"Optimus!" The two shouted at the same time. "How are you both feeling?" He walks to the edge of Sunstreaker's berth, optics set on the two. "Better now." Sunstreaker stated, optics glancing at Nichole. "How are you feeling, Optimus?" Nichole asked. "I am doing well, Nichole. Thank you for asking." He gave her a light smile. Something the leader rarely does. "It's a good thing he woke up when he did. Otherwise we might not have been able to find you, Nichole." Diesel stood next to Optimus, Sideswipe next to his brother. "How did you find me?" All eyes are now on Optimus. "Primus told me right before I woke up, where you were, who had you and that the Opposium Cylinder is in the wrong hands." Prime explained. "So, you knew about it too?" She couldn't help but ask. "No, I did not until now. I still do not know much about it, just that we need to find it. And I know where it is." A tone Nichole recognized played in his voice. If he wasn't so disciplined, he might have smirked.

"Lets go get it!" Nichole jumped up, ready to get Kup back to normal. "Woah woah." Diesel hollered at her. "What now?" She whined. "You are not in any shape to go out and fight Decepticons." Diesel pointed out, making her pout. As she was about to speak up for herself, Sunstreaker cut her off. "You're not fighting Decepticons at all. I will not let you out of my sight ever again. I will not let you get hurt again. So, don't even think for a second, I will just let you waltz out of here and go battle. Frag No!" "Sunstreaker, I need to go with. I don't care what any of you say. I'm the only one that can reverse its effects." Her eyes glanced up at Optimus. "You know this don't you?" She asked with curiosity. All optics landed on Optimus. "That is correct." Diesel and Sunstreaker's mouths dropped and the three immediately started yelling at the Prime. "It isn't up for debate. She must come with." His baritone voice spoke above the three.

"Then I need to go too." Sunstreaker started to struggle, trying to get off the berth. "Sunny, you heard Ratchet, you're not up to par yet." Sideswipe pushed his brother back down. "I'm not letting her go alone." "She won't be alone. Diesel and I will be with her." Argued Sideswipe. "When do we leave?" Nichole asked walking down Sunstreaker and closer to Optimus. "At dawn. Lennox and the others are getting everything ready to depart in the morning." "I'll go help." She jumped down, not letting the others speak anymore. She walked out of the room, not looking back.

"Optimus, you can't be serious. She was just shot, she isn't ready for this." Diesel huffed. "Diesel, you know, just as much as I do. We need her. We do not know how many others Megatron has used the cylinder on. She is the only one who can wield it." Diesel looked down, thinking over his words. "Fine, but she stays with me. I am her guardian and so far, I have been doing a crappy job of it." Optimus nodded at his words, knowing how much the girl means to Diesel. With that the leader left the room. Diesel got ready to step out but was stopped. "Diesel why is she the only one who can wield the cylinder?" Sunstreaker's voice went soft. Diesel let out a sigh before turning back to the twins to explain. "She isn't a normal human." "What do you mean she isn't a normal human?" Spat Sunstreaker. "If you wouldn't interrupt me, I will tell you." Growled Diesel, making Sunstreaker sink down.

"Like I started with, she isn't a normal human. She's isn't technically human at all. She comes from an ancient species that has been said to be extinct. Her species was born for war. To kill and destroy. There used to be millions of her kind. Before the great war, Cybertron used her kind to keep enemy's in line. Many different planets and species used her kind. To fight their battles. They were very loyal. Once they have place, nothing can stop them. They will fight for what they are bred to think is right. Kill without mercy. As wars died out, her kind began to die out. They aren't needed if there is not war or fighting. Slowly less and less were around. Now every once in a millennium one is born. Most never make it past infants." He paused, making sure the two are following.

"But there weren't any around for our war. At least I haven't met or seen any." Sunstreaker wondered. Sideswipe nodded in agreement.

"Once they began to go extinct, we were at a time of peace. Most planets were in a time of peace. There could be more out there, but its very rare now to run into one. They vanished from Cybertron long before our war started. It's like any species that is going extinct, they don't just come back like a snap of a finger. I had only been told stories about them, until I met Nichole." He paused again, memories flooding from his memory bank. "She is special. She needs to be protected. When I became guardian of the Opposium Cylinder, that was my duty. I had to keep it safe and away from any enemies at all time. I met Nichole and my duty changed. Now she is my sole priority. I still should have made sure to protect the Cylinder, but after the battle, I had no choices. There was nothing I could do."

"It wasn't your fault." Sideswipe spoke. "No, but I could have been able to stop it." Guilt had been holding up in Diesel since the battle, unable to relieve the stress from that day. "No." Sunstreaker raised his voice, looking away from them. "It's my fault. Megatron was only there because I knew you were there, but I knew nothing about Nichole or this Cylinder. Either way it will always be my fault. Now she has to go back and get the stupid thing. What have I done?" His helm in his servos, trying not to scream at himself. "It doesn't matter now. Its all in the past. Now we just need to get out of this alive and destroy that cylinder." Diesel took one more look at Sunstreaker and then left the room.

"You should go help." Sideswipe looked at his twin in surprise. "No, they don't need me until morning. I'm staying here." He countered. "You need to make sure Nichole is covered. You better have the bond open. I need to know what is going on." For the first time in his life, he pleaded to his brother. "That is our girl out there and she needs to know that one of us is there for her." "You are there for her. We are there for her. Diesel and I will have her covered and you will know everything that is happening, unless it gets bad. Then I will shut off the bond. I don't need you in anymore pain than you already are." Sideswipe took a seat next to the berth resting his elbows on his knees. "I can't lose her, Sides." Sunstreaker's voice is just above a whisper. If Sideswipe hadn't been listening, he would have never heard him. "You won't. We won't. As soon as this is all over, we are all going on a nice vacation. Just the three of us. I think we need it." Sunstreaker chuckled at his brothers' statement, but he agrees, a vacation is something they defiantly need.

Out in the hanger, the rest of the Autobots and the NEST soldiers are getting ready for the morning flight. Optimus is coordinating with Lennox, Nichole and Diesel, going over the plan for tomorrow. Making sure they are all on the same page. There will be nothing stopping Nichole from achieving this mission. She has imprinted her goal into her skull. She is doing this for her boys, for Kup, and for the kids she was unable to save. She maybe a soulless killer, but Sunstreaker as brought some of her heart to life. Helping her to realize more than she ever thought possible.

"Alright, weapons and ammo are ready to go." Epps said as he climbed two steps at a time to the top of the catwalk. "Good, made sure we have all the infrareds?" Lennox asks. "We are ready to go." Epps concluded. "Good, we got the plan. We leave at the first light." Lennox paused looking over at Nichole and Optimus. "Now, Optimus, you sure this will work?" "Of course, it will work, I'm part of the plan." Nichole sassed. Lennox and Epps couldn't stop the eyerolls they completed. "We need to make sure you stay alive and focused on the target. As soon as you get that Cylinder you better be out of there. Who knows what Megatron and his goons are up to in there." Lennox stated. "Yeah yeah. Its not like I've never been on mission impossible before. I don't need to protected as much as you think I do. I'm not a child like that Sam kid I heard about." Her arms crossed as she leaned against the railing.

"No, but you have also been out of training for a year." "Has it really been that long already?" She asked mockingly. "Either way, I don't know if anyone has filled you in, I'm not a normal human." She walked up to Lennox, squaring up to him. "I knew that the moment I met you." She scoffed at him. "Its not a joke. I'm a trained killer yes, but I'm also a rare species that was bred to kill and destroy. I don't need all this protection that everyone seems to think I need. I don't die that easily. If anything, I'm like a cat with nine fucking lives. Diesel will get me in, and Diesel will get me out. Worry about protecting your crew." She growled the last few words as a warning. Not taking any chances. "After all this time, you still don't trust us." Lennox stabbed at her. "And you don't know me at all." She sneered.

That was it and she left. Tomorrow is a big day for them all. Instead of walking to her quarters, she headed to the med bay. "Nichole, you need to get some sleep before bed." Diesel called after her. "I know. I'm going to sleep with Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. I'll see you in the morning." She yelled back to him, her feet never slowing. Sunstreaker is already passed out when she walks in. Sideswipe was almost asleep, until he heard the door open and small foot steps stalk in. "Sorry, Sideswipe. I didn't mean to wake you." She whispered. Sideswipe didn't answer right away, first picking her up and setting her on top if Sunstreaker. "It's okay. I was wondering when you were going to come back." "How did you know I was going to come back?" He raised an eyebrow at her. "Call it a hunch." She nodded, impressed with Sides lingo.

"When did he go to sleep?" She said softly, laying down over Sunstreaker's spark. "Not to long ago. You should probably get some rest too." Sideswipe suggested. "Yeah your probably right. I wish we could all lay together." She said with a yawn. "You should go get a proper recharge." "I can't, I need to stay here." Sides defended. "Sides, he's not going anywhere and I'm here. Please...for us." Sideswipe gave a groan, not willing to give in. "Sideswipe, we have a long day tomorrow, I need you on top of your game. Go to bed." This time it wasn't a suggestion, it is an order. "Fine..." He got up, ready to leave, but before leaving, "I love you...I love you both very much." "I love you and he loves you too." She whispered back, laying her head down against the golden twins' chest. Sideswipe stood by the door, watching both for a moment, before leaving the room.