Lightning split the sky as it rained heavily from the heavens. Thunder shook the very earth the titan stood. He stared blankly at the scene before him. Devastation of the world he called his home. The city was smoldering as the fires slowly died down. He could only stare at the horrible scene, unable to actually move to it. Unable to save the ones he loved. Humans dead and injured were scattered throughout the city. His own team crushed under the rubble. He could hear them weakly calling for help. Though their cries were drowned out as he heard laughter. Wicked, maddening laughter from his once friend. He looked up at the air ship and narrowed his optics as he fought back tears of anger.

"How could you do this Megatron?" He rasped as he heard the people scream in terror. "How could you do this?!" He shouted angrily and unsheathed his blades. "You will pay for-

~

The man stopped writing and set his pen down. He took off his glasses and stared blankly at the wall. He couldn't write when he was feeling this way. He took a moment to contemplate on how these characters came to be.

~

The house was quiet as the two young boys played in the living room. Their grandparents sat in their chairs as they listened to them. The grandfather was reading the news paper when he heard the youngest walk over. He furrowed his brow and looked at the four year old.

"Yes Oliver?" He asked quietly as the boy glanced at his older brother. He was seven and playing Mario cart. He looked at his grandfather again and held his toy car up.

"Grandpa... are cars alive?" He asked quietly. The man furrowed his brow and set the paper aside. His wife chuckled softly as she sowed and knit something.

"Why do you say that?" He mumbled and bent down a little.

"Well look." He said as he pointed to the headlights. "It's got eyes." He said and pointed to his own. "And daddy called the car a good girl." He said seriously as he frowned a little. His grandfather thought for a few minutes then decided to play along. He picked the small boy up and set him in his lap.

"I suppose you're right." He said as his eyes widened a little. "That explains so much now." He teased. The boys eyes widened and he stared at his toy.

"Oh Troy." His wife scolded and looked at him. "Don't fill the boys head with stories." She muttered. The man chuckled softly and ruffled the boys head. He was a writer by heart and had an over active imagination. He always had but wasn't able to write since he joined the police force.

"You remember when I told you I used to be a mechanic?" He asked and the boy nodded slowly. "I spoke to the cars to let them know I wasn't hurting them." He whispered quietly. Oliver gasped quietly and looked at his grandmother. She rolled her eyes and gave her husband a look.

"Are they always cars?" He asked quietly and looked at him again.

"What do you mean?" He asked as he furrowed his brow.

"Ugh... he watched Toy Story a few days ago." His brother muttered and glared at the small boy. "I told you its not real." He said seriously.

"You don't know that." Oliver mumbled and glared at him.

"All finished." The grandmother said and gave Oliver a stuffed lion. He squealed happily and hugged it tightly then got on the floor to play again. His grandfather watched him quietly as the boy played with toy cars and robots. He furrowed his brow as his imagination came up with an idea. He was the type of person who could stare at something, and get tons of ideas from that one thing.

"Oh dear... I know that look." His wife teased as she glanced at him.

"What?" Troy asked slightly distracted by his grandsons.

"You could stare at a box and create an entire world." She said and chuckled lightly.

"Is that a challenge, my dear Rachel?" He asked as he raised an eyebrow. She gently kissed his cheek and went to make lunch.

"Perhaps my love." She said and wandered off. Troy smiled slightly and stared at the two boys.

That was three years ago, and Troy created more of the robots and cars. He would tell his grandsons stories about everything he wrote.

They would listen intently and make comments on different things. He told them about the hero's and villains that just came to him.

~

Megatron walked towards the Prime and narrowed his optics. He clenched his servos tightly and unsheathed his blade. Optimus looked at him as his optics flickered. The warlord raised his blade to strike down the leader. He-

~

"No!" Oliver screamed and hid under his blankets. He was always afraid of Megatron and didn't like it when Optimus lost.

"Ugh... he's scared of everything." His brother muttered and rolled his eyes. Troy furrowed his brow and gently moved the blanket off the small boys head.

"Megatron is scary..." he whispered quietly as tears filled his eyes. "The bad guys are always scary...." he mumbled.

"Would it help... if I was Megatron?" The man asked quietly. The child furrowed his brow and looked up at the older man. "That way it's just like our games." He whispered quietly and winked. The boy smiled brightly and nodded slowly.

"Can... can I be Optimus then?" He asked quietly. He smiled more as he sat up straighter.

"Yes." His grandfather chuckled softly and ruffled his hair. His brother rolled his eyes and folded his arms.

"You aren't brave enough to be a hero." He mumbled and glared at him. The small boys smile faded and he hung his head.

"Maybe not now." Troy muttered and looked at him. "But he can be." He said seriously. Oliver smiled and hugged his grandfather tightly.

Six months after he had started writing for the boys, his wife died. He stopped altogether and slipped into depression. The love of his life was gone and he was alone in the world. His only child would come and help him as much as she could. He would just sit and stare blankly at nothing in particular. His friends from the police station did what they could to help him. He wouldn't take care of himself and just wanted her to come back.

One day his daughter came over and brought the boys. She worked with her husband on the house while her sons went to the living room. Oliver looked at his grandfather and walked over to him. He climbed into his lap and started telling him stories about the robots. Troy blinked slowly and looked at him. He stared blankly for a few minutes then gently hugged him tightly. The boy smiled and continued to tell him stories everyday.

A year after she died, he slowly came back to reality. He fought the depression and went back to work. He slowly became happy again and started writing. He continued to write and didn't stop, afraid he would disappear again.

~

Present day...

He smiled slightly at the memory of how everything had happened. He looked at the pages and furrowed his brow. He read through the battle scene and the paragraph he just wrote. He narrowed his eyes and crumpled it all up then tossed it into the trash. He glared and tried to write again. He gripped the pencil tightly as tears filled his eyes.

The pencil broke and he threw it across the room. He buried his face in his hands and sighed shakily. He thought about little Oliver and how they found out he had leukemia a month ago. He stared blankly wondering how on earth he could help his family. He was just a writer, a mechanic, and a cop.

Nothing more.

Except for a grandfather. He furrowed his brow and grabbed his keys then went off to the hospital. He concentrated as he drove down the road. He glanced at a few things and thought of some creatures from his previous writing. He shook his head and continued to the hospital.

Once there he went inside and walked quickly down the hall. He furrowed his brow and got to the room then stopped at the doorway. He stared blankly at the scene before him. His daughter and her husband held their sons hand as the doctor spoke with them. His brother stared blankly out the window.

Troy wanted to leave, escape this reality that he was forced to face. Go back to his writing and his world. Back to Cybertron. He gripped the door frame and forced himself to walk into the room. His daughter saw him then ran over and hugged him tightly as she sobbed.

Her husband led them out of the room with the doctor. They talked about the leukemia and possible treatments. Troy stared blankly as he tried to process this.

"I don't know what to do Erik." She whispered quietly as tears fell down her face. Her husband held her close and rested his head against hers.

"It'll be okay Jess." He muttered and squeezed his eyes shut. The doctor sighed quietly and asked for the two to follow. Troy went in to watch the boys. He stared at them and walked over then sat by the bed. He looked at the older boy who was playing on a game device as he glared darkly. Escaping life.

"How are you Oliver?" His grandfather asked quietly and gently set a hand on his head. The boy looked at him with tears in his bright blue eyes.

"I'm scared Grandpa." He whispered quietly and gripped his free hand tightly. "It hurts..." he rasped as tears filled his eyes.

"Shh shh shh... we'll get through this." He muttered and stroked his jet black hair.

"Don't lie Grandpa." His brother muttered bitterly and looked at him. Tears of rage filled his eyes and he choked back a sob. "It's not okay.... and it won't be." He choked again. The older man looked at him and held his hand out.

"Come here." He mumbled and the boy walked over to him as he sniffed sadly. The grandfather hugged him tightly as he let the younger boy hold his hand. The two boys started to cry, unsure about the future. Troy carefully picked the small boy up and hugged them both close.

"Don't cry..." he mumbled as a tear fell down his face. They held on to him tightly and buried their faces in him. He knew they were scared. He was afraid too.