In Ratchet's medbay, Ultra Magnus lay on the repair berth, patiently let the medic examine, tinker with, and assess him, while Optimus hovered nearby. As they had since the moment Magnus had come in range of their bond, Optimus held fast to his kin. Magnus wasn't about to let go, either. When Optimus' father Fortron was still alive, Optimus and Magnus had been as close as brothers, able to share thoughts, feelings, and bond dreams. Without Fortron to strengthen their connection, though, only their emotions could flow between them. Their bond now was that of distant kin, but Ultra Magnus still regarded Optimus as his brother and knew that regard was mutual.

"You've got a patch of rust near that recent weld," Ratchet scolded.

"There aren't any Autobot medics left on Cybertron," Magnus answered, his worry creeping across the bond. Optimus answered it with understanding – there was so little they could do for the Autobots still stranded on their homeworld. "Inferno is the closest we've got, and he didn't exactly specialize in physical repairs. We make do."

"What about Quickfire?" Ratchet asked.

"Extinguished more than two vorns ago...I mean, almost a couple of centuries ago."

Ratchet cast a concerned glance toward the Autobot barracks. "Glit?"

"Blaster lost him more than three hundred years ago. Arcee was the best we had left, and we didn't realize she'd made it through the space bridge. We thought she was dead. That's why Lancer reacted the way she did."

Ratchet pulled a canister out of subspace and began rubbing a clear goo onto the rust. "Well, a little nanite gel now will keep the patch from spreading until I can clean it out, but energon is the only way to actually reverse this rust. Fortunately, everyone will be topping off with energon soon."

"You know about Optimus' magical limitless supply?" Magnus asked, still in the dark himself.

"In good time," Optimus assured him. "Sam will be here by tomorrow, and you'll all be topped off then. But suffice it to say, we hold the All Spark."

Ultra Magnus' spark swelled with hope, and he looked up at Optimus. "You found it? Your quest was successful?"

"Yes, though much has changed. Did you not receive my transmissions?"

"No. There were rumors and hints we teased from intelligence gathered from Decepticons. That's how we learned you were on Earth and which space bridge to travel to so we could reach you. But any transmission you sent wouldn't make it to Cybertron for decades. The Decepticons hold the entire space-bridge system, now that they have all the Seekers. They commandeered the space-bridge relay stations, too. They use it to broadcast their propaganda."

Ultra Magnus felt Optimus wrap him up in his own determination, but his flickers of worry made Magnus suspect Optimus was only now processing how bleak their circumstances had been. "Your arrival marks the turning of the tide," Prime declared. "Now that BINDS is armed with Wheeljack's upgrades, we are ready for whatever Megatron sends our way. You are safe here, brother."

But Magnus' mild indignation swelled over the bond. "We didn't come here to be safe. There is an attack coming, and soon. I chose the mechs and femmes who were in the best shape, with the highest energon reserves and with the most fight left in them. We came here to protect you against the coming attack, with the intent to die in your defense if necessary."

Ratchet huffed in grim amusement. "Even Kup?"

Magnus tilted his helm in acknowledgement. "He's the exception in terms of readiness, but not in intent. He's off the road more than he appears. About fifty years back, he said he saw Hot Rod while in recharge, and he took it as a sign that the youngling had been extinguished. He's also been talking lately about some kind of paradise in the Well of All Sparks. Inferno thinks that one is just energon deprivation because he goes on and on about a feast in a hall of warriors and how he wants to earn a place at the table. It doesn't help that the mech was overdue for a memory upgrade before the War even began."

"He should not be sent into battle," Optimus said, concern for the aged mech threading its way into the bond.

"None of us make it alive into the Well of All Sparks," Magnus answered, wry humor softening the words. "He's chosen the way he wants to go, and it's calling to him. Did you know his grandmother was rumored to be a world walker of a seer? Maybe Inferno's wrong."

Ratchet scoffed. "World walking, what a load of slag. 'The dimensions of space-time can't restrain them,'" he mockingly quoted. "May as well gather power from moonlight."

"Jazz was a seer," Optimus softly said. "Kup is the oldest Cybertronian still functioning and, if he is from a seer clan, too, it would explain how he managed to survive this long."

"So would dumb luck," Ratchet grumbled. "Well, other than the rust, Magnus, there are a few, minor jury-rigged parts I'll want to swap out. We might need to machine a couple of them, and that'll take a few days. You're cleared for duty in the meantime, though."

"Thank you, Ratchet. And in that case…" Magnus sat up and, venting a sigh, swung his feet to the floor. "I require Prowl's presence."

"Prowl's?" Optimus was as puzzled by the request as he was by the dread in Magnus' spark.

"Yes. Before you start investing parts or energon, I have an offense worthy of a court martial to report."

"Whose?" Optimus demanded.

Magnus looked up at him. "Mine."

Optimus crossed his arms. "I'm certain your offense is not…"

"That's why I want Prowl here, brother," Magnus said with a wry smile and an affectionate nudge over the bond, though the affection couldn't hide his deeper well of grief and shame. "With all due respect, you are not the most qualified mech to judge me."

Prowl strode into the med bay. "I understand you want to confess to a crime?"

Ratchet moved to leave, but Magnus said, "Stay, please. There should be two neutral witnesses."

Ratchet exchanged a glance with Prowl before nodding in agreement.

"Go on," Prowl ordered.

Magnus looked down in shame. "I… violated regulation 232.466A."

Prowl's doorwings angled up in surprise. "You interfaced with a subordinate?"

Ultra Magnus drooped even lower. "Yes. We were granted an exception at the time by Elita One, but… again, I'm not sure she was qualified to judge me since she was also kin."

"Explain," Prowl demanded.

Clamping down on his bond with Optimus, Magnus said, "Roughly a thousand years ago, Lancer approached Elita One about the possibility of courting me. The number of Autobots on Cybertron had already dwindled considerably, and Lancer felt I was the best remaining option. It was one of her few truly irrational decisions, but she was convinced. She'd put off taking a mate as long as she could, but the matter was becoming pressing. She was willing to be reassigned, but both Elita and Lancer knew I would object to Lancer being moved off my command team. We didn't have any other tacticians left, and we needed her and her skill set in central command. Elita wouldn't even entertain my offer to be reassigned. Instead, her solution was to grant us an exception, so long as we didn't let our personal relationship interfere with our duties."

"Did it ever interfere with your duties?" Prowl asked.

Magnus hunched his shoulders and fleetingly glanced at Optimus. As much as he was ashamed of his actions, he also wanted to hide the resulting glitch from his Prime and brother. The shameful actions he would confess to, but he decided to continue to conceal the glitch. "Yes. Lancer and I were away on shared leave when Elita and scores of other Autobots were captured by Starscream and drained of their sparks. I should have been there to protect her or – failing that – die at her side. I failed her and you, Optimus, all because I allowed others to persuade me against what I knew was right. Elita was my brother's mate and I couldn't even give her a proper burial."

The Prime rested a reassuring hand on Magnus' arm, but the larger mech shrugged it off. "My case is for Prowl to judge."

After a moment, Prowl asked, "Did you have any intelligence that such an attack was coming?"

Magnus lifted his gaze to Prowl's. "No. None."

"Your shared leave was properly approved and granted by Elita One?"

"Yes."

Prowl looked to Optimus before turning his attention back to Magnus. "There is precedent for leniency in regard to violations of that particular regulation, if there were extenuating circumstances. You acted with the knowledge and approval of your commanding officer, and I uphold Elita One's judgment. I hold you blameless for your past infractions, Ultra Magnus."

"As do I," Optimus said, and Magnus opened the bond again, pouring in his mingled regret and relief.

"Going forward, however," Prowl added, "you are expected to follow regulations."

"Of course, Prowl," Magnus agreed, then he tilted his helm in puzzlement. "But there's a precedent?"

"They were on a suicide mission at the time," Optimus explained, willing Magnus to absorb his forgiveness, "but they survived. They also have not allowed their relationship to interfere with duty. You're worthy of all the energon and repair parts you need, brother, as well as all the happiness that can be found in the midst of endless war."

Magnus gave him a sad smile, his feelings over the bond settling into gratitude. "Elita said much the same thing, when I initially asked her about Lancer's request. You truly were two halves of one whole." He felt a wave of grief and affection from Optimus before the Prime blocked his end of the bond.

"Come," Optimus said. "While Ratchet works on repairs for the others, I'll bring you down to inspect our training range."

"Is there somewhere we can speak privately first?"

Optimus' curiosity streamed across the bond, and Magnus let his own reassurance wash back.

"Yes," Optimus answered, "of course. My office."

When they were safely ensconced there, Ultra Magnus pulled a treasured relic from his subspace and presented it to Optimus. "I'd been hoping for the last ten-thousand years that I'd have the opportunity to give this to you."

"The staff of Alpha Trion," Optimus said almost reverently as he accepted it from Magnus. The flickering of emotions on his end of the bond told Magnus his brother was lost in memories of their mentor and friend. "Why have you brought it?"

"Before Trion fell, he told me that he wanted this staff to go to you if anything should happen to him. It was still on his person when we found his empty shell in the Temple at Simfur. You had left Cybertron already – chasing the All Spark – so I took it in honor of his wish and in the hope of seeing this day."

Again Optimus pulled Ultra Magnus close enough to stand helm to helm as kin, and Magnus smiled at the overwhelmed gratitude pouring in from the Prime. "I am glad we have both lived to see this day."

"As am I."

Optimus stepped back again and more closely examined the staff. "I wonder why he bequeathed this to me. Of all the things he possessed, why this?"

"It was an heirloom," Magnus said simply. "He was the last of his line, but you were as much a son to him as you were a Prime."

Optimus allowed his gaze to zoom in on a scuffed engraving in the metal near the tip. It was the Prime glyph, he now recognized, though when he last set optics on it, he had no idea what it meant. Even stranger, it was upside down, so that it could be read only when holding the reinforced tip in the air.

Pulling a human cleaning-cloth out of subspace, he wiped away some grime and stray dust. To an unlearned mind, the glyph was just a stylized mark, but there was a pattern to the swirled ridges within it. He had a vague sense that there was meaning in it, and he remotely accessed Jetfire's databases from his Blackbird armor.

Optimus physically startled when those databases allowed him to recognize what he was seeing. The Prime glyph was a composite of several smaller glyphs. In the language of the Ancient Primes, those smaller glyphs were phonetic. "Solus."

"What?" Magnus asked.

"This glyph," Optimus explained, "it's the mark of the Prime clan. And these are individual glyphs that together make up the Prime glyph."

"And they spell out 'Solus?'"

"Yes. Solus Prime."

"Who was he?"

Optimus stared at it for a long moment. "I have no idea."

…

Late the next afternoon, Ultra Magnus returned to the med bay. Ratchet had finally assessed everyone, compared needs against supplies, and he and Arcee had made repairs through the night, with both of them pulling a double-shift. Optimus was focused on communicating with Sam (which Magnus still couldn't quite comprehend), but not before the Prime finally received and acknowledged the last of Magnus' reports. Now that all the rest of the newly-arrived Autobots had been repaired, Magnus felt like pretty much everything was functioning again as it should.

Major William Lennox was in the med bay already when Magnus walked in, though.

"...build a second shielded facility?" the human was saying. "I mean, two new femmes?"

Ratchet waved Magnus into the room but answered Lennox. "I told you, we aren't driven to interface the way humans are. Neither femme has an energy build-up, unlike Chromia who spent thousands of years separated from her mate. It's likely neither will be inclined to interface again within what's left of your lifetime. Regardless, one shielded facility should be sufficient."

The little human looked relieved at that, if Magnus' holoform protocols were reading him correctly.

Ratchet snorted in amusement. "Now is there anything else you need or do I have leave to attend to my patient?"

Will shook his head. "Naw, go ahead. And thanks." Looking up, he added, "For the record, it's good to have you and your team here, Ultra Magnus." Then he left.

As Magnus laid down on the repair berth, he asked, "What was that all about?"

Ratchet shook his helm as he got to work on the rust patch. "Human sensibilities. Those fleshlings are a walking contradiction. They mate like mad – sometimes multiple times daily – and treat the subject like entertainment on their worldwide data web. That is, when they're not pretending that their reproductive methods don't exist and getting flustered and embarrassed if you bring up the topic."

"Ah, you're referring to the incident with Chromia. It's mentioned in Prowl's new-arrival packet."

"Yes. In fairness to Will, he was just the messenger when it comes to human hangups about reproduction, and her actions did put him in a tough spot. But still, there are parts I'm sure Prowl didn't make official because you'd all laugh too hard." Ratchet grinned at the memory, and he sent the file to Magnus as he continued his work.

After sharing a chuckle with Ratchet about the whole incident, Magnus relaxed and turned his thoughts inward. It felt so good to be connected to Optimus, now that his confession was out of the way. Most intriguing to him was an undercurrent of hope and excitement across their bond that made Magnus smile, despite the indignity of having a patch of rust cleaned out. The Prime felt younger at spark than Magnus thought possible after all the eons of war they'd faced. He could only assume it was due to Optimus' other, impossible bond-brother. If he really focused, he could sense a shadow of that human presence, too faint to hear thoughts or share emotions but there like a sensor ghost on his periphery.

…

Sam's aircraft landed before Ratchet finished with repairs on Ultra Magnus. The medic hurried as much as he could, though, and they went straight to the barracks where the Autobots were again waiting. This time, however, the room was silent when they arrived.

Ultra Magnus sent wordless apology over the bond, but Optimus' reassurance and patience washed back. That undercurrent of excitement remained, though.

The sunken circle in the middle of the barracks was lined with the new arrivals, while the 'bots who had been on Earth longer stood in a semi-circle behind them. Ultra Magnus strode across the room to sit in the empty space apparently reserved for him. He noticed that Samuel was the only human in the room, but he stood with Bumblebee.

As soon as Magnus was seated, Optimus stepped forward into the circle. "Welcome, all of you. Much has changed since I left Cybertron, but it is perhaps easier to show you than to tell you." He nodded to Bumblebee, and when the scout dropped his spark shielding, Magnus could pick up with his sensors the spark he'd known the human must carry within his fleshy frame.

It was a bit more of a shock for his crew, though. There were murmurs and clicks of surprise.

"This is Samuel Prime, my brother," Optimus continued. "We Autobots have a home on Earth now. The Cube smelted itself and Megatron's spark, but as all energy, the All Spark itself can neither be created nor destroyed. It lived within my brother Prime for two Earth years, until I myself was extinguished as well. In his quest to reignite my spark, Sam discovered both the Matrix of Leadership and many lost truths about the Ancient Dynasty of the Primes. Sam was able to transfer the All Spark to the Matrix, where it now resides, and successfully reignited my spark. It was also during this time that I learned that I am a Prime by lineage. I owe Sam my life twice over, and we all owe him reverence for preserving and quickening the spark of hope for our race."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Samuel Prime said. "He talks me up too much. Just get to the good part already."

Magnus felt the affectionate indulgence from Optimus at Samuel's flippant response.

Prowl stepped forward into the circle. "Cliffjumper, Brawn, do you still carry any energon vessels?"

The red mech's antennas rose in curiosity. "Only empty ones, but yes. Of course. I've been able to keep four of them safe."

"I have two," Brawn added.

"I require them, Temple guardians."

Both Brawn and Cliffjumper leaped to their feet at the title, and something stirred deep in Magnus' spark. How long had it been since he'd stood in the Temple at Simfur and received energon from a Temple guardian? Of all the terrible losses in this endless War, in some ways that was the worst. The theft of the Cube and the ceasing of all Temple rites – the ending of that freely-given gift of energon that all needed and all received – was when they ceased to be Cybertronians. That was the moment their civilization fell and they became a race of vagabonds. The War was simply the inevitable result of that fall.

The Autobots had tried to maintain as many of those rites as possible, but it had been ten-thousand human years since the Cube left Cybertron. It had been far, far too long since he'd received this grace. More recently, the Decepticons had blasted the news over their propaganda networks that "the so-called Prime had committed the vilest blasphemy" and destroyed the All Spark, but the Autobots on Cybertron had refused to believe it. Apparently, the faith they'd all placed in Optimus had been both wrong and very right.

One by one, first Cliffjumper and then Brawn produced the cube-shaped ration vessels from their subspace and laid them at Prowl's feet. Prowl turned to Bumblebee and nodded, and the yellow mech also joined them in the circle. He produced another four vessels, and Prowl pulled three more out of his own subspace.

Thirteen empty vessels.

Optimus' armor started shifting and an object drifted forward from a compartment in his frame. The Matrix of Leadership. The reformatted All Spark. Wonder filled Magnus at the sight.

Optimus' hand closed around the relic, and it flared a brilliant blue. Within Magnus' spark, awe spiked in response, and he thought, The touch of a Prime! The Matrix would only respond to the touch of a Prime. Here was undeniable proof that the 'cons were wrong, that Optimus was a true Prime!

"Stand with me, Sam," Optimus said.

Samuel hopped down into the sunken circle and crossed it. Optimus lowered his hand and released the All Spark to let it hover above his palm, and its blue spark dimmed to a glimmer. Then the human reached up and caught it, and again the Matrix flared to life, acknowledging the touch of a Prime. Magnus blinked, astounded at what his own optics were seeing. Samuel gave it back to Optimus, and the mech passed his hand over the Matrix, shifting the light within from blue to green. Drop by the drop, energon distilled within the core of the Matrix and flowed into the vessel beneath.

Every Autobot watched in silence. Magnus acutely felt how low his own power reserves were, how desperately he wanted that energon, and yet he was swept away by the heady joy of seeing so much of it at once. Would Optimus really fill all thirteen cubes? It seemed like another lifetime – like one of Kup's senile stories – to think that they'd ever had that much energon.

Optimus' earlier word of "limitless" had been incomprehensible at the time, but now, Ultra Magnus felt hope awake in his spark – hope such as he'd never before experienced. All those suffering sparks back on Cybertron could survive! If they could just get the energon to them, if they could find a way to open the space-bridge, the entire Autobot army could be revived. They'd have the strength to actually fight back again. The endless War could truly end!

Optimus finished filling the vessels and nodded to Prowl. The head of the Temple guardians hefted the first cube and crossed to Brawn while Bumblebee presented the second one to Cliffjumper. Offering Brawn his vessel, Prowl said, "The light of your optics is dim. Drink and receive power."

The variation on those ancient, ritual words struck Magnus to the spark. In the Temple at Simfur, the word was "Enter" but the Temple had lain in ruins for millenia. Now it was simply, "Drink." Even this ritual had been altered by the War. Still, by performing this rite, Optimus and Prowl were demonstrating their intent to do more than simply rebuild after the War. They were out to restore Cybertron, to give them all a home and people and civilization again. As their true Prime and the head of the Temple guardians, these two mechs were fulfilling duties that transcended every other role, even that of military commander. Magnus would support his brother in that.

Prowl hefted another vessel and presented it to Magnus, again repeating, "The light of your optics is dim. Drink and receive power." As he accepted the cube, Magnus felt ashamed that even for an astrosecond he'd thought of the All Spark in tactical terms. Prowl had continued to distribute energon throughout the War, until Optimus jettisoned the All Spark. They couldn't hoard it, especially now. They couldn't even leverage something so sacred. Humbly, he drank in this precious gift they and the All Spark were offering.

And then the basic need for energon swept through him, and he greedily swallowed it down. He was vaguely aware of Cliffjumper, Brawn, and Prowl repeating the ritual words over and over, offering his fellow Autobots renewal and life, but his focus was on his own thirst. After so long, he'd almost forgotten how energon carried the flavor of comfort and encouragement. It was the distilled strength of spark, frame, and mind.

When he'd drained it, Bumblebee was there to accept back the empty cube, but to Magnus' surprise, he placed it on the ground in front of Optimus again. The Matrix was still glowing green, and his Prime and brother refilled Magnus' vessel.

This was more than he expected, more than any mech deserved when energon was in such short supply. But Bumblebee was lifting the cube and returning to Ultra Magnus with it. Without his voice, the yellow Temple guardian relied on his comm. /The light of your optics is dim. Drink and receive power./

Magnus knelt before Bumblebee and accepted the gracious gift. But he remained on his knees and, over his bond with Optimus, he poured in all the reverence, devotion, and gratitude he felt in his spark. His Prime met his gaze and nodded in acknowledgment. Only then did Magnus again drain the cube.

Bumblebee was there when Magnus had finished his second ration of energon, but when the Temple guardian placed it before Optimus for a third filling, Magnus said, "It is enough, Prime. I am content."

Prowl was the one who answered, though. "Ratchet said you needed three and a half vessels' worth to be topped off, so that's what you'll receive."

"I…cannot accept."

"There is no point in suffering," Optimus answered, "no benefit to holding back. We want you at full strength – all of you – and Ratchet has informed us of your needs. No one goes without here. You are home."

And though he was many light years away from his native planet, Ultra Magnus' spark finally understood and joyfully embraced the truth of those words.

…

Dawn found Magnus watching the sunrise through the open door of the main Autobot hangar. It was west-facing and so didn't show as much as he would have liked, but until they could scan an Earth-based alt-form, he and the others needed to stay mostly out of sight. Still, the play of color on the clouds was fascinating. Earth was such a strange planet – a contradiction of water and stone.

He hadn't been able to recharge, partially because he had no need to follow the humans' sleep schedule and partly because he had so much to process.

He came here expecting – knowing – that he would be extinguished within sight of this nondescript yellow star. Last night changed everything and nothing at all. The energon they received extended their ability to fight, and it was encouraging that the Matrix could reignite some of his fellow Autobots, but attrition would end their race sooner or later. And the "sooner" was more likely. Last night didn't change the fact that he was glitched by the eternal War. The intelligence they'd gathered from the Decepticons, the certainty of that pending attack, had not changed, either.

True, he knew now that his brother was the Prime he'd more than half-suspected. True, Earth was demonstrably well-protected by BINDS. True, they held the All Spark and fresh energon – a miracle he still had difficulty believing. But Elita's words from his glitched night-visions had so-far also proved true. He did not doubt his fate would be to pass into the Well while in this star's orbit.

/Such somber feelings for a bright morning,/ Optimus observed as he came to stand beside him.

/Just thinking about all the rust that fragging salt-water could cause,/ Magnus fibbed.

Optimus recognized the lie and nudged him over the bond.

/My days are numbered, Optimus. All our days are numbered, individually and as a race./

The Prime's hope poured into his spark – a powerful, wordless rebuttal.

/I fear the energon is wasted on me. I'm glitched./

/I do not understand./

/I haven't been able to recharge well for years – since Elita's death. I see her in my night-visions. She speaks to me. I'm glitched./

Magnus had expected concern or maybe even disapproval from Optimus, but the Prime's hope spiked stronger and brighter. "She speaks to you?"

Ultra Magnus' gaze darted pointedly to the humans on the command scaffolding and Optimus switched back to comm. /What did she say?/

Magnus sighed, embarrassed. There was a reason he hadn't included any of this in his official reports or even in his confession. /It doesn't matter. It's just a glitch – a permanent one. I'm as damaged as Kup./

/She has appeared to Sam and has spoken with him while he was in a Matrix-vision,/ Optimus said, an urgency swelling even stronger than hope, and Magnus looked at him in surprise.

/She appeared to Samuel?/

/Yes. I've seen his memories of her, shared via our bond. Please, brother, tell me what she told you./

Magnus shook his helm, even more unsettled than before. He'd always assumed he was glitching. Visions from the Well of All Sparks was the sort of thing a Prime might have, but not a simple soldier like himself. Maybe it was still just a glitch. /I apologized to her. For months, she'd just look at me with dead optics while I grieved and begged her forgiveness. Then.../

/Then?/

Ashamed, Magnus admitted, /Lancer threatened to have Inferno pull medical rank. She insisted I either recharge voluntarily or she'd force me to step down. When I told her I couldn't recharge because I kept seeing Elita's extinguished optics, she...we aligned so I could power down. Elita's optics were bright with life when I saw her next./

/And?/ Optimus was starting to get impatient.

Resigned to telling him everything, Magnus said, /She said that she bore me no ill will, that there was nothing to forgive. I told her again that I should have been extinguished by her side. She answered that it was my fate to fall defending you, Optimus, and that was how I could make it up to her. I could find a way to Earth, to you, and protect you from what was to come – that was the penance she requested of me. I asked her what we were up against, and she said that Jazz's visions were difficult to understand. Something about a star in turmoil and the Dead Universe. The one thing she was sure of was that the Decepticons would attack Earth soon and that if I wasn't there, the Primes and all our hopes would fall./ Meeting his gaze, Magnus added, /Optimus, this was before I knew Jazz was extinguished, and she said he was with her in the Well. I never could have even imagined Samuel at that point, and she said Primes./

To Ultra Magnus' mingled relief and disbelief, Optimus was taking this news seriously. /How long ago was this?/

/It started about seven years ago – shortly after she died. We intercepted hints about Decepticons mobilizing a little over two years later. Normally I would have tried to thwart them from the outset, but it would have been a suicide mission and the chances of success were too low. Then a year and a half later, Lancer determined that Earth was their target. I decided that, if I was going to be extinguished either way, I may as well do as Elita requested and be able to stand before her with a clear conscience again in the Well. Even if it was all just a glitch. So we focused our efforts on fixing up and powering a ship that could get us to Earth and then played dead next to a space-bridge for over a year before some Seekers unwittingly opened it for us on their way here./

/She did not say when you would fall?/

/No, just that it would be in the light of that star,/ Magnus nodded toward the sunlight bathing the tarmac, /and that it would be in your defense./

Optimus' mood was somber but he laid a reassuring hand on Magnus' shoulder. /Countless Autobots have fallen fighting for me, and I've known for many long millenia that you would be willing to die in my defense as well. It might be tomorrow or it might be ten-thousand years from now./

Ultra Magnus took courage from his Prime's words and nodded. /I know. I want to make the most of whatever time I have left, however long or short that may be./

Magnus knew his brother felt his shift in mood, the cautiously-hopeful determination settling over his spark and warming it.

/You only got a glimpse yesterday of our training grounds,/ Optimus pointed out. /Would you like to try them out? Sparring on sand is an… interesting experience./

Magnus' affection swelled across the bond to hold fast to his brother.

Optimus turned to Agent Graham, the nearest ranking human. "Magnus and I require first use of the training grounds this morning." With a sidelong glance at his brother, he added, "I believe there's a human saying about 'going at it hammer and tongs.'"