Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers. All recognizable characters are the property of HasTak. All unrecognizable ones are the intellectual property of yours truly; their theft is punishable by severe voodoo-induced pain in any and all sensitive organs of the body, followed by eternal damnation.

Because, you know, stealing is wrong.

Title: Juxtaposition

Summary: Transformers AU. She saved his life... and did not even know it. A series of unrelated events results in an earth-shattering meeting between species, cultures, and minds that is merely the beginning of so very much more.

Rating: T

Warnings: none

Author Notes: Thank yous go out to everyone who helped support and inspire me throughout this, particularly Cafei, who has managed to keep me sane (a task that is much, much harder than it sounds). Thank you to everyone who reviewed, everyone who drew artsies or wrote stories for me, and everyone who readily offered to support Evelyn in any form of revenge against Sideswipe that she might desire to undertake. You guys rock. :3

Yes, this is a very short chapter. It's more to bring everything full circle than to add to the plot or answer questions, and I know there are some (tiny and not-so-tiny) plotlines left dangling, but just hang in there. There'll be plenty of time to tie things up – and then re-tangle them unmercifully – in the next installment.

'Til then, this is Vaeru, signing off!

Transformers: Juxtaposition

Epilogue

It's kind of like when you go on vacation: you plan everything out, but then one day
you make a wrong turn, or take a detour, and you end up in some crazy place you can't
even find on the map, doing something you never thought you'd do. Maybe you feel a
little lost while it's happening, but later you realize it was the best part of the whole trip.
- Eddie, Threesome

"Cured?"

The doctor regarded her somberly over the top edge of his glasses. His pen stilled its steady skritch-skritching movement upon the pad of paper, and Evelyn smiled.

"It's gone," she said. "Completely. I'm myself and just myself, and the voice hasn't come back at all."

The doctor glanced down at the notepad, flipping back a few pages.

"It says here that you participated in a sort of long-term group therapy somewhere in Virginia."

"Yes. A colleague of mine recommended it. They're a little-known group, but their track record speaks for itself."

"I find such a swift recovery intriguing," he replied in an 'I don't really believe you, but I will humor you' tone of voice. "And you think this... experimental therapy—" There was a hint of professional disdain in his voice, quickly masked, but her experiences with another, much different doctor had given her a sixth sense when it came to such things, a 'snark-o-meter', so to speak. "—helped you so swiftly? Such cases are exceedingly rare."

"I consider myself lucky, then."

The doctor made a thoughtful noise. "Very intriguing."

"So, am I cured?"

"It is perhaps a step in the right direction." The pen skritch-skritched several swift notes. "I'll want to see you for several more visits, just to be certain, you understand."

"Of course," she agreed demurely.

Evelyn wrapped her coat tightly around herself to ward off the biting January chill. Everything was dull and gray beneath the shrouded winter skies, but the cherry-red Lamborghini stood out in the parking lot like the brightest of holly-berries upon fallen snow. She smiled a quick greeting at a passing couple as she trotted down the short flight of steps, and the sports-car met her at the sidewalk, engine rumbling impatiently as its passenger-side door opened.

She slid into the marginally warmer cabin and pulled her feet in quickly as the door shut behind her. The seatbelt wrapped itself around her as the car, without any driver to guide it, made a smooth circuit around the small parking lot and headed for the exit. The video screen nestled in the console blinked to life. A silver face, framed by a black helm, regarded her with narrowed blue eyes.

"Exactly how often are you planning on coming here?" it demanded, voice seeming to emerge from everywhere and nowhere at once. "I think my circuits have frost on them."

"Heat, please?" Evelyn shivered. "I can't feel my toes."

The car pulled out into traffic and settled into a brisk pace down the road. Warm air blasted out of the vents, thawing her extremities.

"You didn't answer my question."

"Every Saturday morning for at least the next three weeks," she replied.

The engine's purr rose into something more like a whine.

"You've gotta' be glitched," grumbled the car. "How come I've gotta' haul you back and forth, anyway? Jazz likes you. He'd give you a ride. Or the rookie, even."

"Until I get my car back—the one that you totaled; you do remember that much, correct?—I'm afraid that you're stuck with me."

"... Prowl's such a slag-sucker."

She laughed. "He seemed to think that you suffering because of me for a change was a rather fair trade, actually."

"I don't even remember anything that I'm being punished for. How's that fair?"

Evelyn smirked and patted the dashboard, prompting a low growl from the engine.

"Shut up, Sideswipe."

End Transformers: Juxtaposition

Part I of the Sparkbearer Saga

Coming Soon to Fanfiction. net:

Transformers: Schism

Part II of the Sparkbearer Saga

FAQ:

What does 'juxtaposition' mean?

Juxtaposition – 1. An act or instance of placing close together or side by side, esp. for comparison or contrast. 2. The state of being close together or side by side. ()

How exactly did Sideswipe get into Evelyn's head?

After crash-landing on Earth, Sideswipe placed the Key within his chest cavity to protect it – the Key is composed of a formed-energy code akin to a Cybertronian's spark, thus making it impossible to subspace without damaging or destroying it (see Wheeljack's scientific jargon in ch. 11: Awkward). When he was caught by Decepticons, his spark chamber was breached and the Key was damaged, either during the forced opening of his chest armor or during his escape. After the collision with Evelyn, the Key reached out toward the exposed spark, attempting to save it per its own programming, but it also sensed that its vessel was too damaged to contain itself or the spark safely. The Key, like all formed-energy codes, possessed a rudimentary form of sentience. When Evelyn accidentally made contact with it, it recognized Evelyn's nervous system as a possibly viable container for an energy code and subsequently transferred itself and Sideswipe's spark into her body. The shock of the transfer knocked Evelyn unconscious for the next two weeks while her body and brain adjusted to the foreign presences.

Evelyn speak and understand Cybertronian but can't write or read it? What's up with that?

During the two weeks Evelyn spent unconscious in the hospital, Sideswipe slowly woke up. Though Evelyn and Sideswipe could communicate through very direct, intentional thoughts, there was always a sort of 'background chatter' that was each other's ongoing thoughts. While Evelyn was unconscious, Sideswipe's consciousness battered her with his ongoing 'stream-of-thought.' Like a child learning a new language, Evelyn absorbed the Cybertronian language by hearing Sideswipe 'speaking' constantly within her mind – it was not a download, as some people believe, but a kind of unconscious learning. She cannot read or write Cybertronian because she has not learned it yet; her only exposure to it has been seeing bits and pieces around Metellus and having Jazz show her the glyphs for various mechs' names.

Wait, you mean there's more story coming after this?

Frag, yeah.