Author's Note: It was brought to my attention that the previous upload of this chapter contained a detail error, I have successfully changed the problem and have now re-uploaded the chapter. Some changes, but not many. Thank you.

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Chapter Ten

...

The tires of the dilapidated semi were dull and lacking tread, which made it difficult to maneuver on dirt. This difficulty resulted in what Optimus would call a few too many close calls, but he managed to lose two of the SUV's a few miles out of Paris. He realized they wouldn't be gone too long, but right now the choppers provided an aerial tactic that he wasn't up to competing with. If he could shake them off, then everything would be in the clear to meet up with Mira and plan their next move.

However, he wasn't that lucky.

The bullets from the air ricocheted off his chassis and plunged themselves deep into the brick of the building to his left. Spinning his tires on the loose gravel, he slammed into the side of the building as he pulled a quick right and then a left, his back tire hitting the wall and trying to send his form whipping into the adjacent wall. If it would've been any other semi it would've succeeded and there it would've laid, but it was him and he corrected sharply, counterbalancing his weight and straightening his coarse. Checking the aerial's again, he pulled a quick left and checked the time.

It'd been twenty minutes since he'd last commed Mira, and he wouldn't chance a lock on the comm with the kind of technology these adversaries were hauling. It was an advanced type of system they were using, one he recognized from NEST, but extremely advanced and upgraded since his time with the military. Optimus wondered how these men-"Cemetery Wind" they called themselves-had been able to arm themselves so advanced without help from either a Decepticon or an Autobot traitor. As far as he knew every Autobot had been in hiding, and no one had surrendered to the humans.

But, he wasn't God, and he didn't know everything.

Mapping his location, he noted that two miles away there was an abandoned feed processing plant long since left and haunted by memories and former glory. It was big enough to house him if necessary; if only to provide cover so he could replenish his reserves and run a nannite repair program. It was purely concrete, which would hide his energy signature if he scrambled it and encrypted it enough. Directing himself towards the location, he swerved into an alley to right to evade gunfire. He positioned the review to see the bullets send a red Honda careening into a nearby store. He scanned the scenario and found the human to be alive, fleeing the scene with a broken shoulder. Relieved, he activated his defense systems and showed his Path Blaster, which appeared from beneath his passenger side fender. Aiming at one of the choppers, he activated the firing systems and let loose a barrage on the flying machinery. A few bounced off a building, but most of them hit home on the underbelly of the Huey. It threw the machine off course only briefly, but the pilot corrected and stayed his course, Optimus noting the other from the south.

Careening left, he headed out of town towards the feed mill.

...

Mira threw the steering wheel a sharp left, dodging incoming traffic on the outskirts of Paris. Forgetting the turn signal, she slammed the accelerator and made her way onto the exit ramp, marked Broadway Avenue, and roared between and VW bug and Ford Focus before making the sharp left turn. Tessa, Merrick, and Cade braced themselves in every area of GTO before Merrick declared rather loudly.

"Momma! Be CAREFUL!" he hollared, "You're gunna smash us!"

She checked the rearview. "I will do nothing of the sort," she stated romantically, "just...hold on!" she jerked the wheel right as Cade lunged for it to dodge a bicyclist biking on the wrong side of the road. Slamming the accelerator, she felt her phone go off in her pocket. Digging it out, she tossed it at Cade. "Look at that for me, will you? It's Optimus."

Cade just stared at her, "Not until you tell me what's going on!" he declared, challenging and almost tossing the phone onto the dash. "I think we deserve a bit-"

"You deserve nothing," Mira snapped, "and since you are bystander's in this situation, it's best you know nothing of the matter. Considering Cemetery Wind is after Optimus, the situation has reached a high-profiling security alert," she had lost them in her military schpeel she realized, and groaned as she exited the main street, Cade giving her a 'yeah right' look, "Now is not the time,"

"Now is the perfect time!" Cade countered,

Tessa interjected by popping her head between the two of them. "I hate to say this," she moved the rearview so Mira could glance back, "but we've got company!"

Mira released the wheel with one hand and steadied the mirror, "Unmerciful Primus!" she cursed, slamming the key back into the ignition. The Shield began to shift again, and she voice commanded the vehicle to auto-drive. It recognized the command and shifted into an appropriate gear, stabilizing the transmission and engine before correcting itself. Mira reached past Cade to the floorboards of his side of the muscle car and wrapped her hand around the .50, "stay down!" She pushed Merrick to the floorboards, turned to face the back of the GTO, and positioned herself on her knees in the front seat. Shoulders shrugging, she squinted her eyes closed, and after hecking the magazine, she flipped the gun in her grip and used the butt end to smash the back window.

"I'm sorry, babe." she whispered, glancing at the ring on her thumb.

Tessa screamed and covered her head as glass danced around them in a shattering song before there was quiet. Mira used the seat to stabilize her aim as she lined up the incoming SUV, which was dodging around civilian vehicles, in the crosshairs of her scope.

"Check the message!" she hollared to Cade, snapping the trigger back with her forefinger. The rifle spit to life, popping off rounds and sending Tessa and Merrick into a screaming fit of panic. The gunfire danced off the front of the SUV as Mira lowered herself behind the seat as they returned fire a moment. Only when they stopped did she right herself and aim again.

"Okay, okay!" Cade cried, lunging for the phone on the dash. The Pontiac swerved a hard right and then left, sending its passengers flailing inside. Mira toppled onto Cade's body, their faces inches from each other's, before she pushed herself off him and gripped the .50 again. Cade reached for the phone and it slipped again, this time making a break for the window. "No!" Cade went after the phone.

"Dad!" Tessa screeched. Cade's upper body went flying out the window before Mira reached out to grab him, before his entire body proceeded after the phone. She grabbed his back pockets and shoved him back into the car.

More gunfire this time. Everyone ducked as the GTO corrected again sharply. Tessa was screaming and Merrick was crying again. Mira situated herself back at the .50 when Cade shoved her out of the way and thrust the phone into her hands. "You do this, and I'll shoot!"

She snatched the phone and punched the number's to her code, releasing the phone's security features. Sliding back over into the driver's side, she glanced at the message, heavily encrypted in Cybertronian. Sighing and cursing Optimus briefly, she pressed the phone into the glass windshield and instantly the See-All awakened to life. The system instantly began scanning the phone and unlocked the code. Translating, she read the message.

Hayson's Feed Mill and Processing Plant-east side.

She nodded to herself, "Where's the old Mill from here?" she yelled to Cade, who was busy returning fire to the swerving SUV, which was gaining ground. She noticed another one coming up behind them and she spun around, pointing to the Nike bag. Merrick sat trembling and looked up at her.

"I think it's west!" Cade returned.

Merrick squeaked, "Momma, what's-"

She stopped him, "Unzip that bag for me and hand me one of those grenades," she said quickly. He looked at her strangely, until she frowned at him, "Do, it, Merrick!" he instantly sprang into action and handed the device to her, little hands trembling.

She tucked the phone between the seats of the car and knocked out the glass of the driver's window with her elbow. Plucking the handgun from the floorboards of the driver's side, she leaned out the window and seated her butt on the ledge, lifting her left leg to press against the doorframe to provide herself leverage and stabilization. She aimed at the glass of the SUV, then double guessed herself and changed to the tires. Popping off a few rounds, they spit into the pavement just before the SUV, which rolled over the marks. Groaning, she tossed the handgun back onto the floorboards and pulled the pin.

"DOWN!" she screeched. Throwing herself into the truck and to the boards, she pressed her hands against the accelerator. The GTO whined and sped on, careening as Cade's body hovered over hers on the seat. His hand pressed her head to the boards, as the explosion behind them boomed with revenge and sent the truck flying forwards with the aftermath. The Shield corrected, the car braking slightly and the back end fishtailing wildly. almost throwing them into a tailspin. Cade returned to the .50, and Mira lunged for the phone and pressed the emergency dialer.

Mira realized these guys were able to get any and every piece of info on her possibly available. She needed someone to cover her tracks, someone to make her and Merrick disappear entirely. Their names needed wiped off the face of the planet, and it needed to happen now. There was only one person she trusted with such a task, and that person was her own flesh and blood brother, Bryce Savage. He, the only one left outside of NEST untouched and safe, could wipe her and Merrick out, just like he had himself from the system. He'd managed to keep himself-and another valuable member of the NEST squad-out of sight and mind for the past three years since NEST disbanded.

She punched in the number of her brother, and pressed the phone to her ear. Cade was still returning fire, Will's Pontiac long since awarding itself the opportunity of target practice. As the phone continued to dial, she began punching in the location for the feed mill into the GPS system of the Shield's positioning request. Instantly it recognized and routed the best possible way to the mill. Accepting the route, the truck corrected severely, tossing her against the door. Finally the call connected.

"Hey, Mare," the familiar baritone of her brother chirped, followed only by the rapid clicking of computer keys, "how's it been?"

"Bryce!" she gasped, "I need you-whoa!" the GTO went to go off-road now, plunging over a curb and dipping into a highway separation. It trekked up the small incline and cut through traffic, which was now screeching and honking out of the way, and crashed into a median. The transmission whined and shifted as the Shield initiated strengthening protocols, sending the vehicle motoring on as if it were the apocalyptic vehicle of a lifetime. She listened to the metal crunch and scape, and she winced. "Come on!" she pounded the hood, "-I need you to initiate the Crosswind Protocols!" she grabbed the wheel and tried to swerve left, but it was rock solid.

"Crosswinds? Mare, that's-"

She practically screamed now, "Do it, I don't have time!"

There was a familiar clicking and beeping now, one she recognized but chose not to acknowledge. Bryce, however, acknowledged and responded hushedly over the line before returning to her. "Are you okay? What's happening? Has P-"

"Just, do it!" she hollared, and ended the call. She trusted him to trust her on this and initiate the protocols.

The mill was in sight now, and the SUV was still gaining-the other obviously ended by her grenade. Cade was consistently returning fire which connected with the SUV, having knocked out the windshield and most of the hood of the vehicle. Merrick was quiet, Mira hoping Ratchet's inoculation was keeping him somewhat shock-resistant. Mira began positioning herself to locate Prime's energy signature when gunfire rittled the back end of the GTO, popping the glass from the passenger's window of the backseat next to Merrick. She screamed and covered her face, ducking below the window the shelter herself with the door.

The GTO turned left, down an alleyway. Slender enough to fit in the tight spot, it left the bulky SUV behind and scrambling for another route. Realizing they had some ground now, she looked to the sky were chopper's were circling the building.

Then, there was flashing warnings on the windshield as Mira spotted the huge piece of building smash down in front of them.

The Shield provided immensely strong breaking, sending the tires slamming to a stop and skidding across the pavement. The car caught momentum and tried to whip into the wall, but the Shield inoculated the affect. Cade's body was flung forward, but the Shield activated the airbag system which kept him from slamming into the windshield. The .50 rammed into his chest, and he groaned. Mira's head would've cracked into the steering wheel if the airbag hadn't deployed.

They were still a moment before she tore the airbag away from her and out the window, whipping around to see Merrick. He was pressed against the seat, trembling and heaving into the floorboards. The smell of warm vomit overtook the car and Mira grabbed the Nike bag. Tessa touched her head, where a nice gash had formed across her temple. It wasn't bad enough for Mira to patch right away, and she popped the latch to the driver's side door. Slipping out, she forced the seat forward. Glancing at the now thoroughly totaled body of her car, she slammed a fist on the hood and kicked the front tire. Will would've killed her.

"What happened?" Cade asked, scrambling out from his side. Both of them helped the children out of the car, Cade strapping the .50 around himself now. He thrust one of the Bauer emergency kits into Tessa's arms, which she strapped on. Mira took the other and shouldered it, along with the Nike bag, and Merrick shouldered his own pack. Gripping his hand tightly, she reached over the steering column for the Shield and plucked it from the ignition and forced it over her head, where it dropped into its rightful place around her neck and fell back into its original form. Next she grabbed the Glock and stuffed it into the front of her cargoes. The four of them met at the back of the Pontiac.

They all stopped when they noticed the ground shaking beneath them ever so daintilly. Mira furrowed her brow and looked to the massive piece of building before the vehicle, and then looked up. A huge piece of wall was missing, and there was a heavy sound of thunking and thumping coming directly west of them. She heard a groan and then a sharp cry, followed by the ground's shaking turning noticeable. Then, she looked to the adjacent wall and found a shadow rapidly growing in size.

"Run!" she cried, as she jerked Merrick along, bursting into a sprint.

...

Optimus had found only a moment's peace before he found himself face-to-face with a sharp looking Lamborghini, one that carried a presence almost as demanding as Megatron's. This presence, he noticed, was not that of a Decepticon aura-if that had been the case he would've engaged him already. No, this presence was one of a deceptively peaceful aura, one that could only belong to the very scum of the universe; a presence he had crossed paths with only once before. The Council-and those gone before him-had warned him of these traitors; these Neutral's who were rebellious and prideful enough not to allege themselves with either side of the Great War.

This Neutral, perhaps the most famous and devious of the breed, was Lockdown.

His reputation preceeded him like a long trail of stars; dazzling only enough to captivate its prey before slaughtering it in cold blood. Lockdown was known for his tactics, and his bounty, one so amazingly vast and eccentric it would make Iacon's armory look like a playground. Lockdown was as devious as Megatron himself; warring the universe only for those with the deepest pockets willing to pay whatever price he set. Optimus knew him as a mercenary, perhaps the best of Cybertron, and had never encountered him long enough to concern. But, he realized, today was the day he would concern himself with Lockdown.

The day, he realized, he would have to battle for his life.

Lockdown had attacked first, silently. He said nothing, only threw his form at Optimus like a being with the force of Cybertronian blood and speed. His form changed almost instantly in mid-air, and he slammed down on Optimus as if he were nothing but a landing pad. Optimus had reversed gears so quickly it send Lockdown flying off the receiving end of his form, onto the pavement where Optimus rolled over him with the entirety of his form. Instantly throwing himself around, Optimus activated his cogs and threw himself into a transformation. He got halfway when a barrag of gunfire pounded his armor.

He reconsidered, throwing his now fully changed form behind a cement pillar. His systems onlined fully and he activated his blaster, throwing himself from the pillar to return fire. He shot off a few rounds before he made his way to the edge of the parking ramp. Prime threw himself over the edge and pounded into the earth before Lockdown followed behind.

"So, Optimus, we meet again!" Lockdown challenged savagely behind him, "And you run from me as if you weren't so privileged to have the opportunity," They were still now, Prime's back still towards the mercenary, who chuckled. "You've...grown decrepit since our last engagement."

"It's is not a privilege to engage the past, Lockdown," Optimus glanced over his shoulder, "and you may keep your comments to yourself!" He whipped around and challenged a shot to Lockdown, where he rolled swiftly away from the blast which rested in the side of the parking ramp.

Optimus approached one of the abandoned packaging buildings and slammed a fist into the brick, hauling himself up roughly until he reached the roof. Lockdown was swift to follow as Optimus faced him, realizing Lockdown was going to do this the old-fashioned way. Optimus had long-since sworn off the art of hand-to-hand, much preferring to do things with weapons rather than fists, but he decided to disengage himself with his desires to resort his tactics to that of one more devious than himself. To kill a mercenary, he noted, you had to think like one.

Lockdown fisted his hands. "I'm not going to kill you," he growled, "as much as I'd like to. It seems the last Prime yields a much...loftier calling, I'm afraid," he sighed dramatically now, "surrender now and you'll save yourself a world of hurt."

Optimus slid his battle mask into place with a swift click. Narrowing his optic ridges, he positioned himself. "I'll take my chances." Then, he raised his fist and slammed it into the roof, cracking the cement and beams beneath it with such force it sent them falling downward into the building. The cement mixed with their forms rattled the air with heavy debris, with so much noise following it would've made a lesser man deaf. But, accustomed to such chaos, both mechs charged one another and slammed their fists into the other's with a resounding crack.

Optimus noted a speeding muscle car pass by one of the windows, and he scanned it quickly. The VIN matched and brought up the ownership record, and Optimus realized it was Mira and the other three. His spark panicked only a moment as he listened to a piece of the building crash into the ground. Distracted, he looked away only when Lockdown's foot slammed into his faceplating, sending him flying through the air and slamming into a support beam. It crumpled, and Optimus pushed himself away as the beam brought down a part of the northern ceiling. A huge piece crashed into his shoulders, but he shook it off as Lockdown came at him again. He heard, distantly, the car's brakes engage and the horrible sound of screeching rubber on asphalt as the Pontiac GTO came to a halt. When he heard no crashing metal besides Lockdown's fist crashing into his arm, he rested in the knowledge they had successfully yielded the debris.

He then could engage Lockdown.

...

Debris continued to rain down around them as Mira, Cade, Tessa, and Merrick raced down the alley between the two mill buildings, away from the GTO. Their supplies made it difficult to maintain speed, but Mira surmised that adrenaline would make up for lost strength. Jerking left, she stopped abruptly and pulled Merrick into her body, shielding him with another as she reached for the doorknob resting on an exit door marked Emergency Exit. Twisting it, it protested by not moving. Tugging the Glock from her waistline, she aimed and covered Merrick's face with her hand and shot the lock with a pop. It exploded briefly, but then clicked open in defeat, and Cade shouldered past her and slammed it open with his body. Stumbling through, Tessa followed as Mira shoved Merrick into the doorframe. She brought the gun up and scanned their flank, before successfully closing the door. She screamed and lunged for Merrick as a chunk of ceiling let loose from above them.

Cade beat her to him and threw his body towards the boy, tackling him roughly and sending them both flying roughly two feet from their previous location. The ceiling hit the floor with a resounding clunk, sending Tessa into a screeching fit, pointing upward. She fell to her knees as two sharp blue eyes stared at them, arrogantly scowling. Mira gasped as a huge hand wrapped its fingers around the bot's head, pulling him up and tossing him like a ragdoll. Instantly the familiar face stared down at her.

"Mira!" It was Optimus, and he looked away for an instantly, only to duck a blow from the other mech, "Get out of here!"

"Optimus!" she cried, Cade grabbing her shoulder, holding forcefully onto Merrick's wrist as Tessa ran to him. All four of them looked up as Optimus engaged the other Cybertronian in hand-to-hand. He successfully slammed his fist into the bot's jawline, sending him stumbling backwards out of view of the hole in the ceiling. Debris continued to fall as the two's massive weight gave way into the ceiling below them.

"Go!" he demanded.

Without hesitation, Cade pulled her towards the door again. They all scrambled through and dashed left, around the building and towards the parking lot of the mill. There was an eruption of cries, moans, groans, and exploding brick and mortar as Prime and the other mech's body came tumbling out of the tumbling, tossing brick and chunks of debris at them as if they were sponges. Mira and Cade threw the children under them and hit the ground, Mira realizing Cade's body covered not only Tessa, but her own. She felt his heart hammer against her shoulders as she looked up and pushed herself up with her arms. The parking lot was empty, just ten yards from them. Grabbing Tessa's wrist, she pulled the girl forward to catch up with the already bursting Cade and Merrick and dared them forward.

Optimus was fleeing the scene now, the other stranger throwing himself into transformation. Mira watched as he took form of a Lamborghini, and dashed in the opposite direction of Prime with a squeal of tires and cloud of exhaust. Optimus had rounded the corner, as she and the others came to a stop in the middle of the parking lot. Guessing Prime was just north of them, she burst into a run to the left, towards the loading docks of the mill where she guessed Prime was headed. The other's followed.

"Going somewhere, pretty?" The four of them skidded to a stop as the voice resounded on the air behind them. They turned around to see the other mech, standing across the lot from them, raise an arm with a grenade-looking weapon in his right hand. He stared squarely at Mira, his optics piercing her into her soul. She knew he was talking to her, and she broke eye contact to look at the grenade.

Then there was the squealing of tires, kicking up of pebbles, and blasting of an air horn. Optimus spun a cookie and whipped open his driver's door to receive them, laying on the horn continually. Cade, Merrick, and Tessa took off for the truck, and Mira tossed a look over her shoulder to the bot. She swallowed thickly and stared at him. He watched the others run for the truck and gave her what looked like a smirk before turning his back on her. Glancing slightly over his shoulder, he tossed the grenade of his shoulder and Mira took off.

The explosion was deafening, and shook the ground forcefully. Mira stumbled forward and watched as Cade hauled Merrick into the cab of the truck. The ground continued to tremble, and suddenly groaned beneath her, and she kicked up her pace and now mad-dashed for Optimus' awaiting form. There was an intense heat licking up the air behind her, and she listened as buildings began crashing down yards behind her. Tessa was pointing and screaming, and Cade was hollaring for her to hurry. Merrick was sobbing and shaking almost uncontrollably, his eyes wide with a mixture of fear, awakening, and shock. Optimus was still laying on the blasted horn, and she threw herself at the truck, where Cade's hand clasped around her wrist and hauled her up. Optimus was already gone, tires smoking as his form practically flew out of the loading bay. Mira looked in the direction which she'd come to see hell-or what she assumed to look like hell-overtake the parking lot and buildings. Fire, smoke, debris, and molten debris encased the area, and she spotted the Lamborghini sitting peaceably before the mess, watching them.

All four of them fell against the bench seat of Prime's form and Mira grabbed Merrick, pulling him close and burying her nose into his hair. She breathed him in, and then tossed a look to the windshield of the truck.

"What is going on?" Cade demanded.

The truck shifted gears and Optimus let out a sigh as he released air from his brakes. Mira allowed Merrick to lay his head on her lap, the boy trembling and tense. She closed her eyes and pushed up her glasses. "I'm afraid it's a long story,"

"We've got time."