Author's Note: This chapter here was suggested by CalvinFujii. Thanks for the idea.
Queen Angella was having a good drink of tea in the middle of the day. After finishing her cup, she heard the sound of engines outside. She took a glance and smiled at the sight of a group of Autobots entering the castle. At the front of them was the leader of the Autobots, Optimus Prime. Angella put away her dishes and proceeded to the throne room to greet her allies.
As soon as she made it, Optimus stood alone. He turned his head to greet the queen of Bright Moon.
"Welcome back, Optimus Prime." Angella said. "I suppose the mission was successful?"
"Indeed." Optimus responded. "The Horde and Decepticons have been driven out of Elberon."
"That was quite a large number of enemies." Angella said. She turned to walk down the hallway with Optimus following her. "I must admit, I'm surprised you'd throw yourself there."
"It is my responsibility as leader to help in any way I can, Queen Angella." Optimus said.
"I understand that, but I believe it's just as important to be cautious. The last time I got reckless with my command…" She stopped and frowned. She turned her head to the mural of her late husband, King Micah.
Optimus noticed and sympathized. "I'm sorry. I understand your pain. I lost a loved one as well."
"You have?" Angella asked.
"Her name was Elita-1. She was one of the first casualties of the war on Cybertron."
"I had no idea. How long have you known her?"
"We met back when I was just a record-keeper on Cybertron. That was long before I became Optimus Prime."
"That's not your real name?"
"Not originally. Before the war, I was named Orion Pax, a clerk and historian. Elita-1 was my partner in the office."
"Forgive me," Angella said, "But it's hard to picture you in an office job."
"I was a different man back then." Optimus continued. "Young. Naïve. Unaware of my true potential. Of course, if I knew then what I know now, I would've stopped Megatron before he went too far."
"If you don't mind me asking," Angella said, "What is your history with Megatron? This seems more personal than just your side against his."
Optimus looked out the window with memories flashing before his eyes. He closed them for a minute before indulging. "Very well. You wish to know how the war started? I shall oblige then.
"Like I said, I was a clerk. During my work, I noticed an abnormality in the data I looked over. Long story short, the public wasn't getting as much Energon as it needed. And I wasn't the only one who noticed.
"Megatron went by a different name back then as well. He was a gladiator who named himself after one of the 13 original Primes, Megatronus. He was undefeated and beloved by all. He wanted to provide a great service to them. So when he heard that some of the people were poor on health, he turned over to the records. That's how we met.
"Together, Megatronus and I discovered that the Cybertron council has been holding out on the Energon and keeping a great amount of it on reserve. They believed it was best as an emergency in case of a future Energon deficiency, but it was still unfair as it was creating a more immediate problem.
"Megatronus and I took the issue up with the council and the current Primes who attended the meeting. I wasn't much of a public speaker, so I let Megatronus do the talking. Megatronus was meant to offer a peaceful solution, but what he proposed was less than peaceful. He proposed a militant control to limit the freedom for Cybertron. This wasn't at all what we discussed.
"After his speech, I broke my silence and confronted Megatronus for his proposition. He stood his ground stating that control was best for Cybertron. I argued with him that it wouldn't be right to remove the right to be free. As I continued, without myself knowing, the Primes who were there heard wisdom beyond my years.
"When I was done, the Primes applauded and named me a candidate for a next Prime. This caught me by surprise and Megatronus was furious. He claimed I betrayed him as he stormed off. That's when I began learning under Zeta Prime.
"Meanwhile, Megatronus renamed himself as Megatron and began a public protest against the council. Several Cybertronians who would be Decepticons supported him, more than the council was comfortable with. They sent me and Zeta Prime to confront Megatron and persuade him to stop, but he wouldn't listen. That's when he made his first move by bombing a prominent structure for the government. That one bomb was enough to begin the war.
"Many years passed, Elita-1 passed, and the battles became worse and worse. Zeta Prime became absent for a time, but when he returned, he went on a mission to destroy every generator and blueprint for a space bridge. He never explained why. He just said it was for the survival of the universe. I worried for him, especially since he began going after the Decepticons' space bridges, so I always accompanied him.
"It was at the last space bridge where everything changed for me. It was at Kaon, the capital city for the Decepticons. It was therefore armed to the brink with defenses and security. I pleaded with him not to undertake such a dangerous mission, but he insisted. I went with him watching him endure every cannon, guard, and even Shockwave's monstrous experiments just to get there. He used much of his last strength setting the last space bridge to self-destruct. I carried him out of Kaon before the space bridge was destroyed. Once we were outside the city limits, that's when he gave me this."
Optimus pressed his chestplate and let it open. It revealed an orange, orb-like container with handles on the side. On the inside was his own spark. Angella stared in astonishment.
"What is that?"
"It is the Matrix of Leadership, the most sacred relic among the Primes." Optimus closed his chest around the Matrix. "It is bestowed with immense power, so wielding it is a great responsibility. As Zeta Prime gave it to me, he told me he was now making me a Prime. I told him I wasn't worthy of it, but he countered my point cleanly. He used the last of his strength to pass the Matrix to me until I accepted. Since then, I carried on in his stead as leader of the Autobots and the newest Prime. And that is how Orion Pax became Optimus Prime."
Angella stood in silence. She was admittedly quite inspired by the story and smiled. "That is quite a story, Optimus. Thank you for sharing that. It makes me wish I was as much of a leader as you are."
"Do not think so little of yourself, Angella." Optimus said. "There are times where I question my leadership, but then I look at where my Autobots are today and fill myself with pride, both in myself and them. You've done plenty on your own as you can see."
Optimus pointed down to the ground outside. Angella looked down to see her daughter and her friends practicing their skills and teamwork with their Autobot partners. Angella was too proud to see how fulfilled Glimmer seemed to be. Seeing her daughter, Angella couldn't help but admit out loud.
"Yes. I suppose we're both good leaders."
Author's Note: You can consider this chapter a prelude to the upcoming third volume of the main series as it will be important to note. I didn't want to start on the next volume until I made this. I hope you enjoyed the background for Optimus and Megatron. And if anyone has any ideas on what other chapters to do next, Any and all comments are welcome.