Chaos erupted within the spherical chamber. TRF agents ran around like scattered ants, no rhyme or reason to their nervous movements.
The Cybertronian knights that Optimus had slain lay dotted about the floor like giant discarded toys, their optics dark and devoid of life.
Cordelia was vaguely aware of Cade and Lennox making their way up a mechanical rope vine, following Bumblebee up towards the surface. Viviane was making her way back towards where they had emerged in the chamber. To Cordelia, it felt likes years had passed since they had stumbled on the final resting place of her ancient ancestor.
Leo wrapped a gentle hand around her own and begun to pull her towards him. "Come on Lia, we have to go!"
She pulled against him, shaking her head. "No, I have to go to him. I have to go to Optimus!"
"Are you mad? You saw what he's like…he's not…that's not Optimus Lia!"
She pulled her hand completely free from his grasp. "That's why I have to go to him Leo! I can't leave him! He's saved me more times than anybody knows, now it's my turn to save him."
"It's true. It has been written for millennia that the Prime's own Spark must save the Great Defender from certain doom."
Cordelia jumped, surprised to find that Cogman had mysteriously appeared at her side without a sound.
Leo looked at the small Cybertronian suspiciously, his blue eyes narrowed in mistrust. "That sounds awfully convenient."
"Convenient or not, it is the truth. Cordelia is needed to bring the Prime back to himself. Without her, there will be no Prime. With no Prime, you can say goodbye to your world and everything you hold dear. The choice is yours."
Cordelia took Leo's face in her hands, standing on her very tip toes to look him in the eye. "Please Leo, let me go with your blessing. You know I'll go anyway, but I would hate the last words we have to be angry ones." She framed his face between her small hands, brushing his soft sideburns with her thumbs.
Tears welled in his eyes as he leaned down and pressed his face into the hollow of her neck, inhaling deeply. His hands came up and traced every plane of her face, down the upturned tip of her nose to her chin. He smiled weakly and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"Do you know that you infuriate me? There is only one way I am going to let you go up there and join a giant robot fight."
She raised a brow quizzically at him.
"I'll be coming with you of course." He winked wryly at her. "Do you think I want to face Optimus once he's all back to normal and tell him that I let you go up there alone? I don't think so bach."
Cordelia laughed and released his face from her grip.
Cogman stepped forward, a slightly impatient expression on his face plate. "Madam, if I may? The way up to the surface without going through the water is steep and I fear you will exert yourself too much before you even reach our destination."
He held a hand out to her, as if he was going to do a waltz around a grand ballroom with her. She eyed it uncertainly, aware of his diminutive stature.
Cogman seemed to read her thoughts. "I can assure you madam, I am up for the task. It is the only way we will reach the surface of the ship in time."
She took his hand hesitantly and he swung her gently up onto his back. "Madam, if you could ensure that you hold on as tightly as you are able, it will assist me in our ascent. Sir, are you able to climb upwards and quickly?"
"That won't be a problem."
Cordelia locked her arms around Cogman's neck in a vice grip that surely would have strangled a human. Her bump made doing the same with her legs a little awkward, but she wrapped them around his slender frame as best she could.
She felt Cogman's hands on her thighs and her body was gently shifted upwards a few inches. "Apologies for my familiarity madam, I just need to ensure that you are as secure as possible."
"No worries, Cogman."
Despite his small build, Cogman seemed to have no problem carrying Cordelia through the winding passages of the sunken alien ship.
After a few minutes of turning this way and that through the warren that were the ship's many passage ways, Cogman stopped and looked up. Cordelia followed the direction of his gaze and saw the smallest crack of sunlight managing to break through the bleak dark and damp.
A sudden jolting sensation came over the whole ship, followed by the feeling of being risen up.
It felt to Cordelia a similar sensation when Optimus picked her up, albeit on a much larger scale.
Cogman climbed quickly and efficiently, locating the most convenient hand and footholds with which to help him on his assent.
Leo climbed tirelessly behind them, though Cordelia thought she could hear his breathing becoming slightly shallower and more laboured as they progressed.
She could feel her arms beginning to tire around Cogman's neck and she wrapped them around even tighter, trying to get a more secure grip. She felt a bizarre sensation of her insides being flipped upside down and inside out all at the same time as Nova flipped and kicked within her. Because of the large bump, Cordelia was unable to press the front of her body to the back of Cogman's, instead she had to turn slightly to the side to sit comfortably on his back.
Finally, they emerged through a giant opening in the ceiling. Leo popped his head up next to them, his face red with exertion and breathing heavily. Cogman gently manipulated Cordelia onto the surface of the ship, which was now above the surface of the water.
Well, that explains the weird sensation we all felt just now, Cordelia thought, scanning the area wildly for Optimus and Bumblebee.
From what Cordelia could see, they were atop an enormous circular structure. The four columns that had gone upwards when they were in the ship now travelled downwards, deep into the bowels of the vessel itself.
Cordelia guessed that the circumference of the giant circle had to at the very least, be several football fields long, maybe even half a mile. In the centre, a colossal pillar stood above everything, dominating the otherwise bare space.
Torrents of grey ocean water washed over the structure, merciless to anything in its path. The air was full of tiny water droplets, and they settled themselves into Cordelia's hair and cheeks, causing a chill that she did not feel.
Her green eyes scoured the vicinity, desperate for a glimpse of Optimus.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash catch the sun. She spun around to find the source and her gaze landed on two small shapes in the near distance, one significantly larger than the other. The flash glared again as the two shapes moved in synchronicity, trading blows and dodging each other.
Without thinking, she grabbed Leo's hand and began to run.
She ran harder than she had done in Mission City when she'd had the Cube clutched to her chest. She ran harder than she had done when Optimus commanded her to leave him, after he had been slain by Megatron. She ran harder than she had done in Hong Kong.
She ran harder than she had ever run before, because this time she was not running to save herself. She was running to save the life of the person she loved most in the world. To save the life of the one person that she knew she could absolutely not live without.
She ran for the love she bore Optimus Prime. For the love that resided within every cell in her body. For the love of the Autobot that had taken her fractured soul, and piece by piece, knitted it back together with every love and tender care.
Unburdened by fear, tiredness or the life living within her, Cordelia ran. A steady, constant rhythm, not dissimilar to the beat of a war drum.
One foot in front of the other. One foot in front of the other. One. Foot. In. Front. Of. The. Other.
She did not feel the cramping pain of the stitch in her side, nor the burn from the build-up of lactic acid in her calf muscles.
Adrenaline surged through her veins, pushing her on and on. She knew nothing except for the fact that she had to get to Optimus as quickly as was humanly possible.
She spared no thought for Cogman, left hundreds of metres behind. Nor did Cade or Viviane cross her mind. She was mildly aware of Leo, sprinting desperately at her side, but nothing would sway her from her task.
Such was the power of her concentration and focus, she failed to notice the enormous wave that was falling toward her and Leo.
It fell upon them with devastating power, sweeping the pair of them off their feet and into a mini-pool that had formed in a divot on the surface of the floating ship.
For a few seconds all she could see was red. The power of the water had dislodged her hair from its bun and it now floated in a loose red cloud around her head and in her field of vision. She shut her eyes against the sting of the salt water, but it had no effect. Involuntarily, she inhaled, pulling in the cold water through her nostrils.
She had no idea which way the world was supposed to be. She could not discern up from down or left from right. She flailed her arms and legs wildly, frantically trying to get to the surface.
Ice shot down her veins and a thousand knives stabbed into her arms and legs. In the back of her mind she remembered an advert on the television telling someone to stay still if they ever found themselves in freezing water.
Sure, that was easy if you weren't eight months pregnant, trying to save the planet and had the sensation of being burned alive.
Her eyelids suddenly felt insurmountably heavy, and keeping them open became a mammoth task.
Images of Optimus flashed through her mind.
Standing quietly by his feet after the battle in Mission City.
Sitting on his shoulder as he stood aboard one of the US's navy carriers.
Holding him up against his grief as he mourned the loss of Sentinel Prime.
Him holding her to his chest, rocking her to and fro after he had learned what Attinger had done to her.
Setting eyes on him for the very first time.
Setting eyes on him for the very first time.
.o
Then, the images were wiped away as if they had been mixed in with the water itself.
A warm feeling made itself known around her waist and suddenly, the world was the right way around again.
She opened her eyes to see Leo leaning over her, a panicked expression on his face. When their eyes met, he pulled her into a fierce embrace, kissing her fervently on her forehead.
She coughed up a load of sea water, the bitter taste lingering at the back of her sore throat.
"Oh thank God." Leo exclaimed, cupping the back of her head and rocking her gently.
"Ugh, what happened?" She croaked, gasping at the red-hot poker that seemed to have lodged itself in her throat.
"A wave swept us up and you went under and inhaled some water. The baby's fine, I felt her kicking away."
Cordelia nodded and struggled to her feet, pulling Leo with her.
Dull vibrations shook the floor as they continued their frantic pursuit of the Autobot leader.
They emerged over a slope and saw Optimus and Bumblebee locked in a vicious brawl.
Whilst Optimus clearly had the upper-hand, Bumblebee was fighting valiantly, desperately trying to overcome his leader.
Optimus swatted Bumblebee back as if he were no more than an annoying insect.
As soon as he was knocked down, Bumblebee was back on his feet and back on the attack.
He charged at Optimus, raising his hammer and striking Optimus squarely in the jaw. The blow forced Optimus to his knees. He was straight back up on his feet and landed a counter-blow on the back of Bumblebee's head and then threw him over his head and slammed him onto the ground.
Before Bumblebee had the chance to get up, Optimus grasped Bumblebee's door-wings and ripped them from his back, throwing them callously to the side.
"I AM NEMESIS PRIME! YOU ARE NOTHING!" His voice bellowed, and even from this distance, it caused Cordelia's ribs to vibrate.
Bumblebee armed his ion blaster and fired it relentlessly at Optimus, who began to roll down the steep slope that Cordelia and Leo were standing on top of.
As he rolled, Bumblebee gave chase but Optimus' long arms allowed him to reach up and grab the young scout by his chest. He threw him to the bottom of the slope and picked him up once he himself got to the bottom.
He threw Bumblebee into the ground repeatedly, as easily as if he was a ragdoll.
Once. Twice. Three times the scout's yellow body slammed into the ground, pieces of metal flying off in every direction.
Cordelia spotted the small white shape that was Cade, desperately trying to get in between the two fighting titans.
She could watch no more. She threw herself forward into a run, ignoring Leo's shouts of protest. The slick surface of the ship quickly overpowered her and she tumbled to the ground, rolling down the wet slope in a tangled heap of arms and legs.
She crashed heavily into Bumblebee's shoulder, perilously close to the tip of Optimus' sword. Bumblebee swatted the sword free from Optimus' hand, but this made little difference. He pummelled Bumblebee's face again and again and again with a closed fist.
The only thing that stopped Bumblebee's face being smashed to smithereens was his battle mask which had slid into place. It was heavily dented in the shape of Optimus' clenched fist, three knuckle marks clearly denoted in the damaged yellow metal.
Leo rolled past her and came to rest near Bumblebee's waist.
Cade was on Bumblebee's chest, yelling desperately at Optimus to stop.
Still the poundings came, and Cordelia could see that Bumblebee was beginning to weaken.
Optimus seemed to sense this too, and armed himself with a smooth, deadly looking dagger. The weapon seemed to have appeared from above his left hand, from his wrist.
It was slow motion as he raised his left arm, ready to deliver the final and lethal blow.
Cordelia did not know where she found the strength to scream at Optimus, or what made him stop and listen to her.
It was as if some unseen force had taken over her body, and she was merely the vessel of its will.
"OPTIMUS! IT'S ME! IT'S CORDELIA!" Her voice sounded shrill and other-worldly, but as soon as the words left her mouth, Optimus paused, the dagger maybe a foot from stabbing Bumblebee in the face.
This time when Optimus looked at her, he really saw her.
The fierce snarl on his face melted away to reveal an expression of uncertainty and pure horror.
Confusion, disbelief, hurt and shock crossed his face. His optics flickered, their colour changing between violet and blue, before finally settling on the blue that Cordelia knew so well.
The giant red mark going down the left side of his face faded and gave way to the blue and silver that made up the rest of his face and helm.
The dagger snapped back into his wrist as he straightened, his mouth opening and closing as if he'd lost the power of speech.
Bumblebee used his special ability to re-attach his door-wings and got gingerly to his feet.
Optimus got to his own feet, stepping away from Bumblebee and the small crowd of humans.
He covered his face with both hands, crashing to his knees. His hydraulics hissed, his audial covers rotated furiously this way and that and his vocoder whined audibly. His entire frame quaked and shivered, crushed by the weight of the emotion coursing through him.
Cordelia approached him, shaking off Leo's hand on her shoulder.
She laid a tentative hand on his thigh, looking up at him, seeing only the underside of his chin.
Servos whirred as one hand descended towards her. He took her proffered hand between a thumb and forefinger with even more gentleness than he usually did.
His thumb rubbed tender circles into the back of her hand. Through his fingers, she could feel the vibrations of his body as he struggled to bring himself under control.
She placed her other hand on the tip of his finger and planted a kiss there, with all the tenderness that she could muster.
There was a sharp sound of air being cycled as Optimus invented a large volume of air through the vents on the back of his head.
He let it out of his nose in the form of steam; the cooling fans within his head had not had chance to cool the air as it exited his body. It had been cycled too quickly.
It dawned on Cordelia what she was witnessing. A Cybertronian panic attack, she thought, the realisation dawning coldly upon her.
She climbed up and settled with some difficulty on his thigh. "Optimus. It's me. It's Lia."
She pitched her voice low, speaking gently, trying to soothe the great Autobot.
The hand holding hers turned over in silent invitation and she slid herself home into his waiting palm. His other hand came down to guide her on, ensuring that she did not slip backwards.
He cupped her in both hands and buried his face in them, enveloping her in all of him.
From the outside, he looked like someone in prayer; on his knees with his face buried within his cupped hands. A few strands of Cordelia's auburn hair were visible in between his silvery fingers.
In Optimus' hands, the only light came from the soft light of his optics, bathing her in an ethereal blue glow.
She shuffled forward on her knees and placed both hands on his nose, leaning her forehead tenderly against him.
"Shh. Shh. I'm here Optimus. I'm here." Slowly, his trembling ceased and he was able to exvent normally again.
A strong scent of ozone surrounded her, not dissimilar to how the ground smelt after a brief rain shower.
"Cordelia…I…I…" his baritone voice quavered, unsteady and fearful. He nuzzled closer to her, seeking her comfort and reassurance.
Cool liquid seeped from the inner corners of his optics, falling into the gaps between his facial plating and falling down the back of Cordelia's neck.
"Shh, shh. It's okay. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere." She comforted him as a mother would a child, offering him her own strength when his own failed him.
He invented again, this time slowly and steadily. He let the cool air out from his nose, ruffling Cordelia's hair.
"What…have…I done? I remember everything Lia…everything! I was weak and could not stop it!"
She pressed herself as much as her bump would allow to the shape of his face, nuzzling into his nose. His lip plates clicked quietly against her swollen abdomen in a gentle kiss.
"By the AllSpark Cordelia, the baby!"
"Shh, she's fine. She's been kicking away, so don't you worry – " she did not get chance to finish her sentence.
Optimus snapped his head up to look at something in the distance, flooding his hands with bright sunlight.
Cordelia watched as his facial expression turned to one of horror and she was slightly jostled in his hands as he rushed to get to his feet. He turned his back on whatever was approaching and leaned over her, protectively clutching her against his chest and using his body to shield her.
In the time it took her to blink, Optimus, Bumblebee, Cade and Leo were blown off their feet by a huge explosion.
Optimus turned in mid-air so that he would land on his left shoulder, rolling to absorb the worst of the impact. He opened his hands onto the ground and Cordelia tumbled from them, rolling into a ball to protect her pregnant stomach.
At once he was leaning over her whilst Bumblebee pulled Cade and Leo to stand beneath him, using his own body to defend them from any fire.
Cordelia turned to see who had attacked them and was horrified to see Megatron and an unknown Decepticon land at Optimus' side.
Megatron kicked Optimus roughly to the ground and reached into the space behind his breast plate, plucking the Staff from it.
He grabbed Optimus forcibly by one of his ear finials, holding him in place. "I knew you couldn't do it. Your time is over, Prime. You failed. You turned your back on Cybertron, now you will watch Earth die!" He shoved Optimus away from him and leapt into the air, transforming into a jet and zooming away.
It was then that twelve enormous Cybertronian knights appeared on the top of the slope that surrounded them and sprinted down, their weapons brandished.
They bellowed in Cybertronian and English, striking Optimus with a brutal ferocity, forcing him down onto his hands and knees.
Cordelia lurched to his side, bracing herself against his forearm. He looked down at her, and all the fight was gone from him. He looked tired and ready to just lay down and accept his lot.
"Lia, the Guardian Knights are going to kill me."
Tears streamed down Cordelia's face, rendering her vision useless. She held herself to his face, trying to eliminate all space between them. "No! No! It doesn't have to be this way!" she sobbed, half screaming at both him and the attacking knights.
She was vaguely aware of Cade scrambling onto Optimus' back, to face the main knight head on.
The knight spoke in a low growl, his voice gravelly. "The judgement is…death!" He then turned and swung his sword almost gracefully, ready to strike Optimus. It reminded Cordelia of how, in the reign of Henry VIII, traitors were beheaded with an axe or sword.
She became aware of a shimmering, clicking sound and turned to find its source.
Cade stood atop the Prime's back, the Talisman that he had worn for so long, finally revealing its true purpose. The Talisman transformed before Cordelia's eyes into a long and elegant sword.
Her eyes tracked its movement through the air and its collision with the sword of the attacking knight.
Cade's sword should not have been able to stop the much larger, much stronger knight's but it did.
As the two blades met, a glowing blue light erupted from in between them. At once the knights all lowered their weapons and instead raised them skywards, all uttering the ancient phrase; Seglass ni Tonday.
Cordelia knew deep within her heart that Cade's blade was that of the ancient king Arthur. The blade that came from the Lady of the Lake. The blade that had been known through the ages as Excalibur.
Optimus remained on his hands and knees, Cordelia standing quivering by his face. He lowered himself slightly, bringing his eyes level with Cordelia's.
She searched his face, and found it to be tired. He wore the scars of battle and war in his weary gaze. In the lines of his face plates were etched the world and friends he had lost.
"Cordelia…" when he spoke, his voice was low and solemn. "I have failed you. I have doomed Earth. Earth…the only place in the universe whose people let me call it…home."
She could see that these words pained him more than any others he had yet said, each one weighing heavily on his already overburdened Spark.
She placed a small hand on his cold cheek, grazing her knuckles softly up and down the smooth metal.
He leaned into her touch, his 'purr' of contentment barely audible.
"We can't do this without you. Optimus, there is no home without you. Only you can make this right big guy."
Optimus smiled weakly at her and nuzzled her gently with his nose.
Then he rose to his feet, leaning one hand on a knee as he stood.
A warmth rose within Cordelia's chest as she watched him stand tall and proud, with his shoulders back and his chest out.
"My brothers, I will never betray you again. To save Earth, we must go to Cybertron and destroy Quintessa!"
He knelt and gathered Cordelia carefully in his fingers.
"Come, my little one. I shall take you to safety."
Cordelia let herself fall back against his strong fingers, relishing the safety and strength of the feel of his hand beneath her small body.
Optimus was back, and she knew that together, they could conquer the world.