"Our job is to protect that casket. Hart will be going in with the orb. She cannot contact us once she is in. Megatron has been spotted going inside the compound. The goal is to make sure most, if not all, Decepticons stay within range of the orb. Once Hart is in the center, she will detonate it and teleport back here. We have under 18 hours to make this work." Lennox repeats the mission.

I hold tightly to the orb in my hands. Optimus had gently placed it in my hands after everyone got unloaded. He said nothing as I wrapped it in my arms. He didn't have too. I vow to complete this mission and end the Deceptions. We can't see the con's base from where we set up. The idea is for the cons to not find out we are there. I go in, set off the orb and vanish without a trace. All within 18 hours. I can do this.

"Hart?" I turn to Lennox. All eyes are on me. "Time to go. Here's your earpiece for your way down and when you get out."

I stick the small device into my ear. "I shouldn't need it once I'm finished. I'll jump to this point."

"Just in case." He says, not giving me an option. "Your callsign is Ghost."

"How original." I laugh.

I do a mic check with it before I begin my walk. The twins stand guard with the soldiers around my body. With one last nod to them, I start my trek to the cons fortress. They warned me about the entrances, where cons would be standing guard. I stay among the trees. The orb is covered with a blanket. The glow would give me away. A con flies over and I push myself against the tree. Then I learn I can now phase through soldi objects while holding something solid. The orb and I fall into the tree.

There is no time to mention it to the others. I move forth, running through everything. The sounds of the jets are gone, for now. The tip of the base comes into view. I come to a stop on a ledge, looking down over the monstrous structure. I can see the base of the ship as the start of the build. They have erected walls around it, creating the fortress. This must be where the ship landed, creating a crater in the mountains.

Upon peeking over the edge, a flashback of my fall hits me. It causes me to stagger back, the orb almost slipping from my grasp. I quickly readjust my grip, hugging the ball tight to my chest.

"That would have been bad." I mutter under my breath.

"All good down there, Ghost?" Lennox's voice rings in my ear.

"Great. Everything is just great. I can phase through things with the orb." I answer, my body still shaking from the flashback.

"That's good to hear. 17 hours left." His voice is monotone, serious, and it makes me nervous.

"You got this, Ghost." Sunstreaker's voice echoes in my mind through the earpiece.

It makes me smile, but I don't answer. He motivates me to continue on with this mission. I glance over the edge one more time, scanning for cons and a good landing spot. A clear spot behind a large tree is perfect. I smirk before jumping to the spot. As I land another con flies over. One step forward and I slip into the tree. After the roaring engine of the jet gets quiet, flying off not the distance, do I come out. Not too far away from me is the wall of the fortress. One more looks around and I creep up to one of the many obstacles in my way.

"Ghost!" Lennox shouts, making me wince. "You need to hurry."

"Ghost, are you okay?" Sunstreaker sounds panicked.

"I'm fine, why?" I ask, stopping in my tracks.

"Your body, it's starting to decay." Lennox answers, his tone sounds shocked.

"I'll hurry."

With a false deep breath, cradling the orb close, I walk through the wall. I peek my head out the other side. So far, so good. No cons. I walk into a hallway. It's dark, with only purple luminescent lights lining the floor. How do the cons see where they are going? I take a few steps forward, unsure of where to go. Should I go left, or right? Or I could just walk through the walls. That choice sounds best and quicker. I don't have much time left.

I go for it. Walking through the next wall. A part of me wonders how much of my body has decayed. There is no time to dwell on that. I need to complete this mission first. So, I peek my head out and it's a room. An enormous room. There is a large table in the center. It looks like the same one Ratchet uses in the med bay, but this one has more restraints attached. More diabolical instruments line the small moveable tables around the berth. This looks like a science lab. Beakers and small machines line the counter tops. Filled with various things. As I look around the room from one side to the other, it only gets worse. Then my eyes lock with a con with one single optic. It has no mouth, and I can't tell if he's shocked or surprised like me. This must be shockwave and I just stepped into his lab.

"A fleshy insect has infiltrated our base." Shockwave speaks, his robotic voice echoes around the room.

"Oh, shit." I squeak.

I don't wait for him to come to me. I push myself to race across his bay to the other side and through the wall. Another hallway comes into view. The alarm bells ring out. The purple lights that lined the hallway now blink vibrant red. Time is of the essence. They know about me now. It won't be long until Megatron himself comes after me. I need to find him before he finds me. Cons come around the corner. Shouting that they see me. Grasping tightly to the orb, I rush to the other side and through the wall. As much as I want to hide out inside and wait for them to stop looking for me, I can't. There is no time to wait.

I push myself to continue. There is no more access to the outside. I'm alone. When I get through the next wall, it's an empty room. Looks like it could be sleeping quarters. Either way, it buys me time. Through, the next wall I go and it's another hallway lined with doors. This must be the barracks section of the base. I need to adjust my movements. So, I run down the hallway to the right. I wish there were signs. Not that I could read them. They'd most likely be in Cybertronian.

As I hit the corner, I run straight through a con. I'm able to hold in my scream as the con whips around and tries to grab me. There are more of them coming. They reach out with their grimy claws, but they phase right through me. I could stand here and never get hurt, but I have a mission to complete. Megatron must know I'm here now. I need to find his throne room. I need to find him first.

The cons huddle around, not understanding why they can't grab me or at least hurt me. I let them get closer before running through them. They fall over themselves, trying to race after me. I turn the corner in a 3-way. Still no idea where I'm going, but I'm following where the cons are coming from. There are so many. More than I've ever seen in any battle. If I weren't already dead, I would fear for my life. I keep running. Not stopping. I give them the slip and phase through a wall. The room I land in is giant. There are severed heads lining the walls, highlighted by a purple light behind them. Weapons line underneath the tortured souls.

At the end of the room is a large throne. Megatron's throne. For the high and mighty himself. It sits empty, a hefty chunk of metal, headlined with a rotting Decepticon symbol. This is where he decides all his disastrous plans. The cunning leader isn't here. Probably out looking for me. His underlings may have told him what I am carrying or a theory of what it is. Megatron himself may have figured it out. Time to sit down and wait for him to show. I hope the Autobots are fairing well. Hopefully, all the cons are still at base looking for me. I take a seat in the throne, keeping the orb covered for now. Then the double doors whip open, slamming against the wall, sending an echo around the room.

"She's in here!" The con yells. Then he steps aside.

"Sitting in my throne too." Megatron growls as he storms in.

His posse of cons follows him in. Starscream, Barricade, Soundwave and Shockwave. All wearing matching snarls on their faces, well, except for Shockwave and Soundwave. Everyone I was hoping for thundering into the room. I sit on the throne, waiting for them to come closer. My face remains neutral. Terror is reigning on the inside, but I know I have nothing to fear.

"You are no human. What alien species are you?" Megatron demands.

"But I am human." I tell him, not moving from my seat.

"You can't be. No human can do what you have been doing to my troops. I demand you tell me what you are." He points a claw at me as he snaps.

There is fear in his optics. It sends a joyous shiver down my spine. So, to give him an even better scare, I jump from my spot to his shoulder. He jumps, landing with one foot behind him, and his jaw drops as he looks for me. His head turns, and he spots me on his metal. His servo comes up to swat me away, but me and the orb stay still while his servo goes through me. I can't help but laugh before jumping back to the throne.

"While you play games in here. The Autobots are getting slaughtered by my soldiers. Hand over the orb and I will end it." He says, trying to scare me back.

"Bring all your troops in here. I'll tell you what I am, and I'll hand over the orb. We both know you can't catch me. The Autobots stay out and no more harm comes to them. Or I'll just set this off." My turn to make demands.

He opens his mouth to speak, but I cut him off. "Wait, it doesn't matter. I don't need them all in here." I smirk.

He tries to make me stop by saying "You will be trapped with us." He tries to make me stop.

"You can't trap a ghost." His optics go wide as I unravel the orb.

I dial the orb in, setting it to freeze the Decepticons in place. Megatron starts coming at me. Once set, I toss the orb at him. A smile on my face as I send a small wave to him before vanishing from sight. I land back at camp. The Autobots are indeed battling cons, but they all stop and stare as the orb's energy takes over the base. Anything within a 25-foot radius of the base freezes in place and disappears from view. The few cons that were attacking begin to freak out.

"Don't let them go in!" I shout, spurring everyone out of their stupor.

The Autobots lunge into action, killing the cons making their way to where the base vanished from. The soldiers join in. While I head over to my casket. My heart isn't ready for what I might see. It feels like the closer I get, the further it is. I'm not ready to die, but it's to late. I spot the twins off a ways, taking down a few cons. The soldiers around my casket have joined in shooting at the enemy.

My glass casket lies on the bed of the hmmvw. My stomach swirls in discomfort as I climb up onto the bed. The clearness of the glass gives me a perfect vision of what is happening to me. Lennox was right. Parts of my body has decayed. My fingers and toes are gone. Only bones remain. There are swatches all over my body and face of decay. I'm officially dying.