My family is planning to switch Internet providers, and it looks like we may not have Internet for a week or so. If I don't update, that's why. I'll keep writing and when we get the Internet back, I should be able to update then. Might be able to update all three of my stories.
Units of time as I use them:
Astrosecond= .273 seconds
Klik= 1 minute
Joor= 3 hours
Cycle= 1 day
Breem= 1 week
Groon= 1 month
Stellar cycle= year
Meta cycle= 5 years
Deca cycle= 10 years
Orn= century
Vorn= 5 centuries
:underline:- spark twins talking
:bold:- bonded mechs talking
:italics:- comm link
Don't own Transformers!
Chapter 12
Ratchet slowly came out of recharge feeling rather warm and content. He supposed that he should feel warm considering the larger frame that was lying on the berth behind him with an arm wrapped around his waist. And he supposed he shouldn't be surprised at feeling content considering the fact that his mate was the one in the berth with him. And he had felt nothing but content ever since having met the Prime.
Ratchet onlined his optics as he took in the room that he was sharing with Optimus. He wished that he could remember this room, but it wasn't something he could remember. He knew that it was something that he might never remember, and that was something that bothered Ratchet a lot more than he wanted to admit. He wanted to remember his family. He wanted to remember his mate. He wanted to remember everything about these bots, but he couldn't. He would learn about them, though. With time and effort. Both of which he had and would ensure was done.
Ratchet lay there in the Prime's arms, feeling too comfortable to move. He could tell that the red and blue mech was still in deep recharge. He could feel the warmth on the back of his neck as the Prime ex-vented slowly. It was almost like a feeling of déjà vu for the medic. Being in the Prime's arms lying online while the other mech recharged was familiar to Ratchet and seemed natural although Ratchet had absolutely no memory of being with the Prime. It was odd, but comforting.
Ratchet reached down and gently stroked his fingers over the Prime's hand in front of him. Ratchet could feel the contentment in his spark at being with this mech, but it didn't change the fact that Ratchet was actually in the berth with a mech that he had no memory of. He wanted, needed to get to know this mech before things got much more serious. Ratchet continued to gently stroke the Prime's hand in a preoccupied manner as he thought.
Slowly, Optimus came out of recharge himself and could feel something stroking over his hand gently. He became fully aware and realized that Ratchet was online and stroking over his hand. The Prime smiled slightly at having his mate back in his arms when he came out of recharge. Optimus knew without a doubt that having Ratchet was not something that he was going to take for granted ever again.
Ratchet sensed the change in the Prime's systems and realized that he was online. Content and comfortable, Ratchet decided to remain where he was for the time being. He continued to lay there with his mate, expecting Optimus to say something since it was rather obvious that the medic was also online.
Optimus gently nuzzled the back of Ratchet's neck before he finally spoke. "How did you recharge?"
"Fine." Ratchet turned so that he was able to look at Optimus. "There is something that we need to talk about."
"What's that?" Optimus asked as he looked at his mate. He hoped that there was nothing wrong.
"As happy as I am to be here with you and everybot from my past, it doesn't change the fact that I don't remember any of you. I would like to, but I just can't." Ratchet told him.
Optimus reached over and started to gently trail his fingers down Ratchet's arm in a soothing manner. "I know that you can't remember your past, Ratchet. That's not your fault."
"I know, Optimus. My point is that I don't remember any of you, and I think that it's going to be a good idea for me to get to know all of you now." Ratchet told him.
Optimus realized that Ratchet was right. He knew by Ratchet's own admission that his spark remembered all of them, but he didn't know them at all. "You're right, Ratchet. You'll have the time to get to know us all again." He smiled at his mate. "And I am going to make time for that."
Ratchet smiled. "Thank you."
Optimus nodded.
Knowing that their creations would be getting up before long, Ratchet decided that it would be a good time for them to get up. He sat up and climbed out of the berth.
"If you want to use the wash racks, go ahead." Optimus told him, motioning to the door to the side.
"Thank you." Ratchet then headed for the wash racks, knowing that he needed it at the moment.
Optimus also climbed out of the berth and went to check on their creations. He found that all three were still in recharge; although he wasn't sure if they would stay in recharge much longer considering the fact that they seemed to get up rather early. The Prime went and got himself a cube of energon that he started to drink. He was a bit startled to receive a message from Megatron for a communication. Optimus opened the comm link to his brother. :What is it, Megatron?:
:I contacted Grindor and told him that we needed to speak with him about something. Considering the fact that I thought you wouldn't want to leave the palace, all things considered, Grindor is coming here. He'll be here in three joor for a meeting with us.: Megatron told him.
:And who is us?: Optimus asked.
:You, me, Galvatron, and Elita. Figure that if Grindor needs to see Ratchet to believe that he is alive like we did, at least with the meeting here we could get Ratchet to the office without fear of anybot seeing him that we don't want seeing him yet.: Megatron replied.
"A good idea, actually. I'll meet all of you in my office half a joor before the meeting is set to start.: Optimus said.
:I'll let the others know. You might want to inform Ratchet that we might need him in that meeting as living proof.: Megatron suggested.
:I'll let him know.: Optimus replied before he cut the connection with his brother. He set his half finished cube of energon on the table before he headed into his quarters. He heard the sound of the shower running in the wash racks and decided that telling Ratchet could wait a moment. He went back out and found that Lightshow had come out of the younglings' quarters, rubbing her optics. Optimus smiled before he walked over to her. "Good morning, Lightshow."
Lightshow looked up and smiled at her sire. "Morning, Sire."
Optimus smiled before he picked up his daughter and kissed her on the cheek. "Did you recharge well?"
"Yes, Sire." Lightshow looked around. "Where's Carrier?"
"He's in the wash racks. He will be out soon." Optimus replied as he walked over and set Lightshow down on the couch. He then turned on the video feed and let Lightshow watch cartoons.
It wasn't long before Hot Rod and Springer came out of their room as well, looking like they had just come out of recharge.
Optimus smiled at his sons. "Good morning, Springer. Hot Rod."
"Morning, Sire." the two mechlings replied.
Optimus motioned toward the couch. "Go ahead and watch cartoons."
The two mechlings soon joined their sister on the couch.
Optimus then went to the energon dispenser and used the smaller cubes to get the younglings their ration. He then walked back over to the couch and handed each of them a cube if energon.
"Thank you, Sire." all three younglings told him.
Optimus smiled at them. "You're welcome."
Ratchet had stood watching his mate get the energon for their younglings. He could easily see how attentive his mate was to their younglings and immediately came to the conclusion that he would be a good sire to their younglings.
Optimus still hadn't realized that Ratchet was watching them. He walked back over to the table and picked up his half full cube of energon which he continued drinking.
"You're good with them."
Optimus was startled and immediately turned to face his mate. "How long have you been there?"
Ratchet smiled. "Not long." He then looked at their younglings. "Long enough to know that you are going to end up being a good sire."
Optimus looked surprised, but was glad to hear that from Ratchet. "You think so?"
Ratchet nodded. "I know so." He smiled. "We'll just have to see if you are going to be good at disciplining them or if that'll be my job."
Optimus looked a bit sheepish. "I, uh, honestly don't know."
"We'll have to see." Ratchet replied. He then motioned to the room. "Why don't you go ahead and use the wash racks? I know that you're meeting with Senator Grindor this cycle, and you shouldn't go dirty."
"Hmm. Probably a good idea." Optimus started into the room then remembered what Megatron had told him and turned back to Ratchet. "By the way, Grindor is coming here to meet us for us to tell him, and we might need you to come there in case Grindor needs to see you to know that we all haven't lost our processors." Optimus told him.
Ratchet nodded. "You'll just have to tell me where your office is."
Optimus nodded before heading into his room to get washed up.
"Carrier?" Hot Rod asked.
Ratchet walked up behind the couch where his creations were. "Yes, Hot Rod?"
"Are we going to be living here now?" Hot Rod asked.
Ratchet smiled at his son. "It looks that way, Hot Rod."
"So, we're going to stay here with Sire?" Lightshow asked.
Ratchet smiled. "Yes, we are."
"That's great! We'll get to see everybot every cycle!" Springer sounded very happy about that.
Ratchet smiled. "Yes. You will."
Optimus had stayed by the door and heard what Ratchet had said about them staying there. It settled his spark a great deal more to know that Ratchet intended for them to remain at the palace. He didn't want to lose his family after he had just found it. And it looked as if he was going to end up keeping his family after all.
The Prime headed into the wash racks and turned on the solvent spray, washing off all the dirt and grime that had accumulated on his armor. The water was warm on him, and it helped to relax the Prime.
Optimus knew that telling Grindor that Ratchet was alive was the easy part. He had known Grindor for a while, and he knew that once Grindor was convinced that Ratchet was alive and well that Grindor would happy for them.
The Senate, or at least some of the members of the Senate, would not be so happy that Ratchet was alive, Redwing in particular. Redwing would be royally pissed off at the fact that Ratchet was alive.
Optimus knew that Redwing hated the fact that he had chosen Ratchet as his mate because of the fact that they could not use Ratchet to try to control Optimus. Redwing also despised the fact that Ratchet was considered middle class, which meant that Redwing saw Ratchet as unworthy of becoming the mate of the Prime.
Optimus felt differently. He knew that Ratchet was more than worthy to be his mate. And he wasn't about to let Redwing get in the way of his relationship with Ratchet.
Which brought his thoughts over to the one who had taken Ratchet away from him in the first place. Shadowstrike had done everything she could to destroy the life that Optimus had wanted so much. She had tried to kill his mate while he was carrying Optimus's creations without care. Shadowstrike had thought that she was more worthy of being the Prime's mate than Ratchet was, but Optimus thought that she was less worthy.
And the fact that Ratchet was alive would not change a great deal where Shadowstrike was concerned. The attempted assassination of the mate of the Prime or the High Lord Protector carried the same punishment as a successful assassination did. Regardless of the fact that Ratchet was alive and well, the penalty would still be death.
Optimus sighed as he turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. He grabbed a cloth and started to dry himself off.
There was a lot that the Prime was going to have to deal with in the coming cycles, and he didn't care at all because it meant that he had Ratchet and his creations back.
The Prime walked back out and stopped when he saw Starlight, Swiftwind, Nemesis, and Alpha Trion all in the sitting room with the three younglings.
Ratchet was standing back watching them. He glanced over and smiled.
Optimus walked over. "Somehow, I'm not surprised that our quarters are being overrun by our family. It's probably going to happen a lot."
"I imagine." Ratchet replied. He was sipping at his own cube of energon. "At this moment, I'm trying to figure who they're more interested in seeing: our creations or me."
"Both, actually."
Ratchet turned to glance at his own carrier.
Starlight smiled. "And you've got some others to meet."
"Are they here?" Optimus asked.
"Of course. Ironhide and Chromia just arrived. Skywarp and Thundercracker were here early with Starscream. Ultra Magnus is here, and Smokescreen has gotten Hot Shot here with Dropkick." Starlight replied.
"Sounds like there's a few that I need to meet." Ratchet mused.
"And all of them will be glad to see you again." Starlight stated. She glanced over at where the three younglings were with their grand-sires. "And I know that they'll be thrilled to see them."
"You forgot to mention about Jetfire and Jetstorm." Swiftwind reminded her.
"Oh! Right. Wheeljack wants Hot Rod, Lightshow, and Springer to meet his sons, Jetfire and Jetstorm. Since they're all around the same age, they should get along well." Starlight said.
"I'm sure they will." Ratchet agreed.
"I have a meeting today. We're telling Grindor that Ratchet is alive." Optimus said.
"Yes. Megatron had mentioned that." Nemesis remarked.
Optimus just hoped that this meeting went well.
"I still think that Arcee should have let us know that Ratchet was alive a lot sooner! Like an orn ago sooner!" Galvatron growled. He didn't like the fact that his younger brother had suffered so much for no reason at all. Granted, he placed a great deal more blame on Shadowstrike, but he still felt that Arcee had been out of line.
"Galvatron, considering what Arcee thought she knew-" Elita started.
"That doesn't excuse a slagging thing, Elita! Arcee knew that Ratchet was alive, and she knew how much it had hurt our family! Everybot knew it! She should have known that something wasn't right and come forward a great deal sooner!" Galvatron protested.
"Maybe she should have, but she didn't. Right now, I think that we need to be thankful that Ratchet, Hot Rod, and Lightshow are alive. And be grateful that we have Springer now." Elita believed that all things happened for a reason, which was why she was sure there was a reason that they had gone through this. Even if they never understood what that reason was.
While Elita and Galvatron were arguing over the issue with Arcee, Optimus and Megatron were having their own discussion.
"And this would be why I thought that coming here sooner would be a good idea. To get these arguments out of their systems." Optimus stated, leaning back in his chair.
Megatron watched them with an amused expression. "Agreed. How did you know that they would end up in argument?"
"Because they are both opinionated, hard-helmed, stubborn, and have different views of what happened." Optimus replied.
"True enough." Megatron watched the argument before looking at his brother. "Can you believe that these two want to start a relationship? What do they have in common?"
"They have a lot in common. How they compromise is the real question." Optimus chuckled. "And I say let them figure that out."
Megatron nodded. "Starscream and I had to." He then turned the focus from his twin and Elita to Optimus. "How are we telling Grindor?"
"I thought we'd simply tell him the truth and then get Ratchet to come here if Grindor doesn't believe it." Optimus replied.
"Sounds good to me." Megatron grimaced. "You realize the kind of uproar that this will cause with the Senate."
"I know." Optimus sighed. "That is what I dread, but I'll willingly deal with it because I do have Ratchet and my creations back."
Megatron nodded in agreement. He was glad to see his brother happy again. He just hoped that there weren't too many problems that came up for his brother and Ratchet.
"RATCHET!"
The shocked cry came from every bot that was in the lounge as they stared in shock at the bot that they had been rather certain was dead.
Skywarp warped from where he was on the other side of the room right in front of Ratchet before he grabbed the medic in a tight hug. "This is so great! You're alive!"
Ratchet winced at the audio-piercing squeal that had escaped from the purple Seeker. He wished he hadn't shouted so loud. Right in his audio, too.
Starscream released a sound of frustration at his trinemate's actions. "'Warp, stop shouting in Ratchet's audios. And what have I told you about warping across a room?"
"I'm sorry, Screamer, but I was just so excit-AHHH!" Skywarp released a yelp as he was suddenly shoved out of the way.
"He's an idiot." Ironhide told Ratchet before he reached over and pulled Ratchet into a hug.
Ratchet realized that his spark was reacting to the red mech the same way that his spark reacted to Wheeljack. This mech must be a brother. Or at least one he loves like a brother.
"I don't slaggin' care how you're alive, Ratch. Just glad ta see ya again." Ironhide said as he finally let go of Ratchet. He grinned. "Shoulda known ya wouldn't' let some crazed femme knock ya off that easily. Shoulda known ya'd find a way to survive and get back here."
"I appreciate the faith that you have in me." Ratchet replied.
"Ya better than that. Ya wouldn't let yourself get killed by some femme who doesn't know when ta give up." Ironhide replied.
Chromia, with help from Bluestreak, managed to get up. "Ratchet, you have no idea how glad I am to see you." The blue femme pulled Ratchet into a fierce hug.
Ratchet could easily tell that this femme was in the final stages of gestation. "I've been hearing that a lot lately." He glanced back at his family.
"Well, we all are. We can't help that." Jazz told him.
Ultra Magnus was more than a little shocked. But that shock slowly melted into happiness. The mech had known Optimus since he was Orion Pax, and he had seen just how happy Ratchet made him. He had seen what losing Ratchet had done to the mech that was like a brother to him, and he was more than happy to see that Ratchet was alive and well. "Ratchet, I don't know how you are alive, but you have no idea how good it is to see you again." Ultra Magnus told him sincerely.
Ratchet smiled. "Thank you."
Starlight watched this a few moments before deciding that they all needed to know about what had happened after the attack. "Ratchet, perhaps you should tell them now."
"Tell us what?" Thundercracker asked.
"Of course, carrier." Ratchet agreed.
Despite the fact that she knew he couldn't remember her, it still warmed her spark to hear Ratchet refer to her in that way. Starlight loved having her son back and alive. And she certainly loved hearing him call her his carrier.
Ratchet turned to face the bots that were in the room once more before he started to explain to them all that had happened, from how he survived the attack up until his return to Iacon.
Ironhide, Chromia, Thundercracker, Skywarp, and Ultra Magnus were all stunned at what they had learned. None of them had expected any of this.
"I understand that you may be upset with Arcee for her actions, but she did what she thought was right. And quite honestly I am more than grateful to her since it's the only reason that I'm alive, and that Hot Rod and Lightshow are alive." Ratchet told them.
"Well, I wish she woulda told us you were alive a lot sooner, but right now, all that matters is that all of you are alive." Ironhide said. He'd deal with his current anger at a later date.
"So, where are the younglings?" Being a Seeker, Skywarp was more than a little ecstatic at the thought of seeing younglings.
"Cool your jets, Skywarp. You'll see them soon enough." Starscream told him.
Ratchet smiled. He wasn't surprised that Skywarp wanted to see his younglings as he knew better than anybot that Seekers tended to love being around sparklings and younglings, particularly younglings the age of Hot Rod, Springer, and Lightshow. "They'll be here in a minute." He had left them with Nemesis and Alpha Trion while he told the others all this.
"So, this Bulkhead is here?" Chromia asked curiously.
"Yes. Bulkhead is rather protective of his family, and he wasn't going to let us come back here without him." Ratchet walked over and sat down by the blue femme. "In all honesty, I wasn't entirely sure how things would go here. I was glad that they went well. But Bulkhead wanted to be here just in case."
"Where are they?" Chromia asked.
"They're here in the palace." Prowl replied. He had questioned his sire's decision to allow them to remain in the palace, but he had soon realized why. He had always known that his sire rarely was able to say no to Ratchet. Prowl knew that Optimus had allowed them to remain in the palace because the Prime knew that Ratchet would want them close. "They were given a room here and have stayed here since."
"Considering the course the investigation had taken, probably best thing. Arcee knows more about all this than anybot, and once the Senate finds out, they're going to want to talk to her. It's probably best she remain here." Ultra Magnus remarked.
Ratchet hated to think that anybot might cause any kind of harm to Arcee. She was like a daughter to him, and Ratchet didn't like the idea of her being in danger for any reason, and he suspected she might be in danger from the Senate.
However, Ratchet didn't have the time to dwell on those thoughts.
"Carrier!"
Ratchet turned his focus to the three younglings who were currently running toward him. He smiled at them as they reached them. "I hope you behaved for them."
"They were Ratchet." Alpha Trion assured him. "Much more behaved than I would have expected."
Ratchet smiled, glad to hear that.
"Hey! You're a Seeker!" Lightshow was looking right at Skywarp.
Skywarp smiled as he warped over to her. "Yes! I am!"
"You look like Starscream." Lightshow stated.
Starscream sighed. "The curse of being his brother."
"Hey!" Skywarp protested.
Lightshow giggled at the purple Seeker's reaction. She liked him already.
Thundercracker sighed before noticing the other two.
Springer was already looking at Ironhide as he made his way over to the red mech. "You've got a big cannon like Megatron does."
Ironhide glanced down at the green mech before he smiled at him. "Yeah. Suppose we both do have 'em." He smirked. "I'm sure you'll have one some cycle."
Ratchet slapped a hand to his face. "I wish they would stop telling him that. He's not even an orn yet."
Chromia chuckled. "Ironhide, as you'll learn, is a little trigger happy." She shook her helm. "Trust me. If ours is like him, it'll have a cannon before it's out of its sparkling stellar cycles."
"Primus help us all." Swiftwind muttered.
Ratchet chuckled at that.
"Sorry we're late."
All optics ended up on Wheeljack, who was standing there with Jetfire and Jetstorm in front of him and Skyfire behind him.
Skyfire stared in shock at his brother-in-law. Was he seeing things, or was that Ratchet sitting right by Chromia alive and well?
Ratchet then stood up. "Can I assume that this is your mate and sons, Wheeljack?"
Wheeljack grinned. "Sure is!" He glanced back at Skyfire. "See! I'm not insane."
"I don't believe it. Primus truly performed a miracle this time." Skyfire made his way over before he pulled the medic into a hug. "It's so good to see you again, Ratchet."
Ratchet smiled. "It's good to actually meet you, Skyfire."
Skyfire hadn't believed Wheeljack at first when he told him the story about Ratchet. He had played along and come so that he could speak with Swiftwind, but now he saw that he didn't need to. He also knew about Ratchet's amnesia. "I suppose it is."
All five younglings, upon seeing each other and excited to see other younglings, had easily escaped the adults' optics.
"I'm Jetfire, and this is my twin Jetstorm." Jetfire looked at the three newcomers curiously. "Who are you?"
"I'm Lightshow!" Lightshow looked at them. "Are you Seekers?"
"Yeah. We're just a different kind of Seeker than Starscream and the others." Jetstorm replied. He then looked at the other two. "Who are you?"
"I'm Springer, and this is my brother Hot Rod." Springer replied.
"We don't see that many younglings here. I mean, Smokescreen and Hot Shot have Dropkick, but he's still a sparkling. And Aunt Chromia hasn't even had hers yet." Jetfire said.
"This'll be great!" Hot Rod said.
The adults watched the interactions and then watched as they started playing together.
"I think they're happy to meet each other." Starlight remarked with a smile on her faceplates.
"Well, they are your nephews, Ratch. Suppose I should call them over." Wheeljack said.
Ratchet stopped. "Don't bother them, Wheeljack. Let the younglings play for the time being. They deserve it. I can meet them later."
"Indeed. I'm certain that Smokescreen will be dragging Hot Shot here any moment and then you will also meet Dropkick." Prowl replied. The Praxian was glad that his nephew would be able to grow up with his grand-carrier in his life. And he was glad that any future sparklings that he and Jazz might have would have their grand-carrier in their lives as well.
Smokescreen walked in then with Dropkick cradled in one arm and dragging Hot Shot along by the arm with his other hand. "See! Told ya!"
Hot Shot stared in shock at the sight of his carrier-in-law. He had been sure he needed to take his mate to see a psychiatrist. There was no way that Smokescreen could have been right when he had told his mate that Ratchet was alive and so were his creations. He hadn't believed any of it. He had just been proven wrong.
Ratchet smiled at the yellow mech. "Hello, Hot Shot."
"I-I don't believe it." Hot Shot was shocked.
Smokescreen grinned. "He thought I was crazy."
"Join the club. Sky thought I'd lost it." Wheeljack replied.
Ratchet chuckled. "It is pretty unbelievable, but I assure you that it is me, Hot Shot. I may not remember you, but I look forward to getting to know you. Again."
Hot Shot smiled as he walked over to hug Ratchet. "It is so great to see you again! I didn't think that this would ever happen!"
Ratchet chuckled. "Yes. I've heard that quite a bit."
Smokescreen grinned, glad that his mate finally believed him.
Dropkick glanced at the mech his sire was hugging and frowned as he didn't really understand what was going on. He hadn't seen the mech before.
Ratchet let go of Hot Shot before making his way over to his son. "And I assume that this is Dropkick?"
Smokescreen grinned. "Yeah. This is Dropkick." He glanced down at his son. "Well, Dropkick, you're finally able to meet your other grand-carrier." He then handed Dropkick over to Ratchet.
Ratchet smiled down at his grand-creation. He was glad to finally be able to meet all of these mechs and femmes who had been so important to him. And to meet the few who had not been a part of his life then, but were going to be a big part of his life now.
Grindor stared in disbelief at his Prime. "I beg your pardon?" He couldn't believe the words that the red and blue mech had just uttered.
Optimus sighed. "I said that Ratchet is alive, Grindor, as are our sparklings, well, younglings." He still had a habit of wanting to refer to them as sparklings instead of younglings.
Grindor started to wonder if his Prime had finally become so overwhelmed by the grief that had plagued him for so long that he had finally lost his processors.
"Optimus hasn't lost his processors." Megatron suspected what the Senate head was currently thinking. "We have all seen him with our own optics."
Elita and Galvatron nodded in agreement.
Grindor looked at all four of them. "And how is that possible? I was under the impression that we knew, without a doubt, that his spark had extinguished. All the bonds he shared had been broken."
"Yes. Well, we thought at the time that it was true. It seemed to be the most logical explanation of what had happened." Optimus sighed. "It would appear that we were wrong."
Grindor frowned, trying to process this in a way that did not lead him to believe that his Prime had finally snapped under the grief he felt. It wouldn't be the first time a bot had gone insane because he crushed under the grief of losing their mate. "And how is it that Ratchet is alive? And why did he not return sooner than this?" The Senate head was wary of believing this.
Optimus, having heard Ratchet explain the story to so many bots in the last few cycles, told Grindor everything he knew. About Arcee saving Ratchet, about the femme getting Ratchet to Creon, abut Ratchet's amnesia, about Arcee's decision to not tell anybot given what she believed had been ordered, abut Ratchet adopting Springer, about their sparklings, and ultimately, about Arcee telling Ratchet the truth and their return to Iacon.
It was pretty unbelievable to Grindor, all things considered. Though it did explain things in a way that did not make his Prime look insane. "Is Ratchet here?" He might need to see Ratchet to truly believe it.
"Yes. He is with our family meeting our friends at the moment." Optimus replied. He had a feeling that he was going to have to let Grindor see Ratchet for the senator to truly believe that they were telling him the truth.
"What about the bonds breaking?" Grindor asked.
"The strain on his spark from his injuries caused the bonds he shared with Prowl, Smokescreen, and Wheeljack to weaken to the point they couldn't be felt on either end. Ratchet says that with time and proximity that the bonds will strengthen." Elita replied.
Grindor glanced at the Prime.
Optimus sighed. "The medics who saved Ratchet's life were forced to severe our bond in order to save him. Technically, our bond doesn't exist anymore." It was a fact that truly pained the Prime's spark, and he hoped that Ratchet would agree to bond with him again in the future.
Grindor was no medic, but he saw no indication that any of them were lying or suffering from hallucinations. He also wasn't sure that four completely different bot would break at the exact same time. He then frowned. "That's not good."
Galvatron growled. "And what's not good about Ratchet being alive?"
Grindor raised a hand. "That is good, Galvatron. I mean the fact that Prime's bond with him no longer exists is what's not good."
"The Senate won't force me to give him up, Grindor." Optimus's voice was strong and determined. "I didn't before, and I won't now."
"I understand that, Prime. Unfortunately, the Senate will still see this as a chance to get their daughters as your mate as the bond does not exist. And there are some of them who would do it shamelessly in front of Ratchet." Grindor frowned. "It also means that there are some of Redwing's supporters who might try to-"
"If they think they are getting rid of Ratchet, they have lost their processors!" Megatron snapped.
"Only stating the possibilities, Megatron." Grindor sighed. "And it will also mean that they will call even louder for Shadowstrike to be released as Ratchet is alive."
"It won't happen." Optimus's voice was hard and unforgiving. "Ratchet being alive changes nothing. Shadowstrike did try to kill him, and that is still punishable by death."
Grindor nodded. "I'm only looking at this from their perspective. I am on your side, Prime. And when they try these things, I will voice that. However, I must remain objective and see this from their viewpoint as well." Grindor smiled in a smug manner. "How do you think I have kept the Senate in such control for so long? I allow myself to think the way some of the senators do, which allows me to remain a few steps ahead of their actions and contain them before they get out of control."
Optimus nodded. "I understand. But I will not let Ratchet go because the bond does not exist. Nor do I intend to bond with a daughter or even a son of a senator. And the charges against Shadowstrike may change, but the end result will not."
Grindor nodded.
Optimus then continued. "If you need to see Ratchet, Grindor, I can take you to him. I would like to wait a few cycles before informing the Senate. I don't want to push too much on Ratchet too fast." And he wanted the Senate to know as little as possible so that none of them tried to attack Ratchet.
Grindor nodded. "I understand." He considered it. "The Senate just recently broke off, and regulations dictate that I cannot call them together, even for an emergency session, for at least two breem unless we are in wartime." He smiled. "So you have two breem before I can even call them together. And I am not calling each senator individually to inform them of this turn of events."
That meant that the Prime had two breem, which he would spend with Ratchet and his creations as much as possible. Once the Senate knew, there would be little time for just them.
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