And here we are, at the end. Optimus has to talk to someone he hasn't talked to in a long, long time, and then... Well, life goes on.


Optimus waited patiently for the doors of the prison to cycle. The three layers of security doors meant that even if a prisoner got loose, they'd still get trapped before reaching the exit. Optimus himself hadn't been here before, there had been no need. But now, he needed to see for himself, hear for himself, what his once-friend had become.

Deadlock was taking his role as Optimus' bodyguard seriously, and was escorting him in. Optimus didn't think it was necessary, but he wasn't going to argue about it.

Megatron stood on Optimus' other side, but at least the Emperor had agreed to wait outside the room. Optimus knew that Megatron would not have restrained himself if he was going to be in the room.

"I'll be fine," Optimus said. "I can protect myself if need be," he added.

"I know, Optimus," Megatron said. "I still worry for you."

Optimus smiled. Then the last door opened, and they entered the main hallway of the prison. There, a small mech waited for them. "Hello, Leader-1," Optimus greeted the minicon.

Leader-1 beeped a greeting back.

"I am ready to speak with the prisoner," Optimus answered the question. "Is there anything I should know before I enter the room?"

Leader-1 explained the security precautions, including the stasis cuffs that were locked to the table in front of the prisoner.

Optimus nodded. "Thank you," he said. "And thank you for coming with me," he added to Megatron.

"Always, little one," Megatron rumbled.

Optimus vented hard and squared his shoulders. After a moment, he entered the meeting room. He knew Megatron and Deadlock would be watching from the previous room, but he couldn't think about that.

As he entered, the prisoner glared at him.

Optimus didn't let the glare bother him; he'd been glared at scarier mechs. One of whom was in the other room waiting for him. "Hello, Sentinel Prime," he said. "I understand you've been trying to talk to me for quite a while."

Sentinel jerked slightly, but the cuffs kept him from moving much.

"I admit, I'm surprised. After what you did, I thought you'd wanted me dead."

Sentinel jerked his head. "I did. And do. You're nothing like you should be."

"And how should I be?" Optimus asked.

"You were an Autobot, you should still be an Autobot!"

Optimus smiled slowly. "And who can be blamed for the fact that I'm not?" he asked. He held up his hand. "And before you say Megatron, let me remind you that he never hid the facts of my adoption from me- including the information obtained from Autobot databases. And how you advised that I was merely a… oh, what were the words… "a lying exaggerator who needs to stop using up Autobot resources for no reason." Is that correct?"

Sentinel struggled with his words. "I had no reason to think his distress call was real…"

"You did everything you could to blame all your failings on Optimus Prime," Optimus interrupted. "Everything that went wrong, you blamed him. You never took responsibility for your own mistakes, pushing them all on him. Even when others died because of you, you blamed him. And you're still blaming him." Optimus flashed his red optics at Sentinel. "Blaming me, because I'm a convenient scapegoat for you. After all, he always was. And I was once him."

Optimus suppressed a smile at the way Sentinel couldn't look away from his red optics. "So, tell me, Sentinel Prime. Why did you want to see me?"

"Because I want you dead, and if you had come to visit when you were younger, I'd have killed you. And set free whatever was left of my friend."

Optimus tilted his head. "I can almost believe that," he said. "Except that, even if Megatron had allowed me to come when I was younger, you would have been under even heavier restraints. Tell me the truth."

Sentinel sneered at him. "Because you are nothing and the fact that you're some sort of Prince doesn't change that. And you need to die, because you're just a traitor. I should be the one out there, ruling a world where the Decepticons are gone, and I'm Magnus, and you are nothing more than a Maintenance Prime. If he hadn't been so stupid as to let the Allspark do…" he broke off and sneered up and down Optimus' frame. "Let it turn him into you, then I would have been able to take control of the Allspark and win the war."

Optimus nodded. "I see. That sounds more like Sentinel Prime. That sneering superiority, and, once again, you're not taking responsibility how your own actions caused the downfall of the Autobots. If you had actually cared about the mech you called your friend, you wouldn't have blamed him for everything that went wrong." Optimus smiled. "Well. You say it went wrong. I'm perfectly happy with who I am."

Optimus stood up. "Thank you for the time, Sentinel Prime. I don't think I'll ever come back here. I certainly have no desire to ever see you again."

He smiled- it wasn't a very pleasant expression. In fact, it was one of his least pleasant. He'd learned it from Megatron. "I hope you rot here and never get out. It's only what you deserve."

He walked out, head held high, before Sentinel could respond. The door closed as Sentinel began to protest.

Megatron was smiling proudly at him as he entered the other room, while Deadlock was watching Sentinel devolve into a temper tantrum.

"Well done, Optimus," Megatron said. "Now, shall we head home?"

Optimus smiled. "Yes, Creator," he said. "I have a lot of better things to do than stay here. I don't want to miss Ratchet's ceremony."

"It's good that he's going to take the brand."

"He needed time," Optimus said. "I'm glad he is, but I wouldn't have been upset if he never did."

Megatron rumbled a low agreement. "Yes. We have a long flight, and you've been working on a proposal with your friends. Why don't you tell me about it on the way back?"

"We're still working on it, but we think we can integrate more former Autobots into the military this way. I know most don't want to join, but some do, and we want them to have the chance…"

Their voices faded away into the distance.

Cybertron turned on. The Empire was healthy and so was the heir.


Notes: I hope you enjoyed this story, folks. I certainly enjoyed writing it. I've had some questions on if I'll do any short stories or sequels in this universe, and the answer is a very qualified maybe. If I get ideas, or come up with plots, then yes. However, I might not, this universe might have told me everything it wants to tell me. I'll just have to see. But for now, this universe is complete as is. Thank you, everyone, comments you've left, and I'll see you at the next story, whenever that may be.