Note: Big thanks to Tyroth Darkstorm as again this was another brainstorming session we did a while back.
Also references to my TMNT Fanfic 'A Warrior's Journey' appears in this chapter.
Also to get a feel for this chapter listen to the song 'Somewhere' by Within Temptation.
Chapter Seventy
Heart to Heart
Unaware of what was happening back at the base, Optimus and Leonardo were driving along a quiet road where it was getting dark.
Even though Optimus told Ratchet and everyone else they were scouting for energon, the Prime had something else in mind.
After they were bridged to the destination Optimus requested, The Prime drove a little further before they came to a forest area.
Optimus soon came to a stop and after letting Leonardo out making sure no-one was watching, he transformed and stood up.
Leonardo looked up at the Prime then saw him kneel and open his palm to which the blue masked turtle climbed in and Prime began to walk towards a large, forested area.
"Where are we going?" Leonardo asked.
"Some place I often come to reflect." Prime answered as he placed Leonardo on his shoulder and continued to walk.
"Where did Ratchet bridge us to?" Leonardo asked then sniffed the air which was very warm.
"Zimbabwe." Optimus answered "Africa."
"Africa?" Leonardo repeated then looked around at the greenery before hearing what he thought was thunder a couple of miles away.
Optimus nodded and Leonardo held onto the cables on Prime's neck and watched as the large autobot stepped through the trees and looked around, again making sure he didn't slip nor step on anything.
"Where we are going, I came across it when Ratchet bridged me to this area when scouting for energon, and I come here most nights to just be alone and reflect."
Leonardo looked at Prime then ahead at the forest area.
"Here?" he asked to which Prime shook his head and kept walking towards where he heard the thundering noise.
"No." he said "Just a little further.
He walked on then before long they approached a cliff edge opposite a large waterfall.
In fact, it was so large, Leonardo wasn't sure how long it was.
The water cascaded down and shone in the fading light and sprays of water shot up into the air and Leonardo could feel some of it on his skin which felt very refreshing.
"This place is beautiful." He said then held tighter onto Prime's cables in his neck as Optimus carefully sat down on the edge of the cliff with his legs dangling over the edge.
"It is indeed." He said, "Your world holds many places of beauty, and this is one that I thoroughly enjoy visiting, the tranquillity here, it eases my spark."
"What is it? This place?" Leonardo asked.
"The humans call it, Victoria Falls, Thundering Smoke, or Boiling Water." Optimus replied, "Due to how the spray looks like steam and the noise is like thunder."
"Ah..." Leonardo mused "I bet Donnie would have known if I asked him." He thought to himself then looked at the landscape before him, the skies were turning a bluish purple, and the lines of red could still be seen where the sun had set.
Because there was no light pollution just like in the Nevada Desert, he could already see some twinkling stars appearing along with a full moon.
"I can see why you enjoy this place..." Leonardo smiled as he slid down Optimus's arm and sat next to him.
"I could stay here forever."
Optimus smiled down at the turtle then back at the Falls.
They sat there for a few seconds, then Leonardo got curious as he wondered if the Prime had anything on Cybertron that he enjoyed visiting.
"Do you have anything similar back on Cybertron?" he asked.
Optimus looked to the stars, then lowered his head venting with sadness.
"Not anymore." He said, "The war destroyed most of Cybertron, as you may recall, my home is little more than a planet sized ruin now due to no energon."
Leonardo went a bit pink as he remembered.
"Shell..." he said "I... I'm so sorry."
"So am I." Optimus said still looking towards the stars and he felt Leonardo's paw on his servo that was resting on the ground next to him.
"The war has taken a far too heavy toll on my world, and my people. Now, most of what remains are but memories." Optimus spoke "I sometimes wonder, could I have done more to stop it all?"
Leonardo glanced up at the Prime and cocked his head in confusion.
"Is it anything you want to talk about Prime? Your memories?" he asked.
Optimus was quiet for a moment, he looked at Leonardo, then at the falls, then at the stars.
Then he reached into his subspace compartment, and he pulled out the same object wrapped in a rag he had held to him when he had the cybonic plague.
Leonardo blinked then saw Optimus remove the rag then produced a beautiful crystal of different colours that glittered despite the fact it was almost night-time, and Leonardo couldn't help but stare at it in wonder.
"Oh wow..." he breathed "That's the most beautiful thing I ever saw... what is it?" he asked.
Optimus looked at it and a small smile crept on his lips.
"A memory." He replied, "You asked if we had any places as beautiful as this location on Cybertron, and one time, we did."
He lowered the shard to Leonardo who reached out to touch it.
"This shard comes from the Crystal Gardens, in the city of Iacon, from one of the displays they had there."
"Really?" Leonardo asked, "What was it like?"
Optimus looked up at the stars again.
"The best way I could describe it would be like one of Earth's botanical gardens, only with many different crystals instead of organic plants. It was an incredible sight to behold. The colour of the crystal, the way light refracted in their matrices, the shapes they took."
"Wow..."
Leonardo stroked the shard again as he tried to imagine what it looked like, he had seen how the crystals of earth were shaped when they were cut from rock and Donatello had a few in his collections, as did Kemeko and he could only imagine a centre filled with such things.
Yet this Shard, it wasn't like anything they had on Earth.
"It's almost more dazzling than the minerals we have here on earth... it's more spectacular than diamonds." He murmured then he looked up at Prime.
"How did you acquire this jewel?"
Optimus looked back at the crystal, his optics wandering as if lost in it.
He was quiet for a few seconds, then he spoke again.
"This is an Aquillian Crystal," he replied, "A rare substance indeed, but with little use outside its beauty, though I have been told that certain space travellers use them as currency."
"Really?" Leonardo asked as he glanced at Optimus.
There was something the Prime was trying to avoid speaking about.
He remembered how he had held it close to him when he believed he was dying from Cybonic Plague and how he was praying in Cybronian as he held it.
"Prime?"
The Blue masked turtle looked up at Optimus "If I didn't know any better, there is more about this jewel than you're letting on, it means something to you?"
Optimus cocked his head and a faint smile crept onto his lips.
"It does indeed." He replied "It was a gift. A small, yet precious gift."
"A gift?" Leonardo asked, his curiosity swelling to which Optimus nodded.
"Before the war, long before it in fact," he said "I went to the Crystal Gardens with Elita, I believe in human terms, it would have been our first date. The first time we went on a special trip together."
"Elita?" Leonardo asked, "Who was she?"
Optimus vented sharply as if he had said something he wasn't supposed to say, yet Leonardo spoke quickly.
"I promise Optimus, you can trust me, I won't speak of anything you tell me." He reassured him.
"Not even to Monalisa" he added.
Optimus looked at Leonardo and vented before he spoke again.
"She was my... Conjunx Endura." He said almost forcing the words out, as this was something he never told anyone outside of those close to him.
"My sparkmate, Elita-One. Or as she was called back then, Ariel."
Leonardo stared at Optimus in surprise.
"You have a wife?" he asked, "I never would have guessed!"
Optimus nodded.
"In a manner of speaking. I imagine it is a little different compared to humans."
Leonardo stared up at Optimus.
He was trying to imagine his friend with a femme like how Michelangelo was with Kate and Raphael with Monalisa.
"Elita, or Ariel..." He asked, "What was she like?"
Optimus looked at the shard then up at the stars again dreamily.
"She had a drive, a passion, that made my spark vibrate." He said, "She was kind and compassionate, but would always stand up for herself and others."
Leonardo then thought of Monalisa,
"Almost like Mona..." he murmured.
Optimus looked back down at Leonardo.
"That has not gone unnoticed." He said, "Your sister shares many traits with Elita."
"Monalisa reminds you of her?" to which Optimus nodded.
"Where is she now? Elita?" Leonardo asked hesitantly to which Optimus vented and looked to the stars as if searching for a moment.
"Only Primus knows." He said lowering his head in sadness "I never saw her leave Cybertron, she was with her femme unit trying to get others into the evacuation ships, I don't even know if she's offline or not."
"If she's alive." Leonardo asked "do...do you think she's out there? Looking for you?
If she's anything like my adopted sister, she would be!" he assured the Prime.
"I know that she is." Optimus replied, "Elita is one of the strongest autobot femmes I know."
He looked back at the shard that shone in the moonlight "And we made a promise to meet again."
"So, she gave you that jewel? Like a promise trinket?" Leonardo asked with a smile as well as feel rather amazed that Optimus was rather romantic.
"She did." Optimus said "The last time we saw each other, just before I was to leave Cybertron. As a promise, and a reminder."
He smiled then his optics showed a little humour as a memory returned to him.
"But that is not how I acquired the shard, you see, there was... an incident at the Crystal Gardens."
"Oh?" Leonardo asked, "This I got to hear!" he thought to himself.
Optimus looked a little sheepish.
"It was our first time like that, and I was nervous and uncertain, outside my comfort zone, since Elita/Ariel was the first and only femme I dated, and I... tripped." He admitted.
Leonardo stared up at the Prime.
As long far as he knew the Autobot leader, he was a tall, strong and elegant Autobot, and the idea of him being a clumsy nerd was enough to make him want to chortle.
"Like the Autobot Version of Clark Kent/Superman, or Peter Parker/Spiderman." He thought "Mikey would love that!"
"Seriously?" he asked out loud almost laughing "A guy like you?"
Optimus gave an amused smirk.
"I was quite different back then." He said, "I accidentally broke of a piece from one of the displays, and while I was told off for being clumsy by the keepers, I was allowed to keep the crystal, which I gave to Elita as an apology, and a gift."
Leonardo's eyes widened and he laughed, yet he stopped himself which wasn't easy.
"Wow really? You?" he chortled "How did Elita take it?"
Another smile grew on Optimus's face and his shoulders moved almost like he was going to laugh but he didn't.
"She actually tried to take the blame," he said "But neither of us believe that the keepers believed her. Afterwards, outside the gardens, when I gave her the shard, she laughed as she embraced me."
He placed his free servo on his cheek.
"No words were spoken before we parted ways that day, they were not needed for the connection that we felt during that embrace."
Leonardo smiled softly as he listened.
"Wow...I would have loved to have seen that, how long did you...you know, see each other before you decided to...in the human language, marry?"
Optimus pondered the question for a moment.
"My best estimate would be..." He paused "Roughly two hundred of your years.
"Seriously?!" Leonardo asked "Are autobots lives that long?"
"I realise that it must seem like an impossibly long time, but the lifespan of my people is nearly unlimited." Optimus replied "Even if there is a strong connection between two sparks, with such much time ahead, caution is normal. For some, less than a few Earth years might go by, while others wait for several thousand years."
Leonardo was speechless as he listened.
"As humanoid turtle, our lives are longer than the average human, even Mona inherited it when she mutated, but nowhere near as long as a cybertronian..."
He coughed
"So, Elita and you were together for a long time, until you married, and yet what happened to her during the war?"
Optimus vented again.
"When last we spoke, as I was about to leave Cybertron, she told me that she would stay behind, and attempt to find and rescue as many others as possible before also leaving Cybertron." He vented again as he looked to the stars "That was a very long time ago."
"You miss her, don't you?" Leonardo asked.
"With all my spark." Optimus said in a sad voice "When I lay on that berth mere hours ago, I was thinking of her, and how I wished I could see her one more time, it was the same in the Arctic during the Scraplet invasion."
He looked back at Leonardo.
"She was the foundation that supported me when I needed it the most, being a Prime is a great honour, but it is a burden to carry, very much like how you carry the role as leader to your family."
Leonardo nodded knowing only too well.
"About Elita, what did you love most about her?" he asked still wanting to know more about this femme that had Optimus's spark.
Optimus was quiet as he thought hard.
"I believe it would be what you would call her spirit." He said, "Her drive, and her smile, the way her optics would light up when she laughed."
"Her spirit, she inspired you?" Leonardo asked.
"She did indeed." Optimus replied, "I am not certain that I would have been the bot I am today without her."
Leonardo then thought about Monalisa and how she had been there for him since the day she first came into their lives.
"I could say the same about Mona...in a way I wouldn't be alive today if it weren't for her." He touched his stomach as the memory of him almost being killed at the Foot Headquarters but thanks to Monalisa's quick thinking and the healing serum she had taken from Dr Arden, he had lived.
"It would seem that we have some more things in common than we realised, Leonardo." Optimus said as he noticed the scar on turtle's plastron, but he decided not to ask about it yet.
"I've never felt more comfortable talking to someone other than Ratchet and Ironhide about my life, and my thoughts."
Leonardo felt a surge of pride within him, that this giant Autobot, a fearless leader and carrier of the most important role in the War who never flinched in battle nor cowered in the face of danger was showing his more vulnerable side to him and he felt honoured.
"You mean that Prime?" he asked.
Optimus nodded and placed his free hand on the ground and Leonardo climbed into it before Optimus lifted him up.
"We both are leaders, we have responsibilities...to our soldiers, our families, and it comes with the burdens hardest to bare, and I feel comforted in my I have met someone who understands me."
Leonardo smiled proudly and he felt a wetness in his eyes as he heard that.
"And I am honoured to meet one who understands me as well Prime, apart from Tyroth, I feel I can talk to you about anything I cannot to my brothers, sister, even my own sensei."
"That makes me feel honoured, Leonardo." Optimus smiled.
You're a great leader Optimus, I've seen how the others look up to you," Leonardo said bowing to the Prime and Prime nodded his head in response.
"And I have seen your family look up to you as well." He replied.
"I only do my best," Leonardo said "I love them so much... I'll do my best to protect them...even if it means giving my life."
"Unfortunately, from my own experiences, there are far too many who would be willing to see us pay just that price." Optimus said sadly.
"I can't tell you how sorry I am for the losses you suffered during the war, you, and the others." Leonardo said "Especially Arcee, losing two partners..."
Optimus nods slightly.
"I know." Optimus said, "But in their memory, we will continue to fight and our planet will be restored, no matter how long it takes, we will restore Cybertron and a new age will begin."
He smiled again at Leonardo:
"Thank you for listening." He said "It eased my spark to have you here with me.
Leonardo felt proud and his heartbeat faster as his spirit swelled.
"You're welcome Prime." He said patting Optimus's thumb "Anytime."
Awwww, some more bonding time between the two leaders of their respected teams, and we've learnt a little more about Optimus and what he had been holding close to him when he had the Cybonic plague.
Hope you enjoyed it!
Also when it comes to the location our heroes are at, I've been there to Victoria Falls in Africa, though I was on Zambia's side of the gorge, I went there many years ago when I was still a college student, and I have many good memories of it too!