*REWRITTEN: 6/26/22*
All rights go to their original and rightful owners. I own Alestia and her part in this story.
(A-POV)
Optimus pulled up in front of a massive cream-colored building, along with the rest of the Autobots. In front lay a sprawling green lawn, littered with tall hedges. Atop the building sat a bronze roof in near-perfect condition, not an ounce of oxidation yet forming. It must have been newly erected.
We had all been driving for so long that the sun had risen over the horizon some time ago. The door opened and I jumped out, making room for the Peterbilt to transform. Once he was finished, a giant palm stretched out in front of me. I climbed on and Optimus allowed me to settle back into my comfortable position on his shoulder.
The rest of the vehicles followed the actions of their leader, all walking on the sides of the structure. I noticed something glinting in the sunlight and saw that Optimus was holding Archibald's glasses. It was now or never.
"Please, let this work," Optimus murmured.
"Fire it up, Optimus!" Jazz supported, noticing the Prime's hesitation. A good bot, indeed.
The Commander shot out a blue-hued laser from his eyes, right through the lens of the glasses. Fantastically, an image of Earth materialized, rotating and no longer on its axial tilt. What looked like a beacon began blinking steadily. My mouth went dry as I realized what it indicated.
"The code. The code on these glasses indicates the AllSpark is 230 miles from here." Optimus declared.
Ratchet spoke up. "I sense the Decepticons are getting ready to mobilize."
"They must know it's here as well," Ironhide added.
"What about Bumblebee?" Jazz argued. "We can't just leave him to die and become some human experiment."
"He'll die in vain if we don't accomplish our mission. Bumblebee is a brave soldier, this is what he would want." Optimus rumbled.
"Why are we fighting to save the humans? They're a primitive, and violent race." Ironhide claimed. I was inclined to agree. His thoughts echoed my own, but I wasn't keen on having my planet go up in flames.
"Were we so different? They're a young species, they have much to learn. But I've seen goodness in them." Optimus glanced in my direction. "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings. You all know there's only one way to end this war. We must destroy the Cube. If all else fails, I will unite it with the spark in my chest."
I tilted my head in confusion. A spark? I'd heard the word briefly but never understood its meaning. I glanced at Ratchet, hoping he would answer my silent question. But I discovered he didn't have to.
Before I had the chance to verbalize my question, Optimus gently separated his chest plates. I didn't have the best view of his actions from my location, but I stretched as far as possible to get a better look. He revealed a glowing and humming... I didn't know what to call it.
It was spherical in shape, secured to the rest of Optimus' chest with the help of multiple layers of armor. Though I couldn't see the full object, I could feel its crackling energy. The hair on my arms stood up from it before he returned his chest plates to their original position.
Was that the equivalent to his heart? It was in the right place; well, according to human anatomy, that is.
"That's suicide. The Cube is raw power, it could destroy you both." I straightened immediately and stared at Optimus. He wouldn't, would he? Of course, he would, you fool. Look at him. It's who he is.
"A necessary sacrifice to bring peace to this planet. We cannot let the humans pay for our mistakes." Optimus looked down for a moment and paused, recognizing the gravity of his next sentence. "It's been an honor serving with you all. Autobots, roll out!"
All the Autobots ran and jumped off the building. Instead of lowering me to the ground first, Optimus simply picked me up gently and transformed around me. I brought my hands to my head, trying to calm the growing vertigo resulting from the transformation. "Holy hell, Optimus."
"I apologize," He spoke softly.
"Don't worry about it. Humans aren't normally subjected to that kind of sensation, I have to get used to it. Just give me a heads up next time, yeah?" I teased.
He chuckled, and a broad grin broke out on my face. I could feel my cheeks warming as I gazed out the window, my thoughts returning to the conversation that had just taken place. The Commander's words repeated over in my head, and I decided right then and there that Optimus Prime would not be the one to sacrifice himself.
After hours of driving, the distant burning sensation in my chest finally receded and I sighed in relief, idly rubbing the top of my sternum.
"Are you alright?" Optimus asked, his voice higher in pitch than usual.
"I'm fine. I think you'll be pleased to know that Sam and Mikaela successfully freed Bumblebee from his capture."
"How do you know?"
I bit my lip, wondering whether I should tell him or not. "I could feel it, or sense it. Here, in my chest. How do I describe it?" I pondered aloud. "At the very least, it's a prickling sensation, akin to having your arm fall asleep. At worst, it's like being burned from the inside out."
"Most humans do not have that ability, do they?"
I chuckled. "No, they do not."
"Would Ratchet's expertise aid your... condition?" Optimus inquired.
"Oh, no! It's nothing to be concerned about, really." I said as convincingly as possible. "Besides, we have bigger fish to fry than my condition, as you put it."
A moment of silence. "How does the cooking of Earth's aquatic life forms compare to the sensations you've just described?"
"Aquatic... huh?" I detected nothing but pure curiosity emanating from Prime's question. What did he mean by... oh. He didn't understand the meaning of the phrase. As I realized, I burst into laughter. "I'm sorry, I'm not laughing at you. The saying 'we have bigger fish to fry'," I giggled, "is an idiom. A phrase that has a different meaning that isn't clear from the words it's built with. Basically, it means we have bigger problems to deal with."
"I see." The humor was evident now. "Earth's expressions are foreign to me. I suppose I must learn them, in case they are mentioned in conversation."
The smile slowly dropped from my face as I remembered what he planned to sacrifice today if all else failed. "You will. Learn them, that is."
"Alestia," Optimus said slowly, "You know what I must do if-"
"You will not die today, Optimus Prime."
The Commander stayed quiet as I continued. "I swear it."
Before the bot could respond, I looked out the windshield and spotted a black and yellow Camaro speeding down the road. "Look! It's Bee!" I pointed. Bumblebee drove past us, accompanied by three army vehicles. Wow, they secured an entire squadron. Sammy had held his own today. Good for him.
Optimus quickly turned, skidding into place right behind Bee, followed by the rest of the Autobots. "Optimus, you need to drive side by side, directly next to Bumblebee."
He made a small humming noise but did so without asking any questions. I rolled down the window and got Sam's attention by waving my hands. He swiveled his head as I motioned for him to roll down the window
I cupped my hands over my mouth, and shouted, "Sam, you need to move out of the driver's seat!"
"Why?" He shouted back.
"Just do it!"
He moved to the backseat. "Bee!" I shouted again. "Get ready for me to climb through!"
"Alestia? What are you doing?" Optimus asked.
"Do you trust me?"
"Yes." Though I was surprised at the speed at which he responded, I pushed the thought from the forefront of my mind.
"Then don't stop me, and keep driving."
I swiftly turned my attention back to Bumblebee. I unclipped my seatbelt and began climbing out of the truck's main cabin feet-first. "Alestia?!" Optimus yelled, terror laced in the sentence.
"Get as close to Bee as you can!" I said as I arched my back in order to secure my footing on the sidebar. When I was confident I wouldn't fly off, I ducked and swung my head back around so that I was looking straightforward once more.
He edged close to the Camaro, and I took a deep breath right before I crouched and managed to climb into the car's driver's seat, feet first again, of course. I heard Optimus call my name for a second time.
"I'm okay!" I shouted back.
I scrambled to get comfortable, but when I glanced at the others in the car I saw that they were staring at me, mouths hanging open.
"Why…" Mikaela trailed. "Why would you do that! You could have fallen! You could have died!" She shrieked.
"Mik, I'm fine. Seriously, it's not the first time I've done that." I tried calming her. Bee chirped, and I looked at the radio. "Thank you, Bee! It's one of the many skills I'm proud of. Oh, and sorry for stepping on your upholstery. I'll make sure to clean and polish it when this mess is over." A more excited-sounding string of beeps originated from the radio this time, and I laughed.
"WHAT?" Mik hollered. "Alestia, don't ever do that again or I will kick your ass! I'll kill you before whatever stupid stunts you pull have the chance to."
"Alright, fine." I rolled my eyes. "I just won't do it when you're watching." I smiled deviously. "Ow!" I rubbed the back of my head where she had just cuffed me.
"Don't. You. Dare." She glared at me.
"Fine, fine. You're just jealous 'cause it was cool."
"That's a separate issue that we won't speak about."
Sirens sounded from behind us, promptly ending our squabble, and Sam looked back to check it out. "No, no, no, no, no." He hissed.
"What?" Mikaela asked.
"It's the same cop. Block 'em, block 'em, block 'em!"
At this, I turned around as well and realized it was the car that was chasing us earlier. "It's Barricade!" As if hearing me, the Autobots got into a specific formation that successfully blocked the cop car and its Decepticon friend.
The other massive vehicle which I'd never seen before began to transform. It looked like some sort of military-grade vehicle, one I'd rarely encountered before. Optimus also transformed, leaping and attempting to not crush any cars on the expressway.
"Oh my god," Mikaela muttered.
"Bonecrusher is accompanying Barricade.' Optimus' grave voice sounded throughout the Camaro, coming from the speakers in place of Bee's.
The Decepticon gained on us quicker than I'd imagined, skating right through a public city bus and sawing it in half. I watched in horror as it immediately went up in flames. Before I could blink, Bonecrusher was charging full speed at Prime. The red and blue bot barely had time to brace himself as the Decepticon barreled into him. They both flew off the side of the bridge we were nearing and disappeared from view.
And then, there was only pain.
Oh, a cliffhanger! (Unless you've seen the movie...) I apologize if this chapter is a little short, I didn't have much time to write today. However, I promised a chapter would be posted today, and I refuse to go back on my word. Speaking of chapters, the events that take place in the movie will be finished in the next chapter, and the timeline will be in between the first movie and ROTF!
