Answers to reviewers questions or statements:

Bladewolf101: Because in the Aligned/Prime continuity, Optimus Prime was one of the original thirteen Primes that entered the Well of Allsparks at the end of the Primes reign and was reborn as Orion Pax and regained his memories when he became a Prime again. Also, the Matrix of Leadership helped him recognize the Fallen Prime.

Redrangerlegacy: Actually, Blackarachina's origin is a bit different in this reality, and a bit darker.

Arnold: You mean Beast Hunters? If yes, then yes, this story will eventually get to that, but it'll be very different compared to what happened in the show.

Disclaimer: I don't own any Transformers seen, mentioned or used.


It had happened, it had finally had finally happened… Orion Pax, a dedicated and astute archivist at the Iacon Hall of Records, was late for work.

"Out of the way, move, this highway has four lanes, use one of them or take a shuttle next time instead of dragging your aft on the speedway!" Orion Pax yelled as his alternate form raced down the speedway, passing numerous mechs and femmes as he tried to reach the Hall of Records before he was later then he already was.

The previous evening, Orion Pax had joined several of his friends, his only friends really, for a couple of drinks at 'Maccadam's Old Oil House' and Orion, against his better judgment let his friend Jazz but him one of the newest drinks that the bar owner Maccadam had introduced, a new type of Visco which had a tinge of watered down acid and raw oil to give it a odd sort of smooth but addicting flavor. Safe to say, Orion liked it… a lot… in fact after his third drink of the highly intoxicating drink, things began to blur and the next thing Orion knew, he was waking up on his sofa with his alarm showing that he was already half a Joor late!

"Last time… I ever let… Jazz… buy me… a drink!" Orion gritted out as he raced off the speedway, almost causing a collision between two mechs and down a rather empty street, the towering Hall of Records just up ahead.

"Almost there, almost there…" Orion whispered as he neared the building and was just about to transform before he heard the one sound he dreaded since taking off from his apartment and racing across a fifth of the massive city that was Iacon.

A law enforcement siren.

"Primus fragging dammit through the aft and out the spark chamber!" Orion groaned out as he saw the law enforcer driving after him.

Orion slowly pulled off to the side before transforming and turned towards the transforming law enforcer. Orion vented out a defeated sigh as he rubbed his hands together nervously.

"Officer, I-" Orion began before he stopped to see that the law enforcer that pulled him over was none other than his friend, or acquaintance through Jazz, Prowl!

"Good morning, Orion Pax" Prowl said, the doors to his alternate mood shifting into place as he assumed his bipedal form and pulled out a datapad from his subspace "In a hurry I see…"

Orion gave the mech a sheepish smile "Yes, well you see Prowl, last night I was out with Jazz and Dion, you remember them, right? Anyway, they took me out to Maccadam's and well they had a new drink and I let Jazz funny enough convince me to have one and well-"

"Orion Pax, I'm well aware of Jazz's antics, as are you" Prowl interrupted Orion as he typed in a few things on his datapad about Orion, such as his vehicle mode's appearance, it's speed through a regulated area, and other tedious information "Which is why, I'm questioning the logic behind you allowing Jazz to do such a thing"

Orion winced at that "Well, I wouldn't say I allowed him, more of he tricked me, along with Dion!"

Prowl grunted at that as he typed down a few more things. Orion eyed the datapad worriedly as he rubbed his hands together, his fingers interlocking at some points "A-Are you going to write me up a ticket?"

Prowl shook his head at this "No"

Orion coudln't help but let out a vent of air in relief "Oh thank the Primus and the Allspark, because today just hasn't been my-"

"I'm giving you a ticket" Prowl said as his datapad ejected out a small flimsy metal card that he handed to the stunned archivist that showed Orion's name, the violation he was being charged with, the evidence to show it, and the amount of credits he'll need to pay on a small holographic display.

Orion blinked at the ticket he received "B-But… but…?"

"Have a good Mega-Cycle Orion Pax and give Jazz and Dion my regards" Prowl said with a simple nod before he transformed and slowly re-entered the increasing traffic before turning down another street.

Orion blinked at the law enforcer's departure before he turned towards the ticket and let out a dark growl "Fraggin dammit Jazz!"

After spending the better part of several Kliks fuming over how his morning had started off, Orion continued the rest of his journey to the Archive on foot. He grumbled all the way up the stairs, passed the check in and all the way to his work station. It wasn't until after he settled into his work that he heard the voice of his least favorite mech on Cybertron at the moment.

"Hey Paxy, I was wondering if you were even going to show up this Mega-cycle!" Jazz greeted Orion as he made his way to the Communication's grid of the Archive but stopped once he caught sight of his friend who looked a little worse for wear for some odd reason.

Orion sent a scowl towards Jazz as he archived a few old documents about the early days of Nova Prime's rule with the start of the Golden age of Cybertron "Do you have any idea what my Megac-cylce has been like since I came out of recharge?!"

Jazz tapped on his chin for a moment with on of his four fingers before he shrugged "Same as every other Mega-cycle?"

"NO!" Orion hissed at the slightly startled bot before him "First I find out that I was late waking up!"

"Wow, you must have drunk a lot more of that new drink than me and Dion thought. Or you're not as much as a heavy weight as I thought" Jazz said before Orion held another digit up in growing fury.

"Then, I had to race across Iacon, which I'm certain may have caused an accident or two, and get here in the hopes that my tardiness wouldn't be as bad as it already was shaping up to be and you know what? I had just about made it!" Orion said before he leaned towards Jazz with a growl, causing the silver mech to back up a little in surprise "But just as I make it down the street, when I'm just a hundred meters from the building, I'm pulled over for speeding by guess who?"

"Uhhhhh, who?" Jazz asked with curiosity.

"Prowl!" Orion nearly shouted in rage before he held up his ticket "And the slagger gave me a ticket! Me, a ticket! A fraggin ticket!"

Jazz nodded sympathetically at that "Yeah, I know what you mean. I used to think our friendship would at least get me a warning on a first offense with Prowl or at least the tenth, but nooooo!"

Orion was shaken in rage at the casualness of Jazz's learning of his horrible morning and was about to shove the ticket in his faceplates and demand that he pays for it since it was his fault he was late before Dion, a blue, yellow and white mech appeared with a friendly grin on his faceplates.

"Whoa, what seems to be the trouble here mechs?" one of the Hall's stationed Elite Guardsman asked as he glanced back and forth between his two, really only, friends.

Orion glanced at Dion before he pointed towards Dion with a glare similar to the one he's been giving Jazz "You, and him! You're the trouble here!"

Dion's blue optics blinked in surprise at this "Huh?"

It was Jazz who decided to answer the unspoken question "Orion it seems, had a lot more to drink last night then we remember and woke up late because of it. And in his mad dash to get here, he got a ticket from Prowl"

Dion was silent for a few kliks before he slowly turned towards Orion with a questioning gaze "You said you could hold your drinks"

Orion gritted his denta in anger before he somehow reigned in his growing anger and annoyance and vented it out with a heavy sigh and slumped down into his chair and held his helm in his hands "What am I going to do?"

Dion quirked an amuse brow at Orion "It's a acceleration ticket Orion, not a summons to court. Just pay it off and be done with it"

"But I've never gotten any sort of ticket before in my life!" Orion said in a miserable tone.

Jazz chuckled at this as he patted Orion on the shoulder "Yeah, you're a real law breaker now. What's next Orion? Noise complaints, jaywalking, or worse… walking on to private property?"

Dion sniggered at that as he adjusted the position of his energy rile on his back before leaning against Orion's desk "Yeah, I can see it now on the news, Orion Pax, 'A noble Archivist of the Hall of Records… a trespasser and speeder'?"

Orion's brow twitched in annoyance as Jazz and Dion broke out into fits of laughter before he shook his head "Times like this where I wonder why I'm friends with you"

The two continued to laugh even more before Dion suddenly remembered something as he checked his chromometer and saw the time "Uh-oh…"

"What is it Dion?" Orion asked as he saw the slightly panicked look on his friend's faceplate.

"I just remembered that I was supposed to give a tour of this place to one of the new recruits!" Dion said with a groan "But I don't want to!"

"Why?" Jazz asked with a bemused expression.

"Because it's so booooring!" Dion complained as he looked back and forth between his friends "Plus, they always ask the dumbest questions like where's the wash racks, breakrooms or what shifts they get and if they can change them or not or worse, complain about how boring this post"

"So… basically you" Jazz said with a laugh that Orion joined him in.

"Heeeey I don't complain-"

"Your right Dion, a sparkling would complain even less" Orion chuckled while Jazz leaned against him for support for a few kliks as it was Dion's turn to be laughed at while he glared at them.

Dion glowered at the two before suddenly his expression changed to something more hopeful and perhaps a bit pleading "Hey, one of you wouldn't mind covering this tour for me, would you? I'd owe you one"

Jazz shook his helm at this as he backed away "Sorry Dion, but I have to get going. My flight yo Crystal City is in a Joor and I gotta leave now if I want to make it"

Dion watched as the mech turned on his heel in a rather flashy manner and leave before the Elite Guardsman turned towards Orion with an even more desperate expression.

"Orion, buddy!"

"No" Orion said with a shake of his helm.

"Please?" Dion asked as he fell to his knees and laid his chin on the edge of Orion's desk and gave him a sort of sparkling cybercat look.

"No-…" Orion began before a idea came to him and he gave his friend a amused look "Wait, you said you'd owe me one if I do it, right?"

"Yeah!" Dion said, his expression brightening 'Score!'

"No matter what it is?" Orion asked, a grin growing on his faceplates.

"Yes, anything!" Dion practically shouted "Pit, I'll even go into the security wing later and erase the evidence of you being late to help you keep your pain in the aft attendance record spotless if that's what it'll take!"

'Now there's an idea… but no, that would be asking a little too much' Orion thought with amusement before he stood up "While I appreciate how far you'd go to pay me back Dion, that won't be necessary"

At this, Dion's brow furrowed "So… you'll do it for free?"

Orion scoffed at this before he pulled out the ticket he got from Prowl and shoved it into Dion's servos "Pit no!"

Dion glanced down at what it was before his optics widened "Y-You… you want me to pay for your ticket!?"

"Well if you won't…" Orion said as he took the ticket back and sat back down and made himself comfortable "Have fun with the tour. Hey maybe this recruit will go on and on about how they'll be missing out on the grandeur's of rising the ranks to become Ultra Magnus's right hand mech or femme or even replace him!"

Dion paled at this before he snatched the ticket from Orion before he could subspace it "Fine I'll pay the damn thing, now go and give that recruit their tour! They're at my usual post by now!"

"If you insist" Orion said with a reluctant sigh as he stood up and slowly made his way out of his office and towards where Dion usually patrolled with a smirk on his face plates 'Ha, there's Dion. Now I just need to think of a way to get back at Jazz and the crimes they've committed against me will be complete!'

It didn't take long for Orion to reach Dion's usual post, it was the close proximity to one another that allowed the two to slowly get to know one another. And the location was fairly spacious, meaning it wasn't hard for him to spot the new recruit that Dion was supposed to give the tour to. The archivist stopped dead in his tracks and very nearly openly gaped at the sight the new Elite Guard sentry before him gave. It was a femme, a femme whose beauty was beyond what Orion thought possible for any living being to possess!

She was adorned in pink and dark purple armor with several dark red markings on the metal plating showing that she had recently graduated from the Elite Guard Academy and had the darkest blue optics that he's ever seen in any Cybertronian. She wasn't bulky, or too thin but seemed to be in that area where she somehow seamlessly blended hardened warrior muscle with optic popping feminine curves. She wasn't very tall, only reaching to Orion's lower chest but the archivist was willing to bet she could take him or even a mech bigger than him down without much effort.

'Primus… she's… she's… I didn't even know beauty like this was possible' Orion tried to think of a proper word that could truly describe how enchanting she looked, especially with how the lighting from both outside and the various data shelves reflected off the femme's armor.

After several nanoseconds of staring, Orion cleared his vocalizer to catch the distracted femme's attention and introduced himself with a small bow "Greetings, I am Orion Pax, one of the archivist here at the hall of Records"

"Elita-One, reporting for my first day of duty at the Iacon Hall of Records" the femme said with salute and unmistakable pride in her angelica like voice "Tell me Orion Pax, will Corporal Dion be here soon to give me a tour of the complex? I've been waiting for almost half a Joor now…"

Now Orion had one of two options laid out before him as he stared at the slightly embarrassed femme. He could go the noble and responsible route and cover for his friend Dion, maybe make up a small little while lie where the Elite Guardsman was busy dealing with a rowdy mech that wasn't being courteous to his fellow Cybertronians in one of the more public halls on the lower levels, or he could completely throw him under the transport rig and potentially cost him his chance with such a beautiful femme like Elita-One.

"I'm afraid Guardsman Dion is too busy shirking his duty to give you a tour of your new post because he believes the experience will annoy him like the past several" Orion said to the femme.

'Screw it, Dion should have sucked it up and done the fragging tour' Orion thought as he watched the femme's reaction.

Elita-One blinked her optics in surprise at Orion's answer, it wasn't quite what she was expecting to hear "Oh… well then why are you helping me then?"

"Because… it'd be rude to not aid you- not that you look like you need aid, I mean I'm sure you do but what I meant was… I'm just trying to be friendly" Orion said while mentally beating his helm against a wall before shoving it into a container of Scraplets.

Elita-One stared at Orion with a quirked optic ridge before she smiled a little slyly at his apparent nervousness "Well then Orion Pax, would you do me the honors of escorting me though my new post?"

Orion nodded, perhaps a little too eagerly "Y-yes, of course, it'd be my honor"

"Excellent but be warned I have many questions…" Elita-One said with a chuckle as she stepped in line with Orion and slid her arm through his, taking him by surprise "Well, lets get to it. Where to first?"

Orion hoped to Primus that the femme didn't notice his fans struggling to keep his internal temperature down at the physical contact she initiated with him.

"W-We can start w-with the entertainment halls…"

"Lead on" Elita-One said with a grin and for a moment, Orion wondered if being late to work and getting speeding tickets from Prowl would always pay out like this.

'If it is… I'm gonna be late for work for the rest of my existence and get as many speeding tickets as possible' the mech thought before everything around him seemed to fade away…

Optimus's optics online at that point, replacing the image of Elita-One, standing beside him with an amused grin, with that of the rather unflattering and dull ceiling of his quarters, deep within the Earth based Autobots base. The former archivist thought it was a rather jarring one eighty, to go from seeing beauty incarnate to something so plain as a concrete surface.

Optimus laid on his berth for several moments as his processor mulled over the first time he ever met Elita-One. After a time, the Autobot leader vented out a tired sigh as he slowly rose from his berth, his armor appearing from subspace and snapping into place. Optimus rubbed the side of his shoulder as he felt the armor had a little trouble aligning before it settled.

'Best to get that looked at before it starts to grind the metal raw' Optimus thought as he made to exit his quarters before he stopped and glanced over at a small but highly secured weapons locker along the wall to see that the Requiem Blaster was still secured.

His optics trailed over the ancient but powerful weapon for a few Kliks before turned away from the powerful blaster and exited his quarters in time to see Bumblebee emerge from his with a slight stumble. The yellow scout noticed Prime and gave him an exhausted nod.

"Optimus, sir" he beeped as he fell in line with Optimus's stride towards the rations suite to collect their morning Energon meal.

"Bumblebee" Optimus nodded as he glanced down at the young mech "I take it your recharge wasn't very productive?"

"Not really" Bumblebee vented out as he ran a hand over his faceplate "Bad dreams again"

Optimus frowned at that "Have 'they' started again?"

The yellow scout shook his head "No, not what happened at Tyger Pax…"

Optimus nodded at this and ended the conversation there, he didn't need any further elaboration as to what Bumblebee was referring to…

The Kaon 'Science Compound', a nightmare of a facility run by Shockwave, the Decepticon's top scientists and the engineer of some of the greatest nightmares the Decepticons ever threw at the Autobots or neutrals. Towards the end of the War on Cybertron, before all three factions were forced to flee Cybertron and into the stars, Optimus, Bumblebee and over twenty other mechs and femmes had infiltrated the compound to rescue several dozen Neutralist Cybertronians and Autobot prisoners that the Decepticons were experimenting on for Vorns.

They saved some of them, a little over half of them in fact where's the rest… Optimus didn't even know he was looking at what were once functioning, sentient beings until Blaster had hacked the compounds datanet and revealed what he discovered.

'And what happened to those poor souls paled in comparison to what else we saw there…' Optimus thought as he and Bumblebee had arrived at the suite and acquired their morning rations and went their separate ways for the Mega-cycle.

Optimus to the main monitor hub to monitor the base's scanners, read and reply to any messages sent from either the U.S. government or what was left of the Autobots communications grid and battle net while Bumblebee waited for Cliffjumper to awaken so they could go out and explore some of the backroads they came across on the landmass that the humans called Europe… for security purposes and not to race each other to see who's got the faster alternate mode of course.

'Of course… despite how mature those two act at times, I sometimes forget their still adolescents… thank Primus that Hot Rod isn't here, or worse the Twins' Optimus thought with a tired grin as he stared at a screen that held a list of what Ratchet needed to keep this base up and running.

It was then that Arcee entered the main hanger with a cube of half-drunk Energon in her servos. The blue two-wheeler nodded at Optimus as she came to stand next to him "Optimus…"

"Arcee, I see your doing well" Optimus said as he took a sip from the last of his Energon before sub spacing the empty cube to recycle later.

Arcee nodded "Yeah, Ratchet says I should be good to go in a few more Mega-cycles. Starting to get stir crazy being in this place for so long. Too small from my liking"

Optimus hummed at that, the base that the humans offered the Autobots was indeed fairly small, by there standards at least.

Arcee glanced around the main hanger before her optics settled on the hall that led to the medical wing of the base "So, how is he?"

Optimus glanced down at Arcee before he saw where she was looking "I'm unsure, I have yet to check in on him, but Ratchet has yet to contact me on anything, so I assume all is well and he's recovering without trouble"

Arcee nodded at that as she took a sip of her Energon "Well, once he's up and moving around, he gonna stay or leave?"

Optimus frowned at that, it was something he's been mulling over for some time since bringing Megatronus here. The Prime was waiting for the elder Prime to regain consciousness however before he even began to broach that bridge. If there was one thing that Optimus remembered about Megatronus Prime aside from his legendary temper, it was his sheer loathing of others making decisions for him without his input.

"I am… unable to answer that question for the time being" Optimus eventually stated with a vent of air.

Arcee nodded at that as she turned to leave "Guess that's the best answer we'll be getting for now, huh?"

"Indeed" Optimus nodded.

Arcee then turned her attention back to the direction of the medical wing before she spoke, her tone a bit more nervous than usual "Optimus, I was wondering, we'll all of us really, but I was wondering if it's true"

"Is what true?" Optimus asked with a raised optic ridge.

Arcee didn't seem to know how to voice her question without it sounding to offensive before she eventually decided to just say it and get it over with.

"That Megatronus, the Fallen… is it true that he killed Solus Prime all those Vorns ago?" the femme asked as she gazed up at Optimus with questioning optics.

"What happened that Mega-cycle, and the Mega-cycles leading up to said event were… complicated" Optimus said, his shoulder slagging slightly in exhaustion as ancient faded memories raced through is processor "And I ask that you relay this to the others. Do not ask him about it, do not mention it around him and most of all… do not judge him until he believes you've earned the right to know what happened"

Arcee nodded at that, it wasn't quite an answer, but it was fair in her opinion…

"Alright, I'll let the others know" Arcee said as she turned and began to leave before she suddenly stopped and turned back to Optimus with another question look on her faceplate "Optimus… I've been wondering, how did you recognize Megatronus, matter fact, how do you know so much about what happened with the Thirteen?"

Optimus was silent for a few kliks before he answered by tapping on his chassis "The Matrix…"

Arcee hummed at that before she took another drink of her Energon as she returned to her room to make some adjustments to her blasters, leaving Optimus alone for the time being. Several Kliks of silence passed as Optimus read a few reports from the Autobots human allies before a message popped up on the Autobots communications grind. The Autobot leader checked to see who sent the message before he stifled a groan at what he saw.

The message was from Red Alert, the Autobots Security Director and it was one of his irregular security correspondents that he sends out to the various bases and outposts under Autobot control to see if they still were under said faction's control. The old bot was being particularly jumpy lately as Optimus had received a security check not even several Deca-cycles ago!

Just before Optimus was about to click on the message and go through the long denta grinding process of verifying that he was not only an Autobot but the outpost was still under Autobot control, Bulkhead had emerged from his quarters. Optimus glanced at the former Wrecker for a moment before he spoke.

"Bulkhead"

The large green mech stopped mid stride to the tunnel and glanced at Optimus with a questioning expression on his face plate before he gave the Prime a respectful nod "Optimus, sir"

Optimus returned the gesture before motioning towards the data hub "Bulkhead, Ratchet has just contacted me about our guest over in medical. Would you be willing to monitor the hub until I return?"

Bulkhead nodded as he began to make his way over to the various screens while responding "Sure thing. Think I'm gonna use this chance to see if I can get a message out to Hound, haven't heard from him in a while"

"Thank you and if you happen to get in contact with your elder brother, give him my regards" Optimus said with a nod of thanks towards his comrade before he turned on his heel and made a beeline for the hallway that would take him to the medical wing.

Optimus had to stifle a chuckle as he faintly heard Bulkhead groan as he saw the message from Red Alert followed by mutterings of 'Paranoid fargger' and 'needs to get laid' before he opened the file and began to fill it out.

'Apologies Bulkhead… but I've done the last six security checks sent by Red Alert since coming to this planet' Optimus thought with a small grin as he approached the entryway to the medical wing.

The medical wing wasn't very large even though Bulkhead had helped Ratchet extent it's length and width by taking down several walls that connected to several other storage rooms. On one side of the room was a small display of scanners and screens where Ratchet currently was while on the other was several berths for any wounded team members, one of which was occupied by the Fallen Prime, a decontamination or quarantine chamber and storage unit with a vast away of Cybertronian medical tools.

"Ratchet…" Optimus nodded towards the team's only medic and one of Optimus's oldest friends… still living ones at least.

Ratchet didn't acknowledge his commander's appearance as his attention was still on a scanner that was displaying various readings of his recent patient, Megatronus. The orange and white medic made a grunting sound as he typed down a few notes on a datapad as the scanner continued to display new information.

Optimus stared at the old bot for a moment before he cleared his throat and spoke a little louder "Ratchet?"

That got his attention as he flinched a little before he blinked his optics and glanced at his commander with surprise "Optimus? I didn't hear you, apologies"

Optimus chuckled at the medic's antics as he entered further into the room "It is alright"

Ratchet nodded at that as he turned his attention towards the large mech still in recharge on a berth at the far end of the small room, well small for Cybertronians of their size "Well I can hazard a guess that you're not here to see me creating a brand new medical file as if I were still in medical school, so I'll get right to the point. Aside from some of the worst case of Energon drought I've ever laid optics on, he's in remarkably good health… I think"

Optimus frowned at that "Explain"

"Well it's just…" Ratchet trailed off as he motioned towards the screen he was watching and the datapad still in his hand "This mech's systems are unlike anything I've ever seen before. His biology is primitive but at the same time highly evolved compared to modern Cybertronians"

Optimus hummed at that "Perhaps a side effect of being one of the Thirteen…"

The reveal that Megatronus was 'The Megatronus Prime' came as quite of a bit of a shock to the rest of the team. Bumblebee and Cliffjumper were dumbfounded on how anything that ancient could exist before Bumblebee asked if Optimus was to the Fallen Prime what he and Cliffjumper were to Optimus while Bulkhead and Arcee couldn't believe that another Prime still functioned. After the demise of Sentinel Prime halfway through the Great War on Cybertron, it has been largely assumed that Optimus was the last Prime in existence. Ratchet simply asked if the humans they were allied with should be made aware of the Fallen's existence when special agent Fowler would make his eventual appearance and notice the massive furnace looking Transformer walking around with a planet destroying gun on his back.

Ratchet merely nodded at Optimus's answer as he went back to recording the Fallen's vitals while said Prime went to stand next to the recharging mech's berth. He looked remarkably well for a mech that was older than Cybertronian civilization and perhaps even the planet they were all currently on.

'If he still functions… perhaps other Primes, both members of the original Thirteen and later Primes from the beginning days of the Golden Age may still live out there, lost among the stars' Optimus thought as he watched Megatronus's form twitch before it settled, his face plate contorting slightly before clearing.

Optimus frowned at that before he glanced towards Ratchet "He appears to be in some form of distress"

Ratchet nodded at that as he typed down a few things in his datapad "His processor still functions, he's likely in a dreaming sequence of some sort. Weather it's reliving memories or something else, I can't tell you"

Optimus nodded that as he returned his attention back to the Fallen's frame with a thoughtful expression on his face before he spoke "Ratchet, do you… do you think that Megatronus here would-"

"Be interested in joining us?" the medic finished for his commander as he glanced over his shoulder at the Prime "Perhaps, or perhaps not. We'll have to wait and see, but I'm not holding my breath. Far as he or anyone is concerned, our war with the Decpeticons hasn't affected him in any shape or form, ergo he has no reason to join aside from the fact a few Decepticon miners popped a few energy rounds off at him when they mistook him for a Autobot"

"Perhaps that is all he will need" Optimus said as he folded his servos across his chassis.

Ratchet glanced back at Optimus with a small smirk "Why Optimus, hoping to retire already now that another Prime has appeared?"

"No… but I fear he may not be given a choice in the matter of joining us as the Decepticons will without a doubt hunt him down should they become aware of his existence… or more accurately, what he carries with him still" Optimus said in a grim tone.

"The Requiem Blaster" Ratchet said with a small frown on his faceplate "Yes, I can see that happening. Particularly if Megatron, Primus knows where he is, finds out about his return"

Optimus nodded, his thoughts being of a similar nature. Once word gets out that Megatronus Prime is not only still functioning but also still possesses the most powerful weapon ever forged by Solus Prime, possibly the most powerful weapon in the universe, every Decepticon still functioning will be out looking for him and won't stop until it's either destroyed to prevent the Autobots from using it, or more preferably, they acquire it.

The first thing that Megatonus saw when his optics had finally onlined, was a rather dull looking ceiling that made looking at drying liquid look interesting in comparison. The second thing he saw was that he was in some sort of room with several berths similar to the one he was on, a couple of machines with data and scans of what looked like his body and two other Transformers, one of which he recognized as Optimus, the other, not so much.

Megatronus stared at Optimus's form for a few moments before he spoke "You're a lot brighter than I remember"

"I beg your pardon?" Optimus said with confusion at the Fallen's remark.

Megatronus nodded towards Optimus's body frame, his coloring to be specific "Red and Blue, rather bright colors to the silver, dark grey and yellow I remember you having"

Optimus glanced down at his body for a moment before he spoke "Yes, well things have… it's a long story"

"So I've gathered, and something tells me how you still being here ties into it since before I went into stasis, the only Primes left online aside from myself were Prima, Alpha, Nexus, Alchemist and Amalgamous" Megatronus stated before he glanced at Ratchet with a frown "Who are you?"

"Ratchet, chief medical officer of this team and of this base" the medic stated as he scanned the dark Prime's servos "And the one responsible for preventing your demise from the worst case of Energon Drought I've ever laid optics on"

Megatronus hummed at that "Well… you have my thanks"

Ratchet hummed at the thanks as he continued to monitor the Fallen's systems while Optimus spoke.

"Megatronus, if I may as so bold, how did you come to be here on Earth? I was under the impression that you had perished long ago, along with the other Primes aside from Alpha Trion" the red and blue mech stated.

"Alpha Trion?" Megatronus said with a raised brow "Is that what Alpha Prime is calling himself now?"

"Yes" Optimus said, ignoring the surprised look on Ratchet's faceplate.

"Wait, wait, wait, Alpha Trion is a Prime, one of the Original Primes?" the old medic said before he shook his head "Unbelievable…"

"It's unbelievable that coward is still functioning" Megatronus said before he let out a dark growl as he suddenly felt a sudden sting in his left servo.

Ratchet noticed this and immediately began to scan the limb before he frowned "That's not good…"

"Ratchet?" Optimus asked with worry.

"One of his Energon lines has split open and he's currently leaking inside, under his armor" Ratchet said as leaned in while his optics turned white as a special lens slid over his optics to help him better see through the Fallen's armor and into the systems below.

"How's that even remotely possible?" Megatronus asked.

"My guess, since so many of your Energon lines have gone so long without Energon flowing through them, and regular maintenance to keep your health in top shape, the sudden introduction to Energon may have slowly eroded away what was left of the protective lining around your lines until it finally broke apart"

"Is it serious?" Optimus asked with worry, they didn't have the resources on Earth at the moment to fix such a wound should it begin to worsen.

"I'm not gonna lose this damn arm, am I?" Megatornus asked with a vented sigh of annoyance.

"No, the tear is fairly small, the reason it may have hurt so much is because your sensory nodes are a little… sensitive, for the time being. They haven't been used for millions of Vorns after all" ratchet said before he leaned back "But I would like to monitor your self repair for the next few Mega-cycles just to be sure that nothing else occurs or that this is simply a prelude to something even worse"

"Not like I have anywhere to go" Megatronus grunted out as he returned his attention back to Optimus "Now, Optimus, would you mind telling me how it is your still function, who the hell this Ratchet is aside from what he told me and just who in THE FRAGGIN PIT OF UNICRON'S AFT SHOT AT ME!?"

Optimus and Ratchet both flinched a bit at the enraged yell at the end before the Autobot leader nodded slowly "It's… a very long, complicated story. One that I fear may take a few Joors to answer in it's entirety"

Megatronus grunted at this as he settled into his berth "Well, start talking"

Optimus nodded at that before he glanced at Ratchet "Would you mind-"

"Say no more, just comm me if something related to his health comes up that you believe I need to address" Ratchet said as he made his way over to the monitors and typed in a few things before picking up the datapad he's been filling out and headed back to the main hub of the base, leaving the two Primes alone for the time being.

"Now… where to start" Optimus said with a heavy sigh.

"Easy, what happened to the rest of the Primes after I went into exile?" Megatronus demanded with a frown.

Optimus was silent for a few moments as he collected his thoughts, his memoires and his own assumptoions on the matter before he began to speak.

"Following your departure from Cybertron, Prima believed that the time of the Primes had more or less, come to an end…"


And done.

Next chapter, Megatronus begins settling in and meeting the other members of Team Prime…