Chapter 1

Barricade revved his engine. He watched as the Autobot leader and Medic headed out of the town. With a plan formulating in his brain, Barricade awakened the small mech in his dashboard and followed the departing Autobots.

Optimus Prime had been aware of the Decepticon tailing them for five minutes, Optimus had known a confrontation would be inevitable after the fight in Mission City. The conflict had been four months ago, this fight was long overdue. Leading the dangerous convoy away from any human structures he prepared to fight.

'Ratchet be ready.' He warned the emergency vehicle behind him.

'Why don't we take him now?'

'There are too many humans.' Optimus responded as the police cars' sirens blared and it sped up to catch them.

Fenzy twitched his hands in excitement as they gained ground on the Autobots. The plan was brilliant; Barricade would distract them while Frenzy snuck around and disabled their sparks. It was a cruel and brutal plan, Frenzy twitched again.

Overtaking the Autobots Barricade swung around and transformed. Having no other option Optimus followed suit, transforming while still moving he tackled the waiting Decepticon. The pair went down in a fountain of sparks as metal scraped against concrete. Ratchet braked and skidded to avoid hitting the wrestling mechs. Unnoticed, Frenzy had jumped away from Barricade before Optimus had hit him, spying the other Autobot he dashed into the cover of the road side.

Optimus used his momentum to drive Barricade into the ground, unfazed the Decepticon anchored his feet and pushed - forcing the massive Autobot back. Pulling back Barricade powered up the plasma cannon on his arm, but before he could send a pulse blast into the Autobot leaders' head Optimus reared up slamming a fist into the Decepticons face. Recovering quickly Barricade tackled Optimus, shoving him into the cliff wall next to the road.

Ratchet watched unable to get a clear shot at the Decepticon struggling with Optimus prime, in his distraction Ratchet failed to sense the small silver mech inching towards him through the grass.

Frenzy studied the distracted Autobot, deciding the time was right he struck. Leaping from the bushes Frenzy attached himself to the back of Ratchets' head. The Autobot jerked as Frenzy's claw-like fingers dug into the grooves of his helmet. Frenzy cleverly evaded the hands that were trying to remove him, wriggling around to the side of Ratchet's head Frenzy worked free a metal plate and searched through the wires and components revealed.

He's trying to blind me. Ratchet realized as he tried to prize the silver robot away from his circuitry. He finally grabbed the little mech moments before it managed to disable his optics, Ratchet held the struggling Decepticon in his left hand and watched with no little satisfaction as its optics faded after several blows from his right fist.

By this time Optimus had beaten Barricade back to the middle of the road. It had been close when Barricade had almost crushed him under a tone of rock blasted from the cliff, the boulders were now scattered across the road.

Barricade sensed the car and transformed before Optimus' eyes. Tearing off back the way they had come Barricade monitored the approached of the car, pausing around a corner Barricade waited.

Optimus watched as the Decepticon disappeared down the road, turning to Ratchet he saw the medic throw aside the battered silver mech.

"Are you damaged?" Optimus asked spying the loose check plate.

"Nothing I cannot fix. The little cretin was trying to disable my optics." Ratchet replied fusing his face plate into place.

A shrieking of tires brought the Autobots attention to a SUV swerving to avoid the boulders on the road. Unfortunately Optimus Prime and Ratchet were standing on the only available piece of road not blocked by rock. The SUV's driver braked suddenly to avoid hitting the giant robots. Optimus quickly realized that the car was not going to stop in time, bracing himself against the road Optimus prepared to catch the car. Despite the best efforts of the driver the SUV slammed into Optimus at an astounding speed. Optimus wasn't prepared for the momentum at which the car struck. His hands, which had been poised to catch the car of either side of the windshield, went straight through the car's frame. The car smashed into Optimus' gigantic legs, crushing the front of the SUV. Cursing in Cybertronian Optimus surveyed the damaged car; both passengers in the front seat were injured and unconscious.

"Ratchet! The humans need medical attention immediately."

The medic had already transformed into his alternative form. "I have contacted the human hospitals, they are sending several ambulances."

Optimus nodded and focused once more on the ruined SUV. The backend of the car was covered with glass and shredded pieces of metal but something wasn't right, there was a faint life-signal emanating from under the debris. Praying to Primus that there was only a domesticated human pet trapped under the metal, Optimus carefully reached down and removed the roof. Lying half covered in glass and metal debris was a adolescent human female. Cursing once more Optimus gently removed the rest of the broken SUV's roof.

"Ratchet this human is severally injured. Can you mend her?"

Ratchet transformed back into his bipedal form, approaching the car Ratchet scanned the human for injuries. "There are many superficial wounds. The most serious appears to be in the females' chest." Optimus stood aside while Ratchets preformed his medical scans, his optics were drawn to the injury Ratchet had declared the most serious. To Optimus' utter dismay he saw a piece of metal deeply embedded in the girls' bloody flesh.

Ratchet's voice broke Optimus' focus. "Sir, the females' heart has been punctured. She should be dead."

Sadness broke over Optimus like a wave. He had vowed to protect human life but had just become responsible for the taking of one. What the medical officer had said reverberated in his ears.

"Should be dead? She isn't."

"No sir. Her heart is beating."

"How is that possible?" Optimus demanded.

"I can only guess that it has something to do with the humans' wound."

Both Autobots focused their optics on the girls' chest. Horror flashed through Optimus as he recognized the metal protruding from the girls' breast. A hiss from Ratchet proved he had also identified the material. Optimus reached down and with infinite care, tried to remove the metal from her body. It didn't move. Optimus' fingers were too large and the fragment was too deeply embedded. Optimus Prime and Ratchet watched as the last piece of the Allspark disappeared completely into the girls' body.