171

Someone shook me awake. Blinking away the bleariness in my eyes, I saw Rosalyn standing over me.

"What?" I mumbled tiredly.

"You need to leave now," she whispered. Her eyes darted to the door, sitting up on my elbows, I saw it was partially closed.

"Is something wrong?" I yawned.

"Emilia called them." Rosalyn grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of bed. I stumbled to my feet, trying to understand what was happening. "She called those alien bounty hunters. You need to leave."

My brain finally processed what Rosalyn was saying, and I felt my heart pound against my ribs. I quickly picked the girls up. The sudden movement confused them. As quietly as I could, I switched out of my pajamas and into some more appropriate clothes. I did the same for the girls. Rosalyn was in a frantic rush to get me out of the house. I could faintly hear voices outside my door, I silently cursed.

Shoving my feet in tennis shoes and pulling my hair into a messy ponytail, I grabbed a sweat jacket and tried figuring out how to get out without being seen.

"Go through the window." Rosalyn opened the window for me. Her hands were trembling; I set my jaw. "I'll hold them off for as long as I can."

"Come with us," I whispered. Rosalyn looked at me with wide eyes. "Take the kids and come with us. It might not seem like a good idea, but if they find out you were helping me..."

Rosalyn looked conflicted. If Cemetery Wind found out that she was assisting in a fugitive's escape, they'd give her hell. Not to mention what would happen to her kids. Their father wasn't involved with them, and if she was taken by them...

"I don't know," she mumbled.

"Rosalyn, listen to me," I said, grabbing her shoulders, "those guys are bad news. They will arrest you for sure once they find out you assisted a fugitive in escaping. Please."

She bit her bottom lip. "You go on ahead," she said. "I'll get the kids. Just go."

"I'll send one of the Autobots to get you and the kids." I carefully climbed through the window.

"Don't worry about me," she whispered. "Just go. Be safe."

I managed to sneak my way back to where the Autobots were. I was thankful I made it unnoticed, but I was scared for Rosalyn and the kids.

"Optimus, we need to go," I exclaimed. Looking at Bee and Sideswipe, I saw Blossom and Abby already loading their kids and few personal belongings into the back of their respective other.

"I know, I was told of the situation."

"Someone has to go get Rosalyn and her kids," I said, after putting Saoirse and Eden in. Optimus tried arguing but I cut him off. "She was the one who helped me and the girls escape. Rosalyn can't stay there."

"I'll retrieve her," Ratchet said.

I thanked him before climbing into the cabin and taking off.

Optimus managed to take on a new form, hopefully to trick the agents who were after us. I held Saoirse and Eden close to me, my panic off the charts.

"Where are we going?" I asked shakily.

The Holoform activated beside me, his face near expressionless.

"Are we going back?" I felt my heart drop.

"If we manage to throw them off our trail, then we will be safe for the moment," he rumbled.

"They're expecting us to cross that border," I exclaimed. "We're not safe there!"

"Where do you suggest we go?" he snapped. I flinched. "The humans you told me to trust betrayed you. Cemetery Wind almost captured you and the girls. From now on, we can't trust anyone."

I pursed my lips. I felt hurt, but I knew Optimus was just frustrated, scared even. Emilia was the one who betrayed my trust. True, I lied about a lot of things, but I hoped that she'd be more understanding. I mentally slapped myself for being so naïve.

Despite the new truck form Optimus took on, he was still pretty fast. I constantly checked the rear view mirror for any traces of those black SUVs, but it wasn't until an hour later they actually showed themselves.

Optimus, who deactivated the Holoform after our little argument, cursed through the radio. Saoirse and Eden clung to me; crying and screaming. I tried soothing them the best I could.

Things got even worse when the shooting started. Some of the bullets grazed Optimus, causing him to curse. I held the girls down, using my body to protect them. I closed my eyes, trying to control myself.

"Where are the others?" I exclaimed.

"They went on their own," he said, sounding infuriated. "Ironhide said it would be easier if we found our way back separately."

I had to admit, it sounded like a good idea, but Ironhide was still injured. I wasn't sure how much of his injuries Ratchet managed to repair.

Before I had a moment to react, Optimus transformed. He held the girls and I close to his chest chamber, using his free arm to pull out a gun. Aiming it at the SUVs below, he started shooting at them. A lot of them swerved and crashed into one closest to them, others were hit directly by the bullets and exploded. I had never seen Optimus hurt humans before, and it was terrifying.

Without given a moment to transform back, something shot by Optimus, just barely grazing him. He held us closer to his chest, before kneeling over, trying his best to protect us.

Since most of the SUVs were destroyed, I managed to convince Optimus, through all this chaos, to put us down. When he did, he seemed more focused on finding whoever tried shooting at him, though it was no shocker knowing who was behind it.

Optimus and I both knew it was Lockdown. He was a bounty hunter.

"Protect the girls," Optimus exclaimed. We couldn't figure out where Lockdown could be hiding; he was good at long-distance attacks. For a moment, there was no shooting, no noise. A heaviness hung in the air. I looked around.

Debris from the wrecked SUVs surrounded one side of us; the smell of burning metal and other unspeakable things made the air smell horrid. Optimus kept his gun ready, standing protectively in front of the girls and I.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion.

My racing heart sounded like a drum in the heavy silence. My breathing sounded even louder. Saoirse and Eden whimpered, gripping me as if I'd disappear if they let go.

Spending so much time on my surroundings, I didn't notice an agent from one of the damaged vehicles managed to get himself halfway out of the wreckage, aiming a hand gun at me.

Since I didn't notice right away, and my adrenaline was pumping through my body like crazy, I didn't feel the two bullets go through my shoulder. I had moved that last second to protect the girls.

Since I didn't feel those two bullets hit my shoulder, I didn't have time to react to Optimus getting hit. A few bullets and a missile just missing his Spark. He slowly transformed, cursing painfully.

When I looked behind me, seeing that agent half-buried in the wreckage of his vehicle, I felt a rage inside of me that I had never experienced before. Using all the energy I had, I shot a whitish-blue beam of All Spark energy at him.

Grabbing the girls, I ran back to Optimus. He was too weak to function, so I had to figure out how to make it back to the States in one piece. Quickly taking off my sweat jacket, I felt a jolt of pain in my shoulder.

I saw the bloodstain on the sweat jacket; the dark red, coppery smelling stain. Feeling my shoulder with a shaky hand, I winced, trying to hold back a cry.

Shaking my head, I'd have to figure out a way to stop the bleeding later. If Ratchet managed to find us, the others as well, I'd be lucky to be able to ask him to help me with the wounds.

Optimus had gone unconscious from the severity of his injuries. I cursed.

Taking a deep breath, I managed to start the engine and sped in the direction we needed to go. I only hoped I could get us back alive.

QUICKY A/N:

HELLO, EVERYONE! SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG TO PUT THIS UPDATE ON, BUT HERE IT IS! I HOPE YOU ENJOY READING IT, FRIENDS!

NOTHING IN THE TRANSFORMERS MOVIEVERSE IS MINE AND THE FOUR OC'S ARE ALSO NOT MINE. I ONLY OWN MY CHARACTERS AND MY FILLERS.

I HOPE EVERYONE HAD A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS, OR IF YOU DON'T CELEBRATE ANYTHING, I HOPE YOU HAD A FANTASTIC DAY. ALL THAT'S LEFT IS THE NEW YEAR, AND I HOPE EVERYONE HAS A WONDERFUL TIME WITH THAT!

ANYWHO, DESIRÉE IS INJURED, OPTIMUS IS INJURED, EMILIA TRIED TO TURN THEM IN, THE AUTOBOTS HAVE SEPARATED, AND I HOPE THERE WAS ENOUGH ACTION IN THIS UPDATE!

THE AGE OF EXTINCTION ARC HAS FINALLY STARTED!

HAVE A FANTASTIC NEW YEAR, FRIENDS! HAVE TONS OF FUN.

THANK YOU, ONE AND ALL.

READ, REVIEW, ENJOY!

YOURS TRULY,

~SMITHY