So so sorry it took so long to update this. School, that horrible distraction... thingie. Anyway, here it is now, the last segment of Hypocrite. Enjoy!

Hmm. This is the first time I've actually finished a multichapter fic on I'm pleased. :D

Hypocrite

Chapter 4

"Rewound, do you have any idea what happened?" Inferno asked. He glanced at Rewound, who had once again claimed Inferno's chair upon entering his office; Rewound was leaning back, arms crossed, swiveling the chair back and forth, glaring suspiciously at Inferno. "Apparently not," he said tiredly, sitting in the chair in front of his desk.

"How'm I supposed to know anything?" Rewound said angrily. "First ya threatened to get me arrested, then ya said there was nothin' there, and then ya started talking about all sorts of crazy stuff. And who's Wheeljack?"

"Wheeljack isn't important," Inferno said. "He was another Decepticon, a lieutenant in the Minicon War and First Unicron War."

"And someone thought they saw him in the junkyard too?" Rewound asked.

"Someone did see him. I did recon and found him myself. When I reported back to High Command, I said there was nothing there." Inferno sat back and looked at Rewound as if that should explain everything.

"Okay…" Rewound said slowly. "What, ya didn't recognize him or something?"

Inferno didn't say anything for a moment. For some reason, Rewound had a feeling that he was slowly counting to ten. "Rewound, I know you saw more Transformers than Snowcat and Demolisher there. What did you think of them?"

Rewound shrugged. "I dunno. They seemed okay?" From the look on Inferno's face, that was the wrong answer. He might get out of here quicker if he gave an honest answer.

"They're gettin' a lot of slag for no reason," Rewound said. "They're getting rusty and have to use light bulbs to see 'cause the Autobots won't let them in Iacon. The Autobots are s'posed to be protecting the innocent guys from trouble, but they're the slaggers that made them go out there. If that's what Autobots do, then I'm quitting." Perhaps that was a little too honest, Rewound thought.

"You do realize that answers like that will get you arrested, don't you?" Inferno said.

Definitely too honest.

"But you did see what I wanted you to see," Inferno said. "The Autobots are subjecting innocent Transformers to all sorts of things they never deserved, simply because they became paranoid about the Decepticons at the exact moment the Decepticons became harmless."

"But the Decepticons are psycho killers, aren't they?" Rewound asked.

"They were, under Megatron's rule in the Resurrection War. Before then, for the most part they were just like the Autobots. And then Megatron came, rallied a few of his former troops with a few promises of revenge against the Autobots, and proceeded to wreak havoc on Cybertron and the rest of the universe in the name of the Decepticons." Inferno's optics narrowed slightly, and his mouth curved in a small frown. It wasn't much, but it was the most visible emotion Rewound had ever seen on Inferno.

"When he died, the Decepticons left on Cybertron were sick of war and everything associated with it. But the Autobots went into a frenzy, determined to destroy all Decepticons to prevent what Megatron had done from happening ever again. And along with the Decepticons they dragged down the Terrorcons, who had worked for Megatron in the Resurrection War, and the Minicons, whose language and culture were just odd enough to scare the Autobots all over again." Inferno spread his hands in a wide shrug. "So, the Autobots are destroying everyone else, just in case they want to start a war again. After all, we have to protect peace, don't we?" he ended ironically.

Rewound stared at Inferno in shock. "That's disgusting," he spat, standing up. "How do ya live with yerself? Ya just said they don't deserve it, so why are ya helping the 'Bots? What are ya, too big a coward to say something?"

Inferno's optics flickered. "Excuse me?"

"Ya ALWAYS talk about this stuff, but ya don't do anything about it! What's wrong with ya?" Rewound demanded. He was finally asking the questions that had been writhing around in his CPU since the day he'd met Inferno, and Inferno was just staring back at him. "Ya should be goin' to every jail in Iacon and shooting open every door if ya mean it! And ya just sit here!"

"Then why aren't you shooting the doors?" Inferno asked coldly.

Rewound didn't answer. Why wasn't he? Was he just a coward, too?

"If we did that, we'd be killed, and that would be the end of any grand revolutions," Inferno said. "I'm doing what I can. Over two thousand Minicons, Terrorcons, and Decepticons live in the junkyard because I keep it from being investigated. I've saved hundreds more from being discovered in normal society. I'm one of Optimus Prime's most trusted officers, but I haven't arrested or even fought a single Decepticon since the end of the Resurrection War."

"Ya mean… ya aren't a 'Bot?"

"I am an Autobot. That's why I'm doing this. Autobots don't just stand and watch innocent Cybertronians die." He smiled, that same smile that drove Rewound insane, the one he could never understand. But now, he did. "I'm more of an Autobot than any of the ones calling for the death of the Decepticons. If you're looking for 'psycho killers,' start with them."

Inferno wasn't a hypocrite at all. In fact, among all the Autobots, Rewound realized, Inferno stuck by his words better than any of the others. He stood by his promise to protect life, peace, and all that other slag. Rewound was impressed. Of course, he'd never admit it.

"Rewound, you don't agree with what the Autobots are doing to the Decepticons, do you?" Inferno asked.

"Slag no," Rewound said.

"Then you don't have to do it. You can help the others; several of us already do." Inferno stretched one hand across the desk. "What do you think?"

Rewound regarded Inferno's hand, trying not to look excited. Become a rebel? Work against the law? Fight against regular society? Join an underground cross-faction conspiracy? He thought he could cry with joy. Instead, he said, "Do I have to go through some kinda initiation?"

"You just have to promise not to say anything that might compromise yourself or our group. Like what you said about your black market deals."

"Hey, where else am I supposed to get high-grade that cheap?" Rewound protested. "Wait. Ya meant the other black market deals…"

"That's exactly what you shouldn't say," Inferno said. "So, are you in?"

"Yeah, I'll do it" Rewound said, shaking Inferno's hand.

Inferno smiled. "In that case, welcome." He handed Rewound two datapads. "These are for you."

"What are they?" Rewound asked.

"One's a map of the junkyard. You'll need it until you figure out how to navigate it yourself. After that, destroy it," Inferno said. "The other one…"

Rewound turned it on and groaned.

"… is the report you have to write. You're not leaving until it's finished. And try not to say anything stupid."