Ladies and gentlemen, the final chapter.

Disclaimer : I own nothing.

X

Chapter Forty Five : Ending.

I know my apprehensions might never be allayed, and so I close, realizing that perhaps the ending has not yet been written. ~ Myst.

X

Sentinel Prime's shell was not found. The Earth Bots had went back to the place where Prowl had said he had fallen, after repairs had been done, of course. They couldn't track him, so they settled for searching on foot. Prowl went in one side, and Bumblebee went into another. Sari did an air search, looking down and listening, hoping to find some sort of proof that the deranged Prime was down there.

Prowl and Bumblebee met in the middle. A day of searching brought them nothing. The Prime was as good as offline, but Prowl was not pleased with the results.

That had been a month ago. He was still waiting for the bot to come after Nell again. A month with no sign, and he was starting to bother him.

But... somehow, lying out in the field with Nell after the fact made it seem less unnerving. That bot couldn't be much trouble, even if he were online. His wires must have been burned to their core, really, and-

"What are you thinking about, love?" the warm body next to him pulled him out of those thoughts. Nell was up to speed now. The bruises had healed, her sprained wrist was fine, and her loft had been fixed. She had yet to buy a new gun, and he certainly wasn't going to remind her. She didn't need a gun with him around.

He smiled at her, faceplate turned to the yellowing sky. "That cloud looks like a feather, don't you think?"

Nell giggled, scooting closer. "It looks like a starfish."

The ninja bot chirruped. "How does a feather look like a starfish?"

The woman giggled again. "I like starfish." she was doing better, but it was still easy to tell that the human wasn't quite over what had happened. How could she be? It was a nightmare. It was only a month ago, after all! She stuck a little closer to him, and she would pause when she heard something odd, but she was still his Nell. He could hardly tell when she did it, when she jumped, or when her eyes went a little wide. She was still the same, just a bit more cautious. "I like your new look, too, by the way." he was downright gorgeous.

Prowl smiled, visor shifted. "Do you, Nell?" with that he scooped her into his arms, and rolled onto his back again, smiling still.

"Eep!" she laughed, laying on top of him, listening to the thrum of his spark. She had a thought, one that didn't seem to go away. "...do you ever think about Sentinel Prime?" Nell asked, frowning. It bothered her, knowing what had happened to him... or more likely what hadn't happened to him. "I mean... what if he's still alive?"

"He wouldn't get past the gate, love." the ninja bot said, arms curling around her back. He liked her there, draped over his chestplate and stomach armor, right where he could feel her heart, where she could feel his spark. She was safe in his arms. She was safe.

X

After the fires had died out, the Decepticons moved out of the old base. They couldn't risk being found after the little incident some time ago. Megatron had told Lugnut and Blitzwing to gather everything left behind. It was taking longer than expected, but this was good. Shockwave had been given the task

This wasn't something he wanted anyone to see. This was something he had been meaning to do for some time. Opportunity struck, and he seized it.

Now, or never.

"I have something for you, little human," the silver hellion purred, setting the teen on his desk as he had done so many times before.

Cole looked up at him, eyes no longer red from smoke, lungs free to breath. He cocked his head. He hadn't danced in forever. "What is it?"

Megatron narrowed his optics, and smiled. "Close your eyes, human." and the blond did as he was told. There were a few flashes of light, a bright greenish yellow, and a sizzling noise, but he kept his eyes closed. The noises stopped, and now there were footsteps... small ones, but still powerful ones, and they stopped in front of him. He could hear a dull, soft hum, and felt something on his face, under his right eye. Fingertips, cool and careful, and a thumb, he guessed, over his mouth. "Open your eyes." that was Megatron's voice, talking right there in front of him. Cole's gray eyes opened, and before him stood the great silver hellion, just a few feet taller than himself. "Hello, Cole." he moved his hand slowly to the teen's hair. It felt strange, warm, soft... and it was something new.

The teen jumped, awestruck. "What... you're so small!" he squeaked, hands curious and eager but still as they hung in the air. He reached a uncertain hand out, eyes questioning. Was this real? "How did you do that?"

Megatron smirked. "That bot, Swindle, is quite good at finding just what I need. This is a special mod, hard to find, but easy to use. It was mostly used for bots that would spy. Bots easily shrank down to a mere fourth of their size for easy hiding." he grinned. "The arms dealer happened to have a few, and was more than happy to get one for his favorite customer." and if anyone saw him at this size, he could easily change back, and simply say he was testing a new device that would ensure victory for all Decepticons. Most would believe it without questioning him, after all. Sure, he could have bought a hologram, but they were so impersonal, and were useless to one of his size. This was so much better.

Cole stood still, the con blinking slowly at him. What, no more questioning? He grabbed the teen by the wrist, and held the hand up to his chest. "You don't think I would become this size for you to have nothing to touch, do you?" he set the teen's hand on his chest plate, letting go and resting his hands at his sides. "Touch me, human."

Cole blinked, and slowly slid his hand downward to touch the hellion's stomach plating. He swallowed, head a swirl of thoughts and pulses. He pulled his hand back, and took a risk. He cupped the con's left audio, thumb against his helm. "Wow."

Megatron's hand came up, and opened, showing Cole something strange. It looked like a white collar. Like... a dog collar. "What's that?" he asked quietly.

"Something important, if this is to work." the Decepticon smirked. "You will wear this collar, as a sign of who you belong to. It's simply a cover for what we will be." him with a human would raise a few eyebrows, and having Cole seen as a weakness was not ideal in the least. Megatron could not be weak, and Cole would not be a bargaining chip. "They will think you a pet, and you will act as such," he stated, head held high. "You will call me master when others are present. A simple thing, wouldn't you say?" he placed the collar into Cole's hand, feeling the warmth his skin gave, feeling his pulse as it heightened. These humans were so interesting.

The teen swallowed. "What if... what if I don't want to be a pet?"

Unintentionally, his optics flickered. "Should you decide that this is not ideal, I will let you go... and Shockwave will return you to the humans." he didn't want Cole to stay with him if he didn't accept. He could say it would hurt, but that wasn't something he was going to explain. "The choice is yours." with that, Megatron turned his back to Cole, giving him some form of privacy.

The young man looked over the collar. It was leather, and white, and had small, silver spikes. It would fit his neck well. He fiddled with the clasp, and walked toward the now much smaller Megatron. He knew what he wanted.

There was warmth on his palm, and he realized suddenly that Cole was, rather cautiously, holding his hand. In the humans other hand, he was holding up the collar. The con turned, disappointment creasing his pale gray face. He had been wrong. The human didn't want this... oh well. It was more than understandable. Who would want to be with the person who had treated them like a toy? Kept them from sunlight? Had done what he had? "Very well. I'll have Shockwave return you t-"

The blond's eyes widened, his hand not so frightened to hold the black metal one. "No, no, no, crap! Uh... that's not a no, Megatron!" he looked downright horrified by his little mistake. "It's just... normally, the owner puts the collar on the pet. Since you did say you wanted to make it seem like that... dumb idea from me, I guess." he blinked, blushing, and held it up. "Can we try that... master?" he said, pulling his hand away from Megatron's to hold up his hair. It was starting to grow out already.

For a moment, he stared at the human. He wanted to stay, then? He was going to go along with this? Megatron took the collar back, and slid it around the humans neck, carefully closing the buckle with a soft click. He turned it with the clasp hidden, thumb tracing the spikes. "How does that feel, my pet?"

Cole grinned. "I love it, my lord." he said, eyes bright. It wasn't exactly an 'I love you', but it meant that Megatron wanted to keep him! That was great!

Megatron bared his fangs, and grabbed his human by the collar, pulling him forward. "Good boy," he purred, before pressing his mouth to the humans. It was nothing like kissing another con – which he had done, of course! - but it wasn't bad at all. Just different, like this, like being so small. Not what he expected, but...

This was what he, and his pet, wanted. He was going to enjoy being this little humans master.

X

Today was the day! Preparations had been made, and tests had been run, and a set of turquoise null rays had been built and attached. Tests and diagnostics had been run. The paint job was looked over a dozen times to check for flaws, and it was hooked up to the machine that would transfer Sarah into it. The shell was ready.

Sarah had been ready for weeks. She was more than ready for the transfer. She had been on his shoulder nearly all the way through. She watched the simulations he ran, studied probabilities, paced her tank, even. She was as eager as he, and the seeker couldn't be any more delighted! The human was ready.

Starscream held her in both hands, smiling as they went down the darkened hallway. He had diverted some of the ships low priority power to the back room. He didn't know if they would need it or not, but he had to make absolutely certain that the transfer went through. "Are you ready for this?"

"As I'll ever be, Starscream," Sarah said, smirking up at him.

He stepped into the back room, setting his female into a small, glass tank. "Place your hands in here. You'll feel a pinch, but that will be all." Sarah did as told, laying her head back on the cage looking thing. It closed around her head and neck, nodes pressing into her neck and scalp. "Good, good. I can't have you flailing around in there, you know," Starscream said as he strapped her legs down.

She looked at him through the blue glass, waving, and the transfer began. Her eyes closed, and he punched in the codes needed. "Throw the switch!" he called to himself, pulling down on the switch that would start up the device. It hummed to life, and Sarah jumped. The Transfer had begun...

...and all hell broke loose.

Alarms blared like a death call, and he knew immediately that something was wrong. Starscream looked at the tank, and watched as tiny, bright sparks floated away from his human's body. "No..." he watched in horror as Sarah thrashed and screamed, her voice garbled from the strain and blood filling her throat. This was the least likely of outcomes. It had only occurred twice in every simulation he had run! The transfer was taking energy from her body and using it to create a complete spark. She was disintegrating in front of him.

"This wasn't supposed to happen!" the magenta seeker was in a state of panic. He could do nothing. The alarms continued to blare, his optics wide and glowing. If he stopped the transfer, she would offline. If he didn't stop the transfer, she might offline. He stayed in place, waiting for the transfer to go through, her screams quiet and wet sounding.

The sirens shut down, and the lights flashed. All sound stopped. He looked at Sarah's human form, and grimaced. She was looking right at him, grinning and blood foaming from her mouth. She was dead... at least, her human body was dead.

He thundered to the blue shell, and unstrapped it, lifting her head to face him. "Sarah?" the seeker asked, looking at the femme body. She wasn't moving. Nothing was happening and it was scaring him. "Answer me, Sarah. Do something," he rasped, grabbing one of her hands. Cold metal met warm metal, and the magenta seeker clutched tight. Move, that's all he wanted for her to do was to move.

A small, quiet creak came from the shell, and he leaned down. Suddenly, her optics came online, and she blinked at him. She knew where she was, and who she was. But what was going on was another matter. "What... what happened?" the seeker femme craned her neck to see what she knew to be her old body, but Starscream blocked the view with his frame.

"Don't look at it. It's... It went wrong." what the femme got a glimpse of was horrifying. She could remember, if she tried hard enough. She could see, in her mind, her fists banging helplessly on the sides of the tank as her fingertips melted away. Her nose, her lips... holy shit, it was real!

The seeker femme sat upright with a gasp, the sound of air rushing past wires and metal. "Starscream!" she choked, free hand touching her chest. She felt no heartbeat, just a subtle hum. A hum that told her she was alive. "It... it worked?" she asked, sitting up, now red optics flickering in question. Why was he so freaked out if it had worked?

The magenta seeker blinked, holding her one hand tight. "The, erm, process that I used seems to have... eaten some of your old body, so to speak." his voice rattled as he spoke, showing his nervous nature. He was relieved to find she was alive.

The femme blinked again, frowning. "That wasn't the idea?"

Starscream huffed. "Of course not."

Sarah smirked at him. "Whatever you say."

He smirked back. "That's right... whatever I say." yep, she was still his female... or more like his femme.

The femme rolled her optics, and whirred. "Huh, so that's what that noise means."

"Hmm?"

"That noise, that whirring sound... it's a sigh, I think." she blinked again, trying to stand up. He was right at her side, helping her up. She could feel his excitement. Why shouldn't he be excited?

"Trust me, my dear, you have much to learn." Starscream said, helping her to stand.

The once human nodded, and glanced at her old body. Horrible what happened, but she was alive in a real body, a strong body. "Can't wait."

The two left the room with her leaning on him, finally able to hold hands.

X

The sky had faded from yellow to bright orange, and it was getting darker by the minute. At some point in time, Nell had fallen asleep in the grass. When she had crawled off of Prowl was beyond her, but she knew that she was being sniffed by a very happy Arabian stallion. "Hi, Shy."

Prowl looked over at them. "You were asleep. I didn't want to wake you."

The short human smiled at him. Such a sweet bot. "Well, Shylock did." Nell grabbed onto Shylock's mane, and pulled herself up. "This is how we met," she said, petting the horses nose. He shook his mane at her, stamping his feet. "You and me, I mean."

The ninja bot chirruped. "Is it?"

"Yeah... it was getting dark outside, and I was teaching Shylock to do bareback." she smiled at the memory. It seemed so long ago, but still fresh in her mind. "He snorted at the treeline, and I pulled my gun on you." she chuckled nervously.

Prowl grinned, and stood. "I stepped out, hands up, and asked you not to fire." he held his hands up, just as he did then. Of course he remembered it.

Nell grinned, and put her hands on her hips as she had done then. "You were not what I was expecting."

He nodded at her, crossing his arms. "That tends to happen a lot."

"You were a mess."

"That I was." he didn't like mud.

Nell giggled. "And that was just our first time seeing each other! The second time, Champ..." she smiled softly, thinking of her gone friend. "He knocked your ass down."

"That he did." the black bot watched as Nell clamored onto the stallions back, adjusting herself.

"Remember this part, Prowl? Me, climbing onto Champ?" Shylock walked in a circle, head held high and proud. "You're pretty fast, right?"

Oh, he knew where she was going. He crouched, waiting. "Compared to other Autobots, I am very fast."

"Good..." Shylock whinnied, and Nell gave his a small kick, sending him into a trot. Nell looked back, and called, "Because Shylock is faster than Champ was anyday! Ya!" she gave the horse another kick and leaned forward, heading over a hill on the beasts back at a powerful gallop.

Prowl grinned, and gave chase, just as he had done all those months ago, chasing his partner underneath an orange sky.

X

THE END... for now.

I want to thank you guys so much for the reviews and love that you've sent me. This HUGE thing is finally done, and I can relax a little. Don't expect anything for a while. I have much to do... like sleep. :P

Thanks again everyone! See you later!