Chapter Text
Rhythmic, soothing humming of the clergy. The softly clinking swing of the incense burner. It was the closest thing to a lullaby he could remember.
The great, pearly halls echoed with the quiet taps of the Primeling’s pedes, even as he tried his hardest not to make a sound. There was no helping it; this part of the temple was always barren this time of the cycle.
Well, he supposed, that’s not entirely true. He would still be in his room otherwise, reviewing his etiquette. He already knew it, vorns of studying and reviewing the same material can make it easy to breeze through a lesson.
But that was the whole reason he was here. The matrix had chosen him; it was his duty now to prepare. While it excited him to no ends knowing he would bear such an amazing and spectacular honor, everything else bored him. Maybe that was why they were always making him so school. No one seemed to think of anything better for him to do as he waited for his final upgrade.
The faint whispers he had heard at the other end of the hall grew to a murmur as he approached. Doing his best not to skid, Orion Pax stopped before he could round the next corner. He peeked his helm over the edge, optics bright with excitement.
“-and they say his following has been growing rapidly since he overtook the arena.” The sisters were exactly where they were every cycle. Very few left the temple, but the groups of blessed sisters left on a regular basis. He’s grown very adept at slipping around since he first heard the whispering of the sisters, even though he never understood what they were talking about. Something, anything outside of studying was a boon for the youngling.
“I hope for his sake he doesn’t go farther than that.” This sister was tall and had a heavy build. Orion always sought her out; she had the most interesting stories, and she always stood out against the frail frames of the other sisters. Her paint was pearly blue, just like the sister beside her and all the others. He missed her bright green paint and how it burned his optics.
“His writings are proof enough that he will.” The other sister held a hand between them as she spoke. All the sisters did that, but he never understood just what it was supposed to do. It never stopped him from hearing what they whispered. She grew distressed as she continued. “He wishes to change Cybertron, to reshape all that our Prime has worked so very hard to achieve. If Megatronus succeeds in addressing the council – or, Primus forbid, the Prime himself! – It would-!” A servo on her shoulder cut her off. Even from all the way across the hall, Orion could see the sparks around her optics.
“May Primus keep him safe, regardless the path he chooses. Even if it’s a stupid path-” The sister stopped her mumbling – was it? It was a little loud to be mumbling – pressing a hand to her helm. Orion ducked back out of sight. She was receiving a comm.
Someone must have realized I was gone…
Orion turned and bolted back down the long hall. He faintly heard the sisters’ quiet steps and hoped they wouldn’t catch his retreating veils around the corner. He slowed to a jog as he got closer to his room; perhaps if he just looked like he had stepped out a moment, they wouldn’t think anything of it. He picked up the pace passing the main hall, no doubt they would know he was gone if they caught him in the great archway.
The youngling stopped. This time he did skid and he scrambled to see again.
-What looked like the entire temple staff was gathered in the entrance hall. Unconsciously standing on the tips of his pedes, he could just catch a helm of a mech he’d never seen before. The sisters brushed past him, and Orion followed them into the fray.
The little Primeling ducked between the mass of white and blue pedes, trying to see this new mech more. A bit of a strut here, a strangely pointed pede there. Flashes of shimmering silver. The crowd was started to thicken as he got closer. He faintly registered a tug on his shoulder. He ignored it, didn’t even notice it through his determination, until the servo yanked. Orion snapped his helm to the towering priest, already trying to pull away again.
“What do you think you’re doing out here, Primeling?” The priest hissed under his breath, pulling the youngling back. “It is still your study joor.”
“It is always my study hour, please, just let me-”
“Enough of that.” The priest turned him around; it didn’t help him in the least that his field lashed out immediately, burning with frustration and no little bit of envy at the loss of new and exciting. “You clearly need more-”
“-must be the one next in line for the primacy, I presume?”
Both snapped their helms to the source of the voice. Orion tore his shoulder from the grip and stepped through the last ring of onlookers.
A giant of a mech stood before him and Orion craned his neck trying to meet his optics. From here he could see the high spikes of his shoulders, utterly foreign among the softly cut frames of the reverend around them. That same sort of style continued throughout the rest of the other’s silver plating. As his gaze swept more eye level, he could see layers of purple beneath the sharp, polished silver.
He was distantly reminded of burning green plating, and he wasn’t sure why.
Then the mech knelt, and he was leveled with a scarred silver faceplate. With all the hard and sharp points of the others frame, Orion thought he should be more frightened than he was. Yet the others optics were soft, a bright, bubbling blue like the energon Zeta had that he never got to taste.
It was then the Primeling realized the entire assembly had fallen silent. With a jolt he realized the other had asked a question. The other’s plating was well kept, so he couldn’t be a very low caste; but he didn’t wear any jewels either, so he wasn’t a very high caste either. His field flared, unsure how to proceed. It blew farther and farther was respectable until it met the fields of the others around them, fields alight with distaste at his blunder.
The mech was patient though, smiling as he tried to control his field and tried to reply accordingly.
“Ah, yes, I was chosen by the matrix to be next.”
“That is quite the honor. How is it that no one has told me of you?”
“Then, how is it that no one told me of you?” The youngling pointed to the hulking mech, but quickly returned it to his side when he realized just how rude that looked. It was certainly nothing a Prime would do.
The other didn’t acknowledge it or took no offense. In fact, his smile widened, sharpened dentae glittering. “In that case: I am Megatron, leader of the Decepticons.”
Megatron extended a great hand to him. Orion hesitated, eyeing the fingertips that better resembled knives as he, too, held out his hand. His fingers twitched as he held it away from the sharp fingers, but still tried to maneuver into shaking hands. How could he…?
Megatron laughed, a rough, rasping sound, and turned his hand over. He instead offered the smooth metal of his palm, stretching his fingers so as not to harm the youngling.
“And I am Orion Pax.” The youngling gave him his hand, watching it disappear as the other closed over it. The other’s smile became soft again.
“I look forward to your primacy, Orion Pax; may it bless our people.”
Orion Pax beamed. He had never had another mech say such a thing before. They always praised Zeta and upon hearing of him told him he “had a lot of work to do”. He did, of course, but this – this made his spark swell, made him actually want to do the vorns and vorns of studying and training he still had left.
“Orion Pax.”
All assembled turned to the deep, gravelly voice of their Prime and felt the energon on their lines freeze; all but one little Primeling. The blue and yellow mech was flanked by his highest priests and priestesses, all looking extremely small compared to his giant bulk. Zeta remained as impassive as the youngling had always seen him as he looked over the scene. Still, Orion pulled away and bound to Zeta’s side, still beaming, pure joy making his faceplates seem to glow.
“Zeta! There is a new mech here!” Orion shielded his words with his servo, just as he had seen the sisters do. He knew it didn’t do anything, but that only made him giggle and his smile widen.
“I can see that.” The stern tone seemed out of place with the bubbling youngling beside him.
Megatron rose to his pedes, the group around him began to hesitantly dispersed. Zeta waved a hand and turned down one of the connecting halls. Megatron followed a few steps behind, as protocol demanded. Unlike everyone else here, his optics weren’t on the exalted Prime before him, instead watching the youngling between them. He was struggling to keep up with his Prime, who was uncaring of him with his long strides. That didn’t stop him, in fact he didn’t even seem to notice in the face of overwhelming joy.
“Isn’t this exciting, Zeta! -”
Zeta grunted, not bothering to look at him.
“I have never met someone from outside the temple! -”
Another grunt.
“How long will he be staying?”
Zeta actually did react this time, stopping and turning the youngling. The two following him stopped. Despite the cold look on his faceplate, Orion continued.
“Will there be special energon tonight for-”
“Of course not.” Orion smile broke. “Don’t you have somewhere to be, something to be studying?”
“Um, sure, I-” Megatron watched the youngling fist his coverings as he struggled to keep eye contact.
“Then run along. With all that insolent fumbling you did, it is a wonder no one has pulled you aside yet. There are more important things for you to be doing than grafting yourself to my heals.” Zeta’s tone turned sour.
Orion stepped back.
“-to think the Matrix actually chose you; this I will never understand.” Whether this was meant to be said under his breath or not, Megatron couldn’t tell. Zeta’s vocalizer seemed to be set permanently on “booming”.
Orion took another step back, making the silver gladiator step back to save the youngling from hitting his leg.
Orion Pax dipped into a low bow, mumbled a “yes, my Prime”, and walked past him. He could feel the shame and discouragement bleeding off the little one’s field as he passed, but he kept his face steady and his back straight. Zeta squared his shoulders and his lip plates tilted in a sort of smile.
“Very good.”
Megatron watched him go, even as Zeta turned and continued on his way. He met the sad blue optics as he rounded the corner. Orion paused, offering him a small smile and a wave. He returned the gesture as he finally disappeared out of sight. Off to study some heated slag he already knew, didn’t need to know, shouldn’t have to know.
The silver mech turned back to the “Prime” before him, burning his back plates with his gaze. He could be patient, but when he finally broke free, Zeta would be the first to fall.