It has now been well over a month and Nichole was back to normal. She could speak again, she could do normal things again and her stitches had been taken out, but the scar would still remain and seemed even deeper than before. Everything seemed to be going well. Sunstreaker was still on the clingy side, but Nichole had finally taken care of that and he backed off a little, not much, but a little. Diesel started working more with the Autobots and helping with patrols and whatnot. Nichole wasn't fond of it, she had yet to forgive the Autobots and Diesel knew it. He understood why she was mad about it, but he wanted to feel useful and Ratchet did save his life. He did owe them that, whether Nichole like it or not. Today she was with Diesel while Sunstreaker was on patrol. At the moment they were walking into the bay from hanging outside.

Optimus took long strides over to Nichole and Diesel, Lennox and General Morshower at his side. Diesel took note of them coming before Nichole did. When she did, her eyes went dark, her eyes glancing over General Morshower. "Nichole, Diesel, its time we sit down and had a nice chat." Morshower spoke, eyes staying on Nichole. "No." Nichole knew what they wanted to talk about and she was not going to let that happen. They weren't very surprised by her response. Lennox sent a glare to her. Diesel tapped her with is foot. She gave a low grunt before speaking again. "I'm sorry. No, sir." She said sarcastically adding a smirk at the end. "Its not up for debate, Sargent. Its time we got answers about the ambush. You two were the only two to make it out alive." Morshower raised his voice as he spoke to her. He was not going to let her push him around. She stood up straighter at the call of her rank. Her hands instantly went behind her in parade rest. "Yes, Sir." She said through clenched teeth. Lennox raised an eyebrow at her. Then leaned closer to Morshower and whispered, "If I would have known using her rank would get her to listen, I would of done that months ago." "I learned it from her old superiors." They both gave a quiet chuckle, Nichole glaring. "Come Let's chat." Morshower ordered, extending his hand pointing towards the conference room.

Nichole trudged her way after them. Diesel following next to Optimus, the humans leading the way. They take seats in the conference room. For the first time, Nichole sat, her head down, not looking at anything. The two Autobots standing near. "Alright, Sargent. Talk." Morshower ordered. Nichole looked up at Diesel, unsure of what to do for once. She didn't want to talk about the ambush. It was a memory she wanted to forget. She hasn't even talked to Diesel about it. Neither of them wanted too.

"We were on a convoy, bringing supplies to the front. Our superiors wanted Nichole and some other troops at the front as well, they needed help. But we never made it there." Diesel started. Morshower and Lennox were both taking notes. Nichole kept her head down and let Diesel continue. 

"It was around 0700 in the morning when the first airstrike hit. None of us were prepared. There hadn't been an airstrike for about 3 years. I wanted to transform and help, but Nichole was the only one that knew who I was, so it would have been dangerous for me too. More airstrikes started coming from the East. Hitting truck after truck. I took controls from Nichole. My main concern was to keep her safe. She wanted to stay, she wanted to help the others. She may seem cold and distant, but that was her team and she needed to help them too. She was never one to run from a fight. She took back the controls from me and fought me, making me go back. When we did it was getting worse." He stopped and took a breath.

"The Taliban were driving in, guns a blazing. Fire started to spread from trucks that had blown to the woods nearby. Nichole ended up leaving my cab to find others and get them to safety. I kept her covered as much as I could. By this point it didn't matter if anyone saw who I really was. We were getting over run. I lost her at some point. I tried to find her without causing more damage. Bombs were still going off. Humans were being thrown left and right. The time we were separated felt like hours. I tried to save as many as I could, but in the end, my efforts failed. Taliban soldiers were shooting at anything that moved." He stopped and looked down at Nichole. She sat there, arms crossed, looking away from them all.

Without turning she spoke, "A grenade was thrown at me and a group I was about to save. We didn't realize it tell it was too late. I just out of range and just missed the blast, though still getting torn up from shrapnel and covered in their blood. None of them survived. That's when something else showed up. Diesel always told me about them, from his stories." She stopped not wanting to continue.

"What showed up, Sgt." Lennox tried to be soothing with his words.

Her body shook for a moment. "A Decepticon." She looked at them, her dead eyes telling the truth.

"They said there weren't any there." "Yeah well they lied to you. It was only one. I had finished off some Taliban when it came after me. It was yelling at me to die. I was able to dodge attack after attack. I tried to get a shot in when I had an opening. I had to use my pistol at that point. Then I was surrounded, by Taliban and this con." She stopped again, unsure if she wanted to continue.

"What happened next, Sgt." Morshower asked, his voice so silent, it seemed no existent.

She took a deep breath and eyes scanned the table.

"It said something to me. Something that haunts my nightmares. I will never forget his raspy thin voice. 'Times running out, human. Darkness is coming, you are just the beginning.'"

She stopped and shook, from her shoulders down her spine. Her hands grasping her hair, pulling it. Tears on the brink, she tried to hold on. Everyone stayed silent, taking in her words. No one understood what the cons words meant.

"I watched more of my men die. They just kept shooting even after the bodies stopped moving. There was nothing I could do anymore. I was surrounded, and guns were pointed at me. The minute I dropped my gun, I felt my face begin to burn. I connected with the ground in such force I almost blacked out. I couldn't move, I could barely breath. I rolled over and attempted to look at the con. I could see blood on his sword, it was my blood. Then Diesel finally found me. I saw his eyes turn red when he saw me on the ground. The Taliban men started shooting at him, failing quickly. Then him and the con fought. I had never seen him fight until now. I couldn't watch very well as my eyesight had begun to blur. But I watched him fall. I watched the Taliban retreat. The con laughed. He laughed at me and at Diesel. It was evil and the scariest thing I had ever heard. Then he flew off. I tried to crawl to Diesel. He was the only thing on my mind. He had to survive. He just had to. I never heard the Helios land. I never heard them yelling to me. My mind was so focused on Diesel. Then they started dragging me away. I remember screaming his name. Screaming to be let go. The last thing I saw before blacking out, were his eyes closing."

Her story was finished. Now they knew everything she knew. She couldn't look at them. She was finally able to let it all out. Something she never thought she would ever do. It hurt to let it out. It felt like she was getting her flesh cut all over again. She sat there frozen, unsure what to do next. She didn't trust any of these men, but she told them all about the battle. She told them her feelings. She felt broken. She felt she was being beaten down again. Unknowing her hand was tracing down the freshly healed skin. Something that will always be there. Something that will always be a reminder of all that was lost. "Can I go now." Her voice barely above a whisper. "I have one more question." Optimus spoke. He took her silence as a sign to continue. "Do you remember what the con looked like?" he asked. The room went silent again. "Not entirely. I just remember his bright red eyes, his pointy dagger like teeth formed into a sinister grin." She stated. "I believe it was Megatron." Diesel said. "I haven't seen him in eons, so I'm not sure what he looks like now, but it sounded like him." The others gave a nod, making more sense to them now. What didn't make sense was why he was working with humans, and why did he specifically attack Nichole's group. "Can I go now?" She asked again, her voice raised. She looked at Lennox, waiting for an answer. He could see the anger, hurt and frustration in her eyes. He could see the brokenness showing through this time. It wasn't the first time he felt guilting for making her speak. He gave her a nod and she was out the door, Diesel following quickly.

"What do we do with this information?" Lennox asked, staring down at his notes. Morshower looked at Lennox, thinking before he spoke. "We need to figure out what this Darkness thing is and fast. Its been over four months since that attack. Who knows when something could happen now, if it has not already happened." He spoke gaining a nod from Lennox. "Optimus do you know anything about this or an idea." Lennox asked the just as confused leader. "I do not know. I will have to talk with my Autobots to see if they know anything. We must be prepared for anything." The two humans nodded in agreement. There was nothing they could do at the time. They didn't know what to do. Nichole gave them vital information, but it didn't bring anything to a conclusion. Only that the cons were indeed working with the Taliban. "We need to put the military on high alert. If Megatron didn't hesitate to gun down one unit over in Afghan, he won't hesitate to do it again. Keep track on all units out there. Where they go, what they are doing, everything. I don't want to lose anymore men." Morshower ordered and got up and left the room. Lennox and Optimus following not to long after.