Chapter 13 is finally ready! I took forever on this one XD But I made this chapter a bit longer, so I hope you guys enjoy it. Someone finally makes an appearance. Things will get interesting from here on out. Hope everyone will still be on board till the very end!

Happy reading/writing!

I was mildly surprised when Optimus led me back to the NEST base. I expected him to take us to a more…secluded place, away from everyone, both human and Cybertronian. But, then again, I really didn't give a damn about where we were going. The scolding would be the same either way.

After we were allowed through the front gates, Prime drove right into the base. He didn't bother to stop and greet anyone. I wasn't sure who was at the base at the time. I knew not to expect seeing Ratchet, Wheeljack, or Jolt for they were at the launch site, preparing for the moon mission. I honestly thought of contacting Ratchet later so he could snarl at Optimus for me if this didn't go well.

Optimus sped passed Jazz and Flareup, who appeared to have been chatting idly. Both of the younger 'bots frowned at our moody leader. Flareup even shrank away from him as he drove by. I was relieved that both had the sense to not go after him. I wanted to stop and console them a little but keeping Prime waiting would probably piss him off further. That fact made the temptation even more sweet but I also passed the younger 'bots.

I was lead to the lift. Optimus transformed when he parked on the large elevator pad but didn't press the button when I parked next to him. Instead, he turned and faced me, then waited. I knew what he was trying to do. He wanted me to 'explain myself', like some youngling. Frag. I hated it when he did this and I knew better than to simply give in. Especially since the issue really wasn't about me. If it were about me, then I wouldn't have cared that much about angering him. No. This was for Clare and there was no way I was going to let this pass by.

I simply crossed my arms and smirked, knowing that would tick Prime off even more. I wanted to know how far I could push him before he'd punch me.

"Well?" I asked.

"Do not play with me, Ironhide," Prime quietly said. I should have been intimidated, but…nah.

"Fine then. I'll get right to it. Why did you feel the need to make Clare cry like that?" I asked, adding a little bite to my words. I was satisfied by the incredulous look he gave me. He really didn't expect me to say that.

"Don't try to change the subject!" he snapped.

"I'm not. You wished to speak to me about Clare. I'm willing to speak, which is why I'm asking you, why did you make Clare cry?"

"You can try to turn the tables on me all you want, Ironhide, but I will not fall for it," Prime snarled softly. "I assigned you to be my mate's second guardian over Jazz because I assumed that you would actually have the sense and capability to get her out of dangerous situations. Apparently, I was mistaken."

"Oh ho, so protecting your little mate from that Decepticon wasn't enough?" I snapped back angrily.

"You allowed her to dress up like...like that! You allowed her to flaunt herself to a male!"

I stared at him for a moment, my face cracking into another nasty smirk.

"Are…are you jealous?" I asked mildly. "Of a human?"

"This is no joke!"

"Yes, it kind of it. You want to know why? It's because you're forgetting the fact that both Bumblebee and I went with her to protect her. You're forgetting that we went inside with her to get what we needed, trying to do it as quietly as possible, which didn't work, mind you, because that ball of fleshy slime tried to touch her!" I seethed, but didn't stop there. "Do you want to know what we did when that human tried to touch Clare? Clare immediately stopped flirting with him and we stepped in! The way you're acting, it's as if she actually did something! Or she actually got hurt! But. She. Didn't."

Optimus went silent after that. He was still fuming, still giving me that menacing glare. However, I could see a bit of regret in his optics. The image of Clare hugging herself appeared in my processor and I forced my own ire to go down.

"Why was she crying?" I asked once more, keeping my vocals soft and non-aggressive.

"From what I felt…" Optimus began, also using a much quieter voice, and then paused for a moment. "She was upset about losing those files. And about upsetting me...and…I asked her if she was willing to use her body-"

"You fragging idiot!" I roared, not caring that I interrupted and insulted him in one swoop. I didn't even care if others in the base, human or Autobot heard me. Asking Clare that, after everything, was beyond uncalled for! "You asked her that!? You asked her If she would give herself to someone else even after what Megatron did to her!? That the hell was wrong with you, Optimus!?"

He was staring at the ground after that, his helm bowed so meekly that I couldn't see his expression. He looked so…young. He wasn't, I knew. Far from it, but he looked like he did back when his mentor was around, back before the war. I didn't like this look. It didn't suite my leader.

"Look," I started, once again using a calmer tone. "What we did wasn't entirely smart, but we had it under control even when the Decepticon came. You and I both know that Clare would never betray you."

"I know," he agreed, barely audible.

"And just to let you know, I was going to persuade her to tell you about our little mission." Not that she really would have needed any persuasion. Clare would have told Optimus afterwards. She wasn't one to hold secrets from him for long. Prime must have realized that as well because he nodded once in understanding.

We both said nothing for a few moments, which was a good thing. It allowed us to cool our anger a bit. After I was sure that Prime was calmer, I muttered, "You should go talk to her."

"I will…after I come back from my mission with Ratchet," I said, still not looking at me.

"Seriously?" I blurted. Primus, I was beginning to sound just like the girl.

"You should go back to Clare and Bumblebee," was all Optimus said before gently pushing me off the lift and pressed the button. He turned so I couldn't see his face, and went down into the bunker without saying anything else. I was left standing there, astounded by what he just did.

"Fragging idiot," I muttered angrily and turned to leave. As I headed out, I called Bumblebee's comm link.

"Yeah, 'Hide?" the young scout answered.

"How is she doing?" I asked and marched towards the exit. I took a longer route so I didn't run into Jazz and Flareup again. I didn't feel like explaining things just yet.

"We're at one of those fast food places…uh Subway? Yeah, that one. Clare's…pretty quite, but she's not crying anymore."

"That's good…at least," I grumbled as I transformed and left the base. "I'll meet you guys back at her place. Then we'll figure out what to do next."

"Alright," Bee said. He stopped talking, so I thought it was a signal for ending the conversation. But, before I cut the link, the young 'bot piped up. "Hey, uh…did Prime chew you out?"

I let out a little sigh. I shouldn't have been surprised by the question. Of course the kid was concerned about the situation.

"He tried to, but I was the one doing the chewing in the end." Bee snorted in amusement. I bet he's trying to imagine how that would have gone. "Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to convince the mech to come back and talk to her."

"Why not?"

"Don't know. He just said that he was busy with his fragging mission," I rumbled. I guess he felt too guilty to speak to her, but that was no excuse.

"Well, he could always talk to her through the bond…"

"That's not good enough!"

"I know. I know," the scout murmured, sounding a bit amused. I realized I was getting too…passionate about this. Damn. "They'll be fine, 'Hide. I know they wi-" He stopped talking and I suddenly felt a little anxious.

"Bumblebee? What's wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry. There's a human male with Clare. I think I recognize him…oh geez. Clare looks angry!"

Huh…angry was better than sad. Good on you, girl.

"I'll leave you to it, then. Better step in before she bites the idiot's head off." Bumblebee chuckled before ending the call.

I screeched to a halt and waited for the traffic light to turn green again, pondering what to do next. I really thought we had a successful mission...but that fragging Decepticon came along to ruin it. As easy as the mission was, I still felt aggravated about losing all those files. By now, the human police and NEST must have confiscated them. Maybe we could still retrieve them…with the help of a certain agent. I groaned internally as I contacted the former Sector 7 agent, but I really needed to do this. For Clare.

Clare POV

I finally managed to stop crying and was able to eat my sub. Well, I mostly scarfed the thing down; the entire foot long steak and cheese sub. It made me feel a little better. I was glad that Bumblebee backed off while I was eating. He still kept watch, which I didn't mind, but he wasn't hanging over my shoulder doing it. I glanced at him, seeing that his bodyguard hologram was still active, sitting a few tables down. He looked like he was mumbling to himself. I guess he was talking to someone, most likely another 'bot.

I was finished eating, so I got up and went to throw away my trash and refill my cup at the little fountain drink station. As I got my second helping of raspberry iced tea, I hear a startlingly familiar voice.

"Hey, Clare!"

I dropped my cup and whirled around. Dylan stood there, grinning at me. Seeing that smile made the surprise go away and the anger come in. What did this guy want?

He clearly didn't sense my annoyance or he just decided to ignore it. Regardless, Dylan waved at me and said, "Long time no see!"

"Don't talk to me as if you're my friend," I snapped.

"Whoa, no need to get snippy," he said, finally frowning. I was strangely satisfied about him wiping that smile off his dumb face. "I was just saying hi. It's rare seeing people you know in a big city."

"You don't know me and stalking isn't the same as coincidently seeing."

"Maybe I'd like to get to know you more, without having to stalk you."

"You don't seem to take the hint," I muttered as I picked up my dropped cup and moved out of the way so the poor teen that worked there could clean up my mess. I murmured an apology to him before shoving passed Dylan and headed back to my seat. Unfortunately, the older guy followed me and sat down in front of me.

"Listen. I really think you should hear me out, Clare. You just might be interested in this job-"

"How did you find me?" I asked before he managed to finish. 'If this guy was going to mention this 'job' one more time, I'm going to back hand him in the face and be sure my hand is charged when I do it!' I thought maliciously, glaring at the man, for once hoping my blue eyes were red just to scare him.

"Well," Dylan started and motioned outside to the growing crown of paparazzi piling in the tiny excuse for a parking lot. Ugh. "Your little battle with that Decepticon didn't exactly go unnoticed. And neither did your relationship issues." Dylan pulled out his phone and showed me a picture of Optimus' hologram and me. Optimus looked angry and I looked worn and…broken.

"Get out," I whispered.

"You have no authority here, kid" he sneered. "Just because you-"

"GET. OUT!" I screamed at him. My patience was gone and I was done playing nice. He made a huge mistake when he decided to bring up my relationship with Optimus.

After I screamed, Bee's hologram appeared behind Dylan. Without a word, he grabbed the man's arm and dragged him out. Dylan tried his best to protest and apologize to me, but I didn't listen and neither did Bumblebee. I didn't watch my guardian 'escort' Mr. Gould out. I just sat there and rubbed my temples, willing myself not to start crying again.

When Bumblebee came back, he was using his regular college boy hologram. He knelt down, a serious expression on his face, and placed a hand on my thigh.

"You alright?" he asked.

"I…I just want to go home. Can we please go home?" I asked, choking up. Bee squeezed my thigh once and gave me a tiny smile.

"Wait for me by the door," he said, then his hologram disappeared.

I slowly got up, ignoring the nervous stares I was getting from all the people around me, and headed to the door. I forgot I was in public, so an outburst like that was pretty…well, bad. Especially with the gathering of paparazzi at the front, who were all trying to snap pictures of me. They were like a bunch of wild animals.

The moment I stepped outside, I was blinded by flashes and deafened by voices. I couldn't make out what they were asking me, not that I would have answered. I caught a glimpse of a news anchorwoman motioning over, but I stayed put. I was able to keep a poker face on, but a tiny smile formed when I heard a cacophony of threatening honks and screeching of tires nearby. The paparazzi and news people exclaimed, looking panicked and startled, and then scattered as my yellow Camaro skidded by, crushing dropped cameras in his fury. He blasted his horn once more, as if daring them to come back, then his door swung open for me. My smile widened a bit as I headed out and climbed into my yellow hero.

"Thank you," I said, my voice coming out tiny and a bit meek. Bee's hologram smiled gently at me before patting my head.

"Anything for you, Clare," he said and sped off.

Dylan POV

God. Damn. It.

I knew that the woman would be stubborn, but I didn't expect her to be so…crazy. Her Autobot friend wasn't any better too. He also surprised me. From what I've heard and been told, the yellow one was supposed to be the friendliest. I would never have guessed he was aggressive. Then again, he was Clare's bodyguard. Damn it all. Just how close was that chick to those Autobots? I couldn't get close to her without her getting pissy or having one of her giant friends stepping in. This was bad. I was in trouble. My employers were angry enough with me for failing before but now…this was, what? The forth time I failed? Here I was trying to play nice with the stupid kid, thinking she'd be desperate for a job. But no. She wouldn't snag the hook. I would have thought any kid her age would be desperate for a big job opportunity, right? Apparently not.

But, they did warn me about using only my charm. They said I needed extra muscle, which was why they sent that stupid bird back to me. I tried to set up a trap but the bird freaking died on me. Then they sent the other guy. What was his name? Dreads? Yeah, sure, I'll call him that. But, that brute wasn't much help. He just caused more trouble and died as well.

I silently watch as the frustrated paparazzi and news leave the parking lot in their cheap cars and vans. They were dumb enough to think that they could talk to Clare. I didn't know the woman that well but I was beginning to know better than to mob her.

My cellphone started ringing, the vibrations from it making me jump nearly out of my skin. It was playing a specific rind tone, which only meant that they were calling.

Shit. Shit! Shit!

I knew better than to ignore the call. But, even so, I hesitated, which was extremely stupid on my part. My wrist started throbbing then a stabbing pain shot up my arm and towards my head.

"Gah! Al-alright! Alright! I'll answer the damn phone!" I yelled at the watch on my throbbing wrist. It wasn't a real watch, but only another robot, ready to control me.

Even at my pleas, the watch still continued to shoot pain up my body and my arm started jerking on it's own, reaching down towards my right pocket where my ringing phone was. Just as my hands wrapped around my phone, I bolted awkwardly towards my car and dove into the driver's seat. I ignored the onlookers, giving me judgmental looks, and answered the caller.

"Human," the caller's unmistakable distinct voice rasped the moment I pressed the phone to my ear.

"Y-yes?" I answered, knowing fully well that he was beyond pissed off.

"I am aware that you have, yet again, failed to retrieve the girl," he said, his deep robotic voice making me shiver. "You are beginning to pose useless to us. Do you remember what we do to humans we find useless?"

"I-I…yes," I stammered, dejectedly. I couldn't argue back. I was completely whipped.

"Since you can not persuade the girl to come to you, and a low ranked Decepticon doesn't have the sense to snatch said girl, let alone being discreet about doing so…it seems that I will have to come and take care of everything myself," the Decepticon said. "Await my arrival, human. And I will let you know just how displeased Lord Megatron really is with your failures."

"Yes, Soundwave," I managed to say right before he hangs up.

Clare POV

The hot sprays felt so good against my aching body. All of my injuries, as minor as they were, had already healed up but I still felt sore. It was probably because of how tired I was. That, and I just felt like crap. But, the hot shower was making me feel a bit better. I had already scrubbed myself clean and washed my hair, so I was only killing time.

Just when I had enough, someone knocked twice on the door, hard. I peeked out just as the door opened slightly. Ironhide's holoform stepped in. His eyes were cast to the ground and he looked a little embarrassed.

"It's me…sorry to bug you," he said a bit awkwardly. I repressed an urge to giggle at his behavior. "But, uhm, Simmons is heading here. He wants to stop by and see how you're doing."

I guess Mr. Ex-Agent saw the news. Before I went into the shower, every news station on TV was talking about the Decepticon from earlier and me being at the scene. I sighed, knowing that it would be extremely rude to just turn Simmons away.

"Alright, Thanks Ironhide," I said, giving him a slight nod even though he wasn't looking at me. When the old mech moved to leave, I spoke up. "You know, you don't have to stare at the ground. I'm still covered."

"I don't think Prime would approve of his best friend looking at his lover while she's in the shower even if she's hiding behind the curtains." Him mentioning Optimus made me feel a mixture of things. I forced out a little laugh so it seemed I wasn't bothered but Ironhide obviously caught on. "Sorry," he mumbled gently. "Too soon?"

"No. No. We can't avoid mentioning Optimus, can we?" I said, looking at him and saw that he was gazing right back. His face was hard as ever but his voice was soft.

"Bumblebee and I are here if you want to rant, talk, cry, anything. Alright?"

"I know," I murmured, smiling. "Thank you."

"Now, hurry up!" he snapped before slamming the door. I giggled and turned off the water.

By the time I dried myself off and put on some comfortable clothes, Simmons was already waiting in the 'living room' area of my home. Wheelie was there too, swearing up a storm. The small bot and ex-agent must have gotten into another argument, or several.

Simmons looked at me when I walked over to them and held up two fingers.

"Kid, two things," he announced. "One. You're taking this thing back." He motioned towards Wheelie. I didn't bother asking why.

I didn't mind taking Wheelie back. He behaves fairly well around me. Plus, I had Ironhide around and the little toy bot was smart enough to check himself extra carefully around the older mech. When I didn't protest, Simmons continued on.

"And two, don't worry about those documents you lost today. I got most of them back at my place."

"….Huh?" was the only thing I could say back. I couldn't really process what he said so I glanced at Ironhide and Bee, who were sitting quietly on the sofa. Ironhide looked rather pleased while Bumblebee grinned.

"Dutch already went to a couple police stations and got some stuff back. He went back to Accuretta to retrieve anything that may have been left behind, both on paper and digital. We'll go to NEST later on for the rest."

"Oh my God," I whispered when I finally realized what he meant. Without being able to stop myself, I went up to Simmons and pulled him into a tight hug while bouncing up and down. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" I squealed.

"Whoa! Uh. Yeah. Sure," Simmons said and patted my head after prying me off. "Watch the suite kid," he muttered as he smoothed his clothes, trying to hide his smirk. He leaned forward and whispered, "You should really thank the old one back there." He jerked his chin towards the couch. Out loud, Seymour added, "Dutch and I will decode the stuff and sort out the clues and info from the junk. We'll take care of everything."

"You…you're sure?" Bee asked just as Wheelie shouted out, "Hey! I wanna help!"

"If you come across anything alien, you're gonna need an alien to help out," I said, motioning to the three 'bots.

Simmons sighed, clearly hesitant. I knew that he liked to figure these kinds of things out on his own (for the most part), but even he couldn't read Cybertronian, let alone decode anything in it.

"Fine, but NOT him!" Seymour snapped, pointing at Wheelie, who, in turn, hissed back.

"Yeah, I'm never putting you two together again," I muttered and waved Wheelie away as he tried to creep closer towards the man, presumably to bite him.

I looked back at the two other choices I had. Ironhide frowned at me. He and Simmons didn't get along too well. Then again, Ironhide has trouble working with a lot of others unless he was specifically ordered to do so. I didn't want to force him, so he was out as a choice. Looking at Bumblebee, I knew he was the only one who could do it. Bumblebee knew how to work well with others, even if they had difficult personalities. Plus, he and Simmons tolerated each other pretty well despite Bee getting tortured by Sector 7 years ago. That was all in the past…I hoped.

"I'll go with Simmons and Dutch," my guardian said, not waiting for me to ask. Simmons didn't object, so he was fine with the arrangement. "We'll keep you guys updated."

I asked if Simmons wanted to stay for dinner but he wanted to dive into work as soon as possible. He and Bumblebee said their goodbyes to us and left. I waited a bit after they left and for Wheelie to wander off somewhere before I turned to Ironhide.

"Did you ask Simmons for help?" I asked quietly. Ironhide shifted, looking uncomfortable again. He opened his mouth to say something but immediately closed it. The old mech glanced away and gave me the slightest of nods. I smiled and went over to him. "Thanks, 'Hide. Thanks so much." Ironhide patted my head awkwardly and I hugged him.

He didn't push me way.

Optimus POV

Two Days Later

"We have 5.3 Earth hours till we reach the moon, so you better talk," Ratchet's voice snarled in my com link. I glanced at the medic who was sitting beside me. His optics stared harshly back. He had to speak through a com link for the ship's roaring engines were drowning out any and all other sounds within the craft.

We were in a makeshift ship, built from the second waver's shuttle along with man-made parts. Jolt jokingly called the shuttle 'ScrapPiece', and the name, for some reason stuck. It wasn't the greatest piece of machinery I've come across but it was better than nothing. Especially since it was capable of completing our mission to the moon. The shortest human time to the moon was a little over 8 hours. Not a bad time, but we would beat that time by arriving just a tad over 5 hours.

"Well?" Ratchet said, bringing my focus back to him. He was glaring at me, not for the first time in days. Honestly, it seemed like that particular expression was now permanently plastered on his visage.

"Talk about what?" I asked him.

"Fine then, how about we discus why you've been a moody piece of scrap lately, and about how you've been relatively silent as well?"

"Hasn't Ironhide told you?" I asked blandly.

"I've tried asking him but he merely told me to talk to you about it."

"That's a surprise. You two tend to gossip."

"You are upsetting everyone at base!" Ratchet snapped, elbowing me hard in the arm.

"Including you?"

By then, the shuddering and roaring from the shuttle had died down. It wasn't completely quiet but we were able to speak out loud if we wished as well as move around. I took my chance to escape the conversation and unbuckled myself from my seat and moved away from Ratchet. I didn't get very far. Ratchet was right behind me. The shuttle was tiny to our standards so there was little to no room to get away. I decided to just ignore Ratchet's presence and checked the controls of the craft. Everything appeared to be fine. The selfish side of me found that somewhat disappointing.

I could feel my medic's cold stare on the back of my helm. He wasn't going to stop any time soon and I didn't have the spark to tell him to back off at the moment.

"I hurt Clare," I murmured to Ratchet while I continued looking around the shuttle for anything abnormal. When I found a small leakage, Ratchet saw it as well and moved in to begin repairing it.

"I'm guessing this has something to do with what we saw on the news," my medic said.

Of course what happened with Clare and the Decepticon had been all over the human media. Decepticons attacking was big news but near the nations' capital? That was worse. In addition to that, Clare being with me, the Autobot leader, was considered a major 'story' as well.

Seeing me all but snarling at Clare, some of the Autobots found that somewhat amusing. But others, namely Ratchet, Jazz, and Flareup, weren't very happy with me. Flareup avoided my presence completely while Jazz merely didn't speak to me, which was a major sign that he was upset with me. Ratchet continued to ask me what had happened and I 'moodily', as he put it, kept telling him to back off. But it was Sideswipe who found great joy in my 'moodiness'. That particular Autobot tended to put the clip of me snarling at Clare on whenever I was around just to irritate me. Jolt, surprisingly enough, completely avoided being involved in that. I was slightly relieved that Ironhide wasn't at the base during that time. He would have torn Sideswipe apart, figuratively as well as literally. Thankfully, Ratchet and Jazz put a stop to Sideswipe's shenanigans by telling him just that about Ironhide. All in all, it was a long and miserable few days.

When I didn't say anything about Ratchet's obvious 'guess', the medic sighed heavily and stood. He was finished fixing the minor problem and leaned against the ship's wall with his servos crossed. He wasn't completely glaring at me anymore but he still looked harsh.

"From what I see, Optimus, you yelled at her for whatever reason and hurt her doing so. Now you feel guilty as well as angry for doing so and haven't bothered to speak to her about the matter let alone apologize to her."

"Ratchet, you read into situations way too accurately," I muttered dryly.

"Optimus, at times like these, you make it too easy," he countered, a faint smirk appearing.

"But, for your information, I did speak to Clare before we left," I said a little defensively though I knew it really didn't count. I was too much of a coward to face her so I called her cellphone to tell her.

"Oh? What did you two talk about?" Ratchet asked as he leaned forward slightly.

"I…merely said that I was leaving Earth for the mission…" I mumbled. "And she said 'ok'…and that…she…loved me." When she spoke, her voice was so quiet and hesitant…it hurt my spark. I couldn't even tell her I loved her back. Primus, there were several moments in the war where I truly felt like I hated myself. These were one of those moments.

I glanced up at Ratchet, who was slowly shaking his helm. He obviously understood my turmoil and was criticizing me severely for it.

"The moment we land on Earth, I will personally lock you two in a room together until you sort matters out," was all he said.

We didn't speak for a while after that. We stood around, completely absorbed in our own thoughts, at least until we got a message from Earth. It was staticy and a little difficult to understand.

"This is Morshower, calling. How are you two doing?" the Marine General asked. As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Morshower was responsible with overseeing NEST activities, so it was no surprise having him check up on such an important mission. Ratchet stepping up and spoke for me. I was thankful for that.

"We are fine, General," Ratchet said pleasantly. "Everything is going smoothly. We will contact base when we find the Ark."

"Alright. Carry on."

The transmission ended. It wasn't unusual for General Morshower to give us very short check ups. He trusted Ratchet and I enough to not needing to interrogate us about our every move. The rest of the Autobots though weren't blessed with that privilege.

It was silent again, except for the sounds the ship was making. It was beginning to get excruciatingly uncomfortable. We still had a couple hours left for travel and I wasn't sure if I was able to survive this silence any longer. So, I broke it.

"Ratchet?" I asked, a bit hesitantly.

"Yes, Prime?" he answered, sounding relieved. Perhaps he also found the quiet torturous.

"Do you…think we'll find him on the Ark?" I asked. Ratchet snorted. He knew whom I was talking about, Sentinel Prime.

"Well, assuming he didn't leave the vessel, perhaps," Ratchet said dryly. "This is, of course, assuming yet again that the Ark actually is on the moon."

"Would he be alive?"

"There's a possibility…"

"If he is…?"

"Are you more afraid of finding him alive or dead?"

"I don't know. I just…don't want him to be disappointed in me, Ratchet," I whispered. "I took up the full role of Autobot leader after he left."

"That was fairly early in the war, Optimus. Most of us view you as our leader over him regardless," Ratchet affirmed.

I sighed, knowing this. Most of the younger Autobots didn't even know that Sentinel was the original leader of the Autobots. Megatron and I may have been 'rulers' of Cybertron, but Sentinel was still my mentor and elder. He thought it was fit that he took lead in the war so I'd be safe and survive through it. That way, if we won, which we were so sure of early on, I'd be able to step up and lead the surviving Cybetronians in rebuilding our planet. Obviously, that didn't happen. The war took longer than expected. Much longer. On top of that, Sentinel disappeared. Many thought he abandoned us but I didn't. I knew he had a reason and that was why I took his place. I stepped up and became leader, hoping I was as strong and brave as he was.

I looked back at my medic and was surprised to see him smiling at me. It was one of his rare genuine smiles that held no sarcasm. He reached out and grasped my shoulder and said, "There is nothing for Sentinel to be disappointed about. I will always be proud to call you my leader, Optimus. And I know for a fact that the others agree…especially Clare."

I couldn't help but give Ratchet a small, but contented smile. It was rare for me to have anyone genuinely praise my leadership. Few of my Autobots may gush but most say nothing and just follow orders. My closest friends and allies, with Ratchet being one of them, usually were the ones who criticize my actions and decisions harshly. But hearing Ratchet's words put a sudden calmness in my spark.

"Especially Clare…" I repeated absently and the barriers around my spark thinned out. I unconsciously reached out to Clare, sending gentle pulses through our bond. I felt my little one's surprise at first, but soon her familiar, yet clumsy pulses returned to my spark. I chuckled, reveling in the feeling of her and the joy I was filled with at that moment. I didn't even notice Ratchet going back to his seat to give me privacy.

Time ticked by quickly after that and we arrived at our destination. Our makeshift rocket landed, unsteadily so, on the moon's surface. We barely crashed the thing, really. I had to put my mask in place to hide my smile because Ratchet kept cursing quietly to himself about how the craft almost killed us. He was exaggerating, of course, but even so, our ship needed a quick fix up before we could re-launch.

We shut down the ship's systems and leaped out of it. Ratchet decided to stay put and start repairs. I went off on recon. Moons tend to be small but this particular rock one was tiny. A small moon paired with a small planet. How fitting. There was less gravity compared to Earth, so each stride I took lifted me slightly off the ground. Dust picked up as I continued my way, wondering directionless across the rock.

"I probably shouldn't wonder too far from Ratchet," I murmured to myself. Ignoring my own advice, I kept moving. I felt a tad lighter, not because I was in a different atmosphere but because of Clare. Just feeling her part of our bond was enough to put me at ease. Because of her, I was able to enjoy being in a this new environment. Sometimes, I needed little moments like these, where I could be alone. Being off of Earth and away NEST and their problems. Its been so long since I was able to see the black skies littered with tiny lights that were stars and planets. Soon I wasn't walking anymore. I was all but leaping across the bumpy terrain. Yes. I felt light.

But reality crashed back down onto me when I saw something over the horizon. My spark began to ache a little, seeing the object. The same dull ache I always had during the war, whenever I fought. Whenever I saw my comrades get injured or die. It was the ache of dread. I hesitantly moved closer to the far off figure, knowing fully well what it was.

"Ratchet," I said, calling him through his com link. "I found it…the Ark."

"…Send me your coordinates," was all he said after a long pause. I did as he requested and waited. It took much of my self-control to not just sprint over to the Ark, tear open the walls, and go in.

I was too caught up in my thoughts that I didn't realize Ratchet had arrived to my location until he patted my arm. He stood beside me, staring out towards the Ark. His optics were widened and bright with disbelief. I wasn't sure if he really expected seeing it here. Then again, none of us did.

We silently approached the vessel, not really sure if we should say anything to each other. I guessed that the door would be jammed so we didn't bother trying to access the ship with one. Instead, Ratchet took out a laser-saw from his subspace and sliced a doorway for us. We cautiously entered the Ark. The interior, from what we came across through our exploration, was mostly destroyed. There were no functioning lights. The ceiling was in pieces and on the floor. Wires hung down from above us, snaring onto our frames as we tried to make out way towards the control deck. I kept my plasma blade out to slice through the cables and to pry open doors, when needed to. I wasn't sure if I should have been relieved or anxious when I couldn't see any bodies. They could have left…but have gone where?

Ratchet and I stood before a larger pair of doors. I've explored the Ark before it's departure on Cybertron. I knew what were behind those doors. I glanced back at Ratchet, who moved to help me pry the doors open. We only managed to open them the slightest bit before both of us became aggravated and simply blew the doors open.

"Primus," Ratchet hissed when we entered. The control center was all but demolished, clearly receiving the worst from the crash. Dead Autobots, still in their protoforms, sat at panels, slumped over. Some lay on the floor, untouched. Most of them I did not know while others I may have met briefly. Even so, I felt a stifling sense of foreboding.

"He's not here," Ratchet murmured, looking around. Occasionally he'd kneel down to inspect the bodies, to see if any where merely in stasis. Ratchet's silence told me that none where. But he was right. Sentinel was not here…at least, not in the chamber we were in. I moved to the center of the room where no bodies were and began moving shrapnel and rusted panel pieces away from that area. Ratchet silently helped, until he saw what we were standing on. "A lift?" he asked. "There's another room beneath us?"

"It's a storage compartment. A hidden one," I answered, still moving junk away. "There are a few of them all over the Ark."

"What did they hold?"

"Technology that could have won or even lost the war for us," I murmured when I pulled the lever.

A loud hiss erupted as the storage doors began to shift. A deafening screeching sound filled my audios as the metal panels dragged themselves open. Steam and dust poured out in a white cloud, and a figure appeared at the bottom.

"Sentinel Prime," I gasped as the dust settled.

My mentor lay limply on the lowered lift as a cylindrical object floated up towards us. Ratchet caught it and examined the piece of rare technology that was thought to be lost. My medic carefully placed the cylinder aside and climbed down into the storage room to inspect it.

"There's nothing else down here," Ratchet said and took a look at Sentinel. After a moment, he gently lifted the older Prime up to me. "Sentinel is alive, though in stasis. I don't know how much longer he'll last if he stays. We must take him back to Earth, Optimus."

I held Sentinel close to my frame. My chassis opened up and the Matrix of Leadership floated out and hovered over Sentinel's chest. I hoped that the Matrix could stabilize him just a while longer. Ratchet climbed back out of the room and picked up the cylinder.

"You go and continue the repairs, Ratchet," I said. "I will stay and check the other storage rooms to see if there's anything else left worth taking back."

My medic agreed and left with the cylinder.

"Just a bit longer, Sentinel Prime," I murmured and carefully made my way of the chamber. I felt terrible about leaving the rest of the deceased. "I will be back, brothers and you will be laid to rest," I whispered. "Until then…"