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The Autobots slowly picked themselves up, clearing debris and searching for trapped comrades underneath the rubble. Omega and Metroplex received immediate medical aid, using helicopter Transformers and the fire truck Transformers' ladders, while the Titan Master Nebulons in Autbot City were counted and cared for. All of the Autobot injuries were vast and it would take months to get everyone fully online. For those who had fallen in the course of duty, such as Blades and Streetwise, and the Titan Masters who had perished, a memorial service was held. Rodimus did his best to pay respects to his comrades the way a Cybertronian would, as it seemed an Earthling funeral would not be appropriate. The Nebulons performed their ritual and then those from Cybertron made theirs. These were followed by meetings with the humans who had lost so much. Their city was gone and it would take years to rebuild everything.

That night, alone on the hillside, Cerebros skygazed, looking through his telescope. He heard footsteps approach his hill from below and had an idea of who it would be.

Cerebros turned to see Rodimus climbing the hill, and as he drew closer, Cerebros saw a wistful look in his eyes.

"Leinad…"

Cerebros nodded.

"She's out there somewhere." He craned his neck skyward. "I told Arcee we'd find her. No matter if we have to journey to furthest corner of the universe to find her."

Cerebros looked at the floor. "We have no idea where to look. We don't know how far the Bridge sent her."

"That's why… I'm counting on you. We can find her together."

"Hmm. Perhaps… there's a way. But right now… There's an urgent matter we have to look into."

"That's right. The Titan Masters must all be liberated."

Cerebros nodded. "The planet Nebulos needs to be a safe place for the Nebulons to return to… one day. I'd hate for them to get caught up in our foolish war with the Decepticons."

Rodimus smiled. "You've always had a gentle spark. I don't know how you can keep your head cool for so long."

"It takes practice."

"And compassion." Rodimus rubbed his own back.

Cerebros noticed. "Did they manage to patch you back up? You took a nasty fall, right?"

"Not as good as Ratchet, but First Aid came through." Rodimus smirked. "I'm not quite as spry as I used to be."

"You're getting to the age when you trade that for wisdom… I hope."

"Me too." He took a look through Cerebros's telescope. The universe was immense. So much of it was empty, and void of life, of emotion, of any those thrills that made life worth living. Only a handful of planets had friends upon them. It was those friends on distant worlds that made the galaxy seem not so large. Of the many glittering points of light, Rodimus knew Leinad was bound to be on one of them.

Several weeks later, a special broadcast was scheduled, one that both the denizens of Trycounty City and the Autobots were asked to listen to. An announcement invited the humans of Trycounty City to turn their channels to listen to the broadcast. The Autobots set up chairs and cameras at Autobot City as well as a steel stage with an immense podium. On the day, Grimlock, Arcee, Ultra Magnus, Blaster and many others were seated outside in the crowd until a familiar red and orange Autobot stepped up to the podium.

Rodimus turned to address the crowd gathered at Autobot city. He cleared his throat and adjusted his microphone before he spoke. "We have made it through some of the darkest times in Autobot history. We have lost friends who meant so much to us. And we have lost leadership when we needed it the most."

There were many humans who had tuned in. At the hospitals, the nursing staff flipped the channels to search for Rodimus's announcement. Those watching at an open bar held their drinks in their hands and leaned in to listen to the television screen. Repairs were underway at the ship yards, at the residential zones and at the water treatment plants. The humans set their tools aside, popped open their lunchboxes and listened to their radios.

From their construction crew forklifts, Autobots on Cybertron paused to listen to the Prime's speech. Those listening noticed that the familiar voice of the Autobot leader had lost some of its youthful zest. A gruffer tone emerged more similar to Kup than Hot Rod.

"I wanted to address every Cybertronian as well as our human companions. What I wanted to say was…" He spotted Ultra Magnus in the crowd with his arms crossed, and Rodimus fixed his stance. Did he sound too officious? Then he spotted Arcee and relaxed a bit. "I am sorry… for failing you. I thought my role meant I had to step up and become what Optimus Prime was… and that became my mistake. In trying to do so, I was blind to my limitations, to my abilities and to my strengths. In the same way, I misjudged the same qualities in my friends and all Autobots. My misunderstanding was this…

"No one can ever take Prime's place. I see that now. And while I do think we can aspire to become like him, it's more important to build on his legacy. Prime often said, 'Til all are one.' These words are as famous as he is, but until now… I didn't quite understand what they meant. I think what they mean is this…

"Until all are one… Until all of us, the Autobots, are working together as one, we will be scattered and vulnerable. This last battle taught me that we all have roles and we are all working together, and when we do so… we can overcome anything… even the largest, most dangerous… most darkest threats that the Decepticons or any other force throws at us. This is what it means for us to be one. Prime understood this. He knew we were not united. But I think he saw that in us. I think he knew that inside all of us is a desire to be united under one cause. To work together to fulfill the same dream. To build a future where all the Transformers can live peacefully together."

There were nods in the crowd from Grimlock, from Magnus… from Kup.

"I'm not going to pretend to fill in Prime's shoes anymore. Optimus left a shadow that is too long to cover." He smiled in saying this. "Rather, I would like to assign future roles so that …

"So that… I don't have to feel like I need copies of myself to do everything…"

There were a couple laughs. Swerve and Scamper were seated at the sides of the crowd hoping it would be a short speech. Working under the Prime had been nerve-racking and they were eager to get return to their stations to get away from Rodimus.

"The days of one Autobot leading all Autobots are over. As we march forward, I will share leadership with Autobots who have bravely shown they're needed to Autobots in need.

"I want the Autobots to look onwards, to explore new places for us to live and those places will need commanders to take charge.

"Perhaps this will fulfill Optimus's dream when he said, 'Til all are one.' "

Rodimus closed his datapad and gave a slight nod to the crowd.

The crowd didn't quite know whether to clap or cheer or to sit solemnly. There were awkward glances passed between those in the seats, with questioningly looks and mutterings to accompany them.

He lifted his chin to look at the darkening sky. "And… if you're out there, Leinad. I'm sorry." There were a couple shooting stars passing through, but otherwise, the shadows felt a little longer and the wind felt a little colder.

Magnus rubbed his chin in thought. Cerebros, seated in the crowd felt a chill while listening. While he pondered the meaning Rodimus put forth, he felt the inclination to turn his gaze upward and saw that some of the stars had appeared in the purple twilight. He turned on his wrist communicator. He had received another message. It had come from space—from a fortress.

Rodimus stepped down from the podium to the stage side exit. He had to attend another meeting soon. Rebuilding the human city would take a lot of muscle and time and Autobot power. The ties between humans and Cybertronians had been gravely tested. And he would need to repair those ties. Perhaps he could recruit some smaller, more human-friendly Cybertronians to aid them…

The meeting would start soon, but Rodimus had other plans in mind. He ran down the back of the stage. That's where he was surprised when he ran into Arcee. She knew he would plan his escape from the questioning crowd this way. It wasn't a call to action this time. Arcee had come to say goodbye to Rodimus. As he stood under the glow of a yellow streetlamp, his gleaming red body now revealed more tarnish if one looked closer. Arcee stood outside the streetlamp in the shadows. At her side stood Springer, his arm rested on her shoulder.

Rodimus gave them a nod as a farewell.

Rodimus rolled down the blue valley, he had the sea of grass on his left with the picturesque mountains ahead. As he rolled past Lookout Mountain, he turned up the FM and listened to synthesized medley. A racoon family skittered under the evergreens as he revved by, and when he reached the peak, the Sun started its descent over the amber ridges. The final rays glistened off Rodimus' hood. How he had missed Earth.

The spool of the cleaning rod slid easily into the gun barrel. Don't know why I never did this sort of thing before, thought Fangry. His partners, Squeezeplay and Horri-Bull passed more cleaning brushes around to the team. In one corner of the rooftop, a pile of repaired, refined and cleaned rifles lay gleaming.

Fangry stared at the team. The six had finished the task in a short amount of time. There were no arguments this time. Perhaps, they would survive after all.

Lokos read the data logs to himself from Slugfests' display. They hadn't appeared on any bounties yet. He imagined his own head would be worth a lot. They had some time, but sadly they would need to be on the move very soon. Six deserter Decepticons would be easy to track down. For the moment, they could take a breather. He looked up at the screen and tuned in his audio receiver to pick up the Earth frequency. The drive-in theater was playing. It was an old flick, black and white, Akira Kurosawa, about samurai defending a small village. The owner of the concessions building either hadn't noticed the noises coming from the roof, or didn't care.

Brisko mapped routes on his display screen, taking pauses to flick his pen around. Fangry smirked at him while he finished cleaning the pistol. It was minor gesture, like a quick salute, but it meant something between Brisko and Fangry had changed for the better. For the first time, his optic didn't twitch like it used to.

"What are we gonna do now?" Kreb asked Horri-Bull.

He grumbled. "Let's just watch the mo-vie."

Kreb slicked the back of his head. "You're actually paying attention? When did this turn into a date? Horri-Bull, I didn't take you for a romantic."

"Sec-ond one's a-bout to start. I've ne-ver seen Ta-xi Dri-ver." Horri-Bull extended his arm and looked into the chambers of the swabbed pistol.

"Eh… No… No. No. We'll watch something else. You wouldn't like that one, no substance. Know what? The third screen's got a better flick. Jack Nicholson. That's who you're thinking of."

Horri-Bull nodded. He twirled the pistol and slid it into his holster, making a wonderful snap as the metal of the gun locked in. "The guy from 'The Shining.' "

"I think you'll like this one better. It's called Anger Management."

Squeezeplay lifted his gaze. Earth had more places to hide, more trees, more mountains and caves. It was better than a desert planet. At least here they could swipe some energon from the Autobots rather than waiting with a pleading hand for the Decepticons to send a shipment to them. Things might turn out a little different now. He turned to look at his team-mates who were arguing over the actors onscreen. Maybe. Just maybe… they'd survive after all.