Prime: Ready or Not

Megatron

Emilia is already upstairs when she hears the shattering of glass and Megatron's voice shout for her. She couldn't let him bother her, she just had to keep going.

The ground under her feet begins to shatter, the Decepticon attempting to knock her off her feet. He yells insults, but Emilia just shoves it all to the back of her mind. Finally, she finds the second flight of stairs. This time, they go in a spiral straight up.

"I can smell you, little girl!" Megatron growled, signaling he was getting close. With a deep breath, she held tightly unto the Cube and started up the many flights of stairs.

There were so many thoughts going through her head. Like how did buying an old car turn into having to protect the planet? How did Sam get out of this and someone she was here? What was she going to tell her parents? They had to know by now, they had to be watching the news or get the explanation from Sam or the government.

The big question, really, was: Where was Optimus Prime? She's yet to see him since he went off to fight Bonecrusher, and she was beginning to worry. He was the leader of the Autobots for a reason, she had to remind herself that. He knew how to fight and he could beat Megatron anytime, anywhere. Right? Why was she even worried about him? At a time like this, she was worrying about him rather than herself, who had Megatron hot on her tail. She got annoyed when someone referred to him as her boyfriend, so she didn't really like him. He was just her guardian. Right.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Emilia made it to the roof of the building. She takes off running, jumping over pipes to run for the edge. Reaching into her pocket with one hand, she breaks the flare and starts waving it around, seeing Helicopters heading her way. This was it, they were going to win.

Just as she makes it, a Helicopter rises from the side, showing a man with his arms out to take the Cube. Emilia tosses the flare to the side, leaning over the edge of the building to hand it over. The Helicopter was just barely out of reach, fingers nearly gripping the Cube but it just wasn't enough.

Emilia glances to the side, seeing Starscream standing on a building, lining up his shot. "Look out!" She screamed, pulling the Cube back to her chest as the Helicopter was it, causing it to start spiraling.

She was knocked to the ground, her arms wrapped around the valuable Allspark. The tail of the Helicopter just barely misses her, but destroys the edge of the building.

"Hang on, Emilia!" Calls a familiar voice, to which she quickly recognized as Optimus's.

The girl pushes herself to her feet quickly, stumbling a bit at first before running to his voice. As she went, metal hands began punching through the top of the building next to her, Megatron trying to get through and stop her. He pulls himself up, Emilia knowing she needed to hide, and quickly.

Moving to one of the many statues, she manages to hang onto the Cube while wrapping an arm around the statues. She grabs onto a ridge, before shuffling to the outer edge, where Megatron couldn't see her.

"Is it fear or courage than compels you, fleshling?" Megatron asks, as if he's talking to a small creature. Which really, he is. "Give me the Allspark, and you may live to be my pet."

Emilia shifts a bit, but nearly slips and has to hang onto the statues tighter. He had to know where she was, even if he wasn't looking straight at her. She was trapped.

"I'm never giving you this Allspark!" She yells to him, attempting to stall in order for Optimus to get near.

"Oh, so unwise," the Decepticon says lowly. He takes his weapon - which looks like a giant, spiked ball on a chain - before swinging it and destroying the statue she's holding onto.

The blonde let's out a scream as she falls towards the ground, holding onto the Cube as tightly as she could. From out of what seems like nowhere, a metal hand wraps around her.

"I've got you, don't worry," Optimus says, holding himself between two buildings. "Hold onto the Cube, and don't look down." A sheet of metal covers his moth like armor, before he turns to latch onto a building, allowing them to hold onto it as they fell towards the ground.

The Autobot held onto Emilia against his chest, switching between buildings so they wouldn't hit the ground too hard. When they were almost to the ground, Megatron tackles them from above, causing them to fall the rest of the way down.

Optimus lands on his back, a hand over his chest to protect the young girl underneath. She's bruised and cut all over, but manages to stay quiet. Her breath is shaky, and she can move her right leg to much without a jolt of pain going through her.

When the Autobot takes his hand off of her, she knew something was wrong. She looks around at what was going on, before looking over at Optimus.

"Emilia," he says, the metal moving away from his mouth now. "You risked your life to protect the Cube."

"N-No sacrifice, no victory," she said quietly, reciting what her dad told her and Sam before all of this started.

"If I can not defeat Megatron, you must push the Cube into my chest." He could tell she was in pain. She wasn't good at hiding it from her face. "I will sacrifice myself to destroy it."

"I can't do that," she shakes her head as she looks at him. "Optimus, I can't just let you die like that. I-I would be killing you, I can't."

"You can," he nods. "You're strong, that's why you're here. Here." He shifts to lift her in his hands, setting her down behind a car to hide her. "I will fight as hard as I can, but I cannot promise that I will win. This is my duty, as a Prime. I can handle it."

"But I can't," she shakes her head once more, her hand reaching out to rest on one of his metal fingers. "I'm scared, I can't lose you when I was just getting to know you. You're my guardian, remember? Who's going to be my guardian if you're gone?"

"Iron Hide will take over." He looks at her, noticing he wasn't helping much. She was wet. There was blood dripping down her face, her arms and her legs. Her hair stuck to her cheeks and her back from the sweat. But now, her eyes were filled with water that threatened to spill. He has to remind himself sometimes, that he's not working with soldiers. He's not working with any Transformer, she's just a human. And even more than that, she was 17. A teenager, barely an adult.

"Megatron is getting up," he tells her. "Stay here, please. And do not cry, I will always be here, no matter what happens."

With that, Optimus stands, turning to face his enemy.