Archive of Our Own ^beta

Transformers: Forty Years

by Talyllyn the Iron Warrior

Mount St. Hilary, Oregon

Evening

On a high mountain point overlooking the desert plains and the hilly forested terrain near the city of Portland in the distance, an iron giant stood tall like a great statue of liberty. Red, blue and white with some splashes of yellow and silver gracing his metallic form.

His gentle blue optics taking in the earthly beauty of the sights of the world he had fought to protect and preserve from threats who dare to bring ruin to it out of desperation for resources, out of a sense of superiority that it is not worthy to be allowed to exist or out of plain ignorance for what they are doing.

Whatever is the case, he and his Autobots have always fought to protect Earth with the same dedication they have in protecting Cybertron and its various colonies. It has been over forty years since his reactivation in the year 1984 and has helped the people of Earth develop their society to where they can now travel among the stars as easily as driving a car to work. Relations between Earth and Cybertron are as good as gold.

He glanced up at the Sun in the sky. The orange rays of light shining down upon Oregon, US and feeling its warmth through his own metal. Remembering how Cybertron in his youth used to have that same morning radiance when the light of a neighboring star in the system would shine upon the metallic surface. Memories of much more peaceful times.

Everything changed when a bot by the name of D-16 rose to power with the backing of his Decepticon army before rechristening himself as Megatron and his ambitions brought forth a civil war that spanned for nearly an eternity. A miner turned gladiator turned emperor of destruction with the truth behind his reasoning for making the choices he made that led to the Great War becoming lost to the sands of time and being everything he isn't from his philosophy of peace through tyranny to how he views himself relative to other lifeforms.

In a hard-fought duel to end their war, Optimus Prime would defeat Megatron and the latter accept as his loss. Decepticons who didn't follow Megatron or his policies were allowed to enjoy the peace with their Autobot brethren.

"Optronix?"

Optimus turns to see Elita-One at his side after using his given name. The fembot of influence and spirit equal to his own. She gave him a smile as their optics met.

"Something on your mind there?"

"Been thinking how we got here." Optimus responded with gentle cadence. "How we first met, what life was like back home before we became soldiers and how it has been over forty years since our fighting came to Earth. Something the matter?"

"Just wondered where you had gone to and found you standing here staring up at the Sun. Reminds me of how you would be watching the stars over at Storage Yard Sixty-Seven for mega-cycles."

"The universe is a vast expanse and we are mere specks of dust in the grand cosmos but there's just as much wonders to be had. How we are all so different yet so connected." Optimus nodded, smiling at the old memory. "From the day I retired, I've been afforded a lot of time and leisure I haven't had since I took charge. Free to read the Ascetic Cybertronian in full at my own pace, learn some new skills in basketball, partake in the new IntraFormers Sharpshooting Competition or compete in the Annual Cybertronian Spelling Bee."

"And me?"

"I always make time for you. That's why I'm happy that the war's over now and in the past." Optimus takes her hand and interlocks his servos with hers' as the pair look off to Portland in the distance. "Allow us to have our lives again."

"Thank Primus for that." Elita-One sighed with relief. "No more seeing young bots be sent out to die fighting a war that wasn't theirs' and they get to see the Cybertron we saw in its' Golden Age. Have a Cybertron free from the old castle system to be who they always wanted to be regardless of their altmode and not fear a corrupt system that benefits only the few who don't follow their own rules..."

"Regardless of who Megatron is by his nature, he was right in believing that Cybertron could be better and that social concepts like Functionism are only strangling our own potential. He is wrong in believing that Cybertron's potential should be measured by how much of the galaxy is under its sovereignty rather than the personal development within and say that might makes right while I say no, might does not make right."

"You both believed in the same idea and both believed in different ideals. Two sides of the same coin. He handles a problem with aggression, lets his pride do the talking, seeks power and rules by fear. You handle a problem with friendliness, let your humility do the talking, power seeks you and rule by respect."

Optimus coyly looks to his lifebond partner. "Are you only saying that because you're my Conjunx Endura?"

"Partially because of that." Elita-One quipped with a light chuckle before elaborating on her statement. "Even if I wasn't, my point still stands based on how you are as a person and how you make your choices. We both have all heard what the younger bots have said about us whenever they think we're not there listening to them. I'd hear Moonracer consider me as the mother she never had. You probably had a few of your bots and some humans looking up to you like a father."

"Do I really have that effect on others?" He looked at her and got a nod from the pink fembot in response. "It never really crossed my mind. The Autobots needed a strong leader that cares about the people they're leading and one who can raise their fighting spirits."

"And we needed a Prime that believes freedom is the right of all sentient beings. Even with all the burdens you had to shoulder, it never diminishes that light in you and it never lessens your own convictions."

"I never seeked out to be a Prime but it seems fate had said otherwise."

"When you did become a Prime, you treated it with the respect it deserves and not as a privileged position like Nominus Prime had done during his era."

"As a carrier of the Matrix, I had to lead by example. Sentinel Prime did the best he could under difficult circumstances and fought valiantly against the Acenticons up to his dying breath. I'm only as good a leader as those under my command." Optimus's optics held a melancholic look to them after saying the last part, remembering the great price of the Great War and glancing at his Autobots badge. "It's never easy nor pleasant to make hard choices and having to send several out to die for a cause with no means to know if it's worth their lives…"

So many good bots both Autobot and Decepticon had died over the years to fight this eternal war that started off over mere philosophical and political disagreements. All of them now reside with the Allspark. Every time he passes a tribute to the fallen soldiers, he always makes it a point to stop and salute all those brave departed sparks. Honor their contributions great and small to bring the fighting to an end.

Elita-One put a hand to his chest where the Matrix of Leadership used to reside. "So many have perished over the years to get us this peace we have and many more will have to live with the losses. Even though you had led as a military leader, you do truly care about others and even the death of a bot you never met hurts the same as having known them all your life. The Abraham Lincoln comparison is pretty apt to describe you. Warts and all."

"Like Lincoln, I'll be subject of historical dissections in the years to come. Judge me based on what I've done and accomplished in life."

"They will see a strong and courageous bot who helps lift others up by his speeches, his optimism and his strong moral character even in the face of adversity to do the right thing even if it's not the most popular call to make. A bot beloved by all those who knew him including his Conjunx Endura." Leaning her form on him while he wraps a gentle arm around her figure. "Not one for hero worship yet gets confused when many others speak of him as a great hero."

Be it his own men, the humans or even some portions of the Decepticons, he finds himself being compared to the Prince of Peace more often than not. A comparison that he could sort of see where they're coming from but also prefers if those same people hold him to the same standards as everyone else. He sees himself as no more special than anybody else and him being a host to the Matrix doesn't change that fact.

"I would rather not have any of my subordinates put me on any kind of pedestal and just see me the same way they see their own colleagues. Be good to each other. We were both just ordinary worker bots like them once."

"Which is exactly why you are able to connect with your troops and earn their loyalty better than Sentinel did. Plus, not all Autobots worship you and you know a few of them by name like Grimlock for example."

Optimus nodded in agreement to that. "We can both disagree philosophically but we are all on the same side at the end of the day. A good leader needs a good critic to challenge them and offer them a different perspective. No Primes including myself are above criticism and nor should they be."

"Power and responsibility. You were more than happy to step down from your position when the war came to an end and tell your successor to find his own path as a Prime rather than follow yours'."

"I was a Prime of war and Rodimus is a Prime of peace." The former leader of the Autobots states the difference between himself and his successor. "He is the future and a Prime for a new era. When doubt comes to him, he only has to turn to those at his side to chase those demons away. He's still young but I know he'll succeed against all the challenges that he will have to face in his journey and will leave his own mark like I have."

"Including Sergeant Kup."

"Never doubt the willpower of an old soldier and in Rodimus' case, never underestimate the strength of stubbornness. I guess it is a saving grace of his'." The former Commander of the Autobots remarks in his own wit that's as famous as his kindness and wisdom. Elita-One hummed in amusement.

To think a bot like Hot Rod that was seen as some turbo revving punk would become the current carrier of the sacred Creation Matrix/Matrix of Leadership. The same bot that is so brash and headstrong that it's astonishing the Matrix chose him to succeed Optimus Prime.

Then again, who would have thought back in Pre-Great War Cybertron that Orion Pax; a librarian/archivist who also worked jobs as a dock worker, miner and security officer to make ends' meet like everyone could rise to become one of the legendary Primes to ever wield the mythical artifact? Primus really does work in mysterious ways.

He turns to his sparkmate. "What shall we do today?"

"Whatever you are going Optronix, I will follow you." Elita-One looks up to him with her soft blue optics. "Always."

With those powerful words, Optimus releases his partner and steps away from the edge to convert into his familiar red and blue semi-truck mode. A mundane vehicle used to haul goods around that has become as much a symbol for strength, power and courage as the Autobot insignia. One that's most symbolic appropriate for him in more ways than one.

The fembot follows suit and turns into her pink space age car mode. The pair stood side by side in their alt-modes. Both ready to roll for it.

Optimus starts moving as did Elita-One and they drive away from the mountain point together. "In that case, let's roll out and see where these roads lead us..."