Rest easy, readers.

This is not some kind of crap-update to tell you guys that the story was discontinued or any sort of bad news like that. I know it's been years since the last update but...I think I just needed some time away from the Transformers franchise for a bit.

I had...well, matured/grown up since my last update. Mmm...well...not too much...bah, anyways...I just got back from my first year at college. Upon returning home and seeing all of my Transformers memorabilia... I realized how much I still love the series. Like some sad scene from Toy Story, I came home to see all of my Transformers figurines (that are still in their original boxes because I'm a nerd) inside two large storage containers sitting by my closet. My mother had just changed my bed sheets to my favorite Transformers one with matching pillow cases. And all of my posters were rolled up and sitting on top of the storage bins. I have 4 TF posters but I had only taken one with me to college, along with a Real Steel poster of mine.

Then just recently, I went to the first showing of the newest movie: Transformers 4 - Age of Extinction. That's when I finally realized that no matter what, I will love everything about the Transformers series. Even Michael Bay. To some extent.

Sorry you guys had to wait this long for me to get my head out of my adult aft.

I decided to do a little bit of a recap/ rewrite of the very ending of the previous chapter. My writing was awful back then...I have (slightly) improved since. So I hope you guys don't mind a small change in the format of the story. I'm sure you guys will catch on quickly to what is what.

(Leave it to me to update at nearly 4:30 in the morning, Nevada time.)

Thank you for waiting patiently (or not) for this chapter.

Please don't kill me. Or send an angry mob.

Thanks.

Recap/ Rewrite:

It took some odd amount time before the human girl entered any form of a dream-like state. Ironhide kept his large servos folded over his broad chassis as he waited for something to pop up on Ratchet's monitors. He let out a satisfied hum when something appeared on the screen. However, it wasn't quite what he was looking for…

The first one started off with a slightly younger Julia behind the wheel of a car. She seemed to be a little hesitant about something and she held an uncertain expression. Her father, Will, was in the passenger's seat right next to her, with the look of pure fear written on his face.

Ratchet was able to determine and conclude that this segment was mainly a memory sequence, rather than a dream. He also suggested that this was probably when she was learning how to drive. Which explains both Julia and Will's expressions, as well as positions in the car.

The scene changed to something much more…cheery. Many little bright colored lights filled the interior of the Lennox's living room. Most of the lights were covering a medium-sized tree located in one of the corners of the room. Along with the lights, different colored spheres, shapes, and toy-like figures hung from the tree, as well as a big star that sat on the very top.

Ah, I know this.

The weapons specialist instantly recalled the explanation his other human companions, Sam and Mikaela, had told the Autobots some time ago. Apparently, it's rather big holiday called Christmas that is celebrated during the winter season. Ironhide focused his attention back to the monitor, where in Julia's dream, Will was dressed as the iconic symbol of this popular holiday – Santa Claus. He had made his grand appearance near the top of their stair case but after taking his first step down the stairs, the dressed-up military man tripped and tumbled down the stairs in a comedic fashion. This caused both the old 'bots in the room to let out a loud chuckle.

Humans; such an interesting species they are.

"Mmm…" Ironhide let a small rumble emit from his vocal processor. "Ratchet, as interesting as these are, when is Julia going to have the dream she told me about earlier?" The black Autobot groaned. He wasn't interested in these memories of hers – well, he was but not at this exact moment. He wanted to see what she saw. What he wanted was confirmation about his suspicions.

"Be patient." Ratchet grunted in response without tearing his optics away from the screen. "I already warned you about the negative possibilities. It's not guaranteed that the same dream will even occur again. If anything, it may or may not be a continuation of the original. It just wouldn't be the exact same one that she had earlier." The old medic sighed as he had to explain the situation to his larger, and impatient, friend. However, something flashed on the screen that had caught Ratchet's attention. "Wait, look." With that said, both 'bots gazed at the monitor and Ironhide's optics held a shocked expression.

"…That's Cybertron…" Ironhide said aloud but didn't receive any sort of confirmation from the Autobot standing next to him. The display showed an 'out-of-this-world' sort of sight. The nighttime sky was littered with brightly lit stars and constellations. The small city present wasn't as flashy or brightly lit as one of Earth's cities. Part of Cybertron's natural beauty was the luminescent, and almost neon, lights that seemed to give the planet a serene look.

There was just one thing wrong with this picture…

It was the fact that this once a beautiful and breathtaking sight is now just a mere memory for all who had once inhabited it. What the two Autobots saw was nothing more than ruins of what they formerly knew. Many of Cybertron's proud buildings and structures were reduced to nothing but piles of rubble and ash. The once bright and bustling streets were now dimmed, lifeless, and covered in flames.

"That was Cybertron…" Ratchet finally managed out a low whisper.

vVvVvVvVvVv

"Ratchet…is this the original dream or a continuation?" Ironhide asked, refusing to take his optics away from the monitor.

"Hard to tell…but it's most likely the latter. We really wouldn't know what the original looked like even if we saw it. Only Julia would know." Ratchet didn't bother looking away either, obviously intrigued by the sight he was witnessing. He folded his arms and brought a single servo up to rest under his chin in a fascinated manner. "This is…amazing. All of this coming from a human who has never set foot on our planet…"

"It is a sight to see." The larger Autobot nodded in agreement. "But this is not what I wanted to bring to your attention, Ratchet."

Where is it…where is he?

Ironhide narrowed his optics as if he was going to miss something. His attentive gaze moved from left to right. Now they were watching the scenery gradually move. They were experiencing this phenomenon through Julia's eyes.

"This is…familiar…" Her voice called out from the speakers. "This certainly doesn't look like home though…"

Not your home at least.

"This is from her perspective." Ironhide concluded.

"Yes, yes. Now shh, before we miss something rather important." Ratchet told his friend with a small wave of his servo.

"Dad? Mom?" The poor human was lost and was calling out from help. "Ironhide?"

Upon hearing his name, the war-hardened Autobot's expression softened into a sad one. Something in his spark ached when he heard his human charge calling out to him. He had to shake it off though. He had to remind himself that it was nothing more than a dream.

A bad dream.

"Anybody…?" She whispered. Her tone showed that she gave up any hope of finding help. She sighed and continued on with walking around, avoiding burning debris and large cracks in the ground.

As the two older 'bots watched, they started to notice something. Something was different. Not about their home planet, but about Julia. The sounds of her footsteps echoed throughout the empty streets. Her loud and thundering footsteps.

That's strange…

It was equivalent to the sound that was often heard at the Autobots' base, when they were out and about. It was the sound of their footsteps. What they were hearing was the sound of a big, hulking, Cybertronian's footstep.

"Ratchet…" Ironhide called out to the medic in a cautious tone. What was going on? Was there something wrong with his audio receptors? He wasn't getting that old and hearing things, right?

"I hear it too Ironhide." Ratchet narrowed his gaze at the screen, trying to look for some sort of indicator to the source of the sound. It was difficult to tell though, mainly because they were watching everything as if they were Julia herself. Whatever she looked at, they would see. So unless she decided to sneak a glance down at her feet, or legs, the two mechs would just have to forget about what they heard.

This didn't seem to be a problem once they heard a very familiar voice.

And 'familiar' in a bad way.

"There you are, my little femme…" A dark, eerie voice called out from behind Julia. "My patience is growing thin…" It growled. Slowly, Julia began the process of turning around to see who was talking to her.

Megatron…

"Excuse –" She started but was quickly cut off as she faced a red-optic terror with razor sharp teeth, who instantly reached a servo out towards her neck and slammed her hard against a crumbling building. She let out a loud 'yelping' sound in response.

"I'm sorry…did I ask you to speak?" Another growl came out as he hissed out some kind of fluid into Julia's face. "I'm not here for small talk. I want a decision." He moved his face closer to hers. It was so close that he took up the entire monitor screen that Ironhide and Ratchet were watching.

"You get your slagging claws off her!" Ironhide shouted, his cannons rotating at a furious speed, ready to shoot.

"Ironhide, calm down! It's just a dream! You might wake up Julia and interrupt what's going on right now!" Ratchet put a hand on Ironhide's weapon-ready arm and pushed it down – away from his monitor. The enraged weapons specialist growled in irritation but reluctantly backed down.

"So what will it be? Me? Or them?" The sound of metal scraping metal grew louder. "Life? Or death?"

Wait. Metal scraping metal? What was Megatron holding? Didn't he aim for her neck?

What on Cybertron is going on…

Ironhide was confused by what was going and the strange sounds that he kept hearing. It angered him to see Megatron in general. What made it worse was the fact that Megatron was attacking his human charge. However, the truck guardian kept getting distracted as interesting sounds kept coming from the monitor set.

"Mmm…" Ratchet let out a low hum as he tapped his metal chin. He was probably thinking the same thing as Ironhide. Except he might actually have a reason behind what they were hearing. The weapons specialist didn't have the slightest clue or guess. He was mainly worried about the well-being of his human.

Wait.

My human…?

She's just his charge. Ironhide had to keep reminding himself that. Sure, he was in charge of protecting her but he didn't have any right to claim her as his human. She wasn't a thing to own. Which reminded Ironhide about what Megatron had called her. He growled at the thought…those words that made his energon boil.

His little femme…

She sure as frag wasn't Megatron's either. The girl has never even seen Megatron and yet she's able to produce such a vivid dream about him. His voice sounded like the real deal too and that disturbed the Autobot even more.

"You're hesitating…don't tell me you still want to side with them…" Megatron continued his harassment towards the poor human girl. Julia struggled within his grasp and it easily showed on the screen as it began to shake and rumble.

"Let-Let me go!" Her voice was dull as she continued her struggle. At that moment, Megatron sneered before letting out an evil chuckle. As quickly as it came, the chuckle abruptly stopped before he recoiled his servo back, Julia still in his grip, and slammed her against the side of the building once more. The girl let out an agonized gasp. It was no doubt that the Decepticon was doing major damage to her throat.

"Never." He hissed and once again, got closer to her face. "I think I'll just rip out that pretty little spark of yours as a keep-sake." He paused for a moment and let a sadistic grin form on his faceplate. "Or as a reminder. A reminder to those who wish to defy the word of Megatron."

It's just a dream. It's just a dream. It's-just-a-dream.

Ironhide had to repeat to himself over and over that this was not real. Julia was fine. Well…physically. He wasn't quite sure about mentally as of right now...Either way, he had to fight the strong urge to blast Ratchet's monitor. Ratchet wouldn't be all too pleased about that.

And when Ratchet wasn't happy – no one was happy.

"But don't worry. I'll be sure to place it next to another one of my future trophies. Would you like it to be placed next to the spark of your leader?" His evil grin doubled in size as a set of metal shark-like teeth showed. "Or next to that weapon specialist you're so fond of?"

Ironhide's spark jumped and his optics widened.

...What...?