CHAPTER ELEVEN

He's Here – At Last…

***

Karr looked at me. "Ella?"

I shook my head. "Karr…do you know…I have the All-Spark in me?"

She nodded impatiently. "Of course I know that!" She exclaimed.

"And the Decepticons are trying to kill me!" I cried, my voice rising.

Karr looked shocked for a second, and then she cried: "No, they're not!"

I gasped. "Astrotrain tried to hit me!" I informed her.

"He wasn't trying to kill you!" She said vehemently, shaking her head back and forth. "El, it would take a lot more to kill you! In fact," She added, turning seriously suddenly. "Do you and your Autobots know that…"

Suddenly, a stray missile came whooshing through the air toward us.

"KARR!!" Blitzwing shouted.

I lunged forward, and crashed tackled Karr, pushing her away, pushing us both away, and up.

I found myself clinging to one wall as I grabbed Karr around the waist, and pushing away from that building.

I jumped onto another wall, and then onto a building roof, where Karr and I both landed in a heap.

We scrambled up. I was gasping.

"El!" Karr cried.

"It must be the All-Spark…" I answered her, staring at my hands. 'Or else I'm Spiderman…' I thought numbly. 'I'm a freak. A freak among freaks...'

My necklace lay on the floor, and I scrambled to get it, holding it close to my chest.

Someone very precious gave it to me…but I wasn't so sure it was my father anymore.

Something was coming...no, someone.

And he was coming in fast...

***

I didn't know how I had clung to that wall, and made my way onto the top of a building but, suddenly, it didn't matter.

A harrier jet flew toward us, and my heart began to beat faster.

Something welled up inside of me, stronger than I've ever felt before. I gasped.

"IT'S STARSCREAM!!" I heard one of my Autobot friends yell.

"STARSCREAM!!" Megatron shouted, from where he was battling against Optimus Prime. The fight looked pretty even to me. "GET THE ALL-SPARK!!"

"WITH PLEASURE!!" Starscream shouted, as he transformed, and suddenly my whole world turned upside down.

Everything that I'd thought before came crashing down – and a painful memory came crashing back to me.

***

"Don't hurt him!!"

"He's a Decepticon, Ella, he's evil!!"

"Arcee, take Ella inside!!"

"No!! Starscweam!! STARSCWEAM!!!!"

***

I came snapping back to reality in an instant. "STARSWCEAM!!!!" I shouted, felling my heart ache painfully. I had waited so long to meet him, why should I meet him under such terrible circumstances. When he'd been ordered to kill me, and I couldn't let that happen.

Why couldn't I say his name correctly?

Why did I want to say it again?

"STARSCWEAM!!!!"

I had never been able to say it correctly.

I hoped it wouldn't matter.