Fusion had never felt anything like the thrill of racing, and was still jittery from the adrenaline as he paced around the training room. He grinned.

"That... that was amazing!"

Smokescreen scowled at his young trainee, his bright blue eyes flashing in annoyance.

"I still say you cheated." He muttered.

Fusion smirked.

"What's the matter brother? Upset about loosing?" He taunted.

Smokescreen scoffed, he waived a hand at the young warrior.

"Oh no, it's not the loosing that's got me fuming, it's the CHEATING LEADFOOT I GOT FOR A APRENTICE!!" He yelled.

Fusion stopped, crossing his arms.

"'Cheating Leadfoot'? As I recall, I simply ramped off of a rock and over your car to gain the lead. You on the other hand, bashed into me on multiple occasions, used a strange booster I don't even know what it was, and  tried to make me spin out... twice."

Smokescreen rocked on his feet, dodging Fusion's eyes.

"Mission competitive driving. I was... Testing your abilities."

Fusion raised an eyebrow and scoffed, but dropped the conversation. He continued his pacing, automatically tracing the path he had already made.

"So... What now?" He asked.

Smokescreen opened his mouth to reply, right as the door to the training room hissed open. He smiled as he saw Optimus, Crosshairs, and another Cybertronian step in.

"You'll see." He replied, motioning to the door.

Fusion turned around and stopped pacing. He dipped his head in respect to Optimus as he came over to where the young warrior was standing.

"O-Optimus... I... Did I do something wrong?" He stammered.

The veteran gave Fusion a kind smile, laying a hand on his spiked shoulder.

"No my friend, you have not done anything... that I have knowledge of." He gave the young warrior a playful stare. "I have come to introduce you to your other instructors."

The Prime motioned to the green-clad sniper.

"This is Autobot sniper Crosshairs."

Crosshairs crossed his arms. He flicked a strand of wild greenish-black hair out of his face and smiled at Fusion.

"Gi'day mate. No offence to his Primelyness, but I'm more of a lone-op worker. Although, to be honest, I do take most of my orders from him."

Fusion chuckled. Optimus nodded at Crosshairs, then motioned to the other Cybertronian. He wore strange armor, unlike any Fusion knew from his datastore, with an odd horned helmet tucked under his left arm. His strange armor was colored periwinkle, silver, and black, with gold trimming all along the armor. He had almond-shaped, dark blue eyes; along with black hair, done up in a strange knot-bun with a periwinkle stripe down the center. He remained rigid, keeping a serious expression as Optimus continued.

"This is my specialized combat expert, Drift."

Drift dipped his head to Fusion. Fusion looked over at Smokescreen uneasily, his purple eyes wary. The warrior gave him a encouraging nod. Fusion turned back to Drift, returning the gesture.

"I would be honored. Although, I must again state my ignorance of my place among you."

Optimus nodded.

"All in time, my friend. For now you must focus on your current tasks. Drift will be training you on specialized combat, while Crosshairs will aid you with stealth and marksmanship."

Fusion's spark sank, he shot a look over to his adoptive brother.

"What about smokescreen?" He asked quietly.

Optimus smiled to himself.

They have already grown close.

"He will be in charge of the rest of your training, as well as overseeing the whole of it. If he so deems it necessary, you will acquire new trainers as your skills increase."

Fusion nodded, eyeing the two new beings as they walked to the other side of the arena. Smokescreen grabbed Fusion's arm and pulled him over to the corner of the training room. He turned the younger warrior to face him.

"What's wrong?" He asked, studying his charge. 

Fusion's expression went blank, his eyes void of emotion.

"Nothing... I'm fine." He replied, his tome flat.

Smokescreen frowned, he crossed his arms.

"Fusion..." He scolded.

The young Autobot sighed, his stony wall seeming to crumble as his spiked shoulders sank.

"I... I don't..." He sighed. "I'm afraid to be alone."

Smokescreen gave his adoptive brother a sad smile.

"Don't be afraid. I'm not leaving... I'll always be nearby if you need me. You're stronger than you think Fusion, your mother knew that.... and so do I."

Fusion took a deep breath, he looked over at his trainers. Smokescreen patted his shoulder.

"You ok?" he asked.

Fusion nodded, a faint smile appearing on his face.

"Yeah... I'm ready."

Smokescreen gave his charge a parting pat on the shoulder, giving him another encouraging smile. Fusion smiled back, then turned and headed towards his new mentors.

____________________________________________________________________________

Dragon Bytes:

Sorry about the short chapter, I had very little time... and NO scene in mind. So here's a little heart warmer for ya! Remember to comment and leave your thoughts! NO COMMENT FROM YOU... NO STORY FROM ME.

 Thanks a million for reading!

DRAGONBLAYDE