Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers or any of its characters.
This is part of the "More Than A Leader" series, which will be about Optimus Prime and his relationships with the Autobots. It will mostly on the view of the said Autobot and how they perceive Optimus, whether he is a hero, friend, fatherly figure, brother, leader or something else to them.
This one-shot can stand alone, without support or continuance from the other soon-to-come stories. You can read the stories in whatever order you wish.
For those who have seen the episode A Prime Problem from the G1 series, you don't need to read this paragraph. For those who haven't, this is a brief summary of the episode to notify you of the situation. In the episode, Megatron created a clone of Optimus Prime, successfully fooling the Autobots and when the real one shows up, things get complicated. When the clone destroyed a clone of Starscream, convincing the Autobots that the clone was the real one, the clone was going to lead them into a trap that would have destroyed them all, despite warnings from the real Optimus Prime. Fortunately, the clone's true intentions were discovered and was defeated.
So I decided to write about an Autobot's thoughts during what happened in that episode. And who else could be better than Cliffjumper, who has always struck me as a gun-ho, feisty type of guy. But even the strongest can have their doubts and guilt.
Greater Part Of Guilt
He stood in front of the doors, hesitating. Taking a deep breath, he squared his shoulders and jerked his body forward, only before instinct took over, freezing his body once more, no more than perhaps an inch or two farther than when he first started. He grounded his teeth, chastising himself for his absurdity, thankful that none of his fellow Autobots saw him. Imagine the mockery and teasing he would have to endure if they did! Fortunately for him, the others were either in recharge or enjoying an energon drink in the rec room. But fortunately, the one mech that Cliffjumper was seeking a conversation with, was in his office, pouring over his enormous pile of datapads as usual.
This shouldn't be this hard. What ever happened to the fiery and impulsive Cliffjumper who would leap into action without a second thought and who should be banging away at the door, demanding entry? Eaten away by guilt, that's what.
Prime's clone, his impostor, his evil twin, his look-a-like, his duplicate - whatever it was, had fooled them all, even when the real one showed up. Both Primes had baffled and confused the Autobots, leaving them helpless to guess which mech was the genuine Optimus Prime. He could only imagine how frustrated and crestfallen Prime was when his own troops didn't recognize him, despite certain, subtle hints and clues. Only Spike actually attempted to find the real Optimus while the rest of them did nothing or had already given up trying.
A raw stiffness squeezed tightly at his spark, choking him with overwhelming remorse. He was angry at himself, ashamed that he had let his commander down. Then, his fury flared furiously at the others, who were absolutely of no help. Only for him to be drowned in his regret and self-disgust. He had fared no better than his comrades. He had no right to be exasperated and raging at them when he committed the same sins as them. If anything, that privilege rightfully and fittingly belonged to Prime and Prime alone.
The doors slid opened, startling him and revealed the main subject occupying his thoughts. " Cliffjumper? What are you doing here at this time?" Prime asked in curiosity and surprise. Suddenly, he found himself despising Prime's kindness that extended to all living beings, Autobot, humans, alien, even Decepticon. He didn't deserve it anyways.
" I wanted to say sorry," he mumbled, not daring to meet his leader's optics, determinedly staring at the floor. " For my actions today." When Prime said nothing, he plowed on. Might as well finished what he started. " I was careless and easily fooled by that clone. If it wasn't for Spike and Windcharger, all of us would be, well, we would all be goners. I - we should have listened to you. I'm sorry."
Prime's reaction was half-expected. The tall mech gazed down at him evenly, silent, his face devoid of any emotions. Cliffjumper braced himself for a reprimand, a rebuke, waiting for the harshness and disappointment. Instead, Prime gently laid a giant hand on his shoulder.
" There is no need to apologize, Cliffjumper," he said, voice a soft rumble. He raised a hand to interrupt his protests. " We all make mistakes. You hold no fault for what happened today. Nor do any other. All that I require of you after this incident is that you learn from it and stand back up after it."
He huffed, obviously relieved, though no way in Primus was he going to show that to anyone anytime soon. He did have a reputation to maintain after all. " You're too forgiving," Cliffjumper grumbled, waving off Prime's hand from his shoulder. Optimus raised an optic ridge, but continued to listen patiently. " People will take advantage of that kind of sort."
Prime shrugged, looking amused. " Care to discuss it over a drink?" he asked, optics twinkling. Cliffjumper simply nodded and allowed Prime to lead the way.
A drink sounded good.