Chapter 4: Lysandra's Escape

When Lysandra was fully awakened, she noticed that she was tied down to a table and some Brutes were too close for comfort. "Ah you're awake. Now to perform the surgery. Begin…" Truth ordered as the Brute next to her got ready to cut her open to remove the Index from her. 'No! This can't be happening to me! Oh please no!' thought Lysandra as she was pleading for this to just be a nightmare and soon she will wake up from it. But it was no nightmare, this was really happening to her and she felt ALL the pain. "Quiet down human! Or I will be forced to kill you!" the Brute said as he was so close to getting the Index out of her. But just as he was about to have within his hands, Lysandra got up and managed to limp away.

"Don't let her escape! We must have the Index!" Truth yelled as the whole squad of fifty Brutes went after her. Then as Lysandra was about to give in to the pain, she remembered something: she can force herself to be the Index, only when she found out what Megatron injected into her. 'What was that syringe filled with? Wait, I know! A rare poison that allows me to survive anything relating to death, but in order to work I must be on the brink of death itself. So that is why Truth had that Brute perform the surgery without putting me "asleep" first.' thought Lysandra as the Brutes got closer and closer to her position.

Within a few minutes, she became the Index—and not her child inside her. "There you are, come along now human." the lead Brute said as he grabbed her very harshly. "Hey, it looks like she is already dead! I mean she's bleeding so badly that she could die at any moment even!" laughed the other Brute as Lysandra knew that she will suffer until the end of time itself. When they brought her back to the table, Truth was very angry at her. "You thought that you could get away from us Lysandra? You're wrong! Now finish the surgery and give her back to Megatron like we agreed." Truth fiercely yelled as the Brute finished what he started.

Truth saw the unborn child knowing that his victory was very close, but to his shock he was wrong: the child was not the Index at all! "What is the meaning of this?! Where is the Index?!" Truth shouted as he saw that Lysandra was missing, yet again. "I WANT HER FOUND AND BROUGHT TO ME ALIVE AND UNHARMED! So that I may kill her!" Truth ordered as everyone onboard his ship was looking for her. But Lysandra was already off the ship and in an escape pod floating in space. "Now that I can no longer die and I'm the Index, Truth must go to plan B: take me to the Ark itself and somehow force me to activate it." she said to herself as she was all alone—no one to help her for the rest of the journey, or so she thought.

About five hours later her escape pod had hit something, another ship. "Well, well, well. What do we have here? A young woman. Gentlemen, who wants to…welcome our guest?" a random man said as all the other men raised their hands and cheering, wanting a piece of Lysandra. "What's going on? Who are you?" asked Lysandra as she was taken to a room by all six men. "Oh don't worry my dear, this will not hurt, much." the leader cooed as he lead her to the bed. As soon as she saw the bed, Lysandra knew what was going to happen, and prepared for it: she hit the man hard where it really hurts and managed to get away from him, but not the others though. "I have her! She won't get away from me that easy!" laughed another man as he was too strong for Lysandra to fight off. Her living nightmare keeps getting worse by the second.

About three weeks later, Lysandra was placed into another escape pod and was released from the men's grasp—with their "presents" from each one of them. 'Why do I bother living still? What's the point of it?' thought Lysandra as she had no tears left and all out of hope. Then her escape pod hit yet another ship, this time though she's in for a wonderful surprise. "Hey, we have an escape pod! And the person's alive too!" a random voice said as a group of people came by. "Well I'll be…it's Lysandra! Hurry, get Optimus Prime and Master Chief!" Johnson cried out as some men left to go get them. When Optimus and Master Chief arrived on the scene, they were horrified at what they saw: Lysandra clutching a dagger trying to kill herself, with her eyes glazed over.

"Lysandra, what happened to you?" Optimus asked as he just held her. But what everyone heard next shook them to their core. "Optimus is that really you? Wait, it's not you at all. I'm all alone, with death so far away yet so close to me. I can never die—thanks to what Megatron did to me earlier—, even though I'm begging for death and after multiple attempts even. I'm all alone…" Lysandra whimpered as she struggled to get away from everyone—thinking they are going to hurt her. "Lysandra listen to me! It's me Optimus Prime, please stop struggling. Everyone here wants to help you, let them." Optimus spoke in Cybertronian as Lysandra didn't understand him at all.

"Optimus, why didn't she respond when you spoke to her in Cybertronian? It's our language—including hers." Ratchet said as he just could not understand. "I'm afraid that Lysandra is too far gone to speak Cybertronian ever again. Just look at her: on the verge of total surrender, something very terrible must have happened to her." Optimus said defeated as he had no clue how to help her or how to bring her back to normal—for a human even. Just then Lysandra was starting to remember something: Optimus Prime himself. "O…O…Optimus?" Lysandra asked very weakly as everyone started to feel very happy. "Good work Optimus! You helped her remember who you are." Master Chief said as he saw the Arbiter come toward them.

"Any luck?" the Arbiter asked as Lysandra remembered him too. "Arbiter? Master Chief? Where am I?" Lysandra asked as she remembered only 70% of all her memories. As someone else was about to speak, the ship jerked: an attack. "Stay here Lysandra, let us deal with it." Optimus whispered as he put her in her room until the danger passes. "Optimus, the danger will never pass. Truth will always target me unless somehow I'm able to die for good. The unborn child within me was the Index, but now it is me—I'm the Index itself. And this time he will get me, I just know it." Lysandra stated as Optimus just shook his head in disbelief at Lysandra. 'She's already given up. I must change that.' thought Optimus as Arcee entered the room.

"Optimus I just wanted to see how she is." Arcee spoke when the Arbiter came in as well. When just as Lysandra said would happen, happened: Truth himself came and tried to get her but the Arbiter won't let him near her—alive. "I want that human girl Arbiter! Now let me have her!" Truth shouted as he was starting to get closer to grabbing her. "Allow me to retrieve her for you High Prophet of Truth." A very familiar voice said as he revealed himself: Tartarus. "You, but how? I killed you on the last Halo ring." the Arbiter stammered as he saw Truth smile. "I was dead, but somehow I came back. And now I am willing to serve you High Prophet." Tartarus explained as he knelt in front of Truth.

"It's good to see you alive Tartarus. All we need for the Great Journey to begin is the human named Lysandra: she is the Index." Truth spoke as Tartarus growled. "It shall be done." Tartarus replied as he grabbed his Gravity Hammer and headed toward Lysandra's "guards". "Be careful! His weapon is Gravity Hammer, meaning: one hit with it and you die!" the Arbiter warned as everyone got ready to fight. The fight had begun; Optimus was in his true form trying to run Tartarus over, while Master Chief and the Arbiter were distracting him. But then a few other Brutes entered the room and seized Lysandra herself. "Excellent work. Let's go, Tartarus will be right behind us." Truth ordered as he saw the look on Lysandra's face: pure fear and terror that she was captured again, yet acceptance of her capture.

'This is it for me, Truth wins and no one can stop him.' thought Lysandra as she just accepted her fate. Then when all hope seemed lost, a small ray of hope shimmered: an unexpected ally came to her aid, Megatron himself. "I won't let you capture her Truth!" Megatron shouted as everyone saw him—and Optimus feared the worst. "Megatron, I thought we had an agreement and deal with each other." Truth said as Megatron came closer and closer to them. "We did, until I was contacted by her father Primus. He said that Lysandra can choose to come with me willingly if I stop trying to harm her in anyway. So I became an Autobot." Megatron explained as Optimus was very shocked and surprised.

"So be it Heretic. I shall kill you first, and then take her to the Ark!" Truth yelled as he prepared to attack Megatron and kill him for good.