Sanctity Of A Prime

Summary: Optimus is a Primus chosen Prime, so there are things neither side would do to him even in war. But what if MECH caught him and did one, but the Con's find them.

In ancient times, long before the caste system that oppressed Cybertron's people, long before the Great War that lasted for millennia, Primes were considered one of the most sacred things/beings to Cybertronians as a people. Primes were their connection with their Creator, the Core of their planet, Primus, chosen by him to be his vassals and vessels of his power, to lead and guide all his children. They were bestowed with the Matrix of Leadership, a peace of Primus' own Spark, to sanctify their rule and give them a direct link to the deity, even granting them certain powers. No one questioned the sanctity of a Prime, for their purpose was to lead Cybertronians into a better future. Things, unfortunately, changed when some Primes turned corrupt, misusing their position to gain riches and conquer other worlds for their own gain. After only three corrupt Primes, Nova, Nominus and Zeta, Primus took back the Matrix and it wasn't to be seen for millennia and his people almost forgot all about it.

Right up until a young data archivist spoke in front of the ruling Council, vorns later, speaking passionately of peaceful change and reform that will bring about a fair and equal Cybertron for all Cybertronians and an ancient mech recognized a Prime before his very optics.

A war started, a civil war, the likes of which their long-lived race had never known before, brother killing brother, friend turning on friend. It spread like the Cybonetic Plague, reaching all parts of the planet, all because a former gladiator, one of the lowest castes, felt betrayed by a friend and thought his ideas were being overlooked for the naivety of an archivist, who was high enough in the caste system to know no oppression with a secure job and stable credit and energon income. He lead his Decepticons with bravery, ferocity and fervor that made him a terror on the battlefield. The Autobots rose to oppose them, but they had no firm leadership. The Council was attacked and only one mech survived but he was no leader. Others tried to step up but the furious gladiator naming himself after the Fallen Prime went through them with ease, extinguishing spark by spark, his soldiers becoming only more loyal by the day after each new show of battle prowess. No one knew what to do, how to give the Autobots a fighting chance. Very few of them have ever held a weapon before the war started and even fewer have ever uttered a command to another bot in their lives. It seemed all was lost and Cybertron grew sicker by the day, the Core growing dimmer as the war poisoned the planet.

And then, the brave little archivist set on a journey on his own, searching for a solution, finding his way before the Core itself and holding court with Primus himself, all for the same of his people and his home planet. Primus saw in the archivist what he had not seen in any bot for far too long and in his joy and excitement, he bestowed the Matrix of Leadership upon one of his children once more, for the last time. And so, Orion Pax of Iacon became Optimus, the last of the Primes.

The whole planet felt the shift, the change, every bot's spark thundering in their chassis, not sure how to explain what they were feeling. The war raged on regardless, both sides' scientists looking into the matter, only for them all to freeze one day, when a tall, red and blue unknown mech arrived on the battlefield, blazing blue optics taking in the carnage. Some recognized in him the innocent bot he used to be, relief overtaking their sparks for they had thought him lost to the war. Others were not so pleased to see him standing as an opponent and the former gladiator Megatron charged at his once friend. He had been the Champion of Kaon and was now the mightiest force on the battlefield. No bot could stand up to him, no matter their age or experience or size. The red and blue bot was half a helm shorter than him and didn't seem like too intimidating a figure, seeming confused in the midst of the energon-soaked battle. But as the silver warlord charged at him, a battlemask slid into place, leaving only his eyes exposed, and the new Prime easily met the former gladiator's sword with one of his own. And so both factions watched in fear and wonder and awe as the Prime introduced himself to this new world as a noble warrior that could stand up even to Lord Megatron of the Decepticons.

And so a new era started as a reborn old one.

As much as the Decepticons wanted to eliminate everything relating to the old regime of their government, the birth of a true Prime had not been in their plans. Not even they could go against the sanctity of a Prime, though that didn't mean they couldn't wage war on him. It just meant that they had to abide by certain rules and they were off the hook. For instance, if the Prime were ever to be captured, no Decepticon would be crazy enough to torture or violate him and not only because their leader still held somewhat of a soft spot for what had once been his dear little archivist. They knew, whether Primus slumbered or not, whether they were on Cybertron's surface or billions of light years away, retribution will be instant and painful should they lay their servos on the first chosen Prime in vorns if it is outside of battle. Primes were warriors, so battle is the only place they were allowed to hurt the Prime. A Prime was never even to be restrained! Chains were a big no-no, as Starscream once foolishly found out from personal experience. The Matrix tended to overreact in its attempts to keep its bearer safe, usually short-circuiting the whole fleet if the Prime is on a ship or the whole base if he's being kept on the ground. Bars and energy fields were fine, but something as restraining and as degrading as chains was out of the question. Collars or shackles, too. A Prime's personal equipment, everything from medical ports to his interface panels, was also off limits. Anyone who so much as looks at them with impure intentions that didn't include the Prime's clear consent could very well say goodbye to their frame because the Matrix would tear out their spark from its chamber and forbid it from joining the AllSpark, as would be the norm for any offlined Cybertronian.

Needless to say, the rules were followed as strictly as commands. No Cybertronian would dare defy them and try to degrade or disgrace their new Prime. Optimus was well loved and respected by all, even the Decepticons, though grudgingly. Even his enemies couldn't deny that he was just what their people needed. Which was why Megatron and his most loyal Soundwave still secretly hoped to stand by their brother once more. Even after millions of sears of war, Optimus, too, shared this hope. But grievances on both sides only kept piling up by the day, further separating old friends and making bridging that divide just a little more impossible.

And when Cybertron finally went dark? When they all were forced to leave their home, take refuge in the stars or face extinction?

Well, let's just say no one took it well and the war only got worse.

Still, even when it finally made its way to Earth, a small organic world with lots of energon, vorns later, the sanctity of a Prime was still not forgotten. No Cybertronian would dare test the boundaries set by Primus and the Matrix of Leadership regarding Optimus Prime. No torture, no violation, no restraints. Every child of Primus knows not to commit these acts against his vessel.

The indirect progeny of Unicron, though ...

MECH had gotten lucky. They had been hunting down Eradicons and Vehicons on patrol, only to stumble upon Optimus Prime on a patrol of his own, oblivious to their presence as he studied a scanner that helped him scout for energon. MECH's goal was to create their own 'Transformer' and their model was none other than the semi-truck. It didn't help Optimus any that Silas, the leader of the advanced technological criminal/terrorist group, was practically obsessed with him since he was obviously the strongest and most unique of the 'Transformers' they had seen so far. Their short-time alliance with Arachnid had pretty much confirmed it while they were assisting her in exchange for that information. Problem was, Arachnid hadn't bothered to tell them about the sanctity of Primes, about the rules when waging war against them. So MECH unknowingly started a certain sequence of events when they used an EMP grenade to knock him out, restrained him and then took him to their base, where they proceeded to prob at all his systems, trying to find a way to perhaps control him. They had already found one of his medical ports on his left forearm and forgone searching for more, which was only by luck. They probed and the Matrix was helpless besides sending out electrical pulses into the machines attached to its bearer used for scanning, but it couldn't do much. Its Prime was helpless and in danger, still out cold from the EMP blast and anytime it tried to bring him back to awareness, the humans only used it again so it stopped trying in fear of the organics accidentally harm Optimus. It managed to destroy quite a bit of equipment but the humans only brought new instruments, finding ways to shield them. Not completely, but they were learning and the Matrix was losing options.

When a full week passed that MECH had Optimus Prime, restrained, pretty much tortured and violated, they took things to a new level the Matrix could not allow.

"Sir," one of the scientists walked up to Silas, showing him the latest scans they were finally managing to take now that they had adjusted their equipment the energy backlashes Optimus' frame kept sending at them. "Look at these readings! I've never seen anything like this before! The energy the robot seems to be generating would be enough to power all our bases and weapons for centuries! But it seems we can't siphon it without direct contact."

Silas hummed thoughtfully, studying the scans and looking at the red and blue Autobot. "What's the source of this energy output? That energon thing Starscream told us about?"

"Can't really say, sir, but it originates from its chest area. It seems to be merged with that spark thing that keeps them running," the scientist explained, sounding perplexed. "None of the other ones had this much energy, though, so I guess this one is ... I don't really know ... "

The man just smirked, handing over the scans back to the scientist, never taking his eyes off of their unconscious captive. "I always knew this one was special, and while Arachnid confirmed it, I guess it's finally time we figure out why." He smoothed out his expression until his face was stern and blank, turning to his subordinate. "Prepare a team. I want his chest cavity open and that energy source out before midnight and then," he turned back to the Prime, an eager glint in his eyes. "We can start turning him into our loyal soldier."

The Matrix shuddered in distress and decided to do what it hasn't done even when Quintus Prime's creations tried conquering Cybertron so many thousands of vorns ago. It was a safety measure meant to be used if the Prime was ever to be captured by an alien lifeform, anyone not of Cybertronian origin, for it could deal with its own people. The Matrix and the Prime were the only ones who can activate this feature, but the Prime, even if he were awake, wouldn't have used it either way. The ancient Artifact was well aware of its bearer's martyr tendencies and his unwillingness to let others get hurt or endanger themselves for his sake. It's what made him a wonderful Prime and what would have fixed the problems of the caste system had Cybertron survived the rebellion of the lower castes and the war that it turned into. But now, in this horrible war, it was a liability for its Prime felt the pain of loss of every spark personally because he empathized with them. As such, he would never risk his people's lives for his own safety, so it was up to the Matrix of Leadership to protect the Prime it had chosen.

And so it activated the only means of protecting him that it had left. It let out a pulse of energy that will serve as an emergency beacon to any and all Cybertronians in a two galaxy radius. It was undetectable to any other species in the universe, but every single Cybertronian close enough will feel it on a spark-deep level and they will feel compelled to assist their Prime. Not that any Cybertronian would leave a Prime in an alien's hands. Primes held the wisdom and knowledge of millions of vorns of their history, held a piece of Cybertron's very Core beside their sparks. Leaving a Prime in an alien's hands would be extremely foolish as every strength and weakness of their species would be revealed, every secret unraveled, every mystery given an answer. Cybertronians were a very powerful and dangerous race that anyone would want to turn into their own servants, slaves and soldiers. The Prime could so easily be key to that that no Cybertronian would leave such a vessel of knowledge in another specie's hands. So it sent out the pulse and hoped the Autobots and Decepticons present on Earth will respond quickly enough. It was sending them a signal. All they had to do was track it.

And the Matrix sincerely hoped it would be the Decepticons who react faster for they won't leave this human base standing.

And it was the Decepticons who reacted first. A big ground bridge opened and through flew out Megatron and his trusted spy master, Soundwave, first, soon followed by Dreadwing and a squadron of Vehicons and two squadrons of Eradicons, firing on the humans before they were even completely through. The humans fought back in a frenzy, half of them facing the Cybertronians charged to their Prime's rescue, the other half desperately trying to pack up most of their equipment and flee. But Dreadwing was a much more reliable commander than Starscream and he rounded them up faster than they could blink, eradicating them so they were barely stains on the forest floor in front of their base. Megatron was walking menacingly and with purpose towards the hangar that held the Prime, where Silas was urging for his scientists to forgo preparations and just yank out the energy source, but that only had the Matrix sending out distress pulses that was to ensure the Decepticons up their violence levels and get them to hurry up. Megatron especially, as, like it or not, he still held a soft spot for his once friend, whether he denied it and promised to snuff his spark or not.

It was over in a matter of minutes, really. The humans stood no chance against the pissed off champions of Kaon with the skills of Megatron's and Soundwave's level. The human base was soon in flames and Megatron was carrying his rival out of the hangar, only a few scratches on his chestplates and a cracked windshield glass. The Matrix was pulsing pleasure and relief at its Prime's rescuers but now worried what might befall Optimus if Megatron decided he wanted to take advantage of his unconscious state. Torture and violation were forbidden but the Matrix didn't want to test if anyone realized execution wasn't.

But then another ground bridge opened and out sped the Autobots, freezing upon seeing their leader so carelessly yet so carefully carried by their greatest enemy and the Matrix wondered what will happen now and whether it can knock them all out before they can start fighting over its Prime. There was no way Optimus will come out undamaged if they start a row now, not with how high strung the Decepticons' battle protocols still were.

"Megatron," Optimus' old friend Ratchet said in as calm a voice as he could manage when his battle protocols and his medic's were warring inside of him for supremacy.

"Doctor," the warlord greeted casually in his rasping voice, amused.

"Release Optimus to our care now," the ambulance half demanded, trying to keep his cool. The Matrix could only observe, waiting for what will happen.

"And why should I do that?"

"Because every bot knows that a Prime in danger is not a situation to take advantage of for a stupid war," Wheeljack, who had reacted as much as anyone else to the pulse, countered in a surprisingly reasonable response.

"The days of a Prime being the uniting factor of our people have long since passed," Megatron rumbled and the Matrix started worrying it might have only made the situation for its bearer worse. It knew the Autobots won't be able to stand up to Megatron, even if he faced them all by himself. There was a reason the Great War only started being on 'equal footing' after Optimus Prime came to be. Megatron was big and strong and had too many millennia of experience in the Pits of Kaon as the undisputed, undefeated Champion for them to take him on. Without Optimus, the Autobots will just loose their lives. And yet the Matrix didn't want to wake Optimus just to have him fight the friend he still desperately tried to reach out on every given opportunity in hopes of going back to how things once used to be. It always hurt the Prime and the Artifact was of the opinion that Optimus had hurt enough for one day.

"And yet you're here," Arcee, who was struggling to keep her cool, observed pointedly and Megatron smirked, showing off his sharp dentae.

"Touché, Arcee." He looked down at his dearest enemy and the Matrix felt a pulse of ... something from the gray mech's spark before he turned to his soldiers. "Return to the Nemesis. We're done here." Megatron then surprised the Autobots as he gently placed Optimus down on the ground - never lowering his guard, mind you - and just gazed at him for a moment before casually turning on his heel and marching through the open ground bridge with Soundwave and Dreadwing at his back, having stayed in case the Autobots tried something. As soon as it closed, the Matrix felt its Prime starting to groggily come back online and, had it been an actual living being instead of a sentient relic, it would have sighed in relief. Ratchet still ran up to the Prime to examine him while Bulkhead carefully assisted him to his pedes when it became obvious he had only been hit with a nasty EMP. Optimus reassured his scout of his well-being when Bumblebee beeped and whistled at him in worried binary and waved off Ratchet before the ambulance could get in a frenzy.

The Matrix observed its carrier's reaction to the Decepticon rescue and didn't even bother to act innocent when the topic of the emergency pulse was brought up. It felt the Prime's questioning prod against its conscience but Optimus didn't pry. 'Thank you,' was all he pulsed to the ancient artifact and it pulsed back pleasure. It pulsed with encouragement when it felt Optimus contemplating extending his gratitude to the Decepticon leader, too, for the rescue. The Matrix was of the opinion that it was a splendid idea. Obviously, not all was lost if the Decepticons still respected the sanctity of a Prime even if he was the enemy.

Maybe Optimus Prime will get to be that useful Prime who unites and works for all Cybertronians after all.

THE END

A/N: This has been a prompt sent to me in the form of a review for Know Thy Enemy, so it was pretty last minute. Still, I hope you liked it!

Please R&R