When Optimus woke from recharge that morning, something un-still in his spark told him that something was wrong. He rose from the berth and immediately went into protective mode, looking about for his family. Taylor was sitting on the console, swinging her legs back and forth. She perked up when she saw him rise. The Prime couldn't see his old friend and grew worried.

"Taylor," he said, standing and checking again. "Do you know Ratchet's whereabouts?"

The young woman smiled up at him in assurance. "Don't worry. He went to get more Energon from the mine, and check on the rest of those people while he's over there. He only left a few minutes ago."

"Why was I not informed of this?" he asked skeptically, raising an optic ridge.

"You were resting," she said with a shy shrug. "Ratchet told me that you need as much rest as possible. So that you can have the strength to defeat Megatron, when the time comes..." She trailed off at the last sentence, looking away.

Even the name of the Con made his spark surge in anger. He did his best to suppress it. "And there has been no word?"

"I told you, he only left a few minutes ago," she said sweetly. "Maybe ten?"

Optimus sighed, something he hardly ever did, but nodded his helm with a tiny smile. When Taylor beamed cutely, he leaned forward and patted her head with one digit. Her cheeks lit up slightly in pleasure and she smiled brighter.

"You know, you really are like a dad," she said.

He cocked his helm a bit. "That is like the parental unit 'sire', correct?"

She giggled. "For you guys, yes. So I guess I should say, you're like a sire!"

He felt warmth replace the hatred and smiled just the smallest bit brighter. Taking his digit away, he turned and looked at the monitor screen. The green light was pulsing in and out, still broken and faded. The Prime wondered if Ratchet had made any attempts to fix it beforehand.

"Optimus," came the medic's voice through the commlink. It sounded choked and grim. "I need you to come to my coordinates," he stated simply. The link held a bit of static, but it wasn't able to hide the fact that Ratchet sounded dreadful. 

Prime quickly put his servo to the GroundBridge controls. "Taylor, Ratchet has requested me to accompany him," he told the girl quickly as he activated the portal. 

She looked at him, fear filling her eyes almost instantly. "Did something happen?"

He paused, his optics boring into the swirling mass. "I am not certain. However, I would advise that you remain here."

She stood up and shook her head, despite her shaking stature. "I want to come, too!"

He shook his helm as he began to go through. "Ratchet would not want me to endanger you," he said just as the GroundBridge closed around him.

When he arrived, it felt as if the entire planet befell him. His spark stopped in his chest chassis as he looked at the wreckage in mass horror. He was standing in the open, the cave crumbled beneath his pedes. The rubble was uneven and still crumbling, suggesting that it had been recent. Energon was scattered everywhere, but even worse were the people. There were only a few in actual line of sight, but most of them were dead, crushed or burned horribly. Smoke bellowed everywhere and fires were scattered across the destruction. Burnt and twisted metal shot up in several places, the remains of the structure. Optimus felt his knee plates shake and he did everything in his power to keep himself from falling to them. His vent was caught in his throat; how could he breathe now? Before him lied such horrors even the mighty Prime, having seen so much of this before, was stunned with pain. His spark felt like it was being crushed. All the pieces of his hope for the future of the humans.. gone.

He forced himself to move when he saw a familiar color pattern in the distance. He slowly trudged over to Ratchet, who was sitting down. Around him were several humans, all burned and injured horribly, but alive. The children clung to his pedes, eyes wide with fear. The adults were tending to them or one another. In the medic's lap sat Nurse Darby, sobbing into her hands. Optimus was ever so relieved to see them all alive, but he knew this was so few. He knew that they had suffered extreme losses. 

The medic looked up as Optimus approached. "Optimus.. the Decepticons," he said, the remorse in his voice turning into hatred. "They discovered their base.. they came and destroyed it, without mercy.."

The Prime knelt over, sadness clinging to his entire chassis. "I am so sorry," he said grimly to the children, reaching for them. "I wish we had arrived sooner.."

The young ones all raced towards his servos without a moment's hesitation. They clung to him tightly, finally crying their little hearts out. Optimus was so, so urged to cry himself, his spark still clenched and breaking. He watched them and did his best to comfort them by patting and stroking them. Ratchet spoke with the adults with a hushed, mourning tone.

"Optimus," Ratchet vented. "The Cons.. they Bridged here. But I destroyed their means of SpaceBridging or GroundBridging a long time ago."

The Prime's optics narrowed, a bit of his old self returning, but this time, his gaze was angry. "Then it would seem that they have repaired them, old friend."

Ratchet nodded grimly. "And that means.."

"Cybertron is once again at risk," Optimus finished, his voice raising. The children flinched beneath him, and he gave then an apologetic look.

Ratchet stood shakily. "We cannot stand idly by!" he practically roared, his clenched servos shivering in fury. "Optimus, we have no choice but to stop this now,  or Cybertron and Earth will fall under Megatron's eternal rule!" 

The red and blue mech stood, allowing the young ones to release themselves. His optics were hard and his servos were also clenched. His entire chassis seemed to be shaking in pure fury to him. "I concur, Ratchet," he bellowed so that the humans would know his pain. "We must stop them now."

Once, Optimus had hoped that his former brother would one day change his ways. Even in those times when he had said that Megatron never would, deep in his spark, he still prayed for it. He still prayed for the friend he had once had to return. He had always seen the best in his enemy, even at his worst times. Now, it was if he had taken a complete turn. Megatron filled him with such fury and hatred that Optimus couldn't even begin to explain it to himself. He was burning on the inside, burning to revenge all he had lost, everything that this monster had taken from him. He had never wanted to become like this, seeing as it felt like treachery and against the greater good. He had always prayed for lasting piece, and that otherwise would not be winning the war. The Prime had truly felt that way. But now, he was burning to kill. He had broken the limit. Megatron was going to pay for everything he had done with his spark.

Optimus endpoint had been reached, and there was no bringing him back from this decision now.

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Hey, look!! I updated this, too! I meant to do this chapter a long time ago, but never got to it.

But, hey, we are finally reaching the end of Endpoint!! We are almost there, guys!

Prepare to cry your eyes out, because what I have planned will destroy you. So get some tissues and bandages for your broken heart.

Hehe.