Chapter Text
Chapter 1: The Beginning
Far from any civilization lies a calm, tranquil forest. The sounds of Metal Birds chirping and flying bounce in the air. In this forest, a large tree stands with a singular poster. A wanted poster specifically with the picture of a young mech.
"This is the story of how I died.
Don’t worry! It’s not as bad as it sounds. It's a fun story. And truth be told, it's not really mine. This is the story about an exceptional mech I know. And it starts at, well, the dawn of time.
In the beginning, there was Primus. To protect our universe, he sacrificed his life and became the planet we live on: Cybertron. From within Cybertron’s core, Primus used his essence to birthed the first transformers:
Zeta Prime. Alpha Trion. Prima Prime. Vector Prime. Solus Prime. Micronous Prime. Alchemist Prime. Nexus Prime. Onyx Prime. Amalgamous Prime. Quintus Prime. Liege Maximo. And, last but certainly not least, Megatronous.
Known as The Thirteen Primes.
The most powerful transformers appointed to lead the planet. They built the city of Iacon, the capital of Cybertron. Within centuries, the city expanded & flourished under their watch. The Primes were beloved by all those whom they swore to protect."
The Primes stood firm, poised, and proud on the balcony of their home, The Prime Tower. They waved down to the citizens with kind smiles. Mechs & Femmes of all ages cheered & praised their strong but also kind protectors. Seeing the people happy filled the ancient transformers with warmth.
Lingering not too far away from them was a mech with shining blue & gold paint, adored with large golden wings on his back. No one noticed the scowl on his faceplate he cast in the Prime’s direction.
"Oh, you see that blue mech with the giant obnoxious wings over there? You might want to remember him. He’s kind of important.
Anyways. Peace on Cybertron did not always last. Every now and then, a threat would loom over the world. One such was a brutal alien race known as the Quintessons. They were the Prime’s fiercest foes. Their conflict lasted for thousands of cycles. Though the Primes had almost always emerged victorious, The Quintessons were the most dangerous enemies The Thirteen had ever faced. They prayed to Primus for a swift end to this war.
What The Primes did not know was that The Quintessons had help from one of their own."
On a dark lunar cycle on Cybertron’s surface, the blue mech with gold wings flew through the sky. His destination led him to a cave deep into the mountains. The mech darted his helm around, ensuring he was not followed before entering. Inside the cave waiting for him were top-ranking commanders of the Quintenssons. He stood firmly before them.
Then he knelt down like a subject greeting their rulers.
"Ahh! I told you he’d be important. This mech, Sentinel, was the principal aide to The Thirteen Primes. While he was in a well-off position, Sentinel wanted to rule Cybertron all for himself and was willing to do anything to achieve that. Even if it meant making a bargain with the enemy."
“So here’s my plan.” Sentinel addresses The Quintensson Commanders. “I tell the Primes that I intercepted a message about a secret meeting you all will have and lead them here. That’s when your armies will ambush the Primes, and I will help take the rest of them out. Once The Primes are eliminated, I will take over Cybertron, and you will have an endless supply of Energon." He extended his servo out. "Do we have a deal?
The Lead Quintesson Commander glances at his subordinates. All let out approving snarls. The leader faces back to Sentinel with an extended tentacle to accept the servoshake. Sentinel let out an approved smirk.
"Alright, you get the picture. Scummy traitor. Willing to sell out his own planet. Kill The Primes for power. All that jest. Sounds terrible, doesn't it? To Sentinel, it was the perfect plan to grab the power he ever so desired. It would've gone well..."
Blaster fire landed at the foot of the mech & alien right as they were about to cement their deal, causing them to jump.
"…Were not for some flaws he brushed over."
Sentinel glanced in the direction where the blaster originated. His optics widened in horror once he saw The Thirteen Primes rushing into the cave, surrounding him and the Quintessons Commanders. Armed and not happy-looking.
“I did not wish for it to be true, but there’s denying it now,” Alpha Trion’s voice echoed through the cave walls. Though calm, there was fury in his tone.
“My Primes?! This…This is not what it looks like!” Sentinel desperately insisted.
Alpha Trion manipulated the dust around his hand, showing the image of Sentinel bowing to the aliens and proposing his scheme. “I think we have a pretty clear picture of what it looks like, Sentinel.”
“How did you even find out?!” Sentinel snarled loudly that it echoed through the cave walls, now realizing that he had been caught blue-servoed. “I covered all of my tracks!”
“Do you really take us for fools? You think we wouldn’t discover that you're conspiring with the enemy?” Megatronus retorted back with a growl, gripping his trident tightly.
“How could you do this to us?” Prima Prime uttered in disappointment. “We took you in under our guide. Trained you. Taught you. Treat you like our own. And you were willing to betray us?”
“Why Sentinel? Why?” Zeta Prime breathed out, still in pure disbelief.
Sentinel’s face plate twisted into a sneer. “For all the power on Cybertron. The power that I rightfully deserve!”
"You ruling Cybertron?" Liege Maximo mocked. "That's bad comedy right there."
“You’re a fool to believe you're worthy of such a thing. Not with your cold spark,” Onyx sneered at the traitor.
Nexus, Quintus, and Vector Primes marched forward to apprehend Sentinel. The blue mech pulled out his double-bladed sword. The rest of the Primes tensed as they readied their own weapons.
“Don’t even try it!” Solus Prime raised her forged hammer.
“You’re outnumbered!” Amalgamous Prime followed.
“No chance of you escaping!” Mirconus Prime stepped in.
“Don’t make this worse for yourself!” Alchemist Prime warned.
“Consider your next moves very carefully, Sentinel.” Alpha Trion said in a warning tone. “Stand down, and you'll be granted a fair trial. Attack, and we will defend ourselves. What is your choice?”
Immediately, Sentinel donned his blue battle mask as his arms transformed into guns. He hovered in the air and fired at the Primes.
"What happened next was utter chaos as The Primes, Sentinel, and Quintessons Commanders battled each other. The Quintessons barely stood a chance against The Primes, but Sentinel did not make things easy for the ancient transformers."
The fight continued in the cramped cave as battle shouts bounced around. With so much happening, it was difficult for the Primes to keep track of who was where. In the chaos, Sentinel spotted Alpha Trion fighting against one of the Quintessons, back wholly turned. Sentinel charged up one of his guns. He may've been discovered, but he could take out one Prime at least.
He hovered in the air, weapon fixated on Alpha Trion.
Megatronus spotted him. The purple-masked Prime threw his trident at Sentinel’s wings, clipping one of them off his back, causing the traitorous mech to fall back on the ground. His weapon fired on an unstable part of the cave’s roof. It cracked, and a rain of rocks began tumbling down.
“CAVE IN!”
"The Primes all scramble to escape the cave. The Quintessons, injured from the battle, were not so lucky. Sentinel tried to escape, but a large boulder landed on his remaining wing and trapped him. The last The Primes see of Sentinel is him crushed by an avalanche of boulders.
Once the dust settled, The Primes returned to the cave to oversee the aftermath. Every one of the Quintesson Commanders died from the cave-in. As for Sentinel, all that the Primes found left of him were his other wing & helm crest, both covered with splatters of Energon near a pile of large boulders. After searching around, The Primes had enough cause to believe the betrayer permanently offline.
Unaware that Sentinel was the opposite of that."
Sentinel panted as he dragged himself through a hidden tunnel that he barely escaped to. Dents, scraps, and cuts bleeding out energon littered all over his body. The mech jogged in fear that The Primes were closing on his trail. He did not see the steep ledge ahead outside, causing him to tumble down into the thick of the forest.
He used his servos to push himself up onto his knees, letting out a pain filled groan. His optics examined all the damage on his body he had acquired from the cave-in. Then he felt the new weightlessness on his back. Sentinel hitched an intake upon his servos feeling on the knubs of where his cherished wings once were. His optics widened in horror once he realized everything he had and worked for was all gone.
His status as the Prime’s Principal Aid is no more. His Quintesson allies are dead. He was all alone.
Sounds of rockets caught his audio receptors. Sentinel hid in a nearby thick bush just in time to see all of The Primes flying in the night sky back toward Iacon. Denta gritted as a burning anger pulsed with Sentinel’s chassis as he watched the Primes disappear.
"From that point, Sentinel had nothing except for one thing:
Revenge against The Primes.
And so, he hid in the shadows, waiting for that moment to enact it.
With the Quintesson Commanders dead, the rest of their forces fled from Cybertron. The war against The Quintessons was finally over. All of Iacon celebrated for solar cycles. For the Primes, it was more of a bittersweet victory. Sentinel's betrayal stung them a lot. They were fond of him. Some considered him a friend even. Others can’t help but think what would’ve happened if they brushed off their concerns about him. Had they done so, things could’ve gone badly for them, and Cybertron would’ve entered a dark future.
With time, The Primes chose not to dwell on such thoughts, and Sentinel eventually became nothing but a distant memory.
Cycles passed as Cybertron entered a golden age of peace & prosperity. Happiness radiated from all Mechs & Femmes alike. It filled the Primes with love to see the planet and the people flourish in harmony.
Deep within the planet’s core, Primus’ life force could feel the rich energy of the peace. Primus’ core had not felt this much power since creating the planet & The Primes. The love from the citizens slowly powers up the core until Primus was strong enough to bless The Primes and Cybertron with a new gift.
When the time came, The Thirteen were all drawn to The Energon Fountain."
The Energon Fountain was a proud symbol of Iacon, residing in the city’s center. Overseeing it was a large stone mural of the Thirteen Primes, for this place is where they first emerged when Primus gave them life so many centuries prior. Now they are here again. All of the Primes felt the same aura, marching to the fountain without saying anything like they had planned this. Citizens gathered around to see what was occurring, getting as close as The Cybertronian High Guard allowed them to. Everyone waited with anticipation.
The Primes stood at the bank of the fountain. Alpha Trion stepped forward to kneel down. A round glow brightens as a pod floats on the Energon’s surface. Alpha Trion gently took hold of the pod and placed it on the hard ground. The pod resembled a womb sack. There was movement coming from within. One swift movement causes a hole to be formed, pouring out the fluid. Zeta knelt down, pulling out a small dagger to help cut the sack further open.
What followed was the sounds of a newborn crying.
A squirming sparkling mech lay upon Alpha Trion’s servos. Prima stepped forward, pulling out a blanket and wrapping it around the sparkling before taking him into his arms. The sparkling continued crying as Prima gently soothed the child until he calmed down. Once settled, the rest of The Primes gathered close to see the sparkling. They all watch him slowly open his optics for the first time.
“Hello, little one,” Prima waved his index digit near the infant’s faceplate with a smile. “Welcome to the world.”
The sparkling glances at the other thirteen primes that gazed down at him with adoration. Though only a few klicks old, he felt their aura of warmth within his own spark.
Zeta turns over to the crowd of Cybertronians who are still watching them. “Cybertron! Let me be the first to announce...The birth of a new prime!”
The citizens all let out excited cheers at the news.
"For the first time since the planet's creation, a new prime had been born. A healthy sparkling mech. With shining red, blue, and silver coating. And bright beautiful azure optics. The primes named him…"
“...Optimus. That shall be his name.” Alpha Trion happily declared. “Optimus Prime!”
"If you haven’t figured it out, that little sparkling is the special mech I was talking about.
All of Iacon loved the little prime. He became the hot topic around for many mega-cycles. They would often sent the little one gifts to show their adoration.
Their level of love for the sparkling prime did not come as close much as The Primes had themselves.
Mircronus, Alchemist, Nexus, Onyx, Amalgamous, and Liege Maximo were, more often than not, always Optimus's playmates whenever they had free time and typically can be found in the youngest prime’s nursery."
“He’s so cute!” Nexus beamed, gazing at Optimus in his cradle.
“He’s adorable,” Micronus playfully wiggled his digits over the baby’s faceplate, speaking in a baby voice. “Yes, you are! Yes, you are!”
“I can't wait to take you flying around with me.” Onyx's wings fluttered with excitement.
“Assuming his alt-mode will be a flyer,” Alchemist pointed out.
“I’ll let him ride on my back if he isn’t,” Onyx insisted. “But I hope he is.”
“I don't see any wings so he's may be ground-based. Could be a car. Or maybe a truck,” Nexus guessed.
“We won’t know until he’s older,” Micronus said.
“One thing we do know, you’re no longer the smallest prime among us,” Liege Maximo playfully teases.
“Ha ha. Very funny,” Mircronus retorted back sarcastically.
Liege ignored him, instead putting his attention back to Optimus. “Oh, I can imagine the mischief you and I will get into, little one.”
“Primus, no.” Amalgamous groaned. “The last thing we need is another you running around.”
“Says the mech who put nano spiders in my berth.”
“Because it was funny!”
“I certainly didn’t find it so!”
Optimus didn’t like the high tone that his two siblings were speaking. He whimpered in fright about to cry. Alchemist quickly took notice. “Stop it, you two. You’re scaring him!” He lightly scolded them.
It took the six primes a few klicks to calm their younger sibling down.
“Crisis averted,” Nexus vents out with relief.
“Probably should keep it that way, too.” Alchemist let out a stern glare to Liege & Amalgamous.
“Right…”
“Sorry about that.”
“Just be glad Prima & Megatronus weren’t here. They probably would’ve sent you to Primus himself,” Micronus jabbed back playfully.
Onyx then put his attention to Optimus. “Don’t mind those two. They may be Primes, but they can be bolt heads."
Onyx ignored the glare from Liege & Amalgamous.
“I made you something that you might like.” Onyx pulled a stuffed teddy cyberbear from his subspace, placing it next to Optimus, who immediately snuggled the toy close to his chassis.
The six primes all let out collective awes at the sight.
“You know…Whatever alt-mode he has, we’ll still love him,” Onyx shared, his follow primes muttering in agreement.
"Even Vector and Quintus, the most serious of the Primes, could not help but be charmed by the sparkling."
Vector had often kept Optimus in company whenever he was overlooking the paperwork, a task he brought himself to do since Sentinel could no longer help in that department. Many were shocked because he had preferred to be undisturbed when he was working. Optimus became the sole exception.
Even if Vector had to constantly prevent him from chewing on the supplies.
“Don’t suck on that,” Vector gently removed another datapad that Optimus tried to put in mouth. “These are not toys. They are important for our work as Primes. One day you may be able to help me out with this.”
Optimus seemed disinterested, attempting to grab another datapad. “But I get the feeling you wouldn’t be interested in doing this.” Vector states with feign defeat.
Quintus found himself inspired to paint. He had picked up this hobby before the war with the Quintessons and was more than happy to resume once it ended. Whenever he was not doing his work as a Prime or scientist, he would paint in his spare time.
He was painting the walls of Optimus’ nursery with the baby prime secured in a carrier on his back. Little Optimus watched as Quintus painted more pretty colors and patterns on the wall. He let out a happy coo.
Quintus let out an amusing chuckle. “You like the colors, little one? I picked these ones because they are meant to be soothing for sparklings.”
Optimus noticed the brush in Quintus' servos and tried to reach out. “You wish to paint too?” Quintus reacted with amusement. “I don’t think you’re quite ready for that yet. I would be more than happy to teach you once you’re older.”
"There was also Solus who wanted to showcase her love to Optimus. She used her talents of the forge to craft something becoming of a prime. Something The Primes will cherish for Cycles to come."
“Please tell me you didn’t already make a weapon for him,” Zeta asked the blacksmith, who held a wrapped object in her servos, showing it to him and Alpha Trion, holding Optimus in his arms.
Solus heartfully chuckled. “As eager as I am to craft Optimus' first weapon, I know it will Cycles before he will be ready. I still wanted to make him something so I made this.”
Unraveling the cloth revealed a simple but elegant crown. It was made from the strongest gold Solus could meld and decorated with beautiful cyber diamonds, rubies, and sapphires. Zeta and Alpha Trion were impressed by her handiwork.
“Why Solus. It looks lovely,” Alpha Trion complimented.
She beamed. “I scoured the whole planet for the finest materials and the most beautiful cyber gems. I thought our little one deserved the best.”
Optimus noticed the shiny, pretty crown. He reached out for it.
"I think he approves, too," Zeta stated happily.
Solus then gently placed the crown onto the little prime’s head. It barely fits, with one side of the crown tilting on the side of Optimus’ helm. The infant merely giggled.
“I might need to make some size adjustments,” Solus remarked with an embarrassed smile.
“I’m sure he’ll grow into it,” Alpha Trio assured her.
“He will be a big strong prime. Like the rest of us,” Zeta declared with heartfelt pride.
"Then there was Prima & Megatronus. Since the day he came into their lives, the pair had grown the closest with Optimus out of all the primes."
Optimus cooed happily at the sight of Prima & Megatronus near his cradle. He was always happy to see them.
Prima lifted Optimus, moving him close to his faceplate. Optimus reached his arms out, his tiny servos brushing against Prima’s cheeks, letting out happy squeals. Prima let a chuckle, bringing Optimus close to his forehead and nuzzling him. Megatronus look at the site fondly.
“He takes after you.” Prima raises one of his optical rides at Megatronus’ comment.
“Pardon?”
“He looks more like you out of all of us.”
“How so?”
“Your nose ridges are the same. So is your chin.”
Prima glances at Optimus for several moments. “Huh, so it seems. Anything else we both share?”
Megatronus took over a minute to think that over. He glanced at Optimus and then back at Prima. “You both have the same irises.”
Prima again glances at the sparkling's optics. Sure enough, Megatronus was right. Though every transformer tends to have blue, yellow, or even red optics, all irises tend to vary. The only ones to share patterns are bots that are blood-related. Prima’s have several lines of circles resembling cogs overlapping each other. Optimus’s was just about the same. No other bot has this trait, not even the other Primes. Prima let out a smile. Megatronus moved closer to Prima, wrapping an arm around to get a better look at the sparkling. Through his mask, his optics showed nothing but pure adoration.
With the way they look at him, any other outsider would assume that they were the ones who Carried & Sired Optimus.
Seeing Megatronus's loving optics gaze at the baby, Prima had an idea. “Would you like to hold him?”
“Me?” Megatronus stuttered, clearly unsure. “I’m not used to handling small things.”
“I’ll help you.” Megatronus complied upon hearing the assurance in Prima. He gently places Optimus into the Warrior Prime’s arms, instructing him. “Hold his head like this.”
Megatronus complied, gently securing Optimus. “He’s so…tiny.” Megatronus breathed out in astonishment.
Prima gave a warm smile, leaning into the crook of Megatronus’ neck. “He’ll be big before we know it.”
“Hopefully not too soon.”
Optimus grabbed Megatronus’ mask and shifted it, revealing part of his scared faceplate. Optimus stared at the scar curiously. Megatronus let out an amusing chuckle as he brought the mask back down.
“A souvenir I received from a fierce battle long ago. Hopefully, you will never face such hardships in your lifetime, little one.”
Optimus let out a tired yawn, optic lids growing heavy. He snuggled close to Megatronus’ chassis, falling into recharge.
“He’s so precious,” Megatronus whispered.
“He’s perfect,” Prima affirmed. “And we’ll make sure he knows that.”
"Yep. The Primes loved Optimus very much. He brought a new light to the lives they didn’t even realize they needed until he came.
And to celebrate their love for him, The Primes launched a flying lantern into a the sky."
The Thirteen Primes gathered at their balcony, with Prima holding Optimus in his arms. Below, an audience of millions of Cybertrionians has all gathered in the streets. In front of the primes was a lone lantern with their respective symbols. Alpha Trion lit up a small flame within the lantern. All of The Primes each placed a servo underneath the lantern and gently coaxed it into the sky. The audience all let out cheers as they watched it float. The Primes all smile at Optimus, who tries to reach out for the lantern.
"For that one moment, everything was perfect…"
A lone hooded mech with dents & scars stood amid the crowd just below the Prime’s Tower. His blue armor no longer shined, and his gold had become a more faded yellow. His optics focused solely on the sparkling prime, and he sees how much the other primes adored him.
A sinister smirk grew across Sentinel’s lips as he disappeared back into a crowd. A plan formulated within his processor.
"…Until that moment ended on a dark quiet night."
The silence of the lunar cycle was broken by the nursery window opening. A hooded figure slowly crept inside, carefully trying not to make any loud sounds. He stalked his way over to the cradle. Optimus lay peacefully slumbering away, cuddling his stuffed cyberbear, unaware of what was happening.
A black digit, littered with scratches, gently stroked the infant’s cheeks. Underneath his face mask, Sentinel let out a smirk.
“What an adorable little thing you are. So small. So helpless,” Sentinel lowly hummed, continuing to caress Optimus’ cheek. “I can see why those blasted Primes love you so much. They would be so devastated if something happened to you.”
Optimus’ cries pierce the entirety of The Prime Tower.
All of the Primes immediately knew something was wrong. Optimus cries were not the usual needy ones. Rather he sounded terrified. They all rushed to the nursery as fast as their pedes allowed them but they were too late. When they all arrived, they were greeted with a horrifying sight.
The empty cradle knocked on the floor, with the teddy cyberbear plop not too far away, and the window wide open.
Prima let out a gut-wrenching scream so loud it was said to have wakened all of Iacon.
"Sentinel broke into the Prime’s Tower, stole Optimus, and disappeared into the night.
It was tragic. All The Primes, The High Guards, and hundreds of volunteering Cybertronians went on a frantic search. Every space in Iacon was investigated, and then it expanded planet-wide. Many orbital cycles pass, but no one could find any sign of Optimus Prime.
The Primes were devastated.
Deep within a forest outside of Iacon, lies a hidden tower. There, Sentinel raised the sparkling as his own."
Sentinel stumbles inside his hideout, still holding onto the young prime. This tower was once a secret base before it was abandoned many Cycles before The Quintesson War. Sentinel had learned of its existence during his time as The Prime’s Principal Aid. Thinking it may be helpful one day, he deleted records of it from The Archives, and The Primes were none the wiser. With how much The Primes needed to keep track of, Sentinel figure records of a old base being missing would be the least of their worries.
A smart move in the long run.
While it wasn’t as luxurious as his old home in Iacon, it was still a decent enough living space with all the basic necessities. And it was secluded, so there was little chance of someone discovering him.
Making it the perfect place to keep Optimus Prime hidden.
Optimus had continued crying the whole trip to the tower. One moment, he was peacefully sleeping, and then he was forcefully grabbed and flew in the cold air. All while a strange mech that didn’t look like any of his siblings was holding him. The mech did not have that sense of warmth Optimus’ family had.
Optimus was terrified. He wanted his family. He wanted to be home with them.
“There there, little one.” Sentinel softly spoke to the infant, gently rocking him too. “No need for tears.”
Sentinel offered liquid low-grade energon to the sparkling. That seemed to do the trick. Optimus reached and began sucking on it, gradually calming down.
“That’s right. I’m right here." Sentinel caresses the infant's cheek as he feeds. "You’ll be safe with me. Not with the primes. I’m all you’ll ever need.”
Optimus slowly grew more comfortable in the mech’s arms. Slowly, he snuggled against Sentinel’s chassis.
“Out there, the world will remember you as Optimus Prime. But here…You will be my son and come to know me as Father. As far as you're concerned, that is the truth. And the truth is what I make it.”
Optimus falls into a deep recharge. Sentinel smirks down on the infant.
"Sleep well...my little Orion Pax."
"After many cycles, Sentinel had finally found his revenge against The Primes. And he was determined to follow through with it."
Time passes as Optimus Prime, named Orion Pax by Sentinel, grows into a youngling. Any memories of the Primes and his actual name were lost. As far as he knows, Sentinel is his father and the only family he has.
The mechling stared out the window with a longing look on his faceplate, humming a song to himself.
“Something troubling you?” Sentinel walks up to his side.
“Why can’t I go outside?” Orion asked.
“The outside world is a dangerous place. Filled with horrible, selfish bots that wouldn’t hesitate to hurt you. You must stay here where you’re safe, and I can protect you.”
“Oh…” The youngling responded with disappointment.
Sentinel gently cups Orion’s chin. “No need to fret. Everything you need is here. More so with me. Do you understand, Little Spark?”
“Yes, papa.”
“Good.” Sentinel held him close. The youngling hugged his father back.
"But no matter how hard Sentinel tried, the walls of that tower could not hide everything from the curious little mech…"
Later that night, Orion tiptoed down the stairs leading from his berthroom. Once on the ground floor, he peeked into his father’s room, where he found Sentinel deep into recharge. Orion then hurried over to a window in the front of the tower where he opened the thick metal shutters.
Outside, far in the distance, a trail of thousands of lights floated into the night sky.
"The Primes & Iacon had never forgotten Optimus. Each Cycle, on his birthday, they release thousands of lanterns into the sky. In hopes that one day their lost Prime…would return."
Little Orion rested still at the window, watching the lights with awe in his optics. A dreaming smile grew on his lipplates, wondering what it would be like to see them in person.