Iacon
The Autobots sat and stood around a large room in the hall of records, laughing and sharing stories. Catching up on centuries of being apart. Now they were all together again.
Bulkhead, Wheeljack and two other bots were laughing together. One bot was green and similar in appearance to Ironhide but older, Kup. Another was blue and orange, his goggles retracted, Hot Shot.
"So me and the old timer were stuck on Junkion." Hot Shot explained, pointing to Kup who grumbled. "We're surrounded by cons. So you know what he decides to do? He starts telling me war stories!" The group laughed.
"That's typical of Kup here. Always in the past." Wheeljack stated, slapping Kup in the back.
"Well I was about the explain a plan to him but the rookie didn't listen." Kup responded.
"Anyway." Hot Shot continued. "I charged the Decepticon leader, the cons opened fire on me. So I leaped at the commander and used him as a shield. They stopped, but Kup just blasted then all anyway. We spoke their ship and went to find some of our other pals. That is, until we crashed again."
The Autobots cheered. "I blame the kid's flying." Commented Kup. "I've seen seekers with no optics fly better than him."
"Now that, I can't dispute." Wheeljack said as they all began to cheer and laugh and share stories again.
Jazz was talking to a red and gold bot called Sideswipe. They were both confused as they haven't seen Optimus Prime since they arrived on Cybertron. Their question was about to be answered though.
"Alright listen up!" Shouted Ultra Magnus from a raised platform. The Autobots eventually fell silent, curious to what this interruption may concern.
"As you know, the Decepticons are mostly defeated. The members of Team Prime here will answer any of your questions about their demise, as they were there."
Arcee, Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Smokescreen and Wheeljack all came to join Magnus on the platform.
They each took turns to explain their stories of Earth and how the war went from then onwards. Some of them struggled to talk about leaving Earth so Smokescreen and Wheeljack told the rest.
"-And then Prime flew into the well and vanished. But out of it flew many sparks, one of which is here with us now." Finished Smokescreen, gesturing to Blurr at the end who smiled and gave a small wave.
"So Prime's gone too?" And Jazz from the crowd.
"I'm afraid so." Replied Smokescreen. "But before he left us he told us to only to fight the noblest of fights so we won't turn out like the cons. He also told us that the age of the Primes is over and we must find a new leader using other methods."
Ultra Magnus thought for a moment before speaking. "How about a vote?" He suggested. The other bots nodded in agreement to this.
"Then it is decided. I believe that the two most logical choices are Bumblebee and Arcee."
"Me?" Bumblebee and Arcee both said in unison.
"Yes. You have both demonstrated great leadership skills in Optimus' absence and I believe that I am not a good candidate for this type of leadership." Ultra Magnus explained.
They both shrugged. How bad could it be?
"Votes for Arcee please raise your servos." Just under half of the congregation raised their hands.
"And votes for Bumblebee." The rest raised their hands.
"Bumblebee. It appears that you are now in command." Magnus told him.
Bumblebee looked shocked. "Oh. Yeh. Great. Um..."
"So what are your orders, Sir?" Asked Smokescreen. Ultra Magnus glared at him.
"Urrrrrr... Kick back and relax guys. The war's over you've earned a rest!" Bumblebee called.
The Autobots cheered and went back to their conversations. Though the mood was now tainted with the loss of Optimus Prime.
Jazz sat on a balcony overlooking Iacon city, away from the noise and crowds. How unlucky could he be? To find out he's lost two friends in one day. One of them his oldest friend.
"Hey." Said a voice from behind him.
Jazz barely even turned to look at the newcomer as Arcee sat down beside him.
"Something's troubling you." She said after a few moments silence.
Jazz sighed before turning to look at her. "I've just found out that I've lost two of my greatest friends in one day."
"I know how it feels." Arcee replied. "But whatever you do don't shut yourself away from people, it doesn't help anyone."
"Yeh. I know you understand I'm not the only one to lose friends."
"Optimus and Cliff were my friends too, and I miss them as much as you do. But I think its time to move on now."
Jazz looked at her. "You've changed." He said.
"Well I've learnt a lot recently. From the humans on Earth."
"Ah yes. Earth. I've heard its quite the place."
"Yeah it is."
"So, tell me more of this human you met."
"Jack. He is one of my closest friends, possibly closer than Cliff and Tailgate. He helped me get over their deaths, taught me that there is more to the universe than revenge. I-I abandoned him." Arcee put her head in her hands. Her life was full of regret, full of unhappy endings.
Jazz rested a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe you can go back someday." He suggested.
Arcee looked up. "I need to go speak with Ratchet." She said, standing up. As she was walking away she stopped. "Jazz, don't forget those you have lost will always be in your spark."
"Now I know you've been spending too much time around Optimus." He grinned back.
As Arcee walked back inside Jazz looked to the stars. For a moment he thought he saw a constellation of Optimus Prime, but it went as soon as it came.
"Optimus, I wish you were here."