Chapter 1: Prologue

Optimus was having a bad day. So many things had gone wrong in the span of twenty four hours that Optimus just wanted to lay down and fall into stasis for a good several years. But things prevented him from ever doing that. His men needed him, because he was the only one that could defeat Megatron and end the war. Now, Optimus thought that was far from true. Personally, he believed that anyone could take down the tyrannical warlord if they had the right strategy, not just brute strength and a Matrix of Leadership. But everyone believed it, even Megatron.

Optimus didn't have any special powers, he couldn't teleport like Skywarp or do thunderous booms like Thundercracker, he couldn't go invisible like Mirage or skeek around like Jazz. But Optimus was strong in spark, and could command and sway an army with a few simple words. He was a beacon for the Autobots, a rallying hope for them. Optimus knew what weight rested on his shoulders and he was willing to carry it. But even he wished for some time away from the war.

Optimus guessed that was what lead him here, to Earth, to this very fight he was now participating in. He was here, fighting over a relic that had an unknown power. He clashed with Megatron, unwilling to give an inch as he crashed his fists into the Warlord's sides and face. He needed to get the relic before Megatron or his Decepticons could. There was no telling what it could do.

He ducked, Megatron's fist missing him by inches. He came back up, his fists closed tightly as he rammed into Megatron in a tackle, taking him off balance. They crashed to the rocky ground, sending powdery dust floating upwards around them. They tussled, each trying to get on top of the other to gain the upper hand. In close quarters, it was easy to see that Megatron was stronger than he. Megatron was ontop of him now, beating his face with a malicious glee in his red optics. Optimus was glad to have his face mask, it took the brunt of the blows and left his face relatively unmarked.

Optimus shifted his weight, bucking upwards and throwing Megatron forward and off of him in a tumble. Optimus quickly got to his peds and transformed his servos into blades. He dashed forwards and caught Megatron in the shoulder, sending sparks flying as his blade sliced through hardened battle armor. Megatron let out an enraged yell and fired his fusion cannon right at him, hitting his chassis. The low-powered shot didn't do any damage, but the force knocked him back. Megatron dashed forwards and they locked in combat once more.

This day had started out so nice, Optimus had been somewhere that made him truly happy. It was a place he went whenever he could, sometimes staying for days before he finally forced his wheels to carry him back to base. None of his men knew about the place or what was there that would captivate Optimus's interest so strongly, and even though curiosity burned through their frames, they didn't ask out of respect for their leader's privacy.

Optimus had been quite content to stay there all day, basking in his sanctuary and enjoying what resided there. But a comm from Ratchet disturbed that peace. He had to leave there in a hurry, his mood dampened by his hasty departure. Ratchet had informed him when he had reached base that it had been a false alarm, meaning that he left his sanctuary for nothing, which had soured his mood further, though he was sure to hide that from his team. After that it was a blur of paperwork and conferences with the human government. They were rather nasty that meeting and unwilling to cooperate, making him all the more irritable. Optimus hated to admit it, but he was marginally relieved when Ratchet interrupted the meeting to tell him that Decepticons were mobilizing and Megatron was among them. Optimus ended the meeting and left hastily.

He and his team had exited the ground bridge, only to be greeted with gunfire and yelling. They were forced to split, Arcee and Bumblebee taking the high ground while he, Bulkhead and Ratchet plowed through Megatron's ground forces.

Now he was here, tussling with his arch nemesis in the dirt, both pushing against the other with equal force, built up over millions of years of combat. They knew just what the other would do, every move and every play. It was a well rehearsed dance, only changing when the other broke it.

"My Lord, I have it!" a voice yelled out, breaking their glazed concentration. Optimus looked over to see the Decepticon medic, Knockout, holding a spherical object. It was a sphere, but one end had a long, pointed needle coming out of it, while several wires came out from the other end. It looked demonic.

Megatron took his distraction to his advantage, and knocked him to the ground, hitting the side of his helm just so, causing his stabilizers to friz and miscalculate. He couldn't stand, not without his helm spinning. He heard his men calling out for him, but he couldn't turn and see. He felt a strange warmth next to his helm, and the buzz of charging ions made his audio tingle.

"Surrender or he dies," Megatron's voice washed over his audios like a poison, making him blearily boot his optics back up. Strange, he hadn't noticed when he closed them. He couldn't see it, but from the muffled curses and the sound of blasters powering down, his men had give in. Optimus felt a hot curl of fear for his men, hoping and praying to Primus that they would not be harmed, Optimus could never live with himself if he was the cause of his team's deactivation or pain. He was responsible for them, he needed to keep them safe.

He felt the stasis cuffs lock around his wrists and a clawed servo roughly drag him upwards to his knees. The world spun before Optimus's optics, making him blink rapidly.

"How weak you are, Prime, to be caught so easily." Megatron gloated and Optimus huffed. This routine was familiar, too. Megatron would gloat and terrorise them long enough for one of them to get free and then free the others. Optimus put his credits on Arcee, the femme was very light on her peds and could easily slip the cuffs from her small wrists.

Megatron grabbed the relic from Knockout, rolling it in his servos as a large, evilly delighted grin spread across his face. He looked at him from the corner of his optic, the red glowing brightly as if he just won the best of prizes.

Optimus didn't know just how right he was.

"Do you know what this is, Prime?" Megatron purred sinisterly, walking over to his kneeling form before bending over and bringing his face right to his. "This little device," he hummed, "is called the Seer. A very interesting little device that allows one to enter the mind of another and see anything he wants." His grin widened, his sharp, shark-like denta giving him an even more crazed look than what was thought possible. "We based our cortical psychic patch off of the myth of this device. But what is different about this is that it can not only take multiple minds within another, it gives full access to one holding the device. Meaning, I don't need to go into a stasis just to dive into your mind, Prime. I can do it right here, and take a few others in there with me."

Optimus froze. Megatron was going to use the device to enter his processors, where he could see and hear all of Optimus's memories and secrets. He would be able to see anything he wanted within his mind, every battle tactic and hidden outpost. He'd know their charges and where they lived, he find out all the secret codes Optimus knew about cybertron and Autobot intel, which was the highest access with him being a Prime. He'd find out the AllSpark location…He'd find out Optimus's secret, the one he didn't even tell his men about.

About his sanctuary and what was inside it.

Optimus thrashed in his stasis cuffs, the sudden spasm taking Megatron off guard and throwing him off his peds. The cuffs rendered Optimus's arms useless, but his legs were still in full function. He kicked, hitting Megatron square in the face and sending him crashing into a few of his soldiers. He struggled to stand, his equilibrium still damaged from Megatron's blow. He saw stars in front of his optics, the dizziness causing his optics to flicker as he stumbled and slammed his weight into another Decepticon. His team was yelling his name again, their voices worried but hopeful.

His arms were still unresponsive due to the stasis charge emitted from the cuffs, but since they were cuffed in the front, he could use his fists as a club. He swung his weight around and smacked Starscream clear across the battle ground. The seeker let out a loud shriek as he crashed into the ground a good several hundred feet from the main group.

Optimus had no chance of winning, even though the Decepticons were as stupid as they were; he was injured and cuffed. Two dozen drones jumped on his back, holding down his arms and tackling his legs. He felt them buckle, his knees bending as he was forced to the ground.

Megatron stalked forward, spitting energon from where his foot had met the Warlord's face. Optimus couldn't deny the curl of satisfaction in his gut at the enraged look on his nemesis's face.

Megatron grabbed his face and forced him to look up with rolling optics into his. Optimus was glad he still had his face mask, or else it only serve to anger the tyrant more when he saw the edges of Optimus's lips turn upwards.

"You have something to hide, don't you, Prime?" Megatron spit out, rage filling his optics and field. "You wish to keep something from me, something precious to you." With every word, Megatron's tone turned darker and more pleased. Optimus tried his best to keep the worried look from his optics, but he failed, only causing Megatron's darkly delighted look to spread. "Something you wish" he looked over to the Autobots, "to hide from everyone." Optimus wished he could have kept a straight face at that, but he couldn't keep his optics from widening marginally before he forced them back to normal size. Megatron saw anyway and laughed, letting go of his face and standing to his full height.

"Well, I know who I'm taking in there with me then." Megatron laughed, looking over the Autobots with a gleefully mad gaze. And with that, he stabbed the needle into Optimus's medical port located at the base of his neck. Optimus couldn't contain the loud yell of pain as the needle pierced through the port, connecting deeply into his medical access point. It was very painful, so painful he had not noticed as his team was dragged forward and each connected to one of the cables on the device.

Optimus could feel the others presences brushing against his mind, his Autobots. Then he felt others, not his Autobots at all, but cruel consciousnesses full of sinister thoughts and sadistic emotions.

Megatron, Soundwave, Starscream, and Knockout entered his mind, their consciousnesses burning against his.

It was sudden, like a snap of one's digits, then they were all there. Optimus was standing in the middle, his Autobots off to one side while the Decepticons were off on the other. The cuffs were gone, as was his dizziness. He took a quick look around to see that they were in the woods, the trees all taller than them.

Optimus looked around in shock, even as one of his Autobots took a swipe at one of the Decepticons, but their servo passed right through…

Megatron laughed.

"We are in Optimus's mind, Autobot. You can do nothing here, only I am in control of what we see." he said, standing tall and looking directly at Optimus's face. When did he lose his mask?

A burst of hopelessness filled his spark as Megatron grinned and said

"Show me your secret."

(AN: Dun DUn DUN! NEW STORY! What will They see within the contours of Optimus's mind?! Stay tuned and find out!

This story is a gift for a few special people in my life, I hope they enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it!

This Story is rated M for several reasons, and those reasons will pop up in the next Chapter (Oh hell yeah, they will ;3)

Till all are one!