It's not hard to guess what he's thinking, with that look. Arcee just looks back at him, her expression mirroring his, feeling the weight of his dawning resignation on her spark.
"I meant it when I said I wouldn't force you to take back the Matrix if you didn't want to," she says, her voice quiet, still flanging from the damage to her systems. "If it's not something you're ready to do... When Optimus Prime left me in charge, he did so knowing full well that he might not be coming back. This might not have been how he imagined it, but...I've always been prepared for the possibility that my command might not be so temporary."
It's hard not to feel like they need Optimus Prime to win this war, that they can accept no substitutes -- but even so, even as urgently as Arcee wants this war to end, there's just something fundamentally wrong about forcing a reluctant Orion to take the Matrix, or worse, making him feel like he has no choice. If there's one thing Arcee's learned from Optimus, it's that there's always a choice.
The welds on her abdomen are still painfully fresh, but Arcee struggles to prop herself up into a halfway sitting position all the same, gritting her teeth. She's probably going to have to patch up the welds later one way or another anyway, she's sure. Her face is as quiet and somber as his but it's intent, too.
"You don't have to fight this war as Optimus Prime. You have a choice, Orion. I'm just glad...you're with us at all. Matrix or no, the Autobots are lucky to have you."
no subject
"I meant it when I said I wouldn't force you to take back the Matrix if you didn't want to," she says, her voice quiet, still flanging from the damage to her systems. "If it's not something you're ready to do... When Optimus Prime left me in charge, he did so knowing full well that he might not be coming back. This might not have been how he imagined it, but...I've always been prepared for the possibility that my command might not be so temporary."
It's hard not to feel like they need Optimus Prime to win this war, that they can accept no substitutes -- but even so, even as urgently as Arcee wants this war to end, there's just something fundamentally wrong about forcing a reluctant Orion to take the Matrix, or worse, making him feel like he has no choice. If there's one thing Arcee's learned from Optimus, it's that there's always a choice.
The welds on her abdomen are still painfully fresh, but Arcee struggles to prop herself up into a halfway sitting position all the same, gritting her teeth. She's probably going to have to patch up the welds later one way or another anyway, she's sure. Her face is as quiet and somber as his but it's intent, too.
"You don't have to fight this war as Optimus Prime. You have a choice, Orion. I'm just glad...you're with us at all. Matrix or no, the Autobots are lucky to have you."