In the midst of chaos and his own bewilderment, Rodimus Prime had a peculiar intense focus on what needed to be done—an effect of the Matrix of Leadership. With Unicron blowing up around them, he ordered everybody to transform and roll out.

His relief at seeing not one but two humans was all Hot Rod though. He called them into his cab, barely waiting for them to be seated before hurtling off in a direction that came by instinct. "Spike, I can't say how good it is to see you!"

"I feel like you've got the better story here, but I've had one hell of a ride, all right." Spike Witwicky kept a steady eye on his son as he talked. "Daniel gets the credit… Saved my life back there!"

Rodimus picked up on Spike's cue: the boy was looking glassy-eyed as he stared through the window at their race against Unicron's disintegration. "Good job, Daniel—now hold on!" Whatever instinct had been navigating him had worked… Unicron's optic lay ahead of them. A quick scan behind told him everybody was still following; he just hoped this larger vehicle mode had not sacrificed any of his acceleration.

He need not have doubted the Matrix: in seconds he was going faster than he had ever driven as Hot Rod, smashing straight through the optic cover and into the refuge of space. He wished the Matrix could run to some sort of shuttle mode, but his momentum was more than enough for escape.

"We're safe now, Daniel," Spike was still encouraging his son. "We're out!"

"Yeah," the boy said shakily, slowly coming back to himself. "What… what happened to you, Hot Rod?"

"Not really sure, Danno, but it seems to have worked." As their distance increased, Rodimus could see the chain reaction across Unicron who was in his death throes. The other Autobots were also evacuating the area, falling out of control through space but out of the danger zone. The explosions climaxed in a blaze of light, making both humans cry out and shield their eyes.

"It was the Matrix, wasn't it?" asked Daniel once he could see again. "Did you open it?"

"Yeah… Looks like we just made it through our darkest hour."

Shock crossed Spike's face, but he masked it quickly. "Good, because I could do with a dawn."

Rodimus was also ready for things to lighten up, and when Daniel asked again what happened, he rashly played up to him, wanting to pitch the kid some inspiration.

"Galvatron had the Matrix, remember? I ran into him inside Unicron, managed to get my hands on it and boom! All this light comes out, and Optimus Prime's voice says: 'Arise, Rodimus Prime!' Then—"

"Wait, you're a Prime now? Does that mean you're Autobot leader?"

"Whoa there. I wouldn't go that far…" Crisis management abated; context and ramifications suddenly flooded his processor. Rodimus dropped the topic like a hot poker and sought some other urgency. "Spike, when did you last eat?"

"Don't ask," the human groaned. "Fortunately, my suit's water bladder was full, but that's just one gallon of H₂0 over the past, what, forty hours?"

"Good news: we packed human food rations, and some of them were still salvageable from the crash on Junk, so you'll be able to get some sort of meal soon. Some spare clothing too, but it's seen better days."

"Don't suppose you've got any diaper cream stashed? These suits were not designed to be worn this long. It's pretty gross in here."

Daniel had started shaking again, but at Spike's exaggerated tone, he managed a laugh, leaning away from his father. "Gotta say, Dad, you smell really bad."

"We're gonna have to get Hot R—I mean Rodimus Prime—some industrial strength air freshener, huh? He gets this snazzy new interior and I stink it up first thing."

The boy gave something between a chuckle and a sob. "Sorry… I don't know why I'm crying. I'm happy, I just…"

Spike rubbed Daniel's exo-suited shoulders. "We've been running on adrenalin and it's wearing down. I'm feeling pretty shaky myself."

"You're not the only one," Rodimus murmured. The Junkion ship had held together through the battle and now it was steadily scooping up the Autobots adrift in space. Rodimus did not fancy falling the whole way to Cybertron, but nor was he ready to face his fellow Autobots and a fresh round of questions. What did happen now? He fervently regretted mentioning the name 'Rodimus Prime' to the humans; that had already burnt one bridge to being Hot Rod.

He counted the trail of Autobots behind him as they were drawn into the ship: Kup, Arcee, Springer, Jazz, Cliffjumper and Bumblebee. It was almost twice the number they had started with, which was a much-needed reversal of recent trends. He focused on that, letting exultation break through his apprehension as it was his turn to be pulled inside by deft Junkion hands.

"Hot Rod, exciting and new; Come aboard, we're expecting you!"

Rodimus felt a renewed appreciation for the Junkion leader as Wreck Gar's impromptu serenade distracted some of the stares. At least he did not have to meet any optics yet, staying in vehicle mode while Spike and Daniel climbed out. "Whoever knows where the supplies got to, Spike's gonna need food, drink and disinfecting."

"Preferably privacy too" Spike put in. "Daniel, you need something to eat as well, and make sure you keep warm."

Bumblebee, Arcee and Springer escorted the humans away, though not without backward glances as Rodimus transformed. Immensely self-conscious, he turned to the Junkions first. "Thanks, Wreck Gar… all of you. That was a huge fight to sign up to, but we wouldn't have got through it without your help."

Wreck Gar saluted, and the Junkions struck absurdly serious poses behind him. "Wherever there is injustice, you will find us. Wherever there is suffering, we'll be there. Wherever liberty is threatened, Autobots will find Their Junkion Amigos!"

"And Amigos forever we'll be!" Jazz was unable to resist joining in and was rewarded by a delighted bear hug from Wreck Gar which spun the former Moonbase Commander around, laughing. "I don't know where you guys come into this, but you're all right!"

It broke the ice, and Rodimus managed to glance round at the others, carefully keeping his optics moving. Smiles were breaking out, small reunions rippling through the bridge, along with dazed celebrations of survival. "This is the best view I've had all day."

Kup clapped him on the shoulder and pointed outside. "Second best isn't too shabby either." The curve of Cybertron lay ahead of them; wounded but still there. "Are we landing?"

Rodimus shrugged, awkwardly looking between Ultra Magnus, Jazz and Wreck Gar as he replied. "Makes sense to me."

Ultra Magnus simply nodded, but Jazz continued helping him out. "Cliffjumper and I haven't been coolin' our tyres out here for six months to turn back now!"

"Price is right, come on down!" Wreck Gar directed his crew, and Rodimus seized the excuse to step to one side, out of the way.

Kup followed him, but his expression was supportive rather than worried. "Care to tell us what happened in there?"

The question wasn't loud, but those closest looked curiously round for Rodimus' reply, so he summed it up in one word. "Matrix."

"You've got it safe?" Ultra Magnus asked, the first words he had spoken since Rodimus had come aboard.

"Yes." He badly wanted to add 'sir' to that, but this felt nothing like the senior officer and rookie exchanges they had had before. For one thing, he was on an eye level with the towering Commander now. For another, Magnus looked… out of it. Detached.

"That's good."

Yeah, Rodimus thought. Nobody knew how to handle this.

At least Jazz always rose to the occasion in awkward situations; he filled the silence by giving the Junkion pilots a bearing for Iacon. Unicron had focused his attack on the lone populated city, the Decepticon base at Polyhex, leaving the old Autobot headquarters relatively unscathed. On their approach, Jazz started calling out landmarks, and soon there was a flurry of "Do you remembers?" going around the older Autobots.

By the time they landed, the poignancy was so tangible that when these veterans glanced to Rodimus, ready to let him disembark first, it was easy to wave them ahead. "Go on, you've waited long enough."

He ended up being one of the last to leave the shuttle, letting him relish the moment without anybody else watching. He had never actually set foot on Cybertron before, and the thrill of walking through Iacon's ruins was undeniable. Rather than being a ghost city, Iacon seemed to welcome him in, its streets a map of dreams and ideals. Too late, he regretted not disembarking with Springer and Arcee, to share this experience with friends, but he settled for grinning to himself.

Their informal walking tour culminated at Iacon's Great Dome, which had been Autobot command quarters for much of the war. Realising an opportunity, Rodimus caught up to Ultra Magnus. "Can we have a word inside?"

That drew everybody's attention, and the entire party watched them go up the steps and disappear into the building.

Springer broke the hush. "That's going to be awkward."

"He's going to return the Matrix to Ultra Magnus." Arcee's voice wavered between relief and worry.

"Yeah… and Magnus is going to refuse."

As apprehensive as Ultra Magnus was, he took strength in passing through this doorway again. Over millions of years of war, this had been a stronghold for the Autobots, a place where plans and hopes were made. The dome was a shell now, rooms and equipment long stripped away in the scavenging of famine, but this was still a homecoming and he felt privileged to have it.

Rodimus looked like he had expected a little more structure inside. Visibly gathering himself, he turned to face Ultra Magnus. "Look, the Matrix is still yours." His hands were already going to his chestplate. "What happened back there… it had to happen, but Prime named you Autobot Leader; this doesn't change that."

"Yes, it does!" Magnus said, too hastily. He almost recoiled from the younger Autobot but caught himself. "Hot Rod…" Was that still his name? "You opened the Matrix. You're Prime now."

"How is fulfilling a prophecy a qualification? Less than a week ago, you suspended me from active duty for—"

"And since then I have proven that I am not suitable to lead! I had the Matrix and I failed. I lost Autobot city and led my team of Autobots to certain death on Junk before you came through to rescue us. You stepped up. You made an alliance with the Junkions. You marshalled the army to battle Unicron!" The younger Autobot stepped back from the thundering self-recrimination, and Ultra Magnus pressed his advantage mercilessly. "Look at you! The Matrix accepted you in a way it never did with me. Maybe in a way it's never done with anyone!"

"I don't want it." The protest was somewhere between petulance and panic.

"Neither do I. Neither did Optimus. 'Wanting' doesn't come into it." Unconsciously, Ultra Magnus had reverted to the commander lecturing the subordinate, and a flash of Hot Rod's defiance returned to Rodimus.

"Come on, Magnus, I have no experience! Why would Autobots who've served for millions of years follow me? If you don't want it, fine! How about Jazz, instead?"

Ultra Magnus had fiercely regretted that Jazz had been so many light years away from Optimus Prime's deathbed, but they had had enough what-might-have-been's. He composed himself, lowering his voice but speaking no less earnestly. "At the start of this war, we had several Autobots who were veterans with the experience and will to lead. Optimus Prime was a kid who had never been in combat, yet he was the one to inspire us. Part of that was his resolve for doing what's right—the kind of thing Kup has told me time and again he sees in you. It was a new era for all of us, and right then, passion meant more to us than experience. We're in another new era now. We may not even be at war anymore—I don't know if there are enough Decepticons left!" He could see the tension draining out of the younger Autobot; for perhaps the first time in their turbulent relationship, he was getting through to him.

"And, yes, part of why we followed Optimus was because he bore the Matrix. For nine million years, the prophecy has been the beacon of hope for the Autobots—especially when the Ark disappeared. Now you've fulfilled it… Now you're our hope."

The silence between them stretched out, then the new Autobot leader seemed to sag before looking back at him. "I'm gonna need your help."

This shift in attitude was so unprecedented that Ultra Magnus resorted to humour. "The Matrix has made you wiser already, I see." Rodimus was surprised into a smile, and Ultra Magnus clasped his hand. "I'm at your service."

"Thanks." Rodimus looked reluctantly at the doorway. "So… do we need to make an official announcement, or what?"

Magnus followed his gaze, belatedly realising that their shouting must have been audible outside, though hopefully not the words. "This is your moment. I'll go out first, rejoin the audience. Then you come out and make a quick speech."

"Right…" Rodimus was looking as jittery as Blurr. "Uh, got any ideas for what I should say? Right now, all I can come up with is: 'We're alive. Let's party!'"

Ultra Magnus did not mean to sigh wearily, but he could not hold it back. "Talk about the war ending, and focus on the future. You can keep it short but be positive."

Rodimus nodded rhythmically, which worried Ultra Magnus, but inspiring people was one of the leadership skills he had failed at. Rodimus was going to have recover his bravado on his own. "Take a moment," he advised him, then on an impulse he shook his hand. "Congratulations, sir." Without further ado, he left the building.

Conversations were hushed and curious faces were raised the moment he was outside; Ultra Magnus was content to disappoint them, strolling impassively down the stairs. When Springer caught his eye with a look that meant he had a deadpan remark ready to go, Ultra Magnus purposefully went the other way, falling in behind Jazz and Bumblebee before he too turned an expectant face to the doorway.

It was a minute before the figure emerged, but Rodimus Prime had regained his poise. And if perhaps he had taken Magnus' "keep it short" advice a little too literally, he got the ending right:

"Let this mark the end of the Cybertronian Wars, as we march forward to a new age of peace and happiness. Till all are one!"

All around Ultra Magnus, Autobots began to repeat the mantra, turning to each other and clasping hands as their voices lifted to a peaceful sky.

Till all are one!

Author's note:

This is the first Transformers fanfic I've written for thirteen years… I'd been randomly bitten by the writing bug, but being so out of practice, I didn't want to attempt anything on the kind of scale I'd done previously. As it happened, my previous fanfic had been a vignette set between Transformers: the Movie and Five Faces of Darkness, and at that time I speculated that perhaps I should write more short pieces in this timeframe. Better late than never.

This is set in the final few minutes of Transformers: the Movie because said movie completely glosses over that initial reaction to Rodimus Prime and how his newfound existence upends the whole Autobot political structure. As somebody with a lot of social anxiety, the potential awkwardness of the moment was a source of morbid fascination for me, so I decided to explore it here. First from Rodimus' perspective and then from Ultra Magnus'…

I don't specify it within the fic, but Magnus is too hard on himself here. I just didn't think Rodimus would have the empathy in this instance to remind Magnus of his strengths… That's a scene I really need to remember to do further down the road.

Some continuity notes: based on the end of the Movie, that doesn't really look like Iacon's Great Dome (which I intended to be the building which launched the Ark in More Than Meets the Eye), but then again, we don't see anything else that resembles the original dome and on a personal level, I wanted to bring them full circle, so a bit of artistic licence.

I also took licence with Spike's exo-suit if less artistically, since the Movie shows him to still be wearing it at the end. However, as I was trying to figure out likely timeframes for this story, it struck me how long he must have been in that thing and what that must have meant, and well… I couldn't get past it. Poor guy. My apologies to all of you who would have preferred me to gloss over that bit. It stayed in because it was a useful way of defusing Daniel's shock without getting into saccharine territory.

This being Hot Rod / Rodimus Prime's first time on Cybertron is my own continuity. When writing my Transitions series a decade earlier, I had both Springer and Hot Rod come from the Orgenon Cluster (the place they cheer for in the Galactic Olympics in FFoD). I'm currently planning to keep these stories consistent with my old stories' continuity, though there shouldn't be anything that will require you to have read another story to understand… A working knowledge of the cartoon, however, will definitely help.

Writing post-movie stuff means I need to get to grips with Junkion dialogue. There was a lot of googling involved. I know nothing about Love Boat, but I took a chance on looking up its theme and it worked perfectly for Rodimus' arrival on the shuttle. The Three Amigos should be self-explanatory, and the other reference was a lazy Price is Right.

And there we have it. Thirteen year hiatus over!