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Rodimus hadn’t expected to wake up.
Megatron stepping out of the shadows with his terrifying new frame and shooting him point blank in the spark should’ve pretty definitively been his end, yet here he was.
Where was he?
Sitting up made him aware of a new weight on, no, in his chassis. The Matrix. It had to be the Matrix. Oh luck must truly favor the bold like he had always hoped. His frame glimmered with the starlight, joints feeling smoother than they had in his entire functioning, his more boxy dimensions had curved into a far sleeker form. Rodimus took a deep vent in, focus on getting back to Earth now, and freak out later. Today was still mostly a success.
Finally taking his optics off of his own frame and turning them to his surroundings, Rodimus found he was in an asteroid field. Ok, odds were this was the same field he had just driven through to get to the Matrix, so the Con’s hadn’t bothered to come recollect the Matrix.
Interesting.
But unfortunately considering this meant that they had likely moved on to an uncompromised location and he was completely stranded in the middle of an asteroid field.
Because who would stick around a derelict asteroid field when they could-
A deafening crash from behind Rodimus had him spinning around and trying to get into a defensive stance. Trying is the key word there, because in his brand new frame he just ended up falling over his new clunky pedes.
Well he would’ve fallen over if Megatron hadn’t caught him.
Slag.
“Didn’t I just kill you little Autobot?”
“Something like that!” Flame shot out in a burst hot enough for him to slip out of the warlord’s grip and make a dash for anywhere other than here. Starscream tackling him to the ground thwarted him again. Today was now leaning towards being a solid 40/60 of good and bad news.
“GIVE ME BACK MY MATRIX!!” Starcream’s claws scratched wildly at his chassis, as if trying to rip it clean off of him. So more like 30/70 now. Though Screamer did look a lot rougher than Rodimus had left him, so maybe he could kick him in the cockpit and-
The sound of a railgun charging up stopped both him and Starscream cold.
“So another Autobot has been found worthy? Another ‘True Prime’ to guide us? Starscream, move so I may get a better look.” The coward SIC trembled as he pulled back. “You are dismissed, get Shockwave to look at your wounds if you are desperate.” He needed no further encouragement and that left the two of them alone. Definitely 20/80, Rodimus pushed himself into a sitting position with flames pointed at Megatron. “I should thank you for getting that cursed bauble off of my second, it was giving him far too many delusions of greatness he could never hope to achieve.” A servo grabbed his chin in a flash, knocking his flamethrowers off target and leaving him entirely at Megatron’s mercy, of which he knew there was none.
Was he really going to be the first mech to die twice in one day?
“Thankful enough to leave me be? I mean, that way we’re even.” Prowl was right, his mouth was definitely going to get himself killed. The Con just smirked at him and lifted him up higher, effectively cutting off his airflow. “Hrrk-”
“Beg for your life.”
“Y-yeah that’s not happening. I’d rather just do a repeat of five kliks ago.” Megatron only tilted his face slightly, expression turning considering as his optics raked their way over his frame.
“You’re quite pretty for an Autobot.”
“Oh HELL no. Just shoot me again.” 10/90 split now, because what the actual frag was happening??
“They abandoned you didn’t they?” Rodimus couldn’t stop the hitch in his vents. Megatron’s optics went warm and pitying. “No other reason for you to come out here alone with no back up, you had to prove yourself. Well, you have proven yourself to me, so just stay. A Decepticon has never truly wielded the Matrix despite Starscream’s claims. Wouldn’t it be nice to see Optimus’s face as his successor chooses me over him?”
“I think you’re projecting a bit.” The servo around his throat tightened again.
“I’m being quite generous, don’t you think? A spot at my side, a chance to be more than those fools ever thought you could be, you could prove them all wrong, just like you wanted to in the first place!”
Rodimus would be a liar if he said he wasn’t tempted for even a moment.
“My answer is the same as it was right after Nyon, I will never be a Decepticon.”
“I thought I had recognized you.” The warmth quickly left his optics again. “No one has ever rejected me like this twice.”
“Guess I’m just made to be an exception to your rules.” 100 percent a bad day, the Matrix wasn’t worth this.
“We’ll talk more once you’ve settled in.”
“Wait wha-?”
Darkness swarmed his vision.
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Rodimus woke up again.
This time it was in a decent bedroom, not super elaborate, just about as nice as some of his previous quarters.
For a moment, he wanted to believe that he was just at one of those many bases, but the locked door definitely confirmed that this wasn’t anywhere he wanted to be.
Pacing the room looking for hidden cameras proved pointless.
There were no obvious weak points in the walls to try to punch through.
Setting the room on fire would probably work on getting him out of the room, but running into Megatron again, Primus what had Megatron been saying to him?!
Rodimus stopped pacing when he realized he was blushing. Nope, no way! He could not let some flattery get under his plating. Especially since that mech just tried to kill him!!
He would have to get out of here as soon as possible to keep from getting caught in whatever scheme the warlord was planning.
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Megatron knew killing the new Prime would be the smart thing to do.
It would set a perfect stage for him, with a Matrix bearer dead at his servos right before his return to the battlefield.
Yet seeing Rodimus burning so brightly in front of him left him feeling like a planet caught orbiting the sun.
Harming him in any way seemed absurd.
Starscream was growing stale afterall.
So he would wait, break down the stubborn mech and have a new right hand.
He couldn’t wait to see the look on Optimus’ face.