Prologue

The Autobots had just won a battle against Quintessa and the Decepticons on Earth. Cade had been the last knight and worked with the Autobots as they fought to protect the human race.

It is unknown of what had happened to Quintessa and Megatron, or if they even survived. But now knowing that Earth was Unicron, the Autobots knew that Cybertron and Earth's fates would be entwined for the rest of eternity.

-Chapter 1-

The Autobots prepared to leave Earth and go back to Cybertron. They hoped to find a way to use the staff to restore the planet to its former glory. The Autobots were grouped up.

Hound was the first to speak. "Optimus Prime, you are officially exiled for the Autobots."

"What?" Bumblebee glared at him. "What's Optimus do?"

"Tried to kill ya." Crosshairs answered.

"But-" Bumblebee was cut off as a hand was planted on his shoulder. The yellow mech looked behind him to see the Prime gazing at him sadly.

Optimus took his hand off the younger bot's shoulder and opened the chamber in his chest where he kept the Matrix of Leadership. He removed it from the chamber and closed it. He reached his arm out to the mech. The one with the Matrix. "Take it; I have no use for it now."

"I-" Bumblebee tried to say.

"Just do it." Drift said the usual calmness in his voice.

The yellow mech clasped his fingers around it and pulled it close, then looked back at Optimus.

The Prime had moved back a couple of paces. He turned around and ran a few more steps before transforming into his favorite style truck and speeding away.

"Optimus!" Bumblebee shouted after him. "Come back!"

Optimus ignored his favorite mech. He had no choice. The bots he had once led and fought beside had exiled him and there was no going back. His spark stung with sadness. He was all alone. He had no friends now.

*X*

He drove to the city of San Diego in California. He found an apartment and transformed into his holoform for the first time in his life; He was now a human with bright blue eyes, black spiky hair, a skinny body, long limbs, and light facial hair.

He heaved a sigh. He entered the building. Optimus walked up to the counter, where a man stood. He thought for a moment.

"Hello, sir, you need something?" The man asked cheerfully.

"Yeah, I was wondering if I could rent a room please." He answered, careful to not say the wrong thing.

"If you'll just give me your name, I'll register you now."

"Opti-I mean, Otis Porter." He answered. He now had his own human name to go with his holoform.

"Alright." The man replied as he wrote something down on a sign in paper. Then he put down the pen and stood to his full height, shorter than Optimus was. "If you'll follow me please."

He nodded. They went into an elevator and up to the fourth floor out of ten. They exited the elevator and walked to a door marked number forty-five. The man handed him a key. "Here you go, Otis. Enjoy the time you spend here."

"Don't I have to pay?" He asked.

"Oh, yeah." The other man chuckled. "That'll be fifty dollars, please."

"Alright." Optimus dug into the right pocket of his jeans. He pulled out a wallet and handed the man a fifty dollar bill. To his surprise, there was a card in the wallet. It showed a picture of his holoform and some information. He closed the wallet and put it away.

"Thank you."

"The thanks are mine." Optimus grinned.

As the other man walked away, he unlocked and opened the door. He closed it behind him after he entered. He found and switched the lights on.

The entrance room was small and only led to a medium sized bedroom and a bathroom. Optimus explored the room a little, finding a few things new to him; an alarm clock, a television set, a soap bar, and a comb for his hair.

He finally decided to look down at what he was wearing. He wore sneakers on his feet, jeans on his legs, a red t-shirt with a blue unzipped jacket, and a wristwatch. Not bad.

A pang of something unfamiliar hit him in the stomach. Hunger. He left the apartment and went to a nearby restaurant called McDonald's.

He went inside, ordered, and then sat down. He saw people in there of all ages; kids, old people, and even babies with their parents. Optimus put his hands to his head. He could never be that happy. It was obvious, but it hit him with another wave of sadness.

When he got his cheeseburger, fries, and soda he ate them peacefully and then walked back to the hotel. He went to his apartment and got on the computer he had found earlier. He found an online website where people could communicate to each other from across the world. He signed up right away.

On his profile, he typed something about a miserable, lonely life (that was true, though). He entered the age that he found on his card. He was about thirty-seven.

Almost immediately, someone sent a friend request. He accepted it.

Loner Quin: Said you needed friends?

Otis Porter: Yes.

Loner Quin: So do I. I'm Phoebe Murphy.

Otis Porter: I am Otis. Nice to meet you, Phoebe.

Loner Quin: Nice to meet you too.

Optimus was excited. He had a new friend!

*X*

Quintess smiled. She knew that this man was Optimus Prime. She could track him. She knew that he was exiled from the Autobots. It made the Prime more vulnerable. Time to put the plan into motion…

*X*

Optimus stayed up until nearly midnight. He didn't meet anyone else online, but tried some games instead.

When he went to bed, he found it hard to sleep. But, after half an hour, he finally fell to sleep.

The next morning, he woke up to the sunlight going through the curtains of the window. He got up, went to McDonald's for breakfast, and then got on his computer.

Otis Porter: Good morning.

Loner Quin: Morning, Otis!

Otis Porter: How are you today?

Loner Quin: I'm alright. How about you?

Otis Porter: Alright so far.

Loner Quin: Glad to hear that.

Otis Porter: Any plans for today?

Loner Quin: Nope. Just going to chill here.

Otis Porter: Same.

Loner Quin: Otis, where do you live?

Otis Porter: San Diego, California. What about yourself?

Loner Quin: I am currently in Chicago, Illinois.

Otis Porter: I know that city well.

Loner Quin: Why is that?

Otis Porter: Past experiences and trips.

Loner Quin: Ah.

He suddenly got an idea. He looked up Samuel Witwicky. He found the boy's profile and sent a request. Sam accepted it immediately.

Otis Porter: Hello Sam.

Sam Witwicky: Uh, hi.

Otis Porter: Oh, yeah. Stupid profile name. Meet me at the bridge in Chicago.

Sam Witwicky: Which bridge?

Otis Porter: The usual. I'll be there.

Sam Witwicky: Optimus?

Optimus chuckled.

Otis Porter: Yes, it's me. I'm in holoform. Any way you can find Bumblebee too?

Sam Witwicky: I don't know. I'll try.

Otis Porter: Noon tomorrow. That okay?

Sam Witwicky: Yeah. See you there, Optimus.

Otis Porter: See you soon, Sam.

Optimus turned off the computer and left the building. He caught a plane to go to Chicago. The Prime remembered that he hadn't seen Sam in a long time. He looked forward to tomorrow.

*X*

Sam was puzzled. What was Optimus doing? Was it an emergency? Well, it's been a while anyway, so he looked forward to chatting with the Prime.

*X*

Quintessa smiled again.

Loner Quin: You still there?

No answer.

She frowned. "Now what is that annoying Prime up to?"

*X*

Optimus landed in Chicago at 11:00 A.M. the next day. He decided to wait at the bridge anyway. He was there within forty-five minutes. He hoped that Sam really would come.

He stood there, just looking out over what he could see of the city. It had rebuilt and repopulated well since the battle against Sentinel, but there were still marks showing the damage of what had happened. It wasn't surprising because this was, indeed, the greatest and deadliest battle on Earth that had happened between the Autobots and Decepticons.

Optimus was pulled from his thoughts as he heard a car pull up behind him. He listened as the door closed and footsteps came towards him.

"Hello, Sam, Bumblebee. Good to see you both." He said without turning around.

"How did you know it was us?" Sam asked.

Optimus chuckled. "I'm a Prime; I know a lot of things, Sam."

There was a noise of Bumblebee transforming. Optimus assumed that he was going into his holoform as well. He heard more human footsteps. The Prime jumped as he felt arms hug him.

He turned around to see Bumblebee in holoform hugging him. Optimus softly chuckled.

"Do either of you know a place we could go to so we can transform to ourselves?" Optimus asked. He was tired of being in holoform.

"Yeah." Sam answered. "Follow me."

The three allies found a street that was so badly damaged that no one used it. They went into one of the bigger, darker alleys.

Optimus and Bumblebee transformed out of holoform.

"Finally." Optimus grumbled. "Bumblebee, any news of the other Autobots?"

The yellow mech shook his head. "Nope."

"What happened?" Sam asked. Apparently he didn't know about what the Autobots had done to their Prime.

Optimus sighed and sat down. "It's a long story, Sam."

Sam looked at Bumblebee, who nodded.

"You alright, Optimus?" Bee asked. "I've missed you."

The Prime snorted. "Never worse."

"I tried to stop them, remember?" The yellow mech replied.

Optimus lifted his head to look up at the orange sunset and the stars. "I know."

"Can someone tell me what's going on?" Sam asked with a hint of irritation in his voice.

"The Autobots exiled Optimus." Bumblebee growled, banging his fist against the building, which shook badly. A guilty look crossed his face. "Oops."

"They exiled him!?" Sam almost yelled.

"Yes, they did." Optimus answered, halfheartedly.

"Hound, Drift, and Crosshairs, they did it." Bee murmured, his voice full of anger.

"Wait a minute, Bee, when'd you get your voice back?" Sam asked, suddenly curious.

"During the last battle." The mech replied. "Finally too."

"Cool." Sam gave a small smile to his former guardian. Then he put his attention back to the Prime. "Why did they exile you anyway?"

"After the battle of Hong Kong," Optimus began, "I went to find and destroys our creator. I landed on Cybertron and found her, but before I could do anything, she took control of me. When I got back to Earth, I was Nemesis Prime. She made me fight Bumblebee. That's why they exiled me. I didn't betray them, I couldn't stop Quintessa."

"Is she still alive?" Sam asked.

Bee shrugged. "We don't know, Sam. She fell out of the ship and is back here on Earth. She might be, but maybe not. I shot her in the back."

Sam sat down against the building.

"There are only two of us anyway. Optimus and I, we are the only bots that lived through the first three battles here on Earth. The others have come from Cybertron."

"What about Ratchet?" Sam questioned.

"Dead." Optimus' voice had anger in it. "I still have the proof Cade gave me."

"Can you show me?"

Bumblebee looked from Sam to Optimus.

"Alright." The Prime answered. He began the film of the medic's last fight and his death.

Sam just stared. "Can't you bring him back somehow? Don't you still have the Matrix?"

Optimus sat up straight. "That's it." His voice had lightened to show that he had gotten an idea. "Perfect idea, Sam." The Prime got to his feet, hope filling his spark and faith flowing through his circuits again.

"Wait, what?" Bee seemed to think he was dreaming, but Optimus ignored him.

Sam answered. "I think Optimus is going to try to bring Ratchet back."

"Oh, yay, this'll be fun." Bumblebee got up too. He transformed into a yellow and black Chevrolet Camaro, opening his door.

Sam got in and closed the door behind him.

Optimus transformed into a truck. "Let's roll!"