*Present*

Nichole hops out of his alt before it had even stopped. Being careful not to transform, Sideswipe got out in his holoform and caught up to Nichole, grabbing her arm and pulling her back before she got to close. "What gives?!" She attempts not to shout as she glares at Sideswipe. "We don't even know if it's him. and if it is we don't want to scare him. He hasn't transformed yet or done anything, he could be in recharge or stasis. We need to be careful." He whispers into her ear. She stares back over at the tarp covering who they hoped is Sunstreaker. "How many golden vehicles have you seen, cause I sure haven't seen any but one." She argues.

"Sunny wasn't always golden." Sideswipe admits. "What?" She wonders looking at Sideswipe surprised. "He used to be a bright yellow, as bright as the sun." His voice was soft as he spoke about his twin. "When we landed he fell in love with the metallic gold color. So, he changed the color, thought he looked better, more shiny and flashy." His eyes avert to the ground. "Why didn't you change your color to match?" She asks looking at his sad face. "I think you would have looked good in metallic silver or any silver for that matter." She continued, making Sideswipe look at her, a small smile making its way to his holoform lips. The proximity to the two's lips closing.

"We need to make sure its him." She said quickly changing the subject, pulling herself away from him. "I will do it then." He pushed her behind him. She shoved him out of the way and stood next to him. "We can do it together." She growled. She wasn't some innocent girl that needed to be protected. They slowly walked up to the tarp covered vehicle. Holes in the tarp showed some of the golden paint that sparkled against the headlights. They each took a side and gripped the edge near what they believed to be the front of the vehicle. "One...Two...Three..." Sideswipe whispers, and they fling the tarp off together.

Underneath is a sight for sore eyes. Nichole couldn't stop the gasp that left her lips. "Oh Sunny." Sideswipe tone is full of sorrow and sympathy. "What happened to you?" Sideswipe asks but doesn't expect an answer. In front of them, the once glistening golden Lamborghini lay battered. Windshield and windows all smashed in, the glass cutting up the interior on the inside. The leather seats now torn and stuffing popping out, the once white seats almost look black now. Rough, jagged cuts run across the metal sides. Part of the roof had been crushed, making it impossible for someone to sit inside...comfortably. The front of the car looked as if it had been stepped on, one headlight missing and the other dangling from the wiring, like it was holding on for dear life. The damage is unimaginable. There is a puddle of blue liquid underneath the form and is slowly coming out in front from the uneven pavement the alt is parked on. "He's been here awhile." Sideswipes voice low as he looks over the alt some more.

"We need to get him back to base." Sideswipe shuddered in anger. Who could have done this to his brother. "Why? He deserves this. He can stay here." Nichole's tone is tainted like poison. Sideswipe froze, not believing what he just heard. "Yeah maybe, but he doesn't deserve to die. How can you say that?" He shouted at her, eyes from strangers around them, staring at them. "HE KILLED PRIME, JAZZ, IRONHIDE, RATCHET AND DIESEL. He is the reason they are not here. He is the reason I'm supposed to be dead." She screamed, forcing Sideswipe to shy away from her. "There has to be a reason why. We need to know, and we can't know if he's dead. Please you love him, and he loves you." He pleaded to her. She gritted her teeth together, eyes shooting daggers at the red twin. "I do not love a traitor. I will never love this piece of scrap metal." Her tone thin as ice, swearing at him.

"Then why don't you just leave." Sideswipe stood tall, teeth clenched tight together, knuckles turning white. Nichole stared at him and he stared back, both glaring hard, neither wanted to break away, both wanting to be dominant in the argument. "Fine. Do what you want? Tell Lennox I'm not coming back." She barked. She gave one last glare to Sideswipe, then one final look over Sunstreaker's seemingly lifeless husk. Her heart twanged a bit in pain, but she chose to ignore it. Without a goodbye, she left, stomping down and out of the alleyway. Sideswipe listened to her footsteps walk away from him, until he couldn't hear them anymore. A small tear rolled down his cheek, but he quickly wiped it away. "She's a monster. It will be better with her gone." He spoke, not to anyone in particular.

She kept her head high and held the tears back. She can't understand why she feels upset about what she just did. Her heart feels heavy and her head is beginning to hurt. She isn't going to let it bother her. This was something that needed to happen. It made the decision to leave all that easier. No more Autobots or Military personal to get in her way. No more dealing with idiots. None of them really understood her anyway. They only played nice, because they were ordered too and that's how she felt about it. Nothing is going to change her mind. "Diesel..." She started. She stopped for a moment, leaning against a building after she rounded the corner of the alleyway. "How am I going to deal with life on my own? I can't do anything but kill people and work on Autobots. I need you. What am I going to do now?" She tried hard not to cry. She looked to the sky's, hoping to see a glimpse of the ship Diesel was on. Though, she knew it would never happen. Diesel is now lost forever to the stars.

Meanwhile back with Sideswipe, he called for backup. After arguing with Crosshairs for what seemed like forever, Bumblebee finally took over and said they are on their way. "Don't worry Sunny, I'm here." His holoform hand resting lightly on the roof of his twin. "I wish you hadn't sped off, I would have been able to help." He whispered, unsure if his brother could really hear him. It would be a few hours until the Autobots would get here and he needed to secure the area and make sure no humans are around. Sideswipe looked around. The scums around the area seemed to have moved on, though he could still see a few eyeing down his alt mode. He made the horn honk twice and headlights go off, signaling he locked it. The few wondering eyes quickly turned and ran off. "That's what I thought." He muttered to himself.

*---------------------------*

Minutes turned to hours, hours turn to days. Earth had yet to come into view. The ship had only been half repaired, there are no more supplies, there was no telling if they would really make it back. Running on half of the thrusters, it was a surprise to get even partial of the systems working, after all the damage they took, it was a surprise they were even alive. Well partly. Diesel had been the first to awake from forced stasis after a huge blast impacted the side of the hull, rupturing hitting him harshly in the helm. He wasn't sure who to check on first, everyone was down for the count. Figuring it would be best to get the medic awake, so he could tend to the others while Diesel tried to get the ship back together. It was going to be a difficult process.

Prime was the last one to get revived. He took a big brunt of the hit to try and save the rest of them. He was going to need a long stasis recharge to heal most of his injuries. Ratchet did everything he could to help. "Well that's the best I can do for now." Ratchet finished, wiping his hands together. "We are all going to need a deep medical scan when we get back. How long until we arrive?" "At the rate we are at. Three days at least and that's only if the two thrusters stay working. I'm going to keep trying to get the other two up and going. Let's go Jazz, I can use your help. There's not much you can do on deck anyway." Ironhide said rubbing his wounded shoulder. Jazz didn't bother to speak or argue against him, he just got up and limped behind him.

"Diesel, you need to rest." Ratchet said resting a servo on Diesel's shoulder. Diesel shrugged his servo off and continued to stare out the large bay window, stars and asteroids leisurely float past as Diesel tries to get the ship to move faster. "Diesel, we will get home." Ratchet tried to comfort the bot. "I can't rest. We don't know if Prime will make it. I won't be able to rest until we land." Diesel let out a sigh, rubbing the side of his torso. Ratchet looks down at where Diesel is rubbing and notices a huge open gash, showing all his inner wiring and stabilizers. "Diesel! Why didn't you say something?" Ratchet yelled, moving Diesel's servo away from his side to begin patching him up. "Its fine, Ratchet. We can worry about it later." Diesel growled. Ratchet gave no answer and continued to work, despite Diesels attempts to get him to stop.

*------------------------*

Sideswipe paced outside of the medical bay as Jolt worked on Sunstreaker. His footsteps causing the ground to shake. Bumblebee posted Autobots outside the medical bay. Just in case Sunstreaker had a different idea when he woke up. The argument the two had about it, led to them rolling and crashing on the ground. The only bot able to tear them apart was Mirage, Hound and Crosshairs, and Crosshairs wanted nothing to do with it. Mirage and Hound had to pry them away from each other. Sideswipe was lucky Bumblebee didn't ban him from seeing his twin after surgery. Still pacing, Lennox walked up to him, his hand on the wall for support.

"Sideswipe." He called out. Sideswipe kept pacing, not hearing the major. "SIDESWIPE!" He yelled. Sideswipe stopped and looked down. "Where is Nichole?" he asked earning him a guilty look from Sideswipe. "What happened?" His arms crossed, and eyebrow raised. "She left. She told me to tell you she's not coming back." He tried to say with a straight face, but his emotions got the best of him, showing just how guilty he was. "Why? What happened?" Lennox asked again. "We got into an argument over Sunny. She didn't want me to bring him back to base. She wanted me to let him die. I tried to reason, but after she yelled some more. I told her to leave and she did." Sideswipe explained, not looking at Lennox. "And you didn't go after her?" "No, I couldn't leave Sunny." This time he looked him in the eyes, proving his loyalty to his brother. "Alright, well let me know when Sunstreaker wakes. I'd like to talk to him." The major turned and left down the hallway. "Don't we all." Sideswipe murmured to himself. 

Meanwhile with Nichole, she finally arrived at her destination, two days later. A place she never thought she would return too. It was time for her to do something she should of done so long ago. The town is still just as small as the time she left it. The one intersection with the only set of signal lights, showed the center of the town. The small gas station closed after eleven o'clock, though the lights over the pump still lighting up the night, yet there is one that was flickering. Like it had always done when she was younger. The small-town bank building had a small amount of remodel done to it, but the brick was still eroding from time. The one bar down the street, past the town hall is still open. Nichole set her sights on that, not sure who she might find there. All she knew is that as soon as morning hits, it won't be much of a town anymore.

But before she is able to reach her destination, a familiar tan MKR16 rolls up next to her. Opening his passenger side door, telling her to get in.