Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers (except my toy Optimus, Bumblebee and Sideswipe), although I think my car might be one.

This is the first in hopefully a series of one-shots set at various times before, during and after Dark of the Moon (how epic is that movie!). I've got 4 or 5 ideas so far so hopefully more coming soon!

Warning: Major spoilers!

It was two weeks before Optimus had the time and privacy to fall apart. The last fortnight had been a whirlwind of activity. Chicago had finally been cleared of Decepticon carcasses and re-construction was underway. The Autobots existence had been officially revealed to the public, followed by several broadcast statements by Optimus himself. Ratchet and the Wreckers had been working flat out and the Autobots were finally functioning normally once more.

Once the furore had died down NEST, humans and mechs alike, had finally been able to return to the peace and privacy of Diego Garcia. No one had questioned Prime's rapid disappearance from the main hangar once everyone had settled back in.

So it was at sunset, Optimus found himself completely alone, on a headland at the tip of the eastern arm of the island. Watching the sky turn red, he embraced the pain in his spark that he had been denying since Chicago, since Earth, since the beginning of the war. Emotions flooded his processor, triggering memories and sending him to his knees, optics dimmed.

Optimus had never been prone to anger; however none but the gods are limitless. And the Prime had reached his limit. The senseless war, Megatron's betrayal, the loss of their future, human greed and xenophobia, being given no choice but to act as mercenaries for the US government, human secrets, exile and worst of all: Sentinel's betrayal. His anger had just built and built, and the rage that had resulted now disgusted him.

He had been an advocate for peace and mercy towards his foes for so long, his recent actions on Earth made him sick at spark. In Egypt he had taken his anger out on the Fallen, literally ripping his face off. In Chicago he had stood by as the Wreckers pulled a Decepticon to pieces. And he had shot off Sentinel's head as the old mech pleaded for mercy.

Optimus knew the others would say the traitor deserved it. Sentinel had instilled in the young Optimus the values of freedom, equality and honour; and then he had betrayed those values by shooting Prime's most loyal warrior in the back with a horrifying weapon and forgoing all the Autobot ideals and joining the Decepticons... just to become a "god" once more.

But the Optimus who had put down the old mech, who had turned on his brother just after he saved his life just to end the war, wassn't the Optimus he wanted to be. He had tried his hardest to follow his ideals, but it was a difficult road to take.

His grief weighs him down, fighting each step. He has lost so many in this long war, both friends and foes alike. Many more he has no clue to their fate, left behind in the search for the Allspark. The most recent tear at his spark: Jazz, Arcee, Skids and Mudflap, Jolt, Que and most of all Ironhide. The battle-hardened warrior had been at his side since before the war, and he had died a most ignominious death: shot in the back by a traitor and disintegrated by a parasitic infection. A couple of weeks is not long enough for a human to process the loss, let alone a cybertronian.

But worst of all is his guilt. All of it, from the arrival of the Allspark on Earth to the Decepticon invasion and the destruction of Cybertron, was his decision, his fault. If he hadn't launched the Allspark into space then Cybertron might not have died and their war would not have been brought to Earth. If he had been even a bit suspicious of Sentinel, then Ironhide might still be alive and the invasion may not have happened.

"It shows you're human."

Sam's words reverberated through his processor. What the boy said was true, he now realised. Not that he was human, but that he was fallible like everyone else. He was no omniscient and omnipotent god, as Sentinel wanted to be. He was entitled to make mistakes, the best he could do now was to not repeat them. His anger may have ruled him before, but never again. He may grieve those he has lost, but he can also celebrate having known them and cherish those he has left. And he may feel guilty about his part in what happened, but the past cannot be changed and he has done the best he can to make up for it.

Optimus' optics brightened and he straightened, standing tall on the cliff top. He stared at the sky as the last light faded and the stars glimmered into view. And from on high the moon shone brightly.

Not quite sure what happened here. It was supposed to be Optimus having a breakdown after his rather vicious fights in Chicago in DOTM, but obviously I love him so much that I subconsciously started justifying why he acted that way... then I wanted to make him feel better.

Thanks to my fellow fanfic author Ouchimoo for spotting the whole "Wreckers ripping up a decepticon while Optimus watches" thing.

Please R&R.