I've Done It Again

Before the sun set, Optimus found himself walking up to the flight deck situated on the top of the compound. Already, a multitude of mecha were piled up and only a small few of them were leaving or returning. The crowd turned to look at him and Optimus remembered the feeling he'd had during his time in the canteen.

It made his back plating heat up and his optics to dive down to his pedes. The instinctual reaction was almost as embarrassing as the optics on him. Optimus pulled himself together and continued forward with a more neutral expression.

"False Prime," someone muttered.

Optimus ignored it and stood to the side. He reminded himself why he was here. 10% for Strika, 10% for Cyclonus and that other mech, and 80% because Shockwave told him to.

Luckily for Optimus, there was another mech at the center of attention. Shrill screeching caught Optimus's attention, alerting him to the presence of Starscream. Only a few paces away, Lugnut was threatening someone with his explosive fists and Starscream was loudly reminding him that it would destroy the building. Lugnut didn't seem very interested in that kind of logic.

The mech who was threatened went racing past, running back into the building at the speed of sound, and nearly ran into the door on the way out.

"Transform and rise up!" someone shouted.

The group simultaneously transformed, nearly shocking Optimus into a second death. It was so seamless, so smooth, so uniform, so cooperative, so— He realized he was still standing there and quickly transformed.

The group mostly consisted of fliers who left the rest of them in the dust. Thankfully, there was also a handful of grounders who drove off the flight deck and up the ramp. Optimus followed behind them.

So they were leaving the base?

It was a long drive, so Optimus regretted not finishing his refuel earlier in the day or getting another one before coming. They drove from an unnamed cliff face to a city of rubble that Optimus recognized as Jaibreak. The city hadn't been big or important during the war, but it was close to Praxus.

The rubble didn't get along well with Optimus's tires, but it looked as if they were following a hastily prepared path. At the end of the drive was a building that was mostly intact and brightly lit up.

The fliers were already getting down to business, laughing and talking. There was a pack of grenades sitting next to a blown out window and Optimus could only imagine what they were for.

He reached the building and transformed.

He immediately regretted coming here. The doors were thrown open and out came the same mech from earlier with a pole in his servos. He was grinning like crazy, something that seemed barbaric to Optimus, considering the helm they'd impaled with the top of the pole.

"Behold, Strika! The great General of Destruction!" Lugnut cheered.

"She had a twisted sense of humor," someone snorted.

Optimus gaped. Did Strika request that they do this?

"Heh, the Autobot might purge," a femme close to Optimus snickered. "Guess Primes aren't meant to withstand parties."

After that, the festivities went on and Optimus was left alone. A few mechs got together and blew up the building in Strika's honor, using the grenades well thought out targets to bring it down. Despite the nature of the celebration, everyone seemed chipper, even the permanently offline helm that Lugnut was now parading around.

Barrels of high grade were pulled out and poured into cups. The mecha recounted tales of Strika's rather violent exploits, most of which predated the exodus. It seemed only a handful of bots were with her after they left Cybertron, one of which was Cyclonus, a triple-changer, the unnamed mech, and Lugnut. Lugnut and the triple changer got separated at some point, but they didn't wallow in misery, blaming themselves for her termination.