Kind of a rookie mistake, but I ended up hitting "post new chapter" before I realized that I wanted to tag on some author's notes. It's okay, you can laugh - I'm laughing too right now. It feels so good to finally wrap up this story. And once you're done reading, I'm going to declare the winning side of the poll I posted on my profile oh so many years ago.

Enjoy!

The Pipe Dream

"You can't be serious," Leo exclaimed. "The Decepticons never bargain, they never claim to care. And then they just… out of the blue, decide to offer you guys an opportunity to join them?"

"Dat's how it happen', man."

Mona looked from Skids to Mudflap a couple of times, taking note of similarities and differences in their frames. It was like she just noticed it for the first time, and it provided a distraction from her senses going haywire. At least her clothes were almost dry though. That helped.

"Tell me what happened to your face after it was shot," she prompted Skids. Of course, he didn't have to answer anything if he didn't want to.

Skids looked surprised. "Well… as we's said. Most o' mah jaw fell off, leavin' only da basic frame behin'. Lost a couple dentas too." He smiled with his large buck teeth for emphasis. "They don' fit well, but I make 'em work." He paused and then added with a hint of pride, "Dis one's special." He pointed at his gold tooth. "It's fo' good luck." And Mona smiled at that.

"But," Leo looked thoughtful, he still couldn't let go of the absurdity of Mixmaster's gentle and almost sympathetic behavior in their story. "There was nothing odd going on in Egypt, nothing personal between you guys and Devastator - er, the Constructicons, I guess. I just don't get it."

"Like we wasn't family and weren' even upset about death and destruction within it?" Mudflap finished for him.

Skids then piped in. "Dat was a couple millennia ago… you'd be surprise' wit' how long our family can 'old grudges, but even dat's a long time. The only fight dat's survive' dat long is da war itself," Skids explained, paused, and then added. "Everythin' abou' dat war… da cause… wha' happened… how da 'Bots split and chose sides… all of it was personal. It's personal for da faction leaders, and now it's become personal in da eyes of humans."

"Despite our newfoun' peace wif Mixmaster," Mudflap started. "Everythin' is still personal to us."

"Everythin's personal ta you." Skids bickered out of the blue.

"We's twins, stupid! Of course everythin's personal! I knows ya feel it too!" Mudflap snapped back.

"Okay, okay," Leo interjected before they started arguing. "So what decision did you guys make at the time?"

...

Skids and Mudflap glanced at each other in uncertainty and then looked at the Constructicons. They looked like a very tight knit group, like close friends - maybe even family. One question that crossed their minds was if they'd ever truly belong among that group.

What they've craved the most since their Carrier died was love and acceptance, but they didn't quite get one or the other during their stay with Ratchet and the Autobots… they never really fit in.

The idea was tempting, but it also looked too good to be true. They'd be accepted as part of something, but would they ever be able to love their Sire, or for him to see them as family like he sees the Constructicons?

With that, they're not so sure.

On the other hand, they're outnumbered and injured. A death threat hangs over their helms if they reject Mixmaster's offer.

The Constructicons surrounding them stood quietly and patient as the twins took their time to conjure up an answer in their best interests. From what Skids could see, some of them looked eager for an answer - one even looked hopeful, but the green twin couldn't figure out what the 'Con was hoping for.

Mixmaster was unreadable, but he held an intense gaze on his faceplates and didn't take his optics off the twins. He looked like a mech with great responsibilities, and had just as many expectations of others. He definitely holds everyone around him accountable for themselves, and that was something the twins could respect.

They just don't know enough about their Sire though to make a sound decision. What were his reasons for joining the Decepticons? On what level does he actually care about them? And why did he only decide to give them an offer now? Their newly discovered bond with him is silent and faint on his end, meaning he'd closed it. It wouldn't be helpful in providing answers at this moment either. They weren't sure if it was to prevent bias from him, or simply because he didn't care enough to connect with them - Mixmaster said it himself: he didn't really like the twins.

That doesn't mean he doesn't care for our well-being to a certain degree. The idea hung in the bond between both brothers.

Now that they know it's there, the twins felt starved for another open bond, like the one they had with their Carrier. They knew not to hope that Mixmaster would ever open up, but it's something they want deeply for both the sake of love and trust, but also for closure regarding their Carrier.

The twins knew they had to say something, or the 'Cons could decide to take their silence as a no. They weren't certain of what they wanted more right now: justice or belonging. But at the very least, they could try to stall a bit until they get a better idea.

"We don' know anythin' 'bout ya, or why yous are all 'Cons in da firs' place," Mudflap stammered. "Death don' mean nothin' to us, but please, at leas' say why your offer means somethin'."

Mixmaster then looked thoughtful, as he carefully digested Mudflap's words. "Perhaps… we could relate," he suggested, turning briefly to look at his fellow comrades. A few Constructicons nodded at him in some form of silent agreement. He then turned back toward the twins, "I'll only give you the basic story about us, but I'm sure you won't have much trouble understanding."

Skids couldn't tell if it was meant to be an insult or simply a means to introduce his story but nonetheless, it was a statement that served a purpose.

"We Constructicons were built, not born," Mixmaster began. "It was while the caste system was at its most powerful - and most corrupt - time. We were all designed to be drones, built in the same factory and were sold together as a package deal." He let out a small chuckle. "I don't think our former masters ever expected us to develop emotional centers or to evolve into more autonomous beings."

Mixmaster gestured to another Constructicon, one who had a confusingly hopeful expression on his faceplates. Skids recognized him to be the same mech that was yelled at by Mixmaster back before the twins attacked their Sire by the smelting pool. "Hightower," Mixmaster introduced. "He was once the most rebellious member of our team. The smartest too."

Mudflap felt confused, as he also recognized the 'Con to appear as their dumbest member.

"That was, until one of our masters gave him too harsh a beating, and led to severe processor damage," he revealed. "He always cared more about learning than to do his actual job - he craved education that had been just out of his reach."

The twins stared at the seams in Hightower's helm, indicative of what had been inflicted upon him so long ago.

"He'd been battered, broken and abused far too many times to count and all it took in the end to drive home a point, was to inflict blunt force trauma to the helm," Mixmaster continued. "Not that it could have mattered to anybot at the time. We were lowly slaves, and to beat us was a condoned discipline in the eyes of the council and any other high class Cybertronian."

"At least until we were all liberated by Megatron and his movement," Longhaul added. "It was an easy choice to join the Decepticons after."

"He was amongst the "lowest of the low" because of his previous gladiatorial status," Mixmaster finished. "So we all pledged our allegiance to the cause and its founder."

"So, wha's our Carrier's story?" Skids asked.

"Hers wasn't as cut and dry," Mixmaster spoke. "She grew up in the middle class; never quite liked the wealthy and sympathized for the low-lives, but she still saw all Cybertronians as one species. It always made her feel like she was stuck between both sides in the war but she stayed with us because at the end of the Solar cycle, we were fighting for our freedom and the Autobots were trying to oppress us."

"It didn't hurt that she was in love with you too," Longhaul added in dryly and made the twins want to cringe.

"Di-Didn't take much for h-her to le-leave the 'Cons," Tap-Out whispered. He was still curled up on the ground, shaking from energon loss and likely going into shock at this point.

Skids glanced at their partner, "Maybe... she jus' wanted to keep us out of da war." It sounded reasonable to him.

"She shouldn't have kept you two from me!" Mixmaster argued.

"Well it happen'd anyway!" Mudflap snapped.

Skids stared at Tap-Out, unable to look away. He and his brother felt confused over how he had a role in splitting up their Sire and Carrier. But he felt bad that he was dying right in front of them and there was nothing they could do. Especially not with the Constructicons standing by and waiting for any sudden movement.

Mixmaster sighed, "It doesn't matter anymore. All we have left is each other and I was foolish to not see it earlier. As family, we must stick together and build our own bridge. It'll all be as it should have been."

This was their cue to decide.

"Skids, Mudflap," Mixmaster rumbled. "Are you with us or against us?"

The twins looked at each other again as rapid communication passed through their bond. Then they turned to Mixmaster with solemn expressions.

"I… we can't," Skids whispered.

"We understand why you's wif da 'Cons," Mudflap elaborated. "But from how we see it, da Decepticons don't stand fo' da same t'ings as they did at da start of da war. They bombed da Youth Sectors a few Meta-cycles ago and we don' condone dat. It's not what we stand for." He looked at the ground. "I'm sorry." And they both knelt next to Tap-Out with their servos resting over his frame.

Mixmaster ex-vented as he too rested his gaze on the ground for a few moments. Then he looked back up at the twins as he and the other disappointed Constructicons stood up a bit straighter. "I'm sorry too."

The giant cannon on his back warmed up as the twins braced themselves for the shots. Whatever comes, Skids and Mudflap vowed, they'd face it one last time next to Tap-Out, just like they did before, and they each grasped the barely conscious Mech's servos.

They flinched when shots were fired, knowing that it was for them, but there was no impact. They looked up and never felt more relieved than that very moment when they saw their backup arriving.

Ironhide was at the front and center firing both his cannons at the Constructicons that were circled around the trio, forcing them to back away and isolate themselves further from other bodies. Then everyone from the Terror Twins, to Gears and Mirage were raining down gunfire in hopes to both disable their opponents and to draw attention away from Skids, Mudflap and Tap-Out.

Skids saw that poor Hightower was taking the most damage, clearly the least agile of the group because of his processor damage. He felt bad for the Mech, as he completely understood the Constructicon, but he stayed planted next to Mudflap, now covering Tap-Out's body from any stray gunfire.

Mudflap however, was noticing Mixmaster and the rest of his team were trying to fall back and make their way into the Harbinger. Then he understood that his teammates weren't really trying to hit the Constructicons. For now, they were trying to keep them from getting aboard the completed ship because if it successfully launches with its passengers onboard, then it's game over. That ship could be used for anything and the Autobots didn't want to take that chance.

"Skids!" Mudflap shouted. "We need to disable dat ship somehow."

"We can't blow it up!" Skids replied. "How're we gonn' do dat?"

Mudflap thought for a moment. What was something they could do…

What are they good for? How do they take part in this battle? What did Ironhide teach them?

Then he got the idea and fully opened his bond with Skids. They could try the same way they almost beat Ironhide in training, the same way they crippled Mixmaster.

"Too many 'Cons," Skids protested. "We's outnumbered. We'll be killed."

"I'm not talkin' 'bout combat," Mudflap explained as he examined the pillars that were spread around the perimeter of the chambers. The twins weren't very smart, but they understood enough to know what was load bearing in a building. "If we take out da supports, the rest topples and everything gets damaged." He turned thoughtful. "If we do it fast while da 'Cons are occupied, we can bring down da whole building before the Harbinger's engines are fully warmed up."

Skids immediately bolted towards his fallen sword and readied his grappling hook. "Got it."

The Constructicons weren't on board the ship yet, but they were a bit closer. This can buy the twins some time.

The idea was to focus primarily on the pillars by the giant gate. It was the ship's only exit point and if they can block it off at the very least, it would be trapped inside. But the goal was to take down enough support so the ceiling would also collapse and damage the ship.

Skids aimed and fired his grappling hook just above one of the pillars so he was at level with the top. Then he got to work with his sword and his blaster.

Mudflap huffed and puffed all the way to the pillar closest to him. He aimed his gun at the middle of the pillar and opened fire.

When he was almost through, he felt optics on him and he dared to look back.

Mixmaster was staring at him, and it only took moments for their Sire to figure out their plan. The Constructicon got down on all fours and opened fire at the orange twin with the cannon on his back while the other 'Cons provided cover fire.

Mudflap focused on dodging all the incoming rounds instead of focusing on his own target.

Then he heard something. While running and jumping around, he tried to figure out what that sound was until he looked at the Harbinger. The engines were warming up. He wondered how that was possible because the other Constructicons were being blocked at the moment. And then he remembered the one Constructicon that had carried Makeshift aboard the ship. He was still in there.

Horrified, he forwarded the information to Skids and the rest of their team.

"Skids! What in Primus's name are you doing?!" Ironhide barked over the comm.

"We's gonn' collapse da roof an' trap da ship." Skids explained.

"Abort! You'll kill us all."

It was the only plan they had that could stop the 'Cons and the ship, and all the Autobots knew it.

Yet again, the twins decided to disobey orders. They truly respected Ironhide, but they couldn't let the Harbinger get away. They were grateful to have had a meaningful spark to spark with their Sire, but their newfound love for him will not stop them from doing their part in this war.

And they knew their creator felt the same way.

It's tragic that their family had to be divided like this, but Skids and Mudflap were willing to try anything to prevent this ship from leaving and bringing more harm to Cybertron. Even if that meant killing everyone inside.

Skids ignored Ironhide's orders and completely broke down his first pillar, then moved to the next.

Mudflap fired a few more rounds at his own pillar while trying to dodge Mixmaster's rounds. There was a fair distance between both Mechs, so it was easier to predict where he needed to be so he wouldn't get hit. His own pillar toppled over.

Then he got another idea. Mixmaster's rounds were much stronger than his own. If he somehow got the Constructicon to hit the pillars instead, this would go much faster.

And he suspected that he got his own bad temper from his Sire.

"Is dat da best you got, Mixmaster?" he goaded.

As it was, their adversary had been agitated because his rounds was missing the target. He roared in frustration and willed his rounds to fire faster and to carry more power. In no time at all, his recklessness and lack of precision had knocked down two more pillars in the time Skids had knocked over his second.

It seemed that thoughtlessness came from their Sire's side of the family.

The ceiling was very slowly starting to sink down from the lack of support, and the Autobots had no choice but to back up closer to the door they'd come in from while they tried to maintain fire. Meanwhile the Constructicons got even closer to the ship.

Skids looked up while his brother was busy dodging Mixmaster's rounds. As the ceiling sunk lower, it seemed to pick up on its speed downward.

Ironhide could see it too, and the imminent danger that it would bring. He ordered his troops to redirect their fire onto the Constructicons and he focused on Mixmaster.

He was infuriated that the twins once again disobeyed, but he did not want to leave them here to die. He was going to buy them some time to regroup with him and his men so they could evacuate together. Tap-Out looked offline already. And sadly, it wasn't worth another 'Bot's life to try and save his body.

The Constructicons all took their chance to run aboard the ship and close the hatch.

At that moment, Ironhide got a comm from Blaster. He halted his firing altogether as he listened intently. Then he messaged all his team members.

"Abort the mission. Abandon the building and regroup to Iacon."

Mudflap was shocked.

"But dey'll get away! We can' let da Harbinger leave!"

"For once! Just listen to what I'm saying! The All Spark has been jettisoned off planet in Tyger Pax just now. We need to evacuate; regroup at base."

"We can't, Ironhide. We's sorry, but we're gonn' stay behind to keep fightin'."

There was no reply to them.

The ceiling sank lower and faster. It started to crumble and chunks started raining down. This building was so old and rundown as it was that it should have been condemned a long time ago.

"Please don't do this, you two. This is your last chance." At this point, Ironhide sounded resigned. There was no stopping the twins when they made up their mind.

"Go." Mudflap quickly replied to the commanding officer.

Skids glanced down at Tap-Out and noticed he was staring at Mudflap. He trotted over and knelt by their partner one last time, Mudflap joined after a few moments to hold his servos again.

"I-I'm sorry," Tap-Out gasped. By now, he was barely clinging to consciousness.

"We's sorry too," Skids replied with full honesty. They wished things didn't turn out this way.

Anytime Mixmaster was around, the twins lost someone they grew close to.

First it was their Carrier.

The second time, they lost touch with each other.

Now, Tap-Out was dying.

The little teal mech finally allowed his optics to offline and his helm lolled to the side as his strength left him completely. Then his frame lost its vibrancy in color.

"'Till all are one." the twins spoke in sync as they gave their final farewells to their friend, and stood.

Then they pulled out their blasters again.

To them, time seemed to pass slowly but in reality, things were going much faster. The engines were now fully warmed up and the ship was ready to fly.

The twins saw no weak spots on the outside, but Skids spotted a little vent near the aft of the ship that they could possibly sneak through.

If they got inside, they'd have a chance to destroy the control panel.

More of the ceiling above was crumbling, so the twins ran towards the ship. It started to lift off the ground once they reached it and lurched forward faster than either twin anticipated.

Acting fast, Skids grabbed Mudflap's servo tightly and fired his grappling hook at the ship. It took hold, and whiplashed the twins as it pulled them along at a high velocity.

The device in Skids's servo managed to pull them upwards so they were inches from the ship itself.

As the ship neared the exit, the ceiling finally started to collapse completely, and chunks started to rain down everywhere.

Despite all that, the ship - with the twins in tow - managed to clear the exit with only a few dings and scratches. And from there, it sped up even more and rose higher from the ground.

Mudflap didn't realize he was afraid of heights until this moment.

"NO! No no no no no!" he started flailing around and was wrenching Skids's shoulder as he struggled to keep holding up his brother. At this point, they were at a height where they hypothetically could survive the fall… but they had a higher chance of dying from the impact.

"Mudflap! Stop it! I'm havin' 'nough trouble tryin' ta hold us bof' up!"

But the words did nothing to help his twin, as he panicked even more. The amount of strength Skids had to hold on to his grappling hook was waning and he refused to let go of his brother - his other half.

The wind up here at the speed they were traveling were also throwing them around like a couple of toys. Skids really wished they thought this through better.

One more jerk against his straining servo will-

He let go.

Both twins screamed as they fell. The ship shrunk in size as they neared the ground.

When they impacted, everything went dark.

…

"It's just that hard to kill you, isn't it?" Leo asked. "Seriously, how are you two still standing after all that?"

"We is blessed by Primus," Skids boasted. "You jus' jealous."

Mudflap looked bashful at this point in their story, and Mona sympathized for him. It's hard as it is to talk about your own fears. "You know, I'm afraid of heights too," she confessed. "It's actually a very common fear on earth. You don't need to feel ashamed over that."

"Only time heals," Mudflap muttered. "I'm gettin' bett'r though."

"It's beside da point d'ough," Skids pipes up. "Dat was jus' one of a few times we rang death's doorbell an' then ditched." He chuckled, "He probl'y hates us as much as da nex' person does."

"How'd you guys survive that fall though?" Mona asked.

"Eh. We was put into emerg'ncy stasis while self-repairs went ta work. Saves energy too," Mudflap explained.

"And while all dat happened, da other Autobots were preparing fo' da great exodus," Skids added.

"Why leave?" Mona quizzed.

"Oh, Sam told me about this," Leo piped up. "See, this All Spark was a special artifact that was supposedly the key to saving their planet after it was poisoned. But it was jettisoned off planet so the Decepticons wouldn't get to it."

"Seems counterproductive to me," Mona looked skeptical.

"It was really a power play in the end." Leo shrugged, "Whoever has the artifact has all the power, including the fate of their world. In the end, Cybertron went dark and became nothing more than a dead, empty lump of metal."

"It's still painful ta remember," Skids commented. "We was out of range of da search 'n rescue teams. D'ey neva found us, so we was pronounced dead along wif Tap-Out. When they launched da Ark and other space ships, we was left behind."

"By da time we woke up, Cybertron was cold an' empty," Mudflap shuddered at the memory. "Imagine dat you two ended up being one of da last people on earth. It's very lonely."

Skids took over the story again. "After so much wanderin' we started to despair but as fate had it, we ran inta Jolt." He shook his helm. "Dat had ta be one of da luckiest moments we ever 'ad."

"We dunno how long we was in stasis, but it was a very, very long time," Mudflap elaborated. "Jolt had jus' finished building a ship from nothin' but scrap, an' dat takes a while. But he checked us out, helped wif some repairs and told us he was headin' ta Earth to help Optimus."

"We was so excited to hear Megatron was finally offline," Skids piped up again. "But it also meant dat there'd be trouble fo' dat planet. Decepticons are vengeful. We was happy to tag along fo' da trip ta get off planet and he was happy to bring us along."

"Ironhide had our afts though once we arrived," Mudflap grimaced as he spoke. "He whooped the livin' daylights outta us, but it was so good ta see 'im again."

"An' come ta think of it," Skids began. "No one knows what happened to da Harbinger. But shortly afta our arrival to earth, we ended up facing off wif da Constructicons once again."

Mudflap gave Mona a cheeky smile. "You shoulda been there," he said smugly. "It was so awesome how I used my kung fu moves on Devastator and busted his face up."

"At leas' before da humans delivered da final blow," Skids said soberly.

Mudflap nodded and rubbed at his chestplates where he once had two parental bonds, "'Till all are one."

"You really loved Mixmaster?" Mona asked tentatively.

"We's always had mixed feelin's, not limited ta hate an' despair" Mudflap mused. "Of course we still love him - he's our Sire. He really did care…" he trailed off.

"He… jus' didn' care enough," Skids finished for him.

And they sat in silence for a while. Story time was over.

Mona glaned at Leo's watch.

5:24 am

She exhaled quietly through her nose. "You know," she started, looking up at Leo. "I've never pulled an all-nighter before."

He gave her a sheepish smile. "Uh, it's a rite of passage in college?"

"This whole staying up late thing won't become habit in the future, will it?" she pressed with a little smile.

"Not as long as I have any say in it," he reassured her.

She gave him a quick peck on the cheek in response and than smiled at the twins, who were elated from the positivity. "Tonight was all sorts of interesting, I guess. But… thank you for your time. Both of you."

On the ride back to Leo's car, it was uncomfortably silent though. Mona turned to Leo. "You know," she began tentatively. "My family was all kinds of dysfunctional, but I do miss them. I didn't realize it until now though; I was too busy enjoying my newfound freedom and trying not to think about them."

Leo listened to her intently. It was one of a few rare moments when he made sure he recognized when something was important. After all, he was capable of acting as an adult, but he only did it in ways that mattered to him. He's well aware that once he's graduated from college, he can no longer play the role of drama queen.

He was smarter than he let on, and in the wee hours of the morning like this, he felt just as sober as he was in the immediate aftermath of Egypt.

Mona never talked about her family, and made a point in the past to avoid the subject. So Leo knew that this was definitely worth listening to.

"And... well, after I heard the story from your twins," she continued. "I realized that I can't keep pushing them away like I have. Because if I lose them before I ever have the chance to say I loved them, I'd never forgive myself."

She chewed on her lip in thought. "My parents urged me a few weeks ago to come home for Thanksgiving next month," Mona turned to him with a quizzical look. "How would you feel about being my plus one?"

Leo took her hand closest to his and held it. She was cold, so he scooted a bit closer to help warm her up. "I'd be happy to. I'll be there whenever you need me."

She smiled back, "Thank you."

Skids rolls to a stop then.

"We're here?" Leo asked as he unbuckled himself.

"Uhhhhh…" Skids is at a loss for words.

Leo peeks out the window. "Where's my car?"

"What?" Mona asked in confusion. Where would his car have gone?

Leo opened the door and stepped out. Skids had stopped just behind where Leo recalled leaving his car. Except all that was left was some tire tracks. He scowled.

"Y-Ya know, Mudflap an' I could drive you both back," Skids tried to placate.

"Shit! Shit shit shit," he started pacing and then abruptly paused to pat himself down. He checked every single one of his pockets and even peeked into his underwear. Whatever he was looking for, he didn't find it. He took a deep breath, and then yelled so loudly that his face turned beet red.

Mona stared through the window during his tantrum.

"Of course I'd leave the freaking keys in the car!" he picked up a piece of gravel on the roadside and chucked it. "I thought it was going to be a short conversation about the restraining order I have on my twin guardians but noooooooo. I just had to leave my freaking keys in the freaking car all night!" he picked up another rock and threw it in anger. "And that's just asking for someone to steal it!"

He took another deep breath - this one to try and calm himself down.

Mona kept staring.

Leo hung his head and turned around to face his girlfriend. "And they took my grandmother's picnic basket."

Mona quirked an eyebrow. "It was a fabric grocery bag."

Leo turned red again. "Well! Well… they took your blanket too!"

Before he started another tantrum, Mona decided to say her part first.

"Leo?"

"What?"

"...I'm still tired."

Well, there you go! A humorous conclusion to Suffer With Me. I'll be honest, this was a painful story to write towards the end because of writer's block and a lack of encouragement from the majority of readers (I'll take partial responsibility for even that though). I've always had a fascination to tackle specific characters that are on the side and never get enough depth for people to know who they truly are and what they're capable of. Of course, the consequences to this is that I decided to write a story about very unpopular characters - of which the majority of the Transformers community strongly detested. I can understand that, so the point in writing this particular fic was to encourage people to keep open minds as much as possible.

So, I decided to write a story to portray Skids and Mudflap as characters who are good for more than just comic relief. They can be the heroes of their own story even if they're extremely flawed characters. They have been through so much in a long, bloody civil war that nobody has stopped to think about why they are the way they are. And I wanted to emphasize that yes, even Leo Spitz can have his moments of maturity - he's human too. But, in the last couple of chapters, I went off track from the plan. I still achieved the plot I had drafted in the beginning. But I added a new twist.

I talked more about the theme of family and how they can be valuable or hurtful. This theme, I should add, is one that I think I'll be going deep into for my future fanfictions. Which leads me to my great reveal of the blind poll that I posted.

My next story - Tron or Transformers?

The Tron community won by 11 to 7, so... sorry, Transformers fans. Once I'm finished with my 7 books for the Torn series in TRON, I'll then get to work on the Valor Project in Transformers (You're in for a treat, too. It'll be over 30 books long by the end). XD

Yes, readers. I aim very high as a writer.

Take care, folks! I'll see you around.