Lennox and Robert managed to catch up with their men on the other side of the river as they had waited for them. They split from the autobots again as the decepticons began to fire heavy rounds at them. So Ironhide had the autobots split from the humans to give them cover. Lennox and Robert were both quite impressed with how Ironhide was taking charge of the autobots while Optimus was still absent. They didn't know where he went, but Optimus was obviously dealing with something and he could not be there. And the wreckers weren't there either, so they couldn't be mad about Optimus not being there.
As they run around another church, there was another squad of military who had managed to get into the city. They had managed to get across the river and they had seen Lennox and his men, and they had been holding their ground and waiting for them. This was good as they had needed more men, knowing that they were still outnumbered by the decepticons. But they had made good ground already, and they knew it.
"Woah, woah, woah!" Robert was very ecstatic to see the other soldiers once he saw them. "Okay, baby! You all come with us!" The men nod and they followed Robert and Lennox.
Lennox looked over at another group of men and gave them another order. "Go! You guys, follow that ground team! Go!"
They run into the building and they began to climb the stairs. They had seen Shockwave on this side of the river, and they were going to take up some points so they could pick a target and shoot the decepticons. And if they managed to get Shockwave, that would definitely be good. He was one of the stronger decepticons, after all. Though they had noticed that they have not seen Megatron the whole time either. But they weren't going to ask questions as they might not like the answer.
"Epps! Third floor!" Lennox ordered as they ran up the stairs. "We're going to forty-five!"
Eddie let out a groan as he realized he had to climb the stairs again. He didn't have to go all the way to forty-five again at least, but he was still very unhappy that he had to climb stairs. Robert pushed the man to keep going as they were too far to turn back now. The soldiers all make their way to the respective floors that they were tasked with going to, to take their positions by the windows looking towards the tower.
As for Lennox, he ordered two snipers to be placed at a certain point and he, and his other men prepared to go to what might be the next stage of their plan. All the men prepared to move very quickly without wasting any time. Lennox glanced over towards the tower with a frown knowing they were almost there. But it felt like it was so far away, given that they have not been able to shoot the red pillar.
One of the men ran over to the edge of the floor to look down and look back at Lennox. "We jump in three minutes!"
The snipers got themselves into position, looking through the railings down at the decepticons. They made sure their rifles were loaded and ready to fire on command. They kept a close, watchful eye in case any of the decepticons would take notice of the human soldiers preparing to attack them. They have not yet, but they all were on alert, and the men knew that they can't do anything that might get their attention.
Robert and his team find a place for them to get set up. It was a smallish room with large windows that had the glass already broken into. They glance around for any targets they might have, and they did soon notice them. But Robert and his team made sure that they would not be spotted, just like Lennox. They all made sure that they waited for Lennox's order before they would proceed to do anything.
They soon hear the radio going off as Lennox began to speak through it. "I'm downstairs. And we got five targets, and Shockwave right below us. Stand by the jump!"
Robert raised an eyebrow as he heard Lennox, though he did not question him. He waited patiently while he watched as the decepticons argue among themselves. Shockwave was ignoring the chatter between the decepticons as he was glancing around, keeping a watchful eye. He was definitely caring a heap about his job, and he was able to observe a lot of his surroundings despite only having a single eye.
After several minutes, the men jump off from the building, wearing parachutes to ensure they descend from the building without crashing into anything. They were all eyeing off the decepticons down below as they descend quickly. Lennox jumped with other men by him as well. They all were eyeing off the decepticons, determined to weaken them a little by damaging their optics. Robert and his men look up as they watch their men descend from the building. They watch as they pull their parachutes, and so far, none of the decepticons have seen them.
With that, Robert grabbed out his radio and made his order. "Snipers, take out their eyes."
They watched as the optics of the decepticons were shot at by the snipers above. The decepticons were surprised when their vision was blurred by the bullets of the humans. Though they had been too busy arguing, though Shockwave had not been hit, and he was growling loudly as he was unimpressed by the humans being able to shoot their optics and destroy them. He began charging his canon as he looked around.
"All right, demo team, let's crank steel," David said through the radio, watching the ground as the decepticons were shot at.
They were blinded enough that they did not see humans crawling out from where they were hiding with explosives in their hands. They walk around the debris over to the decepticons carefully and planted explosives on their feet. The men quickly turn and run away once they attach the explosives, and they were quickly detonated. The decepticons roar in pain as their feet were blasted away by the explosives.
While they were somewhat worried about the pain in their legs, they were shot at by the ground units. They could not see the humans and held up their hands to try and block them, but the humans were aiming for their faces, and as their optics had been destroyed, their rifles were strong enough to cut through the optics into the processor, making the decepticons fall to the ground and their chassis were shot at until their sparks explode.
Shockwave was still the only one who was not blinded. He was shooting at the humans angrily, still completely unaware of the humans floating down from above in their parachutes. The few decepticons who were not shot at in the optics were also firing back at the humans. And they were also being destroyed as their optics were aimed and shot at. Shockwave managed to avoid being hit for the time being as he fired at the humans, killing several soldiers already.
However, Lennox was the one who was the closest to Shockwave. Lennox was a little unhappy by this, and he watched as his parachute lands over Shockwave's eye. Shockwave roared in surprise and anger as he was blinded, and as he began to move, Lennox was thrown around a little. The man managed to release himself from the chute, and slide by the large decepticon before he began to shoot at him. Shockwave tore the parachute from his face, roaring as he was shot at by the other soldiers who had landed and they were shooting with their chutes still attached to the bags.
Shockwave roared and ripped more of the chute as more of the soldiers shoot at him. He was getting angrier and fired as some more of the men, successfully killing them with his aim. He did not notice there were still soldiers floating down from above, not that he cared to look at the moment while he was being shot at by the humans in front of him. And they were getting closer. One of the men was able to land on his shoulders, making Shockwave growl and he hissed when he was shot at close range in the back.
Shockwave spat out some energon that had been spilled from the blast, and he smacked the human off his shoulder angrily. He was glad that he was able to swat the human insect from his shoulders. Though he was a little disorientated now that he had been shot in the back, but he did not stop shooting at the humans to kill them all. And as he was shooting, he was blasted by other humans from the building beside him. He roared as he blocked their bullets from hitting their face, and he attempted to shoot them, but his aim was off.
And as Shockwave had been focused on the humans, he did not see the wreckers approaching. They fired their weapons at Shockwave as they speed towards him. Lennox was relieved to see them, as that meant Optimus was likely not too far away. And he watched as Shockwave's eye was loosened from its socket, making him turn and begin to flee from the humans. Behind the wreckers, the other autobots speed down the road and transform to join in the fight.
Lennox smiled as armored vehicles arrive behind the autobots with even more military to join the fight. He was pleased to see this as now they were starting to turn the tide of this fight. Robert and his men leave the building they had been in to join in the fight as the autobots quickly began to push forward. Ironhide used his body to charge at several of the smaller deceptions to ram into them and he grabbed one to rip apart. He seemed to be enjoying the fight a little bit it would seem as he grinned while shooting at the decepticons.
Ironhide huffed and looked up at Sentinel with a glare. He knew that Sentinel Prime had not stepped off his tower this whole time. Ironhide was angry about that. This made Sentinel Prime look like nothing more than a coward. And he was definitely fuming that Sentinel could have allowed Megatron anywhere near Saphira. He could not understand how this autobot was even Optimus's mentor. It made little sense to me.
Sentinel had been watching, and he was a little concerned that the humans and autobots were gaining ground. But he was confident. "It's our world now!" He declared very loudly so that all of them could hear. "Commence transport!"
Another pulse could be seen shooting up into the sky, following the beam directly up and out of the atmosphere. Barricade frowned as he was alarmed at what might be happening. It wasn't until they all noticed what was entering their atmosphere. They all look up to see what looked like a world moving closer to the planet. It seemed to be made of metal, and for the autobots, they all recognized what this world was. And even though they haven't seen it in a long time, they would never forget it.
"Cybertron." Barricade stared at the sky in shock. "They brought Cybertron to Earth."
Sideswipe narrowed his optics as he stared at the sky. "And why would they do that?"
Barricade shrugged with a shake of his head. "I do not know. But this is very strange, and I don't think we should allow this to happen. Two planets cannot coexist this close together in the galaxy, the planets would cross paths and collide with each other within the gravitational orbit."
Dino nodded in agreement. "Then I say we bring the hurt, and destroy that red pillar!"
Ironhide nodded in agreement, charging his canon with a low growl. "Cybertron is no longer our home! That world was destroyed long ago! We must protect our new world at all costs!" He fired his canon at a nearby decepticon before turning his head as he heard the sound of a jet, and he grinned. "About fragging time, Optimus!"
Lennox and Robert look up as they heard Ironhide. They did not know if he really was telling the truth, but he was not. They both smile as they saw Optimus speeding through the sky, with his optics glued on the fight down below. And even from where they were standing, he was fuming. They weren't aware that Optimus was now feeling the emotions and feelings of his sparkmate, and feeling the pain she was going through made him extremely angry at the decepticons and Sentinel Prime.
Barricade smirked as he watched Optimus launch himself down from a nearby tower. "Bring them the hurt, Optimus Prime!"
Optimus flew straight down towards the decepticons. He flew over the autobots and humans who were running towards the decepticons and Optimus lands on the ground, using a little booster from the rockets of his flight tech to almost surf along the ground as he shot at the decepticons who stood in his way. The decepticons did not even try to get out of Optimus's way, or they didn't get out of the way in time as he spun his body around while he armed himself with his sword and canon.
He threw off his flight tech as he stabbed a decepticon through the spark, and threw his body down while shooting. The autobots and military who followed behind him picked off the decepticons that Optimus did not kill. And none of them were about to try and stop Optimus as he killed the decepticons in front of him. Optimus watched as one of the decepticons fell in front of him, and he began to sweep his sword along the ground, and sliced it straight through another decepticon.
He blocked a blast from the next decepticon and sliced the sword upward this time, but still slicing the decepticon in half. Optimus did not even stop to check if the decepticons he had shot and sliced were even still alive. He was extremely determined to bring justice for his sparkmate. And his sparkling as well. He stabbed a large decepticon in the front and sliced him in the back, and sweeps his sword again to cut through a decepticon on his left, ignoring the explosions beside him as the autobots and humans follow and fired behind him.
Optimus glared at Shockwave as he was the last decepticon in his way currently. Shockwave was still disorientated as his eye was hanging from his face, so he did not see Optimus running towards him. Optimus leaps forward and forward, arming his left fist with a spiked knuckle as he threw his fist forward and punched the spikes straight through Shockwave's abdoman. Shockwave cried in pain and surprise as he felt pieces of his abdoman shatter from the impact of the knuckle.
Optimus punched Shockwave's face and pulled him down to the ground. "You die!" He roared, gripped a hold of neck cables from Shockwaves throat and pulled them, pulling his eye off from his eye and Optimus forcefully used Shockwave's canon to shoot at the pillar. The blast did not destroy the pillar itself, but it did destroy the gondola and disrupt the connection as the red pillar fell down to the ground. Sentinel was shocked, glancing up as the transport of Cybertron had been disrupted and left the planet stuck halfway. Optimus stood up, stepping away from Shockwave's body, as he glared at Sentinel. "Get down here, Sentinel!"
Sentinel glared at Optimus, pulling out and swinging his sword in preparation to fight. "Optimus! You forget your place!" He jumped from the top of the building and dug his sword into the tower to slow his descent down to the ground. He reached the ground, looking at Optimus with a glare. "I bring you Cybertron, your home. And still you choose humanity!"
Optimus huffed as he grabbed his axe, and armed himself with his energon sword. "You were the one who taught me freedom is everyone's right."
Optimus roared loudly as he ran at Sentinel, lunging at him and hitting his shield aside briefly to push Sentinel against the side of the tower. The blade of his sword grazed Sentinel's left shoulder, though the blade did not dig too deep into the metal. "I will retrigger that pillar!" Sentinel warned loudly as Optimus pressed his axe against his chassis.
Optimus narrowed his optics at Sentinel as he tried to strike him with his sword, though his sword was blocked as Sentinel raised his shield. "Then you'll have to go through me!" He tried hitting Sentinel with his axe, and was also blocked with his sword.
Sentinel pushed Optimus away from him, and kicked him to the ground. Optimus landed on his back, before he rolling backwards onto his feet, standing up as Sentinel lunged at him. Optimus blocked Sentinel's sword before grunting as Sentinel hits him with the shield to the face. Optimus growled and ducked from a sword swing and punched Sentinel's abdomen to push him away slightly and swung his right leg to kick him in the cheek.
Sentinel shouts in pain and surprise as the impact of Optimus's foot was very hard, making him stumble slightly to the side. He glanced towards the pillar, knowing the decepticons were trying very hard to guard the pillar so that it could be reactivated. He growled as he blocked Optimus's axe and pushed him back with his shield. He was pushing Optimus towards the river, though Optimus was still standing his ground against Sentinel.
Optimus kicked him back again for a moment, and attempted to hit him with his axe again. Sentinel blocked the attack with his sword, and slammed his shield into Optimus's face. Optimus grunts as he stumbled back from the hit to his face, though he turned and hit back at Sentinel angrily as the older autobot turned around, using his back and shield to block Optimus, and to swipe his sword at Optimus's abdomen.
Optimus jumped back from the blade as he felt the wind hit his metal coverings. "Reinforcements!" Sentinel began to shout loudly as he continued to attack Optimus. "Decepticon ships, fire at Optimus!"
Optimus could not believe what he was hearing. "You are a coward, Sentinel Prime!" Sentinel growled, blocking his sword as their swords press together. Optimus glared at Sentinel's optics angrily. "I never took you to be a coward like Megatron. But you allowed him to touch Saphira. I know you did!"
Sentinel huffed back at him. "I made sure that Megatron did not do anything but attempt to court your sparkmate! He was not to touch her! You are completely mistaken, Optimus! You are the coward for not siding with your own kind!"
Optimus growled and grunted loudly as Sentinel swipes his shield upward against his chassis, and punched him against his chassis at the same time. He tightened his grip on his axe and ran at Sentinel, moving around his shield to swipe the axe towards Sentinel's back. Sentinel widened his optics for a brief second as he hit the axe away and Optimus had to block his sword. And Optimus could see the decepticon fighters approaching quickly as well, further solidifying Optimus's feeling that Sentinel had turned into a coward.
The soldiers began shooting at Sentinel in an attempt to distract him. Though Sentinel was more irritated at the humans as their bullets hit and bounce of his chassis. Optimus jumped and kicked at Sentinel's face, and turned back to backhand him, only for Sentinel to push back on his face and knee him in the chassis hard. Sentinel then threw Optimus to the ground behind a statue, and the decepticon ships began to fire at Optimus.
Optimus growled and he kept his head down, feeling the rush of the bullets as the were fired at him. He glanced over at Sentinel to see Ironhide running at Sentinel with Sideswipe and Bumblebee. The autobot threw his fists at Sentinel instead of using his canons to shoot him, and Sentinel used his shield and wrists to block Ironhide, though Sentinel was a little surprised to be feeling the force of Ironhide's fists. And with both Sideswipe and Bumblebee circling and shooting him, he was getting more irritated.
"Decepticons! Trigger the pillar!" Sentinel ordered loudly, slamming his sword down at Bumblebee in an attempt to kill him. Bee jumped out of the way, and Ironhide ducked and fired his canons to shoot his shield away from him when Sentinel tried to hit him with his shield. "Autobot, pests! Restart that pillar!"
Optimus shot at the ships that were firing at him, but he was having a lot of trouble. The statue he had been using for cover had almost been destroyed at this point. "I can't hold them! The ships have us pinned!" He turned when one of the ships he had shot had begun to fall directly towards him, and he tried to run just before it hit him in the back. "No!" He stumbled as the impact on his back made him fall onto his chassis.
Optimus looked up at the ships, shooting at them to try and reduce the numbers as quickly as possible. He was not aware the humans were directing tomahawks towards the ships at this time, but he soon saw the missiles. He was relieved when he saw the missiles hit the ships, and destroyed them on impact, giving Optimus the chance to get to his feet, and locate where Sentinel had fled to. He saw that Sentinel had tried to get to the pillar, but the autobots and military had been blocking him to do so. Optimus narrowed his optics and ran after his former mentor.
Meanwhile, as Lennox and Robert were shooting at the decepticons, Robert saw at the corner of his eye Dylan had run up the stairs from a subway. The man was running towards the red pillar. "Shit! Dylan is trying to trigger that pillar!" Lennox looked towards Dylan and narrowed his eyes. "Come! Let's get that son of a bitch! He can lead us to Saphira!"
The two men ran towards the rubble where the pillar was currently laying on. They were both determined to make that man pay for what he has done. Even if Dylan himself had not done actual harm to Saphira, just turning a blind eye and following the orders of the decepticons blindly was no different. And they both knew that very well as they ran closer to Dylan. With their men and the autobots focused on Sentinel and the decepticons, no one saw Lennox and Robert running after Dylan.
The man climbed the rubble quickly and he hit a button on the side of the pillar, making it respond to the command. Dylan smiled as he watched the pillar rise up slightly and turn vertical up towards the sky, and the line of energy resumed to keep transporting Cybertron closer to this planet. Dylan seemed to be rather pleased with himself over it as well as he stared at the pillar in awe, knowing what he had done.
"Step away from that pillar!" Lennox shouts angrily at the man, making Dylan jump and turn, looking at the two men in shock. "Raise your hands and get down from there, now!" Dylan lifts his hands slowly in shock and he stepped down from the rubble. "That's it! Nice and easy…"
Dylan suddenly snatched out a handgun, aiming it at the two men. Both Lennox and Robert were a little surprised, but they were more annoyed than anything. "So…the two men from the US military. Men who have been involved in fighting the decepticons since the Qatar attack. And, I guess, guardians for a certain girl."
"Drop your weapon, now," Lennox ordered the man sternly. "You are in no position to be giving threats or orders to us, playboy. Drop it, now."
Dylan tightened his grip on his weapon as he glared at them. "There is only one future for me. I won't stop…I can't stop now! Step aside, and I promise that you will live to see another day." He glanced at Lennox with a slight smile. "Or maybe I shall have someone pay a visit to your wife and daughter…"
Some newspaper suddenly flew into Dylan's face, blocking his view, and as he reached to throw them away, Lennox punched the man's hand, throwing his handgun aside. Dylan was shocked, but not as shocked when he was punched in the face. The billionaire yelped in pain and covered his face in shock as he fell to the ground, looking back at the two men in shock. "That's the one thing you should never say to a colonel, dumbass! Now get up!" Lennox grabbed the man by the suit and forced him to stand before grabbing his wrist and twisting his arm, forcing it against his back. "You are going to lead us to Saphira. Do you understand? No funny business, or I will do more than give you a bloody face!"
Dylan clenched his jaw and looked at the pillar. "What about the pillar?"
"The autobots will take care of it." Robert glanced up, and he saw Barricade nodding to him. Barricade himself was tempted to rip Dylan apart at the moment, but knew he could not. "Make sure you turn that thing into pieces, Barricade. We'll make sure this fine gentleman finds Saphira."
Barricade smirked a little as he watched the two men push Dylan to make him walk towards Trump Tower. "I will personally make sure of it. But do hurry. We do not know what state Saphira is in right now. And Optimus's anger tells me he knows exactly what Saphira is feeling."
No one could really argue with that. Optimus's clear fury was scary, but justified. Sentinel was currently fending off Sideswipe, Ironhide and Bumblebee as the three autobots were slowing him down. They were not causing a huge amount of damage, but they were slowing him down enough to get shot at by a human rocket launcher. The rocket hits Sentinel right in the chassis, causing him to cry out angrily as energon leaked from his veins and mouth.
Sentinel grunts as he scrambled to his knees before he transformed in an attempt to speed away. Optimus ran towards Sentinel, not wanting him to get away as easy as Sentinel was hoping. He pushed away cars that were in his way as Sentinel sped towards a nearby bridge. As the older autobot turned into the bridge, Optimus tackled Sentinel and kicked him into the railings of the bridge, forcing him to transform back.
"Saphira trusted you, Sentinel!" Optimus shouted at him angrily as the autobot stumbled and looked back at him with narrowed optics. "I had no doubt that Saphira pleaded and pleaded with you to not be allowed to be alone with Megatron!" He hits his axe on Sentinel's shield as he blocked him. "And what did you do? Nothing! You allowed him to hurt Saphira and, potentially, kill my sparkling!"
The made Sentinel freeze in that very moment as their swords clang together. Sentinel optics were wide as he stared back at Optimus. "What? She was carrying?" Optimus narrowed his optics more, even though he had already guessed that Sentinel did not know. "No…no that is not possible. I did not allow for Megatron to…hurt her. I told him not to…"
"And yet, you somehow thought telling him and believing his word was enough!" Optimus lunged, pushing Sentinel against the railing hard again, pressing his sword and Sentinel's sword against the older autobot's chassis. "I feel everything she feels! You know this is no lie!"
Sentinel was conflicted right now. He had no idea that Saphira was pregnant. And he had trusted Megatron. He narrowed his optics and pushed Optimus back. "Then you are throwing your rage at the wrong person, Optimus! Megatron…"
"I do not blame Megatron in this case!" Optimus roared, throwing his strength into his swipe at Sentinel. It was strong enough to make him stumble, even when he used his shield. "I had always known Megatron would hurt Saphira in such an unspeakable way! But you…you enabled it!" He transformed his arm back to normal as he punched Sentinel in the cheek. "You could have stopped it! But you failed her! Just as you failed yourself!"
Sentinel was a little stunned when Optimus punched his face repeatedly. But he in turn go angry, and he blocked Optimus's fist and pushed him back. "I will not be the one to be blamed for the injuries inflicted upon Saphira! My priorities are not one, pitiful, little, female, human. You are the one who allowed yourself to find a sparkmate in a human! A choice that is repulsive to me!"
Optimus was shocked to hear that from Sentinel. He had been respectful of Saphira since the beginning, and he had thought that Sentinel would always respect her. But now he hears this. "So this is how you truly feel about humans…you stopped caring about the freedoms of others long ago."
Sentinel just growled at him and raised his shield as Optimus tried desperately to hit him with his swords. "Always the bravest of us!" Optimus managed to force Sentinel down to the ground, and attempted to cut off his left arm. "But you could never make the hard decisions!" He hits Optimus's axe away, and jumped in an attempt to stab Optimus and Optimus pushed the sword aside, and hits Sentinel's shield again. "Our planet will survive!"
He swiped at Optimus's legs to try and knock him off his feet, but Optimus had slid back slightly and he swung his sword at the same time Optimus swung his axe at Sentinel's shoulder. He swipes his sword slightly and hits Optimus's axe from his hand and blocked Optimus's sword when Optimus tried to swipe at him again. He lifted his foot and tried to stamp on Optimus's sword, which made him recoil.
"NO!" Optimus shouts back at Sentinel.
Optimus widened his optics slightly as he felt Sentinel's blade stab through his right shoulder, and Sentinel yanked hard and pulled his arm off his body. Optimus cried out in pain, and briefly rubbed his shoulder before he tried blocking Sentinel from knocking him down with the shield. Sentinel stabbed his left shoulder to try to do the same, while Optimus reached up to try and stop him desperately.
Sentinel only managed to drag Optimus against the ground of the bridge as he tried to slice the arm off in one swoop. "We were gods once! All of us! But here…" Optimus looked up at Sentinel and tried pleading for mercy from Sentinel, only to be kicked back down to the ground. "There will only be one. And with you, your sparkmate and your sparkling gone, this pathetic part of our history will be swiped clean!" Sentinel raised his sword in preparation to strike.
Optimus was expecting to feel the blade through his chassis. He felt energon leaking from his mouth, and his optics turn towards Trump Tower. He knew that was where Saphira was, and in that moment, his spark hurt knowing that he might have failed. However, just as he thought that was the case, he heard the sound of someone blasting Sentinel from behind. He did not know who it was as he ducked to cover himself from the blast.
But as he turned himself slightly, Optimus was shocked to see Megatron running towards the bridge with fury in his optics. Optimus had no idea where Megatron had been hiding, but he clearly must have been waiting for the right moment as he successfully blasts Sentinel in the back. Sentinel himself turned in surprise to see it was Megatron shooting him, and he didn't have enough time to turn and fight back.
Megatron grabbed Sentinel and threw him into the railing. "This is my planet!" He roared as he kicked and punched Sentinel in the face, knocking off his face plate and helmet from his head. He pulled him up, only to reaching and rip out parts of Sentinel's abdomen. He grinned at the shock on Sentinel's expression. "A little bird whispered into my ear. I will never be your punching bag like Starscream was mine!"
While Megatron was dealing with Sentinel, Optimus looked up as he felt the sensation of a pulse blasting through them and he saw the ships and decepticons that were in the air being dragged up with the force of the energy that had brought them here. And no matter how hard the decepticons tried, they were dragged up into the energy, and the energy seemed to hide Cybertron hard and it began to be sucked into a large hole back to where it came from.
'I will have you under my control soon enough, Optimus Prime.'
Optimus was slightly startled by an echoing, female voice in his processor. He was not familiar with that voice at all, and he simply decided to ignore it. Especially as he knew that he was currently dealing with damage to his own body, and feeling the pain from his sparkmate and sparkling. Optimus managed to pull himself to his feet, looking at Megatron and Sentinel as the two stared at the sky as their plan to save Cybertron has seemed to have failed.
Megatron seemed to be upset by this, but he grinned and threw Sentinel to the side. "Now…" He turned to look at Optimus. "We need a truce. Especially since now that Saphira also belongs to me." Optimus narrowed his optics as he listened to him. "All I want is to be back in charge. Besides…" The decepticon just chuckled softly at him. "Who would you be without me, Prime?"
Optimus glared at Megatron coldly. "Time to find out."
He closed his face plate and ran at Megatron, grabbing his axe from the ground and throwing it at Megatron's chassis. Megatron had been preparing to use his cannon, but Optimus took him by surprise. The decepticon widen his optics in shock as Optimus pulled the axe from his chassis and pushed him to the ground before he swung the axe to hit his head, directly in the same spot as the injury he has been carrying since Egypt. Optimus dug the axe deep and pulled hard, ripping Megatron's head, spinal cord and multiple systems out from his body. Optimus knew that Megatron would deserve so much more, but he owed it to Saphira to end it quickly.
Optimus dropped Megatron's head and he looked at Sentinel, glaring at him as he watched his former mentor struggle on the ground. "Oh, Optimus…all I ever wanted was the survival of our race." Sentinel shook his head as energon spilled on the ground as he spoke. Optimus leaned down and picked up Megatron's shotgun while he listened to him. "You must see why I had to betray you."
Optimus shook his head as he approached Sentinel. "You didn't betray me." Optimus loaded the shotgun, and Sentinel flinched in surprise upon hearing it. "You betrayed yourself."
Sentinel shook his head in despair. "No, Optimus!"
Sentinel turned to try and stop him, but Optimus gave him no choice. Optimus shot him in the back first, making Sentinel fall against the railing of the bridge. Sentinel's optics flicker and he opened his mouth to plea, but Optimus shot him again and destroyed his spark. Optimus was finally able to relax his system. His shoulders slump as he stared at Sentinel and Megatron, their bodies lay across the bridge before him. And yet, he could still only feel the pain of his sparkmate. Optimus threw the shotgun down, and looked towards Trump Tower.
I did, Saphira…I did it. I am on my way to you…I know you are alive, I can feel it. I promise that I will show you how much I love you.
Meanwhile…
Lennox continued to push Dylan towards the tower with his weapon against Dylan's back. As they approach the tower, Lennox saw several of Dylan's bodyguards standing by the entrance. But as they saw the two military men, and Robert aimed his shotgun at them, they immediately raise their hands and allow them to walk into the building. Dylan was immediately annoyed by his bodyguards, but he said nothing.
Lennox forced the man over to the elevator and pushed him inside. Once they were standing inside, Lennox glared at the man. "Press the right floor button." Dylan glanced at the buttons before jumping as Lennox pushed him against the side of the elevator. "I said, press the right floor button! Do it now! Or we are going to stop at every, single floor. That's going to be a long journey together."
Dylan grimaced and sighed. "Fine." He pressed the button to the right floor. "I still can't believe you are even insisting trying to help her. She's a whore." Lennox and Robert did not say anything, but they were glaring at him. "She opened her legs up to an alien. That is only heard of in supernatural movies! That doesn't happen!" The two men still do not respond to him, and Dylan rolled his eyes. "You should not even be surprised that Saphira is perfect for Megatron. You really should have let her go with him, not Optimus."
"Don't you ever stop talking?" Robert asked bluntly as he gave him a disgusted expression. "You are lucky that I don't beat you to a bloody pulp right now. But I know for a fact, there are autobots outside the tower who want to tear your body apart. And I am not kidding either." Dylan widened his eyes fearfully and Epps snorted in amusement. "So I suggest you do what we say so we might offer you some protection."
Dylan had not really thought about that. Knowing that there were angry autobots ready to rip his limbs from his body was something he did not want to happen. So the promise of protection made him more compliant. He did not press another button, so it seemed like they were heading up to the right floor. Dylan did not seem worried about what they might find, as he just believed Saphira would be staring out the window. But Lennox and Robert were both extremely worried.
Once the doors open, Lennox made Dylan walk out first. They saw the four guards outside the door to the room. "Stand down!" Lennox shouts angrily at the men who were about to grab their weapons out. "Stand down! Your orders with Megatron are no longer valid! We are here to retrieve the girl! Open the door, and let us in!" The guards seemed hesitant. "Do it now!" Robert aimed his weapon at the men and they finally raise their hands. "Who has the key?"
"Throw it me!" Dylan barked at the men, and one of the guard threw the keys at him. "I don't think you both even need to be worried. Megatron swore he would not do anything." He walked over to the door, pushing the key in and unlocked it. "You both really are…" Dylan pushed the door open and his face dropped as he saw the room. "Worried…"
Lennox and Robert force their way into the room, grabbing the key out of the door to prevent them from keeping them locked in. Both of them gasp and freeze as they saw Saphira on the floor by the window. She was naked, and they all saw the cuts to her back, shoulders and hips, bruisng had formed around her neck, even if she had not been choked by Megatron. Her back was towards the door, but they could still see. The blood pooling around her had clearly been coming from between her legs, and her legs were stained in it.
"My god…" Robert felt his stomach twisting a little before he looked at Dylan who was shocked. "He swore not to do anything, huh?" Dylan flinched before Robert punched him in the cheek, making the man fall to the ground in pain. "You're such an asshole!" He grabbed out his radio and began to speak. "I need an EMS at Trump Tower ASAP! We have located the girl, and she is in need of medical attention! Meet Colonel Lennox and myself at the bottom, stat!"
Lennox ran over to Saphira and leaned down, gasping as he noticed her lips were pale. Panicking, he placed his fingers on Saphira's neck. He sighed in relief when he felt a heartbeat. It was weak, but he felt it. "Get me the towels from the bathroom!" Robert nodded as he ran into the bathroom, taking all the towels from the hangar and running over to Lennox. The man gently turned Saphira onto her back and lifts her legs to wrap her lower half with them. Robert ripped the bedding from the bed, even though blood was staining the end of the sheets, and gave them to Lennox. "This is breaking my heart…" He gasped as he wrapped Saphira with the towels and blankets, she murmured and her eyes open. Her once sparking green eyes had paled. "Easy, Saphira. It's just me, it's William Lennox."
Saphira blinked as she turned her head weakly. Her vision was blurry, and her hearing was ringing loudly. But she could make out his voice and appearance. "Lennox?" Saphira's voice was weak and forced as she spoke to him. He nodded as she felt her body being wrapped up. She blinked slowly and frowned. "M-Megatron…"
"We know," Lennox interrupts Saphira gently as she struggled to speak. He gently brushed hair strands from her face. "We know. We are going to get you to the hospital right now. And Optimus is waiting for you outside." She opened her eyes a little wider and she frowned at him. "You'll see." She grumbled something as he picked her up and she closed her eyes, resting her cheek on his arm. "You are safe now, Saphira."
With her body covered tightly, Lennox stood up slowly, looking around the room in despair. The carpet was stained with her blood, and William feared that not all of it was her own. Especially given how young the sparking would be. But he could only hope for the best. Especially as he knew that Saphira and Optimus had tried for a year, and now this just had to happen. Lennox knew if his wife lost their daughter, he would be devastated. So William sympathised with them.
Dylan was staring in shock. He stared at Saphira as he saw her bruised and cut face. However, he did not feel guilty. He let out a light chuckle as the two men walked passed him, only for him to tense as Robert looked at him with daggers in his eyes. Dylan said nothing and Robert punched him in the exact same spot as Lennox. Dylan cried loudly as his own face was already bruising, and his nose was bleeding.
"What did you do that for?" Dylan asked, rubbing his nostrils and looking at his hands. "Ugh…now I have to deal with this…AARRGGHH!" Robert kicked him in the face this time and the man hit his face on the side of the door. "Ow…alright, alright! Stop, please!" He gasped as Robert forced him to his feet. "I didn't know she was going…"
"Keep your mouth shut, and save that for Optimus Prime!" Robert snapped at Dylan as he shut him up. Dylan was startled and stared at him in shock. "I was thinking of telling them to go easy, but you thought this was funny. So I am going to let them do whatever they want." He looked at Lennox as he forced Dylan out of the room. "Isn't that, right?"
Lennox nodded as he was also furious. "I agree. You sided with the enemy, so you face the consequences. Let's move. We can deal with your staff later."
The guards glance at each other nervously upon hearing what Lennox had said. They did not try to stop the men as Lennox carried Saphira to the elevator. Robert pressed the button to open it and when they step inside, he pressed the ground floor. Dylan stood there shaking as he knew now that he was about to face the autobots, and he was not happy about this at all. He knew he was stupid for laughing when he did, and he was going to pay for it.
Once they reach the ground floor, Robert pushed Dylan out after Lennox walked out of the elevator. They glance towards the 35 East Wacker tower as they had seen the energy beam into the sky from the pillar had been destroyed before they enter the tower. Both men were glad this was over. Outside the tower, they saw all the autobots waiting for her. They all were worried, and when they saw Lennox walking out of the building with Saphira, they were all relieved to see her.
But Ratchet was not as relieved as he saw blood on Lennox's hands. He knew the blood was probably Saphira's, and he could see she was not in good shape. "My stars…" Ratchet stepped closer as Lennox walked towards them. "What has Megatron done?"
Lennox shook his head as looked down at Saphira for a moment before he looked back at Ratchet. "He has done exactly what you have feared." Ratchet softened his expression. "EMS should be here shortly. We need to get this girl to a hospital ASAP!" He looked around Ratchet as he saw Optimus approaching. Lennox widened his eyes when he saw Optimus had lost one arm, but he was determined to see Saphira. "She's alive, Optimus."
Ironhide stepped aside to allow Optimus through, though his optics look at Dylan who was trembling as Robert kept a harsh grip on his arms. "Is this the punk who was working for the decepticons?" Robert nodded. "And he did nothing to protect Saphira from what has happened?"
"Nope." Robert looked at Dylan and looked back at the autobots. "He actually thought it was funny."
Dylan opened his mouth to protest and he jumped as Barricade hissed at him. "Funny? You thought this is funny?!" He growled angrily as he flexed his fingers. "Please let us deal with him, Robert!" He was looked at Saphira was Lennox walked away from the tower towards Optimus, and he was instantly aware when he heard Saphira murmuring. "Oh, she's waking up!"
Optimus lowered himself slowly to the ground as he watched her. Seeing Saphira with the injuries he could see and feel made his spark hurt. He wasn't here to protect her. And it hurt him. Her eyes open, and his spark hurt more when they were not shiny, but seemed to have a grey layer over them. Her eyes winced at the brightness of the sun, so he shifted to block the light with his body. She turned her head when she saw the movement, and Saphira stared before she blinked, moving her arms from under the blankets to rub her eyes. Optimus saw more blood on her arms and hands, but he remained calm.
Saphira looked at him in confusion. "O-Optimus?" She did not believe he was there. She moved her hand out, and began to weakly wave it, trying to touch him to see if he was real. Optimus lowered his hand to her, and gently placed his finger against her hand. She took hold of his index finger and she looked at him. She saw the damage to his body, and she whimpered for a moment before she frowned. "You…I…why?"
Optimus despaired as her eyelids closed and her arm goes limp, but she was still alive. He had no idea what she was trying to ask him, but he had sensed her confusion. "I love you, Saphira," He said gently as Lennox adjusted her arm, and looked up as a medical helicoptor lowered to the ground. "I am sorry…I failed you."
He looked at his hand, knowing that Saphira had to reach out to touch him just to know if he was real. His spark was hurting. He wanted nothing more than just to hold her, but her body was fragile. And he did not know the status of the sparkling's health. The strange feeling he had with the sparkling had faded, and he did not know if it was even still alive. That feeling of not knowing hurt. He watched the helicopter land, and the doctors grab out a gurney to have Saphira placed on. An oxygen mask, heart monitor and IV fluid were the first things that were attached to Saphira.
It felt like slow motion to Optimus, knowing she was being taken somewhere he would have to go to by road. And Ratchet had to repair his arm, or it would be extremely awkward driving to drive in his vehicle mode currently. He stood by waiting, watching and when Saphira was taken into the helicopter, they left. Lennox remained behind as he had work to do here. But Saphira was now being taken to the nearby NEST base to be tended to at the hospital.
He felt so much hurt being separated from her again. But it must be that way until he was repaired. And as much as Optimus wanted to kill that human that worked willingly with the decepticons, Optimus did not feel like he could. Barricade was given the task, and he gladly took it. Dylan found himself strapped down, and Barricade ripped his limbs from his body, as predicted by Robert. And Barricade made sure the man was alive through the whole thing. And while Saphira was now once again safe, Optimus knew there was a long road ahead. A long road of healing. And he intended on making it up to her.
