Chapter Text
Optimus let out a content sigh as he headed for Primus's core. He could feel all the sparks next to his own, giddy to return to their proper resting place. For them to either remain with their loved ones or finally get a chance at living. He floated amidst the core for a moment where nothing happened. Then a familiar warmth enveloped him alongside a bright light emanating from his chassis. Optimus closed his optics as he felt his frame slowly slip away.
Orion blinked as the area around him came into focus. It was bright, but not blindingly so. A soft warmth seemed to envelop his entire being. He looked down and found his frame had changed once more. He was now in some combination of his three most familiar frames: his frame from the Archives, his Prime frame from his time on Earth, and his upgraded form from Smokescreen. It felt…right. Like this was how he should have looked all along. He let himself transform a few times just to see if he still could. It worked, of course, and it had felt better than it had in years. No tiredness or soreness from long nights spent drafting plans and countermeasures. Everything was just calm and pleasant in a way that he had so rarely gotten to experience. He hopes his family can experience such without joining him too soon.
Speaking of, he should probably go find other members of his family. It had been so long since he'd gotten to see some of them. He couldn’t wait to be able to hold them in his arms as he wished he did countless times after they joined the Allspark. Honestly, a part of him was surprised that they hadn't already started herding around him. He was so sure Cliffjumper would've already tried to bowl him over with a hug at this point. He heard voices off in the distance, so that was as good a place to start as any.
He began to wander towards the voices. As they got louder, something about them seemed…familiar. Optimus swore he'd heard these voices before, but couldn't seem to place where or how. Maybe from his time as an Archivist? Or perhaps some members of his troops? Whoever it was, they sounded angry, but something within him felt it wasn't directed at him. He must not have been paying attention to where he was going as he suddenly bumped into another bot. He went to go apologize and paused as he realized he had to look up to view the mech's faceplate. He felt familiar somehow? Who-
Prima. Orion had just bumped into Prima Prime. He had just run into the first Prime, and he still hadn't apologized for doing so. Oh Primus.
Just as he was about to apologize, Prima smiled down at him brightly. "Oh, Thirteen! It is wonderful to see you again, dear! I just love your new frame! It really suits you! Oh, it has been far too long!"
Optimus suddenly found himself engulfed in a hug. He couldn’t help but melt into the embrace. It had truly been far too long since he had hugged One. One was always one of the best huggers out of his siblings, only second to Nine, as it was hard to beat a shape-shifter in such things.
Wait, why was he calling them One and Nine? They were Prima and Amalgamous Prime, and why did he remember hugging them? Did he refer to them as his siblings? What was going on?
Prima seemed to sense his plight as the elder held him tighter. "Oh, dear, it seems your memories are still all jumbled up. Let us see if Vector can help with that. Ah, do not worry, you shall see the rest of our siblings soon enough! They have all missed you dearly."
With that, the eldest Prime made his way back towards wherever he came, still hugging Orion close to his spark. Optimus wanted to say something about how he could walk himself, but it would be rude to turn down such an honor. Plus, it was rather comfortable. He simply held on as Prima moved swiftly throughout this strange ethereal realm. It seemed like no time had passed at all before One was gently sitting him down in a chair as Two was kneeling in front of him.
Vector Prime gently held Orion’s helm within his servos. "Ah, I see what the problem is now. Since you have lived two lifetimes, your memories are fighting for the same spots in time. All the way from creation to death is unsure which is the truth, as they are both so sure of their reality."
One's servo on his back was comforting. "Can you fix it without erasing either life? I wish for him to properly remember us, but not at the risk of losing the memories of the rest of his family again."
Again? How many times had he lost his memories? And weren't they his only family? No, no, he's sure there were others. He had a child, or was it, children? How many Conjunx did he have? Did he have any? Oh. Perhaps he was more scrambled than he realized.
"Yes. It is a rather simple fix." He jumped at the sound of Two's voice. "All I need to do is temporarily remove the memories of his second life, and place it behind the events of his first. All you need to do, Prima, is keep him calm while I ensure everything is in its proper order."
Prima nodded his helm as Vector's servos glowed a soft blue. The servos were placed on both sides of his helm as he began to slowly draw out a similarly colored line from his helm. He blinked.
Thirteen opened his optics. Where was he? He had just been fighting Unicron with his siblings. He had to help them! He had just been about to move when One's servo stopped him.
He looked up at his eldest brother. "One? Why are you stopping me? We have to defeat Unicron before he kills the Creator! Otherwise Chaos will overrun the galaxy!"
One smiled softly at him. "You may relax now, dear. The fight is over. We won. We couldn't have done it without you. You were the key to his defeat." Tears welled up in his optics. "It came at such a great cost. So please, just relax. You don't have to fight anymore. The war is over. You're free." One tucked Thirteen's helm against his neck as he clutched Thirteen tightly. "You're free."
Thirteen gently hugged One back, confused. Why was his brother acting like this? Though now he had a better view of his second eldest brother. Two was using his powers to do…something. It was always hard to tell what exactly he was messing with at any given moment. Maybe whatever he was doing was what caused One to act like this? That would make sense.
Two looked at them with sadness in his optics as he tapped One on the back of his helm. "I am ready. Are you?"
One sniffled, but still nodded. "Yes. I am."
One let go of Thirteen and stepped back. He looked oddly resolute. Two stepped forward with a long glowing line held gently in his servos. He told Thirteen to stay still and calm. Think of nothing and close your optics. All will make sense soon. Thirteen did as he was told. Why would he ever doubt his siblings?
Suddenly everything felt right. Yes, he was the thirteenth Prime. He had sacrificed himself to best Unicron, but doing so had left his spark weakened and unable to fully join his siblings in the Realm of the Primes. Primus had given him a second chance at life to try and strengthen his spark. He had been reborn. He had been Orion Pax. He had become Optimus Prime. He had bested Unicron with Megatron. One of his sons, Bumblebee, had won the war. He had sealed away the Chaos-Bringer once and for all, at the cost of his life. He was one with the Allspark.
Standing in front of him were his two eldest brothers, Prima and Vector. One and Two. They had helped him remember just who he was.
He smiled at them. "Thank you for helping me remember myself. It seems I can always count on you, Vector, to return my memories to their proper place. Though, I'm glad you didn't leave any gaps this time."
Vector scoffed. "That was because you were using an imitation of my powers instead of the genuine article. Blame our dear sister for that, not me."
Prima laughed softly. "Careful, Vector. I'm quite certain our dear sister isn't above fighting you over the capability of her creations. I'm certain she could get Megatronus to help her quite easily too."
He couldn't help but laugh at the look on Vector's face at Prima's statement. Oh, it felt so good to be with his siblings again. Even if it was only two of them at the moment.
Prima gently rubbed the top of his helm. "So, now that you are back to your proper self, what say you to rejoining our siblings? Oh, but before that, what do you wish to be called? I know the Matrix gave you the name Optimus Prime, but it doesn't seem fair that the rest of us chose our names while you were just told what to call yourself. So, what shall we call you, dear?"
Hmm. What should they call him? He could go for something without Prime in it like Liege or Trion, but that didn't feel right. Optimus Prime had felt far more like a title than a name. He was no longer Pax and hadn’t been for a long time, but he wanted something that could still be shortened to OP. He wasn't about to take away Jazz's favorite nickname. He looked down at his frame while he was thinking and got the perfect idea.
He stood up out of the chair and smiled at his eldest siblings. "I would love to see everyone else! As for my name, you all may call me Orion Prime."
Vector grinned. "I'm sure Trion will love to hear you picked that. Now let us go meet with the rest of our siblings."
"Ah, yes. I heard their voices earlier, but I couldn't make out what was being said. I'm honestly surprised more of them haven't come to greet me. Where are they?"
Prima waved his servo flippantly. "Oh, they've just been busy arguing with and attempting to fight Primus. I simply left to ensure you didn't get lost, and then I dragged Vector away to help."
The rest of his siblings were what? Surely he must've misheard Prima, right?
Vector chimed in as he helped guide Orion. "Yes. Yes. While glad to help, I, for one, would love to get back before anything too serious happens. I've yet to say my piece, after all. That and if a fight does break out I had better be there to help them!"
Prima nodded like it was the most normal thing in the world. "Of course! What kind of brothers would we be if we just let our younger siblings fight a god without us!"