I know, a long(ish) time...again. I'm thinking that, with everything else I need to be doing, updates will probably end up being more of a weekly thing. :\

Chapter 13: The Rhythm of Life

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Two solar cycles later, Optimus was actually enjoying himself more than he had thought he would. The half shifts were a bit of a hassle, reporting to Headquarters to try and make a dent in the growing stacks of datapads, only to have to leave too soon, but the time off was nice. He had even been going into recharge early and taking short stasis naps whenever he felt like it.

He had taken the time to clean and organize his apartment, recycling those old datapads that were still usable, and giving away the ones that would benefit other students. Optimus had even gone so far as to reorganize what little furniture he had in his rooms, trying to make everything just a bit fresher, a bit different, and mostly, to give him something to do. Once he'd done all that, he had begun to research recent events on Cybertron. Mostly because he wanted to see a theater production, something he hadn't done in a long time, only to discover he had no idea what was currently playing.

In those searches, Optimus had discovered an exorbitant number of groups dedicated to Sari, himself, and his teammates. He found himself looking through most of the ones aimed at his team and Sari, taking particular interest in those that were not so much hero worship as stalking, pro-Decepticon, and in the case of Sari, anti-organic. Some of the groups that were anti-organic were scary angry over even a techno-organic's presence on Cybertron.

By that second solar cycle, Optimus had flagged seven groups as potential threats to his teammates, five as borderline, and close to fifteen that needed some monitoring. A quick chat with Cliffjumper assured him that somebot, likely an entry level intelligence bot, would keep an eye on those 'organizations.'

Optimus' chronometer sent out an alert, informing him that he needed to leave if he wanted to meet Bumblebee and Bulkhead on time. They wanted to get together at a small evening club before they left on their assignment, and given Optimus' abundance of free time, he had no reason to deny that request. Not that he would have anyway, but Bumblebee had hinted that when he complained Optimus worked too much.

He carefully closed up his rooms, and locked the door before heading for the stairs. Since his apartment was only on the second floor, Optimus preferred to walk down the stairs over riding the lift. His building had a small lobby area on the main floor which, sometime before his return, had been transformed into a bit of a communal sitting area. Apparently the long disused communal areas on several of the other floors had been fixed up as well, if the new directory markings were any indication. Still, Optimus had yet to go to any of them, even the 'roof garden' which was proudly marked with a large placard underneath the old directory.

Optimus really had meant to visit them but got so caught up in his research that he put it off. Seeing the directory again reminded him that he really should go see what all was in it. Likely it was merely a small sitting area with a few sculptures, but that was more than many buildings this inexpensive had. Belatedly he wondered if his payments had gone up.

Stepping onto the street, Optimus was greeted with a lively scene. There were far more bots around than he was used to. Many of them had showed up since his return to Cybertron and he had no doubt that they were fanbots who wanted the prestige of saying they lived in his neighborhood. Good thing the outer doors of his building were resident-specific so, even though they had no doorbot, the only bots who could get in were residents or had to be with a resident. At least the population of his building hadn't soared. That he noticed.

Whispers, stares, and pointing followed him down the street, even after he transformed. It wasn't until he approached the shopping district that he was able to blend in. Even so, bots noticed him, his Earth mode not helping him hide in a crowd very well. Of course, on the other servo, Optimus realized that going anywhere with Bulkhead and Bumblebee was like walking around with an energy beacon on.

The evening club, called Rotation, was a lot higher class than Optimus had realized. The low-slung two tiered establishment was painted dark burgundy with chrome accents and carefully arranged amber lighting. Above tinted glass doors sat a sign, spelling the name of the club in gently shifting colors. Optimus almost balked. Places such as these were never ones he frequented. Mostly because, even as a student, he'd never had the credits to even get in the doors much less afford the energon blends they made here.

Finally, after nearly a cycle of simply staring at the building, Optimus managed to slowly make his way closer. Several bots were standing in line outside the main doors, obviously waiting to get in. He would have simply gone to the end of the relatively short line, but one of the doormechs spotted him, waving him forward.

"Optimus Prime, your group is already inside. Please come in." The mech had quite the laid back attitude for a doormech.

"Thank you." Optimus offered quietly as he slipped through the doors.

"No prob. Just doin' my job." The mech flashed a large grin before shutting the doors behind Optimus.

When he turned around, Optimus was faced with an interior more extravagant than the exterior. The burgundy walls sparkled with gold and silver metal flakes, artfully carved pillars and molding glittered with mixed chrome and gold on a background of midnight black. Low walls separated the tables, each of which was illuminated by a low hanging pendant light. Recessed settings gave of a mixture of blue white and amber light, providing almost minimal light.

Just as the line suggested, the place was packed with bots, but even so Bumblebee and Bulkhead weren't hard to spot given that most bots were at least glancing in their direction if not outright staring. Optimus carefully threaded his way through the other tables to the centrally located table. He was surprised to discover that Sari was also there, seated on the table instead of in a chair since none were made to fit her properly.

"Oh, hey boss-bot." Bulkhead greeted him. "We brought Sari with us, and we haven't gotten anything yet."

"You didn't have to wait for me." Optimus told him.

"It's more fun when everyone is eating together." Sari spoke up. "Besides, we didn't get here that long ago."

"So what'll you have, Prime?" Bumblebee asked as Optimus sat down.

"I haven't even looked at the menu yet, Bumblebee." Optimus told him, smiling a bit at his familiar impatience. "You can order if you're ready though."

"Alright!" Bumblebee bounced excitedly until Sari glared at him. "I mean, I can wait."

Optimus quickly activated the holo-menu at the center of the table, scanning the quite extensive list of energon blends and accompanying snacks. Most of the blends were varieties he'd never even tasted much less heard of. After a cycle of deliberation while Bumblebee fidgeted in his chair, Optimus selected one of the less obscenely expensive blends, keying his order into the small data-terminal.

Bumblebee immediately jumped forward and keyed in his order second. Sari and Bulkhead keyed in their orders after in a far more organized manner. Once they had, Optimus broke the silence.

"You know you could have spent more time on Earth if you had wanted to, Sari." Optimus told her.

"I know. But I had three days with my dad. And besides, there's a lot to see here." Sari responded casually. "I really want to see more of Cybertron and other planets. Dad was pretty envious of me but he's so caught up in his work he doesn't really have time to come along."

"I could try to get him clearance to come to Cybertron some time if you'd like." Optimus offered.

"I'll have to pry dad away from his work first." Sari responded.

"So what have you been up to, boss?" Bumblebee asked.

"Well, I've been working, and I cleaned my apartment. I found some odd group pages devoted to some of us." Optimus answered.

"Oh, you mean like 'Bee in My Berth' and 'Not Sari I'm So Small'?" Sari asked, wrinkling her nose a bit. "Yea, I've seen them too. Some of them are kinda gross."

"Shouldn't be a problem for us. We'll be off planet after all." Bumblebee added. "It's the ones after Sari that I'm worried about."

"I'll be fine Bee." Sari told him, crossing her arms over her chest. "Just because I'm small doesn't mean I can't take care of myself."

"And I'll be here to keep an optic on her." Optimus reassured. "And on those groups."

"You really need to get out more boss-bot." Bulkhead commented.

"Yea. You coulda gone out racing, or to a vid showing, or anywhere but just sitting in your rooms these past solar cycles." Bumblebee chimed in.

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm not a racing model. While I enjoy it occasionally, I'm not really the type to frequent tracks. And I did look into theater productions. That's how I found those pages." Optimus retorted, not liking how they assumed he meant to just stay in his apartment the whole time. He hadn't. He had just gotten distracted and not made it out.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure he gets out while you're gone." Sari promised Bulkhead and Bumblebee.

Their energon arrived before Optimus could properly protest that comment. He wasn't a reclusebot. Slowly he took a sip of his energon. It was an upper mid-grade energon with powdered axiom crystal with a light layering of metal filings on the top. He found the mix was rather nice. Smooth with a tiny bit of an added crunch when he got some of the filings. Not a bad choice for his first attempt Optimus decided.

Bumblebee was purring almost obscenely over his drink, some sort of high-grade blend with crystal bits and mixed liberally with infused minerals. Bulkhead looked pleased with his simple mid-grade with added metal flakes. Sari on the other servo was still looking a bit unsure about whether or not to actually try the small cube in front of her. Optimus hadn't noticed what she had chosen, but he didn't see any added metal flake, so likely it was pretty plain.

"You should probably drink that in bot mode." Optimus offered. "Unless you've tried it as a human."

Sari shook her head. "It's not safe for humans to drink. But how do I know it won't hurt me in my bot mode?"

"Bots are meant to drink energon Sari." Bulkhead told her. "It shouldn't hurt you."

"You don't have to drink it Sari." Bumblebee assured her.

Abruptly she picked it up and took a small sip. They all watched her intently, ready to jump into action and take her to the nearest medic if she showed any signs of discomfort.

Her optics went wide and she gasped, "that's…actually pretty good."

Optimus, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee all relaxed. Sari lifted the cube again and took a long drink.

"So are you two ready to leave yet?" Optimus asked Bulkhead and Bumblebee.

"Sure boss. All packed and ready to meet the transport next solar cycle for launch preparation." Bulkhead answered.

"I'm always ready to go." Bumblebee added smugly.

Optimus just smiled and shook his head at the typical answer.

XXXXX

The rest of the evening had been filled with idle conversation about current happenings, the future, and suggestions of places for Sari to go see. Optimus really hadn't had much more than his single cube while Bumblebee had ended up quite overcharged and Bulkhead had to practically carry him out and home. Sari had been less-than stable so Optimus escorted her to the apartment she had been given. It was his first time there, and Optimus had to approve, not only of the neighborhood but also of the building and the apartment in general.

The building was located in a very nice neighborhood, complete with its own security station, and had the latest energy recognition locks on the main doors. Her apartment consisted of a large sitting area with a vid screen, an office, and a berthroom with an attached washrack that even had an optional soaking tub.

After dropping Sari off, Optimus headed back to his apartment, but instead of heading directly to his room, Optimus took the opportunity to go to the roof garden. Upon arriving, he was quite surprised to discover that it was quite large and well developed. Many massive metal sculptures divided the garden into sections, some with lounge chairs near moderate sized crystal growths, while other alcoves contained tables and chairs. Obviously this was meant as a picnic and relaxation area.

Optimus wandered the garden until he turned a corner and walked into an alcove that was already occupied.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize there was someone here." Optimus apologized as he started to back out.

"It's alright." The charcoal, orange, and gold mech responded, sitting up. "You're Optimus Prime, right?"

"Yes, I am." Optimus answered hoping that this wasn't another fanbot.

"I'm Smoulder. I live in the apartment just across the hall." Smoulder told him with a smile. "And no, I'm not a fanbot."

Optimus chuckled. "Was it that obvious?"

"Just a bit." Smoulder answered.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to assume." Optimus told him.

"It's alright. With all the bots mobbing you when you go out, it's kind of expected." Smoulder responded as he stood. "I was about to head back. Are you staying?"

"No, not really." Optimus answered. "I hadn't been up here before. I didn't intend to stay."

"Well then, we can walk back together." Smoulder smiled, walking up next to him. "As nice as this building is, I really haven't met many neighbors."

"Neither have I." Optimus admitted, turning to walk alongside the mech noting that they were similar in height, Smoulder being slightly taller. "What do you do?"

"I'm in the 5th District Fire Brigade." Smoulder told him. "Pretty good work."

"A noble profession." Optimus commented. "The Fire Brigades do good work."

"Thank you." Smoulder said, looking down. "But I could say the same of the Elite Guard."

It was Optimus' turn to be embarrassed. "Thank you also."

They reached their doors after a moment of awkward silence.

"It was nice to meet you, Smoulder." Optimus said in farewell, opening his door.

"As you, Optimus." Smoulder told him, opening his door and stepping in.

Optimus let his door closed, a small feeling of accomplishment flooding his systems. He hadn't really ever met any of his neighbors when he was in the academy, but now he had. And Smoulder seemed like a friendly bot who would be a good neighbor.

scrin99: Thanks for the review. And as for Codemaster...well...who knows? :P A bit more Sari in this chapter. Maybe more of her in other chapters as well. *hands plot bunnies* :D

Wolf Prime: Well, I like the idea...not writing it at this time though. Gotta keep focused! *focus focus* Less work, more fun, and thanks for the review.

Optimus'girl: Well, Shockwave's just evil like that. :P And I kind of figure that the head of each department is a Prime, so are team commanders (like Rodimus), and other base/ship commanders are Primes. Optimus is virus free and enjoying himself a bit. *gasp* Thanks for another review. No Ratchet/Arcee yet...but I will in some chapter sometime. :D

Sounddrive: Well, it will sure take a lot of work to put Blurr back into working order. Not really going to detail that probably. Thanks for the review.

JZ Belexes: I also like that perspective in some stories, but for this one I decided to go with more of a view of: sparkmerges share the soul, and continual sharing will lead to a bond but not immediately because I am also fond of the idea of sparkmerges leaving something behind. It's not an action two bots take as casually as interfacing, and then the first is a test, to see if they are truly the bot they act like. And when two bots merge, if one is hiding a jealous personality, the other will discover it, but may absorb a bit of their jealous nature and may want to find a laid-back, gracious bot to counteract that. And as for Blurr, I just rescued him. He never went grey like the other bots did when they died, and there were sketches of how his spark could have survived in the box, therefore I reject the idea that he died from the crushing. So Blurr is in the story because I said so, although I don't plan on him having a big role. Thanks for the review.