Author's Note:This is actually a really, really old one shot, so please forgive some of the awkward writing. I wrote this probably a year and a half ago, so I was still new to the G1 universe. Forgive me if you find anything particularly OOC about Prime. As for the angel . . . yeah. You can also find hints to how I view the idea of the multicontinuity world that is all of Transformers.

EDIT: Also, in reply to an annoymous reviewer who pointed out that Cybertronians would have a different heaven and that Optimus was chosen by Primus not God: When I wrote this, I was not thinking in the terms of Primus versus God. I was thinking - for the purposes of this story alone - that God and Primus were one and the same. The Heaven that Prime is brought to is the level of Heaven specifically for Cybertronians anyway. However, Ri2 had a very good point. Even for the purposes of the story, the idea of God and Primus being synonomous is probably a bit of a stretch, and after being better exposed to the G1 canon, the ideas of Heaven that I used for the story are a bit iffy too. I'm thinking of rewriting it, but I will still keep this original version up. Thanks to Ri2 for the feedback.

Heaven

Optimus' optics snapped online.

What in the world . . . The Autobot leader was not looking up to see a dark, gunmetal grey ceiling, but instead was looking out into a field of twinkling stars. "Where . . . Where am I?"

"You, my very annoying friend, are in heaven."

Optimus shifted his head over to see a young woman standing next to him. She was beautiful by a human's standards, even though her face was twisted into a scowl. "Heaven?"

"Yeah, you know the place up in the clouds with cherubs and angels and Jesus playing hacky-sac."

Optimus was sure that if he had them, his eyebrows would have risen to his hairline. "Ah. Why am I here?"

The woman rolled her eyes. "Because you died and you were a good man . . . Mech . . . Thing." She then grinned mirthlessly. "And let's not forget that you're dead. Yeah, that's a biggie."

"Dead?" Optimus asked, puzzled. Then he remembered the battle at Autobot City . . . He remembered Hot Rod trying to help him and then Megatron shooting him. The wound had been fatal.

The woman's features softened. "Yeah, you're dead. The wound you took was nasty."

Optimus took a moment to stare at his hands in despair, and then he looked back over to the woman. "What's your name?"

The woman looked taken aback. "Serene. I'm your guide."

"Guide? Guide to where?"

Serene smiled. "Well, at least you're beginning to ask the right questions."

It was Optimus' turn to be annoyed. "The right questions?"

She nodded. "I'm your guide through death to new life. You're down but not out in your world. Soon, they will need you again, because they will always need you."

Optimus processed that for a few seconds. Something occurred to him. "What did you mean by 'my world'?"

Serene snapped her fingers. "Another right question." She gestured for him to get up and started to lead him toward a gazebo. Optimus realized that he was in a massive garden, but it wasn't a garden as a human would see it. Instead of plants, massive sculptures of metal surrounded the wide pathways. The sculptures were of seemingly random shapes and sizes, but to Optimus' Cybertronian optics they were aesthetically pleasing.

Once inside the large, open air structure, Serene whistled at Optimus. "You mind giving me a lift? Unlike lower angels my Seraph wings aren't really functional."

For the first time Optimus noticed that three pairs of opalescent wings that sprouted from Serene's back. He nodded and bent down to scoop her up in his large metal hands.

"Thanks. Now, what I'm about to show you is probably going to blow your mind, but don't freak out, okay?"

"I won't." he promised.

Serene stood on the tips of his fingers. Optimus dared not to even twitch lest the angel fall.

"Show him the worlds beyond end." she murmured.

Before Optimus' amazed optics, the arches of the gazebo stopped showing him the peaceful starry night and the garden, and started showing him different images. In each image he was looking straight at one mech in particular and he realized with a shock who he was looking at over and over.

It was him.

But it was also not him. He could see in every image a slightly different design, but through all of them a basic structure stayed the same. Broad shoulders, bulky arms and legs, window panes on his chest plates, and a red and blue coloring predominately. He stared at each different Optimus and awe filled him.

"Your world isn't the only one with Transformers in it Optimus, but yours is a hub, spreading out into the fabric of the many universes. In many worlds, you and your people are merely a Saturday morning cartoon, but in many you are the savior of the universe." Serene explained quietly.

Optimus turned to survey another image. The first one had been of him brandishing a glowing sword toward a mech he could only guess was Megatron. The other mech didn't look a thing like the Megatron he knew except for some features of the facial plates. The second image was of a very unique him holding two humans in his hand. It was dark so Optimus could only just make out the flame patterns on his arms, and he watched this alternate universe Optimus pick up a teenage boy who looked a bit like Spike had when he was younger and a human girl.

"But for all this variety there are two absolutes." Serene continued. "First, there are always Autobots and Decepticons in some way, shape, or form."

Optimus observed another him talking to a young girl. The girl couldn't have been any older than Daniel and wore her hair in pigtails. He moved on to another picture which showed him speaking with another mech, but he couldn't place the mech.

"And second, there is always an Optimus and a Megatron."

Her words stopped his perusal of the alternate forms. "Always?"

She nodded. "That's why you need me to guide you. I must teach you quite a bit before I let you back into your world."

"Let me back?"

"Yes. Soon you will be reborn because you are Optimus. And though he has gained a new form, Megatron still survives and will survive the conflict with Unicron."

Optimus stared at the Seraph. "So, as long as one of us exists, so will the other?"

Serene nodded sadly. "Sometimes you and he will take on different forms, but you have fought each other since the dawn of time and will fight until the end. That is why you have never known this place. This is the last resting place for any Transformer from any world, but any Optimus from any world is denied this place."

"How can there be so many of me . . . Us?"

"All of you have slightly different personalities. Slightly different souls. The same goes for all Autobots and Decepticons. In some worlds you fight Megatron until death, in some you ally yourselves. These differences steer where your world goes."

"So, I don't always fight Megatron?"

"No, sometimes you and he are brothers. Sometimes enemies. The only stipulation is that both of you exist together and that there are Autobots and Decepticons. War is not inevitable for all Transformer worlds, but most suffer it."

He digested her words. Serene sighed. "Personally I hate it."

"Hate what?"

"That you and Megs have to be denied heaven because you two are the balance of good and evil."

Optimus didn't ask what that was. He thought he knew very well. "Why us?" he asked instead.

Serene laughed. "You're mighty quick on the uptake. God chose you because both of you are heroes whether you believe so or not."

Optimus glanced back at the picture of him fighting Megatron in that strange other world. "How could Megatron ever be a hero?" he murmured.

"Heroes are people who do great things. Megatron has done terrible things, but to the Decepticons, he is an idol, someone to be like. Heroes aren't always the good guys Optimus. Sometimes they're the evil ones. And sometimes, even the good hero has to do something evil. Good and evil are two sides of the coin, and everyone is a coin."

Optimus stared at the image before him. It was other him fighting with another Megatron. "That's what you have to teach me? That sometimes even the good do evil?"

Serene smiled. "Something like that."

"How long until I go back?"

"Well, it depends. Free will is a tricky thing and it rules what will happen in the future. It may be a couple of years. Until then, take heart. The Autobots will be in good hands." Serene answered.

Optimus pointed at the images. "If I've got some time, may I watch what happens in these worlds?"

"Curious about yourself?"

"Curious about how they lead and if I can learn from them."

Serene smiled broadly and giggled. "Ah, I thought you'd be an annoying charge, but now I see that you're not dimmer than a doornail. Come, I'll show you all the Transformer worlds and you can learn what you like before you must return. Sound good?"

"Sounds like heaven." Optimus chuckled.

"That," Serene said pointing at him, "Was really corny."

Optimus just shook his head. "So, shall we go?"

Serene pointed out to the garden. "Let's go. Don't mind if I hitch a ride do you?"

"Not at all." The large mech strode out of the gazebo, Seraph in hand.