(Please see all previous disclaimers)
Optimus headed home with his precious son Flasher. Flasher, at least for now, seemed to be sleeping soundly without flickering in and out of sight. Optimus was proud that he had such two healthy sons, but another thought came into Optimus' processor. He remembered about the whole betrothing aspect of things. It was the way things had always been done with the Primes, but most Primes hadn't led in war time and most primes had only one heir to worry about. Now, Optimus had at least two heirs with more on the way. He wasn't sure how things would go with this, and so he decided that once he got home, he would talk to Ironhide in case the old bot had other information that Optimus didn't know yet.
Optimus soon arrived home with his precious healthy little son and headed into the quarters. Jumper was there as was Ironhide but Bee was elsewhere. Optimus went to put his son in the crib berth and then came back out into the main quarters. "Where is Bumblebee?" Optimus asked, not angry just curious, as Bee and Jumper usually guarded things together.
"He headed for the med bay a short time ago, sir. He felt it was his duty to watch over the sick Mirage and Peacekeeper" Jumper stated.
Optimus nodded at that, as it made sense. "And why didn't you go?" Optimus asked.
"Because Bee gave me instructions to guard the quarters just in case, especially since Bee was going to be gone and Ironhide was gone and just returned" Jumper answered, knowing it was important to speak the truth even though Jumper didn't like talking mech.
"Alright, Jumper, please stay just outside the doors and keep watch. Ironhide, I must speak with you" Optimus stated. Jumper headed just outside the quarters to guard them while Ironhide had a questioning look on his face.
"Ok, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?" Ironhide asked, confused as Optimus rarely was like this.
"I must ask about the betrothal process and about the line of the Primes" Optimus revealed.
Ironhide sighed at that, as he knew about it as Sentinel had told him of such matters, but Optimus wasn't like most Primes/kings who had come before him, including the fact that Optimus had more than one living heir with more on the way. "Optimus, if I remember correctly, you will have to choose one of your sparklings to succeed you and only betroth that one. You will not have to betroth all of them, just one so that the line of the Prime may continue" Ironhide answered.
"So, I must pick one of them, not both?" Optimus asked, trying to be sure. The whole betrothal and successor thing bothered him greatly, but he knew it was part of his responsibility.
"I am not 100 percent sure, as you are the first in many eons who has more than one heir to your name. There are legends of it from long, long ago, but nothing in recent history. If you want the real and true answers to your query, I suggest that you venture into the Matrix of leadership" Hide suggested, unaware as of yet that Optimus knew nothing about "going into the Matrix" for wisdom.
"Go into the Matrix of leadership?" Optimus asked, puzzled. He had never heard of such a thing and didn't even realize he could do it, as King Sentinel Prime had never said anything about it. TI sounded too good to be true.
"Yes, as Primus created it for the storage of wisdom to be passed from Prime to Prime. There is a way inside it, and only you can find it as only the Matrix bearer can find the way in. The only words of advice I must pass onto you were from your grandfather – make sure you don't venture too far or too long, for you may lose your way back and never return" Hided stated, as he remembered Sentinel's father passing the advice onto Sentinel. Ironhide was glad he had stored the advice to pass onto Optimus.
"If that is what I must do to find my answers, then that is what I will do" Optimus answered firmly.
"I would suggest you go lay on your berth for safety as you venture in. I will watch over you and Flasher" Hide stated.
Seeing that hide had rarely steered him wrong before, Optimus decided to use the advice he was given. HE went back to the berth room, laid down and then offlined his optics. He wasn't exactly sure how to do this, but he tried several things before he found himself in a strange, unusual place that didn't quite feel offline but didn't quite feel online either. It was sort of an alternate reality. Only then did he realize that he had done it – he had gone into the Matrix. And now he would seek out the information he desperately needed to make sure he was doing everything right.