Disclaimer: The Transformers and all related characters in this story aren't mine and are all property of Hasbro

Mixed Feelings

Chapter Six: The Hunter and the Hunted

Cyclonus lay on his front, overlooking the asteroid below them where Prime and the others had been. He grunted in frustration, looking to his right to see Galvatron and Scourge also laid on their fronts, overlooking the aftermath of the short battle. Scourge had a look of boredom on his features, and Galvatron's expression was unreadable. Cyclonus hadn't been able to read his leader for quite some time. Every action he had taken thus far had been out of character for the Galvatron that Cyclonus knew. It was out of character for Megatron as well. The old Decepticon commander would never have allowed Onslaught of all people to lead, not least because he was created by Starscream.

And yet, here they were, overlooking the aftermath of Onslaught's first attack on Optimus Prime. The Aerialbots had quickly dispersed after Prime had been supposedly destroyed, though Cyclonus was convinced that they were still in the area. However, Onslaught was preoccupied with finding Prime and his two companions, all of whom he was certain had survived, owing to the fact that there was a huge whole where they were stood.

That was another aspect that bothered Cyclonus. He had recognised Hot Rod instantly, but the other Autobot was unknown to him. He was an unpredictable element, a 'wild card' as Swindle would say. However, Cyclonus was powerless to do anything about it. He, like Galvatron and Scourge, had been assigned to monitor duty, to prevent any Autobots escaping. Cyclonus himself was also certain that Prime and the others were alive, if not only for the fact that both Optimus and Rodimus Prime had proven notoriously difficult to kill in the past. At the very least, Optimus Prime would have survived. Cyclonus relished the thought of someday being able to face him in battle; the stories told of him said that he was a more capable fighter than even Ultra Magnus.

"What is he doing? He should go in instead of wasting his time with these scans," Scourge said, resting his chin on his hand. Cyclonus and Galvatron looked over at him.

"Indeed, Scourge?" Galvatron asked. "And if I had chosen to take this same course of action, would you still criticise it so?"

Scourge's optics widened slightly. "Of course not, mighty Galvatron. I was merely stating that his method was sloppy."

Galvatron nodded and turned back to look straight ahead, an amused look on his features. Cyclonus took in the expression on his leader's face.

"One might call that toying with your soldiers, might Galvatron," he murmured, wondering what his small attempt at humour would bring. Galvatron looked over at him, and for the briefest of moments, Cyclonus feared for his life. Then Galvatron smiled.

"One might call it that, Cyclonus. But I call it amusing myself to pass the time," Galvatron murmured back, turning his attention forward once again. Cyclonus felt relief wash over him, though he tried his best not to show it. It was refreshing to be able to banter with his leader without fear of being blasted, smashed or otherwise damaged. There were few others in the Decepticon army who he considered intelligent enough to do so with.

"Tell me, mighty Galvatron. How would you conduct this search for Prime?"

"I wouldn't be searching, Cyclonus. I would have killed him in the first attack. That weapon his too unwieldy; it drains too much energon. We've used up half of what we've gathered recently for just a few shots."

Cyclonus nodded. "Yes, that was my thought as well."

Galvatron smiled slightly. Cyclonus also smiled, keeping his optics on the asteroid in front of him. He was beginning to like this new Galvatron.

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Skydive hated Galvatron. Megatron was bad enough, but at least he could understand what he was doing. Megatron was simply after what they wanted (when it came to sources of energon); they just went about it in a very different way, taking it instead of asking for it. But Galvatron… there was just no way to understand him. First he tells Optimus Prime that there would be no war, saying that he had earned his respect. And then, he pulls a crazy stunt like this. And even then, he doesn't appear to gloat himself (which even Megatron would do), but instead sends Onslaught, as if he were leading the Decepticons.

For someone who had studied the history of war almost obsessively, the seemingly random actions of the Decepticon leader confused and irritated Skydive to no end. Another thing that Skydive wasn't particularly fond of was spending too much time with his Aerialbot team-mate, Slingshot. Why couldn't he have been stuck with Silverbolt or Fireflight? Silverbolt would have probably found a way to get them out of this situation by now, and Fireflight… well, he wouldn't have done anything to help particularly, but he was a very calming influence, as long as he wasn't flying next to you.

Hell, Skydive would have settled for Air Raid, who, while a bit impulsive and reckless, would have at least seen the sense in staying put and would remain relatively calm. But not Slingshot. No, Slingshot he was being the most annoying Autobot he could possibly be. Most of the time, Skydive made a point to spend as little time with him as possible, since he was quite loud and abrasive most of the time. Well, all of the time. Skydive had a tendency to play down someone's negative aspects in favour of their good ones. But where Slingshot was concerned, even he had a hard time thinking of anything good to say about him.

And that was what Skydive was doing right now; trying to think of something positive that he could think about Slingshot while he droned on and on about how he could have taken Predaking by himself, and that the others hadn't really needed to be there. His incessant showboating didn't help the fact that Skydive was trying to affect repairs on Slingshot's left leg, which had been hit by a stray laser bolt when they separated. They had received a coded transmission from Silverbolt, informing them to stay wherever they were, as long as they were safely hidden. Which Skydive believed they were, in some hidden tunnel within an asteroid.

He surmised that the Decepticons would most likely expend their recourses searching for Optimus Prime, seeing as he was the leader and thereby the most valuable target. The other Aerialbots had called for reinforcements, which were apparently on their way. Slingshot's rant continued, and Skydive wondered how First Aid managed to repair him without killing him. He wondered how Ratchet used to do it.

"And you know what else? I could have taken down Galvatron as well, if he'd shown his hide. He was just afraid of what I was going to do to him…"

Skydive wished that the Autobot reinforcements would arrive and find them soon. Skydive also wished that he had more than a rudimentary knowledge of Transformer anatomy.

"And another thing…"

Skydive sighed. He wished he knew where Slingshot's vocal processor was.

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Hot Rod knew too much about Transformer anatomy. He hadn't before he'd 'inherited' the Matrix, but after that point, bits and pieces had come together in the middle of battle, and Hot Rod now had a pretty firm grasp of the basics. He knew enough to know that he had lost a lot of energon. When Onslaught's weapon had hit them, it had caused the ground beneath them to cave in, and they had fallen for quite a distance (Hot Rod had no idea that the asteroid was that deep) before landing on the ground. Hot Rod had landed on a particularly long and sharp outcropping of rock which had pierced his side, leaving a nasty little wound there.

His auto repair systems had kicked in soon enough, but by the time they shut down the energon flow to that area, Hot Rod was already dangerously low on the fuel. And all this happened before he came out of stasis lock. Optimus and Brainstorm had landed relatively safely (just a dent here or there, or so Brainstorm had said), and had carried his offline form into the maze of tunnels that existed in the asteroid. When Hot Rod had eventually come back online, Optimus was taking the first watch while Brainstorm tried to quietly recharge as best he could.

Hot Rod looked at his 'protégé', and almost laughed at the word. How on Cybertron had he, Hot Rod, ended up with a 'protégé'? If anything, Hot Rod should be someone else's student. He had a lot to learn before he became a good Autobot soldier. Hot Rod frowned. But was he sure of that? After becoming Rodimus Prime and leading the Autobots, had he become more mature? After all, Hot Rod hadn't pulled any immature pranks or made any rash decisions (Springer's high grade energon notwithstanding) since his return to his younger self.

That phrase made him raise an optic ridge. 'Younger'? Was he really younger as Hot Rod than he was as Rodimus? Physically, he hadn't aged, but he knew in his spark that he had, inside. Not in any physiological way that Perceptor or First Aid would be able to detect, but in more of a spiritual sense. He felt older. When he talked to Springer, he saw him as an equal. Before, he saw Springer as this big, intimidating (femme stealing) 'Bot.

Thinking back on it, that was most likely another reason that Hot Rod felt reluctant to initiate a relationship with Arcee. That would signify a return to the way things were, as if nothing had happened in-between. And Hot Rod didn't like that idea. He didn't like the idea that he had learned nothing from his time as Rodimus Prime. He didn't like the idea that it was all for nothing.

He heard heavy footsteps trudging towards him, and turned to his right, aiming his wrist blasters in case it was a Decepticon. The gleaming red chassis of his leader came into view, and he relaxed. Optimus' blue optics glowed in the semidarkness as he looked over at his young comrade.

"You're awake."

Hot Rod nodded, looking into the small lamp that had been erected in front of them. It didn't provide much light, but it was enough for the sharp vision of a Transformer. Optimus nodded at the lamp.

"That was Brainstorm's idea. He has a keen mind for someone so young."

Hot Rod looked over at his slumbering 'student'. "Yeah, he's the next Wheeljack."

Optimus walked over to Brainstorm and gave him a nudge. "Brainstorm?"

Brainstorm's optics slowly flickered to life, and he scrambled to his feet as he realised who was stood before him. "Is it my watch, sir?"

Optimus nodded an affirmative and proceeded to detail the route that he had patrolled. Brainstorm nodded with each instruction, and almost excitedly took off down the tunnel. Optimus let out a very low chuckle and shook his head. Hot Rod doubted that he would have been able to pick up the laugh if he hadn't used that chuckle himself on new recruits. He remembered how the Technobots would fall over themselves sometimes, and it made him chuckle as well. Optimus slid down the wall next to him until he was sat down, staring into the lamp just as Hot Rod.

"Something amusing, Hot Rod?" he asked, no irritation in his voice; simply a mild curiosity.

"New recruits," Hot Rod said, gesturing towards the tunnel where Brainstorm had just scurried down. "I remember how funny they can be."

"If you think he's bad, you should have seen Huffer when he was-" Optimus stopped short and sighed. "Well, it was something to see."

Hot Rod felt the sadness in Optimus' voice, and the awkwardness that followed was too much for his energon deprived brain to handle.

"So. How're you finding things since you got back?"

Optimus didn't look at him; he merely continued staring into the lamp. "It's… very different."

"How'd you mean?"

Optimus hesitated for a moment, then rested his head on the wall behind him, looking up at the ceiling. He sighed. "I'm used to fighting a war. That's what Alpha Trion designed me for, and that's what I've always been best at. And now… I suddenly have to work on trade agreements and act as an intermediary between different worlds. And at the same time, I've got to worry about Galvatron and the Quintessons. It's certainly not what it was before I…"

A silence followed, and Hot Rod pondered what he could say to fill it.

"…Left?" Hot Rod finished, and Optimus looked over at him, still resting his head on the wall behind him. He let out another low 'leader chuckle' and turned back to look at the ceiling.

"Can anyone else tell when you do that?"

"Do what?"

"The laughing thing. Only Spike could ever tell when I was doing it."

"He most likely learnt it from watching me. Ironhide knew as well. Sometimes he would…" Optimus sighed. "But that's not important."

Hot Rod looked over and studied the face of his leader. Before he became Prime, Optimus had always been so unreadable to him. Now he could see through that faceplate and through his façade. There was a very damaged 'Bot lurking beneath the confident and powerful Optimus Prime shell. A damaged 'Bot that suddenly lacked almost all of the familiar faces he had come to rely on for support.

Hot Rod knew from experience that it was a bad idea to become reliant in such a fashion on those under your command, but it had not stopped him from relying on 'Bots like Ultra Magnus and Kup while he was Rodimus Prime. If Hot Rod were in Optimus' position, he didn't know what he would do without their support and help.

And worse, Optimus couldn't even visit their bodies; they had been destroyed when the Mausoleum had been set on a direct course for the sun. Hot Rod's optics widened slightly. A course which Optimus had set. Not of his own volition, but the fact remains that he would remember setting the course. And Hot Rod had never considered the thought of just how long Optimus had been wandering around that ship in his half dead state before they had arrived, surrounded by the bodies of Ironhide, Ratchet, Prowl…

"How do you do it?" Hot Rod whispered quietly, unaware that he had even spoken.

"Do what?"

Hot Rod paused before continuing, before he was reminded of an Earth saying.

In for a penny, in for a pound.

"How do you keep on… being the way you are? You've been through so much. It would have driven any other Autobot insane."

"I wasn't exactly of sound mind on the Mausoleum, Hot Rod."

Hot Rod shook his head and waved his hand dismissively. "I meant after that. With the memories of what the Quintessons did to you… of what they made you do… and then to come back and find that everything you knew and relied on was suddenly gone… how?"

Optimus was silent for a long time, and Hot Rod wondered if Optimus had even listened to what he had said, or if he had instead dismissed it as mere hero worship. But it was more than that; because of the Matrix, Hot Rod had finally begun to see Optimus as an equal. And, through an equals' eyes, Hot Rod saw just how imperfect Optimus Prime was. And that imperfection is what made what Optimus had done so amazing to Hot Rod. For an ordinary 'Bot to go through that and still… he finally understood why Kup and the others held him in such high regard. It wasn't because of his skills as a warrior. It was because he was just like them. He goes through everything they do, and still comes out as this great leader. It's what made him such a symbol of good. A symbol of hope.

"Because I had to," Optimus answered.

Hot Rod looked at his leader. Just looked at him. The way he could just simplify everything that had happened to him… Hot Rod felt such admiration for him, but also felt something else twisting inside him. Something unpleasant. Hot Rod frowned as he recognised the emotion. He was jealous. Jealous of how Optimus could go through so much and just brush it off like a layer of dust. All the things that he had complained about as Rodimus… it just seemed so insignificant. He wanted to say something. Anything.

"I'm not perfect, Hot Rod."

Hot Rod paused briefly. "Sorry?"

"I can see the way you're looking at me. I've seen it on the faces of other Autobots, and it's not true."

"But-"

"No, just listen, Hot Rod. I know that on Cybertron, I have a very… exaggerated reputation. And while we were stranded on Earth for all that time… the reports about my exploits grew into legends. I didn't take down an entire Decepticon weapons facility with one arm missing. I didn't defeat three Guardian robots by myself. I can barely hold my own against one. Most Autobots have an idea in their minds of what I am, and it's the wrong one. That's the Optimus Prime you competed against when you were leader. Those that actually knew me, like Ultra Magnus and Kup, they knew that you were just as capable a leader as I am… was. Or am…"

Optimus laughed, but it was an almost desperate laugh.

"You see? I don't even know what to say about myself anymore. Am I still leader? Should I still be leader?"

"You're not… thinking of retiring, are you?"

Optimus remained silent for a moment before sighing. "After you became leader… the state of the Autobots changed. You had retaken Cybertron. There was relative peace. The Autobots thrived. And, looking back on what you've done… how you've done more than I did in my entire lifetime… I begin to wonder if I am not the right leader for this new Cybertron. A new kind of Cybertron requires a new kind of leader, and you were that leader."

"Optimus… you can't think that… I can't just…" Hot Rod trailed off, feeling slightly panicked at the prospect of having to become Rodimus again.

"Usually, I would journey into the Matrix for guidance, to see if there was a reason that I was brought back. But now… the Matrix is just an empty shell…" he mentally commanded his chestplate to open, and he pulled out the Matrix. There was still light coming from the crystalline center, and the brightness made Hot Rod wince slightly. Even after he had carried it, the very sight of it still filled him with a sense of awe and wonder. Optimus looked down at the sacred object, a look of near disgust contorting his face.

"An empty shell… with no more answers to offer than you or I."

Hot Rod considered what he could say. He wondered what other Autobots would so in his situation. Ultra Magnus would tell Prime that he was a great leader, Arcee would try her best to comfort him, and Springer would probably pull out some of his high grade energon from somewhere on his person. Then Hot Rod's mind went on to what Kup would do; what he had done to him when he had become all mopey as Rodimus. He turned to his leader.

"Optimus…"

Optimus turned to look at him.

"…I know you've just come back from the dead and all, but… don't you think that you're being just a little bit melodramatic? I mean, has it ever occurred to you that you weren'tbrought back for a reason? That it just happened? Every other Autobot in the army doesn't know if they're here for a reason. They just go about their jobs as best they can. What you're asking for… I doubt the Matrix could give you the answer. You're looking for the meaning of life, and nobody can tell you what the meaning of your life is. I don't know what the meaning of my life is. Sure, maybe the meaning of my life was to become leader and destroy Unicron. But then again, maybe the meaning of my life was to annoy Kup for the rest of his life. What I'm trying to say is…"

Hot Rod put a hand on his leader's shoulder. "… maybe you were brought back to cure the Hate Plague. Maybe you were brought back to fight Galvatron. Or maybe…"

Optimus looked over at him with interest.

"…maybe you were brought back to give me a break," Hot Rod finished, smiling as he did so. A smile slowly spread across Optimus' face, the expression clear beneath his faceplate. Both Hot Rod and Optimus shared a 'leader chuckle', something that neither had been able to do before now. Optimus put the Matrix back in his chestplate.

"Did you learn that from Kup?"

"What?"

"The ability to knock sense into Autobot leaders. Ironhide was skilled in it as well."

"You know, I had Ironhide pegged as the kind of guy that you'd be afraid of."

Optimus looked over at him, an optic ridge raised. "Who said I was afraid of him?"

Hot Rod raised his hands in a defensive position. "No-one. He just scared the slag out of me, is all."

Optimus laughed. "Well, he could always beat me at arm wrestling."

Hot Rod raised an optic ridge, smiling slightly as he did do. "'Arm wrestling'?"

"Yes, it's an Earth game, where-"

Optimus was interrupted by the sound of metallic footsteps heading towards them at high speed. Optimus stood, his rifle at the ready. Brainstorm leapt in, and Hot Rod had to resist the urge to flinch in surprise.

"The Decepticons are closing in."

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"Mighty Galvatron!"

"Don't yell, you moron! I'm right next to you!"

Scourge flinched slightly at the angry tone of Galvatron's voice. It seemed that no matter what he did, even after his miraculous transformation, Galvatron just seemed to have a certain… distaste for him. He didn't understand why Cyclonus was exempt from such treatment and not him. He passed the macro goggles to his leader.

"The patrols are converging on one location," he said, and Galvatron took the goggles to be sure.

"He's right," Galvatron said, passing the goggles on to Cyclonus. He peered through them, then tossed them back to Scourge.

"Do you think they've find Prime?" he asked, looking over at his leader. Galvatron grinned.

"Let's find out."

They took to the air, and Scourge waited behind for a moment. "But, mighty Galvatron… aren't we supposed to maintain a perimeter?"

Galvatron smiled. "You're absolutely right. You stay here."

Galvatron and Cyclonus began to fly away, when Galvatron suddenly stopped. "Both of you," he said bluntly, and Scourge almost laughed out loud at the look on Cyclonus' face.

"But… mighty Galvatron…"

"If Prime is down there, I want him for myself."

"But, mighty Galvatron…"

"Go!"

Cyclonus floated back to Scourge, and turned to look at their leader as he sailed towards the asteroid below them.

"I don't understand… if he destroys Optimus Prime, then Onslaught will presume that he is victorious and take control of the Decepticons…"

Scourge smirked. "Are you sure you're not just feeling bad because he didn't want you to go with him?"

Cyclonus scowled at him. "Shut up and do something useful, Scourge."

Scourge offered a mock salute, still smirking. "Of course, sir. We have perimeters to maintain, after all."

He marched away, and Cyclonus frowned. Why had Galvatron snapped at him like that? What was he going to gain from going after Optimus Prime alone?

He wondered if Galvatron wasn't so sane after all.

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(A/N: Thank you for your reviews, but don't stop now. Did you enjoy this chapter? Did you hate this chapter? Review.)