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"No..."

Accompanied by Ironhide's roar, a group of distraught Autobots all gave up on continuing to pursue and harass the Autobots following Sentinel Prime.

They gathered around Optimus Prime, looking at their former leader lying on the ground. He had been hit three times by the Cosmic Rust gun, and large portions of his body had already begun to rust away. With death clearly imminent, their faces were filled with grief.

"My brothers..."

Optimus Prime wanted to say something, but his body was seized by a violent fit of coughing.

With each cough came flakes of rusted metal rapidly falling from his frame.

"It seems my time is running out..."

Burning the energy within his AllSpark, Optimus Prime struggled to slow the spread of the rust.

Looking at the Autobots gathered around him, every one of them wearing sorrowful expressions, he felt both shame and regret.

In his battle with his teacher, Sentinel Prime, he had not actually fought with all his strength.

Optimus Prime had originally wanted to see whether he could pull his teacher back from the wrong path.

But the outcome was far beyond anything he had expected. His teacher had gone all out from the very beginning, and after gaining the upper hand, had immediately tried to kill him without mercy.

While displaying the true nature of a ruthless tyrant, he had also made Optimus Prime pay a terrible price.

A flash of sorrow passed through his eyes as a section of intact armor on Optimus Prime's chest slowly opened.

Then, a diamond-shaped crystal of strange design and unknown material flew out from within his body and hovered in the air before him.

"Ironhide..."

He said with difficulty, "I leave the Matrix of Leadership in your care... After I... am gone, lead the Autobots..."

An Autobot