CHAPTER 59
The Battle of Dallas: End

Mark was really tired of the world crumbling around him, and even more tired of running. He groaned quietly as he kept his hold of Alexis's hand as tight as he could. His breath was getting labored, and even Sideswipe looked exhausted as they continued their search for the remainder of the Autobots. "Mark," Mark eyed Alexis quietly. "I'm going to drop dead, I'm exhausted!"

Mark shared her sentiments, just how long could this thing go? He could already see that the sun was starting to set over the city. Soon they'd be fighting in complete darkness, and God knew that wouldn't be good. He bit back his response, pulling himself over some rubble, and positioning his gun slightly. "I know, I know baby," Mark breathed. "But we gotta keep moving, gotta-."

He barely shoved Alexis out of the way as a second wave of fire shot overhead. He dodged breathlessly, barely noticing as Sideswipe was knocked back by the force of the blast. He turned, firing off a volley of shots at the vehicon, but at that point, he was so tired, he barely managed to get a good shot in. He groaned quietly, was this the end? Was he really, after all this bravery, and all this fighting, going to die right there? He grunted, at least he'd get to see his mom and dad again, he supposed, bitterly casting his alien gun aside once it couldn't fire any more.

He was quietly apologizing to Hound when another shot fired, this time from the side. Mark looked up at the sight of a large, yellow Autobot leaping from the roof. With a sigh of relief, he realized that Bumblebee had at long last arrived on the scene. Bumblebee carved through the mech like a pro, blasting apart the vehicon's spark before turning, and letting his battle mask shoot up. "Gotta be more careful there," A voice clip sounded from his speakers. "I like you too much to lose you, kid."

"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes," Mark managed, getting to his feet as Alexis stood as well. "Is Cade with you?"

"Nah, knew better than to bring them into this chaos," Bumblebee stated through more soundbites, then turned to Alexis. "Ohhhhhhhhhh," He then tilted his head to Mark inquisitively. "Not to ignore more important things, but who's the babe?" Alexis blushed slightly, looking away a little.

"Bee, this is my girlfriend, Alexis," Mark introduced quickly. "Alexis, this is Bumblebee."

Bumblebee gave an impressed whistle and a thumbs up at his young friend. Clearly approving in his choice of girlfriend, as it was now Mark's turn to blush. Bumblebee, for his part, turned and dipped his helm respectfully as if he were wearing a cowboy hat. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance m'am," He then added, switching gears. "Break his heart and I'll break yours," Alexis went pale after that. "Now, what do y'all say we work on gettin' ye out of this here situation?"

Mark nodded his head, wiping the sweat from his brow. "We're supposed to rendezvous with the other Autobots and NEST," Sideswipe stated as he rolled up. "Please tell me you know a safe path through. Because slag if I'm not having a hard time protecting these two in this mess," He then added. "We lost track of Hound and Mirage which complicated things."

"Got it," Bumblebee nodded, then noticed Mark's lack of weapon, and beat appearance. "You look a little worse for the wear, soldier," Bumblebee noted, looking around. "Maybe I should hoist you up and carry you the rest of the way."

Sideswipe also looked down at Mark, knowing his friend was trying his best to be strong. But also knowing he'd gone through more hell than all three of them had in the past twenty-four hours. "Mark, you've fought long and hard, bud," Sideswipe noted as Bumblebee crouched and held his hand out. "But I think it's time you sat off on the sidelines for a bit," He then turned to Alexis. "You too, Lexi."

"Fine, but I can walk," Alexis explained. "Mark's the one that's hurt. I've hardly taken a hit," She looked at Mark. "And they're right you know, you can't be a hero all the time. We've got this," She winked at him.

Mark didn't argue as Bumblebee forcibly, but gently, scooped him into his hand. The mech held him close, while preparing his cannon for battle. Mark wanted to argue, but he also knew they were right, after multiple beatings, both the day before, and that day, he was exhausted. He knew if he pushed himself any further, things would not go well. "Maybe we should make our priority finding the kids a safe place to lay low," Sideswipe noted. "This battle's nearly over, but Mark's exhausted, and Alexis is still just a kid no matter how tough she is," He explained as they moved on. "Look at the chaos after all, we're never going to meet up with the 'Bots without Mark in on the fight."

"I can fight!" Mark shouted. "This is my family and my fight too."

"Yeah, this is your family," Sideswipe stated firmly. "And your family is telling you to quit being a stubborn aft. If you exhaust yourself any more, you could damage yourself," He then added to his companion, sharply. "Bee if you put Mark down I will personally turn you into a toaster oven," He then added, very bluntly.

"I agree," Bumblebee nodded. "We'll send Hound our co-ordinates once we've found somewhere to lay low."

Mark finally found he was too exhausted, and pained to actually argue with them. He simply allowed himself to be carried away from the battlefield, silently hoping that the rest of the Auotobots would be okay. As if he knew what he was thinking, Bumblebee gently rubbed his thumb along Mark's spine, and began to make his way through the rubble.

...

Optimus Prime was finally getting the upper-hand. With each swift blow, Galvatron was getting weaker, the line he had cut clearly depleting his energon resources, and fast. Galvatron snarled, swinging another fist violently against his foe. Optimus pushed off the ground, activating the rockets on his feet, and propelling forward, slamming into the mech, and sending them both sliding against the ground. Around him, Galvatron could see how futile his conquest was slowly becoming. Most of his vehicons had been dispatched, and, under heavy military and Autobot fire, many of his generals had either fled, or been gunned down.

The mech refused to go down, not like this, not at Optimus's hand. He swung his feet out, and kicked Optimus off of him, pulling himself to his feet with some struggle. "I... Will not... Be defeated... By you again," Galvatron managed, as Optimus also brought himself to his feet. "I did not wait all those years for resurrection, only for it to end here."

"Look around you, Galvatron," Optimus spoke darkly. "You have lost, as you always will. Your invasion was set into chaos the moment you lost your "trump card" as you call it," He pointed at the large mech with his blade. "And I assure you, I do not plan for this to happen again. We end this here, Galvatron. I end it with you."

"You seem so sure of yourself, Prime," Galvatron hissed. "You are ending nothing. You may kill me here, but there are more out there, thousands more. They will rise, and they will finish what I started," He then added. "You will never win this war, only delay it."

Optimus prepared himself as Galvatron yet again charged, swinging his blade again. Galvatron dodged, allowing the blade to scrape against his body, it once again hit fuel lines, causing the tyrant to growl in pain, turning to slam his fist into his helm. Optimus's next move was for the very top of the chest, above the large hole in his body, Galvatron had not foreseen that coming, shocked as it impaled straight through his body, and lurching, with a screech of pain. "Perhaps, but I may also end the reign of a TYRANT," The Decepticon leader hissed as Optimus ripped the blade out. "How many have died at your hand, Galavatron? And how many more must die before you understand you have accomplished nothing in this war?"

"And you have!?" Galvatron snarled, charging, and firing off several shots which clipped Optimus, nearly sending him to the ground. "Because of you, our home is dead. Our people were hunted like animals," Optimus dodged as the mech swung his cannon for him, and staggered forward, nearly falling onto his knees. "It is because of you our race is doomed to extinction, Optimus. Our best chance at our culture's survival is if this filthy insect planet lasts long enough for that fleshbag's descendants to outlive us."

Even Optimus had to admit, that stung. He clutched his sword tightly, staring at Galvatron with anger rising in his chest. What if Galvatron was right? It was a slim chance, but what if they were doomed to do this forever, until their race was extinct? Noticing his distraction, Galvatron carefully charged up his cannon, preparing to end it. He paid no attention to the loud, thunderous footsteps which seemed to approach him from behind. "For the good of our species, I will do what I must," Galvatron snapped. "And they are far better off without YOU!"

Galvatron, however, was met with a hard club to the back of the helm. Optimus stared up at Grimlock, who had used his mace to give him the one chance he had. With the damage already done to Galvatron, he knew he had one shot at this. "You Galvatron wrong," He heard Grimlock snarl. "Him Optimus, leader we need. You Galvatron, no good."

Optimus knew he could only put his faith in the fact that Grimlock was right. With one violent swing, and a roar of rage, he slammed the blade deep into the top of Galvatron's head. The manmade creation roared in anger and fury, as Optimus drove him down harder. "In time, I will learn if you were right, Galvatron," Optimus spoke. "But today, I will not allow myself to let you live again," He then added. "My old friend, it is time you stayed in the pit."

And with that, he once again tore Galvatron's head off of his shoulders. Galvatron's optics dimmed, and Optimus watched as Grimlock slowly transformed beside him. Two steps later, he had stomped the small (in comparison) head out of existence, this time, nothing would survive of their age old enemy. This time, they had ended the reign of their foe for good. "Good teamwork, Grimlock," Optimus noted.

"You Optimus, no get used to it," Grimlock snorted. "Me Grimlock, just tired of him, Galvatron."

Optimus didn't pay much mind however, simply, he fell onto a knee, catching himself with the hilt of his blade. A part of him, the side of him that had once been Orion Pax, and the closest friend of Megatronus, bowed his head, and said a silent prayer to Primus over the fallen tyrant. Perhaps at a different time, in a different world, it would not have come to this, perhaps in that world, they could have made peace, instead of war. But in the end, he had left him no choice, for the good of all worlds, he knew it had come to this. And yet, he had not been prepared for how hard it would be to do it the second time.

Around him, the last of the Decepticons began their retreat. No doubt, those nearby had taken note of the execution of Galvatron, and knew better than to continue the assault on the city. Vehicles sped by on land, and took to the air in some cases, leaving barely a cloud of dust in their wake. Optimus knew it was over, and again, the world was safe from the Decepticon threat. For how long exactly, he wasn't sure. Perhaps days, perhaps weeks, maybe even years. But for now, the leaderless Decepticons were yet again on the retreat.

And yet again, they undoubtedly felt hope for the future.

...

Bumblebee finally let Mark back on the ground when the last of the Decepticons had retreated and they'd reunited with the main group. Almost immediately, Alexis had thrown her arms around him, foregoing his pain at least for the moment. She was no doubt relieved that, in the end, they had all made it out alright, and to tell the truth, so was he. Slowly, he began to thumb the hair away from her face, and leaned in for another kiss, this time, she returned it without hesitation, and kissed him deeply on the lips. A kiss that by this time, Mark had worried would never come.

"Mark," Mark pulled away as Hound made his way forward, activating his holoform. "Thank Primus you're alright. I'd worried after we'd been separated..."

"Me too, dad," Mark muttered, moving away from Alexis to embrace the holoform. "I'm okay though, I feel like hell, and I have bruises where bruises should not be though," Hound chuckled quietly at that as the boy leaned his head against his shoulder. "And you know, I'm kinda homeless again, so that's another problem," He teased.

Hound shook his head, wrapping his holoform's arms around his son. Indeed, there was a lot to discuss now, and quite frankly, they had a lot to get through. But at the same time, he was simply relieved that this was all over, and that he had his son, and his life back. "Yeah, I get the feeling the government won't be too happy either," He explained, wrapping one arm around Mark's shoulder, and the other around Alexis's. "And Lexi, I'm quite sure after this, your parents won't trust me with you ever again."

Alexis laughed lightly, shaking her head, she ran a hand through her red locks. "I'm so worn out I don't really care what my parents say," She told him quite bluntly. "But I get the feeling I'm going to be grounded until I'm in my eighties," Mark smirked a little, though the idea didn't make him happy. "Can we promise not to do this again? At least not for a few years."

Hound shook his head a bit, walking them towards the celebrating soldiers and Autobots. "I wish I could promise myself that, youngling," Hound teased her gently. "But they say you can only look at these here situations with optimism. We won the battle kids, and I think for now, that is much more than okay," Both nodded. "Now if you're going to be grounded for a while, I think... I should let you two have a little more alone time," He unwrapped his arms from both of their shoulders. "Better make it quick too, most of us are heading out soon."

Mark smirked as Hound's holoform disappeared, and his real form approached the others. "You know, he's right," Mark commented. "As long as you stick around me, I think this is going to be par for the course," Alexis smirked back at that. "So if you can't handle this, I wouldn't blame you if you, y'know, just-." He began.

"Mark?" Alexis put a finger to his lips. "Just shut up, and kiss me again," She told him bluntly. "Because I don't think we'll be doing much more of it for at least a month knowing my dad." She teased.

She brought herself closer to his body, and Mark put his arms around her. This time, the kiss that they shared felt like it lasted for an eternity for both Mark and Alexis. There was no doubt in their minds what they were now, nor of what what they felt was. And although the love that resonated from Mark's heart was not towards him for once, Hound couldn't help but smile. He supposed, after seeing her in action, and the way she treated him right now, she wouldn't make a bad daughter-in-law at all.

But thoughts like that could be saved for another day. All he cared about now was that once again, they would be in a time of peace.

...

A/N: And so ends the Battle of Dallas! Woo! This was a hard one to figure out, but I hope the ending to Optimus and Galvatron's battle was satisfying. And what's more, I hope that that ending satisfies those who may or may not be fans of MarkxAlexis. Sadly, we only have a few more chapters left to go from here, so expect the final updates on the horizon.