Disclaimer: Sorry, I don't own Hasbro or Tonka, but the plot line and a few others are mine.

Summary: The Autobots desperately need a vacation

"talk" =radio

"(talk)" =radio reply *NEW*

::Talk:: = processor warnings, in single autobots head

::talk:: = inner comm link

"Talk"= normal

"talk" =thoughts

"talk" =lyrics

Author's Note: Made a mistake last chapter, slipped and said Mirage and Dino were the same, according to the wiki they are, but I'm putting my version of Mirage in a different way and keeping to separate mechs.

P.S. I couldn't let my favorite mech die...that's my spoiler for the chapter...


Chapter Two

Matrix Running

xxx Next Day, 11:45 am

NEST headquarters was lit brightly by numerous windows and now functioning lights on one half of the roof of the main room, but the occupants were still resting peacefully, once in awhile a head would poke in, equally as worn down, most of the time it was Dutch or Eddie, rarely Simmons and even Director Mearing peering in to see if the Autobots had made any sign of stirring.

And they hadn't, until the base was disturbed itself.

"Yo-yo-yo! Autobots get movin', time ta wake up guys!"

"Yeah! Youse all been rechargin' too long, look worse than a bunch a' drones comin' off a High-grade!"

"Rise 'n' shine slaggers! You got company!"

Low groans came from the Autobots who were waking up and the humans who had been rudely disturbed from sleep.

And only Prime's automatic quick wakening protocols saved the two zipping vehicles from being crushed.

"Autobots! Stand Down!"

The tired mechs obliged happily, not wanting to get into a brawl anytime soon, the two vehicles slammed on their brakes, lining up in front of Prime when he stood, almost like they were ashamed of their actions.

Prime wasn't happy with the fact he recognized the flashy paint jobs.

Ratchet groaned just as loud as Prime did, "Oh no...not the Twins!"

"Yo! Cool it Doc! We brought y'all some reinforcements! Be respectable to yer house guest!"

"Excuse me?"

Then the dark blue Chevy Volt pulled in, engine humming smoothly before letting a welding gear clad figure out.

The helmet came off, dark brown hair spilling down the human's back as they locked gazes with the beat up CMO.

"Morning Ratchet."

The medic chuckled, hands going to his hips as Jolt carefully transformed after emptying his trunk of a welder and tool boxes.

"Good morning Mikaela."


Later in the afternoon Sam helped unload the backs of the Twins, pulling out grocery bags filled with food, fresh clothes, toiletries, and...

Car wax, car shampoo, and cleaning supplies, a telescopic brush included, probably for Optimus.

Sam had to smile, after the Windy City Disaster as "D-day" had been named already, not even twenty-four hours later, the Autobots hidden existence had gone full blast public, and Mikaela still held connections in enough of the remaining NEST to start things back to normal.

He had to give her credit, she knew what she was doing, that's why Sam had been heart broken to discover that even after the breakup, Mikaela had literally walked away from Sam and the Autobots, refusing even a ride from an isolated clearing where Bee had dumped her and Sam after tiring of the arguing in his cab. Optimus had showed up an hour later when the scout had refused to answer his comm so close to the return from Egypt, Ratchet in tow to make sure no one was injured.

And Mikaela had grabbed her purse and phone, gave Sam back his trust bracelet and walked away, eventually picked up by Miles in his mom's car since no length of any of the Bots following her would convince her to get a ride instead of walking on the busy highway back to her home.

Sam didn't want to go near her, letting the mechanically inclined girl get situated in Ratchet's corner of the now relatively fixed up main room while she helped Ratchet work on Leadfoot's partially caved in frame before Ratchet dragged Optimus in for his full repairs.

Sam wasn't looking forward to that part.

Bumblebee seemed to read his thoughts, playing the legendary "Jaws" music as Ratchet left the corner closed off by long sheets of semi-see through plastic, optics scanning for the formerly red and blue Autobot leader.

And didn't find him.

xxx

Optimus sighed as he discovered Col. Will Lennox on the solid roof of NEST HQ, right at the edge with a case of beer to his left, a bottle in his right hand, staring blankly out at the world, anywhere but down.

Prime knew what was below him, covered by a white tent, crudely erected but feasible for the moment.

Ironhide's nearly completely disintegrated remains.

Within the first two hours after Mission City, each Autobot had been assigned to a human to learn the best ways to remain hidden on Earth, the newly arriving Sideswipe, Arcee, and Twins doing the same once comfortable in their alt modes.

Lennox's family had taken in Ironhide within minutes of Prime's call to Lennox, just moments after Ironhide had dropped Lennox off at home, the Topkick hadn't even gotten the chance to back out the drive when the corresponding comm had told him to stay put and introduce himself to Sarah Lennox.

The next time Ratchet had called Ironhide in for routine examinations, the rest of the Autobots had met the wife of a close comrade and the bubbling Annabelle Lennox.

A gruff and tough weapons specialist hadn't stood a chance against that lively little girl. He'd been wrapped around her little fingers.

Optimus shuddered, seeing Sideswipe idly tuning his small laser gun, rarely used, but tested each time Will finished a bottle and chucked it into open air, the shot turning the glass into harmless sand that disappeared in the wind.

Epps had followed Prime to the roof, watching his friend closely before replacing the bottle in Will's hand with a box of crackers, taking away the alcohol as the soldiers didn't speak, gazing out over the world.

"How?"

"What Will?"

"Just...how?"

Epps sighed, his mind still roiling with the information he'd been given that the cannon-toting, trigger-happy black Autobot was gone.

"I don't know man, but that punk ass jerk is gone, all we can do is fire shots off in Hide's honor."

Will shook his head, "That I can do in my sleep...but...How...ugh..."

Ratchet came up at that point, leading Jolt, Mikaela, Sam, Carly, Bumblebee, and Dino to the small gathering, Optimus stiffly settling himself near the edge over a support beam after scanning the integrity of the roof structure.

"How what Will?"

The man didn't turn at Carly's question, ignoring the Autobots settling around him.

"How do I go home and tell my little girl her truck isn't going to be in the garage when she wakes up in the morning?"

Dino sighed heavily, knowing he was out of place here, he had known Ironhide, but wasn't as close to the black mech as the ones who'd been on Earth as long as the others, the weapon specialist had changed when Bumblebee had left to go after the Allspark, and Dino hadn't really gotten used to the new Ironhide before...

He didn't like to grieve, rather lived on memories, his place wasn't here with the others.

"Sam?"

"Yeah Carly?"

"They're...mourning Ironhide...aren't they...?"

The guy beside her could only nod, watching Mikaela walk forward to sit on Bee's thigh, running reassuring hands over the distraught mech's armor.

Carly knew she didn't need to be here, having never actually been introduced to the weapon specialist.

She and Dino slipped away, letting the others stare out at the bright blue sky that seemed too lively with the somber mood, almost like it was screaming there was still hope.

It didn't help anything.

Mikaela looked out over the skyline, Ratchet had already given her a shortened version of the last few days, but one detail stuck out.

"Ratchet?"

"Hmm?"

"Didn't you say that if there was a power source, strong enough, steady enough, and with the right application that a dead spark can be revived if the spark casing still held trace amounts of energy residues, and functionary repairs could be done to maintain systems while further repairs are done?"

"Yes...Mikaela what are you getting at? We have had this discussion several times about Jazz!"

"Ratchet cool it, to fully fix Jazz you needed a power source stabilizing his energon lines and circuits without reviving his spark when you reattach his other half, we couldn't do that..."

"Mikaela..."

"Hush! Listen to me, you said Optimus revived Sentinel with the matrix right?"

"Mikaela, yes...I get your train of thought, yes we could possibly revive Ironhide with the Matrix of leadership if the repairs were done. But there's the issue of m..."

The girl wasn't the only one watching the medic as he trailed off.

"What Ratchet?" Mikaela asked softly, one of the few who could press the CMO and not risk an outburst.

"I...can't keep my hands steady enough to do the repairs, let alone seal his spark casing before the energy dissipates, Hide's spark casing is nearly collapsed, the chance is only hours...not years like it is with Jazz."

Mikaela waited for the medic to calm down, noticing that Will's shoulders were trembling.

"Ratchet."

"Hmm?"

"I can do the repairs."


The next afternoon Optimus wasn't the only one waiting with long bated breaths in the somehow survived Autobot rec room while Ratchet, Mikaela, and Jolt worked with assistance from Topspin with his thinner arms for the finer work Ratchet's aching limbs weren't able to handle.

Epps had turned the TV on, watching the steady stream on news casts about Chicago and the discovery of the Autobots. No covering this one up.

The power cut out from the screen with a pop, leaving Epps cussing softly, and then the lights flickered, going pitch black for a second then rebooting.

None of them moved, lights had been fluctuating most of the day due to repairs throughout the compound as more back up arrived from the Pentagon.

::Jolt to Optimus Prime::

The autobot leader stiffened at the field medic/electricity wielding mech's voice, the cold, stiff tone not portraying anything but Optimus' hopes weren't high, mostly due to his own pain, but suspicion as well.

::Prime here.::

::Ratchet requests Col. Will Lennox's presence and yours sir in med bay as soon as you are available.::

The sinking feeling grew worse, but Optimus forced his voice to remain steady.

::Understood, ETA two minutes.::

::Affirmative, Jolt out.::

xxx

Will was used to riding on an Autobot's shoulder or in a hand, even if it was to get to the med bay for himself or to check on a fellow human or Autobot.

What he wasn't used to was the jerking, limping gait of Prime as Lennox hung onto his shoulder, the uneven wheezing of over worked vents and the hissing of damaged hydraulics resounding loudly in his ears.

Jolt was waiting for them, holding the plastic away to make it easier on Prime.

The noise of the Autobot leader's stressed systems nearly drowned out the nearly silent droning of the hook ups littering Ironhide's nearly destroyed frame, the medic looking up from where he leaned heavily against a wall near the catwalk that supported the tired Mikaela who gave Optimus a supporting wave.

"Give me a few minutes Prime, then your next, I'm not listening to your systems heave for another hour." Ratchet gasped out, exhausted but not willing to cease his work yet.

Optimus nodded, then let Will slide into his remaining hand before his eyes locked on Ironhide's chest.

And the contained, alive spark that thrived in it's scarred casing.

"Is he..."

Ratchet nodded, forcing himself to stand straight to use a transformed hand to adjust something in Ironhide's helm, most of the wires and circuitry exposed as well as almost his entire frame full of parts and what was left of his weapons and beloved cannons.

A gently click from Ratchet, and a soft whir of rebooting systems.

And Ironhide groaned into consciousness.

"Where the Pit is that slagger Sentinel? I'm gonna rip him a new one...frag whatever glitch based orders come from Prime..."

"Easy Ironhide...Sentinel is no more." Ratchet soothed, applying medical overrides to keep Hide from struggling.

Then the mech turned his head, not a lot, but enough to see the battered Prime as he lowered Will to the metal table.

"Optimus...what the hell happened?"

"In good time my friend, please rest...there is much to tell you...but you need to recover a great deal before...before...b-b...zzzt-"

Mikaela jerked to her feet on the catwalk as Optimus broke down, vocal processor giving out much like Bee's did, static filled sobs shaking his massive frame as he went down on his knees, remaining arm near Ironhide's helm, fingers brushing the dented cheek plates as Optimus buried his head in his elbow, finally cracking under too much pressure, stress, loss of so much, the injuries, and then the revival of his close friend.

Ratchet stepped forward, seeing the pain in Ironhide's optics since he couldn't even move to fully see Prime crack.

A green arm wrapped around Optimus' shaking shoulders, fingers rubbing soothingly on the dented armor.

"It's alright Prime, let it out...I promise it will only get better..."

"This...is...b-better-r...yester-r...d-day-y...was the-the worst-t..."

Ironhide chuckled a bit weakly, giving Will as good of a smile as he could, the man rubbing tears from his eyes.

"Take it easy Prime, can't have you choking out on us huh?"

Optimus gasped out a short laugh, unable to contain it anymore.

"Ironhide, I need to put you back in stasis, Mikaela will be doing repairs while I-"

"Get some rest while the Wreckers and I deal with Prime, all three of you need recharge." Jolt interrupted smoothly, pointing at a corner for Ratchet to go stick himself in and rest.

"But...Hide...Prime..."

Mikaela snorted, for once seeing Ratchet be the stuttering mech in question.

"I'm fine Ratchet." Prime said softly, his voice shaking but held a bit more control as Jolt helped him to his feet, the hand not leaving Ironhide's cheek.

A low sigh, but Ratchet had to consent, putting Ironhide under a thick sedative before helping Jolt get Optimus situated in the huge metal operating chair.

Optimus' tired gaze held Iornhide's failing one until he slipped into recharge, Mikaela returning to her work and Will offering to help while Jolt gently started the protocols in Prime, easing the mech into stasis to begin the desperately needed repairs.

xxx

xx

xxx

His internal chronometer told him it was 9:28 am, the next morning after he had been put into medical stasis for repairs.

Tubes were connected along his entire form, wires hooked into any circuit not damaged too far, and energon drip in his arm as well. Monitors were hooked to the back of the operating chair, continually supplying readouts of his condition as he slowly regained focus.

Then his tanks jerked.

xxx

Sam had honestly never seen one of the Autobots 'throw up', he knew from Ratchet that if their internal firewalls were damaged they could end up with a virus, very similar to human illnesses, but he had yet to be around an ill mech.

That was until Optimus who had been unconscious in Ratchet's operating chair in the main room had been one moment groggily waking up and the next jerking free of the tubes and wires to collapse on his knees and purge his strained tanks repeatedly.

Least to say it wasn't pretty.

xxx

Ratchet winced in sympathy, only able to brace a hand on Optimus' back to help ease the pain, the other on Prime's chest to keep him from face planting into the now rotten-energon stained concrete.

"Easy Prime...just relax...let it pass..."

A deep groan slid from the 'Bot, Ratchet pretty sure any audio, visual, and sensory feed was making Optimus' processor spin as his equilibrium programming all but vanished, overheating taking over again as Prime slowly managed to stop, tanks empty and finishing off with painful dry heaves.

Jolt was there a moment later, motioning for Sideswipe and Roadbuster to help as well, the four of them needed to get Prime up enough to get him back in the chair before Ratchet tipped it back to ease how bad Prime was feeling.

"Slaggin' battles, knew one of these things would crack your firewall someday Prime, just gonna have to wait this one out." Ratchet murmured softly as he reattached the energon drip into Optimus, this time inserting it into a secondary line that didn't feed into his tanks directly, rather worked off the main lines that mostly powered the Autobot.

"Ughh...how long...til it stops Ratchet?"

"Long enough Prime, a few days at the most, humans bear it much the same, ask any of them about having the Earth illness known as influenza and be lucky you have only contracted the tank affecting version and not the rest, I'm not dealing with you and clogged vents if I can help it. Now lean back and relax, I need to finish hooking you back up then go back to your arm."

With those words Prime did settle a bit, then glanced over, sure enough his arm was reattached, at the moment limp and lifeless but Ratchet was in the middle of rewiring his shoulder joint, but the limb wasn't dead, luckily.

Prime let his head rest back, optics shuttering closed to avoid too much painful light as Ratchet deftly reattached severed wires in the correct order, mainly power supply, motor function, and weapon systems before moving away and letting his wrist fold in on itself to create an anesthetic.

"No Ratchet."

The medic sighed, hands on his hips as he glared at Optimus, "And why in the Pit not? I reattach those neural wires without numbing them and you'll be in enough pain to send yourself into stasis lock."

"Then just do it fast."

Ratchet wanted to slug Prime, but he couldn't. Taking the order silently and preparing each wire ahead of time before beginning the slow task of rejoining the strands.

When Mikaela came to ask for Ratchet's advice on Ironhide, she found Optimus leaving sizable dents in the arm rests of the chair, both hands gripping with enough force to crush a school bus into a matchstick.

Ratchet growled slightly as he reconnected the last wires, noting grudgingly it was the one that made every last bit of pain go away instantly, probably should have found that one first.

Optimus' vents let out air heavily, then Prime choked a bit, right arm pressing against his lower side for a moment, his body leaning to one side slightly.

"Prime? What is it?"

"...Nothing...just...out of breath...from the...pain..."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Ratchet sighed, but let Prime be, merely returning to fixing his arm after aiding Mikaela while the wiring reset into Prime's systems. The only thing left to do was bang out the dents in the shoulder and arm armor, weld any major issues and reconnect his diagnostic tests to allow Ratchet to check over his work.

As usual it was fine.

The wires and tubes disconnected from Optimus with soft clicks and hisses, retracting into respective pockets of the chair. The medic undid the energon drip after letting Optimus's systems take in enough of the rich fluid to stabilize it for a few hours.

"Alright Prime, I'm done for now, got get some recharge and let those welds set, not transforming until I know your arm is functioning."

"Understood."

The medic smiled, at least Prime knew to obey medical orders without too much fuss.

Ratchet turned away to return to Ironhide as Prime stood, both arms moving in synch with him to help him up.

And then his left leg gave out.

xxx

Charlotte Mearing hadn't been down to the main room in NEST HQ since being introduced to the three new arrivals, mainly because of all the noise and being out of place. She did however run down and rush through the doors with everyone else not already in the main room when a thud big enough to shake the entire building disturbed them.

And they found Optimus Prime on his side on the ground.

"What is going on in here?" Simmons yelled, wheeling forward as two other Autobots crouched near their fallen leader, Topspin and Jolt, if Mearing remembered correctly.

The ex-agent stared at Optimus, the mech meeting his gaze confused.

"Walk much Prime?"

The earned several guns drawn and pointed at the man, and not just from the autobots.

"Autobots, stand down." Optimus ordered, twisting his hips to prop himself up with his right arm.

"Prime-"

"It's alright Jolt, it is rather amusing."

Simmons smirked, catching Prime's gaze and winking, meaning no harm.

Optimus chuckled, the sound coming a little uneasily, and only Simmons noticed.

"You able to walk Prime?" Ratchet called, not bothering to move form whatever he was doing on Ironhide before the sedative wore off.

"Yes, I merely tripped." The tall mech stood, staggering a bit but not repeating the action, Jolt and Topspin backing off after he stood straight.

Simmons snorted, "Hence my comment, but then again I can't really talk, huh?"

Prime chuckled again, and Simmons had to pause a second to reflect how the tides had changed, the mech going from nearly wanting to kill him to laughing at him in just a few short years.

"Recharge Prime!"

The man winced in sympathy, hearing the familiar tone in the medic's voice that preceded a wrench thrown usually.

The mech shook his head, waving at Simmons before heading to the flatbed trailer.

Mearing came closer to the ex-agent when the autobot leader's frame went still.

"Simmons."

"Yes darling?" He answered, beginning to wheel back to where he'd been before the tripping incident.

"Don't call me that. I'm curious, is Optimus Prime usually so careless as to allow himself to trip?"

That made Simmons stop, a little too fast since he jerked in the wheel chair.

Prime didn't trip up like that, Simmons had been among the ones to study NBE One's systems, several of which used for balance and trajectory. Techincally unless something directly interfered at the right moment, it still took a lot to trip an Autobot.

Unless something was wrong.

xxx

xx

xxx 3:56 pm

Sam lounged on Bumblebee's leg while Ratchet scanned the Camaro's voice capacitor, again. The yellow and black autobot had avoided the majority of Ratchet's post-battle repair wrath as it had been dubbed, merely due to luck a few injuries, mostly scratches, a few dents, and a glitched radio system, meaning 'Bee was cutting out in the middle of a conversation with another Bot.

::How is that?::

::...zzzt...::

Ratchet sighed, then fussed over another circuit piece, tiny tools part of one hand while the other gently held Bumblebee's head, the doc having to completely open the scout's yellow helm to fix the issue.

::Now try youngling.::

::Whatcha say Doc? Am I gonna live?::

Ratchet made sure to close Bumblebee's helm up with a definitive snap before flicking 'the side of Bee's head.

"Not with that attitude."

"...I'm sorry sir...I didn't mean ta..."

Ratchet smiled, patting the scout's shoulder before standing from where he'd been kneeling, Bumblebee could make anyone laugh.

"Behave yourself young one."

"I'm on it!"

Sam chuckled then glanced over to the flatbed trailer, seeing Prime slowly waking up after one of the wreckers dropped a box, making it bang loudly, the Boss Bot had been through a lot and Sam was pretty sure he should've slept longer.

"Somthing wrong Optimus?"

"No Sam, thank you."

"Mhm, nothing's going on, why don't you go back to sleep-recharge-whatever?"

Optimus nodded, optics already half-shuttered when he tried to move to lie on his right side, partially on his newly attached arm.

And couldn't move, his entire right arm numb to anything he did, he didn't recognize the issue, it being his reattached limb...but he should have when he started losing his vision and processing power.

Sam didn't see Prime struggle silently for a minute, but did here the loud grunt and Prime's cooling system fans starting up with a dangerous growl.

"Hey Optimus, you okay?"

"Bumblebee, help me up."

The scout complied, shrugging to Sam as he walked over, gripping Prime's other arm when it slid over his shoulders. Bee made to stand straight, Optimus easing up normally and even got to the point to be hunched over on his feet.

And Sam watched Optimus offline for the second time.

The mech didn't fall this time, more like eased down slowly, half supported by Bee to lie on the ground limply.

"Big guy?"

::Boss you okay?::

"Optimus!"

::Prime!::

xxx

xx

xxx

The noise that rang in his ears reminded Will Lennox of Darth Vader, but it wasn't from a Star Wars fantasy that he was hearing, it was a mechanical breathing system, meant to aid respiratory functioning...

On an Autobot.

Anyone with ears, audio receptors, or a radio heard Sam and Bumblebee's shouts, anyone with a brain and the capability had rushed to see Prime on the ground.

Not moving.

Ratchet had literally forced Prime's chest open, shouting orders to the Wreckers in half english-half cybertronian, the sudden panic ending when Jolt whipped out his electric whips, neatly sliding them into Prime's chest and giving his leader the biggest shock of his life.

Literally.

Prime had gone into the Autobot version of Cardiac Arrest, his spark literally shutting off and killing him, leaving the mech dead for four minutes, twenty-two seconds.

To everyone that was four minutes, twenty-two seconds too long.

Prime now lay on the modified "repair chair" as it had now been dubbed, his frame lying completely level.

Lennox had never seen Prime this bad, not even when he'd been dropped from the helicopter after Megatron had killed him. At least then Ratchet hadn't had dozens of tubes and wires covering the 'naked' Prime. The famous red and blue flamed armor stacked off somewhere else, completely out of the way. Prime was left with his hands, feet, and head with the only bits of thick armor, otherwise stripped down to his parts and protoform. Completely vulnerable to something as measly as a round of buck shot, Lennox understood why Sideswipe, Dino, 'Bee, and the Wreckers were guarding closely, keeping most of the humans away and as an extra round of safety as Ratchet and Jolt worked on stabilizing Prime's erratic spark.

Sam, Carly, Mikaela, and Epps stood with Lennox on a small section of catwalk that was only big enough for a few people to stand on, just an observation point well out of Ratchet's way. But it held a full view of a sight none of them wanted to see.

Optimus even had an air mask over his face, all other air intakes blocked to ease the strain on his stressed "filters", autobot lungs basically. Not only that, his spark casing was partially opened, the main reason why only a few closely trusted humans were present, mainly to give morale support if Prime woke up.

Lennox wanted to kick himself, he had thought "If".

"Come on Big Guy, if my eighty-year old grandma can pull through a heart attack after three bypass surgeries, you can wake up." Epps murmured, leaning on the railing and staring at Prime's blank, dark optics.

Will almost didn't want to look, the blank stare the same he'd seen in too many comrades and just wanted to forget. He instead looked at Prime's spark, the powerful energy seemingly smaller than it should have been, jerking and snapping unevenly. The blue-white glow should have been...well warm...powerful...strong...everything Prime was.

But it only seemed like a fragile piece of wobbly ice, ready to shatter and disappear should you breathe wrong.

Will's radio buzzed with a bit of static on his hip, and the man grabbed it to hear better.

"...uuuughhh...what...happened...?"

Lennox nearly dropped the radio over the catwalk railing, looking over ans seeing the slow lighting of Prime's optics, the mech looking around quite dazed, but conscious, having reached out to the radio frequency in confusion.

"(It's okay Prime, you're on Ratchet's chair thing, just stay still.)"

"...Col. Lennox?...what...oooohh...my...chest..."

"(Just calm down Big Guy, Doc Hatchett's working on you now, don't move and Will and I'll get his attention.)"

Prime didn't answer."

"(Copy that Boss Bot?)"

"...y-yes...understood...Sgt. Epps...uuuuuughh..."

Optimus' optics focused enough to weakly look up at the humans on the observation catwalk, blinking in response to encouraging smiles and waves while Will took off one of his boots and chucked it a Ratchet, connecting with a clang.

"Col. Lennox, you better run before I-Prime!"

"Ratch...ett..."

The medic calmed, shoulders visibly relaxing as he gripped Prime's right hand, squeezing confortingly.

Optimus managed to squeeze back weakly, head tilting slightly to that side before relaxing back in the headrest to stare at the ceiling.

"...what-t...happened...Ratch...et..."

"...*sigh*...you experienced a Spark Shock Prime, if Jolt hadn't been here...we...I...you would have been lost to us..."

Prime shuttered his optics, frazzled processor struggling to...to...

Cope?

Comprehend?

Register?

Synthesize?

Apply?

...Remember...

Ratchet winced as Prime's optics unshuttered again, staring off to his left, into open space. The medic knew that look, Prime was reminiscing again, ans it usually led to the mech being a bit sullen and occasionally a bit more inclined to have a sharper tone to his voice for the rest of the day, Optimus recovering overnight and the memories stored away. Yes, that wasn't exactly the wisest idea, but it had worked from Prime for many millenia and Ratchet wasn't about to start trying to change that method.

Until Optimus cried out as he jerked, trying to curl in on himself but was too weak, deep groans echoing through any communications link Prime had.

::Dino to Doc, what's going on? Prime sounds like he's about to choke!::

Ratchet did the only thing he could do, block his internal comm link and shut down his audio receptors while he locked Prime in stasis. The medic turned his systems back on, taking a moment to calm dowm.

::Ratchet to Autobots. Prime is in stasis.::

::Skids to Doc Hatchet, what in the pit happened to Boss Bot?::

::A memory glitch I believe, Prime took this last battle terribly, his firewalls collapsed and let him slip into a spark shock before his back-up systems could stabilize his condition, his processor is highly damaged, he needs rest. None of you disturb him lest you wish to offline rather quickly.::

A round of confirmations pinged his processor, Ratchet ignoring them as he undid a cable in his chest that he normally didn't use.

"Jolt, get me that stool near Ironhide."

Ratchet sat down behind Prime's head, tenderly unlocking the helm cap to reveal basically Prime's brain, every last microscopic part of his circuitry. The medic undid a locked port, connecting the medical cable to Prime's memory core, and accessed the file that had driven Prime to nearly a second spark shock.

...Memory Scene

(Replay of Security footage, Optimus watching six vorns after actual event)

First Aid, Ratchet, and Wheeljack hovered around the cryotank, the clear viewing window the only way to see inside the environment control tank, the purest place a cybertronian could be besides the Allspark.

A dull beeping made Ratchet leave, his sensors picking up on Optimus Prime regaining consciousness.

"Prime? How do you feel?"

"Weak...power...systems...fading...errors...in...dia...nostics..."

The medic sighed heavily, hand resting on the battered shoulder of his leader and close friend.

"There's no error Optimus."

"What?"

"There's been a situation sir." Prowl interjected, moving into Prime's line of sight to make it easier.

Prime turned his head when Ironhide rubbed his other shoulder, other hand resting on Optimus' upper arm, "We're...sorry ta say...Prahm...but...the little guy..."

"Ratchet..."

"Easy Optimus, don't strain yourself, you've been through too much to even try moving. Just listen to us first."

"Boss?"

Optimus looked to Jazz, the saboteur looking grim and depressed, concerning Prime even more.

"Ya were attacked by D-cons afta yer last trip ta Iacon, badly, we didn't get da call til too late, you were almost dead Boss Bot, we thought we lost ya."

"Sir, there was nothing we could do, Wheeljack and Hoist will be starting repairs on your Battle Command Deck once Ratchet had given them clearance, the mechanism is nearly completely crushed." Prowl added then Ratchet cut him off as a soft alarm blared in the med bay, the medic leaving Prime's side before returning.

"::Ratchet to Ultra Magnus.::"

"::Magnus here.::"

"::Report to medbay.::"

"::Understood.::"

The medic had played the comm link for all to hear, Prime watching in weak confusion before greeting his brother feebly.

"Mag...nus..."

"Optimus Prime, it is good to see you online."

Ratchet cut in after Ultra Magnus had gripped Prime's hand, the wounded mech's systems relaxing a bit.

"Ironhide, Magnus, help Prime up, bring him into the cryotank lab, there's not much time left.

"Ratchet? What?"

Optimus was technically too wounded to move, but was brought in and laid on a heavily padded table, normally used for much smaller Autobots in need of the cryotank, which was extremely rare as it was used in near death emergencies to stabilize systems if too far gone for surgery.

The red, blue, and black-grey form of Optimus Prime looked out of place on the clean white table, the front tilted up to make Prime comfortable. The lab was dark, only the door the med bay admitting light and the faint white glow of the cryotank besides the Autobots optics.

Prime's dim optics locked on the cryotank as First Aid opened it, the panel lowering and the berth within sliding out. Optimus couldn't make out the gel covered Autobot until Wheeljack cleaned off some of the gel and tenderly moved the form onto an equally padded rolling cart, moving it closer to Prime.

"His systems are failing, he won't last much longer Prime, we wanted you to see him before..."

"No..." Prime choked weakly, "Roller..."

The scout vehicle chirped softly, rocking on his axles to bump into Prime's outstretched hand, lowering his front bumper into the palm of his partner.

"Ratchet..."

"I'm sorry Prime..."

Optimus couldn't move, just rubbed his thumb over Roller's hood, feeling the weak pain the scout was in and was unable to help. Roller was too weak to even be in pain now, slowly fading.

A soft noise from the scout, struggling for Optimus to hear, the mech responding by humming soothingly as Roller settled onto his palm completely, too exhausted to do anything else.

"My friend..."

Roller remained silent and unmoving for a long time, and Optimus moved to make sure he wasn't...

beep...click...purr...

The minibot forced his systems to reach out to Optimus, cuddling against Prime's hand physically and his processor mentally, then it faded away...

...End Memory Scene

Ratchet pulled back from Optimus' memory core, but didn't open his optics.

Prime had been in so much pain after Roller had died that he hadn't even had the strength to cry out. Ultra Magnus and Ironhide had let their leader clutch their hands for joors, until the mech literally cried himself into recharge, Ratchet administering a sedative kliks later to keep the recharge from being plagued with dreams. Ultra Magnus had been sent back to his own team before Prime awoke, taking the damaged Battle Command Deck for his mechanics to fix and Roller's empty frame to be entombed in Iacon's vaults. Optimus' force had been aboard the Artemis battleship, the attack that killed the scout vehicle coming a mere five orns before the destruction of the Youth Sectors, and then Optimus found Bumblebee among the lower rooms of one building.

The finding of the sparkling had almost been too soon for the legendary Autobot leader, luckily Ironhide had helped with Bumblebee's care and Ratchet had found the healing capabilities of the matrix otherwise the medic was sure Prime would have gone mad. Roller had been a physical part of Optimus, and nothing could replace him.

One of Prime's injuries then had been his right arm being severed, the repeat after Chicago had triggered painful memories and the remembering of losing Roller had triggered the Spark Shock.

And Ratchet wasn't sure if the Matrix of Leadership could heal Optimus a second time, or if the last Prime would even want to be saved.


I'm sorry! I couldn't let Ironhide die! I just couldn't!

Don't kill me!

Do you like Roller?

Review please!