Title: The Prime
Genre: Action/Drama, Friendship/Romance
Rating: T for mild transformer swearing, some violence, and crude language
Short Summary:
When a young mech destined to be the next Prime is exiled by his evil uncle, he must learn what it means to become a great leader.

Chapter Nineteen

Staring up at the stars, feeling quite content for the first time in ages, Optimus let out a happy sigh before looking down at Elita One as she was curled up against his side, one arm wrapped over him.

Both of them were lying down in an open clearing, looking up at the stars and the high moon. They knew that it had come down to it. They felt it deep inside of their sparks.

They were in love.

Optimus never would have guessed that this would have happened. Especially with his long time best friend, Ariel, now called Elita One. He should have seen it coming but he hadn't.

It didn't matter anymore, however. They were together again. Now they could be together in this sanctuary, with his family and best friends. Ad who knew? Maybe they could start a good life here.

Elita One sighed with the same content vent as she lightly ran a finger across Optimus' chassis, against his windshield and felt him shiver but chuckle. She smiled to herself before she continued doing it. "Optimus, when should we start preparing the others and for how long?" She asked him.

Optimus smiled with only a little uncertainty at her. "Hmm? What do you mean? About us?" He asked with amusement.

"No. About going back to Iacon and facing Megatron. And freeing it from him and the Decepticons." Elita One answered.

Optimus now frowned, quite uneasy. He wasn't expecting that one at all. He slowly sat up, looking away. "Elita, I am not going back." He told her.

Immediately, Elita One sat up, frowning at him in surprise. She couldn't believe he was saying that. "Optimus, but it is your home. It is our home. You are The rightful Prime. It is your duty..." she was saying.

Optimus huffed before pushing himself to his feet and shaking his head. "I am not The Prime, Elita One. Megatron is. As it is, this is my home now. I am not leaving it and my brothers here. And I a certainly not taking up a duty that I didn't even deserve." He told her.

"Optimus, you cannot be doing this! Iacon is suffering badly! Good people are dying because of Megatron! He is destroying everything that your father created there!" Elita One told him.

Optimus shook his head again. "That cannot be true, Elita. My uncle loved my fath..." he was saying.

"No, he didn't, Orion. Megatron hated him." Elita One interrupted, before standing up. "He loathed your father. He killed mechs and femmes for even speaking Sentinel's name. I wouldn't be surprised if he actually killed your father."

"No, he wouldn't do that." Optimus said sternly.

"But he did! He did, Orion! I watched him do it! I actually was forced to stand by and watch him murder innocent bots." Elita One said just as sternly, her optics narrowed at him. "And before Ratchet, my femmes and I left, he tried to force me to bond with him! He wanted me as a mate so I would bear him sparklings! He is a monster!"

Slowly, Optimus shook his head, quite stiff with the news. He didn't want to believe it. He wouldn't. Not with his uncle. "If that is true, then do not go back. Stay here with me." He told her.

"Orion." Elita One said wearily, shaking her head.

"Non c'e' problema." Optimus immediately stated turning to face her, earning a bewildered look.

"What?" Elita One asked in confusion.

"Hakuna matata. Non c'e' problema. Nao se p..."

Elita One shook her head, looking more confused. "What are you even saying?" She interrupted him.

Optimus smiled faintly with a sigh. "They mean no worries. I have no idea where Jazz and Ironhide even found those words. But that is what you will have here with me and the guys. Your femmes too. You will be safe here. You won't have ay responsibilities. You will be free. You won't have to worry about anything happening. I will protect..."

"Orion! You really think those words will make everything bad go away?" Elita One scolded him, shaking her head. "They won't! They are just words! It takes action not words to make problems go away! You cannot just sit around, thinking everything will be fine! Sooner or later, Megatron will find your home here! And he will destroy it! You have got to stop hiding! Face him!" She urged.

Looking away, Optimus shook his head, his optics hard. "I can't, Elita! I don't want to be The Prime any more. Megatron can have..." he was saying again.

Elita One shook her head, standing up straight and giving him a fierce look. "Orion! You can! You have to! My femmes and Ratchet and I left Iacon, looking for help! And we found you! You, who are the rightful Prime! People are dying out there while you are so engulfed in your haven of peace and no worries! It won't last! Stand up for what is right! Your father would...!"

Optimus spun and glared at her. "My father is dead because of me, Ariel! It is my fault...!" He was arguing.

"It was an accident, Orion! You didn't kill him! He died trying to save you! That was what mattered the most to him! He went down, trying to protect you and Prowl! And now you have to take up what he believed in! You have to stop your uncle!" Elita One nearly shouted at him.

"Why me?! Why should I be the one to...!?" Optimus was saying.

"Because you are The Prime's son! You are The rightful Prime!" Elita One said loudly.

Optimus scoffed sarcastically before turning away from her again. "Oh, that is some excuse! I am The rightful Prime! Well, so was Nemesis Prime and look what he did! He killed a lot of people too! I am not going to go back and face my uncle for something I do not want any more! I don't want everyone to hate me for what happened! Like it or not, my father's death was my fault! And I am not going back! And you cannot make me!"

Elita One glared at him, slowly shaking her head. "You are a coward, Orion Pax. You are running away from a problem that I believe only you can solve." She said, coolly.

"Yeah, well I do not care anymore." Optimus said bitterly. "And I am not Orion Pax anymore. I am Optimus! Just Optimus!"

"No, you are right. You are not Orion Pax anymore. MY Orion Pax would have done what was right and not cowering in the bushes like some retrorat!" Elita One snapped before she turned and started storming away. "In the next cycle, my femmes and I are leaving to find someone who will help us! Since you are too cowardly to help us!"

"Fine! You do that!" Optimus snapped after her.

"Fine! I will!" Elita One snapped back before stomping away through the trees.

"Fine." Optimus said again, only more miserably. He then turned and stormed the opposite direction. He could not believe this was happening. He had found his oldest friend, fell in love with her and now they had a huge fight that probably cost their friendship.

All for what? Because he wanted peace and quiet? Because he wanted to be left alone?

"How dare she?" Optimus growled out as he stormed into a deep secluded area near the cliffs. He began pacing away his anger. "Coming here and demanding me to go back to face Megatron?! Calling me a coward when she just doesn't understand! I am not a coward! I just don't want to fight! She just doesn't get it! I cannot do that! I just...!"

"Just what? You just want to sit around doing nothing for the rest of your life?"

Optimus stiffened when he heard that voice. It had come out of nowhere. He hadn't been expecting anyone to answer, nonetheless, even over hearing him.

Spinning around, Optimus looked to where the voice had come from and spied an old mech sitting cross legged on one of the cliffs, looking as if he had been there the whole time. His optics were shuttered closed as if he was asleep but the young mech knew better.

"Who are you?! What are you doing here?!" Optimus immediately demanded, his energon blade slipping out with a loud shnk!

The old mech smiled, keeping his optics closed just sat there. He didn't reply for a long moment before he finally opened them, revealing golden colored optics. "The question is, young mech, is who are you and what are YOU doing here?" He answered with his own question.

Optimus frowned up at him before he looked away. "I know who I am. But..." he paused.

"But what? Do you not know who you are? I would think it odd if you didn't know your own name or who you are." The old mech of golden and silver coloring said.

Again, Optimus frowned in confusion. He couldn't help but feel as if this old mech was making fun of him. He knew who he was. Didn't he?

"I know my own name, old mech. It is Optimus." He said dryly.

The old mech snorted before he leaned forward and down, looking directly into the younger mech's optics. "Ah. But do you know WHO you are? Not what you say who you are?" He asked.

"Okay. Quit talking in circles! It is annoying! I told you who I was! So who are you?! What are doing here?" Optimus asked irritably.

The mech just grinned before he shifted to unfold his legs from underneath him. "Does it matter who I am? But does it matter who you...?" He was asking again with the circles.

"Okay! Enough! I know who I am! But who...bah!" Optimus huffed before turning sharply around and starting to leave. "You don't know me! You don't know who I am! So forget it!"

"Just like you have forgotten who you are," the old mech paused with a sly smile. "Son of Sentinel Prime?"

Optimus froze, his optics wide. He felt as if someone hit him over the head and hard. He whirled back around to look at the old mech before freezing when he didn't see him. He began looking frantically around for the vanished mech.

Then someone cleared their vocoder from behind Optimus, making him whirl around again. The old mech was there, smirking slyly. "Who...!? How did you...!?" The young mech was asking flabbergasted.

The old mech's grin grew wider before he shifted his frame. "You really want to know who I am or who you are, come with me. There is only one who can answer that." And with that said, he dashed away.

Immediately, Optimus gave chase.

The chase lead Optimus right out of the sanctuary, which he hesitated to following. But the urging feeling he had within his spark was what pulled him into following. He transformed and chased after the surprisingly fast mech out into the Badlands. He could barely keep up with the old timer as he raced across the desert terrain.

The old mech had even transformed in mid run into an interesting hovering craft and was racing across the desert. He would do some interesting maneuvers to make sure that Optimus was still chasing him before he suddenly dipped downward and vanished.

Optimus slammed on his brakes, quite surprised that he had vanished so suddenly like that. There was really nowhere to go...

Slowly approaching where the mech had vanished, Optimus was surprised to find a large crack on the ground, leading into Cybertron. He frowned as he transformed and looked down into the crack. He didn't like the looks of this at all.

Just then, from within the crack, the mech appeared again, smirking as he looked up at Optimus. "Well, are you coming to meet him or not?" He asked slyly before he vanished again.

Frowning deeply, Optimus glanced around the entire area to see if anyone was watching. He knew this had to be a joke of some sort. But he didn't see anyone. It was just him.

Heaving his vents, Optimus finally crawled down into the crack, dropping into quite the open space. It was some kind of underground cavern or tunnel, big enough for him to walk through. It was quite dark, however. So he activated his headlights upon his chassis. It didn't help a whole lot. But at least he could see the metal tunnels.

"Old Mech! Where are you? How did you know my father? Who are you?!" Optimus called.

"You can call me Alpha."

Optimus yelped as he nearly jumped out of his gaskets, banging his head against the low roof of the tunnel. He cursed softly before turning to find the old mech was right behind him, looking amused. "Do you seriously have to sneak up on me like that?" He asked irritably.

The old mech, Alpha, as he had called himself chuckled before he walked right past Optimus. "I am trying to prove a point to you, young Prime." He stated.

Frowning at him, Optimus shook his head as he dropped his hand. "I am not a Prime, Alpha, was it? And what point are you trying to prove." He asked seriously. He then looked around. "And where are we going? Where are we?"

Alpha chuckled as he kept walking, forcing Optimus to have to follow him. "My point is that you must not underestimate being a Prime. Because once you are a Prime, always a Prime." He told him.

"What would you know...?" Optimus was asking but then froze at the pointed look that Alpha was giving him. His optics went wide as it him. "Yo-you were a Prime?" He nearly stopped walking immediately. "Alpha Prime?! You are Alpha Prime! I remember reading about you! You were one of the greatest Primes we had! Right after Magnus Prime! The third Prime! Bu-but...! What are you doing...?!" He was asking.

"I was Alpha Prime, Optimus. But now, I am known as Alpha Trion." Alpha said with amusement as he took the young mech's arm and pulled him along.

Optimus froze as he remembered that day. "My father...he was going to speak to you! That last day! But...did he...? How...?"

Alpha Trion shook his head as he looked sadly at him but kept a smile. "No, he did not get the chance to speak to me that last day. But I knew it had to be important. Just like now is important that you come with me. We do not have very much time. Now come, Young Prime." He told him dragging him through the dark halls.

"But I am not..."

"As I said, once a Prime, always a Prime." Alpha stated as he cut Optimus off.

For a long time, they walked until they came to a well lit chamber deep within the cavern. There was a blue glow within the chamber, coming from a blue glowing pond of energon. Except there was something different about it. An almost sacred feeling coming from it.

Optimus felt it in the air. He felt peace trailing all around him as he looked at the pool of glowing blue energon. This place...he did not feel worthy stepping on its sacred ground. "What is this place?" He asked with a ventless air.

Alpha Trion only smiled faintly before lightly touching the young mech's back, urging him forward to energon. "Take a closer look. There is something you should see." He told him pointing at it.

Optimus frowned slightly before moving slightly closer, his optics searching the glowing energy. He didn't see anything. He didn't know what he was...

There was a vibration noise in the chamber. The very air around Optimus suddenly felt as if there was thunder all around him. Even as the glow grew brighter. His optics widened as he saw something within the energon pool. He saw a form...no, a reflection. He felt his vents catch when he saw the form of...

"Father?" He suddenly spoke not believing it. He jerked his head up in opposite of him and his vents caught again.

There stood Sentinel Prime, with a blue glow all around him and through him. He was glowing like blue flames. Or more like sparks. But he stood tall and proud, looking back at Optimus with his brilliant blue gaze bearing into his son's very being. "Orion..." his rumbling voice seemed to whisper.

Feeling overwhelmed, Optimus staggered back, his entire frame felt as if he couldn't help but tremble. "Father, you are...are you alive? How is...how is this possible? I saw you...I saw your..." he spike weakly.

Sentinel Prime slowly shook his head, looking deep into his son's optics. "I am only alive within you, my son. But deep within you where you have forgotten me." He spoke deeply.

"No!" Optimus said quickly shaking his head. "I have not forgotten you! I could never forget you!"

Sentinel shook his head again, the blue glowing brightly around him. "You have forgotten who you are, Orion. So therefore you have forgotten me. I am only here to remind you of who you truly are." He held up his head higher. "You are my son, the one true Prime. You are suppose to become greater than I. But instead you have run away from the path you were bound to follow. Because of the treachery that runs within our family." He told him.

Optimus frowned. "Treachery? What treachery do you speak of, Father?" He asked in confusion.

The former Prime let out a vent of graveness before he shuttered his optics closed and the pool of energon glowed brighter below them.

An image formed and Optimus felt dread catch inside his spark as he saw that last day. He saw his father clinging onto the cart that he had Prowl had been on, standing on the very edge of that deep crevice. He felt his spark nearly stop when he saw Megatron drop down and roughly grab his father's helm.

"Long live the Prime. Me!" The rusty silver tyrant's voice vibrated throughout the chamber and deep into Optimus' spark.

And then Megatron threw Sentinel Prime off the cliff, smirking evilly.

The image suddenly vanished and Optimus felt his legs give out from underneath him. He fell heavily to his knees, trembling from that horrible vision.

"Now you know the truth, my son. You must return and face your uncle. Take your rightful place as Prime. You must right was wrong and soar through the heavens as what you are. Do not take it as revenge, my son. But as the right thing to do. You must save your people. Too many lives have paid the price." Sentinel spoke deeply before he seemed to begin vanishing, breaking up into balls of light. "Return and remember your true name."

Optimus jerked his head up and he held his hand towards his father. "I cannot do this alone! I need you, father! Please do not leave!" He begged.

Sentinel faintly smiled as he slowly dissipated. "Remember, my son. I am always watching and guiding you. You are never alone." He told him before he vanished.

Then it was just silent with Optimus standing there, staring at where his father had been standing. He could not believe this. He learned the truth of his father's death. All this time, he thought he had been responsible for his death. But the truth hit harder.

Megatron had killed his father, his own brother.

To even know that had the young mech growl as his optics narrowed. He wanted to make his uncle pay for this. To pay for what he had done. But...the sudden memory of his father's last words cleared his angry processor immediately.

'Do not take it as revenge, my son. But as the right thing to do. You must save your people.'

Venting heavily, Optimus nodded as if he had heard his father say that again. He would acknowledge those words. "I will, father." He murmured softly.

"So, you made your decision?"

Optimus started for a megaclick, turning to face Alpha Trion. He had forgotten that he was there. He must have seen and heard everything, not that it mattered. "Yes. I have, Great Prime of the Past. I have." He said firmly.

Alpha Trion smiled faintly as he looked innocently back at the young mech. "And? What are you going to do?" He asked as if he didn't know.

Looking rather serious, Optimus merely nodded as if he was ordering himself of what he was going to do. "We are going back and freeing Iacon."