A/N: This is a simple one-shot I wrote to flesh out part of an RP timeline. The original concept of Prime's paternity to a certain yellow bug in this fashion is inspired from ladytecuma's fanfic "Sparks and Plasma". If you like this idea, then definitely go read that as it's where it came from. And even if you don't like this…well just marvel at the fact that I've been made to post anything at all.

The caverns were treacherous, absent of all light and reaching down in a veined labyrinth as deep beneath Cybertron's surface as had ever been explored. His scanners filtered through the abyss with the deep pitched hum of his propulsion the only sound reverberating off the almost crystalline corridors as he steered down one fork then another in repeated changes of direction. There was no hesitation in his press forward. The map of this network of narrowed tunnels and larger caverns was embedded within his core processor, himself nearly the only being to know the exact path towards the great source of energy that was now just beginning to beckon him the nearer he came.

They had done everything within their power to bury it and cover its aura from those that sought only to taint its very nature for the shameless pursuit of their own gain. But even now truly hiding it was an impossible task, because the Allspark refused to be silenced. It called to them all, in a way that made his own essence ache in guilt for trapping it within this prison. He knew he had no right to bar it from the very world it had created, yet he hadn't known what else to do. The Allspark could not be used as a weapon of war, or a stepping stone to reach the status of god over all. And yet here he came today to ask it for something almost equally selfish.

The cube's soothing glow was the first real light he had seen in the several cycles it had taken to make the trip from the surface, as he at last entered into the hidden cave that contained it. He slowed, with a hiss of air pushing away from his chassis as his thrusters adjusted to bring him to a respectful stand still before the larger mass. The cube's energy field reached out to his own at once, mingling as if to verify his identity.

They all belonged to it, owed it, and he shuddered slightly despite himself at the contact. He had not felt its power so closely in a great many years now. He wondered how disobedient he might appear in its judgment, or if it even cared about his intentions at all. The object before him was both life and death for their race. It had begun them, and one day…soon he worried, it may end them. It was the primary reason for the many lifeless bodies lying far above, the crumpled cities, vanquished hopes, and the madness that they now stood so little chance against.

"We are dying," He spoke out listlessly through his neural link. The Allspark had no single mind, nothing that could answer back to him in any way that he might understand. But somehow he was still sure that it listened. It knew of the failures of its creations and the trite violence they imposed on one another all in the name of its possession.

"Cybertron lies in ruin…so very many are gone. We can no longer see a future." He could not have wanted for better soldiers or higher loyalty than that of the mechs that still stood behind him after so many years of fighting without end. But every being had their limit, even himself. Their planet was almost fully destroyed now and this was more than enough reason for many to give in. It was too easy to look out upon what their world had become and believe there was no longer a reason worth wrestling that ruin back from the claws of their former Lord High Protector.

But he also knew that as long as the cube did still lie in their hands, the planet could heal. Cybertron's current state did not necessarily have to be their breaking point. Even if he and his Autobots may never again see anything close to the golden age of Cybertron in their lifetimes, they could still fight towards it.

He firmly believed that each of his own inner circle were selfless enough to envision that their sacrifices could still mean something as long as it made a better tomorrow for the race itself. But now…now, even that consolation was not anything he could truly promise them. Because there was no tomorrow. There were no future Cybertronians, no new generations. There were no sparkmates to produce them, there were no femmes and there were no younglings.

If he could have only foreseen how merciless his brother would be, or known that it would be one of Megatron's actual strategies to remove as many bonded pairs as possible from the Autobot ranks, to target family units as a whole in order to obliterate the Autobot resolve and assumed production source of more followers to Prime's cause.

While Optimus had at first seen the wars as only civil strife, a single species split into political factions and fighting so senselessly, at some point Megatron had decided that they were no longer a single race. The Autobots were their own pathetic life form, and genocide was apparently his choice solution.

No one had been spared from those losses. His own mate had been ripped violently from him some time ago, and he knew he would never take another. For some time he had thought he could survive on Elita's memory alone…but now even that was not enough. There had to be hope, or they would all lie down and die within time. Maybe years from now, maybe sooner, but eventually it would happen. He saw it too plainly on the horizon. And if even he could see it…then surely his brother did as well.

And that was the desperation which brought him here today with only this sudden need in mind. There had to be a future. If there was only one reason to keep fighting, he was sure that he could. He could at least continue in order to keep their plague from spreading to other worlds, do anything to make the weakest amends for the error he had made in not seeing his brother's ambition for what it truly was until the tide had already turned.

Still within his vehicular mode, one of his panels slid away to deposit a small cargo he had carried all the way down from the surface. Wrapped in torn material, the bundle lay still as he transformed with a swift rearrangement of his structure until he was standing tall before the Allspark's judgment.

He knew it may never work. It had never been done before, and he would be stepping well beyond his place to ask for it. Likely, he was no better than his own brother for doing this. Though if he was truly wrong in this, perhaps he would be killed as punishment and never have to see his own soldiers executed one by one as their last defenses fell. But that was such a cowardly thought. His resolve must truly be crumbling.

The tired hydraulics ground in protest as the towering mech lowered to one knee and then the other. The sight must have been something to behold as the wearied leader settled back, gently beginning to extricate the strange object from its wrappings with an almost reverence as he then brought it into his lap.

He would have told no one, but he hadn't the knowledge to craft the small body on his own. Only Alpha Trion now knew of the level of his desperation, having prepared this tiny casing in upmost secrecy for him over the last few months. Creating the body for a coming sparkling was still not yet a lost art surprisingly, though it no doubt soon would be if things did not change. But Prime tried not to think that deeply. It was not his intention to begin whole new generations with this action…he only wanted a single child for now. One youngling to stir their spirits and remind them that more was still possible, more than death and stagnation and the pain that sickened each and every one of their torn sparks.

"It is all I ask…only this." He had never directly wanted for anything before. Not from the Allspark. Its power was not one to be demanded of, it only gave when it wished to, randomly and to the gratitude of Cybertronians at all times. At least this was the way it had once been. Before others had desired more…

It was blasphemous, trying to create life on his own without the aid of a mate's spark. But Optimus tried to let Elita-One's presence fill his mind regardless, thinking of her as he once had while his chest plates began to relax backward in slow response. He had never bonded again after her, and he only felt vulnerable and saddened now as he forced his chamber to disengage without any trusted partner to soothe the then exposed spark's anxious pulses.

For the little form still in his lap, he only had to press the hidden release to have its chest open with a reflexive slide. The lifeless cavity inside was discomforting in its darkness, nothing within its spark chamber as he gently opened that as well. But this bleak sight was something he prayed to soon change.

"I offer as much of my own spark as needed." There was nothing more he could do. It took life to create life. The cube on its own had created their planet and the first generations of Cybertron surely, but beyond that all new lives had been solely left to their discretion. Only mates now had the capacity to make new Cybertronians, each individual giving a piece of their own spark so that their lifeforce may come together and shape a newer one.

Though before the Allspark had been properly hidden away, it was true that some Decepticons had foolishly tried to access it in order to create soldiers without the aid of their own sparks…but the creatures that had resulted from that had only been mindless and violent. It was clear that for true life, you now had to give up part of your own. Prime could not know if even his spark with the power of the leadership matrix infused within it would be enough for such an overwhelming task however.

He was left waiting, yet remained attuned to the Allspark's energy field as he searched for any change within it. Each second of further silence, with no response save for the random shifting of the blue glow down through its shallow channels, became more and more unbearable while the cavern's cold, dead air continued to permeate his vulnerable spark. If he were denied would it be a sign that the Autobots were meant to fail? That the Allspark cared not if it were to be used as only a tool of destruction by Megatron?

Prime lowered his head, not shameless enough to plead any further. His optics dimmed, though now looking down again at the lifeless shape he was holding. Wasn't it all in their deeper instincts to want to see new life at some point? He had never had the chance with Elita…never even considered it really before she was already taken from him. There was just always too much else, always the war, always the Decepticons at their heels, never a moment's rest. Never a time to consider the foolishness of bringing new life into the hell they had made for themselves.

But now…that was exactly what he was so selfishly asking for. Because the Autobots needed someone to protect. He needed a bond to fight for, if he could even dare to feel for anyone else again. He would never be able to take a mate only to lose them again. He was already too far removed to ever contemplate that risk again. But to care for a child…perhaps that could be possible. Because it wouldn't be his own. No, the youngling would belong to them all.

Was it really so selfish if regarded in that light? It would not be his sparkling. It would be theirs. Everyone. Everyone's child.

A sudden misfire of energy arced off the side of the cube nearest to him, bringing Prime's attention immediately back to that powerful force. His spark became reflexively fearful of damage in such close proximity to the stronger aura, but he willed it to remain uncovered and even edge outward from the relative safety of its casing as he awaited the final decision. He had decided to do this and would not allow himself any misgivings over the potential consequences.

The Allspark "spoke" again, energy crackling over its considerable surface as Prime's courage stilled his body to remain in what was possibly a direct line of fire. It seemed it had chosen to answer him, though there was still no way to know what would be done to him, or if he could possibly succeed in this far fetched request.

But he was left in no further suspense as the next energy bolt struck directly out, this time connecting fully to his chest. Battle hardened, he had expected an immediate offlining from such a perfectly aimed strike. And though the massive energy surge did instantly overwhelm many of his systems to knock them out through sheer force, he surprisingly felt no pain. The bolt likely would have been very loud as well, though his audio receivers only went awash with white noise. All he could do was see through static filled optics as everything flickered before going completely black.

And then he had felt nothing. Still fully conscious but with every sensory function offlined, Prime was left trapped for an indefinite time within silent, unfeeling blackness. It came to the point that he began to wonder if this was death. How would one ever know what it really felt like until it occurred? There was nothing, just his consciousness unattached in an abyss.

To be concluded in next chapter...