Title: Big Bad and Red

Genre: Action/Drama/Friendship

Rating: T for some strong language, some violence, mild adult content, some crude humor.

Summary: Sixteen year old, city slicking orphan child, Rex Rory lives in Alabama and he has only one arm. What else can go wrong? Oh.....yeah. He just met a huge alien robot that turns into a big, temperamental, red Mack semi truck.

~Chapter Seven~

A Change of Scenery

There was really no way to prepare Rex for what was to happen the very next morning. He had almost forgotten about the night's events when he got up and started getting ready for school. He felt very tired, that was for certain. He almost forgot of why he felt so tired as he washed up for the day and got dressed before heading down stairs.

It was entering the kitchen did he freeze when he saw two men nearly having a standoff.

Seeing Jeffery Rory standing right before his rather tired and worn out looking cousin, glaring at him woke Rex up very quickly. He immediately knew something had happened between them that probably was not very good at all. Not with Uncle Jeffery glaring at Derrick like he was. He was not the only one staring wide eyed between the two. Aunt Jan was behind the counter with her hand pressed against her chest while Terra was cringing her chair as she watched the scene before her.

No one seemed to notice Rex right off as they watched father and son standoff with one another. In fact, even Derrick looked confused about why his father was so mad. He had his back pressed against the fridge while Jeffery had a fist full of his shirt.

"Wh-what......what's going on?" Rex found himself ask uneasily.

Jan and Terra looked at him with wide eyes but neither one could even answer his question while they looked back up at Jeffery and Derrick. It took a very long moment for anyone to answer Rex's question.

In fact, it was Uncle Jeffery. "Rex," He began his tone very stern but he still did not look at his nephew. "I want you to be very honest with me. Do not lie to me, do not try and cover up anything. You just tell me the truth. Who the hell gave you a ride home last night?"

Rex froze at the question as he registered into his mind before his eyes snapped open wide. He instantly remembered everything that happened the night before. He remembered that he was suppose to go to a Monster truck rally with Derrick but his cousin had dropped him off at a movie theatre instead, taking a girl with his ticket. He remembered having to wait for hours for Derrick to show up and not even come back. He even remembered who had rescued him in the night and gave him a lift home.

He remembered meeting Ultra Magnus, the alien robot who was driving around as a huge red Mack truck, who had also given him a ride home.

Still, Rex couldn't find himself to even answer. He was too stunned as it all came back to him. He especially couldn't answer because Derrick shot him a look before having to get rid of it quickly because his dad was still glaring at him.

"Who the hell was driving that semi truck I saw you get out of last night, Rex Rory?!" Jeffery demanded, raising his voice very loud in the room.

Again, Rex froze, completely stunned. He couldn't believe this. His uncle had been awake when Magnus gave him a ride home?! Oh, boy. He could only think. Derrick was in so much shit and even he realized that. He knew very well that there was going to be a lot of hell that day.

"P-Pa! What are you talking about?! I ga-gave Rex a ride......" Derrick tried to say, trying to get out of trouble.

"Bull shit, Derrick! You think I'm a complete idiot?! You're drunk as a skunk and you just barely got home! There is no way in hell that you gave Rex a ride home last night! I saw him get out of a semi truck at One o'clock this morning! You were not driving that truck!! You don't even know how to drive a truck! Your car is an Automatic! Semi trucks aren't!" Jeffery yelled at the top of his lungs, causing everyone to cringe. His grip even tightened on Derrick's shirt, almost making it harder for him to breathe now. "Now you tell the truth! Right! Now! Who the hell gave you a ride home, Rex?!"

His nerves rather shot, Rex opened his mouth to answer but no words could come out. He didn't know how to tell his uncle that an alien robot had given him a ride home. He didn't know what to say.

And because he didn't answer, Jeffery's face darkened before he shoved away from Derrick, still remaining dangerously close to his 21 year old son. He looked ready to throw a fist at him and no one could really find the will to stop him. "All right. Don't answer that question. Answer this one." He said dangerously before finally looking over at his nephew. "Did you at least enjoy the Monster truck rally?"

The way he had said it though was almost sarcastic. It was almost as if he already knew that Rex didn't even go.

Again, Rex couldn't answer but stare at his uncle. He was almost a little too afraid to answer that question. He knew that Derrick was in a lot of trouble. He mostly just hoped that he wasn't in trouble for not going to the truck rally, even though he was the one who had been cheated out of it.

There was a very long silence within the room while Jeffery's eyes only darkened. He realized it anyway. There was no words that needed to be spoken. He just knew what really happened that night. It was very obvious as he turned his dark eyes onto his oldest child and glared even harder at him. He didn't even look like he cared when Derrick cringed almost in fear from his father. "Derrick," Jeffery Rory began, his voice very dark. "I want you to go upstairs to your room and pack everything. I want you out of this house today."

And then Jeffery headed straight for the door.

"Pa! Bu-but.....I didn't do.......! What are you.....?!" Derrick tried to argue.

Jeffery whirled around with his hand yanking the front door open with a smashing thud, glaring even harder at his son. "I left you in charge of Rex, Derrick! You were suppose to take him to the truck rally! You were suppose to watch him! But you failed to do that! And I know you didn't take Rex to the Monster Truck rally because Charles Wendels just told me that he and his son went to the rally last night and didn't see Rex there! Now, as the consequences for not doing what I asked you to do, you are no longer welcome on my farm! I don't want your help with the chores! I just want you gone! It's time for you to grow up and get your own place, Derrick!" He yelled at him before he was out the door, slamming it hard that nearly all of the window panels in the house rattled.

No one spoke for a very long time. No one could. All four of the remaining room's occupants were almost shaking from the confrontation.

It wasn't until the High school bus outside honked for Terra and Rex did they snap out of the shocked thoughts. Terra immediately bolted up from her chair and rushed for the door, grabbing her jacket and back pack. But Rex's eyes quickly flickered over to his still shocked cousin, who slowly turned his head and looked directly back at him.

That look that Derrick gave him scared Rex to death.

Derrick's eyes were very dark with drunken fury but he did not move at all as he just glared at his younger cousin. He looked like he just wanted to rush over and throttle the life out of him. "Thanks a lot, Rex." He hissed dangerously before he stormed out of the room, shoving hard against Rex and making him stumble against the door frame.

"Derrick!" Jan yelled after her son before she was hurrying after him, sparing Rex a mere glance.

Rex just stood against the door frame, his head lowered and his breathing rather hitched. He didn't think he would ever have felt so afraid in his life. He was more afraid than he had been of Magnus when he first met him. He couldn't even stop himself from trembling as he followed after Terra when the bus honked loudly to get his attention.

All day long, Rex was rather shaken by the early morning's events. He couldn't believe things were spiraling out of control. He couldn't get the images of Jeffery and Derrick squaring off and the look that his cousin had given him. He couldn't even get the look that Jan had given him out of his head. She hadn't looked angry like her husband had been or like Derrick had been. She actually had looked terrified. It was a look that Rex hadn't really seen before but he understood it. She was terrified for a few reasons. She was terrified for him and her family. Her family was starting to fall apart and all Rex could do was feel terrible guilt swirling around inside of him. He felt as if it was his fault.

It was all day long that Rex thought about it. He didn't even seem to notice anything that happened around him. A few times the teachers had called for him to answer a question but he just stared blankly at his paper, not saying a word. He didn't even notice that people had stared at him. He didn't even notice that Terra was crying to her friends, telling all of them about what happened that morning. He didn't even notice the dark looks that Montgomery and his friends shot him for upsetting her. Rex just stared off, lost in his troubled thoughts.

Even at lunch, Rex stared off, not noticing that someone was walking up to him from behind.

"You look troubled."

The voice startled Rex so badly that he literately jumped and spilt some of his soda on his pants. He hadn't even been expecting someone to even say anything to him. More or less, he didn't really recognize that voice either.

Spinning around, he froze when he saw the tall man just standing there, staring down at him. He was much taller than Rex that was for sure. He could have stood at six feet tall with dirty blonde hair. He was wearing a red flannel shirt and blue jeans with an additional black trucker's hat. Just glancing him over, Rex spied that he was wearing cowboy boots too. This man, without a doubt, was a trucker. But it was his deep blue eyes that intrigued the young teen the most. They were so deep blue, almost the color of a bluebird. He had seen a lot of blue eyes before but none that looked like they were somewhat glowing.

Narrowing his eyes suspiciously at the man, Rex studied him again, trying to figure out who he was. It only took a moment to even notice that on the hat, it was clear as daylight. It read Mag instead of Mack.

Startled, Rex looked past the man and saw that large red Mack parked off on the far side of the school parking lot, well away from the other vehicles. But still, he couldn't believe it as he looked back at the man, who was now raising an eyebrow at him and smirking down at him. The man obviously thought that it was amusing by how Rex was gawking at him.

"Ma-Magnus?!" Rex found himself stammer in shock as he stared at him.

A wide grin spread out on the man's face before he offered him a wink. "I got my holographic molecular imager working, which is good. I don't have to keep stopping whenever someone actually looks at me and sees that I don't have a driver." He said to him only.

Climbing to his feet, Rex looked the man over again, still stunned. He couldn't believe this. The Autobot could take a human form?! "What the hell......?!" He found himself burst out.

Again, the man grinned, as well chuckled as he folded his somewhat brawny arms across his wide chest and tilted his head to the side. "Hmm. I find your reaction very amusing, youngling. But I suppose it is acceptable. You did not know that we can produce a holographic molecular image, taking on a human form that allows us to blend in easily within your world. It's an invention that that techno nut, Hound came up with." He then shrugged before dropping his arms to his side. "Anyhow, does this human image suit me? I tried to come up with the perfect human look that matched my own persona." He stated.

Rex looked him over again before nodding. This human look did suit Magnus pretty well. He couldn't imagine how he would look as a human. But question was, why? "Wha-what are you doing here?" He asked, still un-nerved to see a human version of Ultra Magnus. He couldn't help but think that he kind of looked like Sean Bean.

"I came to see if you managed to get those directions you said you were going to get." Magnus said simply.

A few blinks and a blank stare later, Rex groaned as he dropped his head into his one good hand, cursing himself. He couldn't believe it. He had completely forgotten about his promise to getting directions to where ever Magnus needed to go. But then again, he still didn't know where he needed to go. "Oh, sorry, Magnus! I completely forgot! It's just....you didn't really tell me where you needed to go." He told him.

Magnus just hummed thoughtfully before chuckling. "I suppose you're right. I didn't tell you." He then frowned, looking Rex over as if he realized something. "I'm sensing that you're still troubled. Did something happen?" He asked curiously.

Rex paused for a moment to think about it. He wasn't sure if he should tell his new acquaintance about that morning but then figured that it didn't matter. So with a shrug, he dipped his head into a nod, looking pretty forlorn. "My uncle found out that you gave me a ride." He quickly shook his head when Magnus' eyes lit up, looking a little too concerned. "He doesn't know about the real you! He just.......he's really pissed off at Derrick for not taking me to the truck rally and just leaving me in the middle of the night." He told him quickly.

Frowning, Magnus slowly nodded as he folded his arms again. He had a rather serious look on his face at the very thought. "You're 'uncle' as you say has every right to be upset. You are a youngling, Rex. Your 'cousin' was suppose to take care of you and he did not do as he was told. A soldier who does not follow specific instructions, especially dealing with younglings shall be punished rightfully so." He said, sounding more like a drill sergeant now.

With a grimace but a slight smile, Rex shook his head. "Yeah, I guess so. But still.....I feel like I'm tearing my family apart." He sighed, looking away. "Every since I came here, no one's been.....welcoming to me. I feel like a complete outsider whose interfering with other people's lives. No one seems to like me or even care if I existed or not. Maybe I should have died with my parents." He murmured. "People would be better off."

There was a very long silence between the two before Magnus suddenly reached out and grabbed Rex's shoulder, startling him. He had a rather stern look on his face and that surprised him even more. For a long moment, Magnus looked stern but then his face softened and he gave the young teen a faint smile. "Then who would have helped me find my comrades if you had died?"

A little surprised by his words, Rex stared at him almost stunned. But as he thought about it, he had to smile, even if it was faint. And the trucker returned it.

"Hey, Stumpy! Freak with the one arm!"

Rex flinched at the harsh names that Montgomery continually called him since he even arrived at the school. He couldn't even stop the groan from escaping as he turned and shot the voice's owner a dark glare. "What do you want, Montgomery?!" He growled.

Montgomery and his pep squad didn't even spare Magnus a look as they approached Rex. They just sneered at the young teen, not noticing him at all. They didn't even notice the stern look they were getting from the Autobot's human form. "So, I hear that you've totaled the Rory family's relationship. Terra's told me that you got her father so pissed off at Derrick Rory that he's banished him from living there." The jock sneered before folding his arms. "So how does it feel to have ruined a happy family, Stumpy? How does it feel to know that you're tearing a good family apart because you even exist........?" He was saying.

"Tell me." Magnus suddenly spoke up, interrupting what Montgomery was saying. Either way, the jocks finally noticed him and stepped back in alarm especially when he was giving then a look as if he wanted to blow them to pieces. "How do you think that it will feel when I kick across the parking lot?"

"Who the hell are you?" Montgomery demanded, narrowing his eyes at the 'man' standing before them.

Magnus smiled a rather dangerous smile that would have even sent a chill down Rex's back if he had not spared him a quick glance and a wink before returning to glare at the jocks before them. Rex knew very well that Magnus had sworn not to hurt humans because of his leader's orders. But that didn't mean he couldn't scare a few human jackasses instead. Folding his brawny arms across his wide chest, Magnus took a few steps towards the jocks, starting to tower over them. His size even made the jocks cringe back, realizing that this guy was much bigger than they were.

If only they knew how much bigger Magnus really was, Rex thought to himself, almost grinning evilly.

"The name is Magnus, a Commander of a Special Ops Strike team. And I know many ways of how to kill a man with just my bare hands. Care to find out one of those ways?" He threw his head towards Rex, not tearing his eyes away from Montgomery at all but keeping that dangerous smile on his face. "If I see bothering my little friend here again, I just might give you a lesson of an aft kicking."

"Are you.....are you threatening me?!" Montgomery demanded, though his voice was trembling as he quickly took several steps back away.

Again with that dangerous smile, Magnus' head dipped down lower, making him look even more threatening. "I don't know. What do you think? Do you think I'm threatening you? Shall we take a guess if I was or shall we just see what happens in the next three seconds when I lay you flat on the ground like a sparkworm?" He asked, almost like a challenge.

Immediately, Montgomery and his goons were scampering away as fast as they could, not wanting to see if the crazy trucker was being serious or not. They didn't even look back as they ran.

Together, Rex and Magnus barked with laughter as they watched the group of boys run away. It really was a funny sight to see as they put the Track team to shame of the way they were running. But after a moment, the young teenager looked up at the chuckling man beside him. "You were kidding, right? You don't really know how to kill a man with your bare hands? I mean.....sure you could easily step on them but can you really.....?" He asked, in awe.

Sparing a dangerous smile to the teenager and making his own smile falter, Magnus started to laugh again. "Yes, I do know how to kill a mech with my bare hands. I've done it quite a few times to a bunch of Cons. But as I told you before, I'm not allowed to harm humans. So it was an empty threat." He shrugged when Rex smiled again. "Besides, to harm a sparkling or a youngling, it's the greatest shame that any Cybertronian could place upon their selves. Even some Decepticons don't harm what you would call children."

"I'm not a child." Rex said crinkling his nose at Magnus.

"Hmm." Magnus hummed thoughtfully, dropping his arms down to his side. "Considering your age, you are still a youngling, Rex. It is the human age of twelve that you stop being a Sparkling. But it is the human age of 18 years that you stop being a youngling. After you turn 18 human years, you will be considered Botling. A young adult in human terms. At the human years of 21, you will be a full grown mech. Or man in your human terms. You still have a few years to go, youngling. Don't feel offended. It just means that you will have a Bot looking after you better." He told him as he reached over and ruffled Rex's hair.

A beat skipped in Rex's heart as shoved Magnus' hand away, laughing quietly. For only a brief moment, when Magnus had done that, he saw his father, Quinn messing up his hair again. Just like he used to. Then he frowned remembering something that Magnus had just said. "Hey, Magnus?" He paused for a second, catching the Autobot's attention again. "What's a sparkworm?"

Magnus only chuckled, shaking his head.

The day went by smoothly after the little confrontation between Magnus and Montgomery. Especially for Rex. The jocks and most of the school started to leave the young teen alone after hearing what happened. Most of them believed that Rex had hired some kind of body guard to defend him from all of the jerks in the school. So no one dared to make fun of him in fear that they would get pummeled.

He even found out that a sparkworm was some kind of robotic bug that lived on Cybertron. According to Magnus, they were rather nasty and tended to attach their selves to Cybertronians while they slept and suck up Energon. He made it sound like leeches though and he even stated that sparkworms were similar, only much bigger and nastier.

And it was all good and dandy for Rex.

After talking a little more with Magnus, he learned that in the general area that the Mack was trying to get to was in Nevada. He didn't know exactly where in Nevada that he needed to go but it was in that state that the other Autobots were hiding out. So basically, Rex printed out a map of the United States and marked all of the highways that could help Magnus reach Nevada without any problems.

After school, Rex didn't catch the bus home. He, actually, caught a ride with Magnus, who had offered. So once again, he found himself sitting in the passenger seat, smiling as the Mack truck drove him home. This time, Magnus had activated his human form so that they didn't get pulled over or anything.

Along the way, Rex couldn't help himself but ask questions.

"So, you're a Commander of a strike team, right? Not the leader?" Rex asked, curiously as he glanced over at the man in the driver's seat.

Magnus' human form just shook his head as he watched the road ahead of him, just to play the part right. He only merely glanced over at Rex a few times as he just kept going down the road. "Nope. Not the leader. I almost was once, but the Matrix of Leadership, an energy source of great power didn't choose me as the next Prime. It chose my younger brother, Optimus Minor, whose is now Optimus Prime. Each Autobot Leader that is chosen by the Matrix will possess the name of Prime, which is also a name from our Creator, Primus. It was Primus, our God, who created the Matrix of Leadership and the All Spark as tools to aid Cybertron to become a bigger, brighter world. They are also what we use to create life on Cybertron. Although, there have been some Pure born Cybertronians, meaning they do have a mech and femme creator. They are very rare though. It's not often that Cybertronian parents are given the gift of creating Sparklings. As it is, because of the war, our femme Cybertronians are rather scarce." He explained.

Rex frowned over at him. "Um....meaning?" He asked quietly.

A huge sigh was released from both human form and the truck as he thought about it. "Meaning, females on our planet are dying out. We do not have very many females left on Cybertron. The war has been very harsh on the femme race of the Cybertronians. It has been a very terrible war and a lot of femmes have been killed off." Magnus explained. "To even have a femme is a gift. We, the Autobot mechs, the Cybertronian males, try to protect them as much as possible to preserve our future. There are not many femmes on the Decepticons' side, fortunately. Most femmes are Autobot warrioresses, which we call Valkyries among our troops."

That made sense. So onto the next question from Rex. "Okay. So......your brother, the Autobot Leader, Optimus Prime. What's he like? You guys must be pretty tight, right? I mean, you're close, right?"

The disgusted groan that escaped Magnus told Rex otherwise. He almost winced to even hear that. "Ah, slag no. Optimus can very irritatingly noble. It drives me nuts that he became the Prime when I'm clearly older and more stronger than him." Magnus growled, his human teeth clenched. "Although, he is a very well skilled soldier on the battle field. He is nearly the only one who can stand a chance against Megatron in battle. Even myself has a hard time fighting that Pitspawn." He grumbled.

Rex had to fight back a laugh, not wanting to let Magnus realize that it was him he was laughing at. He couldn't help but think that Ultra Magnus might have been just a little jealous of his younger brother because he was the leader. But it was probably best if he didn't say anything. There wasn't really too much to talk about during the ride home, although Rex had a lot of questions he wanted to ask Magnus about his world. But seeing that he was nearly home, he knew it was time to call it quits. He would think up more questions to ask the next day.

That night, however, was pretty tense.

Derrick was no longer living in the house, after being kicked out. He had packed up all of his things like Jeffery had told him to and took off. Rex wasn't even sure where he was now. But he sure was not at the dinner table by supper time.

Throughout the entire night, no one spoke a single word while they ate. It was like there was a heavy cloud hovering right over the table, weighing everyone down. Rex glanced up a few times, looking around at his relatives but he couldn't say anything because they looked so.....gloomy. Well, actually, Uncle Jeffery still looked fairly pissed off but he didn't meet Rex's eyes. Aunt Jan wouldn't look up at him either and that was what really had a twist of guilt within his heart. It was Terra that met Rex's eyes a few times when he glanced up at her. And truth be told, he did not like the look in her eyes. She looked infuriated with him. She just had that dangerous look in her eyes warning Rex that she was blaming him for all of this.

After dinner, Rex tried to figure out a way to talk to his uncle and aunt about what happened the night before. He even offered to help clean the dishes but Jan wouldn't hear anything of it. She just smiled at him faintly before sending him upstairs to get ready for bed.

It was after his aunt and uncle went to bed did he climb out his window and sit on the roof, staring up at the stars. It was the only time he managed to feel some peace since he got home from school that day. He hated the fact that things weren't going too well since coming to Alabama. He felt like he was causing a lot of problems for his remaining family. Since he had gotten there, his relatives seemed to be really tense around each other and his cousins hated him more than ever. And now.....his aunt and uncle seemed to not be getting along at all.

Drawing up his knees to his chest, Rex dropped his head onto them, cursing his life, once again. He was really starting to wish that there was any way that he could make it up to his relatives. His aunt and uncle may have had a few harsh punishments for some of the broken rules he had done, but they also had been very kind to him. They had let him come to live with them, even though Uncle Jeff had not liked his own younger brother or his wife. He had allowed him to come live with his family. And now, things were going wrong. Horribly, terribly wrong.

"I see you're troubled again."

Startled, Rex jerked his head up and looked around only to look down to see that the big red Mack had somehow rolled quietly up to the house. He had turned off his engine to keep from making so much noise and was just sitting there. "Magnus." The young teen said quietly.

Magnus sat there for a moment before the door open and his hologram stepped out. He merely glanced up at Rex before climbing up onto his own hood and up onto the roof. Once up there, he sank down to sit right beside the boy, letting his feet dangle over the porch roof edge. "So, do I dare to ask what happened this time?" He asked, quietly, looking up at the night sky.

Rex just brought one knee up to his chest again and rest his chin on it. He let his head wobble back and forth into a shake as a sigh escaped from him. "Things aren't going so good here. Since last night, everyone's been really quiet. They won't say anything, but I know that it's my fault that things are falling apart in their family." He muttered.

"It's not your fault, Rex." Magnus spoke up, his tone just a little stern. "Your relative abandoned you. Your family should be angry because he did not fulfill his responsibility for you." He then lightly nudged Rex's arm to get him to look at his human form. "Why do you always think it's your fault?"

Shaking his head once he lift it off his knee, Rex looked directly into Magnus' eyes. "Because it is. Ever since my parents were killed and I lost my stupid left arm and coming here, they've always been so tense around me and each other. I can't.....I can't even do anything right. I try but I can't do the chores like they do because I have only one arm and I'm really not that strong and......" He sighed in frustration. "No one at school likes me because I'm just a one armed freak. It's like they all have to pity me because I'm a one armed orphan who's from the city and....." He cut himself off before dropping his head onto his knee.

There was a very long silence between the two before Magnus turned his blue eyes back up to look up at the stars. He sat there for a moment, thinking of how to piece his words. "You remind me of Optimus." He began, surprising Rex. "Back on Cybertron, Optimus had a very difficult time adjusting to things. It was before he became the Prime, too. He was a Space Bridge Builder, a scientist. True, he was a very good soldier on the field but his specialties were in science. When the war began, he tried to think of many ways to be useful." He chuckled, shaking his head. "Oh, he was very useful, indeed. He was a great warrior with his fire blade. But he just did not have enough confidence in himself. It actually took a Decepticon Seeker named Jetfire to show him that he's more a warrior than anyone in the Autobot ranks." He paused to meet Rex's eyes, smiling faintly. "Jetfire might be a Decepticon now, but he's not loyal to them or even Megatron. I respect him very much as a warrior. He serves on the Autobots' side, though he claims to be a Decepticon. He's a Legend on Cybertron for his vast military strategies and skills as a fighter jet. He serves the Autobots only because of Optimus."

"But.......? What did Jetfire do to make Optimus see the real him?" Rex asked frowning.

Magnus looked at Rex for only a brief moment before looking up at the stars. "He made it very clear to Optimus that anyone who was as brave as my kid brother was, and loyal to his comrades, he was worthy of becoming Prime. Optimus would literately jump in front of a missile just to protect his friends. I've seen him do it too. Many times." He shrugged, looking back into Rex's eyes. "It took Jetfire's words and Megatron killing the former Prime, Sentinel Prime and nearly killing his femme-friend, Elita One for Optimus to accept his responsibility as the Prime. And for many hundreds of years now, he's been doing one Pit of a job. He's got more Decepticons terrified of his aft than I ever did." He told him, chuckling.

Even Rex had to laugh a little to think of that. He felt like he really wanted to meet this Optimus Prime some day. Still, he lowered his gaze. "Yeah. But I bet you that Optimus doesn't have one arm." He murmured.

"No. He doesn't. But he didn't have any confidence in himself until the right moment." Magnus said, smiling glancing at Rex again. "Trust me, youngling. Some time, maybe in the near future, you'll get the confidence in yourself. Just trust yourself. One day, you may show all of these people here that you're not just some one armed orphan who can't do anything right. I mean, you're helping me, aren't you?" He asked, grinning at him.

Rex laughed again looking at him. "Yeah. But I'm still questioning myself if that's the right thing to do or not. No offense." He told him.

"None taken. If I were in your place, I would be hesitant about helping someone like myself. You don't know what I'm capable of and I'm hoping that I don't have to show you someday." Magnus told him before leaning back on his palms. "Speaking of which, there has been one thing that was bothering me since I first saw you. Why hasn't your medical officer found your arm and repaired you yet?"

The smile slowly faded from Rex's face but he still kept a soft look in his eyes as he looked away from the human form of the Autobot. If it were anyone else asking that question, he would have gotten upset and angry. But it wasn't. He kind of figured that Magnus might ask that question sometime. He had been waiting for it. "He can't. Once a human loses a limb, there's really no way to repair it." He said quietly. "We're not like an alien robot or Cybertronian, like you. There's no repairing it. So I'll won't be very useful for the rest of my life."

"I don't think you're useless. You've been useful to me." Magnus remarked, nudging Rex's arm again.

Again, Rex smiled faintly but looked up at his new found friend almost gratefully. He was just glad that he was actually being useful. "Thanks, Magnus. I'm glad you think that." He told him.

Magnus shrugged before leaning back farther, still staring up at the stars. "I don't know you too well, Rex, but I'm usually a good judge of character. You're a good youngling. Don't let anyone else tell you otherwise. Just keep your chin up, gain some confidence in yourself and you will be just fine." He told him.

Rex smiled at Magnus again before leaning back on his right arm. He almost lost his balance though and toppled over. But to his surprise, Magnus leaned over and let the young teen regain his balance on his hand, using his own shoulder. And again, for the second, or third time since he came to Brewton, he felt happy. He was starting to realize, he might actually have a friend since the tragedy. And he felt grateful for it.