Their plan to destroy Darkmount had already initiated. Ratchet had remained behind with the human children whilst the others were about to storm into the Decepticon fortress. Agent Fowler was on standby with his own crew until Ultra Magnus gave them the signal.

His optics were staring absentmindedly into the monitors and his digits were tapping on the edge of the controls anxiously. Ratchet had not received any sort of communication from their team in quite a while and eventually allowed his thoughts to wander.

He hadn't heard from Lucy for over two earth days and was expecting to see her with Ultra Magnus arriving with the others, but she hadn't. Naturally, he had begun to worry that something awful had happened. He had searched for any signs of her life signal using the Harbingers monitors but had turned up empty-handed. Disregarding the thought of her being captured almost immediately from his processors. The only logical explanation he could come up with was that something was blocking her signal.

Lucy is highly capable of fending for herself and with the abilities which she currently possesses, it was highly unlikely that she would be easily captured without putting up a fight. She had put his trust on him before and now it was time he did the same for her. All he had to do was wait patiently just enough until she would appear.

Soon his thoughts were abruptly cut short when the monitors let out a sound. There he saw an Autobot signal flying towards Darkmount. Initially, he genuinely thought it was Lucy but upon further inspection it was in fact an unidentified signal much to his confusion.

"How is that possible?" He wondered aloud, catching the attention of the three humans who were on top of the console he was using.

"What?" Jack asked, turning to face the medic.

"An Autobot signal. But it's airborne." Ratchet declared and was staring at the screen with wide optics.

"Oh! Could it be Lucy?!" Miko blurted out, grinning from ear to ear.

"No... it's not Lucy." Ratchet said whilst shaking his helm. He was grateful that the children didn't take notice of the slight crack in his voice.

Suddenly Ultra Magnus's voice was heard with the following message.

"All units… Optimus Prime has returned."

With Optimus now in play, it didn't take long before Darkmount came tumbling down courtesy of Agent Fowler and his airsupport. Afterwards they were at the military base and were now gathered inside their new base of operations, Hanger E. As Fowler finishes his speech of thanks to the Autobots and then Optimus welcomes Ultra Magnus to Team Prime. Away from the rest of the group was Ratchet and Smokescreen.

"Is it true that the Forge has been drained of its power?" Ratchet asked his optics landing on the forge and then back to Smokescreen. Now stood beside him as Smokescreen was purposely avoiding his gaze.

"Then any hope of rebuilding the Omega Lock has truly been lost."

Smokescreen sees his frame standing right beside him right on the corner of his peripheral vision. "I… did what I felt was right."

"And your instincts have again proven to be quite sound." Ratchet assures him that he made the right choice, and this surprised the young recruit. As Ratchet was about to join the others when he was abruptly stopped by Smokescreen.

"Hey, uh… Ratchet. Do you know if Lucy is gonna show up?"

Ratchet visibly stiffened at the question. His spark tightened and found it harder to even breathe for a moment. Ironic since he didn't really need to breathe. His optics remained shut before opening them once again. There was pain written across his optics and he was secretly glad that he was facing away from Smokescreen.

"I'm certain she will." Without glancing over to Smokescreen as he walked away to join the others.

Optimus had been observing Ratchet and Smokescreen exchange before both mechs gathered around the circle with them. The look in Ratchet's optics said it all, his old friend was hurting on the inside. He and the rest of his team were made aware of this from the day she left their base. It was the first time that Optimus had ever seen his old friend in such a miserable state. Ratchet was grumpier and irritable than ever which further proves how much he cherished her.

Suddenly, an all too familiar British voice decided to make themselves known.

"Hope you don't mind if I join in on your little celebration."

As a result, everyone had instantly turned around to face the door to the hanger which had been open allowing natural light to enter inside the room. Standing there was Lucy smiling apologetically at them.

"Sorry I'm late."

Bulkhead simply couldn't contain his own excitement as he rushed over to her and easily swept her off her pedes into a hug. She yelped in surprise and then laughed when he began to twirl with her in his arms. It didn't take long until Bumblebee and Smokescreen had joined in on the hug. As soon as their group hug ended, she was then bombarded with questions as to where she was when they were infiltrating the Decepticon fortress. Lucy could only answer them one at a time and was already getting overwhelmed by their many questions.

"Give her some space you three. I'm sure she had her reasons." Arcee said earning sheepish smiles from the three mechs.

Lucy sent her a grateful look as Arcee shook her helm with a smile. There was a cough and she looked over to see Wheeljack eyeing her from helm to pede. He was acting rather timidly to say the least.

"You uh… look nice with the new upgrade." He complimented and was purposely avoiding her gaze.

"Thank you, Wheeljack." He grunted in response which only made her smile more.

"So uhm… when did you… you know?" Wheeljack manages to look at her with slightly reddened cheek plates.

"It's a long story."

She reminded herself to make sure and inform Wheeljack all about her newfound potential and that meant every single detail. Then her optics landed onto Optimus, whose new robust and tall appearance certainly surprised her. Nevertheless, she's grateful to see that he had survived the destruction from their former base. Optimus greeted her with a smile which she returned before her optics looked past him to see Ratchet who was almost hidden from view because of Optimus's new physique. Her body instantly moved on its own and moved at incredible speeds until she had him under her tight embrace. Seemingly unaware of Ultra Magnus's presence.

Upon contact, she felt him immediately tense and heard him grunt while he held out his arms in utter shock. She was too preoccupied in holding him close that she was on the brink of tears and was overwhelmed with joy to see him after their last conversation. Now that she is finally reunited with Team Prime—with Ratchet—she feels complete.

Ratchet stood there not knowing how to react for a moment. Until his features softened and then he reciprocated the embrace, pulling her close to him. He would be lying to himself if he'd say that he didn't miss her. After she had admitted how she truly felt around him, and her words really stuck with him. Not only had she successfully convinced him to continue fighting the war, but she also unknowingly encouraged him to allow himself to be truly happy.

Their heartwarming reunion didn't go unnoticed as the others simply watched on with a smile on their faces, all except for Ultra Magnus who was out of the loop. Allowing Ratchet and Lucy to indulge themselves a little longer before pulling away from each other's embrace.

The sun had already disappeared into the horizon and the moon shone down right on top of Hanger E. It was currently midnight and the only cybertronian awake in the hangar was Lucy. Ever since she had been traveling in search for the others her sleep schedule was out of whack. She already got scolded by Ratchet during their previous conversation, but this didn't stop him to remind her to better care for herself, especially when it came to sleeping.

Here she was, sitting on the floor with her legs crossed and was glancing around their new base of operation. She was lost in her own thoughts when her optics landed on to the three teens who were huddled together on the yellow couch, courtesy of Agent Fowler. They, too, were having trouble sleeping because there were noticeable dark bangs forming under their tired eyes.

Without a second thought, she stands up and approaches where they were until she stood in front of the platform. "Trouble sleeping?"

Miko perked up to the sound of her voice with a slight delay in her movements until her brown eyes eventually landed on Lucy. Her normally ecstatic attitude was toned down significantly and it's like she was a completely different person. Miko went to say something but was interrupted by a sudden yawn escaping her lips. As a result, this caused an immediate chain reaction as Jack and Rafael yawned as well.

She gave them a sympathetic look. "Here, let me go fetch a blanket."

Then she walks away momentarily until she comes back with a folded piece of woolen in the palm of her servo. Making sure that it was large enough to cover them from the chilly air inside the facility, sadly she was unable to find any pillows for them to use. If she had the power to summon pillows at her leisure, then she would've gladly done so already but it'll have to do for now.

"Lucy?"

She hums and glances over to Rafael who was staring back at her. His glasses were tilted, and his spiky hair was disheveled making it spikier.

"Do you think you can tell us a story?" Rafael asked right as he yawned before rubbing his eyes.

Lucy closing her eyes momentarily in deep thought and then reopening them to meet Raf's gaze. "How about a lullaby?"

Jack, Miko, and Rafael all murmured their agreement to her suggestion, in fact, their tired gazes had instantly lit up. Miko's slouched posture was instantly straightened and was sitting at the edge of the sofa. They were staring at her and were eager to hear the lullaby from her.

She couldn't help but smile at their expectant stares. They really wanted to hear her sing. She then drapes the blanket over the railing and then presses both her hands on to her chest. With her eyes closed she took in a deep breath before she began to sing. Being oblivious to their wide-eyed expressions realizing that her accent was nowhere present as she sang. Her voice was soothing and lighter than how she would normally speak. Since the song was in Japanese and the only ones who didn't understand the foreign language were the boys, except for Miko.

Lucy sang the first verse of the lullaby, soft enough to make the air itself feel comforting and her flowing hair suddenly began to glow with each verse she sung. Unbeknownst to her, she had awakened two bots from the building next store.

When she was done, she opened her eyes to see the three teens were fast asleep. Jack sat in the middle while the other two had their heads leaned against his shoulders and she could faintly hear their soft snores. She grabs the blanket from the railing and then proceeds to cover them where she gently used her digits to adjust the woolen. It didn't cover their upper body, but it was enough to keep them warm. She'll have to speak with Agent Fowler in the morning about getting them beds.

She stepped away from the platform and turned around only to freeze where she stood. Standing by the opened doors of the hangar was Optimus and Ratchet staring at her with wide optics. Her spark thumped loudly into her chest plate and soon her faceplates had reddened before she averted her gaze.

"How long have you two been standing there?" She asks and then glances over to them to see them approaching her until they now stood in front of her.

"We weren't here at first since we were still recharging… that is until we heard your voice from across the building." Optimus admitted which caused her cheeks to redden more.

"Primus… I'm sorry if I woke you two because of my singing." She apologized profusely and was taken back to see them smiling at her. This greatly confused her.

"We never knew you had the ability to sing." Ratchet blurted out, his voice sounded light and filled with curiosity. It was a rare tone in his voice which surprised her, and it caused her insides to feel all warm.

She optics darted back and forth, a sheepish smile forming on her lips. "Actually... I wasn't always able to sing. Not until I turned fourteen. I… never really intended to show it off to anyone really."

Singing hadn't been a part of her life until one day her music teacher signed her up in a choir when she was fourteen. She felt so insecure when she stepped inside the audition room. Standing right in the middle of the room while her classmates watched on. She was absolutely terrified of the attention she was getting which almost resulted in her having a full-on panic attack. However, with the teacher's reassurance she was able to sing the first verse of a song she picked. At first, it sounded choppy with her voice cracking a few times but with enough encouragement from the teacher she was able to sing with ease. From that point on she would be participating in recitals, performing in churches and even being a part of a choir when she was in college.

It's still her favorite pastime even though she rarely sings nowadays but occasionally, she will hum to herself subconsciously to her favorite tune. It has also helped her tremendously with her symptoms in the past. Although it didn't necessarily cure her condition, she was able to accomplish something that she wasn't able to do before, it was to form bonds with others.

Suddenly her train of thought was cut short when she felt a servo rest on her shoulder-cap. She turned to meet the mechs' gaze and those turquoise colored optics that she had grown fond of was staring right through her. Lucy couldn't quite pinpoint this one emotion that was written across his optics and wondered what exactly this emotion was.

"I'd like to hear you sing more often."