Optimus activated his calf rockets and took Cordelia back down to Earth. He landed smoothly, keeping her tucked against his chest to avoid jostling her too much.
Seconds later, the helicopter carrying Cade, Viviane and Leo landed nearby. From her raised vantage point in Optimus' palm, the helicopter looked like a child's toy.
Optimus leaned down and let her carefully out of his grasp as Leo, Cade and Viviane exited the chopper.
Cordelia slammed into Leo, jumping to eliminate the height difference between them, wrapping both of her legs around his waist. He 'oofed' in surprise but accepted her affection without question, burying his face into her wet hair.
He helped her get her feet back on the ground, pulling back to look at her.
"Lia, are you alright? Are you hurt at all?"
She shook her head and remained latched onto him, only now struck by the enormity of what she had just done.
She, a five-foot-one, eight-month pregnant human had brought Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots, back from the brink. The brink of what, she did not yet know, but she was sure that Optimus would tell her in his own time and only when he was ready to do so.
Cade pulled her into a tight embrace as Leo released her, ruffling her hair with one of his weathered hands. Viviane hung back, hesitantly waiting for Cade to be done with his boisterous show of affection.
Cordelia surprised herself and Viviane by approaching her and enveloping her in a loose hug. Viviane was the sole link that she had with her mother, and she found herself unwilling to let that go easily.
Viviane relaxed into her embrace, wrapping her arms around Cordelia's neck. She gasped when she noticed Optimus standing over them somewhat awkwardly.
Cordelia grabbed her hand and led her up to the Autobot leader, motioning for Optimus to come down to their level.
He did so more slowly than usual, perhaps aware of the fact that the last time he had been stood in Viviane's presence, he had threatened to kill her.
He came down on one knee, bracing his weight on a closed fist. The soggy grass made soft tearing sounds as his immense weight bore down on it.
Cordelia looked up at her guardian, and saw that his expression was one of worry and concern. His nervous optics tracked her and Viviane's movements, and he did not reach towards her as he would normally do.
Cordelia felt Viviane pull back slightly as they drew nearer to Optimus.
"It's okay," she soothed. "He won't hurt us." She rubbed reassuring circles into the back of Viviane's hand with her thumb, trying to convey a sense of safety to the older woman.
Optimus' audial covers rotated softly, betraying the nerves Cordelia knew that he was battling with.
"Optimus, can I please introduce to you, my sister? This is Viviane Wembley, and we only discovered a short time ago that we are half-sisters. We share the same mother; Guinevere."
Optimus gave them a small smile and extended an index finger towards Viviane.
She took it after a few seconds' hesitation, grasping the tip of it gingerly with both hands before skipping quickly backwards.
"I'm…erh…pleased to meet you, Mr Prime."
Optimus inclined his head graciously at the woman, regarding her with curious optics.
"The pleasure is mine, Miss Wembley. If I may, I wish to apologise for my atrocious behaviour aboard the ship. No words, nor actions can condone my behaviour towards you, but I can only offer you the fact that I was not in my…right mind when I made those threats against you. It pains my Spark more than you know to realise that the way I conducted myself towards you is the source of your fear of me."
He lowered his great visage further still, bringing his jaw level with Cordelia's tiny height.
Cordelia placed a comforting hand on the underside of his chin, drawing small circles into the smooth metal with her nails.
Viviane faltered and then composed herself. "Really, it's fine. We all have…bad days." She stepped forward, coming within a few feet of Optimus' lowered face. "I understand that your actions…were not of your own doing. And I hold no blame towards you…I know that you are one of the 'good guys.'"
Optimus inclined his head again to her. "Thank you, Miss Wembley. You show me more clemency than I am deserving of."
Cordelia watched Viviane, watched the way one hand found its way to rest on the back of her neck. She watched the way that the blood slowly bloomed up her throat and into her cheeks.
"Honestly Mr Prime, it's water under the bridge."
Optimus offered her a small smile. "Please Miss Wembley, Optimus will do just fine."
She smiled shyly back up at him. "Very well, only if you call me Viviane though."
Optimus extended his finger once more. "Alright then, Viviane. We have a deal."
She took it warmly, all apprehension forgotten. She turned her head as Cade called her name, motioning to a young girl that he had one arm around.
She was young, maybe only fifteen or so years old and had a deep olive colour to her tanned skin. Her black hair hung in two long plaits down her back. Her dark brown eyes regarded Optimus warily, but she gave a small wave all the same.
Cordelia and Optimus raised their hands in greeting at the same time as Viviane made her way over to Cade and the nameless girl at his side.
Optimus turned to regard Cordelia in the steady azure glow of his gentle optics.
A faint breeze blew across the field they were stood in, and Cordelia took the opportunity to take in her surroundings.
For miles upon miles, all she could see were the many shades of green that formed the neat little fields. They were separated into neat squares and rectangles by countless dark green hedges. As she turned, she was stunned to see the imposing figures of the enormous stones that made up Stonehenge.
Optimus turned to follow her gaze, taking in the surroundings for the first time himself.
Cordelia placed a small hand on the armour that made up his forearm, immediately bringing his attention back to her.
He turned his left hand over, uncurling his fingers to form an open palm, an invitation.
Cordelia settled herself carefully into his mammoth grasp, assuming her usual position, leaned back against his fingers with one arm hooked around his thumb.
She was jostled lightly as he moved to stand, curling his fingers over her slightly to protect her from the whoosh of air that came with his assent.
"Lia…are you alright?"
She turned to face him, motioning to be brought close to his face. He appeased her and raised her to eye level, shifting his grip around her so that all four of his fingers were wrapped tenderly around her middle.
She leaned forward and leaned against his nose, pressing a warm kiss to the smooth metal. It warmed beneath her gentle touch, as if Optimus had been stood in the warm sunshine for the whole day.
She settled back in his palm, using his thumb as an anchor point to counteract her sense of imbalance due to the watermelon sized bump protruding from between her slender hips.
"I'm fine big guy, but more importantly, are you okay?"
He looked away from her for a second, hundreds of unsaid secrets passing through his guarded optics.
"I am…under construction right now. We can speak later Lia…after the more pressing matters at hand have been dealt with."
She nodded in taciturn agreement. "Yes, but don't think you're getting out of it that easily. After you've dealt with this…Quintessa or whatever her name is, we're going to sit down and talk."
He smiled sadly at her, the gesture not fully reaching his mouth. "Indeed little one, we will indeed talk after I have dealt with Quintessa. How has the baby been? It's hard to believe, in just the space of a single month how much she has grown."
Cordelia cradled her bump, wrapping her arms around its considerable circumference. "She's been okay. Kicking away in there. I'm quite envious of her actually, all she needs to worry about is growing properly and what I eat." She pushed herself up onto her knees and stole a quick glance over his curled fingers.
Down on the ground, Cade, Viviane and the nameless girl had gathered expectantly, surrounded by Cade and a few other nameless TRF agents. She turned back to Optimus. "Come on then big guy, your audience awaits."
Usually Optimus was quite guarded with displays of public affection when they were in the company of government officials, heads of state and military personnel, but on this occasion he seemed to throw caution to the wind.
He raised Cordelia once more to his face and planted the most tender kiss on her cold cheek. The contact was so delicate and so careful that it brought tears to Cordelia's eyes. She blinked them back, determined not to let them fall.
He wordlessly returned her to the ground, placing her on her own two feet, lingering for a second or two in case she stumbled backward.
He rose then in one fluid motion. Cordelia walked over the uneven grass to join Leo, Cade and Viviane amongst the small crowd of humans that had gathered at Optimus' feet.
The other Autobots made their way over too, closely followed by the twelve Guardian Knights that had followed Optimus down from the enormous Cybertronian ship that had remained airborne.
Cordelia craned her neck to look up at Optimus as he began to speak.
"Knights, Autobots, this cannot and will not be the end! To save Earth and her people, we are going to steal Quintessa's Staff. Only you, Cordelia and Viviane, can take it back. I will lead the way into her chamber, and when the account of the ages is etched into the cosmos, let those who exist long after us know, that this was our finest hour!"
Without waiting for a response, he activated his rockets and exploded into the air, making his way toward a tiny green lump that was somehow floating high in the sky.
Cordelia wasted no time in following Cade, Leo and Viviane into a waiting Osprey.
"Woah woah woah. What do you think you're doing?" Leo demanded, placing a hand on her shoulder as she stepped aboard the aircraft.
"What do you think? Helping to save the bloody planet!"
"Have you failed to notice the fact that you are growing a tiny human inside you?!"
She shrugged his hand off, narrowing her eyes at him defiantly. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm pregnant, not incapacitated." She shoved past him and went to sit next to Viviane who was being strapped into her jump seat by one of the TRF agents.
A small doubt niggled at the back of her mind. What if Leo was right? What if she should stay down here because of just how pregnant she was?
She shook her head, trying to dislodge the thought. She knew that she would never be able to live with herself if she didn't even at least try to help.
She walked ahead of Leo into the waiting Osprey, avoiding William Lennox's penetrating gaze as she ascended the ramp into the belly of the aircraft.
She settled herself next to Viviane, pulling the seat down of the jump seat. She turned to do her seatbelt up and was pleased to find that it was a four-point harness. She did it up with ease, having travelled on enough military aircrafts to know which buckle went where.
She did have to adjust the length of the belt quite generously to allow for her expanded form. She felt Nova roll and kick inside her, as if in protest. She reached down and stroked her bump apologetically.
"Sorry baby, it won't be long. It won't be long." She kept her voice as quiet as she could, not wanting her co-passengers to hear her murmurings to her unborn child.
Viviane and Cade did their belts up without assistance, as did Leo, who had taken a seat directly opposite.
Cordelia looked at him and mouthed the word 'sorry' to him. He smiled wryly at her and reached forward for her hand. She extended her arm and closed the gap, interlocking their fingers.
Lennox came aboard then, strapping himself in with the manner of precision that only military personnel were capable of.
There was a low thrumming noise as the pilots started up the propellers and engines. Whilst the pilot and co-pilot were going through their pre-flight checks, Lennox addressed the small group of unlikely comrades.
"Listen up! We're about to try and attempt something that we don't even know will work. If you have doubts, now is the time to voice them." Silence was his only reply, and he took it as an incentive to continue. "Prime has given us the co-ordinates to the drop zone. We're gonna hitch a ride on the Autobots' ship and once we've gained enough altitude; we will virtually guide to the drop zone. An Osprey's maximum altitude is around 12,000 feet, so it will be interesting to see how the rotors cope at 21,000. Now, this ain't gonna be an easy ride, nor an easy mission. This is the end game right here, but what we do, we do for our families and for the planet. We fight alongside our brothers and sisters. Are you with me?"
In answer, the nameless TRF agents ripped the emblem from their uniforms and discarded them on the floor before pounding their chests with a closed fist.
No more was said as the aircraft chugged into the air and into the loading bay of the Autobots' cavernous ship.
Cordelia lost count of the number of times that her stomach somersaulted and her ears popped. She hung on to the belt at her chest, concentrating on keeping her breathing smooth and even. Next to her, Viviane was bouncing one leg up and down whilst she concentrated greatly on the floor of the plane.
Cade was muttering to himself under his breath and Leo was deceptively calm.
Cordelia knew that out of all of them, save for the TRF soldiers and Lennox, that Leo would cope the easiest with the mission ahead. With his service history with both the British Army and the United States, he knew what was coming.
Countless minutes and seconds went by as the Knight Ship flew seamlessly through a suspiciously cloudless sky, ascending as silently and as deadly as a predator upon its unsuspecting prey.
There was an ominous rumbling of both the aircraft and the Knight Ship as they continued to gain altitude. Out of nowhere, the floor supporting the Ospreys disappeared and the aircrafts were airborne again, tumbling into the sky like dominoes.
A low thrumming noise sounded behind them and Cordelia leaned forward in her seat to look out of the exit ramp. A Decepticon fighter was hot on their tail, firing at them without mercy.
The Decepticon fighter had a huge size advantage over them and devastating firepower, but in comparison, the Osprey was quick and nimble. The pilots manoeuvred the plane seamlessly, performing scissor turns and 360-degree somersaults to avoid the constant barrage of enemy fire.
Cordelia concentrated extremely hard on the slatted floor of the cabin, desperately willing herself not to be sick. She clung tightly to the straps on her chest, breathing slowly in through her nose and out through her mouth.
A strong smell of acrid gunfire entered her nostrils, a distinctly sulphuric odour to it. She concentrated on the harsh scent, using it to distract herself from her immediate surroundings.
Her ears popped and whistled as the Osprey wheeled and turned in the sky, now having to dodge the imposing metallic vines of the approaching Cybertron.
She heard the dull explosions of the unlucky Ospreys that were either shot down by the Decepticons or crashed into one of the enormous supports of Cybertron itself.
She could no longer tell if it was her stomach somersaulting or if it was the baby within her protesting furiously at having her world rocked so violently.
A flash of green made itself known in the corner of her eye, and she turned her head to see the ignition pad that Lennox had been speaking about earlier. It was an odd fusion of green and metal, hexagonal in appearance with great holes in the ground where huge gun turrets had appeared, seemingly from nowhere.
"We're going down!" Lennox's panicked shout rang through the cabin and the plane's passengers all went into the brace position at the same time.
They crashed into the ground, hard.
Cordelia felt as if her neck had become detached from her body as the plane rolled, throwing its passengers heads and legs around as if they were ragdolls.
A painful twinge shot down the back of her neck and into her spine, exaggerated when the plane forced her forward in her seatbelt.
After what seemed like an age of rolling, crashing and the sound of shredding metal, the plane finally came to a stop.
A quick glance around the cabin told Cordelia that everybody had survived the violent crash landing. They quickly undid their seatbelts and exited the aircraft, heading for one of the hexagonal holes that Cordelia had seen from the air.
The other Autobots were already there, Hound stood protectively over the small group of humans that were huddled by his feet. Bumblebee and Hot Rod concentrated their fire at the multiple gun turrets that were pinning them down in one place.
Drift and Crosshairs were dancing a deadly aerial routine with some Decepticons, leaping to and from the supports that were anchoring Cybertron to the Earth.
Chaos reigned everywhere Cordelia looked. Bullets flew through the air like demonic bees, accompanied by the acrid smell of the surrounding gunfire. Dull reverberations thudded in her chest in time to the galloping beat of her thundering heart.
"Stay down!" Hound's voice bellowed from above her as he rained a barrage of firepower on the advancing Decepticons. His gatling gun purred almost seductively as the rotating barrel spat out bullet after bullet.
Leo and Cade were either side of her, both laying on their stomachs. Leo had been armed with a powerful looking rifle and was shooting at the smaller Decepticon drones that were intent on shooting down Bumblebee and Hot Rod.
Cordelia searched the immediate area frantically for any sign of Optimus. Her vision was slightly hampered by the hole that she was stood in and the smoke from the gunfire and towering robots.
She crawled on her hands and knees, using her low centre of gravity to stay close to the ground. She made her way to Hound's foot and placed a hand on his ankle. She got to her feet with some difficulty and shouted up to him, hoping that the wind would carry her voice.
"Hound! Have you seen Optimus?"
He turned his great head down to look at her, the metal 'dreads' that served as his 'beard' moving slightly with the motion.
"The boss is on his way titch, give him time. He's getting' sumthin' big ready."
His words were drowned out by the thundering fire of the gun turret that was stopping them from advancing to the entrance of the ignition chamber.
"We need to blow that motherfuckin' thing to smithereens or we're never gonna get to the ignition chamber!"
Hound's frustration seeped through into his voice as he conveniently shot an approaching Decepticon straight in the face, causing it to explode into a fountain of sparks and exposed circuitry.
Hound shoved the lifeless Decepticon off to one side before it could topple onto the small crowd of humans that were huddled beneath him.
Cade had brought out his 'alien' gun that he had found before the battle of Hong Kong, and was shooting at the gun turret with all the might that he possessed.
The other Autobots were still locked in fierce battle with their opponents, preventing them from getting any closer to the one Autobot and group of humans who were essentially stranded in the hexagonal hole.
Cordelia didn't need to be a trained military official to see that the battle was slowly falling into the Decepticons' favour. The Autobots were preventing the Decepticons from advancing on the little ground that they occupied, but they were also failing to gain any ground. Both sides faced a stalemate, and neither looked likely to win anytime soon.
A distant whooshing sound gradually started to grow louder and louder. Cordelia turned her head to find the source of the sound and was stunned to see an enormous metallic dragon heading straight for them. It glided gracefully through the pungent air easily on huge metallic wings, leaving behind a contrail of vapourised steam.
Sat astride on the great creature's back, was Optimus. His sword was brandished high above his head and he uttered a guttural war cry as the dragon dropped in altitude, skimming over the top of the battlefield.
Overjoyed shouts from the humans and Autobots on the field sounded all around her, only intensifying when the dragon thwacked the huge gun turret with its tail, causing it to topple over and implode in on itself.
Hound punched the air in glee and opened a fresh round of fire on the now retreating Decepticons.
"Now that's why he's Prime, and why he got Dragonstorm!"
Cordelia tracked Dragonstorm's path with eager eyes, not taking her gaze away from Optimus for one second.
The dragon easily turned this way and that, flying gracefully on its silver wings. It was nimble and deadly in the air, death from above.
Cordelia heard a low growl and was aghast to see a huge, horned Decepticon. The beast was easily many times bigger and taller than Optimus, but not as big as the Dinobots.
She took a panicked breath into shallow lungs, watching as Optimus threw himself from the back of the dragon and slid on the earth towards the monstrous Decepticon.
Even from the distance that she was watching from, Cordelia could hear and feel Optimus' defiant roar of anger and aggression. He turned and leapt from the ground onto the massive Decepticon's back, stabbing his sword into the back of its neck.
At once, the enormous behemoth broke apart into five separate, substantially smaller Decepticons.
They quickly moved to flank Optimus, who donned his battle mask and pointed his sword threateningly at them.
He narrowed his optics at them, preparing to charge. "Did you forget who I am?!" He challenged as he charged forward into the circle of Decepticons, swinging his sword in a graceful arc and decapitating all of them with a single blow.
"I AM OPTIMUS PRIME!" He declared, his voice carrying over the vast distance.
He called his Autobots to the offensive and Cordelia wasted no time in shouting up to Hound.
"Give me a ride?"
He winked down at her and scooped her up easily into his broad palm. "You'd best hold on titch, this is gonna be a bumpy ride." He curled his fingers around her to keep her secure in his grip and began to sprint towards his leader.
Hound's gait was a lot choppier than Optimus', and Cordelia's stomach threatened a revolt. Nova squirmed furiously inside her, kicking hard against her swollen abdomen.
Hound made it to Optimus in record time and had the situation not been so dire, Cordelia would have laughed out loud at the gobsmacked expression on her guardian's face.
His optics were so large and round with shock, they looked like they were about to burst clean out of their housings.
"Hound, Cordelia, what, how?" He seemed to have lost the ability to form full sentences but accepted Cordelia's weight from Hound without question.
A few seconds later, Cade, Leo and Viviane arrived at the entrance to the ignition chamber. Optimus put Cordelia down on the ground amongst the others.
"You four, stay behind me." He spoke in a tone that was not to be argued with, and they did so without waiting to be asked again.
He knelt down on one knee and blocked a missile with his shield. Optimus took the brunt of the impact, grunting with the effort. The four humans huddling behind him were not even so much as rocked.
Things started to happen so fast that Cordelia had trouble comprehending them.
Explosion after explosion sounded, rocking the whole place. Cordelia could feel the heat on her bare skin, even though at 21,000 feet in the air, the temperature was rather cool.
Another explosion, more powerful than any of the previous ones, knocked them all of their feet, human and Autobot alike.
By some unknown miracle, Cordelia landed on a huge lump of moss that had come loose from somewhere, thus cushioning her from the rough landing. They began to slide downward, the smooth metal of the ignition chamber's floor only causing them to accelerate.
She felt someone wrap their arms around her left leg and looked behind her to see Leo. She managed to reach around and grab his hand, and when she turned to face forwards again, she saw that they were aiming on a collision course with one of the downed Osprey planes.
It happened in slow motion.
She watched Optimus use his rockets to go in a graceful arc over the plane and then immediately turn back to face the way he had come.
He threw himself into the body of the Osprey, causing it to explode and break in half, allowing the humans to pass under it unharmed.
Gravity took over then and her body left the floor to become completely suspended in mid-air.
Leo, Cade and Viviane found themselves in the same predicament, all somersaulting with seemingly no control over their movements.
Cordelia felt as if someone had tied a piece of string behind her naval and kept pulling her backwards with it, causing her to flail about like some crazy ragdoll.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Viviane almost swimming in an effort to get to the Staff, which had been placed into the ground of the ignition chamber. All she succeeded in doing was moving a few feet to the left, but got no closer to the Staff than she had been in the first place.
Hound was firing bullets at Megatron who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Megatron was about to deliver the killer blow to Bumblebee when Optimus launched an attack with his sword, severing Megatron's right arm completely from his body.
Bumblebee, now free from immediate danger, used his foot to gently move Cordelia closer to the Staff. Leo caught her by the hand and swung her closer still, and she was able to grab hold of the Staff and used it to anchor herself to the ground.
A funny feeling passed through her whole body, almost like a giant electric shock. She looked upwards and saw a mysterious figure with multiple metallic tentacles hovering above her.
The figure looked down and the two locked the other in a tense gaze. The figure above Cordelia had a distinctly feminine face, and her optics were a pale blue with a purple ring in the centre.
The figure snarled and said in a sickly-sweet voice, "Megatron, kill her!"
Cordelia watched as Megatron prepared to shoot her, unhindered by his lost limb.
Optimus slammed into him, uttering a furious bellow that vibrated Cordelia's very bones. Megatron flew through the wall of the ignition chamber at the same time as Bumblebee shot the strange figure in the face, causing her to explode and disappear in a strange orb of purple light.
The Staff came free from the ground, and whatever force that had been holding the ignition chamber in the air had now ended, and the enormous chamber began to fall.
The sensation was sickening. Cordelia felt as if she'd left her stomach behind as she too, entered free fall. She clutched the Staff close to her body, thinking of not only how she was going to survive such a fall, but how she was going to land in order to protect her pregnant stomach.
Suddenly, she slowed down. Everything around her stayed 'normal', but she herself was moving as if in slow motion.
A thin, wispy film surrounded her and she realised that Hot Rod had fired his time-stopping weapon at her to slow her descent.
A huge blue and silver leg came into her field of vision, followed by the red and blue chassis of Optimus Prime. He clutched Cade, Viviane and Leo in one hand and reached out with the other for Cordelia.
As his fingers wrapped around her small body, Cordelia felt herself relax and fall back into his familiar grasp.
He brought her to his chest and tucked himself around the four humans to protect them from the flying debris of the tumbling ignition chamber.
Cordelia's world became a kaleidoscope of colour as the Autobot leader and the four humans tumbled back down to earth.