Prime: Ready or Not

The Final Blow

"It's you and me, Megatron," Optimus says as he pushes himself to stand.

"No," the Decepticon growls. "It's just me, Prime."

"At the end of this day, one shall stand, one shall fall."

Megatron reaches forward, grabbing Optimus by his chest-plate and slamming him into a nearby building. "You stand for the weak, which is why you lose!" He wraps his arm around the Prime, lifting him before throwing him on the ground. The ground shakes, and it takes everything in Emilia to stay quiet.

"And you do this all with such a sense of honor!" Megatron balls his hand into a fist, going to strike Optimus but is blocked and instead is kicked back.

"This is not your planet, Megatron. These are not your people!" He moves to the Decepticon, though has his legs kicked out from underneath him. He's pummeled with a series of attacks, trying to get away.

"And are they yours?" Megatron responds. "You protect the girl with your life! She will die with the rest of them." At that, Optimus turns his arm into a gun and fires, though misses. "Is that what this is about, Prime? A human girl? You really allowed yourself to feel that way? And about a human?!"

Megatron grabs Optimus, throwing his hard onto the ground. The Autobot lifts his head, making eye contact with Emilia who is hiding behind a taxi. It doesn't last long, before he's kicked hard in the face and knocked onto his back.

Emilia pushes herself to her knees, wincing in pain as she tries to stand, though her leg gives out and she's knocked back onto the ground. Jets fly overhead and missiles are fired into Megatron's chest.

One after the other, hitting Megatron again and again. He roars in pain as sparks start flying, the attack knocking him to the ground next to Optimus. He manages to stand, though it doesn't last long.

Emilia glances over, seeing the military standing with Lennox, firing rocket launchers. That ontop of the jets was enough to keep the Decepticon occupied for the time being.

The blonde pushes herself to stand once more, crying out as one hand holds the Cube and the other holds her right leg. She manages to make her way towards Optimus, Megatron now behind her.

"No!" The Autobot calls out, reaching over once she was close enough and pushing her out of the way. There's a loud crash behind her, where Megatron has tried to grab her but ended up face first on the ground.

Emilia cries out again, now on her back as she looks down at her leg. The Decepticon is now making his way towards her in his hands, unable to stand with all this open fire. From behind her, Optimus crawls towards her, desperate to help.

"The Allspark is mine!" Megatron growled, red eyes on the girl as she slowly pushes herself away from him. She was struggling to move, and her whole leg felt like it was on fire.

"Emilia!" Optimus yells to her, almost face to face with Megatron, though still just over an arms length away. "Put the Cube in my chest, now!"

"I can't move my leg!" She cried, shaking her head quickly. "It hurts, I can't do it!"

"You have to! Please, just try! Ratchet will take care of you!"

To say Optimus was panicking was an understatement. His blue eyes sat on a small, blonde girl who held the Allspark in her left hand while the right kept her propped up. Her right leg was limp and there was a gasp through her pants down by her shin. Time seemed to slow down for him as Megatron hovered over her, his chest above her head. It looked as though the Decepticons had won, and the Prime would never forget the look on Emilia's face. Her eyes wide, jaw dropped in shock as blood covered her face. It was her blood mixed with the blue of the Transformers.

"Emilia!" He yelled, watching her force herself to stand. Her movements were sloppy and every inch of her body was shaking. But she lifted the Cube above her head, pressing it right into Megatron's spark. It began to dissolve, the Decepticon shaking as sparks flew and he began to combust.

Megatron stands, clawing at his chest, but it was already far too late. The Cube was gone, and so was his Spark. He begins to make a groaning and gurgling noise, before his whole body tips over and he falls onto the ground next to Emilia, who couldn't stand any longer.

She lowers herself down, landing on her butt in the street, watching Optimus slowly stand from where he was. He doesn't hesitate to move to Emilia, his hands coming down to gently lift her. He brings her up to his chest, so he could look down at her while she looks up at him.

"He left me no choice," the girl said quietly. "You're not... mad at me, are you? I couldn't bring myself to kill you."

"No," he shakes his head. "I'm not mad. You did very well, I promise." He pauses, watching her. "There's no need to cry."

"I-I'm not sad," she shakes her head, a shaking hand moving to wipe her cheek where a tear escaped. "I thought I had lost you for good."

"I'm still here, and I owe you my life. We are in your debt," he tells her, looking up when the other Autobots start walking over. In Iron Hide's hands was Jazz, separated into two pieces. A man drives the truck up next to them, Bumblebee attached to the back. Jazz was the only one they lost today.

"We couldn't save him," Iron Hide says to Optimus.

"Jazz..." the Prime said slowly. "We lost a great comrade, but gained new ones. Thank you, all of you," he looks at the Humans and all the military with them. "You honor us with your bravery."

"May I ask something?" Bumblebee says from where he sits, making Emilia look over at him. He could... talk. When Optimus nods in approval, the yellow Autobot looks at the girl in his hand. "I wish to return with you and Sam."

"If that is what she wants." The Prime looks at Emilia, waiting for an answer.

"Sam will want you back, and I'd love to have a car. But... if this is it, like we're saying our goodbyes and we're parting ways... I don't want to end here." She looks up at Optimus. "I'm going to college in two years, but I don't want to stop. I'm going to help the Autobots as much as I can, I can't just leave you."

Optimus keeps his eyes on the girl, unsure of what to say. If she really wanted to go to college, he had no problem taking her when the time comes. He was her guardian, and he wasn't about to just let her go.

"I'll hire you," Captain Lennox says from the ground. Emilia is lowered down into the ground, to which the man kneels in front of her. "You're hurt right now, I can see that. But one you're healed up, I'll hire you."

"To do what?"

"Join the military. It'll pay for your college, and I'll put you in with the Autobots. You won't do any of the other stuff, you'll just work with them. Does that sound good?"

"Yeah," she nods, smiling a little. "It does, thank you."

"You get to stay with your boyfriend," Bumblebee teases from the side, making Emilia's cheeks go a light pink.

"He's not my boyfriend," she shakes her head, glancing at Optimus, watching him pick a remainder of the Allspark from Megatron's chest. "I mean... it can't... be possible."

"You'd be surprised," Ratchet hums, his hands in his hips.

"What does that mean?"

"Oh, nothing. Yet, anyway."