"OPTIMUS!" Vesper screamed as the beam of light disappeared, sucking the energy it had absorbed from the Prime back into the weapon's power source. Vesper immediately knew that the cannon had sucked Optimus' very spark out his chest, and now the Prime was little more than a husk. And, from the grin on Megatron's face, the Decepticon warlord knew it too. He started to laugh victoriously, and Vesper found herself gazing at Optimus' lifeless face. His optics were dark, completely unseeing, and the femme heard a shrill noise, almost like someone screaming. She soon realised that it was her screaming, and she scrambled over to Optimus and gathered his head in her arms. "Optimus!" she sobbed, trying to awaken him, but she knew that it was no point.
"You try so desperately to wake him, yet you must know that there is no point," Megatron said, striding over and picking the femme up by the throat. She struggled against him as he walked over to the edge of the warship and held her over. She peered down and her optics widened; she could see that the drop was one that could potentially kill her. And, looking back at Megatron and noticing that he had on his face a smile that revealed his sharp dentas, she realised that he could see the same thing. "And now, I will dispose of yet another problem."
He then threw Vesper off of the edge, and she screamed as she fell at an alarming rate. She tumbled and twisted as she flew through the air, and the ground came rushing closer and closer. The femme squeezed her optics shut just as she slammed into the rock and dirt, and she cried out as her impact caused a small crater. Then she groaned and sat up, rubbing her back before looking up. She noticed something else flying down towards her, and her eyes widened before she screamed and scrambled out of the way just as Optimus crashed to the ground.
"Vesper! Optimus!" Ratchet suddenly yelled, and the femme looked up to see the medic and the rest of Team Prime running towards them from the destroyed base. The medic looked panicked as he knelt down next to the unmoving Prime, and after making sure that Vesper was well, he immediately set to work on Optimus, but the scarlet femme knew that there was little to no point attempting to save the Prime. "I… His spark is out!" Ratchet suddenly cried, and everyone looked at him in horror, save for Vesper, who simply looked down at the ground in sadness. "I can't save him!" It was clear that Ratchet was frantic as he tried to reignite the Prime's extinguished spark. The other Autobots and the humans all stepped back, giving Ratchet some space to try and aid Optimus unhindered. "His spark is completely gone… Optimus Prime is nothing but a husk!" he cried, despair clear on his face as he continued to try.
Alice shook her head, tears running down her face. She was disbelieving of the fact that Optimus Prime – the Autobot leader, the strongest among them – was dead. She ran over to Ratchet and beat her fists on his leg, causing him to look down at her and grimace sadly. "You have to do something!" the white haired girl screamed as Ratchet knelt down. "If not for us," she said, pointing at the now-sobbing Vesper, "Then for her! Please!"
Ratchet shook his head sadly as he turned back to the unmoving Prime. "I can only do one more thing for Optimus now," he said, after a few moments of miserable silence.
Arcee glared at the medic, her optics filled with grief. "And what, by the Allspark, would that be?" she questioned, her voice shaky and tearful. Bumblebee and Bulkhead shared a look, as they too had wanted to know what Ratchet had been planning, but they simply hadn't known how to ask.
Ratchet looked away, prompting Jack to frowned and walk over so that he was standing next to Alice. "Ratchet," he said, his voice quiet, "Can you… actually save Optimus?"
Ratchet nodded slowly, although he was reluctant to explain his plan. "I… have one last thing I can try. But…" He trailed off and looked sadly down at Alice, only to receive a grimly knowing look from the girl. "It… would require me to give my spark to Optimus… a spark transplant," he stated, looking away as the others gave him horrified looks. "It would revive him, but… I would end up in the very same state that Optimus is currently in."
"No…," Miko whimpered, tears welling up in her eyes.
"You… You can't!" Arcee yelled, her optics widening. She did not want Ratchet to go through with his plan. A small part of her spark knew that there had to be another way, but the rest of her was disbelieving.
"You have to do what's right," Alice suddenly murmured, and everyone looked down at her as she averted her eyes and looked at the dirt underneath her feet. Ratchet could tell, just by looking at her, that the human femme was in a lot of pain, hearing what Ratchet would have to do in order to revive the Autobot leader. But he also could tell that she was right, and that he had to revive Optimus no matter what. The Autobots were lost without their leader, and they could simply train another bot to take Ratchet's place.
"But what you are planning to do is not the right thing to do," Vesper suddenly said, drawing everyone's attention to her. Ratchet raised an eyebrow as the femme stepped forward and shook her head, then crossed her arms over her chassis. "There is another way, one that I have not informed you of." She turned away and looked back up at the Nemesis, which was still floating close to their base. Then she looked back at the rest of Team Prime. "The weapon has two modes. The first mode is one that can cause an explosion, somewhat resembling a nuclear explosion, without the after-effect. The second mode sucks all of the energy – or, if it hits a Cybertronian, their spark – out of their body, and the weapon utilises it as a power source."
"What are you trying to say?" Ratchet asked, frowning.
Vesper sighed. "The power source can be removed from the weapon and, if we bring it back to Optimus, we can use it to return his spark. In simpler terms," the femme said, looking over at Optimus' lifeless husk, "The power source contains his spark. Bring it to him, and he shall return to us."
Everyone's eyes widened. "You… You mean…" Alice trailed off as she thought of the implications. "You can revive Optimus Prime?!" she exclaimed, excited about the very though. Vesper turned to the human girl and nodded.
"Yes. However…" The Autobot femme looked back up at the Nemesis, then sighed. "I will be returning to the warship."
"How?" Ratchet asked, his voice a worried scowl.
Vesper sighed. "I will find a way. But," she said, shaking her head, "I also ask you all to remain behind."
"No way!" Alice suddenly exclaimed, and everyone gave her curious looks. "I'm not letting you go back up to that place alone!" She ran over and stood in front of Vesper, placing her hands on her hips and glaring up at the femme. "If you're going, then you're taking me with you!"
Vesper's cyan optics widened, then she shook her head. "Absolutely not!" she exclaimed, kneeling down so that she was close to eye level with the white haired human girl. "Your idea is absurd and will only end in your demise!"
"I agree with Vesper, Alice," Ratchet said, looking down at his human charge. Bumblebee chirped something, and everyone looked over at him. Bulkhead and Arcee were shaking their heads, disagreeing with whatever Bumblebee had just said, which was something that Alice, Jack and Miko could not understand. However, Raf was giving his guardian a wide-eyed look, then he looked at Ratchet just as the medic said, "Bumblebee is right. But we cannot risk a human life."
"What did he say?" Alice asked, confused.
Vesper shook her head. "He said that you, as you are so willing, should accompany me. You could prove to be helpful in destroying the weapon and reviving Optimus Prime." She looked down at Alice. "But I do not agree with this, Bumblebee," she said, her voice disapproving.
"I do!" Alice exclaimed, stomping her foot impatiently. "Look, Vesper, I can help you!" she exclaimed, then looked over at Optimus. "It's imperative that you get that power source, right? Well, I can serve as a distraction for you!"
Vesper bit her lip. "I could not place you in danger like that."
"You're not," Alice argued, poking herself in the chest. "I'm placing myself in danger for Optimus' sake!"
This effectively silenced all arguments, and each Autobot looked at each other, while Jack, Raf and Miko all looked at the determined Alice. Then Vesper sighed and, with nods from the others, turned to Alice and accepted her proposal. Alice nodded with a determined smile on her face, then climbed up onto Vesper's shoulder and nodded at her. The femme hesitantly nodded in response and walked into the base. Then she used the lift to get on top of the abandoned missile silo, and soon found herself looking at the Nemesis, her optics full of fear for her human companion, but Alice assured Vesper that she would be alright.
"Ready?" Vesper asked as she prepared to run and jump, and Alice nodded before clinging hold of the femme's neck for dear life. Vesper sucked in air before running forwards, and just as she reached the edge of the cliff she propelled herself into the air. She caught a part of the warship that jutted out and hung dangerously above nothing for a few seconds before swinging herself onto a ledge and climbing up to the very top of the vessel.
She jumped up and immediately laid optics on the weapon, but she could also see Megatron standing near it. She gritted her dentas, then felt Alice jump off of her shoulder. "Alice, what are you doing?" the Autobot femme whispered, her optics widening as Alice looked up at her, grinned, and gave her a thumbs-up.
"I'll distract him," Alice whispered, looking over at the Decepticon warlord as she spoke. Then she looked back at Vesper and said, "You have to get that power source, no matter what!"
The femme nodded. "Very well… but I warn you not to do this!" she hissed as Alice ran out from where the two members of Team Prime were hiding and ran directly in front of Megatron, successfully gaining his attention.
"Hey, bucket-head!" Alice said, waving her arms at the 'Con. Immediately Megatron's eyes narrowed and he scowled at the young human as she stuck her tongue out at him. "Come and get me, you stupid tailpipe!" She turned and ran, and Megatron – not liking the fact that he'd just been insulted by a human – roared before giving chase. Once they were gone, Vesper ran out and over to the weapon, which was currently offline. She quickly typed in the access code and immediately started to type the release code for the energy source, and was relieved when it detached. She collected it, then started to type in another code only to hear an angry roar, which caused her to stiffen and look over at the door. She gasped as she saw Megatron standing there, then took a few steps backwards.
"I thought," Megatron hissed, his optics narrowing as he looked at Vesper and the part of the weapon in her servos, "That you surely would have been put offline by your fall."
Vesper's cyan optics narrowed as she quickly moved back over to the control panel for the weapon and held her hand above the confirmation button. "If you come any closer, I will detonate the weapon."
Megatron started to laugh. "How so, Vesper?" he said, emphasising the femme's name. "You have the energy source in your hands!"
Vesper smiled. "I do not need the energy source to detonate the weapon. It has an explosive – highly potent – in the base." Her eyes narrowed. "It was put in there as a… precaution."
Megatron's eyes narrowed. "A precaution?" he asked, his tone indicating that he was absolutely unamused.
Vesper nodded. "Against… situations like this. I am sure you are aware, Megatron, that this weapon was supposed to be used to protect Cybertron." She grimaced at the warlord. "The explosive was placed inside of its base, in case the weapon was used for another purpose, such as being used to destroy a race."
"Why did—" Megatron started, but he was cut off when something slammed into his head, and he whipped around to find Alice standing there with a crowbar. A chunk of metal – the thing that Alice had obviously thrown – clattered to the ground, but it had served its purpose. Megatron's attention was now fully on Alice, and the human girl smiled as she taunted the Decepticon.
"Come and get me, bucket-head!" she teased, then gestured with two fingers for him to come and get her. Megatron snarled before running towards the human girl, but as he reached for her she slammed the crowbar into his face, causing him to howl in pain and stumble backwards. This allowed Alice to look over at Vesper and yell, "Go! You have what you need, now go!"
Vesper shook her head as Megatron recovered and leapt yet again at the human girl, who repeated her earlier attack. "I will not leave you to die!" the Autobot femme yelled, taking a step forward.
Alice looked over as she dodged a swipe from Megatron's servo. "If you don't go now, Optimus won't ever have another chance at life!" she yelled, and Vesper realised that the human girl was right. "Leave me! I'll be fine!" Then Alice shook her head. "But don't forget to activate the detonation sequence on the weapon!"
"NO!" Vesper cried, her optics widening as she realised what Alice was asking of her. "I can't leave you! You will most certainly perish!"
Megatron suddenly managed to wrap his servo around Alice, but fortunately for her, the hand that was holding the crowbar was still free, and she managed to slam it into the warlord's head. This caused Megatron to drop her, and she yelled, "If you don't go now, then you will have failed Optimus, and the weapon will remain in Megatron's hand… even if it is incomplete!"
Vesper, realising that the human girl was right yet again, looked away. Then she looked back at Alice as the girl dodged Megatron's grasp yet again, and a small, miserable smile appeared on her face. "Very well, Alice. I pray to Primus himself that you survive," she breathed, then she turned on her heel and tapped the confirmation button. The console immediately displayed a timer, and Vesper looked over at Alice once more before turning away and running over to the edge of the battleship.
"JUMP!" Alice screamed as Vesper hesitated, just as the human girl was grabbed by Megatron. Vesper didn't see what happened next, for she jumped off of the ship. She plummeted to the ground, landing on her feet this time, although she did collapse to the ground, stunned by the landing.
"Vesper!" Ratchet said, his voice filled with relief as he ran over and helped the femme up. Then he realised that she was alone, and he frowned as she stumbled over to Optimus, with his support. "Where is Alice?" he asked as she fell to her knees beside the Prime and yanked open his chest, exposing his spark chamber to the others.
"Alice…," Vesper breathed, looking back up at the Nemesis, "Is not afraid to die."
"She's still up there?!" Bulkhead exclaimed as Vesper looked at the energy source in her hand.
"Yes," she confirmed. "And she understands… that she may not survive what is soon to happen." She held the energy source above Optimus' spark chamber, then sighed deeply before plunging it into his chest.
Optimus' body convulsed before his optics flickered on. The Prime immediately started to cough, his body shuddering, and Vesper immediately placed her servo on his chest as Team Prime all waited for Optimus to finally relax and stop coughing. When he did, he immediately looked up into Vesper's eyes, and a weak smile appeared on his face as a servo reached up and gently touched the femme's face.
"You… are well…," he breathed. Then he looked over at the others as his servo fell back to his side. "As… are the rest of you… except…" He looked around slowly, weakened and confused, searching for Alice. "Where… is Alice…?"
On the very top of the warship, Megatron was watching in amusement as Alice desperately tried to struggle her way out of the warlord's grip. After a few more minutes, the girl slumped, gasping for air. Then she looked up at Megatron and snarled. "I am not afraid of you!" she hissed, struggling again. "You want a piece of me?!" she growled, and Megatron laughed before dropping her to the ground. However, just as Alice got to her feet, Megatron wrapped his servo around the girl's torso and picked her up, using his fingers to grip the arm that happened to be free.
"No, I do not want a piece of you," Megatron hissed, his voice low. "I want two!" And, with that, he pulled on the girl's left arm. A scream escaped her lips and reverberated throughout the air as she felt her arm being pulled from her shoulder socket. She felt the muscles, tendons and ligaments tearing, and she felt the blood vessels popping. Then, with a sickening sound, she felt the skin tear just as Megatron pulled her arm from her body. Blood squirted onto Megatron's chest, and he scowled in disgust as he threw the agonised Alice to the ground. She slammed into the steel of the ship and immediately whimpered as she curled into foetal position and clutched at her shoulder, which was absolutely pulsing blood.
Then the Decepticon warlord snarled and kicked the girl into a nearby wall, causing her to scream as she slumped to the ground. She looked up and tried to stand, but Megatron slammed her into the wall again using his pede. Then he picked her up and slammed her against the wall with his servo, holding her there and causing her to start crying.
"If this is to explode," he said, gesturing back at the weapon, "Then you will die!" He grinned gleefully at this revelation, but it did not stop a smile from appearing on her face.
"I will make sure, then, that you don't survive the explosion either!" she declared, and then they both looked over at the weapon as the monitor started to beep spastically. Both of them immediately knew that the timer was up, and they both shared a look before the device exploded. Alice screamed as flames engulfed her and Megatron, and the Decepticon roared as he dropped the human girl. However, she did not hit the ship; the force of the explosion flung her off the ship, and she screamed as she flew through the air.
On the ground, Ratchet was keeping a close eye on the Decepticon vessel when he noticed the explosion. The Nemesis immediately started to depart from the Autobot base, but that wasn't his concern. The medic's attention was completely on the screaming human that was flying through the air, and he started running towards where he believed she would land. His determination was spot on, and he managed to catch her.
"Alice!" he exclaimed, noticing the blood that was spilling from her arm. She weakly smiled up at her guardian, then collapsed as she floated into unconsciousness. "Alice? Alice!" Ratchet screamed before realising that it was fruitless to try and wake her.
"Ratchet, is—oh…," Miko said as she, Jack and Raf ran over, and Ratchet turned slowly around and miserably, revealing the near-dead Alice to everyone, including the Autobots. Optimus could barely move, but he could still see Alice from where he was lying, and his lips pressed into a hard, thin line as he miserably regarded the bleeding stump that had once connected her arm to her body.
"She… she needs…," Ratchet said, then choked up and found himself unable to continue.
Arcee finished his sentence for him. "She needs medical attention." She turned to Jack. "Call your mother."
The human boy nodded before pulling his phone out and quickly dialling an all-too-familiar number, then pressed the phone to his ear as it started to ring. Soon enough he had organised for his mother to get to the ruined Autobot base as quickly as possible, and Ratchet slowly walked inside, although he did look back at the weakened Prime once before disappearing.
Optimus instructed the rest of Team Prime to head inside, and they all obeyed except for Vesper, who refused to leave his side. He did not want her to, however. Instead, he looked up at her and weakly smiled. "Can you… please help me… to my feet?" he asked, his voice very faint.
Vesper frowned. "Are you sure that you should be attempting that yet? You are weakened!" she exclaimed, but the Prime shook his head.
"It… is not safe for us to remain here," he gasped as he, with great effort, managed to sit up. Vesper frowned but did not force him back down; instead, she placed a servo on his back and supported him as he struggled. "We… must go… inside."
Vesper sighed as she nodded. "Very well," she murmured, before standing and holding out both of her servos to Optimus. He took them in his own, and Vesper attempted to pull him to his pedes as gently as she could. He successfully managed to get to his feet, and then Vesper put her hands on his back as he put his arm around her shoulder and started to struggle over to the base's entrance.
When they both finally got inside, the two Autobots noticed that Ratchet seemed to be absent. June was kneeling over Alice, her expression one of horror and determination, and occasionally she spoke to Jack and took a medical tool from his hand. Bumblebee, Arcee, Bulkhead, Raf and Miko were all standing a respectful distance back, and they simply looked up as femme and Prime walked into the base and over to them.
"How is Alice faring?" Vesper asked, sadly looking over at the white haired human that June was desperately trying to save. She regarded the nurse with some curiosity – having never met her – but was respectful enough to not inquire. That, and she believed that it was her fault that Alice was currently suffering… and that she had a very low chance of survival.
"I have no choice but to take Alice to the hospital!" June eventually exclaimed, and not a word more was spoken as Jack helped his mum get the white haired human girl into June's car before the nurse hurried off as fast as she could, and everyone prayed that Alice would make it.
If not for their own sakes, then for the sake of their sparkbroken medic.