Glances Into a Spark - Coronation
Title: Glances Into a Spark - Coronation
Fandom: Transformers
Characters/pairings: Optimus Prime, Megatron
Rating: PG
Summary: It was twenty and some vorns after they'd been sparked, and it was time for them to assume the roles for which they had been built, Prime and Lord High Protector, and Orion was terrified.
Warnings: None
Notes: I think the muse is sick of me being generally intimidated by writing Optimus, so it decided to spam me with a whole lot of the big guy, all at once. Also, I am happy, because Steve Jablonsky is coming back for TF2 :>
Table of Contents
o o o
Orion Pax was shaking
It was difficult to notice, unless one stood directly beside the Heir Prime, but he could feel it, a nervousness-induced trembling in his shoulders. It was twenty and some vorns after they'd been sparked, and it was time for them to assume the roles for which they had been built, Prime and Lord High Protector, and Orion was terrified.
A hand on his shoulder, support and strength, and Orion gave his brother a grateful, though strained smile. Megatron was as terrified as he was, but he hid it better, behind a front of excited eagerness. They stood together just inside the balcony of the Simfur Temple, and just on the other side of titanium walls, practically all of Cybertron waited. He could just see Sentinel Prime delivering the benediction, asking Primus to smile on them. Shifting, he could catch a glimpse of Omnitron, stern and silent at Sentinel Prime's side.
They had trained for this, mentally and physically, their whole lives. They would be tested, and if they were found lacking, the Challenges they were to face would kill them, and the priests and Council would start over. Near him was the young priest who had trained him and who would become his assistant, and he looked more worried than Orion felt. That worry wasn't entirely unfounded; it was an orn of testing for Ultra Magnus, too. Had he prepared the Heir Prime for his duties? Similarly, the three instructors who had trained Megatron in all forms of combat milled nearby, speaking in hushed tones. Had they taught the Heir Protector enough to survive his Challenge? No time to think about it anymore; Sentinel Prime had given them their cue.
The cheering of the crowd was exhilarating, deafening, as they joined their Sires on the balcony. They made their bows, coordinated as they must be throughout their rule, and the cheers swelled, the people eager to have them. Not that Sentinel Prime and Omnitron were unloved, but they had come to power during the great war with Phyrexia, and those who remembered that war wished to forget it. But now Cybertron was at peace, perfectly ripe for new leadership.
Megatron's Challenge came first, and he sank to his knees before Omnitron. "I await to serve," he intoned, ceremonial words as old as their kind, and the crowds fell eerily silent.
"Serve who?" Omnitron demanded, icy cold.
"The people of Cybertron," Megatron answered.
"Prove it."
A thread of concern wound through Orion's spark. The two great mechs would fight, and though Omnitron would not immediately attack, he would fight back when Megatron engaged him, and he would keep fighting until he was defeated or Megatron was dead. A single pin was all that was needed, more symbolic than anything, but getting Omnitron to that position would be difficult. Though they both had been taught by the same three mechs, Omnitron had been tempered in war, and that experience gave him a considerable edge.
Megatron stood and the mood of the crowd changed again, from solemn ceremony to charged expectation. Omnitron moved first, jumping from the balcony edge to the plaza below, the crowd splitting hastily around him, being sure to give him all the room he desired. Megatron followed and the two circled each other, optics locked and claws flexing in a subtle threat.
Megatron lunged suddenly, claws splayed for a killing strike at Omnitron's spark. Omnitron evaded and took a swipe at Megatron's optics that shaved thin metal strips from the Heir Protector's helm. Megatron ducked back and Omnitron jumped up, transforming in mid-air and shooting up into the sky, Megatron hot on his tail.
Concern blossomed into pure dread. Air combat was where Omnitron excelled. He had taken Megatron out of the air before, when the young mech decided his first flight would be through Iacon's busiest thoroughfares, and Megatron would be all too eager to repay the humiliation, despite his almost total lack of flight combat experience.
They spiraled up together, belly to belly before they collided, half-transforming to deploy claws and rip at armor. Such contact could only be sustained for brief seconds before they had to disengage or risk stalling out. Except when Omnitron pulled back, Megatron went with him, transforming completely to latch onto Omnitron with all limbs.
Omnitron's outraged scream echoed across Simfur. As large as he was, Megatron was even more massive, and Omnitron could not remain in the air with that much added weight. They went into a tailspin, arrowing for the Plaza again at too high of a speed, totally uncontrolled and the crowd scattered.
They hit hard, cracking through the polished copper inlays of the Plaza floor and deep into the silica bedrock underneath. Omnitron lay on his back at the bottom of the impact crater, his silver-bright armor badly scratched and dented. Megatron crouched on the Lord High Protector, all four sets of his claws jammed beneath his Sire's armor. He leaned close, a bare tick between their faces. "Do you yield?" he asked softly.
So fast! Not the fastest Challenge in their history, but close, and Orion's spark flared with love and admiration for his brother. Omnitron's face went from rage and pain to an expression Orion had never seen on the cold mech - acquiescence, and was that pride? Orion thought it was - and he smiled in his grim way. "I yield," he said, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Lord High Protector Megatron."
The crowd exploded into cheering again, chanting Megatron's name beneath the general noise. They climbed from the crater and it was Omnitron who went to a knee this time, head bowed in deference, and the motion rippled out. Only Orion and Sentinel Prime remained standing, but they gave their own bows, respect towards an equal.
Megatron touched the back of Omnitron's helm lightly and the older mech stood, leading the new Lord High Protector back to the temple. "Keep our people safe," Orion heard Omnitron mutter before he entered the temple proper, to have his wounds tended to. Megatron climbed the winding stairs back to the balcony alone, to thunderous applause, and Orion wondered if anyone else could see the energon dribbling from a jagged rend in his leg armor, or the careful way he carried his arm close to his side. His wounds would be dealt with later. He took his place, not at Orion's side but at Sentinel's, and Orion felt briefly, horribly alone.
He'd think about loneliness later. He had his own Challenge to overcome. He stepped before Sentinel Prime, and the crowd fell silent again. He did not kneel, as one did before a warrior, but he gave the priest's bow, his head down and his hands open in supplication before him. "I await to serve," he said, glad that his voice did not betray the very real fear he felt, that his body did not waver as he held his position.
"Serve who?" Sentinal Prime prodded, so like and so different from his brother Omnitron.
"Primus," Orion said firmly, raising his head to meet Sentinel Prime's optics.
Sentinel Prime took Orion's open hands in his own, pulling him up to stand straight. "Prove it," he said quietly. His chest split, layers of armor sliding back to reveal the dark metal of his spark chamber and the gold tracery that caged it - the Matrix of Leadership.
He knew what he had to do, but it was hard, so hard, against every self-preservation program he had, to expose his spark chamber in such a public place. Taking strength from Sentinel's hands still in his, from Megatron watching him, he opened his own armor, going a step beyond and opening his spark chamber as well, iridescent light playing over Sentinel Prime's face. Sentinel Prime was taller than he was and he shifted his grip, his hands going to the Prime's upper arms for support as he went up on his toes. He caught a glimpse of Sentinel Prime's spark chamber opening and, locking optics with his Sire, Orion brought their sparks together.
There was a moment of confusion as the emotions of another swam through his spark; happiness, sorrow, resignation, a deep peace. Then his impressions of Sentinel were swept away by something else, something hugely magnificent and old, so very, very old.
He was swept along, whirled to unravel his spark into its individual threads, his whole being laid out for inspection. There were others here, all who had held the Matrix before him, tied forever into the artifact. Some he knew, had met, even, whether they were on the Council of Ancients - Alpha Trion, Prosilmus Trion, Insolton Trion - or as priests in the temples - Ultra Thiotime, Ultra Alternal, Ultra Contimus. Still others he knew from the history files, the great Prime's of the past - Nominal Prime, Omega Prime, Exodus Prime, Reactimus Prime, Leonidus Prime, Platinal Prime, Prima - with a start, he realized there were so many, too many, far more than he had ever expected, and he knew them all, knew where in the chain of leadership they fell. He knew who had failed their people, and who had been brought back, again and again to serve the same role, and how many times had the Matrix been passed along?
'Only Primus himself knows' Sentinel Prime at his side, his benefactor in this place. The living consciousness of the Matrix surrounded them, the combined weight of every Prime in that long chain and the AllSpark itself, of which the Matrix was but a shard, broken off many, many vorns before.
His mind whirled, disoriented, overwhelmed with knowledge.
The Prime's converged on his spark, pulling away the strands surrounding his core being. Oh Primus, it hurt, and he screamed without sound as he was dispassionately examined. They saw his doubts, his fears of being unable to live up to the destiny he was chosen for. They saw his naivety, his jealously guarded innocence. They saw how he would cling to his brother, his instructors, anyone around him, too eager for them to be happy, too eager to save them from dissatisfaction. They saw his stubbornness, his thick-headed refusal to change his ways. They saw his arrogance, his unwarranted self-assurance in his own spiritual superiority and he writhed in shame and agony as they pulled him apart.
'NO!'
He would not let them pull him apart like this, would not let them shred his spark and destroy him with shame. He pulled the strands of his being back, weaving them to reform his spark, rebuilding it in the pattern of those around him. Confidence, not arrogance. Empathy, not dependence. Willpower over stubbornness, purity over naivety. The ability to tell when he was wrong, instead of always questioning when he was right. He spun his spark tight, a brilliant star, drawing a new name from the collective knowledge around him and approval buffeted him from all sides, the great consciousness of the Matrix echoing without words.
'IT IS DONE'
He slammed back into his own mind, clutching the armor beneath his hands for support as he reeled. His chronometer told him only a few seconds had passed during the eternity of his Challenge. Everything looked too bright, lit from within and humming with energy, and oh Primus, he could feel their sparks, beacons of life that sang to him, offering just a glimpse of the mech within the armor.
Sentinel's spark chamber was closed again, the gold tracery gone. He gave Orion (Orion?) a sad smile and bowed low. "Optimus Prime," he said, rich voice echoing over the Plaza. "Be welcome."
Fandom: Transformers
Characters/pairings: Optimus Prime, Megatron
Rating: PG
Summary: It was twenty and some vorns after they'd been sparked, and it was time for them to assume the roles for which they had been built, Prime and Lord High Protector, and Orion was terrified.
Warnings: None
Notes: I think the muse is sick of me being generally intimidated by writing Optimus, so it decided to spam me with a whole lot of the big guy, all at once. Also, I am happy, because Steve Jablonsky is coming back for TF2 :>
Table of Contents
o o o
Orion Pax was shaking
It was difficult to notice, unless one stood directly beside the Heir Prime, but he could feel it, a nervousness-induced trembling in his shoulders. It was twenty and some vorns after they'd been sparked, and it was time for them to assume the roles for which they had been built, Prime and Lord High Protector, and Orion was terrified.
A hand on his shoulder, support and strength, and Orion gave his brother a grateful, though strained smile. Megatron was as terrified as he was, but he hid it better, behind a front of excited eagerness. They stood together just inside the balcony of the Simfur Temple, and just on the other side of titanium walls, practically all of Cybertron waited. He could just see Sentinel Prime delivering the benediction, asking Primus to smile on them. Shifting, he could catch a glimpse of Omnitron, stern and silent at Sentinel Prime's side.
They had trained for this, mentally and physically, their whole lives. They would be tested, and if they were found lacking, the Challenges they were to face would kill them, and the priests and Council would start over. Near him was the young priest who had trained him and who would become his assistant, and he looked more worried than Orion felt. That worry wasn't entirely unfounded; it was an orn of testing for Ultra Magnus, too. Had he prepared the Heir Prime for his duties? Similarly, the three instructors who had trained Megatron in all forms of combat milled nearby, speaking in hushed tones. Had they taught the Heir Protector enough to survive his Challenge? No time to think about it anymore; Sentinel Prime had given them their cue.
The cheering of the crowd was exhilarating, deafening, as they joined their Sires on the balcony. They made their bows, coordinated as they must be throughout their rule, and the cheers swelled, the people eager to have them. Not that Sentinel Prime and Omnitron were unloved, but they had come to power during the great war with Phyrexia, and those who remembered that war wished to forget it. But now Cybertron was at peace, perfectly ripe for new leadership.
Megatron's Challenge came first, and he sank to his knees before Omnitron. "I await to serve," he intoned, ceremonial words as old as their kind, and the crowds fell eerily silent.
"Serve who?" Omnitron demanded, icy cold.
"The people of Cybertron," Megatron answered.
"Prove it."
A thread of concern wound through Orion's spark. The two great mechs would fight, and though Omnitron would not immediately attack, he would fight back when Megatron engaged him, and he would keep fighting until he was defeated or Megatron was dead. A single pin was all that was needed, more symbolic than anything, but getting Omnitron to that position would be difficult. Though they both had been taught by the same three mechs, Omnitron had been tempered in war, and that experience gave him a considerable edge.
Megatron stood and the mood of the crowd changed again, from solemn ceremony to charged expectation. Omnitron moved first, jumping from the balcony edge to the plaza below, the crowd splitting hastily around him, being sure to give him all the room he desired. Megatron followed and the two circled each other, optics locked and claws flexing in a subtle threat.
Megatron lunged suddenly, claws splayed for a killing strike at Omnitron's spark. Omnitron evaded and took a swipe at Megatron's optics that shaved thin metal strips from the Heir Protector's helm. Megatron ducked back and Omnitron jumped up, transforming in mid-air and shooting up into the sky, Megatron hot on his tail.
Concern blossomed into pure dread. Air combat was where Omnitron excelled. He had taken Megatron out of the air before, when the young mech decided his first flight would be through Iacon's busiest thoroughfares, and Megatron would be all too eager to repay the humiliation, despite his almost total lack of flight combat experience.
They spiraled up together, belly to belly before they collided, half-transforming to deploy claws and rip at armor. Such contact could only be sustained for brief seconds before they had to disengage or risk stalling out. Except when Omnitron pulled back, Megatron went with him, transforming completely to latch onto Omnitron with all limbs.
Omnitron's outraged scream echoed across Simfur. As large as he was, Megatron was even more massive, and Omnitron could not remain in the air with that much added weight. They went into a tailspin, arrowing for the Plaza again at too high of a speed, totally uncontrolled and the crowd scattered.
They hit hard, cracking through the polished copper inlays of the Plaza floor and deep into the silica bedrock underneath. Omnitron lay on his back at the bottom of the impact crater, his silver-bright armor badly scratched and dented. Megatron crouched on the Lord High Protector, all four sets of his claws jammed beneath his Sire's armor. He leaned close, a bare tick between their faces. "Do you yield?" he asked softly.
So fast! Not the fastest Challenge in their history, but close, and Orion's spark flared with love and admiration for his brother. Omnitron's face went from rage and pain to an expression Orion had never seen on the cold mech - acquiescence, and was that pride? Orion thought it was - and he smiled in his grim way. "I yield," he said, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Lord High Protector Megatron."
The crowd exploded into cheering again, chanting Megatron's name beneath the general noise. They climbed from the crater and it was Omnitron who went to a knee this time, head bowed in deference, and the motion rippled out. Only Orion and Sentinel Prime remained standing, but they gave their own bows, respect towards an equal.
Megatron touched the back of Omnitron's helm lightly and the older mech stood, leading the new Lord High Protector back to the temple. "Keep our people safe," Orion heard Omnitron mutter before he entered the temple proper, to have his wounds tended to. Megatron climbed the winding stairs back to the balcony alone, to thunderous applause, and Orion wondered if anyone else could see the energon dribbling from a jagged rend in his leg armor, or the careful way he carried his arm close to his side. His wounds would be dealt with later. He took his place, not at Orion's side but at Sentinel's, and Orion felt briefly, horribly alone.
He'd think about loneliness later. He had his own Challenge to overcome. He stepped before Sentinel Prime, and the crowd fell silent again. He did not kneel, as one did before a warrior, but he gave the priest's bow, his head down and his hands open in supplication before him. "I await to serve," he said, glad that his voice did not betray the very real fear he felt, that his body did not waver as he held his position.
"Serve who?" Sentinal Prime prodded, so like and so different from his brother Omnitron.
"Primus," Orion said firmly, raising his head to meet Sentinel Prime's optics.
Sentinel Prime took Orion's open hands in his own, pulling him up to stand straight. "Prove it," he said quietly. His chest split, layers of armor sliding back to reveal the dark metal of his spark chamber and the gold tracery that caged it - the Matrix of Leadership.
He knew what he had to do, but it was hard, so hard, against every self-preservation program he had, to expose his spark chamber in such a public place. Taking strength from Sentinel's hands still in his, from Megatron watching him, he opened his own armor, going a step beyond and opening his spark chamber as well, iridescent light playing over Sentinel Prime's face. Sentinel Prime was taller than he was and he shifted his grip, his hands going to the Prime's upper arms for support as he went up on his toes. He caught a glimpse of Sentinel Prime's spark chamber opening and, locking optics with his Sire, Orion brought their sparks together.
There was a moment of confusion as the emotions of another swam through his spark; happiness, sorrow, resignation, a deep peace. Then his impressions of Sentinel were swept away by something else, something hugely magnificent and old, so very, very old.
He was swept along, whirled to unravel his spark into its individual threads, his whole being laid out for inspection. There were others here, all who had held the Matrix before him, tied forever into the artifact. Some he knew, had met, even, whether they were on the Council of Ancients - Alpha Trion, Prosilmus Trion, Insolton Trion - or as priests in the temples - Ultra Thiotime, Ultra Alternal, Ultra Contimus. Still others he knew from the history files, the great Prime's of the past - Nominal Prime, Omega Prime, Exodus Prime, Reactimus Prime, Leonidus Prime, Platinal Prime, Prima - with a start, he realized there were so many, too many, far more than he had ever expected, and he knew them all, knew where in the chain of leadership they fell. He knew who had failed their people, and who had been brought back, again and again to serve the same role, and how many times had the Matrix been passed along?
'Only Primus himself knows' Sentinel Prime at his side, his benefactor in this place. The living consciousness of the Matrix surrounded them, the combined weight of every Prime in that long chain and the AllSpark itself, of which the Matrix was but a shard, broken off many, many vorns before.
His mind whirled, disoriented, overwhelmed with knowledge.
The Prime's converged on his spark, pulling away the strands surrounding his core being. Oh Primus, it hurt, and he screamed without sound as he was dispassionately examined. They saw his doubts, his fears of being unable to live up to the destiny he was chosen for. They saw his naivety, his jealously guarded innocence. They saw how he would cling to his brother, his instructors, anyone around him, too eager for them to be happy, too eager to save them from dissatisfaction. They saw his stubbornness, his thick-headed refusal to change his ways. They saw his arrogance, his unwarranted self-assurance in his own spiritual superiority and he writhed in shame and agony as they pulled him apart.
'NO!'
He would not let them pull him apart like this, would not let them shred his spark and destroy him with shame. He pulled the strands of his being back, weaving them to reform his spark, rebuilding it in the pattern of those around him. Confidence, not arrogance. Empathy, not dependence. Willpower over stubbornness, purity over naivety. The ability to tell when he was wrong, instead of always questioning when he was right. He spun his spark tight, a brilliant star, drawing a new name from the collective knowledge around him and approval buffeted him from all sides, the great consciousness of the Matrix echoing without words.
'IT IS DONE'
He slammed back into his own mind, clutching the armor beneath his hands for support as he reeled. His chronometer told him only a few seconds had passed during the eternity of his Challenge. Everything looked too bright, lit from within and humming with energy, and oh Primus, he could feel their sparks, beacons of life that sang to him, offering just a glimpse of the mech within the armor.
Sentinel's spark chamber was closed again, the gold tracery gone. He gave Orion (Orion?) a sad smile and bowed low. "Optimus Prime," he said, rich voice echoing over the Plaza. "Be welcome."