Saphira yelped as she heard an explosion nearby as she ran between the buildings. She breathed heavily when she stopped by another house to steady herself before launching herself from the building to keep running. The decepticons appeared to be distracted thankfully, and she kept running. She did worry for Barricade and Bee, but she knew they could take care of themselves. Barricade might be injured, but he was still able to fight. Saphira knew that. She yelped as she saw a missile flying towards her and ducked into a house, throwing herself to the ground as it impacted the ground. She covered her head as stones fell around her.
She coughed a little and gasped when she saw blood on the ground from where she coughed. She groaned, placing a hand on her chest. She hoped that didn't mean it was a sign of a punctured lung as her lungs filling with blood was the last thing she needed right now. She gulped more water down and looked at the bottle, there was at least a quarter left before she was out. That should be more than enough to carry her to Optimus.
She ran out of the ruined building and turned to keep running. She could hear the weapons of the military echoing, it was a sign she was getting closer. She hoped she was anyway. She kept running, the adrenaline pumped through her veins as she pushed herself. She gasped when she noticed Starscream finally flying down again, it seemed he was bored watching from above, or annoyed he could not find her, she ran into a house in case he would see her. She waited for him to land somewhere out of her sight and kept running.
She glanced up and saw two helicopters approaching, she was surprised to see them, and it appeared they would get help. But the decepticons were not taking chances, they shot the aircraft down very easily. She ducked as one of the helicopters flew over her and the blades broke against the roof of a building. She jumped as one of the blades land inches from her, she stepped back as her jeans had been cut by the blade. Thankfully, no further injuries.
"Saphira!" She jumped and turned when she heard Arcee's voice. She smiled when she saw the purple bot rolling towards her. Arcee placed her hand to her ear. "I've located Saphira!" Saphira smiled as Arcee, Moonracer and Chromia approach her. "Looks like you've seen better days."
She shrugged at her. "I sure have." She glanced up and saw a familiar dark autobot approaching. "Ironhide!"
Ironhide grinned at her. "My favorite punk, at least we are not the only ones who look like we are in a fight."
"Really funny, Ironhide," Chromia chuckled at Ironhide as she looked at Saphira. "Follow us to the pillars, we'll take you to Optimus."
Saphira smiled before gasping. "Look out!" She shouted as a decepticon takes aim at Arcee.
Arcee turned in shock and ducked as she is fired upon, barely being missed and shot back at the decepticon. "Saphira! Get running! We will hold him off!"
Saphira nodded, although she was hesitant because the decepticon was huge. Ironhide focused on the bot and she took a deep breath. She ran around the bots, keeping herself from being in the line of sight for the decepticon. She gasped when Arcee is hit by a bullet, her chest splattered and she fell to the ground, limp and dead with energon dripping out.
"Oh no," She whispered, feeling a deep sadness growing. She barely knew Arcee, but she liked her.
"Keep running, Saphira!" Chromia yelled at her. "There will be time to grieve later!"
Saphira ran around the building as Ironhide shot at the large bot and landed a successful shot to the neck. He punched the decepticon and threw him to the ground, standing on him with a single foot and ripping him apart. She smirked a little, Ironhide being ruthless was not surprising. Chromia and Moonracer roll beside her, zipping around and shooting at decepticons that began to close in. She spotted pillars ahead of her, she hoped that was a sign she was getting close.
"Megatron incoming!" Ironhide yelled suddenly, sending a jolt of fear through Saphira's body. "Keep running, Saphira!"
She intended to. She kept running towards the pillars ahead of her, looking around for any possibility to hide. However, if Megatron had her in his sight, that means no where was safe enough. She yelped when Moonracer fell as her legs were shot at. The femme turned to shoot as Megatron grabbed her and held either ends of the femme. Saphira turned briefly and her eyes widen in horror as he ripped her in half. He grinned as their eyes lock and Saphira turned away to keep running.
"Run, run, run!" He mocked with a light chuckle. "You can't run forever, you will be mine! Don't you forget that!"
Saphira shakes her head to ignore the words. Ironhide shoots Megatron's shoulder, causing him to stumble back due to his heavier body. Megatron roared loudly and Saphira weaved through the pillars, gasping as a decepticon is shot in front of her and killed. It was so messy here, so much smoke in the air and the debris flying everywhere made her cover her face to protect it. She saw Sideswipe ahead, he was standing behind a ruined building as cover as he shot at the decepticons with the solders. His eyes light up once he saw Saphira.
"TRAITOR!" Megatron's voice boomed and Saphira knew exactly who he was talking about. "Out of my way!"
She skidded to a stop and looked back to see Barricade standing in front of Megatron, poised to attack him. "You'll have to go through me!" Barricade growled back at him. "And I will stop you!"
"Hah! You are a fool!" Megatron grabbed Barricade's arm and the former decepticon sliced at the fingers, preventing Megatron from making a close ranged shot.
Megatron roared and Barricade kicks out the bot's legs, making him fall on his back. Barricade glanced at Saphira and gestured for her to keep running. She nodded, although she worried Megatron would kill him. As brave as he was, Megatron was stronger and Saphira knew it. Saphira turned away and ran towards Sideswipe and the soldiers.
She hears Barricade roaring loudly and punches behind her, she did not look back. She could barely see him through the dust and smoke, but William's figure soon came into view. She smiled slightly when she saw him. She could see his stern expression, it was filled with relief that she was alive. She wasn't safe, but she was alive.
"NO!" Barricade roared suddenly, Saphira glanced back and gasped as Barricade tried to lunge at Megatron as the decepticon leader blasted the ground, not caring what or who he hit.
Saphira yelped and covered the back of her head, feeling the heat of the blast behind her as the blast hits multiple buildings behind her. She did not stop, however, she kept running and her focus was on Lennox. She ducked by a large boulder as Megatron fired a couple missiles, they land in front of her and she scrambled back, pressing her back against the boulder.
She glanced up as Lennox gestured for them to cover her, Sideswipe and Ratchet fire upon Megatron and she heard tank blasts in the distance firing as well. Saphira's ears were ringing, she looked around fearfully and tensed when she heard heavy footsteps running closer to her. She glanced up to see Barricade, she gasped as he was holding his chest and she saw it was on fire. Ironhide was holding him up and Bee was covering for them.
"You're alive!" Saphira gasped in relief as Barricade looked down at her. "You idiot, he could have killed you!"
"Megatron is nothing I can't handle," Barricade responded with a smile, glancing to the soldiers. "We have you covered. Get Saphira out of here and over to Optimus!"
He and the bots duck as tank missiles fly over them, hitting multiple decepticons and Megatron. She heard the sound of pillars falling. Barricade turned and fired at the decepticons, Ironhide followed his lead and Saphira looked at Lennox. He gestured for her to run over to him to shelter by a ruined building. She scrambled to her feet and ran over to him, reaching out to him as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her in for safety.
"Look who showed up!" Lennox looked at her with a scowl, he was exhausted and very unhappy about the turn of events. He glanced around the wall at Barricade. "It is so weird for him to be on our team!"
"He's been on the team for a while," Saphira said through her gasps and drank the last of the water from her water bottle.
"You better have a damn good reason for us to be here." Lennox took deep breaths and looked at her with a frown. "Simmons said something about you being able to revive the big man. I hope that is true."
She nodded, holding up the bag in her hand. "I have it with me. I have to get this to Optimus. Where is he?"
Lennox points in a direction across from them, Saphira's eyes spot Optimus's foot and smiled slightly. "He's right over there, across the courtyard."
Saphira winced as bullets hit the ground in between them and Optimus, it was clear it was not safe. But she had to get to Optimus, no matter the cost. Will glanced at Saphira, his eyes narrow as he gazed as the wounds on her shoulders. He could see she had been attacked, but she was still pushing herself.
"You're one hell of a woman, Saphira, and you are not even eighteen yet," Lennox comments with a smile. Saphira looked at him in surprise and shrugged. "You're brave. Braver than most of us."
"Oh sure, she made us come all the way out here for a fight," Robert said in a slightly sarcastic voice.
Saphira smiled at both men before looking over to Optimus. "I have to get to Optimus right now."
Lennox shook his head and glanced upward at the sky. "Not with an air strike coming. You'll have to wait until the rain stops before you can bring the big man back."
She frowned at Lennox, she didn't like the sound of the airstrike, but she also did not want to wait. "I have to get to him right now!"
Lennox gave her a sharp glare before gasping and gesturing for her to move back. Saphira glanced up and saw a decepticon before moving to the other side of the ruined building to keep out of the line of sight of the decepticon. Saphira pressed herself against the wall and heard the decepticon speaking before it suddenly transformed into a railgun and shot at the tanks that were still firing at them. Saphira covered her ears from the sound, glancing towards Optimus. It was so painful to be so close, and yet so far from him. She had to get to him!
However, she noticed a stream of black smoke in the air and widened her eyes when she saw a Blackbird approaching. She smiled when she recognized Jetfire. Lennox was about to order his men to fire at him when she grabbed the radio.
"What are you doing?" Lennox looked at her like she was crazy. "He's a decepticon!"
"He's the reason why we are here!" Saphira responded bluntly. "He helped us! He also knew my grandfather, he changed sides from the decepticons long ago."
"Incoming!" Jetfire announced loudly as he transformed. "Stick the landing!" He rolled into a building as he lands and stood up, stomping towards the decepticon. "Behold the glory of Jetfire!" Jetfire sliced the decepticon in half and slammed his hammer on its face. He looked down at the soldiers and Saphira with a smile. "I hope I am not too late, seems like I missed quite the party."
"Thank you, Jetfire," Saphira responded happily. "I knew you would come."
"As if I would abandon Everett's granddaughter to the Fallen, pah!" He spat at the ground and straightened himself as he noticed the autobots looking at him. "What are you younglings doing just standing around? Fire upon the decepticons!" He glanced back at Saphira. "I hope you have the Key."
She nodded and held up the bag, making Jetfire frown. "The remains of it is in here."
Jetfire widened his eyes in surprise, he seemed to want to say something before shrugging and slicing another decepticon in half. "Now let me show you how we brought the pain in my day!"
"Oh shit!" Robert cursed loudly as there is a rumble underneath the sand. "Oh no! Another scorpion bot!"
"What?!" Saphira shrieked, glancing around in fear. "Jetfire! We got incoming!"
Jetfire glanced at the ground, he could see something kicking up the sand and Saphira looked up as something launched over them towards Jetfire. She gasped as she saw the scorpion bot land on Jetfire's body, it's pincers digging into his abdomen. Jetfire cried out as the bot punched the right side of his body, breaking pieces of his body off. Jetfire grabbed the scorpion and slammed it into the building, glaring at it and it jumped at him again, burying deeper into his body.
"Jetfire!" Saphira screamed at him with wide eyes, her hand hovered over her bracelet. "I can get rid of it!"
The fell foreward, pulling the scorpion from his body and glancing at Saphira. "Stay back, girl!" He groaned and glared at the scorpion, punching its face into the ground. "I'm too old for this crap!"
Saphira ran over to the old bot with fear in her eyes. She glanced at his stomach and Jetfire supported himself with his hands. "Can that be fixed?"
"Oh…maybe…" He groaned as he struggled to get up. "I am rusty old bucket! I doubt any kind of energon would help me!" He coughed a little and spluttered some energon, glancing at Saphira. "You have to go, girl. Is that him, the Prime over there?" He points towards Optimus and Saphira nodded. "Go to him! I am old! I have lived my time, it is your time to shine!"
Saphira was reluctant to leave the old bot behind. "Alright…you'd better take shelter. There's an air strike coming."
"Air strike? Oh, bollocks, of course there is." Jetfire groaned, pushing himself off the ground. "Who ordered that?"
"I did." William was nervous about the bot, Jetfire turned his gaze towards the man and he nodded at him. "Um…hi…"
"He's a friend," Saphira said to Jetfire with a smile. "He's helped me save the world before."
"A great man like you, you remind me of someone." Jetfire smiled at him and placed his arm over his chest as a respectful gesture. "You have my respect. What is his name?"
"Major William Lennox." The man shook his head as Saphira told him the name.
"Major, it is a pleasure to meet you." He groaned and dragged himself away. "Now I gotta find somewhere to hide. Where is the airstrike supposed to hit?"
Saphira did not know that and turned to Lennox. "Well?"
"We're gonna make a break through the B's on my command, okay?" Lennox responded, she realized he didn't seem to know when the airstrike would happen, or where. "You stick with me, you understand?" Saphira nodded affirmatively. "You stay on my ass."
Robert glanced around and she noticed some orange smoke, she had not seen anything being thrown. "I hope these F-16s got good aim."
Saphira looked at the man curiously. "Why do you say that?"
"Yeah, what does that mean?" Lennox did not even look at Epps as he concentrated on their surroundings.
"I told them to hit the orange smoke."
Saphira and Lennox glance at each other before looking at the orange smoke by them. "You mean that orange smoke?" Lennox asked in an irritated voice.
"It wasn't my best toss, alright?" Robert was not too pleased with himself at all.
Saphira looked over at Jetfire. "They're hitting that smoke! Get out of here!"
He had dragged himself quite a distance, but he heard her and rolled his eyes, muttering something about how irresponsible the humans are about getting her into more danger. However, there was only a moment of silence before she heard the radio go off.
"RUN!" Robert and Lennox yell in unison, running from the ruined building to get away from the fire.
Saphira followed them as quickly as she could. She heard the fighters flying above them and the sound of them launching missiles frightened her. The men gestured for everyone to get out of the way and the bots to flee as well. Saphira heard the missiles hitting the ground behind her, successfully hitting the decepticons who were still among the ruins and killing what was left there. She was relieved and glanced back, only to gasp when she saw Ironhide limping out from the smoke with his chassis on fire. Barricade, who was still damaged himself, assisted the large bot out of the firing range. But, she saw more missiles dropping and yelped, the sound of those missiles hitting the ground was so loud and she nearly stumbled from the impact.
The ground shook and her eyes locked at Optimus. They needed him right now! She did not care about William's orders anymore. She could see the other soldiers hiding from the blast along with the autobots, but she turned to her left to run towards Optimus. She heard Will and Robert yelling at her to come back, she completely ignored them. She tried to run as fast as she could, she almost felt like she was in a dream where she was running and she was never getting closer to her destination. Or more like, the destination kept moving further back the closer she got.
Her determination had not gone unnoticed. She heard the sound of heavy thuds behind her, and she heard him, but she did not see him. "DIE!" He roared, firing he weapon at her.
Saphira screamed as the blast impacted the ground behind her and sent her body flying through the air. Her eyes were blurry and she could not hear anything. But once her body hit the ground, a terrible pain shot through her body and her eyes closed as everything went black. She could barely hear her name being cried out and the sound of desperate thuds running towards her, and Lennox reaching her body to perform CPR.
But for Saphira, she felt as though she was no longer in her body. The blue curtain of the world rolled back, the stars wield ahead of her and the air was incredibly warm and welcoming. She didn't realize she could even stand. She thought she was dead, her eyes were still blurry and there was a bright, white light ahead of her, it was almost blinding from how bright it was.
"Where am I?" Saphira asked out loud in a calm voice. "Am I dead?"
She gasped when she saw the silhouettes of familiar beings approach her. "We have been watching you, a long, long time," A gentle voice spoke to her, it sounded very wise and kind when he spoke. She glanced up, widening her eyes as she recognized the shape of the Primes approaching her. "You, young Dawn, have shown the qualities of what it takes to be a Prime. No victory can be won without sacrifice."
Saphira gazed at the six beings who stood around her right now. "But…I am not a Prime. I am not a transformer."
"That does not change who you are," The Prime spoke again kindly. "The qualities of a Prime include the courage of being a fear. For it is fear we must conquer to move forward. For you, Saphira Dawn, we have watched you grow from babe to young adult. A femme worthy to be called a sparkmate."
She was shocked at the words of these beings. She didn't even know if she could believe it. She glanced away from them. "I…I think you have the wrong girl. I am not brave…I am…just me."
"Yet, it is your humbleness and fear that has brought you this far." She glanced up at the Primes as they speak again. "You have fought for Optimus, our last living descendant, with courage and with sacrifice, the virtues of a leader, a leader worthy of our secret." Saphira smiled slightly as they spoke to her, she did not know if this was true or not. "The Matrix of Leadership is not found, it is earned. You have shown everyone the world you are worthy to hold the power of that Key in your hands."
Saphira just could not believe what she was hearing. "Do you really believe that? I am just a human. I…I have no one really. No family…no parents…"
"We wholeheartedly believe that." She blinked as one of the Primes drops to one knee slowly, she could barely see the red eyes on his face, but they are kind and he had a smile. "You being human makes little difference to us. If an ant can move an object ten times its size, then the courage of a single human is no different."
"I…I feel like I've let you all down…especially know how you died…maybe I can revive you with the Matrix too." Saphira gazed at them and they all smile gently at her. "It would be great to have more Primes around."
"There will be more Primes, they have yet to be born. Our bodies are not able to wake up, even with a power such as the Matrix." She blinked in surprise at that, they knew more Primes were coming. It made her curious about that. "Return now to Optimus." The Prime who had kneeled stood up slowly, his gaze holding firm with her. "Merge the Matrix with his spark. It is, and always has been, your destiny, young sparkmate."
Saphira opened her mouth, wanting to speak with them some more, however their bodies begin to glow and she grimaced as she watched them raise their arms. She blinked quickly to adjust to the light, however it was too blinding and she felt the curtain that had rolled back suddenly close over her.
Her eyes shot open as she took a deep breath. "Saphira!" She blinked and took deep breaths, glancing up to see Will's relieved expression. "Oh my god! You scared the hell out of me! You stopped breathing!"
Saphira smiled slightly at him. "I'm sorry…I had a mission."
"You damn right, but that was so stupid." The man chuckled at her. "Megatron shot you."
"He did?" She was surprised he actually would shoot her. "Of course…just to stop me from saving Prime."
"He nearly took you with him," Robert said gently, patting her arm to comfort her. "I think he would have revived you, he just wanted to stop you."
Saphira was glad he didn't. She grimaced as she moved to sit up, her shoulders and ribs scream at her. "Where's the Matrix? The dust was in my bag."
"The bag…it broke…" Lennox locked down and gasped, his eyes widen as they land on the Key on the ground. "Woah…where did that come from?"
She glanced down and sat the Matrix by her side. She was surprised it was not dust anymore, it had merged back together. She was hesitant at first, but she reached down and grabbed the Key, the Matrix responds like it had before. It glowed brightly and she felt the warmth of its power spread on her skin.
"Saphira…" She glanced up to see Barricade looking at her with a relieved expression. "I thank Primus you're alive. Revive Optimus. Megatron fled like the coward he is."
"I can't believe I am even alive to witness this!" Jetfire exclaimed, leaning on a pillar to hold himself up. "Ohh! This is so exciting!"
Saphira smiled at the both of them, Lennox helps her to her feet. She grimaced a little and took a deep breath. "Ouch…" She placed her hand to her side. "I think a rib or two is broken."
"We can get that checked later. Wake the big man up." Lennox pats her shoulders gently. "I hope it works."
Saphira nodded and turned towards Optimus, the green, tarp that was covering him had drifted off his body slightly, leaving his chassis uncovered. She walked up to him, clutching the Matrix tightly in her fingers and climbed upon the familiar chest. She grimaced as she nearly slipped from the pain in her shoulders and rib, it seemed now that the adrenaline was gone, the pain had taken over. She glanced at his face, the optics were dark and there was no life in them. She took a deep breath, moving towards his broken chassis, looking into the chest where the glowing spark was. She hoped this would work, the Primes seem to believe so.
She kissed the Matrix gently. "I love you, Prime," She whispered against the Matrix. "This is me literally giving my heart to you."
She took another deep breath, lifting her hands up above her head as she aimed the Matrix and slammed it into his chest. She gasped as she felt the pulse of power run through Optimus's body. She glanced up and down his body, crawling towards his face as she heard the sound of whirring coming from within his body and other parts coming to life. She looked at his face and saw his optics twitching, coming only and she smiled as she saw the blue colour in his eyes. He took a breath and groaned loudly, shifting to sit up slightly and locked eyes with Saphira who was still sitting on his chest.
Optimus's lips curl into a gentle smile. "Saphira…you returned for me…"
"I could never let you go, you never let me go in Mission City," Saphira said with a smile, getting a wider smile from Optimus.
His optics gaze at her and noticed the injuries she had sustained so far. She slid off his chest and he sat up more, supporting himself on his elbow. "Your shoulders…"
"Nothing that can't be dealt with," Saphira responded with a shrug. "I am just you're alive."
"A living Prime!" Jetfire exclaimed, getting his and Saphira's attention. "Ha, ha! I don't believe it!" He glanced down at Saphira and winked at her. "You are one lucky gal, Saphira. Make sure to keep a closer eye on him now."
Saphira giggled at him before she heard the thunderous sound of something flying through the sky. She widened her eyes and glanced around before yelping as a pulse sent her flying from Optimus, and the electricity sent a zap through her skin. She looked up to see the Fallen, he glared at Optimus when Prime fell onto his aft and his eyes turn towards Saphira for a brief moment. He turned and swung his staff at the human soldiers, hitting them away and using another pulse to send Barricade and Sideswipe away when they tried to attack him.
He turned towards Optimus and used some kind of force to pull the Matrix from his chest. "My Matrix," He said in a cold, sinister tone, lifting his foot to step on his chest. He glared down at Optimus with a grin. "If only you are around long enough to witness how I destroy this world. You won't be needing her anymore."
Her?! He couldn't possibly mean…
His face turned towards her and Saphira scrambled to her feet to run from him. The Fallen just laughed and stepped towards her with wide strides and grabbed her from the sand. Saphira yelped and wiggled in his grasp, staring back at him with wide, fear filled eyes. She glanced towards Optimus, he glared at the Fallen as he tried to get up. Satisfied, the Fallen turned and launched himself up and Saphira gasped, clenching her eyes shut as a pulse of energy surrounded them and she realized he was using some kind of portal. She opened her eyes as the Fallen reached the pyramid, to her horror she saw the machine that had been uncovered earlier. And Megatron was standing on top waiting for them both with a devious grin on his face.
