Elisabeth was walking in the supermarket when she bumped into someone. When she finished her skate practice, she thought it would be best to go shopping, while Megatron was still spending time with Soundwave. And honestly, she needed to collect her thoughts after her bad performance. She could not think about anything else than him and this was enough to forget half of her choreography and skate like a ten-year-old. So in her deep thinking was when she bumped into someone. Someone she didn't want to meet at all.

"I never thought I would bump into you here, Blair," Elisabeth said, every word was just poison on her tongue. The woman in front of her just rolled her eyes as she pushed up her grey glasses. "Not after cheating on Merlin with his own boss. I thought the shy and geek girl had more spine."

"Jealousy doesn't look good on you Elisabeth" she replied as if they had been there. A hundred times at least.

"No need to be jealous of a bitch" she spat back, folding her arms angrily.

"Says the pot to the kettle. We both know who is the bitchiest of them all. But if you don't mind I go and finish shopping" she said calmly as she pulled up her light brown hair into a ponytail.

"After you tell me when you met Merlin last time" Elisabeth insisted, stepping in front of Blair to not let her go.

"Last time I saw him, he broke up with me discreetly. But I do offer my greatest condolences" and with that, she bypassed Elisabeth and went on her shopping.

It took her a solid moment to process what she said. She found it funny how the shy and geeky girl turned out to be the bitch in real life, whereas she, the cool girl, loved by the boys as the good girl. It was funny because it showed that people are not defined by the stereotypes and roles they are playing. In real life, the cool girl can be just as good of a person as the shy one.

The other thing was that she did not get closer to getting to know what happened to Merlin. Not like she had time to play investigator, but when the chance presented itself, she thought she would be closer. But she was not. And also… Why did she offer her condolences? Everyone thinks Merlin is alive and well.

Elisabeth just shrugged this off, because she knew Blair was always a weird bitch, who was part of some sort of strange science group. This is how she met Merlin. Through science.

So she picked up a quicker pace and finished her shopping in under an hour. And when she went home she felt just so happy because of the thought that she would be with him again. She felt like a ten-year-old once again.

But when she opened the door she found no one, though she saw a new car parking in the garage. Maybe he was already sleeping or something, so Elisabeth put down her bags and started to put everything she bought into its place. And when she tried to put the sugar on the top shelf she heard purring and felt the cold touch of the metal and she knew Ravage was here.

"Good to see you, Ravage. How was your day?" she asked as she looked down.

"Tiring. You managed to make some lovesick boy out of our master and he was really annoying. Though I just stayed with Soundwave and did not speak."

"Lovesick? How are you taking up these words?"

"Soundwave shares all data with us. So we also have access to the internet. I can't believe this much stupidity needs to be stored."

"It stores the recipes of all those tasty foods, so it needs to exist" arrived Megatron into the kitchen much to Elisabeth's delight, who ran towards him and hugged him.

"I missed you" she murmured then looked up to him. "How was your day? I hope it was better than mine" Elisabeth chuckled.

"Well, after many hours we found a suitable disguise for Soundwave. It was when your friend called me because she needed help. So I went to help Melissa and I got shot. It is nothing serious, do not look so afraid Betsy." He said while looking at her worried features.

"Who stitched you up?" she asked as she finally noticed the bandage on his upper arm.

"Ambrose, but that is not what matters. I want to ask something."

"But this matters! What if something…" she stepped back annoyed, but she was silenced by a kiss. It caught her off guard, but she didn't really mind it. He was such a great kisser, something one would never expect from an alien.

"Better?" he asked, raising one of his eyebrows. "Now… onto my question. If I decide to stay this way, will you stay with me?"

"Is this a marriage proposal?" Elisabeth asked back, blush apparent on her cheeks.

"What is marriage?"

"The whole reason for the courting process. Get married and raise kids. It's like the pinnacle of human existence. Or so does everyone say that."

"This sounds really… peaceful," he whispered, running his fingers through his dirty blond hair.

"Because it is. This is when most people settle down in one place, But to answer your question, we can stay together, but definitely not in one place. I suggest that we should make use of Merlin's money and travel the world around."

"Will there be food?" he said as one corner of his mouth pulled up into a smirk.

"All kinds of foods are out there, waiting for only you to eat them" she laughed while thinking of the idiom: The way to a man's heart is through his stomach.

"Then count me in," he said, taking her hand in his and gently rubbing her palm.

"You absolutely broke him," said Ravage, walking past them.

Melissa felt so relieved when she finally arrived home after this madness. She never thought this could be THAT dangerous, she was thinking of something way less difficult than it turned out to be. But in the end, she could only thank her alien saviour that she didn't end up as the target board. It was really kind of him to help her and totally not what would one expect from a world-conquering warlord.

"It seems Elisabeth bewitched him," she said to herself as she let out a hearty laugh while she picked up the wine next to her couch. "My God, tell me… What kind of plan do you have in mind? Because things are hell and it's just fucking started."

That very same minute, her phone rang and showed Yellow's number and name, which made Melissa quite alarmed. Her hacker partner never called her, mainly to cut costs as he lived in the USA and to keep their conversations as private as they can.

"Empress" yes, that was her name, all thanks to her egocentric sixteen-year-old self "I need an explanation."

"And you called me on the phone for that? I think you need more from me than an explanation, kid" she answered as she picked out the wine glass from her bar cabinet.

"Don't call me kid" he snapped as it could be heard that he closed his laptop with a loud clack.

"Okay, whatever you say. And tell me… what kind of explanation are you expecting from me, Rafael Esquivel? Because if you expect what I think, you will also have quite the story to tell."

"Then it would be best to start it now. Really. I have known you for two years and you're like family to me."

"I am not in danger if that's what you want to know. Quite frankly, it's the opposite. Got my ass saved by my BF's alien boyfriend."

"What do you mean by an alien?" he asked carefully, which Melissa found hilarious considering he is thirteen. Also sometimes she wondered why she has a thirteen-year-old friend anyway.

"It's a long story and truth be told, I don't even know the half of it. All I know is that there's this Megatron guy who is stuck in a human body and…" she said, heavily gesticulating even though no one sees her.

"WAIT. Did you just…?"

"Yes, I just said that. Let me show you" she then opened an app and sent one of the better pictures from the party last time. "The hot one is him. With the weird necklace."

"You mean the Decepticon insignia? Oh, God. This is not good . At all."

"But that's not your problem. You're thirteen, go and live a little bit and let us handle an alien warlord" she replied as she started to drink. "You'll be feeling guilty for not taking the chance to enjoy yourself when you were younger, believe me."

"Tell me this after the town I lived in was basically destroyed by him. He is dangerous, so I will be doing a favour for you by sending professionals to get him."

"No, this is just too complicated as it is with the faceless guy and his cat and his bird. If anything, you would make it worse."

"So Soundwave's there as well. It gets better and better."

"You know what? Join the team and you can watch over us and call the alien police on us whenever you feel like it."

"I think I'm already part of what you and your friends are doing because I helped you gather info."

"Then it's settled. And to be back on track I succeeded with the MECH guys and approximately they will have enough weapons to launch the third world war in about half a year."

"I will see what I can do with that. But please, be really careful. You might not see it that way, but he is a really dangerous con."

"You should see how he looks at her. Because I saw that look in only one place, Rafael. In fairytales." She took another sip from her wine. "Also you see too that he looks like some Disney prince, right out of a storybook. I don't know what Elisabeth did to him, but what I do know is that what they have is one romantic fuck."

"It's kinda hard to believe, but I try. Though it seems I will have something to do at least. Tell me if you need any help, but I suppose I have to go. Mom calls me."

Everything went smoothly, too smoothly for Optimus's liking. But Arcee always said to him it's because they were so accustomed to the scheming of the Decepticons that it's quite hard to let go. Though he still had that nagging feeling that something is not right. If a storm is coming, he feels he needs to prepare for it. He couldn't sit still and celebrate. Even more, it was his death they celebrated. Because it didn't matter how many battles they fought, or how many crimes he committed, he still wanted him to come to his senses and rebuild their homeworld together. Like they always dreamed of. But he was foolish. Foolish to always think about what could have been. To think about what could have happened if they stuck together in front of the council. If Alpha Trion never shook his loyalty in him.

Now he is staring alone at the construction of Cybertron. The rebuilding of his home. And he never felt so alien, like now. It is his home, but in the meanwhile, it is not his home anymore. Maybe it was just a lesser problem. His biggest concern was who he is. Who is Optimus Prime without the war? Without the war that created him. Who was he without Megatron? He did not know. It was he who defined his role. Without him, he felt uncertain, lost. Everything had no meaning anymore.

" We will always be brothers. We are bound together. "

"Where are you now, brother?" he said. Every word dipped with poison. This was the moment when millions of years of pain finally got to him. "Where are those unfilled promises and heartfelt dreams? I do not know what to hope for when it comes to you. As Optimus, I am supposed to hope that Primus has an appropriate punishment for you. But as Orion…" he clenched his hand and lifted it to his chest, somewhere near to his spark "I really hope you are happy."

"Sorry for interrupting you…" came Bumblebee's voice as he walked next to him. "I can come back another time if you wish."

"No need" he looked down to meet the eyes of the brave scout.

"I didn't see you at the party and I thought even though you deliberately miss this, you might need some company. So I started to look for you in your usual spots, only to find you here" he explained.

"I just feel that I am no longer needed in this new age. I fear there is no place for me in the age of peace. Without him."

"Given the history you and he has, I think it's natural to feel this way," he said, giving Optimus a comforting smile. "But you will find your place in time. Even if it takes longer. You know, we're not in a hurry."

"You are right," he admitted. "Now that I brought back the Allspark and refugees are coming home, I might try to take some time off. Have you got any idea where I should go?"

"To think about it" he put his hand under his chin. "I do have. So, because you need time I suggest you go to the place where you can be alone and think about this…"

"And what place would that be?"

"Our second home. Earth."

"It is a great idea."

He never thought of having another place that he can call home. Until they arrived on that little planet where its habitats were as similar to them as unfamiliar. The human children showed them the beautiful thing called family, which was not bound by blood or species or anything. So it is only logical to start his journey of finding his place in this new era, there.

"Then I notify the others about your decision to leave for a while to think."

"Thank you Bumblebee," he said, putting a hand on his shoulder for a few seconds. After that, he hears him transforming and driving away, towards the heart of Iacon.

"But before you go I wish to bestow you with knowledge." Stood a bot next to him. This surprised Optimus because he knew who was standing next to him. Primus. Their god itself.

"You… How? Why?"

"I came to bestow you with knowledge about your brother. I gave him an important task."

"An important task? Does this mean he is alive?" he asked as hope shone brightly in his eyes.

"I had to interfere, to prevent Unicron."

"I thought we had imprisoned him. What happened?"

"With my waking, so did he. I only had a short time before he figured out how he could escape his prison after being awakened. He almost did it, but I managed to thwart his plans in the last nanoclicks. Though what happened with your brother was an accident, I saw this as an opportunity to give him the task to find salvation. And it seems…" There he looked into the sky with wandering eyes. As if he could see his brother and what he's doing. Maybe he really does see him. "He loves this mistake" he chuckled for a moment. But just for one.

"Is he alright, then? Where can I find him? And what do you mean under 'salvation'?"

"Rest assured Orion Pax. Your brother is more than fine. However I cannot hold this form any longer, so I will take my leave. But do not fret. If needed, you two will find each other."

With that, Primus dissolved into nothingness, leaving Optimus wondering what just happened and what his words meant. He only knew one thing for sure. He has to go to Earth, right now.