((Dun dun dun! To quote Megsy himself, "I have returned!" I was off for a bit because my computer (and all of my future FF's) were fried in a thunderstorm by a scrapping strike of lightning. So I've deleted all my major stories on the site to make room for some new ones. This is AU, obviously, and takes a month after "Toxicity". It's going to change Optimus Prime's personality as we know it completely, and introduce some new bad guys and new plotlines. It's mostly humor because of Prime's new personality but will have a wide array of other genres so don't hold me to the humor thing. I'm taking plot suggestions but just to let you know, I've already got 6 ideas in the making that I will incorporate in. My newest word doesn't have spellchecker, so there will be errors. Review me, flame me, I don't really care.

DISCLAIMER:I, ThreeInOne, do not own Transformers Prime or any of the aforementioned characters. I do, however, own a few OCs that will be scattered here and there and sprinkled into my story as best I can. Don't worry, this won't turn into a major OC story. For the record, Optimus and Arcee are mostly the main characters, so they have most of the action and the lines. Sorry.))

Prologue-

Optimus Prime had no idea what to do.

He'd tried to be strong, for Primus's sake, tried to maintain his composure. He was never angry, never happy. Never anything. Just calm, cool, and collect, 24/7. It was easier to shroud his emotions that find other ways to deal with them. Having the collective wisdom of the Primes meant that he knew the consequences of the past mistakes his ancestors had made. He strived to do better, to lead his team the best he could. Sometimes he honestly believed they saw him as practically a god, without fault, unable to make mistakes. Unable to show emotion, to feel, for the sake of bettering the team.

They couldn't have been any more wrong. And now, here he was, in the Decepticon ship. Hanging from chains in the brig, like a prisoner. Which he was.

The door slid open and Optimus gazed up, his blue optics narrowing when he met his ex-friend's red ones. Megatron seemed in no rush to hurry this along, now that he had all the cards.

"Optimus Prime," his voice was a menacing growl. "It's been too long. Last I saw of you, you had already tricked my second-in-command out of the Apex Armor. It's thanks to you that the armor is now in Starscream's bumbling servos. But-" he smiled a toothy grin. "-it's also thanks to you that the Autobots are in my custody. It was quite the surprise, you turning on them, wasn't it?"

"You'll never get away with this, Megatron," Optimus's voice was rusty, hoarse.

"Spare me the overdramatics," it never occured to the Decepticon leader that his words were in fact ironic. "Now all I have to decide is how to dispose of you. There are so many ways." He drew out his blade, grinning still. "It would be better to end you once and for all, right here, right now. And I know just how to do it." He raised the blade. "Goodbye, Optimus Prime." Optimus barely had time to react before Megatron plunged his sword into Optimus's chest.

Optimus knew that his ex-friend was going for his spark, as the agonizing pain indicated. He could only hope the others would be alright, that they'd find a way out. Then he realized Megatron was slicing open his chest cavity. A different thought crossed his processor.

The Matrix of Leadership.

"No!" he managed to yell before Megatron ripped the device out of his chest. The Decepticon leader had time to smirk, to taunt him, before he blasted the device into scrap with his cannon.

"It won't be long now," Megatron hooked one finger under Optimus's chin, forcing his wide optics to meet Megatron's own narrowed ones. "I'm sure Orion Pax can be of more use to our cause now that Optimus Prime can never return."

The Decepticon leader throatily laughed before stalking out. Optimus hung there, feeling the gaps in his memory surface already.

He shook his head, forcing himself to cling to them like a Scraplet to a Cybertronian. But they were slipping through his mental grasp too quickly.

Optimus Prime, he repeated in his head. Then, confusion emerged. Who-Who is Optimus Prime?

And who am I?

((Before you all flame me with complaints that 'the Matrix of Leadership can't be destroyed, blah blah blah', keep in mind that this is a plot device specifically for this story. And, for all you know, the Matrix might not really be destroyed. So don't come crying to me about it.))