Prologue: Ballroom Adversity p2

"If there is to be trouble let it be in my day so that my children can live in peace."- Thomas Payne

---

(Pre Cybertron)

The large hallways that lead to the personal quarters were abandoned. The hard clacking of Optimus Prime's heavy metal boots echoed through the halls and bounced off the walls. Finally looking down at his precious cargo that was held securely in his grasp. Art had his head down on his father's glass chest and he left arm and hand close to his face hiding it from his fathers view.

The Autobot commander really hadn't thought about it yet but in his rare spikes of anger and frustration he could be a menacing figure particularly to a small bot like Artemis. Thinking back Prime couldn't recall a time when he had to use his stance and power in front of his son. Artemis had seen how 'frightening' his secondary creator could be, unintentionally.

Mentally sighing as he came up on their occasionally shared quarters, Prime punched in the code in to unlock the door. The door silently opened and Prime walked inside letting the door shut behind him. He walked over to the large couch and sat Art down then went back to the door. Pressing in a sequence of codes within seconds two more doors came down and with a soft click the door locked in place.

Taking a deep breath through his vents and letting it out, Prime turned back to Art who was still seating on the couch quietly. The small bot was leaning on the back of the couch looking down at his feet a blank look on his young smooth faceplate.

Coming to stand in front of the couch Prime knelled down on one knee to get optic level with Artemis the best he could. He stretched out his arm and sat his large blue/black hand on the small bots shoulder.

"Art look at me" taking the boys chin in his hand

Artemis raised his gaze slowly up to meet his fathers gold optics. Prime knew his son was upset possibly about what happened earlier.

Looking his son in his gold and blue optics "I upset you didn't I Art?"

In simple reply Art shuck his head left to right but Prime knew others wise; he knew the boy lied but Prime wasn't angry with him lying; how could he be?

"Art I'm sorry." He began "I let my anger take control a little more that I intended to but today celebration meant a lot and that . . . 'intruder' ruined it." was all he could come up with as a excuse 'And it all went down the drain' he finished to himself bitterly

"What did that bot mean Demority?" in a tiny voice

"Don't concern yourself with it. It just means my job is going to get more . . . complicated."

Art looked back down toward his feet then looked back up when father stood and heard the mechanics inside of the large bot as he did so. Art watched him walk over toward his desk and stop.

"You want some energon?" he asked with his back turned

"Yes sir" politely

Art didn't care what type he wanted the small bot always asked for the same thing, eventually Prime stopped asking. Art pushed himself close to the edge of the couch and turned; stretching his foot until he could fell the floor underneath him he pushed off and let himself fall the sort distance then sprinted over to his fathers side. Watching the whole thing take place was amusing but Prime, or anyone else who may had witnessed, would never laugh just smile.

Art watched him pour both of them a mug, Arts slightly smaller, then handed it to its owner. "Thank you" he said

Artemis looked down into the mug of energon and watched it move inside letting the warm energon fog his optics.

Both of their attentions turned toward the door as the buzzer went off. Practically running around his desk, Prime turned on his computer monitor to the outside camera to see who was outside just incase. To say the least Prime was acting a little paranoid.

Prime sighed in relief as the picture of his hunter green s-in-c came into view on the screen. He reached underneath his desk on the underside of it and pressed a button to unlock the doors to let the green jet in.

The doors opened to reveal the said bot "The intruder is contained sir" announced Jetfire as he came inside letting the door close behind him.

"Good" sighing like a huge burden was lifted off his shoulders

Jetfire walked forward noticing Artemis looking at him with his mug in hand, he grinned cheekily at Art's still fogged optics.

"Hey Art you doing all right?" he asked putting his hand on top of the boys head like he always did.

"Yeah Uncle Jetfire."

After Jetfire took his hand off his head, Art walked back over to the couch some how managing to get on it without spilling the components inside of the mug. Art knew Jetfire and his dad's routines all to well despite not being around as long as most of the Autobots at Iacon considering he was the only sparkling.

He still remembered hearing someone saying he was an 'army kid' just not as politely. He went and asked Jetfire since his dad had been out that day. Being still young he didn't known that he had gotten the two bots who had said that in trouble, not deliberately of course.

When Jetfire came in after a work issue or to work on 'planes', as the others put it, and put his hand on top of Art's head in said manner he just knew that his dad and Jetfire would talk and go through stuff for what would seam like cycles. Sometimes other Autobots would join them but less than more. His dad always fixed himself and Artemis something to drink to even though Optimus's would end up cold on the side of his desk half empty.

The, still considered a sparkling, Artemis would just mind his own business and let the two work. He always listened even though he only understood half of what they would say. Once he got bored pretending he was occupied doing whatever he'd actually find something to do.

Time past slowly before Jetfire finally left. Optimus Prime was still seating at his desk when he looked up and over to the couch where he had last seen Art. He smiled at the site.

Art was lying on his side fast into recharge a blanket he must had retrieved sometime before covering him. Like usual the blanket had somehow managed to only covering up the top part of his body minus Art's head and rapped around one of his legs. Prime had always wondered how Artemis would end up like that.

Getting up he walked over to the couch and so carefully, like one false move would brake the small bot, he lifted him up into his arms and held him close to his chest. Prime walked up to another door and opened it still holding Art in his left arm.

'He looks so peaceful when he sleep' thinking to himself

The slightly smaller room was Primes sleeping quarters that he often shared with Art especially when he was sick or healing from after a fracture. Prime walked over to the left side of the recharge bed and placed Art down on it just as tenderly as he picked him up. Artemis rolled over on his side still fast asleep.

Optimus Prime stood there for a while keeping vigil over his only creation. With out realizing that his thoughts had started to drift back to his bonding mate and wished she was here to enjoy this precious moment but she wasn't, there was only him and his son.

Prime turned back to the door to leave but just before exiting he turned back to look at the sleeping Artemis "Sleep well son" he whispered and turned off the lights to the room.

From the new message he had received from the Decepticon intruder he knew that nothing was going to be the same after today and his work was going to be cut of for him from now on. Prime couldn't help but turn back to the old memories after the war had ended and they had settled an uneasy truth with the remaining Decepticons since Megatron had been determined M.I.A along with a very small amount of his elite.

He remembered that sinking feelings he had; that it was 'to good to be true' but as time had past and the peace had remained he got over that feeling even if reminiscent of it was still there. Everyone had said that it was one of those 'commander things', which he later agreed with. Today they where all proven wrong.

The commander of the Decepticons was making his planes so the commander of the Autobots had to start making his even if what the intruder said was only a lie he couldn't take any chances, at least for his Artemis's sake.

T.B.C . . .

---

A/N:

I didn't realize how much this appeared to tie into Armada or Energon until someone mentioned it. It wasn't in my original planes but it works.

The quote at the beginning I'm not sure if the guys last name is spelled write, I heard it then wrote it fast before I forgot.

Thanks for the Reviews on chapter1 please R&R on this one too

Transformers and all related char(s) belong to HasTak

Except Artemis (Art) and the plot and I guess the Iacon ballroom.