Sam ran through all the firing guns as he got closer to the pillar. From a distance, he spotted Dylan already getting closer. He could already tell why he was running that way, he was going to retrigger the pillar.
"Dylan!! Stop! Wait!" Sam cried.
Maybe he could reason with him, stop him from dooming their world.
"NOOO!!!!" he yelled as he pushed down a fallen pillar to push Sam back.
Sam nearly got taken out by the pillar as he got over it haphazardly.
"Dylan!" he called to him one last time as he got to the summit of the pile of rubble the pillar was on.
The human turned around sharply as he pulled out a gun and pointed it at Sam, stopping him in his tracks.
"Stop, stop. You can't do this" Sam said holding his hands up to show that he wasn't a threat.
"No. There is only one future for me"
The wind blew, carrying newspaper pages in their direction. Some managed to get stuck on Dylan's head, impairing his vision. This little window allowed Sam to pick up a rock and use it to slam into Dylan's knee causing him to lose his balance and fall to his knees. Sam capitalized and rushes him. He pinned him to the ground throwing wild punches at his face. Grit and determination didn't let Dylan give up. He managed to push Sam down and crawl up to the pillar despite Sam tugging at him. He lifted his hand and with a yell, he hit the pillar. The pillar rose back up continuing the process of transporting Cybertron to Earth.
Now, Carly had come up on Megatron, sitting in the street with his back up against a building. He had a pile of cars by his side as he had no desire to partake in the battle. He would allow his minions do all the work, as far as he was concerned, he had played his part in all this. He looked to the sky and pulled back the hood over his head as he gazed upon Cybertron drawing closer to Earth.
"Cybertron, you are saved. At last" he said as his voiced carried a sense of accomplishment.
Carly walked cautiously towards him. She moved through the space created by Megatron's knee being bent up as he sat. She stood in front of Megatron, in between his legs as adrenaline and fear rushed over her. Everything within her was telling her to get out of there but she stayed, she was adamant with her plan. She wanted to help in whatever way she could.
"Oh…" said Megatron as he noticed the woman in the white blazer. "Have you come to surrender?"
Carly took a large gulp before speaking. "Was it all worth it?" she asked trying to hide the fear and shakiness in her voice.
She walked over to the pile of cars next to Megatron and climbed up to its apex.
"Obviously" the Decepticon leader answered sharply.
"All your work to bring Sentinel back and now he has all the power. It's actually almost tragic"
"You dare lecture me, slave?" Megatron grunted, swinging his arm in her direction as Carly fell back as his head drew closer.
"Your Decepticons finally conquering this planet, and yet, their leader won't be you"
"It will be me! It will always be me" he said with a slight growl at the end. He pushed his head closer to her, his fingers centimeters from touching the flesh on her face.
"In any minute now, you'll be nothing but Sentinel's bitch"
She had crossed the line, her words had angered him. Megatron roared in fury ready to smash her to bits but at the very last second, he stopped. Her words had some meaning. Megatron pulled back, pondering on what she had said. The way Sentinel had treated him so far, the way he went about their partnership. He began to question it all.
Carly had accomplished her mission. She had sown seeds of discord and betrayal after witnessing the tense moment between the two yesterday on top of the building. Quietly, she got to her feet and walked away as Megatron was deep in thought. Anything could set him off now and she didn't want to be a casualty. Her next goal was to join back with the military, they were her best bet.
Bumblebee ducked under Sentinel's sword as he swung it at his head. The black and yellow bot rolled backwards as Sideswipe hopped over a car firing at the red Prime. Sentinel got out his rust cannon but this time he was firing regular shots rather than rust rounds and blasted Sideswipe away. That didn't stop their efforts with Ironhide, Jetstream and Ratchet raining hell on him. Their heavy fire drew Sentinel's attention away leaving him open as Hooch launched a rocket at him.
"Rocket!" he yelled as the projectile hit Sentinel right in the gut launching him into the ground. "Die!"
The humans and Autobots focused their fire on Sentinel and now he needed to pull back. Their attacks had become wearisome as he began his tactical retreat. Sentinel took a couple strides with different rounds burying themselves into this armor as he transformed and drove away. Optimus wasn't going to let him off that easy as he chased him down on foot.
"Optimus is dealing with Sentinel. The rest of us, push to the pillar!" Ironhide instructed.
Dylan and Sam continued their squabble as the former managed to get Sam wedged between a pillar attached to a piece of the fallen cupola.
"You chose sides? You chose wrong" Dylan said as he kicked Sam repeatedly in the chest forcing him to lose his grip and fall.
Optimus had caught up to Sentinel, chasing him onto a bridge and rammed him from the side causing him to transform as he got slammed into the side of the bridge. He was relentless with his attacks as his first swing narrowly missed Sentinel's head. That didn't stop him as Sentinel went on the defensive and used his shield to protect him from his student's attacks.
"Always- the bravest of us!"
Optimus used his axe to his away his shield, opening him up for an attack. He went with his sword and narrowly missed his head again as he grazed his shoulder.
"But you could never make the hard decisions!"
Sentinel used his shield to push back Optimus and used his sword to cut Optimus on the chest. Optimus twirled around as he took a step back. He was met by Sentinel who used the side of the bridge to launch himself into the air ready to strike him down. Optimus parried his blade with his axe and lunged forward with his sword but it was blocked by Sentinel's shield. Sentinel spun around, swinging his blade to cut into Optimus' midsection but he countered it by taking a step back.
"Our planet will survive!"
Sentinel and Optimus clashed weapons as the older bot used his experience to disarm him of his axe. Optimus did not relent as he thrusted his sword towards his gut but yet again his attempt was blocked by that damn shield. As he quickly tried to recover, he kicked Optimus' hand away to deliver a fatal blow.
"N-No!"
Sentinel used his blade expertly as Prime tried to regain his balance and pierced his sword into the joint that connected his hand to his body. Optimus groaned in agony as Sentinel hit him in the head with his shield causing him to stumble backwards into the bridge. Optimus lost his footing and fell to his knees, using his only arm to support himself. Sentinel capitalized and stabbed Optimus through the shoulder of his good arm causing him to groan more.
"We were gods once. All of us" Sentinel said as Optimus tried to crawl away.
"But here-"
"Please-" said Optimus, getting up to try and beg Sentinel as he was kicked away.
"-There can only be one"
Sentinel rose up his doubled sided blade with both arms, ready to deliver the final blow to Optimus and kill him. Just as he was about to pierce into Optimus' head from behind, a shot was fired. The blast hit Sentinel just below his right hand, taking off large chunks out of his body. Two more shots were fired as Megatron closed in. Sentinel turned around to face his aggressor but was caught off guard by Megatron's brute approach.
He grabbed the red bot by the back and threw him into the side of the bridge hitting his head.
"This is my planet!" Megatron declared as he delivered a fatal beat down to Sentinel.
He kicked his head as it collided with the floor of the bridge then punched his head again, taking off his helmet. Sentinel was disarmed as Megatron lifted him up roughly. He delivered another punch to his head before using his hand to rip out parts of Sentinel's side. Through all the chaos, Optimus silently crawled away from all the carnage to rise to his feet.
"Go! Go! Go!" Ironhide yelled.
The bots were pushing towards the pillar but had a fleet of the Decepticons in their way and Devacons covering their flanks.
"Take them down!" exclaimed Leadfoot.
The Wreckers attacked the left flank, targeting the Devacon that was laying suppressive fire. Sideswipe raced towards a Devacon on the right, using his sword expertly to slice through its left leg. Ironhide followed up his attack by shooting the joint on its right leg to disable its movement. Jetstream ran straight at it with unrelenting fire from his cannons and machine guns. He jumped into the air, twisting his body as he went into a flip and landed on its head. His wrist blade ejected itself as he stabbed into the head of the Decepticon, latching onto it with his other hand as he twisted the head right off its body.
The humans moved with the bots, lending them the destructive force of their weapons as they moved forward. With Ironhide leading the charge, they were making headway towards the pillar. Standing so close to it and admiring the piece of alien technology as it worked was Dylan the traitor. Immersed in his world of possibilities, his train of thought was broken by the sound of moving rubble. He turned to find Sam holding metal rod with some cement around the end of it ready to smack that man so hard he wished he died as a child.
"I just saved the whole world; You think you're a hero, huh? You think you're a hero?!" he said drunk with his delusion.
"No. I'm just the messenger"
Sam screamed at the top of his lungs as he used all of his strength to strike Dylan sending him into the pillar. The power of the pillar roasted him, cooking him from the inside out as he fell on the ground like a log. He was dead. Jetstream watched the scuffle happen and he couldn't be prouder. That annoying human was finally where he belonged. In hell.
"Atta boy Sam!" he praised.
"The pillar's still connected!" Topspin yelled.
"Let's go! Bring is up!" Epps said.
He and Lennox led the charge with human forces as they arrived the pillar before the rest of the bots. Bumblebee signaled for the rest of the bots and humans to follow him, being the furthest ahead.
"Bee! Let's do this!" Sam said.
"Let's go, let's go! Move, move!" Lennox said as he and Epps arrived at the pillar. They stood over on the side with Sam not to get in the way of the Autobots. "The pillar is still connected!"
The Wreckers were aboard a Devacon's body, killing it execution style. It had a face full of Roadbuster's guns tearing through it while the other two shot at its legs. Ratchet and Bumblebee got to the pillar first as the other bots cleared out the Decepticons.
"Bring that pillar down!" yelled Roadbuster.
Ratchet ran up to it, shooting it with his machine gun but it didn't seem to destroy it. Bumblebee ran towards it. Using the pile of rubble there like a ramp, he jumped towards the pillar with his arms stretched out as he basically speared the pillar down and destroyed it. With the destruction of the pillar, the emergence of Cybertron stopped.
Lights descended from the planet like gravity beams lifting Decepticon ships and fighters back to Cybertron. Cybertron itself began to regress as a vortex formed in the center of it transporting what had emerged back to its original place.
"Hell yeah!" Sideswipe cheered.
"It's not over yet. Come on Jet"
Jetstream nodded and followed Ironhide's lead. The two were running straight to Optimus' location to give him back-up if he needed any. On the bridge, the two leaders from both sides stood, one missing an arm and the other holding a weakened and beaten Sentinel Prime by the neck. With Cybertron gone and the battle basically over, it was time for the leaders to settle things once and for all.
"Now. We need a truce… All I want is to be back in charge" Megatron said as he threw that scumbag of a bot to the ground like the trash he is. "Besides… who would you be without me Prime?"
Optimus weighed his offer. Accepting the truce would mean the end of the war but that would be putting Megatron as the leader of all Cybertronians again. Yes he did stop Sentinel from killing him but that doesn't mean he had changed. His laws and way of leadership didn't change, all it was doing was prolonging the conflict and after all they had suffered. The death of Jazz and so many of their comrades at his hand; the war that they had been fighting for millions of years. All of that couldn't just be swept under the carpet like it never happened, no way. It was time to end it here and now.
"Time to find out"
Optimus grabbed his axe quickly from the ground and threw it at Megatron's chest stopping him from firing his shotgun. He pulled his axe out from his chest and spun around him, using his right eg to kick him to the ground. Optimus then sent his axe straight into the exposed part of Megatron's head and pulled back on it. He used his knee as leverage on his back to generate the force he needed to rip out his head and circuitry from his body ending his life.
As Optimus dropped his axe still stuck in Megatron's head on the ground, Ironhide and Jetstream arrived, cannons ready to fire but after seeing that execution, they knew Optimus needed no help. Now the three pairs of eyes looked down on Sentinel, weakened and beaten.
"Optimus, all I ever wanted was the survival of our race. You must see why… I had to betray you"
"You didn't betray me. You betrayed yourself. You went back on everything you taught me. How freedom was the right of all sentient beings, and now you come here claiming that we are superior to the humans and want to use them as slaves? That is hypocrisy"
"Please Optimus, you must see reason in my actions. I ask that you spare me" he pleaded.
"That isn't my call to make"
Optimus looked at Ironhide and gave him a nod. It was all in his hands now. Ironhide reciprocated with a nod of his own, understanding what his leader meant. He pulled out one of his heavy iron blasters and pointed it at his head.
"This, is for trying to kill me"
"No, Ironhide-"
His case was beyond begging for mercy. Ironhide pulled the trigger without thinking as the blast went through his chest. He pulled the trigger the second time as he blasted his head open, killing him for good.
"Payback" Jet said.
The three of them looked at one another, they were bruised, battered, dents, holes and cuts everywhere but alive. Finally, the war was over and done. Good had prevailed. The soldiers walked to the bridge and their eyes fell upon the dead bodies of Megatron and Sentinel, they had done it. The monsters had been slain. Bumblebee rolled in in his alt mode with Sam hitching a ride inside while the rest of the bots walked up not far behind. Dino held his arm as sparks became more and more frequent.
Ratchet was one of the first to arrive, spotting Optimus' arm on the bridge and shook his head, he had his work cut out for him, that's for sure. Sam stepped out Bumblebee as they scout transformed to stand beside his brothers in arms. Another group of soldiers walked in from the other side of the bridge and in their company was Carly, she was safe after all.
"Sam" Lennox said to grab his attention.
Sam looked at him before immediately spotting Carly and ran over to her. The two held each other in a tight hug and a deep kiss before letting one another go. They were so happy to see themselves again and even more grateful that no one was dead or badly injured.
"I love you" Carly spoke, looking Sam dead in the eye.
"I love you" he responded. "You're the only thing I need in this world, and I'll do anything to make it up to you. I promise"
"I'm going to hold you to that. Just never let me go"
"I promise"
Bumblebee watched the two as he stood behind them silently and felt the need to add his own take on the matter. He whirred, grabbing their attention as he checked his chest plates for something. Gears began to fall from them as he tapped on them on the ground and began to chime the wedding tune. Carly picked one up with a wide smile on her face.
"I love this car"
"Bee, you've got to slow it down" he said as Carly chuckled.
"You love him now but only two days ago you wanted him out of the house" Jet commented as he walked passed them. He saw the opportunity to take a dig and he took it.
His comment wasn't taken well as Carly eyed him up and down.
"Jet, come on. That was unnecessary" Sam said.
He shrugged his shoulders and gave a smug look at them.
"He's lucky he saved our lives earlier or I would've said something" Carly said angrily.
"Easy, easy" Bee said from his radio.
Jetstream walked over to the other team, with one person in mind to meet. Brian. He squatted down to his level to speak to him, a respect he owed him over their time spent together.
"I told you Brian, I wasn't going to let anything happen to you before your retirement. You've earned it" he said with a grin.
"Thank you Jetstream, for saving my life. I am very grateful"
"Aw don't mention it. It's the best I could do for you. I know what if you had the chance, you would do the same. The only difference is that you're not made from regenerative metal" he joked.
"Yeah, you're right about that"
The Autobots and humans gathered around Optimus as he prepared to give a speech to mark the end of the war.
"In any war, there are clams between storms"
"You fought bravely" Ratchet said, placing his arm on Bumblebee's shoulder, acknowledging his efforts.
"There will be days when we lose faith. Days when our allies turn against us" he said as Iridescent by Linkin Park slowly began to play in the background.
"But the day will never come… that we forsake this planet… and its people"
The music went up now, becoming audible to everyone and they were kind of feeling it for a while but then it was weird. All eyes turned to the source of the song, it was Sideswipe.
"What? I thought it helped set the tone?" he said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Sides, this is not the time" said Ironhide.
"Okay, fine"
"I thought it did sound kind of nice" Jet voiced.
"See? Someone gets it"
"Not the time or the place you two" Ratchet cautioned.
Lennox comms began to ring as he received new orders from above.
"The general just briefed me on what's going to happen now. The general just told me that he's going to have both air and land transport come to extract us from this mess. The White house has the pleasure of dealing with how they're going to cleanup this place and has asked me to inform the Autobots that a temporary hangar has been prepared for you in Iowa" he explained.
"Special agents are on their way to lead you to the facility. You guys can make repairs and stay there until the government figures out their next move. It's going to be a while but I have faith that everything will work out fine" added Lennox.
"We understand. We will make do with what you have given us" answered Optimus.
Lennox nodded as he turned his attention to the rest of the crew.
"Alright guys prepare for EVAC! T minus twenty minutes!" he announced.
The war was over, humanity had seen the consequences of trusting the Decepticons and now had the monumental task of cleaning up the mess of the city Chicago had become. A temporary safe haven had been prepared for the Autobots and things were poised to go back to normal, or so they thought. The events of Chicago had led to a major shaking taking place among the high government officials, one that would change the fate of the humans and Autobots forever.