him gently.

"I'll find a way." He rested his head on her chest and closed his eyes. The soft, even humming of her inner workings was gone; in its place was a somewhat louder, stuttering sound with occasional rattles and grinding noises mixed in. Jesus... "I won't stop until you're whole again."

"I know you wouldn't, but I can't.... If I lost you, I--" She cut herself off and squeezed her eyes shut.

An image of Arcee holding her own shotgun against her chest flashed through Jack's mind, but he forced it away. "We'll figure something out."

"Well, in the meantime, there might be something that can help. Something that can at least let me get back into the action, albeit on a limited basis."

He leaned back, tilted his head upward, and met her gaze.

Some of the color drained from his face.

"One of the Pretender bodies," he muttered.

"Before you freak out, just listen." She chuckled and held his hands. "Ratchet can run a thorough scan on it, go over it with a fine-toothed comb, and if he finds anything suspicious, we'll abort. But if I can remote-operate one of those things, I can still help out on missions, instead of sitting here and being a burden."

"Arcee--"

"Please. My mind's made up, and Optimus has already okayed it. Reluctantly, but...anyway, Groom Lake is sending one over in the morning. We'll see what Ratchet finds, and take it from there."

Jack shivered. So many things could go wrong....

He forced himself to smile and tried to lighten the mood. "You sure you're not doing this just to get into my pants?"

She snickered, leaned forward, and brushed a fingertip over his lips. "Easy there, Romeo. If this works, when we take that next step, if we ever do, I don't want to rush it. I want it to happen naturally. I want it to be special."

"So do I." He nodded slowly. "Well, like I said before, we should at least wait till I'm eighteen." He chuckled.

"Right. I figure it'll take us at least that long to get used to this. And who knows, maybe it won't work at all. But if it does, we can keep going on missions with Ashanti's team, and I'll still be able to keep you safe." She smiled. "And I'd be able to do things with you that I can't now, like simply walk on a beach with you and not worry about accidentally stepping on you or punting you into the ocean."

He managed to laugh at that. "Yeah, something like that would definitely ruin the mood." He pointed a finger at her and said in a mock stern tone, "Flatten me, and you'll have to sleep on the couch until I get over being pissed."

She laughed. He held her right hand between both of his. After a few seconds, his smile faded.

"This makes me really nervous."

"Me, too. But if there are any booby traps built into that body, Ratchet can find them." Arcee touched his chin with her fingertips and nudged gently, and he looked up at her. "I need this, Jack. I need to stay in the fight, and to protect you." She gazed into his eyes until he let a breath whoosh out and slumped against her.

"Okay, Arcee. Then we'll make it happen, whatever it takes."

#

June leaned against the wall, watching Jack and Arcee with a smile. Even after so many months, she still had...issues with their relationship. But now, seeing them like this, and knowing what they'd already gone through for each other...

"That's really sweet," Miko said, and June twitched and clamped her mouth shut to stifle a scream. She turned and found the girl standing nearby, hands in her pockets, smiling at the couple across the room.

"Kiddo, if you keep sneaking up on me like that, you're gonna turn my hair gray." June reached out and flicked one of Miko's pigtails.

"Without my stealth armor, too. Damn, I'm good." Miko grinned.

"Speaking of which, I hear you used it pretty effectively out there. First you saved Jack's life, then Arcee's."

Miko shrugged and blushed slightly. "Well, I figured, if I'm gonna keep rushing into the middle of things, I should at least make myself useful once I'm there."

"Well, I'm glad you did." June put her hand on Miko's shoulder. "Thank you."

"Any time, Ms. D." She turned back to Jack and Arcee, grinned, took her phone out and snapped a photo of them kissing. "Guess I picked up this new phone just in time. Camera's so much better than the one on that burner I used to have."

June shook her head, but laughed.

Across the room, the two lovebirds continued holding hands, kissing, and talking softly. June sighed. Yeah, they're both serious. There's no keeping them apart now. She looked down at the helmet in her hands, remembering the things that had gone through her mind in the MECH base--her wish that she and Jack had never stumbled into any of this, her wish that he'd never met Arcee....

"When they first got together," Miko said, "I thought it was pretty weird. But come on, look at 'em. They just work, y'know?"

"Guess so. I was kind of hoping I'd have grandchildren, eventually, but that won't happen now."

"Well, maybe someday they can build one for you." Miko winked.

Oh, yeah, because our lives aren't weird enough already. June shrugged. "Maybe. Oh, well, as long as Jack's happy, it's good enough for me."

"Yeah, he seems pretty happy, alright." Miko watched the couple share an especially passionate kiss and cleared her throat. "Whoa, that was a good one." She tugged on her shirt collar and turned around. "I'll be on my cot."

Uh, did she just...? June watched the girl walk away, arched an eyebrow and shook her head. She turned back to her son and his alien, robot girlfriend. And merely thinking that kind of weirded her out. Especially since...

Uh-oh, it's definitely heating up over there. She chuckled and cleared her throat loudly as she approached.

Jack and Arcee parted abruptly and turned to look at her. Jack's face turned red. Arcee glanced at him and grinned.

"Hello, June. How're you holding up? You went through a lot today."

"I'm fine, which kind of amazes me. Hard to believe it's only been a day; feels like a lot more." She tucked her helmet under her left arm. "It's nothing compared to what happened to you two, though."

A haunted look flickered over Arcee's face. Jack reached up to touch her cheek.

June glanced back and forth between them. "Uh, what's that about?"

They exchanged an uncomfortable look. Finally, Arcee spoke.

"Well, since your son is my boyfriend, I shouldn't keep anything from you. When I was searching for him in Airachnid's lair, I...I found..."

"You know how Airachnid likes to keep severed heads as trophies, Mom. Well, somehow, she made a bunch of fake heads that looked like me, just to screw with Arcee's mind."

June sucked in a quick breath and covered her mouth with her free hand.

"I found one of them." Arcee's lower lip quivered and she stared at the floor. "I thought it was real. And...well...that damn near finished me. I turned my gun on myself." She touched her chest, where her spark chamber was. "Right here. If Jack hadn't found me when he did, I would've--" She shuddered. "I couldn't have faced you after that. Couldn't bear the thought of telling you that I'd failed to keep your son alive. But more than anything, I simply couldn't have gone on without him."

Jesus... June walked up to her and reached up to touch her arm. If she loves him so much that she'd actually--

"I'm thankful you didn't do it. Seeing it happen would've destroyed Jack." June took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm damned glad he has you in his life. I doubt he would've ever found anyone else who's as right for him as you are."

Arcee stared at her for several seconds, and broke into a huge, relieved grin. "Thank you, June. That means more to me than I can say."

"Me, too," Jack said.

June hugged him and smiled up at Arcee. "Since I didn't say this when I should've, welcome to the family."

"Thank you." Arcee beamed.

June patted the back of Arcee's hand and then glanced at her watch. "It's pretty late, so I should get back home. Jack, I assume you want to stay here?"

"Yeah. I'm starting to have trouble keeping my eyes open, now that you mention it. I'll grab a cot and set it up here. I don't want to leave Arcee alone right now."

"Actually, Raf thought of something better." Arcee pointed off to the left. "He brought an inflatable mattress and a blanket from home. Guess he figured you'd be spending the night."

"Oh, wow. I owe him one." Jack picked up the mattress and grinned. "Built-in pump; sweet." He inflated the mattress and placed it on the floor beside Arcee.

"I'll bring you a change of clothes in the morning." June smiled and kissed his forehead.

"Thanks, Mom." He took his armor off and placed it on the floor near his makeshift bed. He stretched out on the mattress, covered himself with the blanket, and said, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Jack, Arcee."

"Goodnight, June."

June returned to the hub, pausing once to look over her shoulder. Jack had turned on his side, facing Arcee; she lay on her side, facing him, smiling, resting her head on the back of her hand and holding out her other arm, palm up. Jack reached out and placed his hand on Arcee's palm, smiled, and closed his eyes.

"Feels like it's been forever since we had a chance to relax," he said softly. "Can't believe the last time was only this morning."

"Yeah. It's been a hell of a day."

"Hell of a day."

Her smile faded. "Jack?"

"Yeah?" He opened his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"While Ratchet was working on me, I had...I don't know, a dream or a hallucination. I was in a white void and I saw Tailgate and Cliffjumper. They told me I'd rejoined the All-Spark."

Jack frowned. "That's...you mean they told you that you were dead?" He propped himself up on his elbow and caressed her hand.

"I figured out what was really happening, but for a moment, it really scared me. I went into a full-throttle panic."

"I bet. I've heard about things like this happening to humans when they're severely injured or near death. Their brains are starved for oxygen and they start hallucinating. Not sure what'd cause it in your case, though. Lack of energon, maybe?"

"Probably that combined with the kind of damage I was dealt. Ratchet said I was running on fumes when he started working on me. If the others hadn't bridged in when they did..."

Shit. June leaned against the tunnel wall and stared at them. Jack's face turned pale.

"Christ, Arcee..."

"Yeah, it scared the shit out of me when he told me just how close it was." She rubbed her thumb gently over the back of his hand. "What scared me even more was the thought of leaving you behind. Before I figured out what was really happening, the thought of spending the rest of eternity without you--" Her voice faltered and she took a moment to pull herself together. "It was terrifying. I'd prefer complete and utter nonexistence to what I thought I was facing."

Tears filled June's eyes. She held her breath, wiped them away, and resumed her course back to the main hub. Jack's voice echoed softly far behind her.

"That's how I felt when you passed out, right after the 'Bots arrived. I was so terrified, it almost paralyzed me." He took a slow breath. "I barely remember anything that happened when we entered the ground bridge. I know I was crying. I vaguely remember begging you not to leave me."

"Huh. I saw you in my hallucination, too, and that's what you were saying. I must've been just conscious enough to hear you. You may have pulled me back from the abyss, Jack."

"I always will, Arcee."

June emerged into the hub, looked around, and wandered over to the couch in front of the large TV. She sank onto it, placed her helmet on the cushion beside her, leaned back and closed her eyes. She took her gloves off and tossed them in the helmet's general direction without opening her eyes.

She doubted she'd be able to sleep after everything that had happened today, especially the conversation she'd just overheard. But maybe she could at least have a few minutes of quiet before asking Ratchet to fire up the ground bridge.

Then a thought came out of nowhere, and suddenly her eyes were open again.

Airachnid's still out there.

She rubbed her hands over her face and sighed.

Yeah. Definitely not getting any sleep now.