-1Optimus counted his blessings that he had arrived when he did, even though he wished he could have arrived just a little bit sooner. Transforming without bothering to slow down first, he tackled Megatron even as he fired, hoping desperately that the impact would throw off the Decepticon's aim just enough to spare his life. It worked, but not very well. Instead of vaporizing his spark chamber, the blast merely punched a hole through his chest… severe damage instead of an instant fatality. That wasn't all that much better, but at that point Optimus was willing to work with whatever he could get. At least his brother wasn't dead… he'd managed to arrive in time to prevent that. But with the severity of the damage he'd taken, he would have to hurry or it would all have been for nothing.

Megatron, for his part, didn't even really know what had just happened. He had been about to end the misery once and for all when something struck him from the side, the cannon had gone off and now he was on the ground, curled up in a shuddering ball of pain and clutching at his chest because the thrown-off shot had maimed him instead of outright killing him. What had happened? He was supposed to be dead now, it was supposed to be over, so why was he still alive? …It didn't matter. That little problem would be easy enough to take care of. A second shot would solve things nicely. His pain-clouded mind took note of how hard it had become to move, to raise his arm and aim his cannon. He was still quite alive but his strength was gone, all of it, turning even the slightest movement into an ordeal that took everything he had. Surprise cut through the fuzziness in his dazed mind as he felt a hand close round his wrist, the grip gentle yet firm, forcing his cannon away from his chest. Weak as he was, he could only put up minimal resistance but resist he did, even as a face came into his blurred field of vision. "…Op…Optimus?"

It wasn't the fact that his brother was struggling to break free from his grip and finish the job that startled him… it was how weak those struggles already were. "Megatron, get a hold of yourself," he fairly growled, more than a little angry that the Decepticon had tried to kill himself. "Do you even realize the ramifications of what you're doing? Do you have any idea how badly you scared Sarah with this little stunt?" All struggling ceased. "…Sarah? But I… I thought…" Optimus met his gaze. "…You thought you could keep her in the dark by blocking your link to her? Well, guess again. The mere fact that you did that alerted her to what you were planning. She's no fool, Megatron. She knows you'd only do that to hide something." The Decepticon felt downright stupid at that point. How could he have forgotten about her? She cared for him, and he for her. "…Optimus, I'm a fool," he said finally. "I don't want to die. It's just… I…" The Autobot interrupted him. "You don't have to say anything, Megatron. I know how it is. Sometimes it just gets to be too much." Far too weak to stand on his own, Megatron had to rely on his brother for support as Optimus looped the Decepticon's arm over his shoulders. "We all bear our own burdens, brother…" Step by step, the two of them began to make their way home.

Megatron's mind was whirling even despite the pain he was in. He felt like the biggest idiot in the galaxy for having forgotten about Sarah. How could he have overlooked her, even in that dark moment? It would have hurt her badly if he'd succeeded and he didn't want that… didn't want to hurt her… No, that wasn't what he wanted. Not after… not after she… Awareness fled in an instant, dropping him into a blackness as deep as the ice that had been his prison for most of his time on this planet.

He wasn't sure how long he was out. It could have been milliseconds… or hours. Either way, the next thing he knew he was lying on the ground staring up at the sky, his vision dominated by the semi-panicked face of his brother. It seemed to him as though he was staring down a tunnel at Optimus's face, and every sound he heard seemed to echo. He felt like his mind was pulling away from his body… It was as if he was falling into himself, his mind drawing inward, disconnecting from reality. "It's… all right… Optimus…" he tried to reassure his brother, smiling up at him feebly. "It doesn't… hurt anymore…" He couldn't for the life of him figure out why that statement only agitated him further. A moment later he could faintly hear Optimus talking to someone else, telling them to come quickly. …Ratchet. He had to be calling Ratchet. That was probably a good thing.

Minutes seemed to elongate into hours as he clung to life, motivated by the thought of Sarah. Her face danced before his delirious eyes, her voice rang in his mind. He felt so strongly about her; he wanted to protect her, to stay with her forever… He'd learned the language of her kind, and he knew the human word for how he felt. Love, he thought to himself. I love her. He'd known this for a while now but he had said nothing, and he would continue to say nothing, for there was no way she could ever feel the same. Her body may no longer have been human, she may have gained the ability to become one of his kind, but that didn't change the essence of what she was. Sarah is human, no matter what her body may become. So how could she ever feel the same for me? I'm simply too different from her. Metal and flesh were never meant to meet. Never. The very idea seemed laughably stupid, and so he would keep it to himself. She would never know just what she had done to him, how she had changed him, as he came to a decision. Sarah, I swore I would die for you, he thought. But now… Now I swear I will live for you.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So that's how Megatron feels about Sarah. Go back to Chapter 35 to see how Sarah feels about Megatron.

Ay carumba, huh?