Reconstructing Cybertron after the incident with the Omegalock was no easy feat- several buildings were collapsed, and it would take months if not years to restore them all. Nonetheless their efforts were showing and Cybertron would be back to its greatest once again. Yet, the Prime himself held a stormy cloud above his head and his eyes were often hazed over in thought, with the saddest of expressions.

Most of Team Prime wondered what caused such distress in their leader. Of course, only Ratchet knew the real reason behind his old friend's sudden depressed mood. After all, he was the only one to remember a dark cold place like the one they were rebuilding.

It was a small clinic, obviously set fire by accident, as there was no sign of deliberate destruction. This was where Ratchet had first worked, and where Orion Pax had poured himself out to his best friend. He had been feeling nauseated for months now and by the time Ratchet had 'diagnosed' him, he was carrying and couldn't get rid of the sparkling without losing some other part of himself. So, with no other option, Orion went through with the birth.

It was a grueling and painful operation and had taken place at least 2 weeks before Orion Pax became Optimus Prime. Although, because Optimus was leading an entire faction into war- no one could know of the fragile sparkling. Prematurely born and off colored from his sire and carrier. So, Ratchet and Optimus both swore to take the secret to the end of the war or, at worst, to their graves.

That did not stop them from caring for the sparkling though, in fact- they showered the child with love and kept him as far away from the battle field as possible. It wasn't until he was grown and absolutely needed that they allowed him to view the fight head on.

Yet, every time the child fell ill, or was saddened by any factor, Optimus and Ratchet were the first to comfort him. Even as distant as Optimus stayed from his son, he kept a careful watch for the young bot and couldn't bear to see harm come to the poor boy. He would do anything to keep him out of harm's way as much as possible, including conceal himself and the child's sire.

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Years before the war, Cybertron was flourishing. New sparklings were mass produced without fail, whether it be by carrier, or by sparking them from the core of Primus himself. Even in these peaceful times, the mighty Megatron was known not as a genocidal warmonger, but Megatronus; the gladiator of Kaon. Adored by all his fans and showered with money and luxuries beyond compare, and by his side stood his beloved, Orion Pax.

His sparkmate was everything to him, and even during the start of the war he kept him within arm's reach. It wasn't very long after that Orion Pax, his lover- betrayed him by taking on the name of Prime himself- was no longer the mech he had previously known. He even had the audacity to keep the old medic and yellow sparkling by his side at all times- simply to spite Megatron by flaunting that he was not alone- even without him.

Infuriated by the Prime, the moment he could grab hold of the sparkling- he tore out the young scout's voice box. He felt no shame for the young warrior and left the boy to rot, his body found by Optimus himself.

Only to never know what damage he truly caused to his own metal and energon, and the action that the Prime had concluded would seal the warmonger's fate.

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"Prime! We need you over by the docks!" Arcee called, her voice ringing into his audio receptors.

"On my way, Arcee." He responded, his voice baritone and low, but lacking its normal commanding tone, now replaced with a soft sadness that grew in him.

He turned from the burned down clinic hesitantly, before he transformed and made his way to the docking area. Several ships lined up next to one another, some decepticon, autoboot, and neutrals. It mattered not to him anymore, the war had ended with his Autobots on top, but he couldn't help but feel a sudden emptiness in himself. A piece of himself was missing and the feeling had been eating away at his spark ever since Megatron was terminated by Bumblebee.

He couldn't help but dwell on the memories of his past, now that he was driving through the rubles of it. Coming down on him as if the hammer of Solus Prime itself was being thrown down upon him by the hand of another. He was the last of the Primes though, no one could wield it with the same power of the ancients as he did. Nonetheless, he continued- at a considerably slower pace, in order to take in his surroundings.

He imagined each building as it used to be, towering high above his head in all its gleaming white and silver glory, the daylight reflecting upon the windows of each skyscraper. He thought of all he had accomplished and all of the comrades he had left behind, the ones who had betrayed him, died for the cause, or even refused to continue on the same path as himself. And finally, he thought of those who stuck by his side for millennia, Ultra Magnus, Ratchet, and Bumblebee, oh his sweet, sweet Bumblebee. The child of his youth and the product of a young love which did not live through the cruelty of war.

It brought grief through his spark every time he thought of the secrets he kept from his own metal and energon. But it was for the best- what would the Decepticons have done if they had found that Bumblebee was his child? Tortured the poor bot until he was nothing more than scrap metal? Used him as ransom? The list was endless. Megatron never knew how to control his own ranks and the chaos they had caused.

By the time he reached the docks, he transformed and the sight before him struck a chord in his spark. His old sparkmate in all his glory, in a position of surrender and his autobots surrounding the warmonger with their weapons at the ready- Bumblebee in the midst of the group of hostile but familiar figures.

"Megatron, why have you come here?" He asked, his optics narrowing. He would not allow the mech to see his inner turmoil.

"To surrender, of course. What other objective would I be here for, Prime?" He asked, a hint of sarcasm dripping from his words.

"Well maybe to try and scrap us all!" Smokescreen cried before he was silenced by Optimus with a single gesture.

"I will ask again, Megatron. What are your true intentions here? What do you really wish to accomplish? Even as you took to the stars with the claim that you were done with your oppressive nature."

The gun metal grey mech simply shook his helm, a small frown playing on his lips. "I have heard rumors... Ones that I believe I should speak to you about in private. Ones concerning... our past." He said raising his head and muttering his last few words.

"What? That's it? You came here for some rumors?!" Arcee snapped before Ratchet stepped closer to Optimus. He placed a hand on his friend's shoulder and as their optics met, an entire conversation took place. Looking back to his former arch-enemy, Optimus took a step forward and motioned for all the others to leave.

"Let us be." He said simply, earning cries of opposition from his entire team. "If we are to achieve lasting peace, we must learn to give our enemies a second chance. Please, let us be."

With nothing more than a few muttered words, the rest of the autobots left, Ratchet staying beside Optimus. "Your scout- Bumblebee, was it?" Megatron spoke up as the last yellow bot turned around with a glare towards him. "I do believe you'd like to stay for this conversation."

And with that, the Prime's spark dropped into his fuel pump. No words came from his mouth as his optics widened and his intake parted. Ratchet was the only one who knew what questions and words wanted to be expressed by his old friend. Bumblebee cautiously approached the group before him, untrusting of the very mech that had torn out his voice box, and the one he supposedly killed.

"What is it Megatron? Why are really here?" The golden yellow bot asked bitterly.

"I don't believe I've ever really spoken to you on neutral terms, have I? Only ever interrogated you and tried to control you." He spoke in a tone that almost seemed softer.

"Yeah, so if you could get this over with, I think that would help everybody."

"Very well. Prime, I'm uncertain of the credibility of these rumors, but they align correctly with past events." Megatron said, noticing Optimus' tenseness with the situation. "I heard you bore a sparkling right before you were made a Prime. One that belonged to me."

Ratchet froze up, where would Megatron hear about such a rumor? How would he have even the slightest hint of such a scandal that they went to such great heights to hide? Optimus was just as shaken by the statement. He didn't know how to respond, should he argue against the rumor? Should he turn the warmonger away?

"Yes, I did." Optimus said finally, just above a whisper.

Bumblebee and Ratchet stared at the Prime in shock, but both for very different reasons. Ratchet was surprised that his old friend did not put up more of a fight before admitting to their prisoner. Bumblebee on the other hand was completely in denial. He refused to believe that Optimus had a child with Megatron of all mechs. The very thought about it made him question many things, some of which were not held back.

"Wait what? You had a kid with him? Of all mechs? Why!? And why did you call me... here...?" At the flurry of questions from Bumblebee, Optimus turned to him with a soft and guilt filled expression as the yellow mech slowly came to realization. "It's me... isn't it?"

He gained no spoken answer, but the looks he had been given spoke volumes to him. All of them knew and he was the last to find out- as always. Different emotions bubbled up in his fuel pump, up to his spark, and finally out of his throat and through his mouth.

"Why!? Why didn't you tell me? Why did you keep this from me?" He shouted at them, confused, angry, and betrayed by the only people he considered family. "Who else knew...?"

All of them exchanged the same looks, it was clear to Bumblebee now that this was a secret they planned to die with.

"No one? No one else knew? But, why did you hide it- I don't understand!"

"Calm down scout." Megatron interrupted as he took step forward. "I am certain that you are not the only one who was kept in the dark."

"Oh yeah like you? The one who tried to kill us? How many times did you torture my friends?  How many times did you try and take my life – let alone Optimus'?"

"Enough to understand that mistakes were made." He said before looking between the medic and the Prime. "Because; I lost the war the moment I gave the order to fight."

Optimus put a hand on Bumblebee's shoulder with a gentle shine in his optics. "I don't expect you to except this- if anything I expect you to loathe me for it. But I hid your identity from you for your own safety."

"If you think about it Bumblebee; you are the sparkling of the two most influential people of our species. No matter the faction they would've been coming for your helm." Ratchet added.

This caused Bumblebee's gaze to fall, he stared intently at the floor below him. He knew Ratchet was correct- had anyone known of his origin then they would've been after his spark for his entire life and he wouldn't have even survived this long. Yet, he couldn't help but feel that emptiness inside him fill- the feeling twisted inside of him and he questioned its meaning. Was this the family he longed for? The ones that everyone else remembered but cried for? If that were the case then why did he feel not only the urge to cry, but to lash out at all three of them? Why did his emotions and his processor contradict one another?

This caused Optimus to pull the smaller yellow mech into his embrace. Ratchet and Bumblebee stared in shock at the Prime's display of affection but it was clear to Megatron that the Autobot leader cared deeply for the scout. No words were exchanged by the two of them, but with his actions speaking louder than his words, Bumblebee felt the remorse in the Prime's EM field- and he cried.

Bumblebee let soft energon tears escape his optics, not making a sound but burrowing his head into Optimus' chassis. A million words were spoken through their interaction, millennia's worth of emotions concealed, held back, and misinterpreted were conveyed. Although, Megatron and Ratchet watched awkwardly from the side, they both understood the importance of what was going between the two of them- the missing link between carrier and sparkling was being acknowledged and slowly repaired after so many years of indirect neglect.

No one wanted to break the intimacy between the two, but after the scout had finally stopped crying, composed himself, and all four of them stood in an awkward silence together, Megatron decided to humor the emotional moment, "So, where shall we start? Allowing the Prime and scout to finally repair their misunderstood relationship? Telling the other Autobots? Or would you first like to throw me in prison to kill later?"

Optimus merely ignored the ex-warlord's sarcasm, "We shall tell the others in due time... For now, I suggest we allow us to reseal old war wounds. It's not easy for put a family back together after such traumatic experiences." He said.

Ratchet stepped forward, a shocked expression on his faceplates, "Optimus, you don't mean you're willing to bring this- this war machine into your family, do you? Let alone allow him to come anywhere near Bumblebee. Especially after what he did to his voicebox!"

Optimus simply gave a soft smile to those around him, "I will if Bumblebee would allow me to. Though, Megatron has committed many crimes against the species before, we Autobots are not just as guilty for the war. Every sentient being deserves an opportunity for redemption. Without that hope, we may never achieve lasting peace." He said, something akin to a gentle love flickering in his optics.

All optics were on Bumblebee, the scout had the final decision. Unknown to him, his words would create the mold for the future, deciding upon which path this New Cybertron would go down. He could feel the presence of millions of years of war behind him and the millions of years ahead of him.

"I don't like it. Like Optimus said, there are a lot of wounds from the war to seal up still. Some of them cut too deep, but I can tell that you have something to contribute Megatron. I can tell that there's something in you that still wants to live- to have some sort of peace. Because of that- and because of Optimus- Let's see how far these old scars are willing to heal." Bumblebee concluded.

A look of shock was worn on Ratchet and Megatron's faceplates. Neither of them had thought that the yellow bot would be so forgiving, so willing to set aside his own selfishness for the possibility of a brighter future- of a Cybertron that would heal, even with the scars that ran deeper than the planet's surface. Yet, Optimus held a proud smile, his child had grown so much over the years. Bumblebee had faced the same bloodshed and tears at a much younger age than many other bots, and he managed to pull wisdom from his experiences- no matter how gruesome they were. For this, he was proud to have the little yellow bot as his child, his sparkling, his legacy.

"It is settled then, Megatron." Optimus said, his EM field expanding with a welcoming warmth. "Welcome to our family."