Disclaimer: I'm still here. I'm still writing and I still don't own the rights to Transformers.

Chapter VI

Location: somewhere in the galaxy

A lone vessel traveled alone across the stars of the galaxy. It was too small to be a military ship and too large, if that were possible, to be a simple lifeboat. Inside sat its only passenger, shrouded in a dimly lit cockpit with only the gleam of the console to illuminate him. His form was metallic in nature as evident by the slight shimmer of metal and he appeared to be leaning on an elongated staff. He raised his head to the console, gazing at it with a set of blue optics. But he wasn't looking directly at the console but focused on the presence of another not within the ship but all around it, everywhere and nowhere. He knew the presence all too well, having long ago encountered it during what was not a mere excursion of travel, but exile from his home planet.

"I know you are there, Fallen." he declared.

A set of violet eyes fluctuated into existence as the Fallen made his presence known. "The Matrix calls. It is on a small, organic world; a human world. It is protected by the descendants of Primus; the Autobots. They reside on this world, protecting the humans. Their leader is Rodimus Prime; he holds the Matrix of Leadership. You will travel to Earth and you will retrieve it."

There was a momentary pause before the ship's occupant said, "Why should I help you?"

"Alpha Q failed in his attempted to secure the Covenant of Primus, delaying my return to the physical universe," the Fallen stated. "The Matrix of Leadership is all that remains of Primus. It was used to destroy Unicron the Chaos Bringer, but now it is the key to my escape from this wretched prison of limbo."

"I've been in exile for countless millennia after my atrocities in the Great War. The crimes I've committed, the lives I've taken; there's no redemption for what I've done," the occupant said. "I've come to realize that I deserve far worse than mere exile. Thus I see no reason to help you."

"You would dare go back on your word," the Fallen angrily implied. "You said yourself that the Matrix of Leadership was rightfully yours and stolen from you unjustly, just as I was betrayed by the Primes I called my brothers."

"You betrayed them first."

"It matters not, for my vindication comes when the last of Primus's children falls," The Fallen stated with marked conceit. "Then when all is said and done, the Matrix of Leadership will be yours and the universe will be mine. No child of Primus will dare oppose the Fallen, much less a Prime. Now go; Earth awaits your arrival."

The Fallen's dark presence vanished from the ship, leaving the occupant alone with only his thoughts. The memories of the Great War in which he fought so long ago were still fresh in his mind, and they brought to him only the pain of his crimes. The lives he'd taken were not just Decepticons but Autobots too, in addition to the unbranded of Cybertron. The faces of every single Cybertronian he'd killed haunted him for millennia. To that end, he operated the console and a video screen flickered to life in front of him. The image that appeared displayed a conflict which he knew right away took place on Cybertron. It was during the Great War between the Autobots and the Decepticons, and he was involved. He was the one leading the Autobots against the Decepticons, even confronted the Decepticon leader; the one called Megatron. The subsequence fight was a ferocious ordeal that filled him with… adrenaline. The thrill of battle was evident, but then something happened…

He suddenly punched the screen and shattered it knowing the following events were what led to his exile from Cybertron. He knew what he did and that respect, he was no better than the Fallen. "Primus, forgive me for what I must do," he mused and hit a button on the ship's console. "Computer… set a course for Earth."

Daniel wasn't sure what to think the moment he arrived at the building where he'd experience what his mother called the best years of his life. But Daniel wasn't all too keen about going into Oregon State University, which was considerably far from Autobot City. At least he had the company of Elita One, who was serving as his ride since Arcee was acting within Rodimus Prime's inner circle. Even after arriving on Earth two years ago, Elita was still attempting to get used to how different things were from Cybertron. She even had to adopt an Earth based vehicle form. But instead of picking one of the four-wheelers like most of the Autobots, Elita One chose what the humans referred to as a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14R motorcycle. While most of the Autobots questioned her choice, Daniel was perfectly fine with it. He only insisted that Elita change her color scheme to something less, as he put it, girly. Elita took some offence but changed her color to red with silver stripe designs.

Pulling up at the main entrance of the University, Daniel gazed at the building in front of him and sighed. "I can't believe I'm going through with this." he said.

"Hey, your parents said it was for the best and with the lack of Decepticon activity, I'm inclined to agree with them." Elita said while she was still in alt form.

"Yeah, but what could I learn here that I can't back home," Daniel wondered. "I mean, I can learn just as much about space with the Autobots."

"That depends; could you build a dark energy device capable of ripping open hole in the space/time continuum?" Elita One jokingly asked.

Daniel laughed while he was dismounting his ride. "Nice to see your capacity for humor's improved," Then Daniel walked off toward the entrance. He turned around and said, "Try not to go anywhere."

Elita tilted her front end and said, "No 'Cons to fight. I've got nothing better to do."

Daniel chuckled and moved on toward the front entrance amid a large group of students. Most of them appeared to be his age or older. While most ignored him, several were giving him looks; some indifferent and some slightly hostile. Elita was watching and was irked at the responses Daniel was getting from the more inhospitable students but she didn't act. Rodimus Prime made it clear that Elita was not to harm humans. Then she noticed one of the students, a female in a red and black T-shirt, denim jeans and a blue cap over shoulder-length black hair glancing at her repeatedly. She must've been about Daniel age and she glanced between Elita and Daniel for some reason. Elita had that sneaking suspicion that this female knew something or was planning something. But again, Elita didn't act on it as per Rodimus Prime's decree of not harming the humans.

The girl glanced back at Daniel who, coincidentally, was glancing briefly at her and she looked away. Daniel glanced briefly at the red Kawasaki bike that was Elita One and that same suspicion about the girl. Nevertheless, he entered the university amid the sea of students, though he couldn't help but feel he was like a lamb being sent to slaughter. But once he was inside, he was in awe at how big the university actually was. The sea of students scattered and Daniel took notice of several older looking people among them, some appeared as young as the mid-20's and others likely in the mid-to-late 40's. They had to be members of the faculty, Daniel eventually realized, and one of them happened to looking straight at him… and she was gorgeous.

With the long, flowing red hair, a sky blue blouse and a white jacket and skirt, Daniel would've confused this woman for a supermodel. Hell, most of the male students would've confused her for a supermodel. One person who was hardly impressed with the buxom beauty was the girl who was more of a tomboy than a full-blown sexpot. Aside from that, she was still watching Daniel, who was still watching the beautiful teacher. She was approaching him, carrying a purple handbag on a strap over her shoulder.

"Welcome to Seattle University, Daniel Witwicky." she said in the most angelic voice ever heard.

"Um… Are you talking to me," Daniel stammered over his own words while gazing at the woman's crystal blue eyes. Once he recovered, Daniel asked, "How do you know my name?"

"The world's too large for someone named Witwicky to go unnoticed," the woman said before walking off. She stopped and said, "By the way, my name is Stella Holley and I'm looking forward to our time together. Don't disappoint."

Daniel barely managed a word as Stella Holley walked off. He was jerked back to reality by the tomboyish girl when she bumped passed him. She looked back at him without a smile and then kept going. Daniel was really unsure of what to make of the girl outside of the fact that she looked like a homeless vagrant with an interest in punk rock. But he thought of what Stella Holley told him; the world's too large for a Witwicky to go unnoticed. That made Daniel a little more than nervous, but he put aside for now and continued on.

Arcee had been strolling through the halls of the city looking for Rodimus Prime and so far hadn't been able to locate him. Her efforts eventually came down to asking any Autobots present if they had an idea of where to find Rodimus and some gave varying answers. Eventually Rattletrap had stated the Rodimus wasn't actually inside the city wall, but outside just wandering around the grounds aimlessly. It wasn't like Rodimus to simply linger, Arcee knew that much. But when it occurred to her what cycle it was and what was approaching, Arcee knew what was going on with Rodimus.

She hustled out onto the grounds where numerous Autobots were busy with random activities that were of no concern to her. She noticed a couple of the newest Autobots, Sandstorm and Cerebros, conversing about something. Then she noticed several of the Wreckers engaged in random activities; Bulkhead and Roulette were skeet shooting while Drift and Depth Charge were sparring. Stratosphere and Airazor were noticeably absent. At least, Arcee thought, they were finding ways to pass the time. Arcee moved onward across the grounds until she spotted a lone figure up ahead. Knowing that it was Rodimus, Arcee approached and found her leader and friend in a seated position on the steel ground.

When he didn't immediately respond to her presence, Arcee said, "Ultra Magnus sent word; Prowl wants to speak to you as soon as possible," When Rodimus didn't even acknowledge her, Arcee simply said, "Okay."

"Arcee," Rodimus whispered audible enough for Arcee to hear him. "Do you realize that tomorrow is the anniversary of the end of the siege? That was when Optimus beat back the Decepticons… at the cost of his own life."

Arcee sighed, "Yeah, I remember."

"Did I kill him, Arcee," Rodimus asked. "I should've listened to Kup. I should've stayed out of it. Even as Megatron grabbed that pistol, Optimus would've already taken him down. Instead, like an idiot, I jumped in and gave Megatron a clear shot."

"Rodimus, you can't keep blaming yourself for what happened that day," Arcee stated while she approached Rodimus. "There's no way you could've known things would turn out like they did."

"But Optimus, Arcee…"

"Optimus knew the risks, and you know damn well that he would never have taken the shot if it meant killing you," Arcee continued and knelt down beside Rodimus. "You did what you thought was right and Optimus would've done the same thing. Right now though, you have no right to feel guilty."

Rodimus stood up suddenly. "Then where's Optimus now," he snapped. "We'll never know because the mausoleum is gone. Maybe, it's time I handed the reigns over to someone else. I want my life back; I want Optimus back." Then Rodimus stormed off.

Arcee remained where she was and whispered, "So do I."

Prowl watched intently as Brainstorm operated the video screen, which displayed a near endless stream of Earth-styled vehicles for Prowl to select. So far, nothing stood out for him. To be frank, Prowl still preferred his previous alt form but times had changed. He didn't like that. He most certainly didn't like Rodimus Prime being in command of the Autobots given their shared history. Speak of the devil, Rodimus Prime entered the infirmary and while Brainstorm greeted him, Prowl barely even offered a glance. Rodimus expected as much while he checked out the display. Some of the vehicles he liked, in particular being the sports cars. Prowl glanced at Rodimus, who didn't say a word. He just kept watching the display before the image settled on what the humans called a Dodge Charger colored black and gold.

"That's not half bad, Prowl," Rodimus Prime finally said. "In fact that might be perfect for you."

"I didn't ask for your opinion." Prowl said.

Rodimus sighed, "That's what I get for trying to smooth things over."

"Ultra Magnus debriefed me on several key events that occurred during my… incapacitation. A lot of it, I'm not happy about." Prowl said while staring directly at Rodimus.

"Seems like a common thing with you, Prowl." Rodimus stated.

"I can deal with having been offline for two stellar-cycles, but of all the Autobots who could possibly succeed Optimus, it had to be you," Prowl said. "Of all of the most capable autonomous robotic organisms that have walked the face of both Earth and Cybertron, the successor of Optimus Prime had to be a punk kid who had not regard or respect for anything or anybody."

"I wasn't exactly the first choice to take up Optimus Prime's position," Rodimus angrily stated. "Ultra Magnus was the leader for a while before the Matrix fell to me."

"Yeah, well I wish Magnus was still in charge. We'd be better off," Prowl snapped. "And, we got to talk about your policy regarding Decepticons, specifically the one you're allowing to wander around the city."

"Her name is Tempest. She's one of us." Rodimus Prime said.

"Is she," Prowl implied. "How do you know that? Did it ever occur to you that she might be a Decepticon spy; that she might be reporting back to her superiors right at this very moment. Maybe she's studying us, looking for weaknesses to exploit when the time is right."

"Let me be absolutely clear; Tempest joined up with us because she didn't agree with the Decepticon's way of thinking; that's it. She had plenty of chances to betray us and she's proven to be a valuable ally," Rodimus Prime explained. "I trust Tempest, and so does Breakaway. She'd never turn on us."

Prowl stood up and faced Rodimus up close. "You can't know that for sure. Throw her in the brig."

"I won't confine one of own based on something that won't happen. Tempest is an Autobot and personally, I'm damn lucky to have her on our side." Rodimus Prime said before turning to take his leave.

Prowl then said, "Once a 'Con, always a 'Con. Remember that… Hotrod. While you're at it, maybe you should step down and hand the Matrix to someone who actually knows how to use it."

Rodimus Prime stopped short for a moment upon hearing his old name and then simply kept walking. Obviously, things hadn't changed between them. But Rodimus was mature enough not to continue the argument. Prowl was stuck in the past, relieving it every cycle. He still had zero respect for Rodimus and that was fine. Rodimus was going to be the better Autobot and move away from it. Prowl still had the audacity to question him about Tempest. She might've been a Decepticon once upon her creation, but she was an Autobot through and through. And, as Rodimus realized, Tempest was leaning against the wall just a couple feet from the infirmary.

"I'm guessing you two have history together," she said. "And, not the good kind."

"That's one way of putting it," Rodimus said. "Prowl's always been the by-the-book kind of Autobot and I was always the quintessential rule breaker."

"What's his malfunction with me?" Tempest asked.

"I doubt it's anything personal. Prowl's never been tolerant of Decepticons; comes with being law enforcement back on Cybertron," Rodimus Prime explained. "Considering he's been offline for two stellar-cycles, it'll take time for him to adjust to the changes." Rodimus went to leave when Tempest stopped him.

"I was curious about something else," she said, drawing the Autobot leader's attention. "I've studied up on Optimus Prime; I know his selfless heroism is legendary. But what was he like to you, on a personal level, I mean?"

Again, Rodimus fell silent and found himself remembering Optimus before, during and after his final confrontation against Megatron. He then stated, "Optimus was… the closest thing I had to a father figure."

Tempest felt something was off and, maybe against her better judgment, she asked, "How did he die?"

Rodimus practically clutched his fists and, with pure reluctance, stated, "He died… because of me."

Then Rodimus Prime stormed off leaving a bewildered Tempest to contemplate his answer. The way it sounded told Tempest that Optimus died saving Rodimus; or maybe he died because Rodimus did something terrible. Tempest was a pretty good judge of character, so it was obvious to her that Rodimus was wrestling some form of guilt. It had to be eating away at Rodimus worse than Cosmic Rust. Tempest then thought about Prowl and his obvious distrust in her simply because of her Decepticon roots. The thought of going into the infirmary and smacking Prowl upside the head crossed Tempest's mind. But that would've only proven Prowl's point at a moment where there was no point. So, Tempest simply walked off.

Inside the infirmary, Prowl had been listening to Rodimus and Tempest's conversation, particularly when Rodimus spoke of Optimus. Prowl never understood what Optimus saw in the former Hotrod, never consider why he confided in him so much. To Prowl, Hotrod was always an arrogant punk. Yet, now he was Rodimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots with Optimus dead. Prowl still only saw a young punk bot unequipped to handle such a burden. In his view, Ultra Magnus or Springer would've better suited for the role. But it had to be Hotrod, and that made Prowl all the more frustrated. He looked at the still shifting display of Earth cars operated by Brainstorm.

"You know what, Brainstorm," he said. "I'll go for that black and gold Charger."

Author's note: I can't say this is my best chapter but we are still in the early stages. There are some obvious things to bring up.

As you might've guessed by now, the Fallen is still the main antagonist but is acting mainly through his agent, who will remain nameless until further into the story. (Unless you already guessed due to some subtle hints, which I advise you keep to yourself please.)

Elita One is back with a new alt form of a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14R motorcycle, which was originally going to be a Ducati 1199 Panigale Superbike. Prowl will also be getting a new alt form; Dodge Charger with a black and gold scheme.

Daniel is on his way into Oregon State University, which was originally to be Seattle but I went for something closer to home for him. Also, we have to debut of two new human characters, one being Stella Holley (look her up) and the other yet to be named. (It's not Megan Fox's character).

Finally, Rodimus is still feeling guilty over the events of the first story. Sorry if I made him a bit too emo. He's also still got issues with Prowl, who in turn has an issue with Tempest for obvious reasons. Anyway, let me know how I'm doing.