Yesterday was indeed crazy. I guess I should probably stop promising to post on certain days. Anyway. Hello everyone, welcome back! I hope you enjoyed the last chapter, and that you will enjoy this one.

Anyway, here's the next chapter. We've returned to the "present day" of the fic, and now we get to see Megatron and Optimus spar.


Optimus eyed the crowd in the palace gym in resignation. Someone had figured out that the Emperor and the Prince were going to spar, and then told someone else, who in turn told others.

Megatron had taught Optimus… well, not everything he knew, not anymore… but a lot. They rarely sparred, though, and when they did, everyone wanted to watch. If either of them told others when they were going to spar, they'd certainly have a crowd. Apparently Megatron had mentioned it to someone, because Optimus hadn't. He saw his friends in the crowd. Ratchet shrugged at him, and Optimus smiled at them before focusing.

Optimus stretched out and picked up the training axe. He still favored the axe as his primary weapon, and he knew he was a better fighter now than he'd been, all those cycles ago on Earth. He could credit Megatron for that.

He began a quick warm up with the axe as he waited for Megatron. Optimus was still on his vacation, and running an Empire as large as Cybertron's took a lot of work, so Optimus wasn't surprised that Megatron was late.

Just as Optimus finished his routine, Megatron entered. He tilted his head slightly at the crowd, but didn't comment. He went to the racks and picked up the twin swords that mirrored his own real swords.

He warmed up as well, and then they faced each other.

The crowd, not very loud to begin with, hushed.

Megatron smiled at Optimus, who grinned in response before triggering his battle mask. That made Megatron laugh out loud. "You really are going to go all out today," he mused fondly.

"You bet," Optimus replied, saluting with his axe. Megatron returned the salute, and a second later, they moved.

Optimus didn't really expect to win, of course, the only times he'd ever won a fight or spar against Megatron, he'd had help from the Allspark.

Still, he wasn't going to just give up. He never had, and he never would.

He spun and blocked first one, then the other of Megatron's swords with his axe handle.

Megatron didn't hesitate as he attacked again.

Optimus thought furiously, even as he blocked and returned several blows. He had to keep moving, his speed was his only advantage. Megatron no longer underestimated him.

Optimus ducked under a blow, then stayed low. He rapidly half-transformed and shot between Megatron's legs. He returned to his normal form, spinning as he did, and launched a grappler at Megatron's knee. Megatron barely evaded it, but Optimus didn't let him grab hold of the line. He'd been trained too well, and he knew the weak points in his fighting techniques now.

Megatron smiled proudly at him as he finished his own turn, to find that he had to dodge Optimus' axe as well. He didn't manage it completely, and the training weapon left a small mark to show that Optimus had hit him in the arm. Not hard enough or close enough to a vital system, unfortunately, but few managed to even get a hit on Megatron. The crowd murmured as Emperor and Prince eyed each other.

"Well done, my heir," Megatron rumbled. "But now you have no weapon."

Optimus smiled behind his mask, well aware that his optics were also showing his mirth. "That's what you think," he said.

He dodged to the side, avoiding first one, then the other, of the swords.

Without hesitating, he fired a grappler again, and Megatron dodged… only for the grappler to miss him completely and catch Optimus' training axe.

Less than a second later, Optimus had his axe in hand and he spun to block another blow from Megatron's training swords.

This time, Megatron laughed out loud.

Optimus didn't manage to completely block the next blow, and the sword left a small mark on his left leg- as if he'd taken a glancing blow in a real fight. Nothing that would impede him.

Optimus pushed back against the next strikes, and managed another micro transformation to get his repulsors under his feet, and then allowed Megatron's strength to push him back, out of range.

Optimus lost himself in the fight after that. They traded blows, sometimes one had the advantage, sometimes the other did. He only realized the fight was over when Megatron had him pinned, using his greater strength to keep Optimus from moving. "I yield," Optimus declared after another moment of attempting to escape.

Megatron relaxed at that, and released him. "You did well," Megatron said. "I like how you're using your alt mode and the micro transformations. It's a good tactic. And I see you've figured out strategies to keep someone from using your grapplers against you."

Optimus smiled up at him. "Yes," he said. "I've been…" he was cut off as one of the palace alarms went off.

The crowd around them broke up, mechs scattering to their assigned stations.

"Invasion," Megatron snarled, just as Optimus placed the alarm.

Together, they sprinted for the war room.


A couple of notes, based on some of the things I wrote:

I gave Optimus repulsors instead of wheels. It looks like Cybertronian altmodes float instead of use wheels, and I imagine that he has a Cybertronian altmode again.

We're finally getting to the "present day" plotline, and expect the "past" and "present day" plots to both be shown. I'm not going to alternate one for one, but there will be some alternation going on.

Next chapter should be in a few days (I'm learning.)