The Final Hope - Transformers Prime (3)

Chapter One

  "I understand, General Bryce," he was saying. "But I'm not sending in any men, at least not now. We need time to scope out the enemy. For all we know, Megatron could be waiting for us the moment we set foot off this military base. My intel tells me that he's still on the site of the former Autobot base, probably searching for spoils of war. As long as he stays there, we have time- Yes- Yes, general, but- No...- No sir- Thank you, sir." He hung up and rubbed his hands over his face.

  "What'd they say?" I asked, stopping in front of his desk.

  Fowler looked up at me. "They wanted to move in with an attack." At my surprised expression, he nodded. "I know, it's suicide. I told them that and they seem to be convinced to hold off for now, since Megatron isn't doing anything. But once that big tin head steps in the wrong direction, the military is gonna want to move in."

  "And do what?" I said. "We hardly have the firepower to fight the damn Decepticons." Then I gave him a look. "Any word from the team?"

  He didn't need to reply, I could read his expression the moment my words left my mouth. Still no word.

  "Right." I sighed, sinking into the chair across from Fowler. My worry was at record heights. Amanda, Jack, Miko, Raf... were they okay? What about the Autobots? There was no way to tell at this point and it drove me mad. I had to know, I'd do just about anything to know that they're not hurt, but there was no way.

  "We're still looking," Fowler said finally. "But listen, kid. The Cons don't have them either, or else I'm certain we'll know. Megatron isn't going to keep that kind of a thing secret. We just need to find the team first."

[Amanda]

  "You're just lucky I managed to swipe this back on Cybertron," Smokescreen whispered.

  I punched the side of his face, which was easy from my spot on his shoulder. "You're the lucky one, Smokescreen. Now shut up and keep looking. Optimus has to be around here somewhere."

  Truthfully, I was the lucky one. Smokescreen had managed to grab the Phase Shifter during the final moments on Cybertron, which was the only reason why we were back at the base now. The sheer sight of the base's current state made tears lodge in my throat, but I shoved that all back. It was a wreck, with fire and rubble everywhere. Nothing touched us though. The Phase Shifter was doing its job, allowing Smokescreen and myself to go through anything. We had already had a few close calls with some Decepticons, being forced to sink into the Earth, but that turned out advantageous because we found a little cave we could hide out in after our search. Still, I was getting frustrated. Between trying to search through the rubble and avoiding Decepticons with the same goal, we hardly found anyone.

  Come on, Optimus. Where are you?

  "Wait," I whispered, causing Smokescreen to duck behind a massive boulder.

  "What's wrong?" He asked, voice low. We didn't want to risk being overheard, resorting to whispers when we absolutely had to talk.

  "Let me focus," I closed my eyes, allowing the powers of Cleona to surface. I used them to reach out, focusing on my last memories of Optimus.

  "Optimus," I was pleading now. "Please, don't. You can't leave me. I can't-"

  Grief and pain flickered across his face and I could tell he almost caved. But then chunks of the base began to fall around us, making him emotionless again.

  "Smokescreen," He said, not looking at me. I didn't move. Suddenly, Smokescreen had me in his grasp and transformed so quickly, I was in the backseat of his vehicle mode and we were going through the ground bridge without me even realizing it.