"It's Annie," Mikasa breathed as Megatron walked over to her.
"But, her arm," Armin began, "It grew back."
Megatron placed two fingers on Annie's neck. "She's still alive."
Megatron noticed the chains on her arms and feet and pulled out his sword. He covered the girl's mouth and sliced off her right arm. Annie let out a noise of pain while Megatron cut off her left arm. Mikasa grimaced at the sight while Armin looked like he was ready to throw up.
"This should prevent any transformation," Megatron declared before sheathing his sword and turning his attention to Armin, "Pax, how long does it take for the arms to regenerate?"
"It-" Armin quickly covered his mouth to prevent anything from coming out, "It should take-"
Annie cried out in pain as blue veins surrounded her eyes. The three looked in shock and horror as Annie's arms fully regenerated while the other two evaporated into thin air. Megatron grabbed her arm and examined it, noticing blue veins resembling the color of energon.
"Impossible," Megatron breathed, "She has energon in her systems."
"That's supposed to kill her," Armin declared, "How is she still alive and able to regenerate her wounds?"
Megatron grimaced as he unsheathed his sword. "Change of plans."
Armin quietly gasped as Megatron raised the blade towards Annie's neck.
"Wait!" Armin exclaimed, causing Megatron to stop his actions with the sword merely inches away from her neck.
"Armin, are you insane?" Mikasa demanded, "She's killed too many of our people!"
"If you say something along the lines of "everyone deserving a chance to redeem themselves", I swear to Primus I will punch you," Megatron declared.
"You said Bertholdt was dying," Armin retorted, "She's the only one that has any idea on where titans come from."
"But now she has some sort of immunity to energon, which is a danger to everyone within these walls," Megatron countered, "What happens if she escapes? What if her abilities are enhanced? What if she can survive the dangers that energon presents to a human? She would no doubt slaughter you all and report to wherever she's from about me and Optimus. That is a risk I can't take."
"But what about the secrets?" Armin demanded, "We may never get another opportunity like this again!"
"There may not be another opportunity if she escapes!" Megatron shouted.
"Hey, I hear noises from the basement," a muffled voiced said from above them.
"Damn," Mikasa cursed before turning to Megatron, "What do we do? We're out numbered."
Megatron thought it over as he removed his sword from Annie's neck. "Find anything in the room that can be used as a weapon."
Mikasa searched the room while Megatron ripped off Annie's remaining shackles. Armin began to panic are he heard footsteps making their way down to the basement. Mikasa opened a closet while Megatron slung Annie over his shoulder like a sack of flour.
"I found a box of gunpowder, matches, and more liquefied energon," Mikasa explained as she passed Megatron a glass container of the blue substance. Megatron took the container and examined the properties.
"At least this is something I can work with," Megatron declared before passing the container to Armin, "I need you to create a small trail of energon to the gunpowder from the entrance we came in through. Ackerman, hold on to the matches."
"But what about you?" Armin asked as Megatron placed his shield on his left arm.
"I'm going to have to fight my way out," Megatron declared, "The problem is I have the girl in tow, so I can only focus on defending myself."
Mikasa took the rifle off of her back and clicked the fore stock of the weapon. "I can be your offense."
Megatron merely nodded his head as the footsteps drew closer. When one of the soldiers arrived at the door, Megatron quickly grabbed his neck and snapped it, causing him to fall to the floor.
"We need to move quickly, and make sure there are no witnesses," Megatron declared as he moved the body aside before walking up the stairs while Mikasa followed behind. Armin looked down at the container of energon before opening it and leaking a trail from the gun powder to the upstairs.
Megatron arrived at the top of the stairs to see two men facing him in the hallway. One of them was holding an axe while the other was holding a pistol. Megatron raised his shield as the one with the pistol fired at him. The one with the axe ran towards him and used his weapon to try and damage the shield. Megatron was not amused as he merely slammed the shield in the man's face before kicking him to the floor. The man with the pistol was about to fire again, but gasped when Mikasa pulled the triggered on her rifle and shot him in the leg.
Megatron walked over to the man his kicked to the floor before crushing his windpipe with his foot. Megatron looked over to see Mikasa smash the butt of her rifle into the man's face, knocking him unconscious.
"What about Annie?" Mikasa asked.
Megatron look at the girl on his shoulders to see she was still unconscious. "Lionheart is still unconscious. I doubt anything these lackeys try, the girl will still be fine due to her regeneration abilities."
The two heard footsteps as they saw five more men come down the stairs with guns. Megatron quickly got in front of Mikasa and blocked the attacks with his shield. When they ran out of bullets, Mikasa quickly intervened and shot three of the five men. The other two tried to combat her, but she merely pulled out a knife she had been holding and stabbed one of them in the chest. The other one was about to run, but suddenly felt a blade rammed through his chest. He choked in pain as Megatron pulled out the sword and let the body fall to the floor.
"I wasn't aware you had a knife on you," Megatron remarked.
"Figured it might be useful," Mikasa proclaimed.
Megatron quickly checked the corpse that he stabbed for anything useful. "These humans might not have anything to tell us the whereabouts of Prime's pet and the History girl. For now, we must get out of the building."
Mikasa looked over at the window they came through and saw that Armin managed to get the trail of energon pretty close to it while going over the bodies on the floor.
"So now what?" Armin demanded as he dropped the container to the floor.
"Ackerman, the matches," Megatron ordered as he gestured to her.
Mikasa pulled out the matches in her pocket and handed them to Megatron.
"You two get through the window," Megatron ordered as he removed Annie from his shoulder and held her in his arms, "Take the girl too."
Mikasa grimaced at the sight of her, but begrudgingly held Annie in her arms. Megatron quickly opened the window before trying his best to light the matches. Mikasa quickly helped Armin get through the window before lifting Annie towards him. Armin pulled Annie through the window. Once he did that, he took Mikasa's hand and did his best to help her through the window.
Megatron was finally to light the match and threw it at the end of the energon trail. As the energon trail burned to where they found Annie, Megatron helped Mikasa get through the window before jumping through it himself.
"Hey!" Someone shouted as he and another person spotted the four of them.
"Run!" Megatron shouted as he pulled out his pistol and fired.
Mikasa and Armin ran over to the fence with Annie in tow while Megatron managed to kill one of the men. Instead of killing the other one, he grabbed Armin and jumped over the fence. Once the energon reached the gunpowder, it exploded, killing everyone that was still alive in the basement. The force of the explosion ended up shattering all the windows on the first floor and setting fire to anything that wasn't stone in the house. The man Megatron left alive was pushed back by the force of the explosion, causing his back to hit the fence. Megatron shielded Armin from the explosion while Mikasa was able to roll out of the way in time.
Armin began panting in fear as Megatron stood up and looked at the damage of the building. The basement, first and second floor had the windows destroyed and set a flame. Megatron heard someone scream and saw the man he left alive trying desperately to stop the burns and go over the fence.
Armin looked at the man before standing up and looking at Megatron. "Thank you…for saving me."
Megatron glanced down at Armin. He was about to brush it off, but decided against it. "I suppose if you didn't come, I may have had a harder time finding Lionheart."
Armin was clearly baffled by Megatron's response as he walked away from him. Did he just…? Was that a 'thank you'? The recruit snapped out of his thought as he saw Megatron walking over to Annie's unconscious form. He gasped as Megatron reached for his sword and grabbed the hilt.
"Megatron, stop!" Armin yelled as he ran to him, but grunted as Mikasa pulled him back, "Don't kill her!"
Megatron growled as he pulled out his sword fully and turned to the boy. "She will kill you if you let her live and once she regains full strength. I don't understand why you kept telling me to spare her!"
"If this were any given scenario, it probably would be better to kill her, especially since she has energon in her systems," Armin admitted, "But she's more valuable to you alive than dead!"
Mikasa stared at Armin in confusion while Megatron gave an amused look.
"Valuable to me?" Megatron smirked as he turned away from the two and stared at the girl, "Tell me, Pax, how could this girl be valuable to me?"
"Because if you return to Optimus empty-handed, you won't be able to gain his trust and make things right with him!" Armin answered.
An uneasy silence filled the air as Armin could feel the tension from Mikasa because of his response. The ex-con didn't move, however. He was as still as stone with his back faced to them. Mikasa felt something grow in the pit of her stomach while Armin began shaking as Megatron turned his head towards him. Armin felt Megatron's gaze pierce his very soul, as he noticed the mixture of emotions he saw earlier in his eyes once more. He saw a lack of certainty, anger, and surprise. But the emotion that was noticeable most of all…was agony.
"…Father…," Annie quietly whimpered, causing the tension to be broken.
Megatron looked down at the girl and quickly sheathed his sword before kneeling down.
"Father," Annie whimpered as she slowly opened her eyes, revealing traces of energon within them, "Is…is that you?"
"No, I am not your father," Megatron answered, "I merely rescued you from your captors. I can take you to him if you tell me where he is."
Annie moaned in pain as she tried to move, but found it useless as she was losing consciousness as well. "Li-liberio. Take me to…liber…"
Annie passed out from exhaustion as Megatron checked her pulse to see if she was still breathing.
"Liberio?" Mikasa questioned.
"That must be the hometown Reiner and Bertholdt were talking about," Armin declared, "I don't remember there being a place called Liberio inside the walls."
Megatron sighed as he stood up. "I need to get you back to your comrades, or at least close to them before my holoform is out of energy. We need to move-"
Megatron grunted as someone kicked him in the face. Mikasa and Armin looked in shock, before realizing it was Levi who committed the deed with his 3D gear. Levi then tackled Megatron to the ground and pinned him there before pulling out his swords and trying to stab the holoform in the neck. Megatron quickly blocked the blades with his arms, but Levi stabbed his swords through them anyway.
"You fucking son of a whore! I'm going to carve your eyes out and feed them to titans!" Levi threatened with rage in his eyes.
"Look like someone grew a pair!" Megatron taunted with a devious smile.
"Armin, where the hell have you been?!" Jean demanded as he and the other came to them with their supplies.
"Jean!" Armin exclaimed in surprise.
"Oh shit, that doesn't look good," Connie gulped as they saw Levi and Megatron in a deadlock.
"I don't give a damn that you went off on your own," Levi hissed, "But you put the lives of my squad in danger while burning a damn house!"
"Captain, wait!" Mikasa pleaded.
"Don't think you two are off the hook!" Levi declared, "Once I'm done with him, you two are the next on my shit list!"
"Depends if that short body of yours stands a chance," Megatron retorted.
"Let's find out, buckethead!" Levi hissed as he drove his blades deeper in his arms, causing them to lose shape.
"Optimus asked him to go find Annie!" Armin shouted, earning everyone's attention.
Levi looked back at Armin before noticing Annie passed out on the ground. "Then why in the hell did you go with him?"
"If Megatron went alone, there would've been more destruction than this," Armin declared as he gestured to the house, "He also didn't know what Annie looked like because no one told him. We went willingly. He didn't force us to do anything."
Levi took a quick glance at Megatron and noticed that the former warlord was looking at Armin with…surprise?
"Megatron only followed Optimus' orders," Armin continued, "If anyone should take fault for doing something foolish, it should just be me and Mikasa."
Levi grimaced as he gripped the handles to his blades and looked Megatron dead in the eye. He growled in irritation before detaching the blades and standing up. Megatron grunted as he removed the blades in his arm before they completely lost their form.
"You might want to grab the man who's still burning alive," Megatron advised.
Everyone else turned to see the man burning earlier finally make it over the fence as he rolled in the grass to try and put out the flames.
"Geez, what the hell did you guys do?" Connie demanded to Armin before he and Sasha ran over to the man.
Megatron watched the man being carried off while Levi and Jean picked up Annie. He fell back on the grass and sighed to himself.
"I never thought I'd say this, but I miss Earth," Megatron said to himself before deactivating his holoform.
Peaure looked over the newspaper they had written for the people the night prior to what happened with the Survey Corps and the Military Police while Roy was going over any new information presented to them.
"Roy, I have a question," Peaure began, "Doesn't it seem weird that the Survey Corps suddenly want to turn on their own kind? Even attack the Military Police?"
Roy sighed as he set his notebook down. "It does, but it is not our place to question. We only report what we see."
"But why?" Peaure questioned, "We're reporters."
"Yes," Roy agreed, "However, it is the monarchy that is in charge. They are the ones that tell us what to report and what to hide. Even if we reported the truth, the king would merely get rid of us because we didn't follow his orders. I can't allow that to happen. Not because I'm a coward. I probably am, but I have family and others I need to protect. I can't let the government go after the people I care about."
"That doesn't seem fair," Peaure remarked.
"But that is the world we live in," Roy declared, "I've already accepted my fate. It is up to you to-"
Roy stopped when he notice Peaure's attention somewhere else. He followed his gaze and saw a woman in 3D gear sitting on the table in front of them.
"Hello boys," she greeted, "I'm a Survey Corps' Section Commander, Hanji Zoe. I see you two are the ones responsible for writing the newspaper about the Survey Corps attacking the Military Police out of spite, which is false. I should rip off your fingernails and break your hands to the point you can't even pick up a pen, but I don't think my associate would allow that."
Roy heard a strangled cry and turned to see Peaure being held hostage by a man in a black coat and blue pants with some type of gun pointed at his neck.
"There's also the issue of you reporting what the government tell you to report," Hanji added, "So that factor might be saving your life as well."
"I-I apologize for what we did," Roy stuttered.
"It is alright," the man spoke with a deep voice as he let Peaure go, "You were merely doing what you were ordered to do, but it is only a matter of time before the government comes after you and your families."
"But…there's nothing we can do," Roy sighed.
"Maybe there is," Hanji declared.
Roy looked at her in confusion while Peaure took a step back from the other man.
"Give us a day to come up with the evidence," Hanji requested, "Tomorrow, you can meet up with us in Trost."
Erwin was quietly resting in the driver's seat in Optimus' alt mode before he jolted awake at the sound of the door being opened. He saw Hanji hopping in before Optimus began driving away from Wall Sina.
"So what did they say?" Erwin asked.
"They agreed," Hanji answered, "but we are going to have to go to Trost to pull this off."
"For the moment, the two of you need rest," Optimus declared through the radio.
"We could head back to the castle before we initiate the plan," Erwin proclaimed.
Marlow looked at the cadets of the Scouts in shock while Hitch rubbed her temple in irritation. After the fiasco that happened earlier, the Scouts moved deeper into the woods with Annie and another man still alive in their custody. Levi then ordered the Cadets to catch Marlow and Hitch up to speed on what happened to the Corps.
"So let's back up for a moment," Hitch began, "The rumors of there being another metal titan are true?"
They all nodded their heads in unison.
"And this titan has a human form? And knows the other metal titan?" Hitch continued.
"Yeah, they kind of hate each other," Connie remarked, "We also started a joke saying that he's Prime's ex."
"There's also the fact this metal titan decapitated the Colossal Titan and ripped out the heart of the Armored Titan?" Marlow added.
They all grimaced at the memory of the situation.
"Holy fuck," Marlow breathed, "Levi just stabbed the guy!"
"So wait, what does he really look like?" Hitch questioned.
"Like the damn devil," Sasha hissed, "He hasn't come back around the area, so that's a good sign."
Marlow and Hitch raised their eyebrow at Sasha's response.
"She can sense titans like Optimus," Jean briefly explained, "Even in their human form,"
Levi watched the cadets conversing with the two MPs while Nifa finished tying up their prisoner.
"Captain, do you think these will hold?" Nifa asked as she finished tying her hands and feet.
"I'm not sure," Levi admitted, "And according to the Mikasa and Armin, she has instant regeneration. There's no time limit anymore."
"Should we kill her instead?" Nifa asked, "It seems like the better option."
"There's also the fact that Bertholdt is dying," Levi reminded, "We have to take that into consideration, but if she does try to escape, kill her. Without any hesitation."
"Yes sir," Nifa nodded, "But I do have some concerns. Doesn't this pose an even greater threat?"
Levi thought it over. It really did. Annie could now instantly regenerate due to the energon in her systems. Did that also mean she has an immunity to the substance? Was she truly invincible?
Meanwhile, Armin took a quick glance at his friends before walking away from them. He went to the cart of supplies and picked up one of the shards Megatron took from the cave. If they managed to run into Hanji, they would have to show this to her so she could examine it.
"If this were any other situation, I would have killed you," a voice spoke.
Armin quickly looked up to see Megatron's holoform peering over from behind a tree. He then glanced behind him to see that neither Sasha or Levi had picked up he was here.
"But if you killed me, then it would ruin your plans of getting Optimus to trust you again," Armin whispered.
Megatron sighed. "Clever brat. I clearly underestimated you. I didn't expect someone like you to figure out my motivations. The only one who had an idea to question it was the dwarf. Then again, Optimus might have even taken a liking to you, considering the fact that he told you about me."
Armin looked down at the cart and closed his eyes. "He only told me because I asked. He didn't have to, but I guess he did because he didn't want us to think he was hiding anything. Jean and I are the only ones that were in the room when Optimus told us."
"How long did you know him then?" Megatron asked.
"Maybe two weeks," Armin estimated.
"I see," Megatron said, "Now then, I believe I owe you an answer."
Armin stared at Megatron with a surprised expression. "You-you are going to answer?"
"We succeeded in capturing Lionheart, and even gained more information on the Reiss family that might be useful," Megatron retorted, "And you made it out alive."
"You'll…answer me honestly?" Armin questioned.
"I will," Megatron answered.
Armin took a deep breath before exhaling to calm his nerves. "What does Optimus Prime mean to you after all this time?"
There was a dead silence between the two as the rest of the Corps did not catch what was going on between the two. Armin couldn't read Megatron's expression, but he began to feel uneasy because there was no response.
"No," Megatron spoke, "I'm not going to answer that."
"What?" Armin said as he felt…anger rise in him.
"I will not answer that," Megatron repeated, "Ask me something else."
Armin gritted his teeth. "No. You promised me you'd answer whatever I asked with pure honesty."
"Well I won't answer that," Megatron declared.
"You owe me!" Armin hissed.
"I owe you nothing," Megatron glared.
Armin growled before walking around the tree and in front of Megatron. "I've been going through hell for the past few days. Ever since the beginning of all of this madness. And the one time I finally get what I want, you back out like a coward?!"
Armin grunted as Megatron slammed him into a tree behind him. Armin choked on air as Megatron placed his arm on his windpipe.
"Just because you are intellectually smart does not mean you are physically adept," Megatron began, "So let's be careful or I'll make you choke on your last words."
Armin gripped the arm hurting him as he did his best to inhale. "So…that's it…isn't it? Who you…truly are."
Megatron stared in confusion and suspicion.
"You've battle monsters…started a war…defied god…and cheated death," Armin said, "But you are afraid of opening up your heart because you fear vulnerability, rejection, and the lack of control. You want to be in control; you want freedom, but everything you've held onto has slipped from your grasp."
"Shut up-"
"And the one time you get to make it right, you don't know how because you're afraid of being honest."
"Silence, Pax,"
"You're afraid of being taken advantage of so you hide behind a lie,"
"Enough-!"
"You're afraid or being betrayed by someone you trust and losing them! The mighty Megatron is afraid of being alone for all eternity!"
Armin grunted as Megatron covered his mouth to shut him up.
"Shut your mouth, Orion!" Megatron ordered.
Armin widened his eyes while Megatron realized his mistake. Orion? Why did he call him Orion?
"I was an archivist in the Iacon Hall of records known as Orion Pax."
'Oh god,' Armin thought. Megatron thought of Armin as his former friend. He gave him the nickname Pax because he reminded him of what Optimus used to be.
"What do you want from me?" Megatron demanded as he removed his hand from his mouth, "What is your end game? You plan to sell me out? Try to get pity from me?"
"I just wanted to hear your side of the story," Armin answered.
"What are you talking about?" Megatron demanded as he released Armin from the tree.
"You and Optimus were friends," Armin began as he rubbed his neck, "But then you had a fallout that caused a war. Now, you're helping him out again for some reason after four million years. He's the only reason why you've even considered staying on our world to help us fight. Does Optimus really mean something to you even after all this time?"
Megatron grimaced as he walked behind the tree. Armin quickly followed, only before bumping into Megatron from behind.
"Even if he did, why would I tell some lowly human who I barely know?" Megatron demanded.
"You don't have a reason," Armin agreed, "But I want to understand. Sometimes I don't want to assume the worst possible thing. I don't want to assume Reiner and Bertholdt attacked humanity because they wanted to destroy us. I don't want to assume that you still hate Optimus. I don't want to assume Optimus hates you."
Megatron merely looked up at the stars in the night sky.
"Megatron, you were a good being, and then things got messed up. I know you want to make amends, but you don't know where to start. You can start by being honest," Armin declared, "What does Optimus Prime mean to you after all this time?"
Armin earned no response from Megatron. The teen then closed his eyes in irritation and defeat as he turned to make his way back to camp. It looks like he wasted his time.
"Optimus Prime is my greatest enemy…and my truest regret," Megatron answered.
Armin stopped in his tracks and looked at Megatron in shock while ex-con still had his back facing him.
"I don't think I could completely hate him after all this time. For years, I was either looked down upon or praised like a Savior. I was a miner not even worthy to be given a name, an undefeated champion meant to change Cybertron for the better, and I was a monster feared by all. In the end, I somewhat despised it all because I was seen as a god or a monster. Optimus… saw none of those things. All Optimus ever did was treat me as an individual. He saw me as someone worthy of a name, yet was also willing to call me out on my nonsense. He was willing to ground me back to reality and question my methods instead of accepting it as law like many of my followers did."
Even as we fought for all that time, Optimus still treated me as an equal. He never called me a monster, and never saw me as a god. He did see me as a threat, but he never thought of me as any less than him. He saw me as someone with value. That was something that I wanted most of all, but also hated when I was the Decepticon leader. I thought that if I could get him to hate me, it would make it easier for the both of us when we fought to the death and one of us kills the other. I wanted him gone; I wanted that bond to be destroyed. But in the end, there was always some part of me that still cared too much."
Megatron chuckled to himself. "And when I finally see the error of my ways, Optimus wants nothing more than to end my life!...I do deserve it; however, after everything that I've done. I'm paying my debt for all of my wrongdoings, but I want nothing more now than to make things right with Optimus. I don't care if it takes me another four million year. I don't care if I'm fated to disappear into nothing or return under Unicron control or whatever awaits me after death. If I could bring myself to apologize to Optimus and say a proper goodbye at the very least,…that would be enough for me."
Armin stared at the Decepticon leader, speechless by his response. That was Megatron's truth. This was who Megatron was: a broken being that has nothing who wants to set things right.
"There is your honesty," Megatron said without looking at Armin.
Armin hesitated. He didn't know how he would react to what he might do, but he was willing to take the risk. The teen walked towards to the ex-con and raised his hand. He moved it towards the holoform, pulling back slightly to reconsider. He then closed his eyes and hung his head as he placed his hand on the center of Megatron's back. Armin felt the former warlord tense and the contact, but kept his hand there regardless.
"I'm sorry," Armin apologized, "For everything that happened to you. Maybe if the world had been kinder to you, you and Optimus would have still been friends. And I won't tell anyone about this. I know you might not believe me, but I won't. I promise."
Armin waited for the Decepticon to respond, but he merely deactivated his holoform. Armin felt the form lose shape as it disappeared into sparks under his hand.
"Armin, what are you doing?" Mikasa asked as she made her way towards him.
Armin lowered his hand and turned to look at her, causing Mikasa to look at him in surprise.
"Are you okay?" Mikasa asked, "You're…crying."
Armin quickly wiped away his tears. "I'm fine. It's been a lot lately."
Mikasa looked at Armin with sympathy before taking his hand. "Let's go back."
Armin nodded his head as he let Mikasa guide him back to camp.
Erwin tensed as he sat down in one of the rooms back at their hideout. He tapped his foot impatiently while Hanji was in another room talking to Reeve's son about the plan. He looked up when Optimus opened the door and entered the room.
"You should be sleeping," Optimus remarked.
"I know," Erwin sighed, "I just need to get something off of my chest."
"You…mentioned to me before that you've had a different motivation for joining the Survey Corps," Optimus began as he sat down.
"Yes," Erwin declared, "I did it to find out the truth."
"The truth?" Optimus raised an eyebrow.
"When I was younger, I was in my father's history class," he explained, "He was talking about the history of the titans when I asked him a question. It was a rather simple one, so he explained it to me as any other teacher would. When we got home, he explained to me his own theories and ideas regarding the information in those history books. I ended up rambling on like a fool about my father's speculations. A member of the Military Police heard, and as a result, my father was killed the very next day."
"I am sorry for your loss," Optimus said, "But why are you telling me this?"
"I joined the military in order to figure out my father's speculations in order to figure out if they were true," Erwin explained, "I believed venturing outside of the walls would be the best option, but it turns out the truth was inside the walls as well."
"What about the survival of humanity?" Optimus asked.
"…I didn't care," Erwin confessed, "I only used that as a front because I felt guilty about the other's sacrificing their life for humanity's survival."
"…You mean to tell me you've been leading people to their deaths because of a selfish intention?" Optimus hissed.
Erwin remained quiet, causing Optimus to stand up.
"Did. You-"
"Yes," Erwin answered.
"…You've lied to everyone," Optimus declared.
"I understand I did-"
"Do Hanji and Levi know?" Optimus demanded.
"No, they don't,"
"How many people have you led to their doom?!" Optimus exclaimed.
Erwin grimaced. "I don't know; I just know that it's not enough to atone for from just the loss of my arm."
"These people are sacrificing their lives for you!" Optimus declared, "They have family! People they need to protect!"
"You think I don't know that?!" Erwin demanded as he stood up, "You think I'm that monstrous to not think about the lives that died under my command?! And when they do I'm not even a step closer to the truth?!"
"That selfishness of yours has gotten everyone who risked their lives killed!" Optimus shouted as a hint of pain was detected in his voice, "Why is the truth more important than the survival of your race?!"
"That truth got my father killed!" Erwin declared, "If something as mediocre as a theory blurted out by his child's own foolishness got his own father killed, then it holds some damn merit!"
Optimus grabbed Erwin's collar and made the Commander look him dead in the eye. "As a leader, you're never supposed to put your selfish needs first! You put the lives your comrades first! Regardless of the situation, a selfish leader leads to disastrous results!"
"But I guess my selfishness lead to some truth," Erwin retorted, "If it didn't, the government wouldn't be trying to kill us all."
"What if you're wrong?!" Optimus asked, "What if there is no truth out there?!"
"Then it is what it is," Erwin answered, "Then I'll do everything in my power to atone for my sins. But the only way for me to do that is to die and be sent to hell for all eternity."
Optimus stared at Erwin with bewilderment and fury in his eyes before letting the man's collar go. He took a few steps away from him before placing his hand on the table to steady himself.
"Optimus-"
"Sometimes I don't disagree with some of Megatron's statement," Optimus cut him off.
Erwin felt something drop in the pit of his stomach.
"Megatron has stated that humanity is manipulative and selfish and a waste of my time," Optimus proclaimed, "In instances like this, how can I disagree with him? A man so blinded by his own self gain that he throws away the life of his own comrades without any second thought! For five years no less! They all trusted you! I trusted you to make the right decision!"
"Sometimes the right decision still leads to people dying," Erwin retorted. "It's not as simple as you think."
Erwin jolted as Optimus grabbed a chair and threw it across the room.
"Simple? You want to talk about simple?" Optimus hissed, "I've seen more than you will ever know. My people being slowly devoured alive by scraplets until nothing is left. My people being killed off by plagues and toxic energon. My people being stabbed, blown up, shot at, and suffering even worse fates than death! The planet I've tried so hard to protect die before my very optics, and when I had the chance to revive it, I had to destroy the one thing capable in order to protect Earth! I had to fight Megatron: someone who I considered brother! I watched my lover die in my arms and I was unable to do a slagging thing about it! I lost my mentor and I have no idea how he died! Four million years of this madness! And when I finally get a moment of peace, I can't even go home!"
Optimus slammed his hands on the table. "Regardless of everything, I still put my personal feelings aside because that's what a leader does! There are people under you who are inexperienced, afraid to die! They need someone to rely on! When a leader has their own self intentions, what is the point of fighting in a cause?! Meanwhile, you have the gall to speak to me about simplicity!"
Erwin took a step back as Optimus looked him dead in the eye.
"Understand that I will still fight for humanity because of the people who want to be free," Optimus declared, "But I will not be following your orders anymore."
Erwin tried to reach out to him, but Optimus merely deactivated the holoform.
Hanji and Mobilit looked at each other after they heard Optimus' proclamation from the other side of the door.
"What does this mean for the Survey Corps?" Mobilit asked.
"I don't know," Hanji shook her head, "I don't know if we're supposed to talk to him."
"Which one?" Mobilit questioned.
"I don't know," Hanji answered, "We're just going to have to do what we can. With or without them."
"How are we suppose to pull that off?" Mobilit demanded, "We weren't able to achieve anything possible until Optimus came along."
"Humanity survived without him for a century," Hanji retorted, "We'll figure something out."
Megatron was lying down outside of Wall Maria, staring at the stars. He tried resting, sleeping, something to get his mind off of everything, but he just couldn't. After years of fighting and battle and keeping up this strong persona, he confesses his feelings about Optimus towards a…child! For Primus' sake, he even called him Orion! That wasn't supposed to happen! Why would he do that?!
"I want to hear your side of the story."
Megatron sighed as he felt…sentimental. When was the last time someone listened to what he wanted without force? When was the last time someone was willing to show him any comfort?
"He could be playing you," a voice said.
Megatron glanced over to his right to see not an hallucination of Unicron, but an hallucination of his younger self, covered in dirt and holding a pickaxe stained with energon.
"Would it kill you to go one day without tormenting me?" Megatron demanded.
"I'm being realistic," he declared in a smoother voice, "No one has shown us compassion, and when they do, it's usually for their own gain."
"Not always," Megatron retorted.
"Orion never did turn the title of Prime down," he retorted, "And you weren't able to save Terminus because you lacked the skill to. Even so, do you think he would be proud of what you've become?"
"Can you leave me alone for at least a cycle, so that I may actually get some sleep for once?" Megatron hissed as he stood up and stared the hallucination down.
"This is your debt, isn't it?" the hallucination questioned, "Self exile, Optimus despising you hallucinations of Unicron, working with humans?"
Megatron looked away from his former self at the last part.
"Don't tell me you're taking a liking to them?" he said, "They all fear you except for the Ackerman and the child Optimus has taken a liking to. Up to the point where he's actually trained him."
"The Ackerman is the only one who tolerates me, and his pet is nothing more than an angry, narrow-minded fool," Megatron growled.
"Sounds familiar," his hallucination shot back.
"Excuse you?" Megatron warned ominously.
"If anyone in the whole universe is an angry fool, it's you," his hallucination declared, "Who else would be foolish enough to merge his spark with dark energon, severing your link to the Allspark?"
Megatron didn't answer his hallucination because at the end of the day, it was right.
"That boy is right; however. You're afraid to spend eternity all alone,"
Megatron turned around and saw that his hallucination disappear.
Optimus was asleep for a couple of hours in his alt mode. Trying to forget what Erwin told him and trying to remember a better time. Something to get his spirit up. His sleep was interrupted when Hanji kept on banging the door to the passenger side.
"Optimus! Optimus, get up!" Hanji yelled before jumping back when Optimus honked his horn at her.
"Sorry!" Hanji quickly apologized, "But we have a serious problem!"
"What is it?" Optimus lethargically asked.
"Erwin's gone!" Hanji answered.
Optimus responded by transforming into his bipedal mode. "What do you mean?"
"I mean he's gone!" Hanji declared, "We checked the whole area! One of the horses are gone, too!"
"Where did he go?!" Optimus demanded.
"You think I know?!" Hanji retorted, "I was asleep after making the plan with Reeve's son last night! We need to find him!"
"How do you expect us to find him?" Optimus demanded, "He's considered a criminal; there could be soldiers trying to find him."
"Think of something!" Hanji demanded, "We can't lose the Commander! I'm not ready to be a Commander! Erwin's the better choice!"
Optimus grimaced at her response. "Hanji, Erwin-"
"I know," Hanji interrupted as she crossed her arms and looked up at him, "I know about his dumbass theories."
"You knew?" Optimus questioned.
"Yes, I did!" Hanji declared, "He wouldn't stop rambling about his theories during military training! He would just go on, and on, and on, about some advanced civilization outside the walls! It was pretty damned farfetched, but then five years ago happened and then you and Megatron came along!"
"But then…why did you continue to follow him?" Optimus asked.
Hanji sighed. "A couple of reasons. One's pretty subjective: he's the only friend I have left from military training. Everyone else is dead. Finding out Mike died was a pretty big punch in the gut once all the chaos calmed down in Wall Rose. But the other reason is that he's still a damn good Commander, even though he's in the Survey Corps because of his own self reasons. His ideas have actually decreased the death rate of the Survey Corps over the past five years. His methods are pretty ingenious. He even saved Levi from spending the rest of his days living in the underground. Levi's a damn big deal for the Corps. And to be honest, he's said my life more times than I could count."
Optimus gave Hanji an unreadable expression as held out her hand towards him.
"I know you're upset with him, furious even, but Erwin has given humanity a lot of hope," Hanji declared, "And…I just don't want to lose anyone again. Please."
Optimus closed his optics as he transformed into his alt mode.
"We cannot search for Erwin at the moment," Optimus proclaimed, "But we can initiate the plan. If we can clear the Survey Corps' name, Erwin will be safe."
Hanji nodded her head and lowered her hand. "Okay, let me get Mobilit and Reeves' kid."
Optimus watched Hanji make her way back into the castle as he began to ponder. Where did Erwin go?
Erwin rode his horse towards the gate to Wall Sina. When the Military Police and the Garrison saw him from the wall, they immediately came down and surrounded him. Erwin got off the horse and raised his hand in surrender. One of the Garrison pinned him to the ground while a Policeman aimed a gun at his head. He didn't know what awaited him, but…
He just hoped his surrender would by the others some more time.