-1Megatron strolled through the building and suddenly came across a data pad on a dusty table. The first line shown on the screen displayed only one word… His name, written in large, clear letters. Now knowing that it was a note meant for him, he picked it up and read it. //By the time you read this, I will already have started the regeneration process. What I am about to tell you is something no one else knows…Megatron made a confused face, but read the next sentence. What could she have to tell him that she wouldn't tell anybody else? //Regenerating this world means my death.//He instantly felt his spark freeze, but he fearfully kept reading. //I've known this was coming for a while. I even hid it from Ratchet, can you believe it? You're the only other person who knows.//Shivering slightly, wondering why she was doing this, he read the next line. //This is goodbye, Megatron. It's too late to stop me now. I wish I could have told you this in person, said goodbye, but I know you would never have allowed me to go through with this.//His eyes narrowed at that. "Darn right I wouldn't have, and I'm still going to try to stop you when I'm done reading this," he growled and continued.//Since this is the end, I feel I can finally tell you my secret. I know your people do not think as mine do, so forgive this human heart for its foolishness. I never let on, even through the link, but what I felt for you went far beyond friendship.//He paused for a long moment, wondering what this secret could be. What in the world would be big enough to hide from even him? //I loved you, Megatron.// The letter ended there. After a short while, literally floored, he read the last line a second time so he knew he wasn't dreaming. Then he dashed out the door in a half-flying sprint, hoping against hope that he wasn't going to be too late…
Down by the crater, Sarah looked up at Optimus. "I'm ready," she said softly. Optimus nodded and stood back from the crater, giving Sarah room to work her magic. The crater was huge as she descended into it, seeking out the exact center. Alone in the middle of the desolation, she allowed herself a few tears, mourning the end of her life. "I'm sorry, Megatron…" At the crater's rim, Optimus saw Megatron sprinting closer as if his very life depended on it, and just barely managed to stop his brother's headlong rush straight into the crater. "What are you doing?" The Decepticon seemed to be on the verge of a mental breakdown. "Stop her!" Megatron roared at Optimus, a hand outstretched. The Autobot looked over at him. "What is the matter with you?" A second yell was the only reply. "Stop her, she's going to kill herself!" Far below them, it was time to begin. Sighing, she spread her arms wide and tilted her head back. The first few bolts of blue lightning stabbed into the sky. The time had come… the moment she'd been waiting for.
Megatron roared a single word, trying to get past his brother who was holding him back. "No!" She heard him. Distance or not, she heard his cry. The power continued to grow and she turned to look up at him as he cried out again. "Sarah, stop, don't do this!"A look of surprise took hold on her face, followed by an angelic smile. Three words passed between them. "It's too late…" He shook his head desperately. "No, Sarah, I have something to tell you, please, don't go, don't do this…"
The process, once begun, couldn't be stopped, and she knew it. An apologetic look passed across her face for a moment before the release of energy began to become painful. Unwilling to let him see the fact that her death was going to be an excruciating one, she abruptly turned away. Megatron cried out to her once more. "Sarah!" He took a deep breath and literally screamed the next words… "I Love You!"Shock. Even the swirling energy seemed to freeze in place; a hurricane on pause. She looked to him with eyes wide. "I…" He looked back at her with expectant eyes, hoping the madness had stopped. The energy plumes began to vibrate, and then to move slowly on their original courses. Sarah wavered. He looked back at the girl with dull eyes, gazing at her with a sense of love… and loss. "I love you, Sarah," he whispered. Things were speeding up again, slowly returning to the way they had been before the sudden freeze. The Decepticon bowed his head, knowing that he could do nothing, knowing that he would lose her for good.
She had tears in her eyes as she smiled up at him. If these were to be her last moments, painful or not, they would be happy ones. "I'm sorry," she whispered as the storm grew, beginning to consume her. Pain built in her chest, the spark chamber she now bore in place of her human heart burning like fire. She remembered this from her dreams. "My spark is overloading," she said to no one in particular. "I'm going to die just like Megatron almost did in Mission City." The subject of her thoughts shook his head. "No, I won't let you die, I care too much about you," he said, watching as the storm raged in front of him. It was all too much now, the pain was too much… Falling to her knees, she threw her head back and screamed. In tune with her cry, blue lightning erupted from the very center of her chest to stab into the sky. It was dim at first, dim enough to look at without wincing or squinting, a fairly gruesome sight… Optimus and Megatron watched as the blue lightning entered the sky and came back down to zip down through the hole in the crater and things were silent… but only for a moment. The crater soon began to resound with her cries of pain. The light shining from her chest began to brighten until she blazed like a star come down from the sky. Now they could barely see her but they could still hear her screaming.
Optimus and Megatron stood in awe and slight disgust at the sight. The Decepticon felt his spark shattering into smaller and smaller pieces. A sob escaped him as he continued fighting against his brother, who was also grieving in his own way. Still, he couldn't let the Decepticon go down there because the energy would kill him too. "It's too late, Megatron, it's too late." It killed him to say that but it was true, it had to be… His brother wasn't really listening to a word he said. No, he still fought to break free, shaking his head in denial and pleading with… or praying to… the empty air. "No, no, it can't be, she can't be gone, not like this, not after everything we've been through… no…"
It didn't even really sound like her anymore. It was amazing that she was still alive, that she'd managed to survive this long. Death would be a mercy for anyone else at this point, yet she was fighting for it, fighting with a strength of will that refused to yield to anything, pain and death included… Megatron seemed to wilt, all fire and spirit leaving him, as if his very soul was dying in slow motion as the screaming abruptly stopped, leaving only the sound of crackling energy. A moment later, the light began to fade away to reveal her, standing again, her chest a smoldering ruin of the metal and machinery her insides had become, much as Megatron's had been after the All Spark's explosive overload. The storm was done for the most part, the energy swiftly fading into the sky.
Megatron and Optimus stood there in shock, looking down at the girl who stood like a statue in the middle of the crater. Moving slowly, she turned to face Megatron, dazed eyes meeting his. Struggling, her voice was barely a whisper as she spoke his name. He looked to her instantly. "Yes, Sarah?" His voice was barely a whisper as well, but for entirely different reasons as he watched her stumble forward a step or two. Then, abruptly going limp, she slowly, gracefully fell to the ground. Megatron ran to her side and picked her up gently. "Sarah, please, wake up." He shook her slightly. "Please don't leave me…" Looking up, she met his gaze and smiled weakly, even as life finally fled from her body. Feeling his spark die, he held her limp body to him, just barely suppressing the urge to scream out. Her presence brushed against his mind for a moment, there and gone. That momentary sensation, a feeling of sad, fond farewell, drew a shudder and a desolate cry, a wail that sounded like the anguished howl of someone who has just been forced to watch as everything that mattered to him was taken away. All across the planet, those who knew her felt the same gentle brush against their thoughts and knew what had happened.
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NOT the end…