Chapter 10

Confrontation

Back at the Autobot headquarters, everyone was in utter shock over the event that had happened a few minutes ago. In the med bay, Sideswipe lay down in temporary stasis, while Red Alert was busy trying to repair his severely wounded stabilizing servo, which was sparking violently and small streaks of energon were pouring out slowly.

The human children were banned from the base for over a week since they didn't watch over Maria as they have been told. The mini-cons were placed into detention , not allowed to speak with Maria, since they helped her get to the desert.

Back in the command center, Optimus, Scavenger, and Maria were standing there, watching the screen that showed Sideswipe's operation going on from the med bay. Scavenger was speaking about the odds of the young scouts chances of surviving from a mortal wound like that, but Optimus was not paying any attention. His mind was only focused on the femme behind them.

"Scavenger, you are free to go. I need to speak with the youngling. Alone." The commander turned his head, a look of punishment in his optics.

Scavenger didn't even speak. He knew that Optimus Prime was going to "lay down the law" on the youngling, as the humans say. He nodded his head, and slowly made his way out the door.

"Maria... Come over here... Right...Now." Optimus ordered, his voice was almost ominous and threatening.

The sudden tone of Primes voice made Maria flinch. Not wanting him to get more angry, she turned and made her way to him and stood in front of the blue and red mech, her head half way down in total submission and guilt.

Standing with his arms across his chest in a disciplined manner, Prime looked down upon the child.

"Do you know how much trouble you are in, young one?" He said in an oddly menacing tone.

Maria didn't answer.

"I am the leader of the Autobots. A Prime. And when a Prime sets certain rules for his team, he expects those rules to be obeyed. No questions asked. What you have done out there in the desert was careless for both your own life or any of my own men. I am very disappointed in you, Maria."

Maria felt a cold electric chill run up her neck cables, small shaking now taking control of her body.

"I told you to stay at the base for your safety, and look what you did. You disobeyed my order, and in return you put yourself in danger, Sideswipe is in critical condition, and on top of that a mini-con relic was destroyed. It could have reactivated to reveal a comrade who would have helped us, but now that chance is gone... all because of your reckless and careless act."

The shaking in Maria's body only increased, but not in fear, but in anger and defiance. It was too much, she had to let it out.

"I was just trying to help. I thought that could prove myself to be one of you by saving the mini-con." She shouted.

"You think that going out there, with plasma blasts bursting all around you, almost close enough to blow you to bits, a chance to prove yourself worthy?" Prime shouted back, his optics flashing.

"No, I was going to return to the base as soon as I got the mini-con, you big dummy." Maria complained. Her shaking was starting to increase.

Scoffing at that remark, Optimus only growled. "Now you are acting like a sparkling."

That set her off. Almost as if a gun was shot, Maria screamed in total defiance.

"AND YOU ARE ACTING LIKE A DECEPTICON. ALWAYS KEEPING ME PRISONER HERE. NEVER LETTING ME DO ANYTHING I WANT TO DO. NO WONDER WHY I DON'T LIKE YOU. YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A FAT, POMPOUS, STUCK UP, BAD TEMPERED, OLD TYRANT!"

At those words, Prime's normally patient disposition was gone in a flash.

Just then, with an arm rising, and almost instantly a hard impact was felt upon the younglings right cheek plate. Optimus Prime slapped her. The force was so strong the she was knocked off her peds and lay almost in shock, one of her hands was covering the cheek plate that began to sting and throb in pain.

"IF I WAS A DECEPTICON, I WOULD HAVE KILLED YOU OFF, SINCE YOU WERE AN AUTOBOT. BUT SEEING THE WAY YOU ARE TREATING ME, I NO LONGER SEE A FELLOW AUTOBOT. ONLY A STUBBORN, SELFISH, AND INSUBORDINATE ROBOT WHO CAN'T EVEN FOLLOW A SINGLE COMMAND. EITHER YOU LEARN WHAT IS BEST FOR YOU AND LISTEN TO ORDERS, OR SO HELP ME I'LL..."

He stopped his yelling seeing that Maria wasn't looking at him. Still in a foul mood, he knelt down and grabbed her shoulder plate turning her around.

"YOU LOOK AT ME WHEN I AM TALKING TO YOU, YOUNG FE..."

All at once, his anger was gone. His voice seemed to turn quiet and still. For when he turned Maria to face him, he was not prepared for the sight that beheld him.

Maria's face was facing him, her right cheek plate was dark and bruised, thumping almost. But the worst part of all was the look of fear in Maria's optics, not just in anger and sadness, but in horror. Streams of energon tears were starting to leak from the optics as she stared at him. Then she got up and ran out the room, shouting out something that caught Optimus' attention.

"YOU ARE WORSE THAN MY FATHER!"

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For one hour, Prime stood alone in the room in complete shock over what he had done to Maria. He was an Autobot. No Autobot would dare strike a youngling the way he did. How was he supposed to apologize to her? Would she be afraid of him for the rest of his and her life? What was he going to do? But the question that kept repeating itself in his CPU was...How could her father be worse than him?

Just then Jetfire appeared and saw Prime's state.

"I heard the ruckus that went on in here. Care to tell me why you're still here?" Jetfire asked.

"Oh, Jetfire. I don't know what caused me to hit her."

"You what?" Jetfire turned his head and look at his leader with questionable optics.

"I didn't mean to. I was just so mad. Why I did it was probably because she refused to listen to me, but I am regretting that." Optimus replied.

Jetfire placed his metal palm on his forehead and groaned, before putting a hand on Prime's shoulder plate.

"Prime, she isn't a solider, and you are no drill sergeant. She is only a child. You have to keep calm, no matter what."

Optimus only looked at his second in command and grunted, pushing away the hand that was on his shoulder plate.

"I know that. I was so enraged because she wouldn't take the fact that she could have died out there."

"And why do you think that? Was it because you never told her about the Decepticons, or about your family?" Jetfire countered.

Prime only rubbed his face mask in frustration. Jetfire was right. He hadn't told Maria about his family. About Aquarius... About his unsparked child that was resting inside of her.

Soon realizing his mistake, Optimus apologized to Jetfire for getting a bit testy at him.

"Forgive me. You are right about me. I never did have the spark to tell her. I'll be sure to tell her everything."

Jetfired nodded in agreement. Optimus was about to leave when he turned back to Jetfire and spoke once again.

"I forgot to mention something else. After my... act, she ran out crying out " You are worse than my father."

Jetfire blinked his optics in curiosity.

"How could you be worse than her father? She said that he gave her up to the orphanage so that she could have a better isn't all that bad, isn't it?"

Optimus only spoke in a suspicious tone. "There must have been something she hasn't told us the day she came her. something about Jack Hammer."

With that in mind he left the room and proceeded to the medical facility and grabbed himself a piece of cloth and drenched it in cool water. After that he want to the one place Maria would often go when she felt hurt...Hot Shot's quarters.

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Hot Shot sat on his berth as he held the sobbing youngling, who was clinging close to his chest plate, huge drops of tears pouring out of her optics. Hot Shot began patting her gently on her back plate to calm down, but despite the effort it didn't help. He had already seen the bruise on her cheek plate and asked her if they should see Red Alert, but she refused to leave the room. All because she was afraid that Optimus Prime would out there, waiting to hurt her again, at least in her mind.

Just then a knock was heard from the door, and the voice of the leader was heard from the other side.

"Hot Shot, May I have permission to enter?"

From where he stood, Optimus heard a tiny gasp and whispers of " Don't let him in." were heard. Then he heard footsteps and the door slid open, revealing a yellow and orange mech.

"Yes, Optimus?"

Optimus sighed and blinked a couple of times before he spoke again.

"I know Maria is in here. I wish to speak with her."

"I'm not sure about that, boss bot. She's still upset. Maybe you should come back at a different time." The young Autobot suggested, but Optimus replied.

"Now is the proper time. Please... Let me see her." He lay a hand on Hot Shot's shoulder plate. "I only wish to apologize to her... Alone."

Hot Shot was still unsure, but in the end allowed his leader inside, and left.

As Optimus entered inside the room, Maria turned around on the berth, so that her back plate was facing him, and brought her knees to her chest plate, still crying. Optimus sighed quietly and walked over to her and sat himself next to the youngling. Feeling Optimus sitting on the berth, Maria scooted a few feet away from the red and blue leader.

Seeing her back away, Optimus sighed once more and softly cooed.

"I know you are mad at me for smacking you, but I want you to know that I am not angry anymore. I won't yell, scream, or anything. I want to speak with you for couple of nano clicks."

Whimpering, Maria pushed her face into her legs, refusing to look at him.

"It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you."

"But you did. You hurt me badly." Sniffled the youngling.

Edging a little closer to the crying child, Prime slowly lifted a hand and softly tried to turn her head towards his face plate. She flinched but Optimus reassured her that it was okay. Slowly he brought her face plate to his view, and nearly choked with shock, every inch of Maria's face plate covered in tears, and the bruise on her cheek plate was still present, bright and painful to the touch.

"Awww, You poor thing. What have I done to you?" Prime spoke.

Optimus tried to gently place the wet cloth he had stored in his pocket compartment to her cheek plate, but Maria backed away, shaking once again.

"Don't touch it, Don't touch me. I don't want you here. Please, go away." She cried.

Prime took full notice in her sudden shaking, and remembered something. Back on Cybertron, he had a solider who would often have negative outbursts do to either pressure in his CPU or in anger. It turned out his core processor had an emotion defect, similar to the human disorder, ADHD. He also remembered that a special needs medic was assigned to the solider and would help him when ever he was in one of his tantrums. Could Maria be suffering from the same diagnosis? Well, when she got mad at him she had the same symptoms of that defect in her processor, just the same as that solider from a long time ago. And if he was right, he could help her.

As the child sat there, shaking and whimpering, Prime remembered what the special medical officer did that helped calmed down the solider. If it worked on the solider it could work on Maria.

Slowly, he leaned forward, placed his hands on Maria's shoulder plate, and whispered.

"Easy there, little one. You are in a lot of stress and anger, you have every right to be mad at me, but first I need you to settle down so that I can talk with you. "

Maria lifted her head from her knees and looked at him, astonished by the change of tone of his vocal components.

"Now, I want you to take a deep breath in. Fill up your oxygen tanks and hold it for a couple of seconds. After that, breath out, smooth, slow and quietly."

To prove this, he took in a hefty deep breath, held in the air in his oxygen tanks for a while, then breathed out, like a soft, peaceful wind in the springtime.

Maria did as she was told, and after four breathing exercises her shaking was gone, and was calm. As soon as that happened, Optimus carefully placed the cloth to her cheek plate and had her hold it there to help with the swelling.

"Okay, what is it you want to talk about."

"I believe you already know." Optimus replied softly.

"What you did was dangerous. You could have gotten yourself hurt, or worse... killed. I was so worried that I would lose you. If any of those Decepticons caught you out there I just couldn't forgive myself." He said.

"Why do you feel that way towards me?" The youngling asked.

"It's because... because... you remind me of some one I used to know... Some one I used to love."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Maria was now confused.

Optimus pulled Maria close and whispered.

"What I mean is,... I never told you this, or anyone about this. You see, I had someone special in my life who was just like you. She was very sweet, kind, and beautiful..."

(Now we will found what has kept Optimus in the dark for so long. Want to hear it?)